THE MUSK-OX 203 



herd has been brou^-ht to bay in their circle of defence 

 by the dogs, the Eskimo hunters approach within five 

 or six feet and make sure of every shot that is tired, as 

 a wounded animal is somewhat dangerous and ex- 

 tremely liable to stampede the herd. 



The danger that the herd will be stampeded is 

 greater (I am satisfied, after reading many accounts of 

 the assaults made upon these animals by Indian and 

 white hunters) than the danger of their charging their 

 pursuers. There can be no doubt, however, that they 

 do charge the dogs and sometimes kill them. We need 

 go no further than Schwatka's account of the chase, 

 however, to learn that there is no danger in approach- 

 ing these animals quite closely. He speaks of the 

 " rapid blazing of magazine-guns right in their faces — 

 so close often as to burn their long shaggy hair." 



Mr. A. Hyatt Verrill, in an entertaining stor}^ has 

 described a musk-ox hunt from a whaling schooner, 

 which was locked fast in the ice in the northern part 

 of Hudson's Ba}-. With a party consisting of six 

 squaws and three men he made a hunting trip into the 

 Barren Grounds in pursuit of musk-oxen. They had 

 three large sleds and about thirty dogs. The weather 

 was extremely cold, the spirits being far below zero, 

 and they camped in the little hollows to escape the 

 raging blizzard. He describes the Iwilics, his attend- 

 ants, as agreeable, jovial people who make the best of 

 everything, and says they are very fond of chasing the 

 musk-ox. Shortly after setting out they met the Bar- 

 ren Groimds caribou and bagged four of these animals. 

 The next few days they bagged only two wolves and 

 three (ji lour foxes. The ptarmigan were, (jf course, 



