The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1858-01-16


The Reindeer of the Polar Regions.
From DR.. Armstrong; Discovery Of the
Northwest Passage we extract the follow
ing:
How far the migratory habits of tie ami
NAL NAV be established in a more southerlv
latitude on the coast ST America, in their in
stinct,ve ressrt to localities where pasturage
may be more abundant, | shall not attempt
to decide; but this will say, that from the
more distant lands Of the Polar Sea, they
do not migrate on the approach Of winter,
but remain their constant inhabitants.
have remarked, however, that as the season
Of thaw sets in-May and June-coeval
with 1se csiving 6 the does, these generally
resort to the ravines and valleys bordering
the coast, where the pasturage is SO much
more abundant The requirements of the
animal for the support of its young become
urgent, oblging it to desert the higher but
NOR. barren and stony lands, for locality
VIII re natures wants are more beautifully
supplied. From the period Of entering this
bay Till the abandonment Of the ship in the
summer of 1858, we killed one hundred and
twelve.
A few skins were preserved and several
tionai preparations OF the antlers in differ
ent stages of growth, as illustrative of its
rapidity, in the hope Of calculating one Of
the most surprising processes OF animal
growth which bounteous nature enables US
to contemplate, as evidencing her wonderful
reproductive powers. These animals vary
in size, according to age and other circum
stances The largest we got gave a net
weight of two hundred and forty pounds,
which yielded one hundred and sixty four
pounds of meat; and the smallest shot, on
ly thrty-two pounds; the average weight,
however. of the entire number, was seven
ty pounds and three quarters. The flesh,
when procured in the autumn, is of the
most delicious flavor and quality, tender,
juicy, light, and easy Of digestion, for sur
passing the venison Of this country, and
covered with a good coating of fat.
1t undergo.s marked change, however,
as the winter advances, and in the following
spring and summer the animal becomes
lean and poor, and the flesh dry and insipid,
till the more abundant pasturage of the
summer again brings it into improved con-
diton which is always best in October.
They are generally shy and timid and very
diflfcuit of approach; and it is only when
all means of ascape are cut Cf, and the ami
NAL wounded, that the bucks will evince
signs of hostility to the hunter or their
great enemy, the wolf, by attempting to use
their antlers in their defense. The calving
season, as far as my observation enables
me to Judge, is in June. prior to and coeval
with which the bucks shed their antlers,
which appear to be again entirely reproduc
ed in the latter end of August and early in
September.
The color of the animal is, in winter,
4eae-siYite; with . patch Of light brown on
the back; but in the summer it becomes ex-
tended, covering both back and sides par
TALLY, the remainder maintaining the pure
white of the winter. When much hunted
they become exceedingly shy, and it is on
" bv the exercise of the utmost strategic |
skill that the hunter can hope TO get within
range. In the first meeting, an instructive
curiosity leads them unwarily to approach
the willy hunter, and thus become his prey. |
They are, as it were, fascinated by the no.
vel appearance of man in the dreary wilds |
where his form has never before been seen. |
From this circumstance l infer that the sue
cess of party is likely to be greater by |
changing their hunting ground from time to |
time, rather than remaining stationary |
among animals rendered wild by his pl e.
sence, as they do not appear to make ex-
tensive wanderings from certain circum-
scribed localities. They generally Craze
with their heads to the winds, and so habi- |
tual Is their instinct that, after the preva- |
lence of strong winds, we generally hunted
in the direction whence they had blown,
with the greater certainty of meeting them. |
On the approach of winter the fur of tie
reindeer becomes very dense. Sir John |
Richardson informs us, "that the skin,
when dressed with the hair on it, is so i'm
pervious to the cold, that, if clothed in =
suit Of this material, and wrapped in man.
tel Of the same, person may bivouac al
night in the snow with safety during the
intensity of an Arctic winter Such ad-
mirable covering for the inhabitants of
the Arctic regions is, therefore inestima-
BILE; and these skins are universally used
for this purpose. In hunting we met with
the greatest degree Of success in tho first
four months Of the year, when the animal,
tanned by cold and hunger, could be more
easily approached.