120 
CARIBOU OR AMERICAN REINDEER. 
patience he may do without it, and may be equally certain that his prey 
will ultimately come to examine him, the reindeer being an inquisitive 
animal, and at the same time so silly that if he sees any suspicious object 
which is not actually chasing him, he will gradually and after many caper- 
ings, and forming repeated circles, approach nearer and nearer to it. The 
Esquimaux rarely shoot until the creature is within twelve paces, and I 
have frequently been told of their being killed at a much shorter distance. 
It is to be observed that the hunters never appear openly, but employ 
stratagem for their purpose ; thus, by patience and ingenuity, rendering 
their rudely formed bows and still worse arrows, as effective as the rifles 
of Europeans. When two men hunt in company they sometimes purposely 
show themselves to the Deer, and when his attention is fully engaged, walk 
slowly away from him, one before the other. The Deer follows, and when 
the hunters arrive near a stone, the foremost drops behind it and prepares 
his bow, while his companion continues walking steadily forward. This 
latter the Deer still follows unsuspectingly, and thus passes near the con- 
cealed man, who takes a deliberate aim and kills the animal. When the 
Deer assemble in herds there are particular passes which they invariably 
take, and on being driven to them are killed with arrows by the men, while 
the women with shouts drive them to the water. Here they swim with 
the ease and activity of water-dogs ; the people in kayaks chasing and 
easily spearing them ; the carcases float, and the hunter then presses for- 
ward and kills as many as he finds in his track. No springes or traps are 
used in the capture of these animals, as is practised to the southward, in 
consequence of the total absence of standing wood.” 
As presenting a striking illustration of the degree of cold prevailing in 
the Arctic regions, we may here mention that Dr. Richabdson describes a 
trap constructed by the Esquimaux to the southward of Chesterfield inlet, 
built of “ compact snow.” “ The sides of the trap are built of slabs of that 
substance, cut as if for a snow house ; an inclined plane of snow leads to 
the entrance of the pit, which is about five feet deep, and of sufficient 
dimensions to contain two or three large Deer. The pit is covered with a 
large thin slab of snow, which the animal is enticed to tread upon by a 
quantity of the lichens on which it feeds being placed conspicuously on an 
eminence beyond the opening. The exterior of the trap is banked up with 
snow so as to resemble a natural hillock, and care is taken to render it so 
steep on all sides but one, that the Deer must pass over the mouth of the 
trap before it can reach the bait. The slab is sufficiently strong to bear 
the weight of a Deer until it has passed its middle, when it revolves on two 
short axles of wood, precipitates the Deer into the trap, and returns to its 
place again in consequence of the lower end being heavier than the other. 
