THE NEWFOUNDLAND CARIBOU 331 



of this I have given several instances in the preceding 

 pages. 



Caribou make a curious crackling sound as they walk 

 which has been explained in various ways. The Micmacs 

 say that it is produced by the hoofs overlapping on the ground 

 and springing back to the proper position as the leg is raised. 

 But this cannot be correct, as the sound is made when the 

 foot rests on the ground and the weight of the body is thrown 

 upon it. Sometimes it crackles twice as the weight descends, 

 and again as it lifts, and it is probably made, as Mr. Thompson 

 Seton suggests, by the tendons slipping over the adjoining 

 bones. The sound is not produced at every step, but is 

 generally heard when the leg is placed in some strained 

 position, as for instance when the deer grazes forward, 

 leaving a hind leg at full tension. A herd passing close to 

 the observer make a rattling sound like a band of castanets, 

 and can be heard at a distance of fifty feet or more on a 

 still day. 



Between the front of all the hoofs there is a large gland,' 

 from two to four inches deep, and with the entrance covered 

 with bristly hairs, which secretes a musky yellow fluid. It 

 is almost the diameter of a pencil. It has been stated that 

 when the deer cross a human trail they put their noses to 

 their feet and then rush off at full speed. I have never seen 

 them do this. They put their noses to the ground and 

 carefully smell all the human tracks, and then gazing at each 

 other show unmistakable signs of fear, such as sudden starts, 

 springing into the air, and bristling out the stern. I have 

 never seen them actually smell at their own feet, and think 

 the gland is used for some occult purpose which at present 



' The Greenland Esquimaux call this gland klookirtal ; the Micmacs have no 

 especial name for it. 



