Musk-Ox: Dusty End

"Operation Musk-Ox," the Canadian Army's strategic tour around the roof of the world, last week came to an inglorious end. It was licked by something few had foreseen--dust. Up till then, the 45 men in the expedition had endured unbelievably tough conditions in their 3,000-mile trek. Frequently the mercury dropped way out of sight (coldest day: 52DEG below zero). The ten snowmobiles floundered through miles of man-swallowing swamps; crossed ice-choked rivers in spring flood, like the Fort Nelson, on rafts; gingerly pushed their way across great chasms on improvised timber bridges.

On the last leg Musk-Ox bogged down. The snowmobiles which had licked the northern wilderness could not take modern highway conditions. On the gravel of the Alaska Highway their engines became clogged with dust, the heat in the vehicles became unbearable. At Grand Prairie, Alberta, with but 250 miles to go to Edmonton, Musk-Ox called for help. A special train was sent up. Eighty days out of Churchill, Manitoba, the weary men of Musk-Ox were glad to load their snowmobiles on the train, pile on themselves for the ride to their goal.

What Musk-Ox had taught about defending Canada in the North, Lieut. Colonel Patrick Douglas Baird, expedition commander, saved for Ottawa's official ears. Lesser problems, as whether it is better in the North to sleep raw in a sleeping bag or to wear pajamas, were not settled at all: the men disagreed. The men of Musk-Ox did agree that: 1) biggest problem is maintenance of fuel supplies for snowmobiles, which carry 40 gallons, eat it up at a two-miles-a-gallon clip; 2) Canada's Eskimos* "are the friendliest, most honest people I ever met, but, man, they're dirty!"

* For other information about Canada's Eskimos, see Books.

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