72 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



the ' Polar Star,' was lost, and the 'Alert 1 returned from Cum- 

 berland Gulf. The total produce of these eight vessels was 

 28 Whales, 609 Walruses, 16 Narwhals, 3036 Seals, 128 Bears, 

 and 68 Musk Oxen ; the oil yielded was 385 tons, and the bone 

 350 cwt. — a very mixed cargo ; hut, except for the Hudson Bay 

 section of the fleet, apparently a fairly successful voyage com- 

 mercially. There has been no very recent sale of whalebone, but 

 I am informed that the last sale effected produced £1400 per ton ; 

 more is being asked for it now. Whale oil is producing from £18 to 

 £19, and Seal oil from £18 to £21 per ton. Walrus hides, 

 if heavy, bring as high as X'40 each. They are used for polishing 

 wheels for bicycle work, and therefore should be very thick ; 

 light hides are of little use, and not in request, therefore of little 

 value. The total value of the produce of the season, estimating 

 the bone at the last selling price, and allowing for undersize, 

 would probably be about £38,000. 



As part of the produce of the late voyage, sixty-eight Musk 

 Oxen will be noticed; ten of these were from East Greenland, 

 the remainder from the mainland of Arctic America in the form 

 of skins procured from the natives. This is sad reading, for not 

 only does it threaten the extinction of this most interesting animal, 

 but also of one of the food supplies of the Indians and Esquimaux 

 of this sterile •land, who maintain at the best a very precarious 

 existence on the flesh of the Reindeer, the Walrus, and the Musk 

 Ox ; should these supplies fail the natives will undoubtedly 

 perish, a fate which has already to a great extent befallen their 

 brethren to the west of Bering's Strait. Before the natives 

 became possessed of firearms they could by their primitive 

 methods obtain sufficient food for their wants, and skins for their 

 tents and winter clothing, without undue sacrifice of life ; but 

 their capacity for destruction was limited. Since however they 

 have been supplied with modern weapons they still destroy life 

 to the utmost of their ability, without thought for the future, 

 and, forgetful of their own wants, exchange the skins with white 

 traders to an extent only limited by their capacity for slaughter,* 



* My friend Mr. Kinnes, I am glad to say, tells me that this does not 

 apply to the Walrus, for on enquiry by the captain of the * Active ' for skins 

 of these animals, the natives told them that they only killed what they 

 wanted for themselves, which they considered quite euough. 



