194 ADVENTURES IN THE NORTHERN SEAS. 



or twice more, we lost sight of him among the ice, 

 and saw him no more. 



The sloop was now six or seven miles off, and 

 we had a weary row of several hours, against a 

 heavy sea, which nearly swamped the deep-laden 

 boat, and prevented us getting on board until past 

 midnight. 



No one who has not tried it will readily believe 

 how extremely difficult it is to shoot an old bull- 

 walrus clean dead. The front or sides of his head 

 may be knocked all to pieces with bullets, and the 

 animal yet have sense and strength sufficient left 

 him to enable him to swim and dive out of reach. 

 If he is lying on his side, with his back turned to 

 his assailant, it is easy enough, as the brain is then 

 quite exposed, and the crown of the head is easily 

 penetrated ; but one rarely gets the walrus in that 

 position, and when it so happer.s, it is generally 

 better policy to harpoon him without shooting. 



By firing at an old bull directly facing you, it is 

 almost impossible to kill him ; but if half-front to 

 you, a shot just above the eye may prove fatal. If 

 sideways, he can only be killed by aiming about six 

 inches behind the eye, and about one fourth of the 

 apparent depth of his head from the top ; but the 

 eye, of course, can not be seen unless the animal is 

 very close to you, and the difficulty is enormously 

 increased by the back of the head being so im- 

 bedded in fat as to appear as if it were part of the 

 neck. 



