THE MUSK-OX HUNT 



117 



After running about ten miles, I was recalled by the signal- 

 ing of another searcher. Johnnie had been found by his 

 brother, safely and snugly rolled up in a couple of musk-ox 

 skins which he had secured, where he had been warmer than if 

 in the lodge, and with plenty of frozen marrow to eat he had 

 been quite comfortable. 



On the sixteenth day we continued the journey northward. 

 With the field glass I discovered a band of fourteen musk-ox 

 on the summit of a high hill, so far away that it was impossible 

 to distinguish them from the surrounding boulders with the 

 unaided eye. In a couple of hours we were within half a mile 

 of them, and released the dogs, which soon disappeared over 

 an intervening ridge. My companions had concluded, from 

 the way that I had run, or failed to run, on the two previous 

 occasions, that I could not run very far, and that their best plan 

 to keep me from bringing a magazine gun into competition with 

 their muzzle-loaders, was to give the musk-ox time to get far 

 enough away so that they could " plant " me in the race. I had 

 prepared for this occasion by taking off some of my clothing, 

 and only carrying the ammunition actually required, so that 

 when they did begin to run at a swift pace my snow-shoes 

 clanked close beside them. 



We soon came upon eleven of the musk-ox standing at bay 

 in two little clusters, hardly lowering their heads at the dogs, 

 whose ardor had been cooled by the statue-like immobility of 

 the noble animals. Their robes were in prime condition, the 

 long hair and heavy erect mane gave them an imposing appear- 

 ance. To kill them was simple butchery, yet I had no choice 

 but to fire as rapidly as possible and get my share of them, as 

 they were all doomed anyway. 



On leaving Rae, Johnnie had agreed to assist me in skinning 

 the game killed; he now found that his own affairs would require 

 all his attention. Esyuh helped me to skin two, while I finished 

 the third by moonlight, freezing my fingers in the operation. 

 He afterward demanded seventy skins, thirty-five dollars — for 

 his labor. 



It was impossible to skin the heads in the darkness. I 

 wrapped the skins around them so that they would not freeze 

 during the night. Another blizzard was raging in the morning, 

 which prevented moving, but enabled me to attend to the 



