CHAPTER XXII. 



Game of the Hudson's Bay Region. 



the ptarmigan, or arctic partridge — the wild ducks and 

 geese — other wild fowl — the characteristics of the 

 reindeer, or caribou — singular traits and character- 

 istics of the polar bear. 



HE northern region of Canada, from Labrador to the 

 Rocky Mountains, and northward to the Arctic, abounds in 

 game. Were its plains, and cliffs, and streams, and lakes not 

 a 1P 1 so difficult to reach, it would be the best available hunting 

 ground in the world ; and I doubt not, as our means of communication 

 with these districts are improved, hunting expeditions to the far 

 north will become one of the most attractive features of Canadian 

 sporting life. 



Foremost among the game birds is the grouse, or ptarmigan 

 (Lagopus Saliceti) as they are properly called. They are grey in 

 summer and white in winter. They differ from the real grouse by 

 having the toes thickly feathered as well as the legs. These abound 

 from southern Labrador north-westward throughout the entire 

 Hudson's Bay country. They breed mostly a short way inland 

 where they are not disturbed, but shift toward the coast in the fall. 

 They travel in flocks or coveys of from ten to twelve, and afford 

 good sport except in the more unfrequented territories where they 

 are so tame that it is impossible to raise them. They are delicious for 

 the table, excelled only, I think, by the curlew (Numenius borealis) 

 which make their appearance on the shores in the fall season, pre- 

 paratory to starting for warmer latitudes. They generally arrive in 

 immense flocks, and feed upon the small berries which are found 

 along the rocky shores and barrens within the northern portions of 



