60 The Musk-ox 



heads out; it matters not whether the herd is 

 thirty or half a dozen, their action is the same. 

 If there are only two, they stand stern to stern, 

 facing out. I have seen a single musk-ox back 

 up against a rock. Apparently they feel safe 

 only when they get their sterns up against some- 

 thing. 



Hunting musk-oxen on the Arctic Coast or 

 the Arctic islands after the manner of the polar 

 expeditions, is a much simpler proposition. 

 There the hunters are always comparatively near 

 their base of supplies, and, from all accounts, the 

 musk-oxen are more numerous than they are in 

 the interior. According to Frederick Schwatka, 

 the Innuits hunt musk-oxen with great skill. 

 They hitch their dogs to the sledge differently 

 from the method of the Indians to the south. 

 The southern Indians hitch their four dogs in 

 tandem between two common traces, one on each 

 side ; while each Eskimo dog has his own single 

 trace, which is hitched independently to the 

 sledge. When the Innuits sight the musk-oxen, 

 each hunter takes the dogs of his sledge, and 

 holding their traces in his hand, starts after the 

 game. The wisdom of this method is twofold: 

 in the first place it immeasurably aids the running 



