Evening journal., 1907-03-16
THE ELUSIVE CARIBOU
An Animal Of Mystery Is This Viii
derneSS Wanderer.
RESTLESS, FLEET AND SHY.

l1o Is Keen Of Sight, Subtle Of Scent,
Acute Of Hearing, Strangely lnquisi-
tive and Can Eaoily Travel Fifty
Miles In a Single Day.
To those familiar with the tlmbered
Nilds and the dwellers therein the
caribou is an animal of mys-
terry, the wanderer Of the wilderness.
the most restless. most inquisitive
Of the entire deer family.
Like the moose, he carries an antler
crown that tempts sportsmen TO long,
leg wearing tramps In faraway places.
and except ia open countries, where
his kind gather in immense herds TO
feed on the moss barrens, he IS one OF
the most difficult Of game animals to
get a shot at. Both the bull and the
COW Of the caribou tribe wear antlers,
the latter's being more delicate in
beam structure and not 50 widely blad-
ed rs those Of the bull.
Where there is lack Of snow to aid
the tracker in translating the this-way-
and-that OF a caribou trail a cunning
Ike that exercised by Kipling's Now
gil in the story Of the "Kings Ankus"
is quite necessary for success. Being
extremely restless. the caribou, even
when eating or drinking. IS not content
to CLEAN his al from one place, no mat
ter how abundant the food IL Is
nibble here. a slip there. and so on I'M
til rods and sometimes many acres are
covered In satiating a mild hunger.
The natural food Is a moss which is to
be found on bog land from Maine to
the limit Of vegetation in the north,
and the ash green, beardliLe moss pc
culiar TO spruce tops I'm the big woods.
This latter sustenance comes to them
after logging operations or when n
hurricane tears through the solitudes
and lays Fat scores Of trees.
Because Of his restlessness the In
dians called him the wandering one.
and that's what his Latin name sug-
gests. His natural gait is a trot.
long, swinging, tireless trot which eats
distance with the sureness and steadi-
ness OF brook fow Here today. he
may be fifty miles away tomorrow
and back again the day following.
Unlike the deer and moose. the cnri-
bou 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 a kind Of
snOwshoe. After the light fluffy snow
Of heavy storm packs and settles the
caribou can go over It fast enough to
prevent being run down by hunter
on snowshoes. and his winter houf is
so constructed, with updrawn frog and
sharp edges, that he can make full
speed on glare ice. The caribou is gre
garious In his habits. not inclined to be
quarreisome with his fellows and, be-
sides being a wanderer, IS extremely
shy. When q herd bivouacs for a rcsi
it Is usually In woody opening or OF
the windward side OF a bog. Thh
scheme Of precautlon permits Of eye.
to open and nose TO cover. and, belni
both keen Of sight subtle Of scent ani
acute Of hearing, nothing more tangl
] NAE AAAtAAA a NAWuA nAAuOM |LAu MIlIlIUILI
without being seen. heard or scented.
Curiosity sometimes brings seriou.
trouble to the caribou, as, for Instance
when being trailed. Long before q
tracker walks to view the anima
knows he is being followed and vii
shift his course in order to avoid hl,
/ pursuer. Very often the hunter. un
aware that the quarry is within gun
shot, is being quietly looked over by
the caribou. who has made a detour {,
survey his back track from a flankins
position. Once he gets his eyes on tn,
hunter his curiosity increases. and thi
desire to learn more about the twl
legged outfit who has been fOllOwin,
his spoor usually results In 4 buIe
being sent in his direction
The young Of the caribou are reare,
and schOoled in remote. lonesome
places IN the depths Of the timber
When the calves are three or fou
weeks old they are coaxed and butte,
into jumping over logs or blow down
that later In life they may know bette
than to hesitate when fleeing from dan
ger. The deer Is a natural jumper ant
will take a fallen tree or a fence 70
the sheer fun Of jumping. whereas al
untutored caribou viii duck under o
go around. The calves as well as th
mature nuimals are very feet Of foot
especially when frightened into run
That gait. however, is not natural 70
them. aud If kept at It for any consld
cradle time they tire. An Oldtowi
(AIe.l Indian. once asked II caribou eve
We're dogged in Maine, seemed surpris
ed and said:
"Dog d caribou? I guess no! I
caribou he run so blame fas' he don
leave no SCENT" which is a good Dc
scription Of the speed with which the
Ieasure distance between themselye
and danger.
The range OF the woodland caribo
is from Maine to the great lake
though from Maine, where years az
many fine herds roamed through th
upper wilderness Of the state the
seem to have vanished. A close Ce;
son law was enacted for a number q
years to give them an opportunity
multiply. but the belief Of old hunter
who know carbon is that they set OF
= for a long trek down across the Ne
Brunswick border for virgin spruc
moss and bog lands new.
Great herds OF caribou roam the 10
csts Of New Brunswick. Nova Scott
, Quebec. Ontario. and there are thol
sands upon thousands Of them In Ney
foundland. A full grown bull wi