Caribou 191 



jettie color, and very strelght, the creature is nowhere to be 

 found but upon Cape Sable in the French Quarters, and there 

 too rarely, they being not numerous, some few of their Skins, 

 and their Streight Horns are (but very sparingly) brought to 

 the English.'' 



From this it will be seen that ** Caribou '' or " Maccaribo " 

 is a native American word— the Indian name of the animal. 

 Generations later Sir John Richardson was misled into stating 

 that' " ' Caribou ' was a French-Canadian word (from ' Quarre- 

 boeuf,' a square ox), derived from the size of the Antlers." 

 Why large antlers should constitute a square ox is a puzzle, 

 and why the adjective should be transposed in this case is 

 another. We can only regret that Richardson, usually so 

 reliable, should have made the mistake of recording a post 

 hoc and absurd explanation. 



On the same page in which he gave forth this, Richardson kixds 

 says: 



"In Rupert's Land and the northern extremity of the 

 Continent, east of the Rocky Mountans, three races of Rein- 

 deer are known and recognized by the natives and fur-traders, 

 all passing under the French-Canadian appellation of Car- 

 ibou. * * * 



"The smallest is the Barren-ground Reindeer, which 

 brings forth its young in the islands and on the coasts of the 

 Arctic Sea, and does not migrate further south in winter than 

 the skirts of the woods. 



"The largest inhabits the wooded mountains and valleys 

 of the Rocky Mountains, bordering on the Mackenzie. 



"And the third race, of an intermediate size, frequents 

 the wooded and hill districts of Rupert's Land, passing during 

 wmter into the interior and migrating in summer to the coast 

 ot James's Bay. This kind seems to have been formerly 

 plentiful as far south as the State of Maine, and small herds 

 still frequent the border of Lake Superior and many parts of 

 Canada." 



^ Zool. of Voy. Herald, 1854, p. 20. 



