The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1920-02-04

OK. sr
As Stefanss0n sees 1t, there are at
least q million square miles of natur-
al grazing ground in the sub-arctics,
suited In every particular to the needs
and tastes Of the northern caribou
and the still more northern musk Ok.
Vast herds Of these animals, in the
wild al over the so-called Barren
lands" Why not take them under
projections. turn their feeding ranges
into ranches and abattoirs and ship
the meat to the hungry folks down
south? The territory is Canadian,
but the hunger and high cost Of liv-
ing are international; therefore, let
the two countries cooperate in q
scheme Of conservation.
Reindeer Meat Liked.
Alaska and Labrador have proved
that the reindeer can be domesticated
into a public meat producer. Deer
meat has been shipped from Nome
and other Alaskan points to Seattle,
Minneapolis, Chicago and even to
New York, and people who have
bought it have asked for more. Stef-
ansson now suggests that the business
be taken up seriously, its herding and
ranching extended to the great
prairies of the Canadian North, and
the supply Of meat to the whole con-
dnent begun on q really commercial
basis. But he ventures still farther
and urges a similar experiment with
the musk oxen.
Now,tfe musk OK, beingea peculiar
~ arctic animal, has never before fig
ured in the American scheme of mar
keting. In its own country, however,
it is greatly valued ~ its meats
sake, and explorers who have eaten
musk OK roasts up there say it Is a
pity that the Eskimos should have a
monopoly Of SO good a diet. The meat
Is hardly distinguishable in taste, 1t
seems, from regulation beef, and in
nutritive value is quite it's equal.
There is wool to be considered, too.
The average sized musk OK carries Is
pounds Of. just-as-good-as-sheep's wool,
which it wears as a thick cold-proof
vest under a shaggy haiy topcoat. In
fact, the musk OK is pretty nearly as
much sheep as cattle. It is two and
One-half or three times the size Of a
sheep, running about 700 pounds, and
is in that same proportion a more
prolific sourc Of raw material for
suits and socks.
Thiek-sst, with massive head and
short legs, the musk OK looks clumsy,
but is surprisingly nimble on its feet.
1t travels usually in herds Of Is or
80, and its feed is grass. saxffrage
plants and dwarf willows. Stefansson
points out, as an argument in favor
Of his subpolar ranching scheme, that
the musk OK needs neither to be
housed 0 fed, being quite able to
fend for itself and even to protect
itself against wolves.
Provides Beef, Milk and Wool.
The habitat Of this geological non
descript, which gives beef as tender
as q prize steers, milk as rich as
Jersey rea and wool as good a. a
sleeps, is the very top country OF
America. The herds never come
farther south than halfway down the
coast Of Hudson bay. and they do not
go west Of the Mackenzie river. On
+. the north they roam along the arctic
mainland coast and on the islands be-
yond. There does not seem to be any
good reason, however, why the musk
OK could not be kept successfully
within the nearer bounds Of the .arhar-
rem lands" or in Alaska, where trans
portation facilities would be more
easily possible.
Nearly enough like the musk OK to
be a distant cousin, the woodland but.
falo IL another denizen Of the North
that may some day be made the base
Of ! new meat supply. His habits ne
somewh4fath sane "a those of TIE
arctic. % butsthe country Sthat he in.:
habits Is m arelllsaofswoodsd land. ~
the extreme north III Alberta,sw4s az
Save river ThrosnlSh the forests q.
this rsglton roarnSar1allI bpulfalol herds,
syhose fetal putnbess probably do not
axIcssdss19Qsh ssd They ne theaonly
snr1siiSlele natural stats i he.
coupltllet11 A6isor fhaf Sncs ccysared tie
western pllilina. ass;ss ssss sssSz III
s TsvSas -
WomslF Aaysa bSen aetussdA 0f lack of'
spofrthsaltn,sllalahips; IN slsls \ woman 49,