HABIT AND DOMESTICATION. 281 
picious and wary. An alarm, from which the moose would only 
flee a few miles, will send away the Caribou a whole day, at a 
rapid pace, which takes him quite out of the country, and defies 
the pursuit of the hunter. These are characteristics which do 
not promise well for their domestication. When raised as pets, 
like all the other deer, they lose their fear of man and become 
very tame, and systematic effort through a long course of years 
might, no doubt, bring them to a state of semi- domestication, 
which, after all, is about as much as can be said of the domesti- 
cated reindeer of Northern Europe and Asia. There is no other 
domestic animal which propagates its species in that condition 
which retains so much of its wild nature as these reindeer. This 
possibly may be accounted for by the frequent intermixture of 
wild blood among the domestic herds, which is said to be en- 
couraged by the Lapps, as it is supposed to infuse vigor into the 
stock. This is not a difficult end to accomplish, as the wild deer 
often range the same mountains which are inhabited by the tame. 
The domestication of our Caribou should only be attempted in 
situations where the climate and food are adapted to the well 
being of the animal in the wild state. 
In the few instances recorded, or of which I have heard, no 
attempt has been made to breed them in the domestic state, but 
they have been simply kept as pets, or for exhibition. So far 
as I am informed, most of the efforts to transport them to Europe 
have failed, they dying during the voyage. This may, possibly, 
have resulted from a neglect to take along the reindeer moss, 
which, as I have shown, is indispensable to the health of the 
European reindeer, whether tame or wild. It is not too late yet 
for a fair trial of the experiment of domesticating this deer ; still 
it might be better to try and import those already domesticated 
from Lapland, and if the greater size of the Caribou be desired 
they could be bred to them. I am a little surprised that the 
Hudson’s Bay Company, which has ever shown remarkable enter- 
prise and perseverance in the conduct of its business, has never 
imported the reindeer for transportation purposes, wherever the 
proper food is found, as they would certainly be more economical 
than dogs for that purpose. 
THE ELK, OR WAPITI DEER. 
I have had a good opportunity to study the disposition of our 
Elk and of all the other smaller species in my own grounds. 
After all it is only in semi-domestication that we are enabled to 
