The Young Voyageurs: Boy Hunters in the North Read online

  CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.

  THE "ALARM BIRD" AND THE CARIBOU.

  "There wasn't much `adventure' in my day's sport," said he, "though Imight call it a `bird-adventure' too, for if it hadn't been for a bird Ishouldn't have had it. I shot a deer--that's all. But maybe it wouldbe curious for you to know how I came to find the animal, so I'll tellyou.

  "The first thing I did after leaving here was to climb the hillyonder,"--here Norman pointed to a long hill that sloped up from theopposite shore of the lake, and which was the direction he had taken, asBasil and Francois had gone right and left.

  "I saw neither bird, beast, nor track, until I had reached the top ofthe hill. There I got a good view of the country ahead. I saw it wasvery rocky, without a stick of timber, and did not look very promisingfor game. `It's no use going that way,' I says to myself; `I'll keepalong the ridge, above where Frank's gone. He may drive some varmintout of the hollow, and I'll get a crack at it, as it comes over thehill.'

  "I was about to turn to the left when I heard the skreek of a bird awayahead of me. I looked in that direction; and, sure enough, saw onewheeling about in the air, right above the rocky jumble with which thecountry was covered.

  "Now it's a mighty curious bird that I saw. It's a sort of an owl, but,I should say myself, there's a sprinkling of the hawk in it--for it's asmuch like the one as the other."

  "No doubt," interrupted Lucien, "it was one of the day owls of theseNorthern regions, some of which approach very near to the hawks, both inshape and habits. This peculiarity arises from the fact of the longsummer day--of weeks in duration--within the Arctic circle, requiringthem to hunt for their prey, just as hawks do; and therefore Nature hasgifted them with certain peculiarities that make them resemble thesebirds. They want the very broad faces and large tufted heads of thetrue owls; besides the ears, which in the latter are remarkable fortheir size, and also for being operculated, or with lids, in the formerare not much larger than in other birds of prey. The small hawk-owl(_Strix funerea_), which is altogether a Northern bird, is one of thiskind."

  "Very well," continued Norman, "what you say may be very true, cousinLuce; I only know that the bird I am speaking about is a mighty curiouslittle creature. It ain't bigger than a pigeon, and is of amottled-brown colour; but what I call it curious for is this:--Wheneverit sees any creature passing from place to place, it mounts up into theair, and hovers above them, keeping up a constant screeching, like thesqualling of a child--and that's anything but agreeable. It does so,not only in the neighbourhood of its nest--like the plover and someother birds--but it will sometimes follow a travelling party for hourstogether, and for miles across the country. From this circumstance theIndians of these parts call it the `alarm bird,' or `bird of warning,'because it often makes them aware of the approach either of theirenemies or of strangers. Sometimes it alarms and startles the game,while the hunter is crawling up to it; and I have known it to bothermyself for a while of a day, when I was after grouse. It's a greatfavourite with the Indians though--as it often guides them to deer, ormusk-oxen, by its flying and screaming above where these animals arefeeding.

  "Just in the same way it guided me. I knew, from the movements of thebird, that there must be something among the rocks. I couldn't tellwhat, but I hoped it would turn out to be some creature that waseatable; so I changed my intention, and struck out for the place whereit was.

  "It was a good half-mile from the hill, and it cost me considerableclambering over the rocks, before I reached the ground. I thought toget near enough to see what it was, without drawing the bird uponmyself, and I crouched from hummock to hummock; but the sharp-eyedcreature caught sight of me, and came screeching over my head. I kepton without noticing it; but as I was obliged to go round some largerocks, I lost the direction, and soon found myself wandering back intomy own trail. I could do nothing, therefore, until the bird shouldleave me, and fly back to whatever had first set it a-going. In orderthat it might do so, I crept in under a big stone that jutted out, andlay quiet a bit, watching it. It soon flew off, and commenced wheelingabout in the air, not more than three hundred yards from where I lay.This time I took good bearings, and then went on. I did not care forthe bird to guide me any longer, for I observed there was an open spotahead, and I was sure that there I would see something. And sure enoughI did. On peeping round the end of a rock, I spied a herd of aboutfifty deer. They were reindeer, of course, as there are no others uponthe `Barren Grounds,' and I saw they were all does--for at this seasonthe bucks keep altogether in the woods. Some of them were pawing thesnow to get at the moss, while others were standing by the rocks, andtearing off the lichens with their teeth. It so happened that I had thewind of them, else they would have scented me and made off, for I waswithin a hundred yards of the nearest. I was not afraid of their takingfright, so long as they could only see part of my body--for these deerare so stupid, or rather so curious, that almost anything will draw themwithin shot. Knowing this, I practised a trick that had often helped mebefore; and that was to move the barrel of my gun, up and down, with thesame sort of motion as the deer make with their horns, when rubbingtheir necks against a rock or tree. If I'd had a set of antlers, itwould have been all the better; but the other answered well enough. Ithappened the animals were not very wild, as, likely, they hadn't beenhunted for a good while. I bellowed at the same time,--for I know howto imitate their call--and, in less than a minute's time, I got severalof them within range. Then I took aim, and knocked one over, and therest ran off. That," said Norman, "ended my adventure--unless you callthe carrying a good hundred pounds weight of deer-meat all the way backto camp part of it. If so, I can assure you that it was by far the mostunpleasant part."

  Here Norman finished his narration, and a conversation was carried onupon the subject of reindeer, or, as these animals are termed, inAmerica, "caribou."

