THE LAST OF THE ROVING BIG-GAME 107 



Chipewyan Indian who has ventured out to the 

 white man's country, to " the people who live 

 behind rocks "* — as he terms the white race that 

 live in stone-built houses. If you question him 

 closely, you may hear of the great Caribou migra- 

 tions which pass his far-off wigwam at some name- 

 less point in space and which provide him with 

 meat stores for half the months in the year. 



If he narrates vividly his story will be legend- 

 like as the tales of Buffalo herds on the North- West 

 prairies half a century ago or as the tales of the 

 herds of Pronghorned Antelope — that, alas ! 

 have wasted away since civilisation came to the 

 prairies, and the fences of the Canadian Pacific 

 Railway held them hapless prisoners when they 

 longed to answer the insistent call to the south, 

 and to change which was essential to their 

 existence. 



In many ways I had heard of the migrations of 

 the Barren-ground Caribou, each new tale whet- 

 ting my desire to witness them. The Buffalo had 

 gone, the Antelope were almost gone ; mankind 

 would never again witness those great animal 

 herds in their wild state. There remained — 

 beyond the pale of white man — the last of the 

 roving big-game race in Canada ; the Barren- 

 ground Caribou 



I had read at one time some records of Caribou 

 in a work entitled Through the Mackenzie Basin, 

 which contained " Notes on Mammals," by 

 R. Macfarlane, and I had written them down, 

 though little knowing that I would evei come to 

 think of them again. Those records were : — 



" Caribou observed passing in the neighbour- 



