[Contents]CHAPTER XICHAPTER XIWALRUS HUNTINGAt about six-thirty in the evening of August 16th a little way off Northumberland Island we saw a herd of walrus. They were moving along in the water quite fast, diving now and then and rising up a lot like porpoises. They get their food from the bottom mostly, eating clams and things like that.By the way, Captain Bob does a lot of dredging—that is, we drag a sort of net along the bottom to bring up the sea life there—and here in Whale Sound his hauls are the richest yet. There are clams and great numbers of shrimp. Which of course is why the walrus like it here.In a few minutes the Eskimos were in[117]their kayaks and out after them. It was very interesting to watch. One Eskimo would go ahead of the herd and make a lot of noise to attract their attention. Then the other hunter would come in behind very slowly and quietly and try to get within perhaps a dozen feet and then throw his harpoon with all his force into the walrus. There would be a very loud puff, like steam escaping, as he took breath and then a flip of his tail and he would disappear. The man in the kayak would back off quickly so the walrus wouldn’t come up under him. Then they would watch the float, which is an inflated sealskin, attached to the end of the harpoon line to see which way the harpooned walrus would go.As the float moved off, or was drawn under water by the diving animal, they would follow. It was all very dangerous, and many Eskimos are hurt and killed when angry walrus turn on their frail little boats which one toss of a walrus’ tusks would smash to bits.[118]In attacking the walrus lifts his head and comes down on the thing he is attacking with the end of his sharp tusks, ripping things terribly. I saw them attack several floats that way.Pooadloona Throws His Harpoon at a Walrus.Pooadloona Throws His Harpoon at a Walrus.When the walrus came up, and the men could get close, the same sort of performance was gone through with again. Only this time they would try to get close with their lance, to stick it into the animal to kill him. The other animals in the herd often would stay close to the wounded one, barking and roaring something like a cow mooing, and puffing and blowing water. It is very noisy and very exciting. When the others come close, the Eskimos would bang their paddles on the paddle rest in front of them and yell, to scare off the other walrus who otherwise might attack them. Sometimes when scaring the walrus away they get within three or four feet of them.In a short time there were four walrus[119]harpooned, three of them lanced and dead and ready to be picked up by theMorrissey. We had the launch fast to one of them that was only wounded. We did not want to shoot him, as he had a fine head and the bullet is apt to break the bone structure and hurt it for use as a specimen.Art, Dad and Captain Bob went out in the launch to get him. The Captain wanted to lance him, himself. He told Art to do the shooting with his bow and arrows. Art shot at him seven times, all striking in the neck. He was bleeding badly and getting pretty mad. He would have died from the arrows, but they wanted to finish him as quickly as possible.He pulled so hard that he turned theMorrisseyaround. He was fast to the ship by a native line made of the hide of the bearded seal, or ugsug. Its wonderful strength is shown by its power to pull the vessel about.Walrus on Deck. All the Meat Went to the Eskimos, the Skeletons and Hides to the Museum.Walrus on Deck. All the Meat Went to the Eskimos, the Skeletons and Hides to the Museum.At last he gave up trying to get away and[120]made a rush right at the launch. He sort of got on his back and put a flipper on each side of the bow of the little boat and tore furiously with his tusks at the bottom. We were watching from the deck of theMorrissey, only thirty feet or so away, and we could see the splinters fly. He put two holes right through the boat.The Eskimos were in their kayaks and they and Captain Bob succeeded in lancing the big bull, who once came right up under a kayak which really almost slid right off his back as the kayaker paddled desperately away.After he was dead we hooked the two throat halyards on him and hoisted him on board, which was quite a job. Then we went around to get the other walrus which the hunters had killed. In all there were seven and a little one I will tell about in a minute.A nice thing about this kind of hunting is that not a pound of meat is wasted. As a matter of fact it is a blessing for the Eskimos.