73 



On Migration. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE AUTUMN AND SPRING MIGRATIONS. 



In no way is the Newfoundland Caribou so well known 

 as by its peculiar and much discussed habit of migration. 

 Many stories by those who know and those who do not 

 know have appeared from time to time, in which the ques- 

 tion of cause has been discussed. But after all is said, we 

 do not know very much about the reason for the great semi- 

 annual trek, except that it does take place with fair regularity 

 every spring and late autumn. Not on set days, as some 

 people imagine, but with the arrival of certain conditions of 

 weather which appear to affect the animals. 



Before going into the question it would be well to look at 

 the map of the island on page 138, on which I have marked 

 the approximate course of the Caribou. The northern 

 peninsula is mostly high country — rugged mountains — parts 

 of which have as yet scarcely been explored. A great deal 

 of this mountain region is very bare and exposed to the 

 frightful storms which blow down from the arctic regions, 

 storms of driving snow and icy rain which must sweep the 

 unprotected hills with appalling force and render life difficult, 

 if not impossible, for animals which feed chiefly on the 

 ground mosses. The severity of the storms is beyond 



