Across the sub-Arctics of Canada

by J. W. Tyrrell

HERD OF REINDEER.

The next day, after descending the river a distance of five or six miles, and getting into a body of water named Carey Lake, through which we were steering a central course, one of the party called attention to something moving on the distant shore to our right. It turned out to be not one but a band of deer. Our canoes were headed to leeward of the band, that they might not scent us as we approached the shore. Drawing nearer we found there was not only one band, but that there were many great bands, literally covering the country over wide areas. The valleys and hillsides for miles appeared to be moving masses of reindeer. To estimate their numbers would be impossible. They could only be reckoned in acres or square miles.

After a short consultation a place for landing, near a small grove of tamarack—one of the last we saw—was chosen. Rifles were examined, and an ample supply of cartridges provided. Shot-guns and revolvers were furnished to four of the men, and thus prepared we landed and drew up the canoes. So far the deer had apparently not seen us, but to prevent a general stampede, it was arranged that I should go around to the rear of a large detachment of the herd, near by, while my brother should approach them from the shore. Accordingly I was given fifteen minutes to run around, a mile or so, behind some rising ground. Meanwhile the rest of the party scattered themselves about in different places, and at the given time my brother, having approached within easy range, opened the fray by bringing down a noble buck. At this first shot the whole band—a solid mass of several thousands of deer—was thrown into confusion, and they rushed to and fro, not knowing which way to flee. Simultaneously with my brother’s shot, I opened fire on them from the rear, and our armed men charged from the sides, while the other two were obliged to take refuge upon a great boulder to avoid being trampled to death. The band was speedily scattered, but not before a woful slaughter had been made, and an abundant supply of fine fresh meat secured, for which we were sincerely thankful. It was fortunate that there was wood at hand to make a fire with and dry the meat. Having slain as many animals as we required, the men were set to work to prepare dried meat for the rest of the trip.

This stroke of good fortune gave us much encouragement, as we thought we had now nothing to fear from lack of provisions. Several days were spent in drying the eighteen or twenty carcases, which were preserved, and while this work was progressing my brother and I had ample time to roam over the hills and view and photograph the bands of deer which were still everywhere about us. After the slaughter of the first day we carried no rifles with us, but armed only with a camera walked to and fro through the herd, causing little more alarm than one would by walking through a herd of cattle in a field. The experience was delightful, one never to be forgotten. The reindeer, which is the same as the Barren Ground caribou, is an animal of exceptional interest. To those whose imaginations dwell on visions of St. Nicholas and his coursers it is the ideal steed; while to the hardy native of the frigid zone it is a faithful and efficient servant, and is undoubtedly the most useful and valuable of the fifty or more known varieties of deer.

In different localities, and at different seasons of the year, reindeer vary in appearance; they range in weight from one hundred to four hundred pounds. During the months of June and July they present their poorest appearance, being then lean and scrawny, and their half-shed coats ragged and frowsy. By the month of August they have discarded their tattered last-winter garments, and have assumed sleek glossy brown summer coats, which give them a smaller but much more comely appearance. From this time, both because of increasing flesh and length of hair, they become gradually larger and more handsome, until, by the month of November, when they don their winter suits of white and grey, they are transformed in appearance into the noblest animals of the chase.

Then it is that the enormous antlers of the male deer have attained their full, hard growth, and he is thus armed for the many battles habitually fought during the months of November and December for the possession of favored members of the fair sex. During the month of January these antlers of the male deer, having served their purpose as weapons of warfare, are annually cast. Within a few weeks of the falling of the old horns, soft new ones begin to form beneath the skin, and gradually they increase in size until they reach maturity the following autumn. During growth the antlers remain comparatively soft, and are covered with skin and fine short hair, known as the “velvet.” At maturity a circular burr is formed at the base of the horn. This has the effect of cutting off the blood-vessels, and causing the velvet to dry and shrivel and ultimately peel off. The peeling of the velvet is also hastened by the deer rubbing its antlers upon rocks and trees. With each successive year the antlers are supplemented by one additional prong, so that the number of prongs or tines is a positive indication of the age of the deer. I have counted as many as twenty-two prongs on one horn, or twice that number on the pair. Unlike every other variety of deer, the caribou is antlered in both sexes, the only difference being that in the case of the females the horns are rather smaller, and are more slender and delicate in their formation than those of the males.

The hoofs of the reindeer are very large in proportion to other parts of the body, and, being cloven, they spread greatly in walking. This characteristic peculiarly fits them for travelling upon the crusted snow, through which other deer would break and flounder in a hopeless manner.

Concerning the habits of the reindeer, they are both gregarious and migratory. During the summer season their resort is the open plain or the sea-coast, where, to some extent, they escape from their tormentors, the mosquitos and black flies, and find abundance of food in the tender grasses, the ground birch, or the willow buds. In the autumn they turn their steps toward the woodlands or more sheltered districts, where they spend the long, severe winter, subsisting on tree-buds, moss or lichens.

The breeding season occurs in the early spring, before winter quarters are vacated; and the number of fawns borne by a doe at one time ranges from one to three.