280 The Caribou 



theirs until their young are born. While very 

 much smaller than those of the males, the female 

 antlers are a very efficient means of defence, for, 

 being composed of short beams armed with sharp 

 spikes, they form a very dangerous weapon when 

 wielded by an enraged animal as powerful as a 

 caribou in her own defence or that of her young. 

 During growth they are covered with a furry, 

 velvety skin, which is full of blood-vessels, tender 

 and very sensitive, and which bleeds profusely if 

 lacerated. The beam has various degrees of 

 curvature, and the tines are of all shapes and 

 sizes and modes of palmation. 



The members of the two great divisions, the 

 Woodland and Barren-Ground, resemble each 

 other closely in their habits, varying only as the 

 different configuration of their districts causes 

 them to adopt a slightly changed mode of life. In 

 essential particulars they exhibit but few varia- 

 tions from each other, the larger number of which 

 have been mentioned and some considerably en- 

 larged upon, and there are not many distinct 

 characters possessed by either. Still, in parlance 

 of the day, these dwellers of the woods and plains 

 represent different species, how many is a matter 

 that cannot be said to be as yet satisfactorily de- 

 termined. East of the mountains, on the cheer- 

 less plains of Arctic America and in the great 

 island of Greenland, two species are recognized, 



