A RACE FOR A WALRUS. 145 



CHAPTER X. 



Boat-race. — Visit. — Ingenious Harpoon. — Hippopotamus. — 

 Phoca Vitulina, or Little Seal. — Phoca Hispida, or Jan May- 

 en Seal. — Dreadful Smell of Cargo. — Ferocity of young 

 Bear. — Drift-ice. — Stones and Clay on Icebergs. — Warm 

 Day. — Beautiful Caverns in the Ice. — Upset of an Iceberg. 

 — Young Ice. — Noises from Glacier. — Crimping a "Walrus. 

 — Ivory Gulls. — See a Bear. — Curious Delusion. — Gulf 

 Stream and Arctic Current. — Danger of getting embayed. 

 — Narrow Escape. 



28th. Fog- in the morning confined us to the 

 sloop during the early part of the day. 



When it cleared, a schooner was in sight not far 

 off, and a herd of walruses on the ice about equi- 

 distant from the two vessels. We lowered a boat 

 with all dispatch; but the schooner's people, see- 

 ing us do so, lowered away also, and we had a rath- 

 er exciting race up to the walruses. The rival boat, 

 being rather lighter than ours, got a length or two 

 ahead of us, and we lay on our oars, so as not to 

 spoil the chance for them ; but the walruses took 

 the alarm, and neither of us got any. 



The skyppar of the schooner came on board in 

 the afternoon to try to beg, borrow, or buy a rifle 

 from us, as he had been so unlucky as to break or 

 lose all the four belonging to his vessel. We ex- 

 pressed our regret at being unable to oblige him ; 



K 



