2IO 



Caribou -Hunting. 



outside of the legs, and fading to almost pure white on the neck 

 and throat. The under part of the body and tail is white, and a ring 

 of white encircles the legs just above the hoof. Some specimens 

 have a light spot on the shoulders and a black patch on the mouth. 

 It is not uncommon to find aged and full-grown animals adorned 

 with a flowing mane, which adds greatly to the grace and beauty of 

 their appearance. In» midwinter I have noticed departures from the 

 above description, the coats of some animals inclining more to light 

 gray ; and in others, one half of the body was very light gray, and the 

 other half much darker. In particular, I remember having killed a 

 doe of extraordinary size and beauty of form, whose general color 

 was an exceedingly rich dark brown, and entirely different from that 

 of any other caribou in the herd. 



The heads and antlers of the caribou present much diversity of 

 form, and seldom are any two found alike. In the same herd, I have 

 seen heads very like that of a two-year-old colt ; then, again, others 

 had pronounced Roman noses, the whole head appearing much 

 longer. In some instances, the palmation extends throughout the 

 horns ; while in others, such as the Labrador caribou, it is often con- 

 fined to the tines at the top of the horn, the main stem being nearly 

 round. Again, we find in the caribou inhabiting Newfoundland 

 horns of very great size, perfect in palmation, and in many cases 

 having both brow antlers developed. 



The construction of the caribou's 

 hoof differs from that of any other 

 animal of the deer tribe, and is won- 

 derfully adapted to the services it is 

 required to perform, and enables the 

 animal to travel in deep snows, over 

 frozen lakes and icy crusts, when the 

 moose and deer are confined to their 

 yards and at the mercy of their foes. 

 Toward the end of the season, the 

 frog begins to be absorbed, and in 

 the month of December is entirely 

 so ; at the same time, the hoof ex- 

 pands and becomes concave, with 

 sharp and very hard, shell-like edges. 



WOODLAND CARIBOU HOOFS. 



