94 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 



In his report of his exploration trip from Great Slave 

 Lake to Chesterfield Inlet via Thelon River, in 1900, J. W. 

 Tyrrell states that they first found musk-oxen among the 

 lakes in the vicinity of the height of land between the basin 

 of the Great Slave I^ake and that of the Thelon, and, after 

 emphasizing the fact that the musk-oxen are among the 

 most valuable resources of the north country, he recom- 

 mends that the territory between Thelon and Backs Rivers 

 be set aside as a game sanctuary, on account of the rapid 

 diminution of their numbers. In his volume, "Through 

 the Sub-arctics of Canada," he refers to the musk-ox (pp. 

 241-242), and states that he has seen ''musk-ox robes 

 stacked by the Eskimos like hay-cocks, along the shore of 

 Chesterfield Inlet, awaiting opportunity to market them." 

 In 1912 the Hudson's Bay Company established a post at 

 Chesterfield Inlet, and I am informed by a recent explorer 

 from that region that the natives were being encouraged to 

 bring in all the musk-ox robes that it was possible to obtain. 

 As the remaining herds of musk-ox are now restricted on 

 the mainland to the region between Chesterfield Inlet and 

 Backs River, the significance of such hunting is only too 

 obvious. 



It had been hoped by many of those of us who are en- 

 deavouring to prevent the extermination of this scientifi- 

 cally unique and economically valuable animal of our 

 Arctic plains that in the interior of the Barren Grounds there 

 was an area, more or less inaccessible on account of the diffi- 

 culties of travel to the Dog-rib and Yellow-knife Indians 

 on the west, and the Eskimos on the east, in which there 

 would be less danger of the musk-ox being killed out. Un- 

 fortunately, the latest reports indicate that this is a vain 

 hope. It is true, as I am reliably informed by one of the 

 Hudson's Bay Company's officers, that the western and 

 southern range of the musk-ox has been so reduced that it 

 was practically impossible to obtain musk-ox skins at the 



