Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/109

 MUSKINGUM MUSK OX 101 muzzle. It was loaded with slugs, nails, &c. The word is of German origin, and the arm was introduced into England from Holland. In German Donnerbuchse would be the term, which after corruption by the Dutch becomes blunderbuss in English. The escopette is the Spanish or Mexican name (escopeta) for a car- bine. ' The oldest document that mentions por- table firearms is an inventory at Bologna dated 1397, in which they are called scolpos. From this term were derived later sclopeti, esclopette, escopette. (See EIFLE.) MUSKIXGOI, a river of Ohio, formed by the junction of the Walhonding and Tuscarawas, which rise in the N. part of the state and unite at Coshocton, whence it flows S. E. for about 110 m. through Muskingum, Morgan, and Wash- ington counties, and enters the Ohio river at Marietta, its mouth being 225 yards wide. At Zanesville and other points abundant water power is afforded by falls. It is navigable for steamboats to Dresden, 95 m. from its mouth. MIJSKDrGFM, a S. E. county of Ohio, inter- sected by the Muskingum river, which affords abundant water power, and drained by Licking river and other branches ; area, 665 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 44,886. It has a diversified sur- face and fertile soil, and contains bituminous coal, iron ore, and salt, the last procured by deep boring into the whitish sandstone, or salt rock. Large quantities of salt and coal are exported. It is intersected by the Ohio canal and the Central Ohio division of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. The Muskingum Valley railroad terminates at Zanesville, and the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis passes through the S". W. corner ; there is also a branch from Dresden to Zanesville. The chief pro- ductions in 1870 were 336,984 bushels of wheat, 1,198,677 of Indian corn, 313,240 of oats, 185,- 130 of potatoes, 605,194 Ibs. of wool, 815,562 of butter, and 38,094 tons of hay. There were 9,430 horses, 9,379 milch cows, 15,480 other cattle, 145,954 sheep, and 21,690 swine; 5 manufactories of agricultural implements, 8 of brick, 19 of carriages and wagons, 1 of railroad cars, 3 of woollen and 1 of cotton goods, 4 of furniture, 3 of glass ware, 2 of iron, 7 of cast- ings, 11 of saddlery and harness, 8 of salt, 31 of stone and earthen ware, 18 tanneries, 5 breweries, 13 flour mills, 5 saw mills, and 2 lime kilns. Capital, Zanesville. MISROKEES. See CEEEKS. MISKOKA, an electoral district of Ontario, Canada, in the W. part of the province, bound- ed W. by Georgian bay ; area, 5,307 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 6,919, of whom 2,541 were of English, 2,092 of Irish, and 1,293 of Scotch origin or descent. It is bounded S. by the Severn river, and watered by Muskoka river, by the outlet of Lake Nipissing, and by other streams and lakes. Capital, Bracebridge. MUSK OX (ovibos moschatus, De Blainv.), a ruminating animal found in the arctic regions of America, seeming to form, as its generic name imports, the connecting link between the ox and the sheep. It is about the size of a two-year-old cow, 5 ft. from nose to root of tail, and weighs about 700 Ibs., two or three times as much as the reindeer; the head is large, and surmounted by broad flat horns in both sexes ; in the males the horns Musk Ox (Ovibos moschatus). meet on the median line of the head, from which they bend down on the cheeks, and then turn outward and upward, much as in the gnu ; dull white and rough on the basal half, they are smooth and shining beyond, and black at the point ; the horns of an old male measured by Dr. Kane were 2J ft. from tip to tip, and each If ft. to the median line of the head. The nose is very obtuse, with only the small space between the nostrils naked ; the ears not per- ceptible, tail concealed by the hair, the legs short, and the hoofs broad and inflexed at the tips. The hair is so long that it almost reaches the ground, so that the animal looks more like a large sheep or goat than an ox ; the color is brownish black, more or less grizzled. The musk ox frequents arctic America from lat. 60 to 79 K, and from Ion. 67 30' W. to the Pacific coast ; though Dr. Kane saw no living specimens, the skeletons and probably foot- marks were so numerous that he was inclined to believe the statement of the Esquimaux that these animals had been recent visitors, and Erobably migrated from America to Green- ind ; they are generally seen in herds of 20 or 30, in rocky barren lands, and feed on grass and lichens ; the rutting season is about the end of August, and the young are born toward the first of June. Though the legs are short, they run very fast, and climb hills and rocks with great facility; they are difficult to ap- proach ; the males are irascible, and often dan- gerous when slightly wounded ; the flesh, when fat, is well tasted, but when lean smells strong- ly of musk, as does the whole animal, whence its name ; the hair is long and fine, and, if it could be obtained in sufficient quantity, would be useful in the arts ; the skin is made into articles of dress by the Esquimaux. The tracks made by this animal in the snow are much like those of the reindeer, somewhat larger, and