at Corbett Inlet covered with nine inches of ice.[1] Baker Lake is said to be entirely covered in November. The constant northwest and north winds, which last for three quarters of the year, make their appearance in the autumn with a series of violent gales; but the snowfall is slight. Only in the depressions does the snow accumulate, whereas all the hill tops and stony places, such as the raised beaches, are blown clear immediately. For this reason the first time it is possible to use the dog sledge is a rather dificult one, for it is necessary to incessantly keep on steering clear of stones which project above the snow; it is also a cold time, because the snow is not yet deep enough for the building of snow huts, so that it is often necessary to live in tents in more than –20° C.
Only the real winter dwellers of the country are now left. The migratory birds have gone southwards — last of all the snow bunting — and great herds of caribou have sought shelter in the forests to the south; many of them — perhaps most of them — do not leave the country at all, however. In the autumn the caribou is fattest and its flesh most appetising. Early in the autumn a layer of fat — la dépouille among the Canadian voyageurs — several centimetres thick covers the backs of the old bulls; but whilst their flesh quickly becomes uneatable owing to the rutting time in October, and thereafter they are quite skinny, the young bulls and cows grow fatter until winter sets in in earnest. Occasionally this season may be a hard one for the animals, when the frost comes again after a short thaw and turns the uppermost layer of snow into a sheet of ice, which is difficult for the caribou to scrape through.[2]
Winter. Winter appears very gradually. After every mild period the cold comes on again with renewed force and the snow grows almost imperceptibly in thickness. Now and then a furious storm rages, but a steady, heavy downfall of snow is rare. Sometimes, on the other hand, the snow falls lightly and, as none of it melts, its depth gradually becomes rather great. The constant north and northwest winds blow it as hard as a floor. Only the hill tops are never covered for long.
The really severe cold begins in December, but in the arctic countries it is never before February, or even March, that the coldest period arrives,[3] and on the Barren Grounds February is reckoned to
- ↑ J. B. Tyrrell 1898; 14, 24.
- ↑ This corresponds to what the Lapps call cœvve (Demant Hatt 1913; 76); but whereas it only forms in winter in Lappland, this is impossible on the Barren Grounds. No doubt more rarely an ice-crust forms on the ground itself.
- ↑ Hann 1911; III 591. On the Atlas of Canada (1915; pl. 63–64) the Caribou Eskimo territory lies between the January isotherms –20° and –30° Fahr. and the February isotherms –20° and –25°, whilst March is shown as being colder
