Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-07-05

The wsnss ard tss Hasos' !" Ne'se'.
wasers-i How she Esaaimsas ha's''" ana
Shee, Their Game.

W0tfTH~ INV W" ~~~@--
sheo, Their Game.
New York World
ain We olden time nearly every
thing that was named within the sea or
that crawled out therefrom received its
name from some counterpart on the
land. a fancied resemblance, no doubt,
leading thereto. The sea-leopard was
srotted like the leopard OF the land /;
the sea-elcphant had heightened pro-
boscis that required no great stretch OF
the imagination to suggest the trunk oil
The great ouadruped; the sea-serpent's
analogy Is at once evident, while
sea-anemones, and so on. show that
even the vegetable kingdom was
called into requisition to help I'll out.
just why the walrus was called the
sea-horse was never quite evident, how
ever, and the analogy seems foggy IN
the extreme, unless the two great
yillainous tusks look like the hit in his
mouth. or possibly the horse was the
only familiar animal not yet given a
nanesake in the briny deep when the
walrus was first brought to the know
ledge of the civilized world, and similari-
ties did not enter into the cOnsidera-
ton. The yerv first Esquimaux
among whom my fortunes and misfor-
tunes were cast, had the usual tribal
names Astounding in ks, DIS, g's that
sounded as musical as brogans going
down stairs, and one which translated
meant the walrus tribe, or, probably,
a little bit better, walrus-eatiDg tribe,
that animal being their chief source of
sustenance. From their narratives Of
the chase after their daily food, and
the few captures | saw myself,
the following accounts are in
greater part written; Early Au-
gust, 1878, saw us landed in
North Hudson's bay, the ice having
disappeared from the water on both the
lakes and the sea. About ten miles to
the eastward Of our camp was a small
isolated island in the centre Of circle,
with a radius Of the length given, the
northern half Of whose circumference
would about define the shores Of the
bay on the western-bounding cape OF
which we were camped in village Of
Esquimaux. 1t was an Insignificant
looking affair, covering half an acre or
less, but quite prominent from being
the only island in such a conspicuous
place.
HERE THE wALRUs CoNGREGATED
in large numbers when there were no
cakes Of ice on which they could crawl,
and here the Esquimaux repaired to
hunt them. The walrus mostly spread
themselves over the southern slope,
probably to catch the warm sunshine,
or because the incline was not so
steep as OH the northern half. A walrus-
hunting party Of Junuits, as the Esqui-
maux call themselves, may be anything
from two or three to that many dozen.
although six TO ten is fair sample.
They take their large sealskin scews, or
oomiens. holding a score of these peo-
pie, should the party be large, or a
white mans whale-boat if handy, and
with three or four small skin canoes
hioks-weighing about forty or fifty
pounds apiece, they repair to the north
ern half Of the island, their weapons
being guns, lances, harpoons, lines, and
floats. They always try to select a
fine, clear day, with but little sea at
the time; in fact, if very rough they
never attempt one of these hunts, and
their greatest fear is that a storm may
arise while they are engaged in it, for
to reach the island, make a successful
catch, cut it up, and return re-
Quires the greater part Of day, and
the summer day Of North Hudson S
bay is generous allopathic one
of many hours, followed by a very
homeopathic night. Unless very quiet
they never essay the passage Of their
oomiens, but will risk much more in
the whale-boats, a number of which
they possess, and manage as well as the
white men. The hunting party nearing
the island, all conversation is stopped
or dropped to necessary whispers, the
oars are piled as if they were muflled,
and all movements are done as silently
as possible, for the walrus has an acute
ear, although it is small. Having COM
pleted the landing noiselessly their
weapons are made ready.
THE FIRST WEAPON USED on THE
ANIMAL
is the harpoon. 1t is similar to the
harpoon of the whalers, which has
been probably borrowed from it and
adapted to civilized uses. 1t is about
six feet long, with a barbed spear-pOint
or head, which, driven beneath the
tough skin Of the walrus, the barb
turns, and in doing 80 becomes de-
tached from the handle, which is thrown
or floats away, as it may happen to be
on land or in the water where 1t is
struck. Attached to this head is a
strong, supple line Of tanned sealskin
about twenty or thirty feet long, about
the size OF a rope called =" clothes
line " and threee or four times
as strong. This is wound around
the natives neck when he has
the walrus spear in his hand.
At the other end is large, in
flated sealskiu float about the size Of
ten-gallon keg, or probably little
larger. This is sometimes allowed to
hang over the hunters back-for it
weighs little or nothing-or COM
psnion, generally boy, may hold it for
him, walking behind him as he steals on
the animal with careful steps. Every
projecting stone or billock of sand is
taken advantage Of in getting as near as
possible to the clumsy monsters, and
when the line of hunters, six or seven in
number, are as close as they can crawl
without showing themselves or at
tracing attention, signal is given
by one-a loud shout Of "I-yi-yi -
and with three or four nimble bounds
forward the hunters are each with
in striking distance Of the selected
walrus, and, burying the Spear-head in
the animals thick hide, they commence
paying out the line from around their
head with lightning-like rapidity as the
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