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CHAPTER XVII. 



THE CARIBOO, OR AMERICAN REINDEER.* 



N the month of January 1843, and in one of 

 the coldest winters ever experienced in the 

 United States, I was seated, in the evening, 

 by the fireside of the vast dining-room of a 

 farmer in New Brunswick. Mr. Thomas Howard, my 

 host, was one of the most intrepid hunters in the colony, 

 and, thanks to the recommendation of my friend, Mr. 

 William Porter, the able editor-in-chief of the New York 

 sporting journal, the Spirit of the Times, I had been re- 



* The cariboo is the largest of the North American deer. In form he 

 closely resembles the reindeer of Lapland, but their habits are completely 

 different. There can be no doubt, for instance, that the cariboo is as dan- 

 gerous as the bison ; and though it is said he will not attack man, we must 

 not confide too much in the timidity with which naturalists are pleased to 

 adorn him. As game, he is a delicious food ; delicate as the kid, juicy as the 

 hare. 



