Part 2 (2/2)

It was generally cloudy, with a snow squall, on September 14; wind brisk to light, northerly; temperature, 33 to 41. A doe and a fawn, proceeding northward, and four or five other Caribou appeared on the near-by ridges.

The weather was clear on the 15th, with a moderate to brisk north wind and temperatures of 29 to 48; ice at edge of the river. Fred reported about 100 Caribou (none of them bucks) north of camp, and Anoteelik secured 13 east of Little River.

On the morning of the 16th intermittent snow flurries left a thin cover on the ground, but it was practically dissipated by the afternoon sun; wind brisk, northerly; temperature, 30 to 39. Fred reported three old does without fawns, and no bucks.

September 17 was mostly cloudy, with a little sun; wind light, northwest and west; temperature, 30 to 43. A single Caribou was seen on the south side of Windy River.

Clear skies prevailed on September 18; wind brisk, westerly; temperature, 35 to 53.5; ice at edge of the river. A solitary black fly appeared. No Caribou reported.

September 19 was another clear day; wind moderate to brisk, west-southwest; temperature, 42 to 60. Anoteelik, camping on the Barrens about 2 miles to the north of camp for the past couple of days, reports having killed 20 Caribou (only one of them a buck).

Light rain, soon changing to sleet, and then frequent snow squalls, provided the princ.i.p.al weather elements on September 20; wind light to strong, west to north; temperature, 27 to 43.5. The ground became partly covered with snow. A big buck, followed several hours later by a doe and a fawn, swam across to the north side of Windy River at its mouth. Ten more Caribou were taken by Anoteelik. Charles considered that the retrograde movement to the north was definitely under way. There had been indications of it on various days from September 6 on.

Except for a few snow flurries, it was largely sunny on the 21st; wind brisk to moderate, north to northwest; temperature, 26 to 34. About a quarter of an inch of snow remained in sheltered places. A doe and a fawn appeared near camp.

There was considerable snowfall on the 22nd; wind light to moderate, westerly; temperature, 30 to 33; ice in edge of the river. A large buck left tracks in the snow along the Windy River.

September 23 was partly cloudy; wind brisk, north-northwest; temperature, 21 to 32; about a quarter of an inch of snow on the ground, and a tundra pond mostly frozen over. Several small groups of Caribou (a doe and a fawn; three does and two fawns; and three others) appeared on the near-by ridges.

September 24 was mostly cloudy; wind moderate to brisk, northerly; temperature, 26 to 41; nearly an inch of fresh snow on the ground. About 15 does and fawns were resting or feeding quietly on the east side of Little River, and tracks of about half a dozen were noted on Camp Ridge. Charles Schweder reported about 50 Caribou, in three slightly separated bands, appearing during the evening on the south side of Windy River about 2 miles above its mouth, as if contemplating a crossing. He thought they may have been alarmed by Wolves.

September 25 was a cloudy day; wind moderate to light, northerly to westerly; temperature, 31 to 36; open ground largely bare by afternoon; ice forming on Windy Bay. Some Caribou tracks were noted on the north side of Windy River.

There were clouds, a sprinkle or two of rain, and a little suns.h.i.+ne on the 26th; wind brisk to moderate, southwest to west; temperature, 36 to 47.5; ground becoming practically bare.

Three Caribou were seen beyond Little River, and a doe and a fawn on the south side of Windy River.

The 27th was mostly cloudy, with a thick snow flurry; wind brisk, northwest; temperature, 33 to 40. Two tundra ponds, previously frozen, were mostly open. Three bucks, a doe, and a fawn were noted on the south side of Windy River.

September 28 was mostly cloudy; wind brisk to light, north-northwest; temperature, 28.5 to 40; a little snow on the ground disappearing. Seven large bucks (six in one band, moving northward) pa.s.sed over Camp Ridge, and a dozen other Caribou (including does) were seen beyond Little River.

The 29th was chiefly sunny; wind very light to brisk, west to southwest; temperature, 29 to 48; ground bare. A band of about 15 Caribou appeared on the north side of Windy River at its mouth. They included four large and two smaller bucks, the remainder being does and fawns. They were apparently traveling south.

The 30th was cloudy, with a sprinkle of rain; wind light, westerly; temperature, 39 to 48; ground bare. A few black flies were brought out by the mild weather. During an all-morning trip to Point Lake, Charles saw no Caribou, but in the afternoon he reported about 200 on the eastern side of Little River. There were also half a dozen bucks on the south side of Windy River.

October 1 was a rare, fine, suns.h.i.+ny day in the Barrens; wind moderate to brisk, south to southwest; temperature, 37 to 61; ground bare; tundra ponds mostly ice-covered. A blowfly crawled over a caribou carca.s.s, and possibly a few black flies were abroad. Two bucks pa.s.sed from the shoal water of Duck Bay over Little River Ridge. Charles reported about 40 Caribou moving north a mile or two north of camp, and I saw a single buck likewise engaged. During the preceding week or so Fred had seen a good many of the animals between the upper Kazan River and Nueltin Lake; they were moving south and west.

The 2nd was another clear day; wind moderate, southwest; temperature, 41 to 65; ground bare. About five does and fawns were seen at dusk in the spruce tract near Four-hill Creek.

The next day was drizzly and foggy throughout; wind light, southwest to southeast; temperature, 41 to 43.5. No Caribou sighted. Eskimos arriving in camp reported them scarce along the way from the upper Kazan River.

October 4 was a dismal, dark day, with steady light rain throughout; wind very light, easterly; temperature, 36 to 42.5. Fred reported 20 Caribou north of camp.

Snow fell throughout the 5th; wind light, north-northwest; temperature, 31 to 35. No Caribou sighted.

With 6 inches of snow on the ground in the morning, there was some additional precipitation during the overcast day of October 6; wind moderate to brisk, northeast; temperature, 31 to 33; waters clear of ice. No Caribou sighted.

October 7 was a generally cloudy day; wind moderate to very light, northerly; temperature, 24 to 29; watercourses largely open. In the morning Charles reported a couple of hundred Caribou swimming southward across Windy Bay; he considered this a part of the final southward movement into the timbered country--apparently initiated by the recent snowstorm. Later he saw an approximately equal number 2 miles north of camp, moving toward the bay; and Fred encountered about 50 on the north side of the bay.

Late on the 8th clouds gave way to suns.h.i.+ne; nearly calm to a gentle breeze from west and southwest; temperature, 26.5 to 33.5; 6 inches of snow on ground. I obtained a distant view of about 100 Caribou resting near Glacier Pond. Perhaps less than a quarter of them were old bucks; the remainder, younger bucks, does, and fawns.

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