The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-01-30
BY DIR. J. II. PORTER.

Ii is not because those animals which on
tbis continent are called caribOu-Cervus tar
Andus. Raugifer caribou. etc, and IN Europe ana
Asia reindeer are considered here as distinct
species that their names are separated IN the
title There are several well-marked yarle-
ties of wild and domestiCated Rangiier and
this Is all that the writer feels disposed 10 admit
That permanent differences distinguish the
groups included ia the genus seems certain, but
what their classifcatoTy value may be is
another question.
The plan or type OF structure I'm these deer Of
the far north conforms in its general features
with that of all CervidR. but as these have al
ready been noticed, we may cOnlne ourselves
10 q description OF generic traits alone Among
all tribes of this kind both sexes are antlered,
and in both there is usually bTow-antler, de-
yciopcd anteriorly aud in the main horizontally.
This is, however, constantly wanting on the one
side or the other where only a ruiimcnt APP
pears and il may be said, moreover, that
variability cOnspicuously characteriZes this
creature in several other respects. " The heads
and antlers of caribou present much diversity
Of form. and seldom are any two found alike"
says Charles c. Ward, than whom no better
authority or more attractive writer can be
found. Further, Rangifer GTeenlandicus, or
the barren ground caribou of the Arctic regions
and shores Of Hudson Bay, weighs only about
one-third as much as the woodland variety, and
NGA inc average SIZE bl Us ubIAo aAG Al
either group the males have shed them by De-
cember, but as the buck is as destructive as
tiger, 10 the young of his species his own well
fbOSe~ef other animals), the does keep their
antlers all Winter in order TO defend their off
spring while they need protection. Neither
carbon nor reindeer have the muZzle bare;
this is always covered with hair, which, on the
upper parts Of the body is of a grayish-fawn
color, and much lighter in tint during the cold
season than in Summer. But in color Also the
incOustant physical traits Of this creature reap
pear. The average caribou is undoubtedly of
the hue described. although il may way from
this indefinitely; or one-haf its body may be
Of one color, and the other half of another;
likewise the light shoulder spots, or black
mouth patches, are present or absent, as the case
may be, in apparently an entirely capriclous
manner. Domestic reindeer are said TO be al
ways darker than wild ones, and in the former,
L. Ramsay Wright states that the clumsy
breadth Of the hoof" makes them readily dis
tiuguishable" from their unreclaimed cOngen-
eTs. The foot in all Rangifer is however. dis
tinctive. The construction Of the caribOu's
bOof," observes Ward, differs from that Of any
other animal of the deer tribe, and is wonder
fully adapted 10 the services it is required to
perform, and enables the animal TO travel in deep
SHOWS, over frozen lakes and icy crusts. when
tic moose and deer are confined 10 their yards,
and at the mercy OF their foes. Toward the end
Of the season the frog begins 10 be absorbed, and
IN the month Of December is entirely so; at the
same time the hoof expands, and becomes con-
cave, with sharp and very hard, shell-like
edges" The great advantage this conforma-
ton ofthe foot gives its possessor over the moose
or other deer is at once obvious. Carbon are
not only
SAFE PROM BEING Run DOWN BY HUNTERS
on snow shoes but in severe seasons the ami
NAL. who is 8 very Ishmselite in his wandering
habits" is under ordinary circumstances thus
secured against starvation. Being able 70 20
where il pleases-even 70 cross the ice-hoes be-
tween Labrador and Northumberland also
being SO formed that when its perfect sense Of