The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-08-11
SIGNALS OF TAs WI,
no" the Caribou Talked a,a :,
for Their obes,, '' Walk.

'NCu ard n
| for Their observer s' "aIs.:
A src@arioGs animal
many means Of COMMITS ms Usual,
y Is fellows: The weli.ma ra5,1s :. VIII
q ''c species serves it as h Gsa li7ep
aJila 1, so.'.r-it lets friend s an'Io !:
Next in importance Gov.
W WI SSF' ,na is the white fas F s'
SIGNALING. This is ais ,.n !sSas
s sI,'|"nna'aS' the disc. The @ sa,, II
',,'a,lon Of this white tail who's ,4al''
ger Is sens"d conveys At n, "nea daa
alarm to the next of its kind DliIe s'leat
Another signal that | bavn
n A4' ~. nI any one else is thus dsss w.
e, go oy Mr. E A. preble during rims G sts "
10 the Barrens, in 1900. T ~ us 'a'
observation applies to the Sa. 'a'
e e species, l believe it VIII pr,'ea
io,Iha equally true of the voos W.. D
Soon after leaving our "I e,.sl
me morning of August IS wa %
some barren ground carbon We a'
hucE on a point of land was an,. ,ols
ing as closely as the deptb I .,
water would permit-about sno VI 'as
lie showed little fear, trotti,r , ,,s.
inc shore abreast Of our bas. aug
ABOUT a quarter of a milo ~ M
frequently stop and wade soma 'Vs'
lance toward the boat. at shor, w.,
Nais spreading and contraotin. 'u.,'
"hl'e patch on his throat literslv !.
20 an oval disc, so abruptly as n j..
the effect Of flashes of liyb, ~ ~
hna!ly grow tired of following y, a. =,
dritted behind" 10 -aa
W hat was the caribu doing, !.
parently signaling to what min, ~
others OF his own kind ont q, nv ~
water. ... OA '4
The caribou's srunt or bar.
Professor d. G. Eliot calls it, ban
never heard in a state of nature tr
1t is said to be much like tbat n ~
reindeer and my notes on tbi, :,
very full.
"on July 4, 1900. got into a be,a =.
about 1000 half-wild reindeer r.,
only vocal sound is a grunt rti,i
uttered singly or else douh'ed-s,
IS, two are given in rapid successin
It is sometimes the call Of CIV i
her calf, and sometimes is uttered i,
one that is left behind, evideu,]y
note Of alarm or inquiry to find ots
his friends are close at hand"
But the most singular of the sonh
made by the caribou is the cracsir,
of the hoof. At each step each ts
gives out a loud, sharp crack.
Persons who have never heard h
in life have no difficulty in explain
ing it. "Of course, the hoofs snsa
when they bear the weight Of liz
animal" they say, "and when lifted
the hard surfaces spring togehE
with & crack But close obser.
ton shows that the crack is made n
some mechanism in foot. and
goes Off while the weight is Oh L
1t is not always one sharp Caai
but sometimes a crackle like seVed
sounds close together. Many exam
nations showed that just as the I'D
is relieved Of the animals weight b
before any part is off the ground, ID
crack takes place. The hoofs do ID
strike together during the stride, al
the crackle is not heard until the as
is placed and the weight is on it. Th1
1t usually crackles twice at the pla
of each track. always once as %
weight is coming on usually sec5i
time as he is going off, | walked
hands and knees by the side o.
reindeer again and again to make .
and finally induced one
walk while at considerable pefS1
risk | kept my hand on the knNa
Joint Of the hind foot. The cru
took place each time with me pa
ing of the knuckle joint It was
violent that it Jared the mana !
IN it. 1t was deep-seated and Oh
level of the clouts of back zoos
to be made by tena0a'
slipping over ad!Ui-
bones.
The sound is easily heard r
n wind, and twice as lar IL
weather. When a herd IS IY'
llong the countless cracRles
heir hoofs make a volume u
sounds
The object if this is doubtless
;ame as that of the whislllns
wing or the tWl'lelh'
,irds migrating by night