222 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



tain spots or passes well known to the In- 

 dians, through which the deer invariably 

 pass in their migrations to and from the 

 coast, and it has been observed that they 

 always travel against the wjn^, The prin- 

 cipal food of the rein-deer in the barren 

 grounds, consists of the cetraria nivalis and 

 cucullata, cenomyce rangiferina, cornicularia 

 ochrileuca, and other lichens, and they also 

 eat the hay or dry grass which is found in 

 the swamps in autumn. In the woods they 

 feed on the different lichens which hang 

 from the trees. They are accustomed to 

 gnaw their fallen antlers, and are said also 

 to devour mice. 



The weight of a full grown barren-ground 

 deer, exclusive of the offal, varies from 

 ninety to one hundred and thirty pounds. 

 There is, however, a much larger kind 

 found in the woody parts of the country, 

 whose carcase weighs from two hundred to 

 two hundred and forty pounds. This kind 

 never leaves the woods, but its skin is as 

 much perforated by the gad-fly as that of 

 the others ; a presumptive proof that the 



