THE GAME ANIMALS OF CANADA 69 



the Northwest Territories, the woodland caribou is widely- 

 distributed, but it is nowhere abundant. MacFarlane states 

 that this caribou is known to the Cree Indians as the mus- 

 keg-atik or ''swamp deer," on account of the character of 

 its usual habitat, and that it is not found in the region 

 of poplar growth or in the open plains. From the state- 

 ments of MacFarlane and reports that have been furnished 

 me by Mr. Charles Barber, chief game guardian of Mani- 

 toba, Mr. F. Bradshaw, chief game guardian of Saskatche- 

 wan, and Mr. H. T. Bury of the Department of Indian 

 Affairs, the range of the woodland caribou is, throughout 

 this western territory, generally speaking about as follows: 

 From Lake Winnipeg westward to Lake Athabaska; in 

 northern Saskatchewan they occur chiefly northeast of 

 Prince Albert and northwest of Battleford; over the whole 

 section of the country within the basins of the Slave and 

 Athabaska Rivers; and between Athabaska Lake and Great 

 Slave Lake they occur chiefly on the west side of the Slave 

 River, and through the country lying between Peace River 

 and Great Slave Lake. Farther west small herds have been 

 encountered along the lower Liard River, and in northern 

 Alberta they have been met as far south as the North Sas- 

 katchewan River near Edmonton. 



Seldom are large numbers found together. They usually 

 occur in small bands made up of five to thirty or forty indi- 

 viduals. Sometimes larger bands may be found congre- 

 gating in the autunrn. When they are dressed the skins of 

 the woodland caribou are superior to those of the barren- 

 ground caribou. 



Mountain Caribou. — The mountain caribou are to be 

 found in British Columbia. In the southeastern part of 

 the province the species described by Seton, in 1899, as the 

 black-faced or mountain caribou (R. montanus) occurs in 

 the forested valleys of the Selkirk and Monashee (Gold) 

 Mountains. Mr. Robert Chapman informed me that he 



