154 DEER STALKING ON 



and occasionally there are does seen accompanied by two fawns. 

 When this is the case, the doe is generally only a foster mother to 

 one of them. 



The September sportsman most frequently encounters the large 

 stags roaming singly. They present a far different appearance 

 from the animals he may have met in the summer months. The 

 neck has grown stouter, as if strengthened by Nature to bear up 

 the new massive antlers she has bestowed ; the hair on the neck 

 and breast has grown extremely coarse and long, and from a rusty 

 drab has turned into pure white. More especially is this true of 

 the northern deer arriving from the extreme north of the island. 

 Though all stags in September carry white necks, yet the colour of 

 the body varies very considerably. There is a variety of a light- 

 brown colour, which generally includes the fattest deer and carries 

 the best antlers. 



Then there is the white stag, more or less white all over, even 

 in summer and autumn. These are supposed to belong to the 

 extreme north of the island. There is also the dark slate-grey 

 stag with white hind quarters and a head almost black, which 

 attains the largest size of any, and carries a different type of antlers 

 from the rest. 



All, however, grow light in colour in the winter, under the 

 protective care of Nature, assimilating to their surroundings. When 

 the natives come out on the plains to take their toll off the herds 

 in winter they find their game quite white. They clothe them- 

 selves in white moleskin suits, and even have their guns enclosed 

 in cases of the same material, understanding the value of the 

 mimicry of Nature's work for their own purposes. 



In the spring the caribou is a dirty greyish white. The hair 

 comes off in handfuls at the touch, and easily breaks off short, 

 forming ragged patches. At this season the meat is poor ; the 

 hide is full of holes made by the ' bots ' of the deer flies. Very 

 often the scent of the animals is utterly destroyed by these pests 

 lodging in their nostrils, and under the palate in the throat. Yet 

 the caribou carry no vermin as do foxes, beaver, and many other 

 wild creatures. The hide is invariably cleanly in this respect. 



The antlers of the Newfoundland caribou, generally speaking, 

 are not in prime order until the middle of September. The old 

 stags lose the velvet first, but an occasional animal is seen with 

 ragged strips of velvet adhering even as late as September 20. 

 The antlers are dropped about the middle of November, except 

 in the case of barren does and hinds with fawns, which preserve 

 them intact till the spring. 



The habit of threshing the antlers against the alder bushes, 



