126 HUNTING IN THE ARCTIC 



this condition it extended to the Siberian coast at Cape 

 North. Apparently the entire sea north of the Siberian 

 Coast and west of Wrangell Island was filled with heavy- 

 pack-ice." 



By morning we had found an opening into a bight of 

 the ice, fairly clear but with many broken fragments 

 inside the barrier, to windward of which we had soimded 

 twenty fathoms. Round and round this we cruised, 

 looking for walrus, all morning, without success. Then 

 one of the sailors saw a large herd climbing up on a floe 

 about one and a half miles away. With our glasses we 

 could see their numbers steadily increasing and the dark 

 patch they formed spreading over the floe. New can- 

 didates for positions on the ice swam up to the edge look- 

 ing for a foothold, and before giving up would make the 

 circuit of the pan. Others floated near by. Still more 

 rose and dived continually. Down the wind came to us 

 the chorus of grunts as the walrus squabbled among 

 themselves for comfortable postures. 



Elting, Lovering and Kleinschmidt pushed off in the 

 two kayaks lashed together, but mistook the direction 

 and made a very wide detour, having to climb several 

 ice hills before finding the herd. Finally they reached 

 the floe and after repeated attempts to get to close 

 range succeeded in arriving within seventy-three yards. 

 Elting knocked down and, to all appearances, killed 

 one walrus, which fell over and made no move. He 

 wounded another, which slipped off the floe and imme- 

 diately climbed back again. In spite of Elting's attempt 

 to hit him once more he got off, and then to our surprise 

 the dead one suddenly rolled over and was lost, followed 

 by a bullet from the gum. Lovering did not fire. 



The latter sighted another herd after dinner, but it 



