134 Anecdotal Natural History. 



procured the whole of the paraphernalia for obtaining 

 fish. The oil is burnt in the lamps, without which 

 life would be an impossibility, and, in fact, the walrus 

 is to these people what the camel is to the Arab, or 

 the bison to the North-American Indian, a necessary 

 adjunct to existence. 



Only a short time before these lines were written, 

 an entire tribe of Esquimaux perished because the 

 walrus had deserted their coasts. 



So needful do these tribes consider the walrus, that 

 it is almost impossible to persuade them that life in 

 any form is possible without the animals. They even 

 carry the idea to a further pitch, and refuse to believe 

 in the possibility of a future state of existence unless 

 plenty of walrus are to be procurable. In vain the 

 missionaries tried every means in their power to con- 

 vince them into a belief in the Christian religion. 

 ' No walrus, no heaven,' was the terse and conclusive 

 answer, and there the matter had to rest. 



Man is not the only being who recognises the 

 merits of the walrus, for the Polar bear is fully aware 

 of the advantages accruing to the fortunate slayer of 

 the animal. He attacks it in a singular but very 

 effectual manner. 



Creeping closely up to the unconscious monster as 

 it lies sleeping upon the shore, he leaps suddenly 

 upon its back, clings to it with his hind feet and one 

 of his fore feet, and delivers a series of tremendous 

 blows upon its head with his unoccupied paw. 

 Usually, this plan succeeds in a very short time, the 

 mighty strokes first stunning the walrus, and at last 

 smashing the skull. 



Now and then, however, with an old and excep- 

 tionally thick-headed animal, the tables are reversed, 

 the walrus plunging into the sea and carrying its 

 opponent beneath the surface, where, in a few 



