40 



THE POLAH WORLD. 



land, but it chiefly resides in the more northern woods of Russia, Siberia, 

 and America. It is a mild and harmless animal, principally supporting itself 

 by browsing the boughs of willows, asps, service-trees, and other soft spe- 

 cies of wood. It does not, like the reindeer, seek a refuge against the at- 

 tacks of the gad-flies, by wandering to the coasts of the sea, or retreating to 

 the bare mountains, where it would soon perish for the want of adequate food, 

 but plunges up to the nose into the next river, where it finds, moreover, a spe- 

 cies of water-grass [Festuca Jluitans) which it likes to feed upon. Though 

 naturally mild and harmless, it displays a high degree of courage, and even fe- 

 rocity when suddenly attacked ; defending itself with great vigor, not only with 

 its horns, but also by striking violently with its fore feet, in the use of which 

 it is particularly dexterous. It is generally caught in traps, as it is extremely 

 shy and watchful, and finds an easy retreat in the swamp or the forest. The 

 only time of the year when it can be easily chased is in the spring, when the 

 softened snow gets covered during the night with a thin crust of ice which is 

 too weak to bear the animal's weight. 



Though not ranging so far north as the reindeer or the elk, we find in the 

 Old World the red-deer {Cervus elaphus), in the vicinity of Drontheim, in Nor- 

 way, and along with the roebuck beyond Lake Baikal, in Siberia, while in 

 America the large-eared deer (Co'v us macrotis), and the Wapiti, or Canada stag 

 (Cervus strongylo-ceras), extend their excursions beyond 55° of northern lati- 

 tude. The latter is much larger and of a stronger make than the European 

 red-deer, frequently growing to the height of our tallest oxen, and possessing 

 great activity as well as strength. The flesh is little prized, but the hide, when 

 made into leather after the Indian fashion, is said not to turn hard in drying 

 after being wet — a quality which justly entitles it to a preference over almost 

 every other kind of leather. 



One of the most remarkable quadrupeds of the high northern regions is the 



musk-ox ( Ovihos moschatus), which 

 by some naturalists has been consid- 

 ered as intermediate between the 

 sheep and the ox. It is about the 

 height of a deer, but of much stout- 

 er proportions. The horns are very 

 broad at the base, almost meeting 

 on the forehead, and curving down- 

 vrard between the eye and ears un- 

 til about the level of the mouth, 

 when they turn upward. Its long 

 thick brown or black hair hanging 

 • down below the middle of the leg, 

 and covering on all parts of the ani- 

 mal a fine kind of soft ash-colored 

 wool, which is of the finest description, and capable of forming the most beau- 

 tiful fabrics manufactured, enables it to remain even during the winter beyond 

 V0° of northern latitude. In spring it wanders over the ice as far as Melville 



THE MUSK-OX. 



