BUFFALO AND MUSK OX 
man it occurred west of the Mackenzie, and skulls of recently killed animals 
are still to be found lying not far from the coast on the Alaskan Barrens 
south of Point Barrow; in fact, there are many Esquimaux living to-day 
who used to hunt the musk ox there, and it is possible that a few individuals 
still exist west of the Mackenzie. In Greenland these animals have been 
exterminated within the last seventy years in the southern portion of their 
habitat on the west coast, but on the other hand they have extended their 
southern range on the east coast from lat. 75° to lat. 70°, and possibly still 
further south, owing to the disappearance of the Esquimaux on that coast 
line. Dr J. A. Allen takes a gloomy view with regard to the Greenland 
musk ox as well as the American race, but I do not agree with him upon 
this point, because the attacks of ships from Norway, probably limited 
to four or five each season and carrying four or five sportsmen, do not in 
reality touch their main range. These ships enter, when they can pass the 
ice, which is by no means certain, at a break just north of Iceland, and 
south of Jan Mayen, and go northward along the Liverpool coast for a short 
distance and then return. In reality they visit but a very small part of the 
musk ox range, and with the exception of an occasional exploring expe- 
dition are the only hunters that attack the musk ox. The numbers killed 
are usually small, and as we have shown, now that there are no Esquimaux 
there (they disappeared about 1870), there is little fear that their numbers 
are seriously reduced . In Grinnell Land and Grant Land only the Esquimaux , 
who are few in number, and an occasional polar expedition molest them. 
The case, however, is quite different in British North America. Here 
the musk ox between the Mackenzie and Hudson Bay are in danger of 
extinction. 
“ Formerly,” writes Dr Allen, “ their chief enemies were the wolves 
and the Esquimaux within their general range, and the Indians along 
its southern and western borders. Owing to the small number of their 
human foes, the inroads upon the herds were usually not serious, 
although it was the custom of both the Esquimaux and the Indians 
to annihilate the small herds which they attacked, the habit of the 
animals of huddling together for defence till the last member of a 
herd was killed rendering this easy of accomplishment. The white 
man has, however, proved their most deadly foe, thousands of these 
helpless animals having been necessarily killed for the support of the 
various Arctic exploring expeditions which have penetrated their range 
during the last three -fourths of a century. The herds of Ellesmere 
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