DEPLETION OF THE WALRUS HERD 145 



hibited in the New York Zoological Park an Atlantic walrus 

 four years old that weighs 406 pounds, and is in perfect 

 health. 



Heretofore steamers bearing gold-miners to Cape Nome 

 passed through herds of Walrus in Bering Sea, and many of 

 the animals were killed, wastefuUy and wantonly, by passen- 

 gers firing from the decks, with no possibility of securing a 

 single victim. As elsewhere, the instinct of man in the far 

 North is to slay and slay, and preserve no living thing. 



The Walrus has been hunted so diligently for its oil that 

 to-day very few remain, and the natives who once depended 

 solely upon this animal for food, fuel, lights, boats, dog 

 harness, and leather for all purposes now are on the verge 

 of starvation, and are really kept alive by public bounty. 

 Previous to our purchase of Alaska, about 10,000 Walrus 

 were killed annually by the Eskimo, and utilized. In the 

 long, hard winter of 1879-80, when the sea was frozen all 

 around St. Lawrence Island, for many miles in every direc- 

 tion, the Walrus herds were forced to remain so far away 

 that all the inhabitants of the island, save one small settle- 

 ment, died of starvation. 



At present (1914) there is grave cause for alarm concern- 

 ing the ultimate fate of the Pacific Walrus. Owing to the 

 unfortunate fact that Bering Sea, and the Arctic Ocean north 

 of it, are waters open to the game-hogs of all nations, the 

 herds are at the mercy of all those who choose to slaughter 

 them. They are being attacked viciously, at many different 

 points, always with great slaughter. The latest news is to 

 the effect that the Norwegian whalers are now in Bering Sea 



