THE CAKIBOO. 21 



annually destroy great numbers for their flesh and hides. 

 There appear to be several varieties of this useful quad- 

 ruped peculiar to the high northern regions of the Amer- 

 ican Continent, which are ably described by Dr. Richard- 

 son, one of the companions of Captain Franklin, in his 

 arduous attempt to reach the North Pole by land. The 

 closeness of the hair of the Cariboo, and the lightness of 

 its skin, when dressed, render it the most appropriate 

 article for winter clothing in the high latitudes. The 

 hoofs of the Reindeer are very large, and spread greatly, 

 and thus enable it to cross the yielding snows without 

 sinking." 



And this without one word of its height, weight, 

 color, or habitat is the only information which the 

 Editor of the American Encyclopaedia thinks proper to 

 give his readers except a brief description of Dr. Rich- 

 ardson, about whom he seems to know a little, if he 

 knew nothing about Cariboo concerning an animal, 

 which is killed almost annually within fifty miles of 

 Albany, sold annually in Montreal, and in New Bruns- 

 wick and Nova Scotia almost as common an article as 

 venison, or Moose-meat during winter in the markets. 



Would not any one suppose, on reading the above, 

 that he was dealing with the description of an animal, 

 which roamed only wastes untrodden by the foot of the 

 white man, save the adventurous explorers of the Arctic 

 Circles, and concerning which no information can be 

 gained by the ordinary naturalists of this country ? 