[121]Every bit of it is taken by them and used for their own food and for dog food. Our coming just helped them get their supplies. I suppose in all they got four or five tons of meat, what with the walrus and the narwhal.After that Dad, Dan and myself went out in the little rowboat and followed along after two hunters in kayaks. They went right into a herd of about forty and harpooned one and motioned for us to come up and shoot it. There was a good-sized herd within fifty yards of us, puffing, grunting and barking. Now and then stray animals would come up right close to the boat. They look awfully funny with their whiskered faces popping up on the surface and glaring at you like cross old men. Then they give a grunt and a spray of steam and down they go.When they were excited like this they formed sort of a circle with the tusks of all the old bulls facing out toward the hunters. I can’t imagine a more exciting sport. I wish[122]that some day I could learn to use a kayak really well and try getting a walrus myself.“Halitosis,” the Baby Walrus Roped by Carl.“Halitosis,” the Baby Walrus Roped by Carl.When we were pretty close Dad fired five bullets, four of which, I think, hit him in the head and neck. But the rifle is only a 256, not a very big bore, and it didn’t do the work. Then Dan fired a shot with his big high-powered rifle and hit him in the back of the neck and he dropped instantly. This one floated. Many of them sink the minute they are dead.We went back to one that Doc and Kellerman had shot after we picked up the others. Two hunters in kayaks were waiting there. This was a big cow walrus. But most interesting was that beside her in the water were two young walrus. The older was a bull calf, a yearling I suppose.We wanted to get these young ones alive so Carl went for his lasso. Dad rowed Carl out in the little boat. Carl stood up swinging his lasso all ready to throw when he[123]got the chance. They went right up alongside the old cow, who was floating partly out of water.When the tusked calf came up Carl threw the rope, but the first throw slipped off. Then it was evident that the smaller calf, which had no tusks, was easier to get, seeming to be less wild. So Carl went after him and about the third throw got the rope around him, which was quite a job because his head was small and slippery and he dove quickly.There was a great splashing and goings on. The little walrus wasn’t so very little. He weighed about 150 pounds and was as strong as a young bull. Carl hauled the rope in over the stern and finally got more of it around the walrus and sort of hogtied him. Finally they dragged him over to theMorrisseyand he was hauled up on deck with a burton, which is a tackle used to raise and lower the dories. In the meantime the other young walrus had disappeared.Hoisting a Walrus on Board.Hoisting a Walrus on Board.[124]I suppose that perhaps this is the first time that a walrus ever has been captured with a rope. Anyway, it’s certainly the first time this particular cowboy has roped one. I know that polar bears have been roped before.We kept the little walrus on board for two days. Dad called him Halitosis. He didn’t smell so sweet. We tried feeding him milk, and he seemed to take a little, through a hose. He would bark fiercely at everyone. But the really sad thing was to see him when he first came aboard. The bodies of the other walrus were in a great heap on deck. At once he smelled around and found his mother and the poor little fellow got right over to her and sort of snuggled up close to her, quiet as could be.Later Harry killed him painlessly with chloroform and he was embalmed to be taken back just as he was to the American Museum of Natural History.[125]
[Contents]CHAPTER XICHAPTER XIWALRUS HUNTINGAt about six-thirty in the evening of August 16th a little way off Northumberland Island we saw a herd of walrus. They were moving along in the water quite fast, diving now and then and rising up a lot like porpoises. They get their food from the bottom mostly, eating clams and things like that.By the way, Captain Bob does a lot of dredging—that is, we drag a sort of net along the bottom to bring up the sea life there—and here in Whale Sound his hauls are the richest yet. There are clams and great numbers of shrimp. Which of course is why the walrus like it here.In a few minutes the Eskimos were in[117]their kayaks and out after them. It was very interesting to watch. One Eskimo would go ahead of the herd and make a lot of noise to attract their attention. Then the other hunter would come in behind very slowly and quietly and try to get within perhaps a dozen feet and then throw his harpoon with all his force into the walrus. There would be a very loud puff, like steam escaping, as he took breath and then a flip of his tail and he would disappear. The man in the kayak would back off quickly so the walrus wouldn’t come up under him. Then they would watch the float, which is an inflated sealskin, attached to the end of the harpoon line to see which way the harpooned walrus would go.As the float moved off, or was drawn under water by the diving animal, they would follow. It was all very dangerous, and many Eskimos are hurt and killed when angry walrus turn on their frail little boats which one toss of a walrus’ tusks would smash to bits.