THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 671 



stopped, for the walrus had become alarmed and gone down. In 

 another direction an excited group of Esquimaux was seen, one 

 throwing a lance, another holding onto a line, for a walrus had 

 been struck. With some difficulty Hall gained this group, but 

 only to find the ice reddened with blood without any further ap- 

 pearance of the animal. He soon learned that a very large walrus 

 had been harpooned and lanced almost to death, but that the har- 

 poon had slipped out, leaving the lance-head, so that the animal 

 had escaped. 



Hall hastened to a second group of Innuits, who were as busily 

 occupied as the first, and in a few moments found himself pulling 

 away with others on a line which was fast to a large walrus. 

 After a few pulls, the half-killed animal came up in a flouncing, 

 tumbling way. He was furiously mad. He had not only been 

 harpooned, but lanced and lanced again and again, so that at 

 every blow, quarts of thick dark blood were thrown up, scatter- 

 ing itself about, painting the ice, the dogs, and the party with a 

 crimson hue. 



A hard death did this one die. He fought desperately, but 

 steel and sinewy arms, under the control of cool, 'courageous 

 hearts, finally conquered. As often as he came up to blow, lie 

 was met by the lance of the harpooner, who thrust it quick and 

 deep into the heart and churned away until the walrus withdrew 

 by diving under the ice and flippering away to the length of the 

 line. Then, at each new appearance, he would fasten his long 

 ivory tusk (one had been broken off, probably in some fight), 

 upon the edge of the ice, and turning his blazing, yet blood-shot 

 eyes around, would dash at his nearest enemy, the very incarna- 

 tion of madness ; failing to do injury, after each futile blow, he 

 would dive down again, drawing the line with great rapidity after 

 him. When he came up to breathe, which he did several times 

 through different holes, resting with his tusk hooked onto the 

 edge of the ice, he expelled through his white-walled mouth a 

 frightful stream of hot life-blood, and as the hungry dogs rushed 

 up fearlessly to the very fountain whence the luscious, savory 

 gore issued, the dying walrus quickly raised his Jiead an 4 struck 



