10 
WARD’S NATURAL SCIENCE BULLETIN, 
OVIBOS MOSCHATUS. 
MUSK OX. 
Tlie extreme rarity of this noble mammal in 
collections, together with its importance in either 
a zoological or a geographical representation of 
the animal kingdom, causes it to he the greatest 
desideratum in every museum which does not 
already possess it. W e believe, indeed, that 
there are but two American museums which 
possess a Musk Ox: these are the National mu- 
seum at Washington and the Academy of Sci- 
ences at Philadelphia. 
Foreign museums call every month for this 
animal, sometimes ordering it outright as if it 
were as common as Elk or Bison. 
Professor has wearied himself with correspond- 
ence about it with parties in the extreme North. 
He has at least secured some interesting informa- 
tion, from which we believe that he will eventu- 
ally evolve a plan which shall secure in some 
numbers the animal itself. 
We subjoin a letter received many months ago 
from one of our collector’s far up in British 
America. It presents in a clear and interesting 
manner the route to be followed and some of the 
difficulties to be met to reach the home of the 
Musk Ox : 
Fort , 1882. 
Great Slave Lake is generally believed to be 
greater in point of superficial area than our own 
Lake Superior. Upon one of the latest maps of 
the Canadian Government it is assigned space 
extending through 6 or 7 meridians of Longi- 
tude and 3 or 4° of Latitude. I doubt greatly 
if any white man has ever seen half or even 
one-tenth part of the body of water so named. 
Certain it is that there are at least ample 
grounds for grave doubts, &c., regarding the 
asserted knowledge of either the country North 
of 54 degrees North Latitude East of 112 mer. 
and extending to shores of Arctic Ocean, or 
of the many races of people who inhabit those 
vast solitudes, or rather that immense wilderness 
whose water system alone will possibly remain a 
mystery for ages yet to come. But “ Pardonnez 
moi,” the Musk Oxen you want, or honour me so 
far as to permit me to say we want, dwell there. 
Listen to the words of my informant M. LeRache 
here in my house at my request, to tell me of 
The North, and who in reply to my question 
“Have you been to Great Slave Lake?” says 
petulantly, “Lac De’Lesclave, La Grande, legros 
grande, oui sacre, bon oui, oui, oui, Messieur 
Kaneze, et la bas, et la bas, I go to the sea, to 
the sea, to La Grande mer de glace. Be it ob- 
served he talks but brokenly, and I had a good 
interpreter ready at hand if needed and when 
interpreting the tongue called French used by 
the voyageur and especially the French half- 
breed, it is only a jargon , and often most barba- 
rous gramatically, and interspersed with different 
Indian words in different sections of the country 
(The man I am now talking with is by his mother 
either a Beaver or Dog Rib I think). Upon fur- 
ther questioning I elicited the following, putting 
it in different Language. Twelve years of his 
life spent at Great Slave Lake (and the country 
contiguous thereto) in the employ of the Hudson 
Bay Co. annual trips made in summer with Furs 
to the Long Portage (18 miles length) at a point 
as he says “ haut de terre ” separating the waters 
between the Great Northern Basin drained by 
the Slave, Athabasca and Mackenze, and those 
which flow into Hudson’s Bay. Twice had he 
been to the Arctic Ocean, by way of the Great 
Bear Lake and Coppermine River, and once with 
“ Dr. Rae ” from the Pacific side. Fort Resolu- 
tion he does not know by the name, but for pur- 
poses of argument we agreed that it is one name 
for the Old Established Post Fort De L’esclave. 
We will then let this “Slave Fort” on the South- 
ern Border of Great Slave Lake be our objective 
point, and the time anywhere betwmen the 1st 
and 10th of August, and the locality North 
side of the River Bow Medicine Hat, should the 
R. R, have progressed no farther. Here we are 
then, with half-breeds and carts to load the sup- 
plies (shipped from Montreal to save customs) 
for your party, and 12 or 14 days later the carts 
and their loads have reached Edmonton, the 
ferryman is paid for himself and crew who have 
crossed us safely over the Saskatchewan, and we 
are off for Athabasca Landing; 6 days of strug- 
gling through timber and muskeg “ Bull Dogs” 
by day and mosquitoes by night defeating all 
efforts' looking towards enjoyment of the trip, 
and the Athabasca is reached; here we are met, 
or rather we are awaited, by the boats ordered 
months previous, and which as we see them now, 
prove to be shapely craft, 32 ft. keel, 40 and 42 
overall, 5i to 7 beam, “serviceable rudder and 
lug sail,” knees made from the roots of bass or 
white birch, planking of pine, w'ell caulked and 
pitched with a product (natural) of the country, 
and every nail, if you trace it, terminates in a 
well riveted end after passing through timber and 
board and copper washer. Our half breed freight- 
ers have ere this, our boat inspection, is over, 
backed the carts in one by one to the levee , (save 
the mark!) and here on brush firmly packed to 
protect from the damp and perhaps muddy soil, 
our goods are baggaged , the 7 or 8 cents per lb. 