[118]In attacking the walrus lifts his head and comes down on the thing he is attacking with the end of his sharp tusks, ripping things terribly. I saw them attack several floats that way.Pooadloona Throws His Harpoon at a Walrus.Pooadloona Throws His Harpoon at a Walrus.When the walrus came up, and the men could get close, the same sort of performance was gone through with again. Only this time they would try to get close with their lance, to stick it into the animal to kill him. The other animals in the herd often would stay close to the wounded one, barking and roaring something like a cow mooing, and puffing and blowing water. It is very noisy and very exciting. When the others come close, the Eskimos would bang their paddles on the paddle rest in front of them and yell, to scare off the other walrus who otherwise might attack them. Sometimes when scaring the walrus away they get within three or four feet of them.In a short time there were four walrus[119]harpooned, three of them lanced and dead and ready to be picked up by theMorrissey. We had the launch fast to one of them that was only wounded. We did not want to shoot him, as he had a fine head and the bullet is apt to break the bone structure and hurt it for use as a specimen.Art, Dad and Captain Bob went out in the launch to get him. The Captain wanted to lance him, himself. He told Art to do the shooting with his bow and arrows. Art shot at him seven times, all striking in the neck. He was bleeding badly and getting pretty mad. He would have died from the arrows, but they wanted to finish him as quickly as possible.He pulled so hard that he turned theMorrisseyaround. He was fast to the ship by a native line made of the hide of the bearded seal, or ugsug. Its wonderful strength is shown by its power to pull the vessel about.Walrus on Deck. All the Meat Went to the Eskimos, the Skeletons and Hides to the Museum.Walrus on Deck. All the Meat Went to the Eskimos, the Skeletons and Hides to the Museum.At last he gave up trying to get away and[120]made a rush right at the launch. He sort of got on his back and put a flipper on each side of the bow of the little boat and tore furiously with his tusks at the bottom. We were watching from the deck of theMorrissey, only thirty feet or so away, and we could see the splinters fly. He put two holes right through the boat.The Eskimos were in their kayaks and they and Captain Bob succeeded in lancing the big bull, who once came right up under a kayak which really almost slid right off his back as the kayaker paddled desperately away.After he was dead we hooked the two throat halyards on him and hoisted him on board, which was quite a job. Then we went around to get the other walrus which the hunters had killed. In all there were seven and a little one I will tell about in a minute.A nice thing about this kind of hunting is that not a pound of meat is wasted. As a matter of fact it is a blessing for the Eskimos.[121]Every bit of it is taken by them and used for their own food and for dog food. Our coming just helped them get their supplies. I suppose in all they got four or five tons of meat, what with the walrus and the narwhal.After that Dad, Dan and myself went out in the little rowboat and followed along after two hunters in kayaks. They went right into a herd of about forty and harpooned one and motioned for us to come up and shoot it. There was a good-sized herd within fifty yards of us, puffing, grunting and barking. Now and then stray animals would come up right close to the boat. They look awfully funny with their whiskered faces popping up on the surface and glaring at you like cross old men. Then they give a grunt and a spray of steam and down they go.When they were excited like this they formed sort of a circle with the tusks of all the old bulls facing out toward the hunters. I can’t imagine a more exciting sport. I wish[122]that some day I could learn to use a kayak really well and try getting a walrus myself.“Halitosis,” the Baby Walrus Roped by Carl.“Halitosis,” the Baby Walrus Roped by Carl.When we were pretty close Dad fired five bullets, four of which, I think, hit him in the head and neck. But the rifle is only a 256, not a very big bore, and it didn’t do the work. Then Dan fired a shot with his big high-powered rifle and hit him in the back of the neck and he dropped instantly. This one floated. Many of them sink the minute they are dead.We went back to one that Doc and Kellerman had shot after we picked up the others. Two hunters in kayaks were waiting there. This was a big cow walrus. But most interesting was that beside her in the water were two young walrus. The older was a bull calf, a yearling I suppose.We wanted to get these young ones alive so Carl went for his lasso. Dad rowed Carl out in the little boat. Carl stood up swinging his lasso all ready to throw when he[123]got the chance. They went right up alongside the old cow, who was floating partly out of water.When the tusked calf came up Carl threw the rope, but the first throw slipped off. Then it was evident that the smaller calf, which had no tusks, was easier to get, seeming to be less wild. So Carl went after him and about the third throw got the rope around him, which was quite a job because his head was small and slippery and he dove quickly.There was a great splashing and goings on. The little walrus wasn’t so very little. He weighed about 150 pounds and was as strong as a young bull. Carl hauled the rope in over the stern and finally got more of it around the walrus and sort of hogtied him. Finally they dragged him over to theMorrisseyand he was hauled up on deck with a burton, which is a tackle used to raise and lower the dories. In the meantime the other young walrus had disappeared.Hoisting a Walrus on Board.Hoisting a Walrus on Board.