INTO THE TERRA-NOVA COUNTRY 3 



black bear is still to be found there ; wolves are very rare, 

 and lynxes increasing. The principal animal, however, which 

 is of interest to the hunter and naturalist is the woodland 

 caribou [Rangifer tarandus terrcs-novcE), which is still ex- 

 ceedingly abundant in spite of the persecution to which it is 

 subjected. For its size, Newfoundland to-day contains more 

 of these animals than any other part of the world ; and, 

 owing to the nutritive qualities of its super-excellent caribou 

 moss, the deer grow to a great size and in some respects 

 throw out finer horns than any other form of the reindeer 

 in existence, if we except only those of British Columbia, 

 Alaska, and Labrador. 



In the autumn of 1900, my friend, Mr. F. C. Selous, 

 the well-known hunter, being disappointed of what he saw 

 of the annual Howley bombardment,' made an expedition 

 into the centre of the island, more as a sort of preliminary 

 canter for a future visit than in the hope of catching up the 

 migrating caribou, for which he had arrived too late. He 

 was told that no one could get any distance into the interior 

 owing to the difficulty of carrying food, and that he would 

 most certainly get "bogged" before he had gone far. But 

 difficulties of this kind presented no obstacles to a man who 

 has spent his life in overcoming them ; so getting three men 

 who were willing to follow him, he started off from Terra 

 Nova in the middle of November. The tramp was assuredly 

 a hard one, but it was not undertaken in vain. 



He killed one nice stag, and found certain signs in the 

 interior near St. John's Lake that convinced him of the 



' When the September migration sets in, hundreds of camps are set up near 

 the railway to intercept the deer. The sport, if it may so be called, is dangerous 

 alike to man and beast, but there are many brave men in the island. At least 

 four hundred face death annually at Howley, Patrick's Marsh, and the Gaff Top- 

 sails, and numerous accidents occur. 



