NO. 1105. MAMMALS OF NORTHWEST TERRITORIES— MACFARLANE. 687 



reach the spot where he was brought to l)ay. We at once secured him 

 by means of a looped line, hut not l)efore he was wounded by the 

 dogs. We had much trouljle in getting the calf to accomijan}- us — 

 in fact, we Urst let him rather exhaust himself in bucking and kicking 

 like a goat, while he stubliornl}' refused to be led b}' a line. After a 

 time, when prodded from behind, he would make a rush at his leader, 

 but he eventually quieted down and followed the Indian to the camp. 

 Next day he seemed rather subdued and gave no trouble, not even 

 when being carried across the Wilmot Horton liiver, but to my deep 

 regret he died at sunrise the following morning, having no doubt bled 

 to death internalh'. On reaching Rendezvous Lake, near the end of 

 the eastern limit of the woods, my disappointment was great when I 

 learned that a female spring musk-ox calf, which had shortly before 

 been secured for me b}' an Anderson River Indian, had been killed by 

 dogs during the previous night. Subse(j[uent attempts in the same 

 desirable direction unfortunately failed, and the tield is therefore still 

 open for the successful efforts of some favorably circumstanced and 

 luckier part3\ 



On another occasion (June 29, 18(35), near the Wilmot Horton River, 

 we shot a large bull wliich was grazing on a flat plain bordering on a 

 small stream named Eagle. After approaching him we unloaded our 

 dogs and they soon surrounded and l)egan barking at him, a course 

 which he resented by endeavoring to- impale one of them on his 

 sharply curved horns, but just as we were coming within gun range 

 he noticed us and at once made off at full speed. It was surprising 

 to witness the seemingl}^ easy, but really swift, gait at which this 

 rather short-legged and clumsy-looking beast ascended a somewhat 

 steep hill in front of him. A long and well-directed shot, however, 

 suddenly ended his career. The beef proved acceptal^le to the men 

 and dogs, and it neither smelled nor tasted of musk, as it often does 

 later in the 3'ear, but especially during the rutting season when it is 

 scarcely eatable except by natives and a few of the company's servants 

 blessed with strong appetites and good digestive powers. The hide 

 was secured, but the skin was so dihipidated, owing to the thick inner 

 coating being still unshed except in large ugly patches, that it was 

 useless as a specimen. 



During the severe cold of winter, the musk ox enters the outer sec- 

 tions of the forest and is frequently found therein to a distance of 40 

 or 50 miles, while we have heard of more than one instance where a 

 stray animal liad been killed at fully 100 miles from the nearest ''Bar- 

 rens.'' The most southerly wandering of the species l)eyond the 

 limits of its normal range is that recorded by Mr. Preble in North 

 Ainct'lcati Fantia., No. 22 (1902). A pair was seen on the *' Barrens" 

 between York factory and Fort Churchill in al)out latitude 57' north, 

 and the male was shot. This authentic information was obtained by 