[124]I suppose that perhaps this is the first time that a walrus ever has been captured with a rope. Anyway, it’s certainly the first time this particular cowboy has roped one. I know that polar bears have been roped before.We kept the little walrus on board for two days. Dad called him Halitosis. He didn’t smell so sweet. We tried feeding him milk, and he seemed to take a little, through a hose. He would bark fiercely at everyone. But the really sad thing was to see him when he first came aboard. The bodies of the other walrus were in a great heap on deck. At once he smelled around and found his mother and the poor little fellow got right over to her and sort of snuggled up close to her, quiet as could be.Later Harry killed him painlessly with chloroform and he was embalmed to be taken back just as he was to the American Museum of Natural History.[125]
CHAPTER XICHAPTER XIWALRUS HUNTING
CHAPTER XI
At about six-thirty in the evening of August 16th a little way off Northumberland Island we saw a herd of walrus. They were moving along in the water quite fast, diving now and then and rising up a lot like porpoises. They get their food from the bottom mostly, eating clams and things like that.By the way, Captain Bob does a lot of dredging—that is, we drag a sort of net along the bottom to bring up the sea life there—and here in Whale Sound his hauls are the richest yet. There are clams and great numbers of shrimp. Which of course is why the walrus like it here.In a few minutes the Eskimos were in[117]their kayaks and out after them. It was very interesting to watch. One Eskimo would go ahead of the herd and make a lot of noise to attract their attention. Then the other hunter would come in behind very slowly and quietly and try to get within perhaps a dozen feet and then throw his harpoon with all his force into the walrus. There would be a very loud puff, like steam escaping, as he took breath and then a flip of his tail and he would disappear. The man in the kayak would back off quickly so the walrus wouldn’t come up under him. Then they would watch the float, which is an inflated sealskin, attached to the end of the harpoon line to see which way the harpooned walrus would go.As the float moved off, or was drawn under water by the diving animal, they would follow. It was all very dangerous, and many Eskimos are hurt and killed when angry walrus turn on their frail little boats which one toss of a walrus’ tusks would smash to bits.[118]In attacking the walrus lifts his head and comes down on the thing he is attacking with the end of his sharp tusks, ripping things terribly. I saw them attack several floats that way.Pooadloona Throws His Harpoon at a Walrus.Pooadloona Throws His Harpoon at a Walrus.When the walrus came up, and the men could get close, the same sort of performance was gone through with again. Only this time they would try to get close with their lance, to stick it into the animal to kill him. The other animals in the herd often would stay close to the wounded one, barking and roaring something like a cow mooing, and puffing and blowing water. It is very noisy and very exciting. When the others come close, the Eskimos would bang their paddles on the paddle rest in front of them and yell, to scare off the other walrus who otherwise might attack them. Sometimes when scaring the walrus away they get within three or four feet of them.In a short time there were four walrus[119]harpooned, three of them lanced and dead and ready to be picked up by theMorrissey. We had the launch fast to one of them that was only wounded. We did not want to shoot him, as he had a fine head and the bullet is apt to break the bone structure and hurt it for use as a specimen.Art, Dad and Captain Bob went out in the launch to get him. The Captain wanted to lance him, himself. He told Art to do the shooting with his bow and arrows. Art shot at him seven times, all striking in the neck. He was bleeding badly and getting pretty mad. He would have died from the arrows, but they wanted to finish him as quickly as possible.He pulled so hard that he turned theMorrisseyaround. He was fast to the ship by a native line made of the hide of the bearded seal, or ugsug. Its wonderful strength is shown by its power to pull the vessel about.Walrus on Deck. All the Meat Went to the Eskimos, the Skeletons and Hides to the Museum.Walrus on Deck. All the Meat Went to the Eskimos, the