CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
THE HUNTING PARTY--RECKLESS DRIVING--A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER WITH AWALRUS, ETCETERA.
Late in the day, by the bright light of the stars, the sailors and theEsquimaux left the snow-huts of the village, and, travelling out toseaward on the floes, with dogs and sledges, lances and spears, advancedto do battle with the walrus.
The northern lights were more vivid than usual, making the sky quiteluminous, and there was a sharp freshness in the air, which, while itinduced the hunters to pull their hoods more tightly round their faces,also sent their blood careering more briskly through their veins, asthey drove swiftly over the ice in the Esquimaux sledges.
"Did ye ever see walrusses a'fore, Davie!" enquired Buzzby who satbeside Summers on the leading sledge.
"None but what I've seed on this voyage."
"They're remarkable creeturs," rejoined Buzzby, slapping his hand on histhigh. "I've seed many a one in my time, an I can tell ye, lad, they'reugly customers. They fight like good 'uns, and give the Esquimaux adeal o' trouble to kill them--they do."
"Tell me a story about 'em, Buzzby--do, like a good chap," said DavieSummers, burying his nose in the skirts of his hairy garment to keep itwarm. "You're a capital hand at a yarn, now, fire away."
"A story, lad; I don't know as how I can exactly tell ye a story, butI'll give ye wot they calls a hanecdote. It wos about five years ago,more or less, I wos out in Baffin's Bay, becalmed off one o' the Eskimosettlements, when we wos lookin' over the side at the lumps of icefloatin' past, up got a walrus not very far offshore, and out went halfa dozen kayaks, as they call the Eskimo men's boats, and they all sot onthe beast at once. Well, it wos one o' the brown walrusses, which isalways the fiercest; and the moment he got the first harpoon he wentslap at the man that threw it; but the fellow backed out, and then a crywas raised to let it alone, as it wos a brown walrus. One young Eskimo,howsiver, would have another slap at it and went so close that the brutecharged, upset the kayak, and ripped the man up with his tusks. Seein'this, the other Eskimos made a dash at it, and wounded it badly; but theupshot wos that the walrus put them all to flight and made off, clearaway, with six harpoons fast in its hide."
"Buzzby's tellin' ye gammon," roared Tom Green, who rode on the secondsledge in rear of that on which Davie Summers sat. "What is't allabout?"
"About gammon, of coorse," retorted Davie. "Keep yer mouth shut forfear your teeth freeze."
"Can't ye lead us a better road?" shouted Saunders, who rode on thethird sledge; "my bones are rattlin' about inside a' me like a bag o'ninepins."
"Give the dogs a cut, old fellow," said Buzzby, with a chuckle and amotion of his arm to the Esquimaux who drove his sledge.
The Esquimaux did not understand the words, but he quite understood thesly chuckle and the motion of the arm, so he sent the lash of the heavywhip with a loud crack over the backs of the team.
"Hold on for life!" cried Davie, as the dogs sprang forward with abound.
The part they were about to pass over was exceedingly rough and broken,and Buzzby resolved to give his shipmates a shake. The pace wastremendous. The powerful dogs drew their loads after them withsuccessive bounds, which caused a succession of crashes as the sledgessprang from lump to lump of ice, and the men's teeth snapped in a trulysavage manner.
"Ba-a-ck ye-e-r to-o-psails, will ye?" shouted Amos Parr.
But the delighted Esquimaux leader, who entered quite into the joke, hadno intention whatever of backing his top-sails; he administered anothercrack to the team, which yelled madly, and, bounding over a wide chasmin the ice, came down with a crash which snapped the line of the leadingdog and set it free. Here Buzzby caused the driver to pull up.
"Stop, ye varmint! Come to an anchor!" said he. "Is that a way todrive the poor dogs!"
"Ye might have stopped him sooner, I think," cried the second mate inwrath.
"Hai!" shouted the band of Esquimaux, pointing to a hummock of ice, afew hundred yards in advance of the spot, on which they stood.
Instantly all were silent, and gazing intently ahead at a dark objectthat burst upwards through the ice.
"A walrus!" whispered Buzzby.
"So it is," answered Amos Parr.
"I've my doobts on that point," remarked Saunders.
