262 The Caribou 



such places they find in abundance the moss 

 which forms their chief subsistence, and also in 

 the proper season the buds of various shrubs of 

 which they are very fond. 



In the spring the Woodland caribou seek the 

 sides of the mountains, and in summer are usually 

 found near their summits, hiding during the day 

 in dense thickets, coming out at night to wander 

 about their chosen locality. At this season the 

 horns are tender and in the velvet, and the animals 

 do not roam about much, food being usually plenti- 

 ful on every side. Should there be a lake in their 

 vicinity, which is indeed usually the case, its banks, 

 that are generally muddy, will be found each morn- 

 ing covered with the fresh tracks of the deer that 

 have wandered around it during the night. The 

 woods also that are much frequented by caribou 

 have many well-beaten paths ramifying in all di- 

 rections through them, made by these animals in 

 their marches from place to place ; and to follow 

 one of these is not only to find, often, the only 

 method of traversing the forests, but the shortest 

 way of reaching some desired spot, for the deer 

 seem to prefer a direct route between two points. 

 The female caribou, which also carries antlers 

 much smaller and weaker than those of the male, 

 brings forth her young in the spring usually one 

 only, but occasionally two are produced — minia- 

 ture representatives of the adult animal. In the 



