PIKE'S DESCRIPTION OF THE MIGRATION 103 



"From what I could gather from the Yellow-Knife In- 

 dians," says Mr. Pike in "The Barren Grounds of Northern 

 Canada," "and from my own personal experience, it is late 

 in October that the great bands of Caribou, commonly known 

 as La joule, mass upon the edge of the woods, and start for 

 the food and shelter afforded by the stronger growth of pine 

 farther southward. 



"Scattered bands of Caribou were almost always in sight 

 from the top of the ridge behind the camps, and increased in 

 numbers till the morning of October 20, when little Baptiste, 

 who had gone for firewood, woke us before daylight with the 

 cry, ' La foule! La foule! 9 ("The throng'). Even in the lodge 

 we could hear the curious clatter made by a band of travelling 

 Caribou. La foule had really come, and during its passage 

 of six days I was able to realize what an extraordinary num- 

 ber of these animals still roam the Barren Grounds. 



"From the ridge we had a splendid view of the migration. 

 All the south side of Mackay Lake was alive with the moving 

 beasts, while the ice seemed to be dotted all over with black 

 islands, and still away on the north shore, with the aid of the 

 glasses, we could see them coming like regiments on the march. 

 In every direction we could hear the grunting noise that the 

 Caribou always makes when travelling. 



"The snow was broken into broad roads, and I found it 

 useless to try to estimate the number that passed within a 

 few miles of our encampment. We were just in the western 

 edge of their passage, and afterward we heard that a band of 

 Dog-Ribs, hunting some forty miles to the west, were at this 

 very time in the last straits of starvation, only saving their 