Before the doubts of the second mate could be resolved, the Esquimauxuttered another exclamation and pointed to another dark object a quarterof a mile to the right. It was soon found that there were several ofthese ocean elephants sporting about in the neighbourhood, and burstingup the young ice that had formed on several holes, by using their hugeheads as battering-rams. It was quickly arranged that the party shoulddivide into three, and while a few remained behind to watch and restrainthe dogs the remainder were to advance on foot to the attack.
Saunders, Buzzby, Amos Parr, Davie Summers, and Awatok formed one party,and advanced with two muskets and several spears towards the walrus thathad been first seen, the sailors taking care to keep in rear of Awatokin order to follow his lead, for they were as yet ignorant of the propermode of attack.
Awatok led the party stealthily towards a hummock, behind which hecaused them to crouch until the walrus should dive. This it did in afew minutes, and then they all rushed from their place of concealmenttowards another hummock that lay about fifty yards from the hole. Justas they reached it, and crouched, the walrus rose, snorting the brinefrom its shaggy muzzle, and lashing the water into foam with itsflippers.
"Losh, what a big 'un!" exclaimed Saunders in amazement; and well hemight, for this was an unusually large animal, more like an elephant insize than anything else.
It had two enormous ivory tusks, with which it tore and pounded largefragments from the ice-tables, while it barked like a gigantic dog, androlled its heavy form about in sport.
Awatok now whispered to his comrades, and attempted to get them tounderstand that they must follow him as fast as possible at the nextrun. Suddenly the walrus dived. Awatok rushed forward, and in anotherinstant stood at the edge of the hole with his spear in readiness in hisright hand, and the coil of line in his left. The others joined himinstantly, and they had scarcely come up when the huge monster againrose to the surface.
Saunders and Buzzby fired at his head the moment it appeared abovewater, and Awatok at the same time planted a spear in his breast, andran back with the coil. The others danced about in an excited state,throwing their spears and missing their mark, although it was a big one,frequently.
"Give him a lance-thrust, Amos," cried Saunders, reloading his piece.
But Amos could not manage it, for the creature lashed about so furiouslythat, although he made repeated attempts, he failed to do more thanprick its tough sides, and render it still more savage. Buzzby, too,made several daring efforts to lance it, but failed, and nearly slippedinto the hole in his recklessness. It was a wild scene of confusion--the spray was dashed over the ice round the hole, and the men, as theyran about in extreme excitement, slipped and occasionally tumbled intheir haste, while the maddened brute glared at them like a fiend, andbellowed in its anger and pain.
Suddenly it dived, leaving the men staring at each other. The suddencessation of noise and turmoil had a very strange effect.
"Is't away?" enquired Saunders with a look of chagrin.
He was answered almost instantly by the walrus reappearing, and makingfurious efforts by means of its flippers and tusks to draw itself outupon the ice, while it roared with redoubled energy. The shot that wasinstantly fired seemed to have no effect, and the well-directed harpoonof Awatok was utterly disregarded by it. Amos Parr, however, gave it alance-thrust that caused it to howl vehemently, and dyed the foam withits blood.
"Hand me a spear, Buzzby," cried Saunders, "the musket-balls seem tohurt him as little as peas. Oot o' my gait."
The second mate made a rush so tremendous that something awful wouldinfallibly have resulted had he not struck his foot against a bit of iceand fallen violently on his breast. The i
mpetus with which he hadstarted shot him forward till his head was within a foot of the walrus'sgrim muzzle. For one moment the animal looked at the man as if it weresurprised at his audacity, and then it recommenced its franticstruggles, snorting blood, and foam, and water into Saunders's face ashe scrambled out of its way. Immediately after, Awatok fixed anotherharpoon in its side, and it dived again.
The struggle that ensued was tremendous, and the result seemed for along time to be doubtful. Again and again shots were fired andspear-thrusts made with effect, but the huge creature seemedinvulnerable. Its ferocity and strength remained unabated, while themen--sailors and Esquimaux alike--were nearly exhausted. The battle hadnow lasted three hours; the men were panting from exertion; the walrus,still bellowing, was clinging to the edge of the ice, which for severalyards round the hole was covered with blood and foam.
