THE MUSK OX 



saiga antelope, with proboscis muzzles and grey 

 coats, crop the stunted herbage ; here and there the 

 huge form of a woolly rhinoceros looms ashy grey 

 in the fading twilight. With lurching gait a cave 

 bear swings out of the tangled thicket ; far off in the 

 forest a dim red herd of mammoth primeval 

 elephants are huddled for the night under a canopy 

 of pine boughs. In the middle distance a troop of 

 musk oxen, sturdy and well-clad, rise slowly from 

 the sheltered hollow where they have lain all day. 



The last rays of the red winter sun fade from the 

 primeval scene ; the darkness is, however, dispelled 

 by the rising moon, silvering the boughs of the pine 

 forest, and casting inky shadows. The saiga 

 antelopes appear as a huge dim blur, grunting and 

 grazing. A troop of grey phantoms wolves on the 

 prowl flit across the valley. A shrill alarm whistle 

 rises from the herd of saiga ; instantly all the grey- 

 coated antelopes are standing at gaze, peering, 

 snorting, and stamping in perplexity, with necks 

 craned out, the youngsters as alert as their elders 

 then off dashes the whole herd in a whirlwind of 

 powdery snow. Most of the wolves pursue the 

 antelopes ; a few, however, remain to menace the 

 musk ox, which form up in line of defence, with 

 the master bull on the extreme right, crowding up 

 their well-armed ranks like recruits on parade. The 

 howling attackers completely surround the troop 

 with a cordon of savage eyes and sharp teeth ; the 



