In the Arctic Regions. 178 
provided the hunters go against the wind ; when two 
or three men get so near a herd as to fire at them from 
different points, these animals, instead of separating 
or running away, huddle closer together, and several 
are generally killed ; but if the wound is not mortal 
they become enraged and dart in the most furious 
manner at the hunters, who must be very dexterous 
to evade them. They can defend themselves by their 
powerful horns against the wolves and bears, which, 
as the Indians say, they not unfrequently kill. 
The musk oxen feed on the same substances with 
the reindeer, and the prints of the feet of these two 
animals are so much alike that it requires the eye of. 
an experienced hunter to distinguish them. The 
largest of these animals killed by us did not exceed in 
weight three hundred pounds. The flesh has a 
musky, disagreeable flavor, particularly when the ani- 
mal is lean, which unfortunately for us, was the case 
with all that were now killed by us. | 
During this day’s march the river varied in breadth 
from one hundred to two hundred feet, and except in 
two open spaces, a very strong current marked a deep 
descent the whole way. It flows over a bed of gravel, 
of which also its immediate banks are composed. 
Near to our encampment it is bounded by cliffs of fine 
sand from one hundred to two hundred feet high. 
Sandy plains extend on a level with the summit of 
