X 



THE BARREN-GROUND CARIBOU 



AS stated in the preceding chapter, the barren- 

 gfround caribou is much the smaller of the two 

 North American animals. The naturalists now regard 

 this reindeer as closely related, if not identical with 

 that found in the Arctic regions of the Old World. 

 Hornaday says, that in general terms it may be said 

 that the average barren-ground caribou is a close un- 

 derstudy of the average reindeer of Siberia and Lap- 

 land and is also a smaller animal. 



Comparatively few American sportsmen have shot 

 the barren-ground caribou on account of the forbid- 

 ding character of the ground and the hardships attend- 

 ant upon the chase. Its habits are now well known, 

 however, and there are places where many animals are 

 killed annually by venturesome sportsmen. 



Richardson long ago gave us an excellent description 

 of the animal and its habits in his great work, " Fauna 

 Boreali Americana." 



The sportsman who goes to shoot the northern rein- 

 deer may expect to bag the musk-ox, and on parts of 

 its range he will find the polar bear. Since the bar- 

 ren-ground caribou is usually found on wide, open 

 plains, he is easily seen at a long distance, and the 

 sport is therefore somewhat like that of antelope- 



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