Skeletons and Hides to the Museum.At last he gave up trying to get away and[120]made a rush right at the launch. He sort of got on his back and put a flipper on each side of the bow of the little boat and tore furiously with his tusks at the bottom. We were watching from the deck of theMorrissey, only thirty feet or so away, and we could see the splinters fly. He put two holes right through the boat.The Eskimos were in their kayaks and they and Captain Bob succeeded in lancing the big bull, who once came right up under a kayak which really almost slid right off his back as the kayaker paddled desperately away.After he was dead we hooked the two throat halyards on him and hoisted him on board, which was quite a job. Then we went around to get the other walrus which the hunters had killed. In all there were seven and a little one I will tell about in a minute.A nice thing about this kind of hunting is that not a pound of meat is wasted. As a matter of fact it is a blessing for the Eskimos.[121]Every bit of it is taken by them and used for their own food and for dog food. Our coming just helped them get their supplies. I suppose in all they got four or five tons of meat, what with the walrus and the narwhal.After that Dad, Dan and myself went out in the little rowboat and followed along after two hunters in kayaks. They went right into a herd of about forty and harpooned one and motioned for us to come up and shoot it. There was a good-sized herd within fifty yards of us, puffing, grunting and barking. Now and then stray animals would come up right close to the boat. They look awfully funny with their whiskered faces popping up on the surface and glaring at you like cross old men. Then they give a grunt and a spray of steam and down they go.When they were excited like this they formed sort of a circle with the tusks of all the old bulls facing out toward the hunters. I can’t imagine a more exciting sport. I wish[122]that some day I could learn to use a kayak really well and try getting a walrus myself.“Halitosis,” the Baby Walrus Roped by Carl.“Halitosis,” the Baby Walrus Roped by Carl.When we were pretty close Dad fired five bullets, four of which, I think, hit him in the head and neck. But the rifle is only a 256, not a very big bore, and it didn’t do the work. Then Dan fired a shot with his big high-powered rifle and hit him in the back of the neck and he dropped instantly. This one floated. Many of them sink the minute they are dead.We went back to one that Doc and Kellerman had shot after we picked up the others. Two hunters in kayaks were waiting there. This was a big cow walrus. But most interesting was that beside her in the water were two young walrus. The older was a bull calf, a yearling I suppose.We wanted to get these young ones alive so Carl went for his lasso. Dad rowed Carl out in the little boat. Carl stood up swinging his lasso all ready to throw when he[123]got the chance. They went right up alongside the old cow, who was floating partly out of water.When the tusked calf came up Carl threw the rope, but the first throw slipped off. Then it was evident that the smaller calf, which had no tusks, was easier to get, seeming to be less wild. So Carl went after him and about the third throw got the rope around him, which was quite a job because his head was small and slippery and he dove quickly.There was a great splashing and goings on. The little walrus wasn’t so very little. He weighed about 150 pounds and was as strong as a young bull. Carl hauled the rope in over the stern and finally got more of it around the walrus and sort of hogtied him. Finally they dragged him over to theMorrisseyand he was hauled up on deck with a burton, which is a tackle used to raise and lower the dories. In the meantime the other young walrus had disappeared.Hoisting a Walrus on Board.Hoisting a Walrus on Board.[124]I suppose that perhaps this is the first time that a walrus ever has been captured with a rope. Anyway, it’s certainly the first time this particular cowboy has roped one. I know that polar bears have been roped before.We kept the little walrus on board for two days. Dad called him Halitosis. He didn’t smell so sweet. We tried feeding him milk, and he seemed to take a little, through a hose. He would bark fiercely at everyone. But the really sad thing was to see him when he first came aboard. The bodies of the other walrus were in a great heap on deck. At once he smelled around and found his mother and the poor little fellow got right over to her and sort of snuggled up close to her, quiet as could be.Later Harry killed him painlessly with chloroform and he was embalmed to be taken back just as he was to the American Museum of Natural History.[125]
At about six-thirty in the evening of August 16th a little way off Northumberland Island we saw a herd of walrus. They were moving along in the water quite fast, diving now and then and rising up a lot like porpoises. They get their food from the bottom mostly, eating clams and things like that.
