Evening star., 1923-02-11
avage Walr1s Furnishes Most Dangerous Arctic Hunr

from the white ice, and our thoughts
were all directed now toward the pos
sibility of Meme and Teddy-ling-wa
failing to win their way back to the
solid field.
We walked rapidly eastward, sig
mailing them to proceed in that direc-
ton. Finally we arrived at a large
berg projecting out from the solid
field, which served as a buttress
against the ice driving south, a nat
ural bridge between the two bodies.
The boys regained this spot safely,
but. strange, to relate, broke through
with one foot each on the very last
step.
AS we stood there for moment
watching the moving mass of ice. sew
eral heads popped up in an open pool
about fifty yards away. Everything
was excitement now. The Eskimos
seized their harpoons and coils o.
rawhidc line and crouching at tho
edge Of the ice. emitted the deep. gut
tural cry OF the walruS-a most strik-
ing imitation. The walruses could no.
resist it. They turned toward US at
once and dived. They are coming
the Eskimos whispered, and clutched
their harpoons in their right hands.
!: Z i <
A LAfOST breathlessly we waited for
"A the break in the water. I could
not see how we could possibly miss
them if they were considerate enough
to stick their heads up within twenty
five feet. But the walruses did better
af
water almost at our very toes, g"
near that all of us were startled.
Meme threw. but, as he was stand
ing upon a fake Of his coil his har-
| poon fell fiat on the water. Tung-wN
threw right into the mass. thinking
that he could not throw without hit
| ting something: the result was that
! he missed clean. Teddyling
didn't know why he did not throw.
and doesn't know yet. lie was still
lamenting over the fact the last time
saw him.
| Disguised and tired now. and with
/ boots and mittens stiff with frost, We
! hitched our dogs to our sledges and
headed for home. After travelling for
| an hour or so notice that the Eski-
| mos appeared extremely nervous and
were talking SO rapidly in their own
language that 7 could not catch what
they were saying. But by the way
they snapped their whips and urged
their dogs incessantly I knew that
! they were anxious TO get ashore. The
cause of this hurry did not occur to
me until in passing over crack i'll
! the sea ice I discovered a rising and
falling in the foes. whica indicated
heavy swell beneath US. Tho ice
was breaking up!
| The dogs seemed TO sense the ex-
citement, conveyed to them by the
| tone of our voices. and would now
and then race at breakneck speed.
| Crack after crack we crossed, some
slowly widening as we changed our
| course more to the eastward, know
| ing that the western edge of the
field, contiguous to the open waters
Of the sound. would go first. In this
| the Eskimos judged rightly, for upon
our arrival at Cape Chalon. from the
| cliffs above we discovered to our
amazement that everything between
that point and Cape Alexander had
| been swept out. taking with it the
large twenty eight-foot whaleboat
belonging to E-gingwa, a gift from
Peary for his valuable services on
the north pole dash.
Thus it is in the northland. The
walrus demands in summer and in
winter that men go out to meet him
and that they give him their very
best, for he is worth it-a magnifi-
cent fighter, king Of the northern
seas.
| Copy right.l