The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1907-04-09
THE ELUSIVE CARIBOU
An Animal Of Mystery Is This WI
derness Wanderer.
RESTLESS, FLEET AND SHY.

We Is Keen Of Sight, Subtle of Scent,
Acute Of Hearing, Strangely Inauisi-
tive and Can Easily Travel Fifty
Miles In Single Day.
To those familiar with the timbered
wilds and the jewellers therein the
woodland caribou is nm animal OF mys-
terry. the wanderer Of the wilderness.
tie most restless. most inquisitive
member of the entire deer family.
Like the moose. he carries an antler
crown that tempts sportsmen to long,
leg wearing tranlps IN PARKWAY places.
and EXCEPT in open countries, where
his kind gIther in immense herds to
feed ON the moss barrens. he is one of
the most difficult Of game animals to
get shot at. Roth the bull aud the
COW Of tile caribou tribe wear antiers,
the lattcr's being more delicate In
beam structure and not so widely, blad-
ed as hose Of the imIl.
Where there Is lack Of snow to aid
the tracker in translating the thisTway;
and-tllat of II caribou trail Ginning
like that exercised by KiplIng's Now
gil In the stNry-of the Kings AhiSus"
Is quite necessary for success. Being
extremely restless. the caribou, even
when eating Or drinking, is not content
TO CLEAN his fill from one place, no mat
ter how abundant the food. II is a
nlbble here a slip there. and so on I'm.
| I'll rods and sometimes many acres are
covered in a;itia ting a mild hunger.
The natural food Is moss which Il 10
be found on bog, land from Maine 10
the limit OF vegetation in the north,
and the ash green. beardlike moss ne
culiar TO spruce tops In the big woods.
This latter susiehance comes 10 tuem
after logging operations or when a
hurricane tears through the sdiitidas
.kand lays fiat scores of trees.
I Because of his restlessncss the In
dams called llm the wandering one
and that's what his Latin name sug
gests, His natural gait is trot, a
long, swinging, tireless trot which eats
distance with the sureness and steadi.
ness Of brook flow. Here today, he
may be fifty miles away tomorrow
and back again the day following.
Unlike the deer and moose, the carl
hod never plans to yard up FOR winter.
His feet are large and deeply cleft. his
ankle joints flexible, and when he
walks in the. snow his dewclaws touch,
the whole spreading out into kind Of
snowshoe. After the light fluffy snow
of a heavy storm packs and settles the
caribou can 80 over 1t fast enough to
prevent being run down by hunter
on snowshOes, and his winter hoof il
40 constructed, with updrawn frog aud
sharp edges, that he can make full
speed on glare ice. The caribou is gre
gnrious In his habits, not inclined to be
| quarrelsome with his fellows and, he
sides being wanderer, IL extremely
shy. When herd bivOuaca for rest
it is usually in woody opening or on
the wlndward side Of bog. This
scheme Of precaution permits of eyes
TO open and nose to cover, and, being
both keen Of sight, subtle of scent and
acute of hearing, nothing more tangl.
BILE than cloud shadow can approach
without being seen, heard or scented.
Curiosity sometimes brings serious
trouble to the caribou, as, for Instance,
when being trailed. Long before a
tracker walks to view the animal
knows he is being followed and will
shift his course In order TO avoid his
pursuer. Very often the hunter. I'M
aware that the quarry is within gun
shot, is being quietly looked over by
the caribou, who has made detour TO
survey his back track from fanklng
position. Once he gets his eyes on the
hunter his curiosity increases, and the
desire to learn more about the two
legged outfit who has been following
his spoor usually results In a bullet
being sent in his direction.
The young Of the caribou are reared
and schooled In remote. lonesome
places in the depths of the timber.
When the calves are three or four
weeks old they are coaxed and butted
into jumping over logs or blow downs
that later in life they may know better
than to hesitate when fleeing from dan
ger. The deer is a natural jumper and
will take fallen tree or a fence for
the sheer fun of jumping, whereas an
untutored caribou will duck under OF
go around. The calves as well as the
mature animals are very leet OF foot,
especially when frightened into run.
That gait, however. is not natural for
them, and if kept at 1t for any consul
cradle time they tire. An oldtown
CMe9 Indian. once asked If carbon ever
were logged in Maine, seemed surpris-
ed and said:
DOG d caribou? ! guess no: d
caribou he run so blame fas' he don't
leave no scent" which is a good de
scription Of the speed with which they
measure distance between themselves
and danger.
The range Of the woodland caribou
Is from Maine to the great lakes