MUSK OXEN IN CAPTIVITY. 607 



wolves they fell asleep, exhausted, and when the}^ awoke the}^ found 

 that some Indians had killed all their calves, having- the superstitious 

 fear that all the musk oxen would leave the countiy, following- after 

 their stolen comrades. 



These two fruitless attempts had considerably diminished the interest 

 taken by the Yankees in these animals when it was again excited by 

 the news of the fortunate capture made by the Norwegians. 



During the winter of 1900-1, an American whaler, Capt. H. H. 

 Bodlish, was foixed to pass the winter on the North American coast of 

 the Arctic Ocean. In March, 1901, he sent ashore a part of his force, 

 accompanied by Eskimo hunters. At a distance of 30 English miles 

 from the coast the}^ encountered a herd of musk oxen with 1 calves. 

 They succeeded in capturing- all 1, but unfortunately 2 of them were 

 almost immediately killed by the sledge dogs, l^he two surviving 

 ones were tied fast upon two sledges, taken to the coast and got safely 

 on board ship. The dogs succeeded, however, in killing still another 

 and only the last one, a heifer calf, survived. It was fed with ship's 

 l)iscuit, willow twigs, and grass collected on the coast, and at last it 

 was safely brought to San Francisco. The owner asked $3,000 for it 

 (about 11,000 kroner or 12,000 marks), but found no purchaser at that 

 high price. Concerning this matter so many telegrams were exchanged 

 that the shares of the Western Union Telegraph Company straight- 

 way rose in value! Finall}^ a wealth}^ man purchased the calf and pre- 

 sented it to the New York Zoological Park. On March 12, 1902, one 

 year after it was taken, it arrived there. A short time after it was 

 photographed, and our picture shows how it appeared when about 2 

 years old. Its horns then measured 10 inches (21 centimeters) taken 

 along the curvature. 



It is remarkable that this cow, taken from the western part of the 

 continent, has itself a light spot upon its foreh«ad, the specific charac- 

 ter that Lydekker has assigned to the so-called Orlbos imrdi, and that 

 is especiall}' thought to distinguish the musk oxen of east Greenland 

 from those of the continent, which are not usually so marked. This 

 specific character does not, therefore, appear to be constant. It has 

 long been known that the size and character of the light spots on the 

 foreheads and backs of individuals of the same region and the same age 

 are subject to nmch variation. This has already been placed beyond 

 doubt bj" the experienced Danish zoologist, Herhif ^^'inge, in his 

 excellent work on the mammals of Greenland. In connection with 

 this there may also be mentioned Dr. J. A. Allen's article in the 

 Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 



I am sorry to say that the New York Zoological Park did not long 

 enjoy this rare animal. In August he was taken with an inflammation 



