THE WALRUS HARPOON. 45 



from slipping farther aft on the gunwale than the 

 notches, as if they do the boat will probably be up- 

 set ; it is from this cause that most of the accidents 

 that one occasionally hears of occur. 



There is sometimes also a "bollard, 11 or little up- 

 right post, in the bow of the boat, for making fast 

 the lines to, but many harpooners prefer to dispense 

 with this, using instead the foremost thwart of the 

 boat. 



The boats are invariably painted white outside, 

 in order to make their appearance assimilate as 

 much as possible to that of the ice, and I think it 

 would also be a great advantage to have the crews 

 dressed in caps and jackets of some shiny white ma- 

 terial, which would keep its color in spite of dirt 

 and grease. 



Each boat is usually provided with six harpoon 

 heads, fitting, three on each side, inside of the bow, 

 into little racks covered with curtains of painted 

 canvas to prevent their sharp points and edges from 

 being blunted or accidentally wounding the men. 

 These harpoons are used indifferently for the seal 

 and the walrus, and are, with all their apparent 

 simplicity, the most perfect weapon that can be con- 

 trived for the purpose. "When the instrument is 

 thrust into the animal and his struggles draw tight 

 the line, the larger outer barb takes up, as it were, 

 a loop of his gutta percha-like hid,e or the tough 

 reticulated fibres containing his blubber, while the 

 smaller inner barb, like that of a fish-hook, prevents 



