EXCITING SPORT. 75 



than the old ones, and the whole herd generally 

 accommodate their pace to that of the old cows 

 with young ones. In all my sporting expe- 

 rience I never saw anything to equal the wild 

 excitement of these hunts. Eive pair of oars, 

 pulled with utmost strength, make the boat 

 seem to fly through the water, while, perhaps, 

 a hundred walruses roaring, bellowing, blowing, 

 snorting, and splashing, make an acre of the 

 sea all in a foam before and around her. The 

 harpooner stands with one foot on the thwart 

 and the other on the front locker, with the line 

 coiled in his right hand, and the long weapon 

 in both hands ready balanced for a dart, while 

 he shouts to the crew which direction to take, 

 as he frequently, from standing upright in the 

 boat, can see the walruses under water. 



The herd generally keep close together, and 

 the simultaneousness with which they dive and 

 reappear again is remarkable — one moment you 

 see a hundred grisly heads and long gleaming 

 white tusks above the waves, they give one spout 

 from their blow-holes, take one breath of fresh 

 air, and the next moment you see a hundred 

 brown hemispherical backs, the next a hundred 

 pair of hind-flippers flourishing, and then they 

 are all down. On, on, goes the boat as hard as 



