LOSS OF A HARPOON. 193 



poon into his posteriors ; the line ran to the end, 

 and then, the boat being fast against the ice, it 

 snapped like a thread, and the walrus was lost. 

 This had been an old line, much used, and, before 

 leaving the iceberg where we had killed the last 

 ones, I had pointed out a weak place in it to 

 Christian, and requested him to change it or to 

 splice out the defective part ; he had, however, 

 contented himself with tying a big ugly knot across 

 the flaw, and at that knot the line gave way; I 

 therefore blamed the harpooner for the loss of this 

 walrus ; but probably, under the circumstances, any 

 line would have given way in like manner. 



We then found three large bulls, two of which 

 were asleep, but the third one, acting as look-out, 

 kicked his friends awake on our approaching to 

 forty or fifty yards' distance. I shot the best one 

 on the side of the head with two barrels, but all 

 three got into the water, the wounded one bleeding 

 most profusely. We followed them for six or seven 

 dives, in hopes of securing this one ; but, although 

 he was very sick and faint, the others kept close to 

 him, and always gave him timous notice when to 

 dive ; at last I shot the two sound ones through 

 the head, one after the other; but there was now 

 a considerable sea running, and the boat was so 

 heavy with skins and blubber that they both sank 

 before we could harpoon them. After his pro- 

 tectors were gone, I made sure of getting the one 

 first wounded, but after getting close to him once 



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