By the way, Captain Bob does a lot of dredging—that is, we drag a sort of net along the bottom to bring up the sea life there—and here in Whale Sound his hauls are the richest yet. There are clams and great numbers of shrimp. Which of course is why the walrus like it here.
In a few minutes the Eskimos were in[117]their kayaks and out after them. It was very interesting to watch. One Eskimo would go ahead of the herd and make a lot of noise to attract their attention. Then the other hunter would come in behind very slowly and quietly and try to get within perhaps a dozen feet and then throw his harpoon with all his force into the walrus. There would be a very loud puff, like steam escaping, as he took breath and then a flip of his tail and he would disappear. The man in the kayak would back off quickly so the walrus wouldn’t come up under him. Then they would watch the float, which is an inflated sealskin, attached to the end of the harpoon line to see which way the harpooned walrus would go.
As the float moved off, or was drawn under water by the diving animal, they would follow. It was all very dangerous, and many Eskimos are hurt and killed when angry walrus turn on their frail little boats which one toss of a walrus’ tusks would smash to bits.[118]In attacking the walrus lifts his head and comes down on the thing he is attacking with the end of his sharp tusks, ripping things terribly. I saw them attack several floats that way.
Pooadloona Throws His Harpoon at a Walrus.Pooadloona Throws His Harpoon at a Walrus.
Pooadloona Throws His Harpoon at a Walrus.
When the walrus came up, and the men could get close, the same sort of performance was gone through with again. Only this time they would try to get close with their lance, to stick it into the animal to kill him. The other animals in the herd often would stay close to the wounded one, barking and roaring something like a cow mooing, and puffing and blowing water. It is very noisy and very exciting. When the others come close, the Eskimos would bang their paddles on the paddle rest in front of them and yell, to scare off the other walrus who otherwise might attack them. Sometimes when scaring the walrus away they get within three or four feet of them.
In a short time there were four walrus[119]harpooned, three of them lanced and dead and ready to be picked up by theMorrissey. We had the launch fast to one of them that was only wounded. We did not want to shoot him, as he had a fine head and the bullet is apt to break the bone structure and hurt it for use as a specimen.
Art, Dad and Captain Bob went out in the launch to get him. The Captain wanted to lance him, himself. He told Art to do the shooting with his bow and arrows. Art shot at him seven times, all striking in the neck. He was bleeding badly and getting pretty mad. He would have died from the arrows, but they wanted to finish him as quickly as possible.
He pulled so hard that he turned theMorrisseyaround. He was fast to the ship by a native line made of the hide of the bearded seal, or ugsug. Its wonderful strength is shown by its power to pull the vessel about.
Walrus on Deck. All the Meat Went to the Eskimos, the Skeletons and Hides to the Museum.Walrus on Deck. All the Meat Went to the Eskimos, the Skeletons and Hides to the Museum.
Walrus on Deck. All the Meat Went to the Eskimos, the Skeletons and Hides to the Museum.