freight thereon from Medicine Hat paid as per 
agreement, and the freight pile turned over to 
the tender mercies of the boats crews, made up 
of French Canadian Voyageurs, Bois Brules, 
Half-breeds, Cree Indians, Shuswap, Stony, 
Beaver, Ojibway, Dog Rib, Rabbit Skin and 
Cross-eyed savages, who have been taught 
enough of civilized life to know that the whites 
live better than they would if depending on the 
products of the chase alone, and being accus- 
tomed to boats or canoes from earliest infancy, 
they without severing tribal relations, turn boat- 
men during summer (or serve the Company in 
other capacities) and again take to the hunt 
during winter; and now they are breaking bulk 
or piecing our freight; all packages of whatever 
nature, ere being loaded on the boats, are so ad- 
justed as to weight that they may be carried 
around and across the Portages, of which we 
have five to encounter ere reaching our destina- 
tion. Cargo being arranged and stowed (80 to 90 
pieces of from 80 to 112 lbs., each being consid- 
ered a load for a boat), boats swung off one by 
one, and the spot whence we embarked is lost to 
our view almost instantly, as the boats catch the 
strong current of the deep, swift river, and with 
prows to the North, and a lookout or view pilot 
in the bow of the leading boat, the crews give 
way and our speed is increased to a degree hard 
to believe, as six pairs of strong arms keep well- 
timed, long and steady strokes with the oars in 
each boat. Lead boat takes 9 men: 1st, look- 
out, 2d. bowsman, 3d. steersman, 4th. 6 oars- 
men. Each successive boat carries 8 men, 6 at 
the oars, 1 at the tiller and 1 in the bow to land 
the line and “watch everything.” Landing at 
the approach of midday if practicable, dinner 
cooked and eaten, underway; at night supper 
cooked on shore, all on board and to bed, save 1 
man on each boat to steer, and still on through 
dark or starlit nights, for the river is deep, no 
hidden rocks or dangerous snags, and so on for 
21 to 24 days and nights, each day a repetition 
of its predecessor save for the 5 portages men- 
tioned, which are not long nor severe; here boats 
are taken from the water, unloaded, and each 
boat dragged by means of ropes and a double 
crew (46 men) over sticks of wood for rollers, 
until again launched; the pieces are carried, sup- 
ported by a broad strap, which passes around 
the piece and then across the forehead, and the 
portages are not the cause of much delay. After 
entering Lake Athabasca, sail is used, also at 
Lesser Slave Lake and favorable points on the 
River as well ; from Lesser Slave Lake the route 
is down the Slave River to the Great Slave Lake 
Fort, and I have here outlined, somewhat ver- 
bosely perhaps, a trip that need not occupy over 
60 days at the most, so we will have until Dec. 
1st, in which to prepare winter quarters, or to 
cross an arm of the Lake, and coasting the west- 
ern shore of Big Island, under lead of a skillful 
pilot, reach the head of the Mackenzie, and 
proceed 5 or 6 days and nights travel down that 
stream to Fort Simpson; Musk Ox are sure to be 
found within 2 or 3 days travel of this point. 
MEMORANDUM. 
Days. 
Medicine Hat to Athabasca Landing, carts, - - 34 
Athabasca Landing to Chippewayan House, - - 17 
Chippewayan House to Great Slave Fort, 7 
To cover accidents, delays from unseen causes, &c., 12 
So you see a liberal allowance of time, - 60 
Pure salt in abundance at Salt River. Tar in 
abundance, though sometimes taken from under 
the water. Hazel Nuts, both sides of Mackenzie 
River, abundant. Waters close 1st Dec. Win- 
ters cold, snow 3| to 7 or 8 feet. Mode of travel: 
Summer, boats and canoes; Winter, snow-shoes 
and dog-sleds. Wolverine immense size and 
plenty; so numerous as to destroy Marten trap- 
ping business, &c. ; Beaver, Cariboo, Moose, 
Deer and Musk Ox; Trout in lake 70 and 75 lbs. 
weight, and plenty wild fowl in summer; abund- 
ant Cariboo near the mouth of the Mackenzie, 
weigh about 160 lbs. ; those in lake region or 
interior 260 or 280 lbs. ; bordering on the Ocean 
for 100 miles, no timber or brush of any kind; 
Caribou from interior all come here in May of 
each year and remain till approach of winter and 
then return to the timber; Grizzlies abundant, 
large and ferocious, Foxes, Fisher, Marten (stone 
and pine), Muskrats, White Beaver, Otter, Lynx, 
