THE BARREN-GROUND CARIBOU 163 



commonly known as La foulc, late in October move 

 southward for the winter. 



"Scattered bands of caribou were ahnost always in 

 sight from the top of the ridge behind the camps, and 

 increased in numbers till the morning of October 20th, 

 when little Baptiste, who had gone for firewood, woke 

 us before daylight with the cry, 'La foulc! La foulc!'' 

 (The throng.) Even in the lodge we could hear the 

 curious clatter made by a band of travelling caribou. 

 La faille had really come, and during its passage of 

 six days, I was able to realize what an extraordi- 

 nary number of these animals still roam the Barren 

 Grounds. 



" From the ridge we had a splendid view of the mi- 

 gration. All the south side of Mackay Lake was alive 

 with the moving beasts, while the ice seemed to be 

 dotted all over with black islands, and still away on 

 the north shore, with the aid of the glasses, we could 

 see them coming like regiments on the march. In 

 every direction we could hear the grunting noise that 

 the caribou always makes when travelling. 



"The snow was broken into broad roads, and I found 

 it useless to try to estimate the number that passed 

 within a few miles of our encampment. We were just 

 in the western edge of their passage, and afterward we 

 heard that a band of Dog-ribs, hunting some forty 

 miles to the west, were at this very time in the last 

 straits of starvation, only saving their lives by a hasty 

 retreat to the woods. This is a common danger in the 

 autumn, as the caribou, coming in from the Barren 

 Ci rounds, join together in one vast herd, and do not 

 scatter much till they reach the thick timber. 



