ARCTIC WALRUS. 
321 
and the whale-tailed manati ; who together form a 
connecting link in the great chain of nature, that 
gradually descends till we lose the quadruped in the 
fish. 
The body of the arctic walrus is very thick in 
the middle, and lessens gradually towards the tail. 
The skin, which is two inches thick about the neck, 
and half that substance in the other parts of the 
body, is covered with short hair of a mouse colour. 
It has a round head, and two little fiery eyes sunk a 
finger’s depth in the sockets ; the mouth is very 
small, and surrounded with great whiskers composed 
of transparent bristles as thick as a straw. Two large 
tusks, bending downwards, are seen in the upper 
jaw. In the icy sea, where these creatures are rarely 
molested, and consequently attain their full size, a 
single tusk has been known to weigh twenty pounds. 
The legs of the walrus are very short, and the feet 
are webbed, with a small blunt nail on each toe. The 
larger animals of this species have sometimes been 
known to measure eighteen feet in length, and to 
weigh from fifteen hundred to two thousand pounds. 
These animals are generally seen collected together 
upon a floating piece of ice, where they lie as close 
to each other as possible, and upon the least alarm 
plunge into the water and disappear. Sea plants; 
fish, and shells, form their principal food ; which 
they collect with the assistance of their great teeth. 
They are said to be perfectly harmless, except when 
wounded or attacked; then indeed they become ex- 
ceedingly fierce and vindictive, plunging with their 
Y ' * 
VOL. I. 
