OF THE LARGE AMERICAN MAMMALS 231 
than he owns its minerals or its water-power. He should 
obey the general game laws, just the same as white men. In 
Africa the white population wisely prohibits the natives, as 
far as possible, from owning or using firearms, and a good idea 
it is, too. I am glad there is one continent on which the 
“T’m-just-as-good-as-you-are”’ nightmare does not curse the 
whole land. 
Tue Musx-Ox.—Now that the north pole has been safely 
discovered, the harried musk-ox herds of the farthest north 
are having a rest. I think that most American sportsmen 
have learned that as a sporting proposition there is about as 
much fun and glory in harrying a musk-ox herd with dogs, 
and picking off the members of it at “parade rest,”’ as there is 
in shooting range cattle in a round-up. The habits of the 
animal positively eliminate the real essence of sport—diffi- 
culty and danger. When a musk-ox band is chased by dogs, 
or by wolves, the full-grown members of it, bulls and cows 
alike, instantly form a close circle around the calves, facing 
outward shoulder to shoulder, and stand at bay. Against an 
enemy without a rifle, such a formation is invincible! 
For some reason the musk-ox herds do not seem to have 
perceptibly increased since man first encountered them. The 
number alive to-day appears to be no greater than it was 
fifty years ago; and this leads to the conclusion that the 
present delicate balance could easily be disturbed the wrong 
way. Fortunately, it seems reasonably certain that the 
Indians of the Canadian Barren Grounds, the Eskimo of the 
Far North and the stray explorers all live outside the haunts 
of the species, and come in touch only with the edge of the 
