The straits are thirty-six miles wide, with East Cape2, a rounded, dome-shaped mass of black basalt, on the Asiatic side and on the American side Cape Prince of Wales, a headland of sharper outline, but neither so lofty nor so sheer. In between the two capes3 and in line with them, lie the two islands of Big and Little Diomede. Through the three narrow channels between the capes and the islands, the tide runs with the swiftness of a river's current.
The Eskimos constantly cross from continent to continent in small boats. In still weather the passage can be made in a light kyack with perfect safety. The widest of the three channels is that between Big Diomede and East Cape and is, I should say, not more than fifteen miles across. While we were passing through the straits, we saw a party of Eskimos in a skin boat paddling leisurely4 across from America to Asia. They no doubt had been on a visit to relatives or friends on the neighboring continent. We were told that in winter when the straits are frozen solidly, the Eskimos frequently walk from one continent to the other.
While we were sailing close to the American shore soon after passing through the straits, the cry of "Walrus5, walrus!" from the mast-head sent the crew hurrying to the rail to catch a glimpse of these strange creatures which we had not before encountered. We were passing an immense herd6. The shore was crowded with giant bulks, lying perfectly7 still in the sun, while the waters close to land were alive with bobbing heads. At a distance and at first glance, those on shore looked like a vast herd of cattle resting after grazing. They were as big as oxen and when the sun had dried them, they were of a pronounced reddish color. Those in the water looked black.
They had a way of sticking their heads and necks straight up out of the sea which was slightly suggestive of men treading water. Their heads seemed small for their great bodies and with their big eyes, their beard-like mass of thick bristles8 about the nose, and their long ivory tusks9 they had a distinctly human look despite their grotesque10 ugliness. They lifted their multitudinous voices in gruff, barking roars like so many bulldogs affected11 with a cold. There must have been 10,000 of them. They paid little attention to the ship. Those on shore remained as motionless as boulders12.
"Want to collect a little ivory?" Captain Shorey said with a smile to Mr. Winchester.
"No, thank you, not just now," replied the mate. "I want to live to get back to 'Frisco."
An ivory hunter among those tusked13 thousands doubtless would have fared disastrously14. Walrus are famous fighters. When attacked, they sometimes upset a boat with their tusks and drown the hunters. They are dangerous even in small herds15. Moreover they are difficult to kill. Their thick hides will turn a bullet that does not hit them solidly. Though slow and unwieldy on land or ice, they are surprisingly agile16 in the water and a harpooned18 walrus will frequently tow a boat at a dizzy clip.
The region about Cape Prince of Wales is a favorite feeding ground for the animals. The coasts swarm19 with clams20, mussels, and other shell-fish upon which the walrus live. Thirteen varieties of edible21 clams, it is said, have been discovered by scientists about Cape Prince of Wales. The walrus dig these shell-fish out of the sand and rocks with their tusks, crush them with their teeth, eject the shells, and swallow the dainty tidbits. Their tusks serve them also as weapons of defense22 and as hooks by which to haul themselves upon ice floes.
We did not dare take chances in the boats among such vast numbers of these formidable creatures and soon left the great herd astern. A little higher up the coast we ran into a small herd numbering about a hundred, and Mr. Winchester, armed with his repeating rifle, lowered his boat to have a try for ivory.
When the mate's boat dashed among the animals they did not dive or run away, but held their ground, standing23 well up out of water and coughing out defiance24. Long John darted25 a harpoon17 into one of the beasts and it plunged26 below and went scurrying27 away. One might have thought the boat was fast to a young whale from the way the line sizzled out over the bow. The walrus dragged the boat about half a mile, and when the animal again came to the surface for air Mr. Winchester killed it with a bullet.
But the blood and the shooting had thrown the remainder of the herd into violent excitement. Roaring furiously, the great beasts converged28 from all sides in the wake of the chase. By the time Long John had cut off the head of the dead walrus and heaved it aboard and had recovered his harpoon, the animals were swarming29 menacingly about the boat. Long John, who had been in such ticklish30 situations before, began to beat a tattoo31 on the gunwales with his sheath knife, at the same time emitting a series of blood-curdling yells. This was intended to awe32 the boat's besiegers and had a momentary33 effect. The brutes34 stood in the water apparently35 puzzled, but still roaring savagely36. But they were not long to be held off by mere37 noise. Led by a monster bull, they rushed at the boat in a concerted attack. The sailors belabored38 them over the head with the sweeps. The mate pumped lead into them from his rifle. Still they came on.
When Captain Shorey, who had been watching the battle from the quarter-deck, saw how serious the situation was becoming, he grew alarmed.
"Those men will be killed," he shouted to Mr. Landers. "Call the watch and lower those other boats, and be quick about it."
In a jiffy the boats were lowered, the crews piled in, masts were stepped, and we shot away to the rescue. But the mate's crew solved their own problem before we could come into action. When it seemed likely the walrus would swamp the boat, Long John harpooned the leader of the herd. The big walrus dived and made off, hauling the boat out of the midst of the furious brutes to safety. The other animals did not pursue. They bobbed about the scene of the conflict for some time and finally disappeared. Long John killed the big bull to which the boat was fast, cut off its head, and the boat went back to the battleground to take similar toll39 of the walrus that had died under the mate's rain of bullets. Eight carcasses were found afloat and as many more probably had sunk.
Ten heads with their ivory tusks were brought aboard the brig as trophies40 of the hunt. The tusks of the bull that had led the attack measured two feet six inches. The animal, according to Mr. Winchester, must have been ten or twelve feet long. The mate estimated its weight at 1,800 pounds—a guess, of course, but perhaps a close one.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
northward
|
|
| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
cape
|
|
| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
capes
|
|
| 碎谷； 斗篷( cape的名词复数 )； 披肩； 海角； 岬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
leisurely
|
|
| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
walrus
|
|
| n.海象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
herd
|
|
| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
bristles
|
|
| 短而硬的毛发，刷子毛( bristle的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
tusks
|
|
| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
grotesque
|
|
| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
boulders
|
|
| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
tusked
|
|
| adj.有獠牙的，有长牙的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
disastrously
|
|
| ad.灾难性地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
herds
|
|
| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
agile
|
|
| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
harpoon
|
|
| n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
harpooned
|
|
| v.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
swarm
|
|
| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
clams
|
|
| n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
edible
|
|
| n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
defense
|
|
| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
defiance
|
|
| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
darted
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
plunged
|
|
| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
scurrying
|
|
| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
converged
|
|
| v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
swarming
|
|
| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
ticklish
|
|
| adj.怕痒的；问题棘手的；adv.怕痒地；n.怕痒，小心处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
tattoo
|
|
| n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
awe
|
|
| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
momentary
|
|
| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
brutes
|
|
| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
savagely
|
|
| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
belabored
|
|
| v.毒打一顿( belabor的过去式和过去分词 )；责骂；就…作过度的说明；向…唠叨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
toll
|
|
| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
trophies
|
|
| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |