64 The National Collection 



head. It is understood that for the future more stringent methods will be 

 adopted for the prevention of poaching. 



Regarding the precise character of the Wood Bison, much remains to be 

 disclosed, but the cessation of all killing relegates the gathering of more 

 "material" to the distant future. Judge, then, the zoological value of the 

 head presented by Mr. Whitney, and of the very, very few other specimens of 

 the kind which possibly exist elsewhere. So far as we are aware, in the days 

 when this so-called "Wood" Bison could lawfully be hunted and shot, no 

 sportsman ever killed one. The only complete specimen known to the writer 

 is a huge mounted bull in the Government Museum at Ottawa. 



The head in the National Collection shows one marked peculiarity. The 

 hair of the entire head, exclusive of the neck and chin, is remarkably curly, 

 and of a uniform, deep-black color. The hair of the forehead, muzzle and cheeks 

 looks as if it had been gone over with curling-irons. The frontlet is rather 

 short, suggesting a September growth ; but the beard is of good length. 



Judging by the horns, the animal was, when killed, about six or seven 

 years old. The head is in an excellent state of preservation, and in view of 

 all circumstances it is of really priceless value. The measurements of the 

 horns are as follows: 



Circumference at base 15 inches 



Length on outer curve 18^ " 



Greatest outside spread 30| " 



Distance between tips 



A TROPHY FROM THE BARREN GROUNDS 



IN the year 1889, Mr. Warburton Pike came from a comfortable London 

 club to the wilds of Canada, and immediately penetrated the Barren 

 Grounds north of Great Slave Lake to the home of the Musk-Ox. We 

 believe he was the first sportsman who ever saw the Barren-Ground Musk- 

 Ox at home, the first to describe that animal on its native heath, and map the 

 lake region northeastward of Great Slave Lake. The terrible hardships en- 

 dured by the daring explorer during his winter trip to the Barren Grounds, 

 combined with a wealth of valuable observations, are recorded in Mr. Pike's 



