The three boats were proceeding abreast, slowly but steadily over the
still calm sea, when their attention was attracted by a sudden and
tremendous splash or upheaval of water, just off what the Captain styled
his "port bow." At the same moment the head of a walrus appeared on the
surface like a gigantic black bladder. It seemed to be as large as the
head of a small elephant, and its ivory tusks were not less than two
feet long. There was a square bluntness about the creature's head, and
a savage look about its little bloodshot eyes, which gave to it a very
hideous aspect. Its bristling moustache, each hair of which was six
inches long, and as thick as a crow quill, dripped with brine, and it
raised itself high out of the water, turning its head from side to side
with a rapidity and litheness of action that one would not have expected
in an animal so unwieldy. Evidently it was looking eagerly for
something.
Catching sight of the three boats, it seemed to have found what it
looked for, and made straight at them. Leo quietly got ready his
Winchester repeater, a rifle which, as the reader probably knows, can
discharge a dozen or more shots in rapid succession; the cartridges
being contained in a case resembling a thick ram-rod under the barrel,
from which they are thrust almost instantaneously into their places.
But before the creature gained the boats, a second great upheaval of
water took place, and another walrus appeared. This was the real enemy
of whom he had been in quest. Both were bulls of the largest and most
ferocious description. No sooner did they behold each other, than, with
a roar, something betwixt a bark and a bellow, they collided, and a
furious fight began. The sea was churned into foam around them as they
rolled, reared, spurned, and drove their tusks into each other's skulls
and shoulders.
The boats lay quietly by, their occupants looking on with interest. The
Eskimos were particularly excited, but no one spoke or acted. They all
seemed fascinated by the fight.
Soon one and another and another walrus-head came up out of the sea, and
then it was understood that a number of cow walruses had come to witness
the combat! But the human audience paid little regard to these, so much
were they engrossed by the chief actors.
It might have been thought, from the position of their tusks, which are
simply an enlargement and prolongation of the canine teeth, that these
combatants could only strike with them in a downward direction, but this
was not so. On the contrary, they turned their thick necks with so much
ease and rapidity that they could strike in all directions with equal
force, and numerous were the wounds inflicted on either side, as the
blood-red foam soon testified.
We have said that the human spectators of the scene remained inactive,
but, at the first pause, the Captain said he thought they might as well
put a stop to the fight, and advised Leo to give one of them a shot.
"We'll not be the worse for a fresh steak," he added to Benjy, as Leo
was taking aim.
The effect of the shot was very unexpected. One of the bulls was hit,
but evidently not in a deadly manner, for the motion of the boat had
disturbed Leo's aim. Each combatant turned with a look of wild surprise
at the interruptor, and, as not unfrequently happens in cases of
interference with fights, both made a furious rush at him. At the same
moment, all the cows seemed to be smitten with pugnacity, and joined in
the attack. There was barely time to get ready, when the furious
animals were upon them. Guns and rifles were pointed, axes and spears
grasped, and oars gripped. Even the women seized each a spear, and
stood on the defensive. A simultaneous volley checked the enemy for a
moment, and sent one of the cows to the bottom; but with a furious
bellow they charged again.
The great anxiety of the defenders was to prevent the monsters from
getting close to the boats, so as to hook on to them with their tusks,
which would probably have overturned them, or penetrated the inflated
sides. In either case, destruction would have been inevitable, and it
was only by the active use of oar, axe, and spear that this was
prevented.
Twice did one of the bulls charge the Captain's boat, and on both
occasions he was met by the tremendous might of Chingatok, who planted
the end of an oar on his blunt nose, and thrust him off. On each
occasion, also, he received a shot from the double barrel of Benjy, who
fired the first time into his open mouth, and the second time into his
eye, but an angry cough from the one, and a wink from the other showed
that he did not mind it much. Meantime the Captain, with the Winchester
repeater, was endeavouring--but vainly, owing to the motions of the
giant, and the swaying of the boat--to get a shot at the beast, while
Toolooha, with an axe, was coquetting with a somewhat timid cow near the
stern.
