MAMMALS AND BIEDS OP PRINCE OF WALES SOUND. 117 



Walrus (Trichechus Rosmarus, Linn) Iviuk, E$k. : 



The Walrus is not numerous at any time in the Sound, and disap- 

 jjears altogether in July, not returning again until about the middle 

 of November ; it is then eagerly looked for by the Eskimo, who may 

 be seen exploring the ice from a neighboui'ing hill with their tele- 

 scopes, and occasionally walking out to the open water when one is 

 sighted. 



During my stay here very few of these animals were seen, and of 

 those taken, only one was an adult specimen, the othei's all being 

 very young. 



The tusks of the walriis are of great value to the Eskimo for 

 sjjear heads, and for man5'' other purposes, the ivory often being sawn 

 into lengths and used in shoeing their sleighs. 



Great S'ea'l (Phoca Barbata., 0. Fah) Oog-jook Esk.: 



This is the lai^gest of all the seals found in these waters, and next 

 to the deer it is perhaps the most iiseful animal to the Eskimo. 



It arrives in the Sound soon after the ice has broken up, about the 

 end of June, and although never very numerous they are taken fi-om 

 that time until the Strait again fills with ice towards the end of 

 October. 



In common with other seals they are shot or harpooned either while 

 they sleep on the ice or while swimming in the open water. The 

 Eskimo say the Great Seal has never been known to breed here, and 

 all those taken during my stay must have been over five months old. 



The skin of this seal is used in making kyaks or boats, and harpoon 

 lines of great length are made from it by cutting the skin in a narrow 

 strip round the body, as you would peel an apple. It is also used 

 for the soles of boots, the hair being first scraped ofi" and the skin 

 then dried in the sun, and afterwards going through a process of 

 chewing by the female Eskimo. 



Harp Seal (Phoca Qrcenlandica), (Kyro-Uk, Eskimo). 



The Harp Seal, so named from a distinct mark of the harp of Erin 

 upon its back, arrives in the Sound a little later than the Great Seal 

 and is much more numerous, leaving again as soon as the ice ap- 

 proaches in Octobei\ It does not often take to the ice, bxit may be 

 seen swimming a short distance fi'om land and is seldom alone, there 

 almost invariably being several togethei-. 



