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MAMMALS OF N O R T H E R N CANADA 223
factorily for the recurring seasons of exceptional scarcity
of bears in certain regularly- occupied tracts. If the bears
perished by disease, or even starved to death— a very unusual
occurrence— they think that they should sometimes come
across their remains in their many hunting peregrinations,
if only for the reason that relics of a badly wounded animal
are almost invariably discovered sooner or later in the vicinity
of the locality where it was shot. Migration, therefore,
seems the most reasonable solution of the difficulty. Remarks
as to food, habits, and distribution, but not numbers,
made under this heading are equally applicable to U. cinna-moneus,
the skins of which are usually . described as " brown"
in the Company's lists.
For the reasons already given under V. horribilis, I am
unable to show the quantities of each color sold in London
for the period from 1853 to 1878, but with the aid of the
following data a fairly correct estimate of the proportion of
black and brown bears collected in the northern districts, at
least, may be formed, namely: From 1863 to 1883, Mackenzie
River District furnished a total of 906 black and
571 brown, and for 1886, 1887, and 1889, 1,67- 8 black and
183 brown skins. The posts of old Athabasca produced 712
black and 70 brown in outfit 1889. Then come the London
catalogues for 1902, with 7,087 black and 161 brown, and
1903, with 6,444 black and 246 brown' bears. In the twenty-five
years' statement, all the bears are grouped together under
one heading, and they aggregate a total of 200,042, or an
average of nearly 8,002 a year. The bear returns for the
two years 1902 and 1903 are only 143 skins below this
average, while the competition i n the fur trade during the
last three decades has been far and away the greatest in its
history since the coalition with the Northwest Company in
1821. For twenty- seven years, from 1858 to 1884, inclusive,
Athabasca District's quota to the London sales was 13,997
assorted bears. This total would have been upward of 2,000
larger but for the transfer in 1878 of the posts of Battle
15
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| Title | Page 246 |
| OCR | MAMMALS OF N O R T H E R N CANADA 223 factorily for the recurring seasons of exceptional scarcity of bears in certain regularly- occupied tracts. If the bears perished by disease, or even starved to death— a very unusual occurrence— they think that they should sometimes come across their remains in their many hunting peregrinations, if only for the reason that relics of a badly wounded animal are almost invariably discovered sooner or later in the vicinity of the locality where it was shot. Migration, therefore, seems the most reasonable solution of the difficulty. Remarks as to food, habits, and distribution, but not numbers, made under this heading are equally applicable to U. cinna-moneus, the skins of which are usually . described as " brown" in the Company's lists. For the reasons already given under V. horribilis, I am unable to show the quantities of each color sold in London for the period from 1853 to 1878, but with the aid of the following data a fairly correct estimate of the proportion of black and brown bears collected in the northern districts, at least, may be formed, namely: From 1863 to 1883, Mackenzie River District furnished a total of 906 black and 571 brown, and for 1886, 1887, and 1889, 1,67- 8 black and 183 brown skins. The posts of old Athabasca produced 712 black and 70 brown in outfit 1889. Then come the London catalogues for 1902, with 7,087 black and 161 brown, and 1903, with 6,444 black and 246 brown' bears. In the twenty-five years' statement, all the bears are grouped together under one heading, and they aggregate a total of 200,042, or an average of nearly 8,002 a year. The bear returns for the two years 1902 and 1903 are only 143 skins below this average, while the competition i n the fur trade during the last three decades has been far and away the greatest in its history since the coalition with the Northwest Company in 1821. For twenty- seven years, from 1858 to 1884, inclusive, Athabasca District's quota to the London sales was 13,997 assorted bears. This total would have been upward of 2,000 larger but for the transfer in 1878 of the posts of Battle 15 |
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