234 TENACITY OF LIFE IN A ^lEINDEEIl. 



knots an hour, a rate of speed wliicli seemed to 

 us little short of miraculous, after the perfor- 

 mances of the " Anna Louisa." 



The yacht's crew were all in good health and 

 spirits. They had killed seven fat reindeer 

 and one seal, after an expenditure of hetween 

 five and six hundred rounds of ammunition. 

 The British sailor is generally a most enthu- 

 siastic, hut lamentahly unsuccessful sportsman, 

 and we were exceedingly amused hy the way 

 they described their sporting exploits. The 

 mate told me "he never saw hanimals so hard 

 to kill as the reindeer in his life. Why, Sir," 

 said he, " there was one fellow I fired at, and 

 broke his hind leg — broke it right off. Sir, — and 

 even that didn't kill him ; and, Lord bless you, 

 Su% he ran much faster on three legs than I 

 could ; then I shot him through the head. Sir, 

 and made his jaw hang down ; but even that 

 didn't kill him till I got up nearer him, and 

 gave him a settler." 



Another sailor gravely told me that he had 

 fired at a white whale from the beach and 

 wounded him, upon which the infuriated mon- 

 ster ran right ashore in its frantic efforts " to 

 get at him.'" 



Their description of a walrus-hunt, however, 

 was quite the most refreshing sporting narra- 



