32 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



Musk Ox is much smaller than the male and has smaller horns 

 which do not touch at their bases. 



The Musk Ox is scarcely to be regarded as a game anin.al, ifs 

 habitat being such as to save it from pursuit by those who hunt 

 simply for pleasure. It furnishes however much of the fresh meat 

 which is obtained by arctic explorers, and is hunted as well by the' 

 Esquimaux and the Indians of the far North. These animals are 

 usually killed by stalking them and it is said that if the hunter keeps 

 himself concealed the Musk Oxen will not run but will permit him 

 to shoot until all are killed or until they are alarmed by the sight 

 or smell of his person. The bulls are somewhat irritable, and it is 

 said that the Esquimaux take advantage of this disposition " for 

 an expert hunter, having provoked a bull to attack him, wheels 

 around it more quickly than it can turn, and by repeated stabs in 

 the belly, puts an end to its life." 



Remains of the Musk Ox are still rare in collections, and those 

 who are fortunate enough to meet with this species in its native 

 haunts should not fail to preserve both the skin and skeleton of those 

 which they may kill, for the benefit of some of our institutions of 

 learning. Owing to its arctic habitat but little is known of its mode 

 of life, and a careful and trustworthy account of its habits and pre- 

 sent range would be a most valuable contribution to our knowl- 

 edge of North American mammals. 



