The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1888-12-22
THE CARIBOU.
LUdicrous Vagaries of This Most
Singular Creature.
Converting An Ice Field into a
Winter Playground.

kin1. Today it will act as if almost
afraid of its own shadow, and display q
keerness of eye, ear and nose, and a
vigilance in their use which render an
approach within rifle-shot next to i'm
possible; tomorrow it will stand the fire
of the hunter like one of the Old Guard,
facing him at short range, while in the
paroxysms OF the buck fever he misses
shot after shot, and until either the
pumping machinery of hi, repeating
rife sucks dry or fortune bestows upon
him one of those smiles with which it
is won't occasionally to favor the mex
perienced. Today it will follow for
miles along trail over which a man
has passed not twenty minutes before;
tomorrow, one sniff of the tainted track,
and it will not break its rua for five
miles.
1t is as fond of tho ice as school boy,
aad full as ready for frolic. After the
ice has formed in November, it is soon
followed first by SHOWS and then by
thaws or rain. The latter converts the
snow iato slush, resting on the firm ice
beneath Now, any sensible creature
would keep away from such a mess.
But not so with the caribou, for to it
this makes the very gala time of the
year. The herd 60 out upon the ice in
single file, then scatter, and each one
falls to paving up the slush with its
forefeet. After they have tired of this
performance they fall upon their knees,
and seem to lap the ice with their
tongues. Why they do this is, as far as
the writer has been allie to learn, a
mystery. 1t certainly is not from
thirst, since they have crossed
q dozen open brooks in their
morning ramble. Perhaps to use one
of those slang expressions so happily
Indefinite in leaving unbrldled liberty
of detail to the Imagination of the
nearer, "they do it for grandeur"
This is the most simple, and indeed at
times it seems the only explain alton of
many Of the vagarie' of this most singu-
lar creature. After a while one will
suspend operations, seem to think
things over generally, then go gravely
over to where another has mined down
to a piece of ice of extra flavor, aad
prod and poke it with the utmost
vigor. Thelassaulted party rises to its
feet and meakly resigns Its place to the
intruder, which Immediately drops upon
its knees and continues the operations
of its predecessor, while tho ousted
either passes along tho compliment by
routing out another or proceeds to
dig a new spot for itself. Then, per-
haps, all will lie down for a while, and,
though one would think the bed about
as congenial as tho inside OF IN ic,
cream freezer, chew the cud in ap.
parcntly the acme of bovine conf fort.
Next, one will slowly rise to its feet,
round up its back, aad stretch itself,
survey its comrades to select the one
which seems most comfortable, anc
then, actuated by that perversity Of dis
position we so often see and anathcma
tie in the human early riser, procec(
to stir it up with hoof and herr
until it, too, gets upon its legs aut
joins in the game. Soon all are on thei
feet, and, falling in one behild tin
other, move for the woods in single file
headed by tho leader, always q bu
though not invariably the largest IN tn
herd. They move off at q walk, thei
heads hanging dowa precisely like COW
driven to pasture. Suddenly one Wi
become possessed of devil and, break
ing from the ranks with hop. skip al
jump, charge throu n the line agai
and again u@til it il thrown into CON
pletc disorder. Then it will as sud lei
ly fall iato place, as demurc as ca
sayiu", rs distinctly as an attitud
can spcaG, "What. you d. no
mean to charge this u,timciy dii
,urbancc TO nc, DO you" The march
then resumed and all may disappear q
the mcokcst kind OF walk in Il
surrounding forests, o., without Il
slightest apparent cause, the herd wi
break into run at pace so kecn yc
almost fancy you hear them whiz as the
D | nlnnr, q nnsSacrn fhrnn-h tho nir III