THE SEA-HORSE. 



341 



WALRUS-HERDS ON THE CLAM SHOALS AT BRISTOL BAY. 



brown hair, growing coarser, thinner, and 

 finally falling out with age. 



In landing and crawling over low, rocky 

 beaches, sheh es, and bowlders, or in drag- 

 ging themselves out on sand-bars, the walrus 

 is as ungainly and as indolent as the sloth ; 

 they crowd up firom the water in slow, 

 labored movements, accompanied by low, 

 swine-like grunts and then by a stifled bellow- 

 ing, like that of oxen. The first walrus out 

 fi-om the water no sooner gets composed 

 upon the ground to bask and sleep than 

 the second one comes along, prodding and 

 poking with its blunted tusks, demanding 

 room, and causing the first to change its 

 position a little farther on and up from the 

 surf; then the second is in turn treated 

 similarh- by the third arrival, and so on ; in 

 this way, a piece of beach or shingle will be 

 packed in the course of a day or two with 

 hundreds and thousands as thickly as they 

 can lie. their heads or posteriors being fre- 

 quently pillowed upon the bodies of one an- 

 other ; and throughout the whole congrega- 

 tion there is nothing like ill-humor evinced. 

 As they pass all the time when on land in 

 sluggish basking or deep sleep, they seem 

 to have an instinctive appreciation of the 

 necessity of keeping watch, and guarding 

 themselves from attack, and this is done 

 satisfactorily by resorting to a somewhat 

 singular though effective method ; whenever 

 a dozing herd of walrus is approached, there 

 are always one or two stirring with their 

 heads high up, snorting and grunting ; these 

 remain on duty only a ver)- brief period, 



usually a few minutes, when they lie down 

 to sleep, but before doing so, they strike 

 and poke the drowsy forms of their nearest 

 companions with their tusks, causing them 

 to rouse up suddenly ; these stand on the 

 alert in turn for a few minutes also, again 

 pass the blow to the next, and resume their 

 pleasant siesta : and thus the signal of 

 danger is incessantly transmitted through- 

 out the whole herd; this disturbance, evi- 

 dently preconcerted among themselves, has 

 the effect of always keeping some four or 

 five of their number more vigilant than 

 their drowsy fellows. 



In moving on land, the walrus has no 

 power in its hind limbs, which are always 

 dragged and hitched up in the rear as the 

 animal slowly and tediously progresses by a 

 succession of short, trembling steps on 

 the stubby fore-flippers. If in good con- 

 dition and undisturbed, the herds will re- 

 main out of the water, in the summer sea- 

 son, and fast in great apparent comfort for 

 a month or six weeks at a time. The ros- 

 iuariis is monogamous, and the difference 

 between the sexes in size, color, and shape 

 is inconsiderable, save in respect to the 

 teeth ; the female is never found to possess 

 as long or as heavy tusks as the male, but 

 her ivory is generally harder and whiter. 

 The walrus mother is devoted to her off- 

 spring, caring for and nursing it nearly a 

 year, but her action in protecting it, as 

 well as herself, is always passive. The 

 writer finds it exceedingly difficult to recon- 

 cile the stories so frequently told of the 