"Wot a brute it is!" said Buzzby, sitting down on a lump of ice andlooking at it in despair.
"We might have killed it lang ago had I not wet my gun," growledSaunders, regarding his weapon, which was completely drenched, with alook of contempt.
"Give it another poke, Awatok," cried Amos Parr; "you'll know bestwhereabouts its life lies; I can make nothin' o't."
Awatok obeyed, and gave it a thrust under the left flipper that seemedto reach its heart, for it fell back into the water and struggledviolently. At the same moment Davie Summers mounted to the top of ahummock, part of which overhung the pool, and launched a harpoon downupon its back. This latter blow seemed to revive its ferocity, for itagain essayed to clamber out on the ice, and looked up at Davie with aglance of seeming indignation, while Buzzby, who had approached, fellbackward as he retreated from before it. At the same time Saunderssucceeded in getting his musket to go off. The ball struck it in theeye, and, entering the brain, caused instant death, a result which wasgreeted with three enthusiastic cheers.
The getting of this enormous creature out of the water would have been amatter of no small difficulty had there not been such a large partypresent. Even as it was, it took them a considerable time to accomplishthis feat, and to cut it up and pack it on the sledges.
While the battle above described was going on, two smaller walrus hadbeen killed and secured, and the Esquimaux were in a state of greatglee, for previous to the arrival of the sailors they had beenunsuccessful in their hunts, and had been living on short allowance. Onreturning home there was a general feasting and merry-making, andSaunders felt that if he remained there long they would not only eat uptheir own meat, but his also. He therefore resolved to returnimmediately to the ship with his prize, and leave part of his men behindto continue the hunt until he should return with the sledge.
But he was prevented from putting this intention into practice by ahurricane which burst over the Arctic regions with inconceivablebitterness, and for two days kept all the inhabitants of thesnow-village confined to their huts. This hurricane was the fiercestthat had swept over these bleak regions of ice since the arrival of the_Dolphin_. The wind shrieked, as it swept round the cliffs, and downthe ravines, and out upon the frozen sea, as if a legion of evil spiritswere embodied and concentrated in each succeeding blast. The snow-driftrose in solid masses, whirled madly round for a few seconds, and thenwas caught by the blast, and swept away like sheets of white flame. Thethermometer stood at 23 degrees below zero, a temperature that was mildcompared with what it usually had been of late, but the fierce windabstracted heat from everything exposed to it so rapidly that neitherman nor beast could face it for a moment.
Buzzby got a little bit of his chin frozen while he merely put his headout at the door of the hut to see how the weather looked, and DavieSummers had one of his fingers slightly frozen while in the act ofcarrying in one of the muskets that had been left outside by mistake.
As for the Esquimaux, they recked not of the weather. Their snow-hutswere warm, and their mouths were full, so like wise men and women theywaited patiently within-doors till the storm should blow itself out.The doings of these poor people were very curious. They atevoraciously, and evidently preferred their meat raw. But when thesailors showed disgust at this, they at once made a small fire of moss,mingled with blubber, over which they half-cooked their food.
Their mode of procuring fire was curious. Two small stones were taken,one a piece of white quartz, the other a piece of iron-stone, and strucktogether smartly; the few sparks that flew out were thrown upon a kindof white down, found on the willows, under which was placed a lump ofdried moss. It was usually a considerable time before they succeeded incatching a spark, but once caught they had no difficulty in blowing itinto a flame.
They had also an ingenious contrivance for melting snow. This was aflat stone, supported by two other stones, and inclined slightly at oneend; upon this flat stone a lump of snow was placed, and below it waskindled a small fire of moss and blubber. When the stone became heated,the snow melted and flowed down the incline into a small seal-skin cupplaced there to catch it.
During the continuance of the storm the sailors shared the food andlodging of these Esquimaux. They were a fat, oily, hospitable, dirtyrace, and vied with each other in showing kindness to those who had beenthus thrown into their society. As Davie Summers expressed it, "theywere regular trumps"; and, according to Buzzby's opinion, "they wos thejolliest set o' human walrusses wot he had ever comed across in all histravels, and he ought to know, for he had always kep' his weather-eyeopen, he had, and wouldn't give in on that p'int, he wouldn't, to no manlivin'."