274 The Caribou 



passed, according to Richardson, in the woods 

 between the sixty-third and sixty-sixth degree of 

 latitude, where they subsist on lichens, moss, and 

 the long grass of the swamps. In summer the 

 herds migrate northward, the females leaving the 

 woods or their vicinity, where they have passed 

 the winter, in May, 1 and are followed by the bulls 

 in June, reaching the vicinity of the Arctic Sea 

 late in May or early in June, and the thick winter 

 coat is shed in July, and the dark brown one 

 of summer is assumed. The hair is at first 

 flexible and soft, but becomes brittle as it grows 

 in length. This, however, can be said of the 

 hair of all caribou, for there is little or no differ- 

 ence in the texture of their coats. The hair 

 near the roots is white, and as it increases in size, 

 both in length and circumference, the colored 

 points are broken or worn away and the lighter 

 color becomes the dominant one over the body 

 of the animal. In spring the Barren-Ground 

 caribou seeks the coasts of the Arctic Ocean 

 and visits its many islands, finding ample pas- 

 ture in the valleys and moist places, where the 

 withered grass of the previous year is still stand- 

 ing in the form of well-aired hay. The animals 

 remain near the salt water until about Septem- 



1 In all that section of the Barren Grounds immediately east of 

 the Mackenzie River the females leave the timber about March, the 

 bulls following in April. — Editor. 



