or the piles of caplin which they cached un- 

 der the sand on the shore, were the wander- 

 ing herds of caribou, — splendid old stags 

 with massive antlers, and long-legged, inquis- 

 itive fawns trotting after the sleek cows, 

 whose heads carried small pointed horns, 

 more deadly by far than the stags' cumber- 

 some antlers. Wherever the wolves went 

 they crossed the trails of these wanderers 

 swarming out of the thickets, sometimes by 

 twos and threes, and again in straggling, end- 

 less lines converging upon the vast open 

 barrens where the caribou gathered to select 

 their mates for another year. Where they 

 all came from was a mystery that filled the 

 cubs' heads with constant wonder. During 

 the summer you see little of them, — here a 

 cow with her fawn hiding deep in the cover, 

 there a big stag standing out like a watch- 

 man on the mountain top ; but when the 

 early autumn comes they are everywhere, 

 crossing rivers and lakes at regular points, 

 and following deep paths which their ances- 

 tors have followed for 

 • countless generations. 



