5l8 FARTHEST NORTH 



food ; and if we needed more the water was full of auks 

 and other food, so there was no dearth. 



The walruses here were innumerable. The herds 

 that had been lying on the ice and had now disappeared 

 were large ; but there had been many more in the water 

 outside. It seemed to seethe with them on every side, 

 o-reat and small ; and when I estimate their number to 

 have been at least 300, it is certainly not over the mark. 



At 1.30 the next morning (Monday, June 15th) we 

 proceeded on our way in beautifully calm weather. As 

 walruses swarmed on all sides, we did not much like 

 paddling singly, and for some distance lashed the kayaks 

 together ; for we knew how obtrusive these gentlemen 

 could be. The day before they had come pretty near, 

 popped up close beside my kayak, and several times fol- 

 lowed us closelv a lono- distance, but without doin^r us 

 any harm. I was inclined to think it was curiosity, and 

 that they were not really dangerous ; but Johansen was 

 not so sure of this. He thought we had had experience 

 to the contrary, and urged that at any rate caution could 

 do no harm. All day long we saw herds, that often fol- 

 lowed us a long way, pressing in round the kayaks. We 

 kept close to the edge of the ice ; and if any came too 

 near, we put in, if possible, on an ice-foot.* We also 

 kept close together or beside one another. We paddled 



* The ice-foot is the part of a floe which often projects into the water 

 under the surface. It is formed through the thawing of the upper part of 

 the ice in the summer-time by the warmer surface layer of the sea. 



