32 



Later Nathorst has set forth the same opinion, and means 

 that the musk-ox not till probably after 1822 — 25 immigrated 

 to the regions South of lat. 76° N., as neither Sabine, who dwelt 

 in Sabine Island in 1823, nor Clavering who at the same time 

 made a boat expedition of a fortnight to Clavering Island, past 

 Jordan Hill, and quite to the bottom of Loch Fine, an inlet on 

 the north side of Hudson's Land, saw musk-oxen; farther Nat- 

 horst means, that on the whole the musk-ox has not lived 

 together with the Eskimo. 



However tempting such a theory might seem to be, yet 1 

 do not believe in its being right. — Certainly, neither Scoresby, 

 Clavering, nor Sabine, found musk-oxen, when they were on 

 the coast (1822 and 1823), and when the Germans made their 

 sledge expedition in 1869, from October 27 till November 4, 

 from Sabine Island to Clavering Island, and to the inmost part 

 of Tyroler Inlet, thus a distance not less than that, travelled 

 over by Clavering, they did not see a single musk-ox either; 

 but how little importance is to be attached to this, is best 

 seen from the fact, that they did not see a single reindeer 

 either; Scoresby found nothing but its horns and bones in the 

 old Eskimo hamlets, and there is scarcely any doubt that the 

 reindeer lived there at this time. The want of remains of musk- 

 oxen in the Eskimo hamlets, the main point of support of this 

 theory, is not so conclusive either, as it might seem immediately; 

 the numerous old Eskimo hamlets are far from having been 

 so thoroughly examined, that one dares conclude anything 

 decisively from that; indeed, it is not even excluded, that rests 

 of the musk-ox were found in one hamlet. Of the bones of 

 animals, found at Cape Stewart in the Eskimo hamlets, that 

 are there, Scoresby writes (I. с 214): «Among the bones dis- 

 covered in the hamlets, we could distinguish those of seals, 

 bears, reindeer, dogs, narwhals, and whales. The thighbone 

 of some big animal was also met with, the species of which 

 we could not determine». Scoresby knew the other bones. 



