The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-01-30

while in action, Is otherwise caused As has
been said, trot is the usual gait of caribou aud
reindeer when at speed. Suddenly alarmed,
they, like elk, make few preliminary bounds,
and when ascending steep nights, they break into
gallop, as Lloyd calls the pace. Normally, the
diameter of the hoof is about five inches, but
when pressed upon the earth il doubles It's
width. This play of the horny sections causes
the sound in question. As the animal RECEIVERS
in its stride the inner edges strike together.
and when herd is in motion the noise is often
considerable.
Another. and much moro remarkable pecu-
liarity of Rangifer is that-in Northwestern
Europe, at least--he eats animal food. What
ii can be-" says the naturalist, Vain, that i'm
pels the reindeer, which is herbiyorous ami
NAL, TO pursue and feed upon the lemming,
have never been able to discover" A long list
OF eccentricities among animals might easily be
compiled, and il is not the fact that reindeer
eat these rodents. the Arctic RrvicOlas, which
need excite surprise, but that they hunt and
kill them for this purpose This is, so far as
the writer knows, unique instance of carniv-
orous propensity msnifesting itself IN a manner
at variance with their entire organization, both
physical and mental The existence Of this
habit is vouched for by the highest author
ity. LinnRus explicitly affirms that such is
the case. Rckars saw Jennings eaten by rein
deer in Sweden and Norway Regnard and
toned concerning this trait, said that IL
true aud Sir Arthur dc c. Brooke gives evidence
as an eyewitness 10 the same effect.
Upon the whole, Rangifer in q domcsti-
Gated state appears rather to degenerate, aud
the restriction Of his liberty 70 wander at will
may have something 20 do with that diminu-
ton in size which then takes place, although
+his circumstance does not. probably, operate
SO eteetually as depriying fawns of full sup
ply of milk. At all eyents, these deer seem TO
be less alert and enterpTising, smaller, weaker,
and more delicate than those Of the tundra, or
forest belt.
NOW THEIR HERDS ARE MUCH REDUCED IN
EUROPE,
but Prof Nilsson states that astonishing num-
bers may yet be found in the Norwegian
mountains, in the Jemtland aud Herpaladen
ranges Of Sweden" and Lloyd adds, " in West
Lapand also" Nearly all the hypeTborean
peoples Of the Asiatic Arctic domesticatc rein
deer in very considerable numbers, and like
the Laps, are greatly dependent upon them for
support. There s, however, much discrepancy
in the opinions which have been expressed con-
corning their qualities. Many Siberian travellers
have spoken rather disparagingly ofthe reiqdeer
as draft or riding animal, and everyone
knows that they are weak in the back, and that
their loads must be placed over the withers
else they break down Immediately. On the
other hand, wonderful stories have been told
about the strength aud endurance displayed by
the Lapland animals, and Lloyd mentions that
there is picture IAN oil paintng) Of one in
the palace Of Drottningh0lm, who drew an
| officer carrying dispatches 500 miles in As
hours in the aka, or boat shaped sledge Of the
Laps.
During the rutting season reindeer herds
break up into family groups, consisting OF a
sarakka, or old buck, and his attendant fe-
males. The former is very jealous, and the
| latter are not, by all accounts particularly
constant Bucks fight desperately at this
period, and when doe evinccs disposition 70
rove, her lord places his antlers beneath her,
and she 10 unceremOniOusly walked back on
her fore legs. This indignity, however meets
! with the accustomed success Of violence in such
matters; nothing is more common than the
! elopemcnt Of does with wandering bucks, and
! if the head Of a herd be once discounted in
combat everything which lac formerly pos
! sessed-prestigc, position, cOmpanions-is at
once lost.
Apart from man, who has destroyed the race
| by ali means, fair and unfair, Everywhere
he came in contact with it, "the wolf"
as Lloyd remarks, is its greatest enemy"
| Tame deer suffer more than wild ones from
this maraudcr, since their liability TO attack il
! greater, aud their powers Of evasion aud de.
| fence are less. Bands Of gray wolves hover
continually around wild herds says Ward, aud
attend them in all their migrations but IL is
seldom that free and healthy reindeer or car,
ibOu can be fairly run down. and a single vol
Is not always a match for either buck or doe