
Barren Ground and Woodland Caribou 
Hunting the Magnificent ‘‘Deer’’ of Newfoundland 
By CAPE BEVERLY W. ROBINSOR 
Illustrations from paintings by Carl Rungius 
XCEPTING only the musk ox of 
the white Arctic wastes, the 
caribou ranges farther north 
than any other hoofed animal. Only 
touching the United States in north- 
ern Maine, where today it is scarce, 
its range extends, exclusive of the dry 
prairie country, pretty gener- 
ally throughout all of the for- 
est covered and barren lands 
of Canada and Newfoundland 
from the Atlantic to .the 
Pacific Coast mountains, and it 
is said by naturalists to exist 
today in the greatest numbers 
of any mammalian species in- 
habiting the earth. Though 
scientists have divided the 
caribou into eight or nine sep- 
arate groups only the two main 
divisions, the barren ground 
and the woodland caribou, need 
be referred to here and of these 
the latter are probably much 
the more familiar to sportsmen, 
though in actual numbers, the barren 
ground variety is probably by far the 
most plentiful. 
Except for such as are killed by 
hunters and sportsmen in Alaska, the 
center of abundance of the barren 
ground Caribou lying in that inac- 
cessible territory north and west of 
the Great Slave Lake renders them 
still fairly safe from pursuit by any 
but the Indian trappers and the hunt- 
ing Esquimo. Much as the buffalo of 
a few generations ago made annual 
migrations on our western plains, so 
UTITSL LEB eA 
Covered with vast areas of wind-swept bar- 
ren grounds and sheltering spruce forests, 
Newfoundland is the home of the caribou. 
Graceful in carriage, beautiful in conforma- 
tion to the tips of his palmated antlers, he is 
the embodiment of the spirit of the North. 
Whether or not you hunt big game, you 
are sure to enjoy this interesting narrative. 
UPN. UVLO vv 
today, with the coming and going of 
winter, tens of thousands of the cari- 
bou move south and north upon the 
vast northern moss-covered barren 
lands lying beyond the tree line. 
Smaller than the woodland variety 
they have tremendous antlers for their 
size, the shape and character of which 
constitutes the main point of differ- 
ence between the two species. The 
antlers of the woodland caribou are 
comparatively short in the main beam 
with brow tines and tips often quite 
heavily palmated and in many cases 
having over thirty points, while those 
of the barren ground group 
are very long in the beam but 
scantily palmated and _ with 
considerably fewer points. All 
have the broad curved hoofs | 
split high up, which, when 
spread, enable them to go at 
their best speed over the top of 
snow, that with their narrower 
and comparatively smaller feet 
moose or deer would sink deeply 
at every stride. 
Of the woodland caribou 
many of the largest and finest 
specimens come from New- 
foundland and Labrador; and 
having at various times shot 
quite a few in both places it has been 
my experience that the “deer” of 
Newfoundland and “the Labrador” 
have without exception been larger 
and heavier animals with much finer 
horns and of a markedly lighter color- 
ing than the caribou of eastern 
Canada. A big Newfoundland stag 
HTH 
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