The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1910-06-10
MUSK OXEN AS LIFE SAVERS.

An lnStalment or Peary'S story OF
his journey to the pole deals with the
hunting, by means of which the par
tvs stock of provisions for the win
ter was very materially helped out
At first game was so scarce that he
was a good deal worried
Only few hares and foxes were Sc
cured and he began to fear that he
himself on his latest previous expe-
dition had killed off the musk OK, on
which Arctic explorers have largely
depended for fresh meat. But he had
better luck when with the three Es-
kimos he made weeks trip to ex-
plore Clements Markham Inlet
ION the next march," he writes in
Hampton's, I'VE had gone only some
six or seven miles when, rounding
point on the eastern shore of the in
let, Ooh-loo-yah and ] at the same
moment saw black dots on a distant
hillside.
'Oomingmukane!' said: ,Ooob-loo-
yah excitedly, and I nodded to him,
well pleased.
ITO the experienced hunter with
one or two dogs seeing musk oxen
should be the same as securing them.
There may be trave ing over the
roughAst kind of rough country, with
wind in che face and cold in the
blood, but the end should always he
the trophies of hides, horns and
juicy meat.
For mys:lf 1 never associate the
idea of sport with musk oxen-too
often in the years gone by the
sighting of those black forms has
meant 10 me the difference between
death and life. In 1899 in Independ-
ence Bay the finding of herd of
musk oxen saved the lives of my en-
tire party. On my way back from 81
degrees G MINUTES in 1906 if l had
not found musk oxen on the Mares
Land the bones of my party would
now he lying up there in the great
white waste.
when Oob-loo-yah and l saw the
significant black dots in the distance
we headed for them There were
five close together and another little
"StJ oii. w hSll We SoL "llulu 1903
than q mile two Of the dogs were
loosed. They were wild with excite
Eent. for they also had seen the
black dots and knew what they
meant, and as soon as the traces were
unfastened they were off-straight as
the fight of q bee.
I'VE followed at our leisure. know
ing that when we arrived the herd
would be rounded UP, ready for our
llfies. A single musk OK when he
sees the dogs will make for the near
est cliff and get his back against it,
but herd Of them will round up in
the middle of 4 plain. with tails to-
gether and heads toward the enemy.
Then the bull leader of the herd will
take his place outside the roundup
and charge the dogs When the lead
er is shot another takes his place, and
SO on.
"a few minutes later stood again.
as I had stood on previous expedi-
tions, with that bunch of shaggy
black forms. cleaning eyes and
pointed horns before me-only this
time it did not mean life or death.
'Yet as l raised my rife again
felt clutching at my heart that terri
Bile sensation OF life hanging on the
accuracy Of my aim; again in my bones
l felt that gnawing hunger of the
past, that savage lust for red, warm.
dripping meat--the feeling that the
wolf has when lie pulls down his
quarry. He who has ever been really
hungry. either in the Arctic or else
where, will know what mean. Some
times the memory of it rushes over
me in unexpected places. / have 1t
it after hearty dinner, in the streets
of great city when lean faced beg
gar has held out his hand for aims.
II pulled the trigger and the bull
leader OF the herd fell on his
launches. l had found the vulnera-
BILE SPOT under the shoulder, where
one should always shoot musk on
TO aim at the head is 4 waste of am
munition. As the hull went down
out of the herd came a COW, and |
also brought her down with one shot
The others. a second COW and two
yearlings, were the WORK of {. few
minutes