35 6 HOOFED ANIMALS 



tending to grey, is the prevailing colour ; the face, neck, 

 and throat are whitish, and there is a white band round 

 each fetlock. There is, however, considerable variation 

 in tint in individuals, and in winter the almost crimped and 

 wavy hair is always lighter, in some cases nearly white. 

 The under-coat of woolly fur renders the skin especially 

 valuable for clothing and other coverings in the Arctic 

 regions. 



Concerning the habits of the wild Reindeer compara- 

 tively little is accurately known. Baron Nordenskiold 

 closely observed it in Spitzbergen, in which desolate region 

 herds of Reindeer are very numerous. Owing to the 

 nature of its habitat the Reindeer is of necessity a migrant. 

 In the short summer the animal seeks the ice-free grassy 

 valleys, withdrawing in the autumn to the sea-coast, where 

 its food is chiefly seaweed. In winter it retires to the high 

 lands in the interior, where it can find a living on the 

 lichens and mosses. In America the northern variety 

 migrates southwards in winter to the woodland regions ; in 

 spring a plague of gnats and gadflies drives the animals 

 back to the colder uplands. 



Of the various animals which man has domesticated, 

 some, as the ox, sheep, horse, and the dog, have spread over 

 the globe, and, particularly in company with the white 

 man, prosper and thrive thousands of miles away from their 

 original habitat. Others again, of undoubted utility, 

 remain bound to certain latitudes, isolated regions, where, 

 with a nature accordingly adapted, their services are invalu- 

 able thus are the camel for the arid deserts of the East, 

 the llama for the snow-clad Cordilleras, and the Reindeer 

 for the hills and plains of Lapland. 



Various tribes of Indians would be unable to exist in the 

 Arctic portions of British North America were it not for 

 the immense herds of Caribou. Of the antlers they form 

 fish spears and hooks, and, previous to the introduction of 

 European iron, ice-chisels and various other tools were 

 likewise made of them. From the hide is made soft and 

 pliable leather, and when sixty or seventy skins are sewed 

 together, they make a tent sufficient for the residence of 

 a large family. The shin-bone of the Deer, split so as to 