At last he gave up trying to get away and[120]made a rush right at the launch. He sort of got on his back and put a flipper on each side of the bow of the little boat and tore furiously with his tusks at the bottom. We were watching from the deck of theMorrissey, only thirty feet or so away, and we could see the splinters fly. He put two holes right through the boat.
The Eskimos were in their kayaks and they and Captain Bob succeeded in lancing the big bull, who once came right up under a kayak which really almost slid right off his back as the kayaker paddled desperately away.
After he was dead we hooked the two throat halyards on him and hoisted him on board, which was quite a job. Then we went around to get the other walrus which the hunters had killed. In all there were seven and a little one I will tell about in a minute.
A nice thing about this kind of hunting is that not a pound of meat is wasted. As a matter of fact it is a blessing for the Eskimos.[121]Every bit of it is taken by them and used for their own food and for dog food. Our coming just helped them get their supplies. I suppose in all they got four or five tons of meat, what with the walrus and the narwhal.
After that Dad, Dan and myself went out in the little rowboat and followed along after two hunters in kayaks. They went right into a herd of about forty and harpooned one and motioned for us to come up and shoot it. There was a good-sized herd within fifty yards of us, puffing, grunting and barking. Now and then stray animals would come up right close to the boat. They look awfully funny with their whiskered faces popping up on the surface and glaring at you like cross old men. Then they give a grunt and a spray of steam and down they go.
When they were excited like this they formed sort of a circle with the tusks of all the old bulls facing out toward the hunters. I can’t imagine a more exciting sport. I wish[122]that some day I could learn to use a kayak really well and try getting a walrus myself.
“Halitosis,” the Baby Walrus Roped by Carl.“Halitosis,” the Baby Walrus Roped by Carl.
“Halitosis,” the Baby Walrus Roped by Carl.
When we were pretty close Dad fired five bullets, four of which, I think, hit him in the head and neck. But the rifle is only a 256, not a very big bore, and it didn’t do the work. Then Dan fired a shot with his big high-powered rifle and hit him in the back of the neck and he dropped instantly. This one floated. Many of them sink the minute they are dead.
We went back to one that Doc and Kellerman had shot after we picked up the others. Two hunters in kayaks were waiting there. This was a big cow walrus. But most interesting was that beside her in the water were two young walrus. The older was a bull calf, a yearling I suppose.
We wanted to get these young ones alive so Carl went for his lasso. Dad rowed Carl out in the little boat. Carl stood up swinging his lasso all ready to throw when he[123]got the chance. They went right up alongside the old cow, who was floating partly out of water.
When the tusked calf came up Carl threw the rope, but the first throw slipped off. Then it was evident that the smaller calf, which had no tusks, was easier to get, seeming to be less wild. So Carl went after him and about the third throw got the rope around him, which was quite a job because his head was small and slippery and he dove quickly.
There was a great splashing and goings on. The little walrus wasn’t so very little. He weighed about 150 pounds and was as strong as a young bull. Carl hauled the rope in over the stern and finally got more of it around the walrus and sort of hogtied him. Finally they dragged him over to theMorrisseyand he was hauled up on deck with a burton, which is a tackle used to raise and lower the dories. In the meantime the other young walrus had disappeared.
Hoisting a Walrus on Board.Hoisting a Walrus on Board.
Hoisting a Walrus on Board.
[124]
I suppose that perhaps this is the first time that a walrus ever has been captured with a rope. Anyway, it’s certainly the first time this particular cowboy has roped one. I know that polar bears have been roped before.
We kept the little walrus on board for two days. Dad called him Halitosis. He didn’t smell so sweet. We tried feeding him milk, and he seemed to take a little, through a hose. He would bark fiercely at everyone. But the really sad thing was to see him when he first came aboard. The bodies of the other walrus were in a great heap on deck. At once he smelled around and found his mother and the poor little fellow got right over to her and sort of snuggled up close to her, quiet as could be.
Later Harry killed him painlessly with chloroform and he was embalmed to be taken back just as he was to the American Museum of Natural History.[125]