THE MUSK-OX AT HOME 231 



that of the average bull. The boss does not grow out of 

 the skull, nor is it a part of it, like the horn, but is separated 

 from it by a layer of something like gristle that is a good 

 half-inch thick. 



Thus it may be seen that the only vulnerable spot in 

 the musk-ox head is at the crevice. I do not from actual 

 experience know a bullet would penetrate the skull at 

 that point, but my observations in cutting up a head to 

 study its formation rather convinced me it would. 



The flesh of the musk-ox is coarse arid exceedingly 

 tough and unpleasant to eat, both from the difficulty of 

 chewing it as well as from its rank flavor. In taste it does 

 not resemble that of any other wild animal, though it may 

 be said to approach nearest probably that of the moose in 

 spring. The marrow is very much coarser than that of 

 the caribou, and has no such delicate flavor to commend it. 



The cow flesh has much less of the musk taint, and in 

 the yearling it is scarcely perceptible, but the older the 

 bull the stronger the odor. 



On the first insertion of your knife into the ox for the 

 purpose of skinning him the first faint odor of musk that 

 greets you is not displeasing, but as you continue it be- 

 comes exceedingly obnoxious. Nor does it seem to be 

 secreted in a special gland, but rather to permeate the 

 entire flesh. I found the musk-ox robe the hardest in my 

 experience to remove. Its hide is very thick, and in the 

 excessive cold in which one is obliged to work the task 

 becomes herculean. 



The cows calf (never more than one at a time) in June, 

 and in the spring hunts of the Indians the unborn musk- 

 ox is a twofold luxury to them. Its flesh is eaten like the 

 unborn caribou, and its hide taken to the fort for trade. 

 The unborn musk-ox hide is of the deepest brown im- 

 aginable, with a very fine, soft fur that would average 



