THE CARIBOU. 99 



The Barren-ground Caribou, whicli migrate to the coast of the Arctic Sea 

 in summer, retire in winter to the woods lying between the sixty-third and'sixty- 

 sixth degree of latitude, where they feed on the long grass of the swamps. 

 About the end of April, when the partial melting of the snow has softened the 

 cetraricB, cornicularioB , and ceromyces. which clothe the barren grounds like a 

 carpet, they make short excursions from the woods, but return to them when 

 the weather is frosty. In May the females proceed toward the sea-coast, and 

 toward the end of June the males are in full march in the same direction. At 

 that period the power of the sun has dried up the lichens on the barren grounds, 

 and the Caribou frequent the moist pastures which cover the bottoms of the 

 narrow valleys on the coasts and islands of the Arctic Sea, where they graze 

 upon the sprouting carices and on the withered grass or hay of the preceding 

 year, which is at that period still standing and retaining part of its sap. Their 

 spring journey is performed partly on the snow, and partly after the snow has 

 disappeared, on the ice covering the rivers and lakes, which have in general a 

 northerly direction. Soon after their arrival on the coast, the females drop 

 their young, generally two. They commence their return to the south in 

 September, and reach the vicinity of the woods toward the end of October, 

 where they are joined by the males. This journey takes place after the snow 

 has fallen, and they scrape it away with their feet to procure the lichens, which 

 are then tender and pulpy, being preserved, moist and unfrozen, by the heat 

 remaining in the earth. Except in autumn, the bulk of the males and 

 females live separately; the former retire deeper into the woods in winter, 

 "while herds of the pregnant does stay on the skirts of the barren grounds, and 

 proceed to the coast very early in the spring. 



Captain Parry saw Deer on Melville Peninsula as late as the 23d of Septem- 

 ber, and the females, with their fawns, made their first appearance on the 23d 

 of April. The males in general do not go so far North as the females. On the 

 coast of Hudson's Bay, the Barren-ground Caribou migrates farther south 

 than those on the Coppermine or Mackenzie Rivers; but none of them go to 

 the southward of the Churchill. 



When in condition, there is a layer of fat deposited on the back and rump 

 of the males to the depth of two or three inches, or more, immediately under 

 the skin, which is termed depouilU by the Canadian voyageurs, and as an article 

 of Indian trade, is often of more value than all the remainder of the carcass. 

 The depouille is thickest at the beginning of the autumn ; it then becomes of a 

 red color and acquires a high flavor, and soon afterward disappears. The 

 females at that period are lean, but in the course of the winter acquire a small 

 depouille, wliich is exhausted soon after they drop their young. 



The flesh of the Caribou is tender, and its flavor, when in season, is, in my 

 opinion, superior to that of the finest English venison; but when the animal is 

 lean, it is insipid — the difference between lean and well-fed Caribou being 

 greater than one can conceive who has not had an opportunity of judging. . 

 The lean meat fills the stomach, but never satisfies the appetite, and scarcely 

 serves to recruit the strength when exhausted by labor. 



The Chippewyans, the Copper Indians, the Dog-ribs and Hare Indians, of 

 Great Bear Lake, would be totally unable to inhabit their barren lands were it 



