DOMESTICATION OF RUMINATING MAMMALS 315 



domestication, or even similar to that of cattle and if — as seems certain 

 — there proves to be a commercial market for their wool, many hundred 

 thousand square miles of the continental and island part of arctic Canada 

 could eventually be converted into as profitable pasture land as large 

 sections of Australia, to say the least. Should mines and other industries 

 develop, that would only increase the value of the musk-ox as a local source 

 of meat and milk. 



The musk-ox could with about equal propriety be called the musk-sheep, 

 and, as far as that goes, the "musk" might well be left out. The meat of 

 even the old bulls had no "musk" smell noticeable to any of the white 

 men of our party nor to the Eskimo, whose sense of smell is, in general 

 (at least out-of-doors), better than ours. All the white men agreed that 

 the first meal they had of musk-ox meat tasted better than their first meal 

 of caribou, except three of us whose first meal happened to be the meat 

 of bulls in the spring. At that season, their flesh does have a strong taste, 

 and that of the cows a slight taste. But, as the same is true of the domes- 

 ticated sheep and does not interfere with the eating of mutton, this need 

 not be considered serious. In countries like Argentina, tallow is an im- 

 portant article of commerce, and so it is — or was — in Australia. In this 

 connection it is interesting to note that a large, fat musk-ox produces a 

 hundred pounds of tallow in rare cases. It is probable that the males un- 

 der domestic conditions would produce much more than do the wild ones. 



A thing that would appeal to those who have experience with sheep 

 in such countries as the Canadian and American west, is that no blizzard 

 (unless possibly at the calving season) can cause the owner of a herd of 

 musk-oxen worry or even extra work. The blizzard does not blow in 

 arctic Canada that would interfere with the comfort of a herd of musk- 

 oxen. Except during the calving season possibly, and at shearing time, 

 they would require no care. 



I shall not go into details as to how the initial breeding animals could 

 be secured, but it is a simple matter, whether on the mainland while yet 

 they are not exterminated, or in the uninhabited Arctic islands. Simplest 

 of all would be to set apart, say Melville Island as an experiment station. 

 If it should not be deemed proper that I urge this matter publicly while 

 in Government service, I hope to do so when that service is ended. When 

 the southern part of our country becomes densely populated, and with 

 our short Hudson Bay and British Columbia routes to Europe and the 

 Orient, such a pastoral development of arctic Canada, as I have outlined 

 above, would become of great commercial importance. That the meat 

 of the musk-ox would not find a ready market need not be feared. As it 



few persons could distinguish it from beef under most of the forms of 

 modern meat cooking. 



