It must be owned that this position was a disagreeable one, and had the howling of the four wolves brought others of their kind to the rescue, the consequences of this affray between hungry wolves and a no less hungry sailor might have proved serious. Fortunately, the interpreter, who chanced likewise to be out shooting on a neighbouring hill, had his attention attracted by the noise of the brutes, and made his appearance on the scene. He afterwards described it as the strangest he had ever witnessed. So close were the boatswain and the carnivora in their struggle for the meat, that he fancied the latter had actually attacked the former. On the arrival of this reinforcement the wolves decamped, leaving the gallant boatswain with only twenty pounds weight of meat, instead of the one hundred and twenty his prize must have originally weighed.
The identities between the Arctic dog and the Arctic wolf are so important that Dr. Kane agrees with Mr. Broderip in assigning to these animals a family origin. The oblique position of the wolf’s eye is not uncommon among the Eskimo dogs. Dr. Kane had a slut, one of the tamest and most affectionate of his team, who had the long legs, the compact body, the drooping tail, and the wild scared expression of the eye, which some naturalists have supposed to distinguish the wolf alone. When domesticated early—and it is easy to domesticate him—the wolf follows and loves you like a dog. “That they are fond of wandering proves nothing; many of our pack will stray for weeks,” says Kane, “into the wilderness of ice; yet they cannot be persuaded, when they come back, to inhabit the kennel we have built for them only a few hundred yards off. They crouch around for the companionship of men.” Both animals howl in unison alike; and, in most parts, their footprint is the same.
The musk-ox (Ovibos moschatus) is one of the largest of the Polar ruminants. As its zoological name indicates, it is an intermediary between the ox and the sheep. Smaller than the former, larger than the latter, it reminds us of both in its shape and general appearance. It has an obtuse nose; horns broad at the base, covering the forehead and crown of the head, and curving downwards between the eye and ear until about the level of the mouth, where they turn upwards; the tail is short, and almost hidden by the thickness of the shaggy hair, which is generally of a dark brown, and of two kinds, as with all the animals of the Polar Regions; a long hair, which on some parts of the body is thick and curled, and, underneath, a fine kind of soft, ash-coloured wool; the legs are short and thick, and furnished with narrow hoofs, like those of the moose. The female is smaller than the male, and her horns are smaller. Her general colour is black, except that the legs are whitish, and along the back runs an elevated ridge or mane of dusky hair.
The musk-ox, as his name implies, throws out a strong odour of musk,—with which, indeed, his very flesh is impregnated, so that the scent is communicated to the knife used in cutting up the animal. Not the less is he regarded as a valuable booty by the Indians and the Eskimos, who hunt him eagerly. He wanders in small troops over the rocky prairies which extend to the north of the great lakes of North America. He is a fierce-tempered animal, and in defence of his female will fight desperately.
His general habits resemble strongly those of the reindeer; but his range appears to be principally limited to Melville Island, Banks Land, and the large islands to the south-east of the latter.
One of our Arctic explorers describes the musk-oxen as all very wild in April, and as generally seen in large herds from ten to seventy in number. In June they were stupidly tame, and seemed to be oppressed by their heavy coats of wool, which were hanging loosely down their shoulders and hind-quarters in large quantities; the herds much smaller, and generally composed of cows and calves.
The heavy coat of wool with which the musk-oxen are provided, is a perfect protection against any temperature. It consists of a long fine black hair, and in some cases white (for it is not ascertained that these oxen change their colour during the winter), with a beautiful fine wool or fur underneath, softer and richer than the finest alpaca wool, as well as much longer in the staple. This mantle apparently touches the ground; and the little creature looks, it is said, like a bale of black wool, mounted on four short nervous goat-like legs, with two very bright eyes, and a pair of sharp “wicked-shaped” horns peering out of one end of it.
THE MUSK-OX.