and the Maritime Provinces. 45 



from the ground in search of food, and it then finds pretty ' short commons ' ; 

 it fairly revels, however, if in its wanderings it finds a lot of old lichen- 

 covered windfalls." 



" One would hardly believe that there could be much nutriment in 

 lichens and mosses," said the Judge, as the Doctor paused to replenish his 

 pipe. 



" Singularly enough there is," said I ; " I have seen caribou which were 

 absolutely fat that had probably subsisted entirely on that diet." 



" Yes," continued the Doctor, the reindeer lichen, Cladonia rangifer- 

 ina, seems to be pretty nutritious ; in fact, I seem to be so regarded 

 myself, judging by the attacks of these pesky mosquitoes ! Let 's have a 

 smudge, boys," he exclaimed, addressing the guides, who were still lying 

 outside our tent. 



In a short time an old pan filled with burning chips covered with 

 damp moss and turf, the smothered fire causing an intense smoke, was 

 swung back and forth through our tent and then placed on the ground 

 near by ; the hordes of winged pests soon left us. 



" The foot of the caribou," continued the Doctor, after we were again 

 settled upon our fragrant couch, " is also wonderfully well adapted to the 

 needs of the animal ; the caribou is a great wanderer, particularly in win- 

 ter, its meagre food supply necessitating a constant change of locality. 

 Unlike the hoof of the moose, which as I before stated is poorly adapted 

 to a long-continued journey on crusted snow, the hoof of the caribou in the 

 winter increases in width, becomes concave, and its edges grow so sharp 

 that the animal can rapidly travel on the icy surface of frozen rivers and 

 lakes and on icy snow, the feet spreading out wide and acting almost 

 like snow-shoes. A moose or deer could not long make its way in places 

 where the caribou trots off with the greatest ease, and the quickness with 

 which a herd of the wanderers disappears when alarmed is disgusting to the 

 weary hunter who has, perhaps, been following them for many hours ; they 

 dash through the snow and over the ice like veritable phantoms, their 

 sharp hoofs clicking like castanets as they speed away." * 



* Mr. Munro, whom I have already quoted, sends me the following 

 notes relating to the caribou in Nova Scotia. — E. A. S. He says : — " The 

 caribou of Nova Scotia is altogether different in its habits from the 

 moose ; it is a great wanderer, and in my observation travels regularly 

 from east to west in the autumn and from west to east in the spring. Its 

 food consists of moss and lichens, and in winter it will paw the snow in 

 the bogs to the depth of a foot and a half to obtain its favorite food, 

 and it seems to know just where to dig to obtain it. Our caribou are 

 usually found in low lands and in boggy places, but if its food is to be 

 found in pine or white maple growths interspersed with low, wet swamps, 

 it will often be found there. They usually inhabit the wettest swamps in 



