The Goldsboro star. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1881-18??, 1881-08-06
The Use of the Walrus.

In looking OF this llncouth animal,
the most natural question at once arises,
What earthly service can such an I'M
calmly, stupid beast render? What:
indeed, is the use of it's existence? But
the answer is swift and satisfactory
were it not for the subsistence furnished
SO largely by the flesh and oil of the
morse it is exceedingly doubtful
whether the Esquimaux of North Amer
lea, from Behring straits clear around
to Labrador, could manage to live. It
is not to be inferred that walrus meat is
the sole diet of these simple people, fol-
that is very wide Of the truth; but
there ore several months Of every year
when the exigencies Of the climate rem
der it absolutely impossible for the
hardest n.tive to go out and procure
food, and the value of the cache OF wal
rus meat is appreciated, when for weeks
and weeks it forms the beginning and
the end of every meal. The walrus
responds to as many demands of the
Innuit as the camel of the Arab or the
cocoa-palm of the South Sea islander.
It's flesh feeds him; it's oil Eliminates
and warns his dark hut; its sinews
make his bird nets; its tough skin,
skillfully stretched over the light
wooden frame, constitutes his famous
kayak, and the serviceable oomiak or
bidarrah; its intestines are converted
into waterproof clothing, while tAe
soles to its flippers are transferred to
his feet; and, finally, its ivory is q
source Of endless utility to him in do
nestle use and in trade and barter.
Walrus famines among the Esqui-
maux have been recorded in pathetic
legends by almost all of the savage set
Elements IN the Arctic. Even now, as I
write November, 1880, comes the
authentic corroboration of the harsh
rumor of the starvation of the inhabi-
tants of st. Lawrence island-those
people who live just midway between
the old world and the new, in Alaskan
waters. The winter of 1880 was one
of exceptional rigor in the Arctic, though
in this country it was unusually mild
and open. The ice closed in solid
around st. Lawrence island-so firm
and mistaken by the mighty powers Of
wind and tide that the walrus were
driven far to the southwark and east
ward, out of reach of the inhabitants Of
that island, who, thus Unexpectedly de-
prived of their mainstay and support,
seem to have miserably starved to
death, with the exception of one small
village on the north shore. The resi-
dents of the Poonook, Poogovellyak
and Kagallegak settlements persisted, to
soul, from hunger nearly three hun
dred men, women and children. I was
among these people in 1874, during the
month of August, and remarked their
manifold superiority over the savages OF
the northwest coast and the greatplains.
They seemed then to live, during nine
months of the year, almost wholly upon
the flesh and oil OF the walrus. Clean
limbed, bright-eyed and jovial, they
profoundly impressed one with their
happy subsistence and reliance upon
the walrus-herds of Behring sea; and il
was remarked then that these people
had never been subjected to the temp
tation-and subsequent sorrow-of put
ting their trust in princes; hence then
independence and good heart. But
now it appears that it will not suffice
either, to put your trust in walrus.-
Sc,fbae,'s Magazine.