At last an opportunity offered. Captain Vane poured half a dozen balls
as quick as he could fire into the head of the bull, which immediately
sank.
Not less vigorously did the occupants of the other boats receive the
charge. Leo, being more active than the Captain, as well as more expert
with his repeater, slew his male opponent in shorter time, and with less
expenditure of ammunition. Butterface, too, gained much credit by the
prompt manner in which he split the skull of one animal with an axe.
Even Oblooria, the timid, rose to the occasion, and displayed
unlooked-for heroism. With a barbed seal-spear she stood up and invited
a baby walrus to come on--by looks, not by words. The baby accepted the
invitation--perhaps, being a pugnacious baby, it was coming on at any
rate--and Oblooria gave it a vigorous dab on the nose. It resented the
insult by shaking its head fiercely, and endeavouring to back off, but
the barb had sunk into the wound and held on. Oblooria also held on.
Oolichuk, having just driven off a cow walrus, happened to observe the
situation, and held on to Oblooria. The baby walrus was secured, and,
almost as soon as the old bull was slain, had a line attached to it, and
was made fast to the stern.
"Well done, little girl!" exclaimed Oolichuk in admiration, "you're
almost as good as a man."
Among civilised people this might have been deemed a doubtful
compliment, but it was not so in Eskimo-land. The little maid was
evidently much pleased, and the title of the Timid One, which Oolichuk
was wont to give her when in a specially endearing frame of mind, was
changed for the Brave One from that day. In a few more minutes the last
charge of the enemy was repulsed, and those of them that remained alive
dived back to that native home into which the slain had already sunk.
Thus ended that notable fight with walruses.
After consummating the victory with three cheers and congratulating each
other, the conquerors proceeded to examine into the extent of damage
received. It was found that, beyond a few scratches, the _Faith_ and
the _Hope_ had escaped scathless, but the _Charity_ had suffered
considerably. Besides a bad rip in the upper part of the gunwale, a
small hole had been poked in her side below water, and her air-chamber
was filling rapidly.
"Come here, quick, uncle," cried Alf, in consternation, when he
discovered this.
To his surprise the Captain was not so much alarmed as he had expected.
"It won't sink you, Alf, so keep your mind easy," he said, while
examining the injury. "You see I took care to have the boats made in
compartments. It will only make you go lop-sided like a lame duck till
I can repair the damage."
"Repair it, uncle! how can--"
"Never mind just now, hand out a blanket, quick; I'll explain after; we
must undergird her and keep out as much water as we can."
This operation was soon accomplished. The blanket was passed under the
boat and made fast. By pressing against the injured part it checked the
inflow of water. Then the cargo was shifted, and part of it was
transferred to the other boats, and soon they were advancing as
pleasantly, though not as quickly as before, while the Captain explained
that he had brought a solution of gutta-percha for the express purpose
of repairing damages to the boats, but that it was impossible to use it
until they could disembark either on land or on an iceberg.
"We'll come to another berg ere long, no doubt, shan't we, Chingatok?"
he asked.
The Eskimo shook his head and said he thought not, but there was a small
rocky islet not far from where they were, though it lay somewhat out of
their course.
On hearing this the Captain changed his course immediately, and rowed in
the direction pointed out.
"There's wind enough up there, Benjy," remarked his father, looking up
to the sky, where the higher clouds were seen rapidly passing the lower
strata to the northward, "but how to get the kites set up in a dead calm
is more than I can tell."
"There is a way out of the difficulty, father," said Benjy, pointing
behind them.
He referred to a slight breeze which was ruffling the sea into what are
called cat's paws far astern.
"Right boy, right. Prepare to hoist your tops'ls, lads," shouted the
Captain.
In a few minutes the kites were expanded and the tow-lines attached.
When the light breeze came up they all soared, heavily, it is true, but
majestically, into the sky. Soon reaching the upper regions, they
caught the steady breeze there, and towed the boats along at the rate of
eight or ten miles an hour.
In two hours they sighted the islet which Chingatok had mentioned, and,
soon afterwards, had landed and taken possession of it, in the usual
manner, under the name of Refuge Island.