90 The Musk-ox 



ox, and I learned on careful inquiry through my interpreter 

 that the natives seemed to know nothing of them, with the 

 exception of one young man who had been to the eastward 

 on one of the whaling ships. The Tooyogmioots, a tribe of 

 Eskimo who once lived along this coast and hunted these dif- 

 ferent mountains, are now almost extinct. I found between 

 the mouth of the Mackenzie and Herschel Island a very few 

 individuals living in snow houses, but I did not find in or 

 around their places of residence any sign of musk-ox skins, 

 bones, or heads. 



I remained at Herschel Island from Nov. 24 to Dec. 14, 

 visiting the Rev. I. O. Stringer and Capt. Haggerty of the 

 steam-whaler, Mary Dehume. Both men were able to con- 

 verse readily with the Eskimo in the Eskimo tongue, and they 

 gave me every possible assistance in making my inquiries. 

 This whole coast far to the westward of Herschel Island is now 

 occupied by the Noonitagmiott tribe of Eskimo. There were 

 a large number of these people at the island, and among them 

 were parties who hunted all the mountains of the mainland 

 mentioned, living in the mountains a great part of the time. 

 Many skins of caribou, sheep, and fur-bearing animals were 

 seen in the possession of these people, but none of them pos- 

 sessed any part of the musk-ox, and the only members of the 

 tribe who knew anything of the musk-ox were those who had 

 been carried to the east by whaling ships. The Rev. Mr. 

 Stringer takes great interest in the natural resources of the 

 country and travels extensively among these people, but he 

 had no knowledge of the existence of any musk-oxen west 

 of the Mackenzie. Capt. Haggerty had wintered along this 

 coast for a number of years, trading extensively with the 

 natives, but he had never secured or heard of a musk-ox skin 

 west of the Mackenzie. 



All the whaling ships, which have wintered here for years, 

 sometimes as many as fifteen at the same time, keep Eskimo 



