Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1912-05-11

IN YO records have been kept OF
KAN the few cross-country journeys
NM from the Mackenzie to the
W yukon which were successfully;
ly made at the beginning or
the Klondyke rush. Men who started
with no knowledge OF the methods OF
northern travel made these Journeys
in safety. but only from anxiety 10
reach the goldfields and taking little
interest IN the country through when
they were travelling. There are men
avon new who spend their winters IN
trapping at the heads OF the Stewart,
the Macmillan and the Ross FLYERS.
lose up against the western foothills
Of the Rocky Mountains; butt they
have not given US the story OF their
adventures. Indeed. the main range
Of the Rocky Mountains. geograph-
lcal feature known to every schooi-
boy ms the backbone OF the North
American continent. is to this day al
most absolutely unknown to the north
ward OF the Peace River pass. 1t Is
rather taken for granted that we know
all about this range, that we are Ia
miiiar with Its geological formation.
> its fauna and fora. whereas we really
know nothing except by guesswork
and by deductions drawn from condi,
tions known to exist In the southern
part OF the same range. There are
likely to be many important discov-
cries made by the first party OF prop
erly-equipped naturalists which under
takes the systematic exploration OF
the northern rockies. Here lies the
last big district In Canada in which
the hunter naturalist has a faint hope
OF coming across really new species
OF Canadian animal of any size. The
country is large enough and inacces-
sible enough to have kept such Sc
cret till the present day. In any case,
there is surely much OF interest to be
learnt concerning the animals with
which we are familiar. as they grad.
uaily approach the northern limit OF
their existence,
Typical Animal OF the North.
1t is quite likely that the mountain
sheep, which has been traced through
all Its gradations of color from Mex
leo to Alaska, and sub-divided accord.
ing to latitude. may AFFORD one more
sub-species before the Rocky. Noun
tains die away into the Arctic tundra
Nobody can tell US how far towards
the north the moose. the bear and the
mountain goat are to be found In the
main range; and as regards the small
animals, the marmots and the various
small rodents. there is still much In
formation to be gathered. This Is a
most attractive field for exploration
to any sportsman Of means and en-
ergy who Is not a mere hunter of
heads, but a man who can reap more
qualification from trophies which sim
ply mark Incidents during the accom-
plishment OF useful pioneer work than
he can ever derive from the contem-
plation Of a fine collection of heads
gathered In the course of expeditions
But beyond the pos -lble chance of q
few species, there Is nothing to be
killed in these northern region that
may not be obtained with much less
time and trouble elsewhere. II the
rapid collection Of different specimens
is the sportsmhn's sole aim.
The typical animal OF the north
throughout the whole breadth OF Can
ada Is without doubt the caribou. and
its economic value to the scattered
population can be easily recognized by
reading the accounts of the overland
journeys OF Sir John Franklin and
other early Arctic explorers. or the
modern records and letter-books OF
the Hudson's Bay company's trading
posts of the Athabasca and Mackenzie
river districts. The passage OF the
great herds of caribou is still the
most important event of the year to
the inhabitants OF these Isolated
posts. as II represents the abundance
or scarcity of provisions in a land too
remote to be supplied with the prod
ucts of civilization.
The accompanying photograph was
taken In October. on mountain top.
rising from the plateau of the Pacific.
Arctic watershed about the 5Sth
parallel OF north latitude at an eeva-
ton OF some six thousand feet above
sea,level The caribou here shown
are OF the subspecies Rangifer Os.
borni OF the American naturaiists.
Not Afraid OF Man.
The herd when flrst seen was lying
down In the snow. No lookout was
being kept and we crawled up within
a very short ,rifie-shot OF the animals
without being discovered. In fact, 1t
took a good deaf OF whistling ana
grunting from the Indian who was
with nue. before the caribou would
take any interest In us at all. and
then only Two or three of the cows
would get up and stretch themselves