THE MUSK OX. 35 



i 



then light furiously with each other for the females, 

 and are jealous of the approach of every thing, as 

 already stated. The cows calve about the end of 

 May or the beginning of June; the calves are fre- 

 quently whitish, but more commonly marked by a 

 white patch or saddle upon the back. 



The musk oxen killed on Melville island during 

 Parry's visit, were very fat, and their flesh, espe- 

 cially the heart, although highly scented with musk, 

 was considered very good food. When cut up it had 

 all the appearance of beef for the market. Hearne 

 says that the flesh of the musk ox does not at all re- 

 semble that of the bison, (Bos JlmericanusJ but is 

 more like that of the moose, and the fat is of a clear 

 white tinged with light azure. The young cows and 

 calves furnish a very palatable beef, but that of the 

 old bulls is so intolerably musky, as to be exces- 

 sively disagreeable. A knife used in cutting up 

 such meat, becomes so strongly scented with this 

 substance, as to require much washing and scouring 

 before it is removed.* Musk ox flesh when dried, 

 is considered by hunters and Indians to be very 

 good. " In most parts of Hudson's Bay it is known 

 by the name of Kew-hagon, but amongst the North- 

 ern Indians it is called Achees." The weight of 



* Moschus iste glandulis juxta praeputiumpositis efformari 

 videtur; ibi materia fusca, concreta, fortissime moschi odo 

 rans inventa est. 



