MUSK OX BEEF. 307 



occasionally that hunters killing one of these bulls 

 found that the nose was excoriated by this constant 

 shovelling, but as a rule, most of their faces bore no 

 trace of injury from the rough work they had under- 

 gone. The musk ox is an animal of whose habits 

 much less is known but according to the Encyclopedia 

 Britannica " they feed chiefly on grass, but also on moss, 

 lichens, and the tender shoots of the willow and pine." * 

 Now in these far northern lands there are to be 

 found many species of lichens. The Arctic Zone in 

 fact is peculiarly the land of the lichen; and upon 

 these, as well as upon dwarf creeping willows, rarely 

 rising over a couple of inches above the surface of the 

 ground, and the snow-loving " Saxifraga Oppositifolia," 

 which is one of the hardiest and most valuable of 

 all polar forage plants, it is probable that the musk 

 ox contrives to glean a frugal livelihood. These 

 curious animals are about the size of small mountain 

 cattle, but are more heavily and powerfully built, and 

 in their structure and habits are closely allied to the 

 sheep. It is thus, and because of the strong scent of 

 musk which they exhale from their skins that they 

 have acquired the name of " Ovibos Moschatus. " The 

 meat is described as tasting like very tough beef, with 

 a flavour of musk, but this is said to be obviated by 

 skinning the carcase, and removing the viscera as 

 quickly as possible after it is killed, in which case the 

 meat is obtained free from this disagreeable taste. But 

 if these precautions are neglected it soon becomes 

 uneatable. The dressed carcase of a good musk ox will 

 sometimes weigh above 8 cwt, f and forms a welcome 



* Encycl. Brit., Qth Edition, Vol. xvii, p. 108. (Article "Musk Ox.") 

 f Ibid., p. 108. 