  Lucien said that the reindeer (_Cervus tarandus_) is found in theNorthern regions of Europe and Asia as well as in America, but thatthere were several varieties of them, and perhaps there were differentspecies. Those of Lapland are most celebrated, because they not onlydraw sledges, but also furnish food, clothing, and many othercommodities for their owners. In the north of Asia, the Tungusians havea much larger sort, which they ride upon; and the Koreki, who dwell uponthe borders of Kamschatka, possess vast herds of reindeer--some richindividuals owning as many as ten or twenty thousand!

  It is not certain that the reindeer of America is exactly the same aseither of the kinds mentioned; and indeed in America itself there aretwo very distinct kinds--perhaps a third. Two kinds are well-known,that differ from each other in size, and also in habits. One is the"Barren Ground caribou," and the other, the "Woodland caribou." Theformer is one of the smallest of the deer kind--the bucks weighinglittle over one hundred pounds. As its name implies, it frequents theBarren Grounds, although in winter it also seeks the shelter of woodedtracts. Upon the Barren Grounds, and the desolate shores and islands ofthe Arctic Sea, it is the only kind of deer found, except at one or twopoints, as the mouth of the Mackenzie River--which happens to be awooded country, and there the moose also is met with. Nature seems tohave gifted the Barren Ground caribou with such tastes and habits, thata fertile country and a genial clime would not be a pleasant home forit. It seems adapted to the bleak, sterile countries in which itdwells, and where its favourite food--the mosses and lichens--is found.In the short summer of the Arctic regions, it ranges still farthernorth; and its traces have been found wherever the Northern navigatorshave gone. It must remain among the icy islands of the Arctic Sea untilwinter be considerably advanced, or until the sea is so frozen as toallow it to get back to the shores of the continent.

  The "Woodland caribou" is a larger variety--a Woodland doe being aboutas big as a Barren Ground buck--although the horns of the latter speciesare larger and more branching than those of the former. The Woodlandkind are found around the shores of Hudson's Bay, and in other woodedtracts that lie in
the southern parts of the fur countries--into whichthe Barren Ground caribou never penetrates. They also migrate annually,but, strange to say, their spring migrations are southward, while, atthe same season, their cousins of the Barren Grounds are making theirway northward to the shores of the Arctic Sea. This is a very singulardifference in their habits, and along with their difference in bulk,form, etcetera, entitles them to be ranked as separate species of deer.The flesh of the Woodland caribou is not esteemed so good an article offood as that of the other; and, as it inhabits a district where manylarge animals are found, it is not considered of so much importance inthe economy of human life. The "Barren Ground caribou," on the otherhand, is an indispensable animal to various tribes of Indians, as wellas to the Esquimaux. Without it, these people would be unable to dwellwhere they do; and although they have not domesticated it, and trainedit to draught, like the Laplanders, it forms their main source ofsubsistence, and there is no part of its body which they do not turn tosome useful purpose. Of its horns they form their fish-spears andhooks, and, previous to the introduction of iron by the Europeans, theirice-chisels and various other utensils. Their scraping or curryingknives are made from the split shin-bones. The skins make theirclothing, tent-covers, beds, and blankets. The raw-hide, cleared of thehair and cut into thongs, serves for snares, bow-strings, net-lines, andevery other sort of ropes. The finer thongs make netting forsnow-shoes--an indispensable article to these people--and of thesethongs fish-nets are also woven; while the tendons of the muscles, whensplit, serve for fine sewing-thread. Besides these uses, the flesh ofthe caribou is the food of many tribes, Indians and Esquimaux, for mostof the year; and, indeed, it may be looked upon as their staple articleof subsistence. There is hardly any part of it (even the horns, whensoft) that is not eaten and relished by them. Were it not for theimmense herds of these creatures that roam over the country, they wouldsoon be exterminated--for they are easily approached, and the Indianshave very little difficulty, during the summer season, in killing asmany as they please.

  Norman next gave a description of the various modes of hunting thecaribou practised by the Indians and Esquimaux; such as driving theminto a pound, snaring them, decoying and shooting them with arrows, andalso a singular way which the Esquimaux have of taking them in apit-trap built in the snow.

  "The sides of the trap," said he, "are built of slabs of snow, cut as ifto make a snow-house. An inclined plane of snow leads to the entranceof the pit, which is about five feet deep, and large enough within tohold several deer. The exterior of the trap is banked up on all sideswith snow; but so steep are these sides left, that the deer can only getup by the inclined plane which leads to the entrance. A great slab ofsnow is then placed over the mouth of the pit, and revolves on two axlesof wood. This slab will carry the deer until it has passed the line ofthe axles, when its weight overbalances one side, and the animal isprecipitated into the pit. The slab then comes back into a horizontalposition as before, and is ready to receive another deer. The animalsare attracted by moss and lichens placed for them on the opposite sideof the trap--in such a way that they cannot be reached without crossingthe slab. In this sort of trap several deer are frequently caughtduring a single day."

  Norman knew another mode of hunting practised by the Esquimaux, andproposed that the party should proceed in search of the herd upon thefollowing day; when, should they succeed in finding the deer, he wouldshow them how the thing was done: and he had no doubt of their beingable to make a good hunt of it. All agreed to this proposal, as itwould be of great importance to them to kill a large number of theseanimals. It is true they had now provision enough to serve for severaldays--but there were perhaps months, not days, to be provided for. Theybelieved that they could not be far from the wooded countries near thebanks of the Mackenzie, as some kinds of the animal they had met withwere only to be found near timber during the winter season. But what ofthat? Even on the banks of the great river itself they might notsucceed in procuring game. They resolved, therefore, to track the herdof deer which Norman had seen; and for this purpose they agreed to makea stay of some days at their present camp.