WALRUS HUNTING
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 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. 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.
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 harpooned, three of them lanced
and dead and ready to be picked up by the Morrissey. 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 the Morrissey around. 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.
At last he gave up trying to get away and 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 the Morrissey, 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. 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 that some day I could learn to
use a kayak really well and try getting a walrus myself.
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 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 the Morrissey and 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.
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.