168 THE MUSK OX,—ANTELOPES. 
important article of commerce. Dyed red, it is formed into those curious 
tufts that decorate the caps of the Chinese, and when properly mounted in 
a silver handle, it is used as a fly-flapper in India under the name of 
“chowrie.” These tails are carried before certain officers of state, their 
number indicating his rank. 
THE curiously-shaped horns of the Musk OX, its long woolly hair falling 
almost to the ground in every direction, so as nearly to conceal its legs, 
together with the peculiar form of the head and snout, are unfailing charac- 
teristics, whereby it can be dis- 
criminated from any other 
animal. The horns of the 
Musk Ox are extremely large 
at their base, and form a kind 
of helmet upon the summit 
fi SN . : POA of the forehead. They then 
if \ A sweep boldly downwards, and 
‘i : are again hooked upwards 
towards the tips. This 
curious form of the horns is 
only noticed in the male, as 
the horns of the female are 
set very widely apart from 
the sides of the forehead, and 
are simply curved. The 
muzzle is covered with hair, 
with the exception of a very 
MUSK OX,—(Ovibos moscnatus.) slight line round the nostrils. 
This animal is an inhabit- 
ant of the extreme north of America, being seldom seen south of the sixty- 
first degree of latitude, and ascending as high as the seventy-fifth. It 
lives, in fact, in the same country which is inhabited by the Esquimaux, 
and is known to them under the name of Oomingnoak. It is a fleet and 
active animal, and traverses with such ease the rocky and precipitous 
ground on which it loves to dwell, that it cannot be overtaken by any pursuer 
less swift than an arrow or bullet. It is rather an irritable animal, and 
becomes a dangerous foe to the hunters, by its habit of charging upon them 
while they are perplexed amid the cliffs and crevices of its rocky home, 
thus often escaping unharmed by the aid of its quick eye and agile limbs. 
The flesh of this animal is very strongly perfumed with a musky odour, very 
variable in its amount and strength. Excepting, however, a few weeks in 
the year, it is perfectly fit for food, and is fat and well flavoured. 
The Musk Ox is a little animal, but, owing to the huge mass of woolly hair 
with which it is thickly covered, appears to be of considerable dimensions. 
The colour of this animal is a yellowish brown, deepening upon the sides. 
A 
Kh (\s 
ANTELOPES. 
THE ANTELOPES form a large and important group of animals, finding 
representatives in many portions of the globe. Resembling the deer in many 
respects, they are easily to be distinguished from those animals by the 
character of the horns, which are hollow at the base, set upon a solid core 
like those of the oxen, and are permanently retained throughout the life of 
the animal. Indeed, the Antelopes are allied very closely to the sheep and 
goats, anc in some instances, are very goat-like in external form. In all cases 
