e in which the rower sits, and round this
there is a high ledge to prevent, the sea washing in. Two feet of the
bows float out of the water. The timbers or ribs, which are five or six
inches apart, and the stem and stern, are of whalebone; and they are
covered with the skins of the seal or walrus sewed neatly together.
When driftwood can be found, they employ it. The paddle is double, and
made of fir, the edges of the blade being covered with hard bone to
secure them from wearing.

With the greatest caution the Esquimaux lifted their canoes into the
water, to prevent them rubbing against the rocks, and they then helped
each other in, we assisting the last man. I observed that each of them
took a few handfuls of sand with him in the canoe. As we stood on the
beach, we could see the walruses blowing like whales as they came up the
fiord, and our friends eagerly paddling out towards them. The canoes
went along as fast as a quick-rowing gig.

The walrus may be said to be something like a bullock and a whale, and
it grows to the size of an ox. It has two canine teeth twenty inches
long, curving inward from the upper jaw; their use is to defend itself
against the bear when Bruin attacks it, and to lift itself up on the
ice. The head is short, small, and flattened in front. The flattened
part of the face is set with strong bristles. The nostrils are on the
upper part of the snout, through which it blows like a whale. The
fore-paws are a kind of webbed hand; they are above two feet long, and
may be stretched out to the width of fifteen to eighteen inches. The
hind feet, which form a sort of tail-fin, extend straight backward.
They are not united, but are detached from each other. The termination
of each toe is marked by a small nail. The skin of the animal is about
an inch thick, and is covered with a short yellowish-brown coloured
hair. The inside of the paws in old animals is very roughened, from
having to climb over the ice and rocks. Beneath the skin is a layer of
fat, the thickness varying in different seasons.

The canoes were soon among the herd, and several of the animals were
immediately struck. Instead, however, of darting away, each of the
wounded animals made at the canoes, and their occupants had to pull hard
to keep out of their reach. When the other walruses saw this, they also
swam towards the canoes to the assistance of their companions, and a
regular contest commenced between man and beast.