MIGRATIONS 99 



wild creatures, or perhaps I should say, how dependent 

 they are on conditions which we do not understand 

 or appreciate. The autumn of 19 12 did not appear to 

 be different from an ordinary season, yet undoubtedly there 

 was something which we did not observe, but which had its 

 effect on the Caribou. When we hear anyone say that 

 animals always do this or that, we may be sure that the 

 speaker's experience is small. For safety's sake, it seems 

 wise to qualify statements so as to leave a loophole for 

 escape. We might just as well be modest and own that 

 our knowledge of wild animals and their ways is exceedingly 

 limited ; the more we study them, the more are we convinced 

 of this, unless we are blinded by conceit and preconceived 

 notions as to what the animals should do. The man who 

 said that the Black Rhinoceros of East Africa is usually 

 found singly or in pairs and that more than three 7iever go 

 together (I have seen five in a herd) is an example of the 

 man who does not know quite as much as he would wish to 

 have people believe. It is in every way better to state 

 simply what one has seen (using one's eyes very carefully), 

 instead of laying down the law and saying that such a thing 

 always happens because we have seen it occur on one 

 occasion. 



Having followed the Caribou past Sandy River on their way 

 south, let us see what becomes of them. A glance at the 

 map shows them distributed over the interior of the island 

 south of the railroad. This is a region of high hills and 

 deep valleys, open country and dense forests, rocks and 

 marshes, rivers and lakes — in fact, a country of infinite 

 diversity, yet all suited to the needs of the Caribou. The 

 herds will keep moving slowly from one feeding ground to 

 another, restless at all times, for the Caribou is probably the 

 most truly nomadic of all the deer ; his food is slow to 



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