REPORT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION 



MEMORANDUM ON BARREN GROUND CARIBOU AND MUSK-OX 



(R. M. Anderson) 



Barren Ground Caribou — Rangifer arctkus (Richardson) 



Notes from Captain Joseph F. Bernard, of Schooner ''Teddy Bear,'" at Ottawa, 



December, 1920. 



After several years trading in the Bering sea region, Captain Bernard went 

 into the Arctic in 1909, wintering at Barter island, 1909-10; at mouth of Kogary- 

 usk river, eighteen miles east of Coppermine river, Coronation gulf, 1910-11; at 

 Cape Bathurst, 1911-12; at Bernard harbour. Dolphin and Union strait, 1912- 

 13 (on south side of the strait); at Lady Richardson's bay, southwest side of 

 Victoria island, 1913-14; went out to Nome in 1914. Sailed in again from 

 Nome in 1916, wintering 1916-17 at Kogaryusk river again; in late summer of 

 1917, finding ice conditions bad in Dolphin and Union strait, he sailed east and 

 found little ice in Dease strait and in Queen Maud's sea. Turning up into 



^tH! 



I iijljoii near Carey Lake, N.W.T. 



Pholu by J. B. Tyrrell. 



Victoria strait, he was blocked in by ice behind Taylor island, off southwestern 

 side of Victoria island (ca. 102° west, 69° 15' north) and could not get out of the 

 place for over two years. 1918 was a bad year; snow did not go off the land 

 except on the higher ridges and ice was four feet thick in harbour at end of 

 summer. 1919 the climatic conditions were better, although the ice was then 

 ten feet thick, and sunshine most of the summer melted the ice so Bernard got 

 out of Victoria strait on September 1, 1919, having only time to get back west 

 to the Kogaryusk river in fall of 1919. He wintered again at Kogaryusk, 1919- 

 20, and came out to Nome again in September, 1920. 



Migration of Caribou — - 



1916 (autumn migration). At Kogaryusk, eighteen miles east of mouth of 

 Coppermine river. Biggest migration at Big Kogaryusk, west of Tree river (in 

 the fall). No caribou at Coppermine river that fall; few at Cape Krusenstern 

 (east end of Dolphin and Union strait) or at Bernard harbour (south side of 

 Dolphin and Union strait). 



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