234 TENACITY OF LIFE IN A EEINDEER. 



knots an hour, a rate of speed wMcli seemed to 

 us little short of miraculous, after the perfor- 

 mances of the " Anna Louisa." 



The vacht's crew were all in s^ood health and 

 spirits. They had killed seven fat reindeer 

 and one seal, after an expenditure of between 

 five and six hundred rounds of ammunition. 

 The British sailor is generally a most enthu- 

 siastic, but lamentably unsuccessful sportsman, 

 and we were exceedingly amused by 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 oif. Sir, — and 

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

 Sir, 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- 



