gg A. L. V. Manniche. 



When I again visited Snenæs twelve days later, the same four 

 adult animals were grazing close by the beach. Though even this 

 time they seemed inclined to make their escape, they were at last 

 all shot. They were extremely magnificent, large animals in com- 

 plete winter dress. The stomachs were filled with fine grass. The 

 pungent, disagreeable taste and smell peculiar to the meat and skin 

 of the males in August (the pairing time) was not found in these 

 three bulls. 



The expedition being in extreme want of fresh meat, in the 

 spring 1907 several hunting parties were sent to the tract west and 

 north of Hvalrosodden, in the hope of meeting with musk-oxen once 

 more, but all in vain. The animals seemed to have withdrawn to 

 the less accessible regions near the inland ice. I found traces of a 

 musk-ox that had been walking alone on the snow at the foot of 

 the mountain "Trekroner" on May 28"\ but I did not see the animal. 



On the little rocky island "Pladen" in Dove Bugt, I found in 

 August 1907 several old traces and excrements of musk-oxen. Skulls, 

 vertebral columns and other skeleton parts belonging to at least 10 

 animals were scattered over the island. On one of the craniums 

 found, fragments of the hairy hide still remained. 



On August 26*h a probably very old, but not especially large 

 bull suddenly appeared at the tent camp on Hvalrosodden and was 

 shot. Evidently the animal had been walking far about, and jud- 

 ging from his drenched fur I concluded that he must have forced 

 the rivers and smaller lakes which he had come across on his 

 wanderings, this part of the country being especially rich in such. 

 Probably the bull had been excluded from a herd which was stay- 

 ing farther away in the country towards the west, the traces of the 

 killed animal leading distinctly in that direction. The meat of this 

 bull had such a disagreeable pungent taste and smell that it was 

 almost unfit to be used as food for human beings. 



The stomach contained hardly anything but grass. 



A singly walking old bull was killed in the beginning of July 

 1908 at Snenæs, about 8 kilometer from the coast. Judging from 

 the fresh traces the animal must have been walking here the pre- 

 vious days. The mouth of the bull was filled with fresh Salix bran- 

 ches. Neither meat nor skin was encumbered with rank smell. 



Records from the sledge expeditions to the north. 



On April 29'h 1907 Wegener and G. Thosthup saw in a relati- 

 vely fertile and grassy country — lat. 80°35'n. — 4 musk-oxen in 

 a party: two adult bulls, a cow and a heifer. The animals were 

 killed with exception of one of the bulls. The stomachs were filled 



