was aboard I heard Walrus roaring close at hand, and foolishly thought it would
be an interesting experiment to try to spear two bulls at once, as Lamont’s
and my harpooners were rival throwers. We went off from the yacht and got
well up to our game, and both the harpooners rising at once transfixed the two
biggest bulls in the herd. Generally the speared Walrus makes off, towing the
boat, but in this case we got into fearful trouble, for one made off as hard as he
could, and the other sounded immediately below the boat. A scene of indescribable
confusion followed, and the lines becoming entangled the boat was upset and
we were all thrown into the sea. Apart from the risk of being attacked by the
exasperated herd we had no little difficulty in getting clear of the floating tackle
and were in danger of being caught under the boat, which was dragged this way and
that like a perch-float. Some of the men, however, got out on the ice and two on
the keel of the boat, whence they dragged me out of the water. Meanwhile I had
managed to keep my rifle above the water. This was very fortunate, for I had
hardly climbed in a sitting position when one of the big bulls came up within ten
yards and charged the boat. A shot through the head, however, stopped him,
when he was immediately followed by the second animal that had been harpooned,
and him, too, I luckily succeeded in stopping. It was a long time before we
got the boat righted, and so, nearly frozen and perished with cold, we made the
yacht in safety after one of the most unpleasant experiences I ever remember. ’ 1
1 In these days, when ladies and boys in their teens are dubbed great big-game hunters after having shot two or three
tigers from machans or the safe howdah of an elephant, it is refreshing to look back on the genuine deeds of skill and
daring performed by some of the old hunters like Lord David Kennedy, who really took their lives in their hands in
encounters with dangerous beasts. Lord David in some ten years in India killed no fewer than fifty-six tigers. These were
all shot1 on foot ’ with old-fashioned muzzle-loaders, with which few would care to trust themselves to-day.