1908.] Allen, The Peary Caribou. 491 



During Commander Peary's survey of the northern coast line of Grant 

 Land, he states that late in June, 1906, on reaching Cape Hubbard, the 

 northern point of Jesup Land (Heiberg Land of Sverdrup), he came im- 

 mediately upon the recent tracks of six deer, and in just thirty-five minutes 

 from the time he landed, his party had captured two deer and a hare. He 

 says of these: "Both were does, neither pregnant, nor very large, and very 

 thin though evidently putting on flesh, the skin of course in bad condition 

 and antlers in the velvet. A very noticeable feature was the length of the 

 hoofs, and the development of the dew claws into regular spoons as large 

 as a hare's ears, thus giving the deer natural snowshoes, which they need 

 in this country not only for the snow, but for the boggy saturated ground 

 as well, at this time of year" (/. c., p. 205). On June 29, at the same place: 

 " At 2 P. M. the men returned. They found at close quarters that the three 

 deer seen from the summit of the cape [Cape Hubbard] had increased to 

 six arid a fawn, all of which were secured (three bucks and three does)" 

 (/. c., p. 208). Two days later, on the Garfield coast, at the northwest 

 corner of Grant Land, Commander Peary saw a deer grazing and sent the 

 boys to bring it in, "which they did in about an hour (a buck with small 

 horns in the velvet). This made twelve obtained thus far. A fresh track 

 was seen between the tent and the sledge which we left; and another deer 

 was seen on the opposite side of the bay" (7. c., p. 210). 



These references show that reindeer, or caribou, were present about 

 July 1 on both sides of Fridtjof Nansen Sound, which was still so well closed 

 with ice that Peary and his party crossed on the ice from Grant Land to 

 Jesup Land and returned in safety at this late period in the season; which 

 shows that during most of the year Nansen Sound must be here passable 

 for caribou, and that the herds of Jesup Land (or Axel Heiberg Land) and 

 Grant Land are practically the same herd. They also show that his hunting 

 parties found both males and females commonly associated in the same herd, 

 both in autumn (September-November) and in June and July; and that in 

 winter as well as in summer caribou were met with practically to the north- 

 ern border of the most northern of arctic lands. 



