34 THE MUSK OX. 



The winter coat of the musk ox is formed of two 

 sorts of hair, which is generally of a brownish red, 

 and in some places of a blackish brown colour; the 

 external being long, coarse, and straight, and the 

 internal, tine, soft and woolly. The outer hair is so 

 long that it hides the greater part of the limbs, caus- 

 ing them to look disproportionately short. As the 

 summer comes on, the short woolly hair is gradually 

 shed, but the summers are so short in these high 

 latitudes, that the woolly coat commences growing 

 almost immediately after the old coat is shed, so that 

 the entire winter coat is completed by the return of 

 the cold weather. 



From the shortness of the limbs and the weight of 

 the body, it might be inferred that the musk ox could 

 not run with any speed, but it is stated by Parry, 

 that although they run in a hobbling sort of canter 

 that makes them appear as if every now and then 

 about to fall, yet the slowest of these musk oxen 

 can far outstrip a man. When disturbed and hunt, 

 ed, they frequently tore up the ground with their 

 horns, and turned round to look at their pursuers, 

 but never attempted to make an attack. 



The month of August is the season in which the 

 musk bulls are the most disposed to combat, as they 



that has been accidentally found within a moderate distance 

 of the settlement, perhaps within a hundred miles; which is 

 only thought a step by an Indian." Hearne, 136. (The fort 

 he mentions, was destroyed by the French in 1782.) 



