NATURAL HISTORY.— MAMMALS 235 



The Indians kill the musk-ox simply for the robes. The 

 flesh is wasted, except an insignificant quantity which is con- 

 sumed by the hunters and their dogs on the spot. They de- 

 pend upon killing caribou on the way to and from the territory 

 inhabited by the musk-ox, so that no meat is taken away. 

 The musk-ox have been driven back so far into the Barren 

 Ground that they are not now hunted in summer. The robes 

 are trimmed nearly square by cutting away a broad strip along 

 the breast where the hide is thick and the hair long; experi- 

 ence has taught the hunter that he will get 50 MB for the robe 

 be it large or small, so he cuts it down in order to make room 

 on the sled for a larger number. 



It is commonly supposed that the musk-ox form in a circle 

 when surrounded by the dogs, which are released from the har- 

 ness to chase and round them up. I had an excellent oppor- 

 tunity to observe their behavior on one occasion, when we ap- 

 proached within thirty yards of a dozen musk-ox, held at bay 

 by as many dogs. They were in two groups about twenty feet 

 apart, an old bull standing between them. They were not 

 formed in a circle nor in two circles, but all turned toward any 

 dog which ventured too near, seldom lowering the head but 

 standing firmly, the head in line with the back. Two other 

 herds, when pursued by the dogs, scattered in all directions; 

 they would run a few yards, then turn to dash at the dogs as 

 they closed in, repeating this performance until overtaken by 

 the hunters to whom they fell an easy prey. Pike says, 1 "There 

 is an idea prevalent in the North that on these occasions the 

 old musk-ox form into a regular square, with the young in the 

 center, for better protection against the dogs, which they im- 

 agine to be wolves; but on the two occasions when I saw a 

 band held in this manner, the animals were standing in a con- 

 fused mass, shifting their position to make a short run at a too 

 impetuous dog, and with the young ones as often as not in the 

 front of the line." 



The musk-ox was formerly common between the Mackenzie 

 and Behring Straits, as evidenced by the remains which are 

 scattered over the tundra. The oldest natives at Point Barrow 

 say that their fathers killed musk-ox which were then abun- 

 dant. Their present distribution is from the vicinity of the 



1 Barren Ground of Canada, p. 104. 



