It is in fjct very surprisiiij; to soi* just how far north the prai 

 ries do extend in their ^reat swinjj up the western half of ourcon- 

 tinent, and how the animal life of much more southern latitudes 

 inhabits this during the summer, though most of it migrates 

 southward each fall It is on and about the outliers of prairie, 

 deep into the taiga forests, that an abundance of rabbits, as 

 opposed to the typically northern hares, are to be found Their 

 great numbers, which do not seem to fluctuate from year to year 

 like those of the hares, attract an assemblage of the smaller 

 predators. Whereas wolves are common throughout the rest of 

 the country, they are replaced by coyotes on the prairies. This 

 is also just about the only place on the continent where one is 

 almost sure to see more than one weasel a day. Red Fox and 

 Bobcat also abound, while the Lynx stays in the forests. Resi- 

 dents assert that there are even Gray Fox on these prairies. 



Once more I would like to note the profusion and abundance 

 of animal life in this area. It is to some extent true that the 

 forests as a whole may be regarded as monotonous, but not in 

 any degree is this so when compared to those of the next prov 

 ince we shall visit; namely, Alaska. A few moments of sllcii. 

 and the proper use of ones eyes will disclose, as If by ma^i. 

 hosts of living things great and small everywhere And, despite 

 the occasional rambunctiousness of a bull moose or perhaps an 

 irritable mother bear, it is a friendly land The most alarming 

 things— to me at least— are the grouse. They are so well camou- 

 flaged, so unafraid to begin with, and such adept vanishing 

 artists, that one is invariably stepping on them, whereupon they 

 let out piteous cries and roar into the air scattering gray feathers 

 beneath them and making more noise for their size than a four- 

 engined plane. 



Scattered throughout the taiga forests are endless swampy 

 areas, known as muskegs, which support a profuse flora of 

 thin-stemmed shrubs, various mosses, and such sedges as 

 this Cottongrass. These freeze deeply in winter but become 

 quagmires in summer while the surrounding ground re- 

 mains frozen almost to the surface. 



