Page:The open Polar Sea- a narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States" (IA openpolarseanarr1867haye).pdf/465

 collisions with the ice, the intention was not entertained. The pack was not more than ten miles from the Greenland shore, and I therefore put back to Littleton Island, and from that point watched the movements of the ice.

We found a convenient anchorage between Littleton and McGary Islands, and we reached it just in time; for a severe gale, with thick snow, set in from the north-*ward as I had anticipated from the appearance of the sky, and held for several days. Meanwhile the people amused themselves with hunting. A herd of deer was discovered on Littleton Island, and the walrus were very numerous. Four of the latter were captured,—this time, however, not from a boat, but by Hans, in the true Esquimau style. They came along the shore in great numbers, lying upon the beach in the sun, where Hans approached them stealthily, and got fast to them one by one with his harpoon. The line being secured to a rock, the animals were held until they were exhausted, and then drawn in, when they soon became a prey to the rifles. Wishing to obtain a young one for a specimen, I joined the hunters; and, selecting from the herd which lay upon the rocks one to suit my purposes, I fired upon and killed it. The others plunged quickly into the water. The mother of the dead calf was the last to leave the rock, and seemed to do so very reluctantly. In a few moments she came to the surface, and, wheeling around, discovered the young one still lying upon the rock. Finding that it did not answer to her cries, she rushed frantically into the face of danger, and in full view of the cause of her woes, (for I had approached very near the spot,) the unhappy creature, intent only upon rescuing her offspring, drew herself out of the