Barren Ground Caribou 



from this time they stay together till the rutting season is over 

 and it is time to seek the woods once more." 



Of their curious migration he says, "They are extremely un- 

 certain in their movements, seldom taking the same course in 

 two consecutive years, . . . this is in a great measure accounted 

 for by the fact that great stretches of the country have been 

 burnt, and so rendered incapable of growing the lichen so dearly 

 loved by these animals." In the fall of 1889 he personally en- 

 countered one of the migrations. "With the increasing depth of 

 the snow there was a noticeable migration of life, from the 

 Barren Grounds. Ptarmigan came literally in thousands, while the 

 tracks of wolves, wolverines and Arctic foxes made a continuous 

 network in the snow. Scattered bands of caribou were almost 

 always in sight from the top of the ridge behind the camp and 

 increased in numbers till the morning of October 20th, when we 

 were awakened before daylight by the cry of "La foule," "La 

 foule," and even in the lodge we could hear the curious clatter 

 made by a band of travelling caribou. La Foule had really come 

 and during its passage of six days I was able to realize what 

 an extraordinary number of these animals still roam in the Barren 

 Grounds. From the ridge we had a splendid view of the migra- 

 tion; all the south side of Mackay Lake was alive with moving 

 beasts, while the ice seemed to be dotted all over with black 

 islands, and still away on the north shore, with the aid of the 

 glasses, we could see them coming like regiments on the march. 

 In every direction we could hear the grunting noise that the 

 caribou always make when travelling; the snow was broken into 

 broad roads and I found it useless to try to estimate the num- 

 ber that passed within a few miles of our encampment. . . 

 This passage of the caribou is the most remarkable thing that I 

 have ever seen in the course of many expeditions among the 

 big game of America. The buffalo were for the most part killed 

 out before my time, but I cannot believe that the herds on the 

 prairie ever surpassed in size La Foule of the caribou." 



Varieties of Barren Ground Caribou 



1. Barren Ground Caribou. Rangifer arcticus (Richardson). 

 Description and range as above. 



