l him if possible.
The moose is the largest animal that roams in these northern forests,
and is exceedingly difficult to kill. His eyes are small and not very
good, but he has the most marvellous powers of hearing and smelling
given to almost any animal. Then he is so cunning and watchful that
very few Indians are able, by fair stalking him in his tracks, to get a
shot at him. He does not eat grass, but browses on the limbs and
branches of several kinds of trees. His horns are often of enormous
proportions, but yet the speed and ease with which he can dash safely
through the dense forests is simply marvellous.
There are various ways of killing them in addition to the sportsmanlike
way of following on the trail, and thus by skill and endurance getting
within range of them.
In the winter, when the snow is deep, they have a poor chance against
the hunters, who, on their light snowshoes, can glide on the top of the
deep snow, while the great, heavy moose goes floundering in the drift.
They have a great weakness for the large, long roots of the water lily,
and so are often killed while they are out from the shore and wallowing
in the marshy places for these succulent dainties. But the most
exciting sport is that which the Indians were here going to adopt in
trying to bring this big fellow, whose bellowings the night before had
so arrested the attention of those who had been awakened by him.
Mr Ross explained that the bellowings of the previous night were his
calls to his mates in the forest. Perhaps they had been alarmed by some
hunters or chased by wolves, and had become widely separated. So nature
has not only given to the moose of both sexes this wonderful power of
hearing, but to the males this great voice, which in the stillness of
the night in those northern solitudes can be heard for a number of
miles. The reply call of the female moose is much softer, and the
Indians have a plan by which they can so successfully imitate it that
they can often call the old male moose close enough to them to be shot;
and cases are known where the infuriated beast, maddened by the
deception played upon him, has rushed upon his deceiver and made it
lively work for him to get beyond the reach of his great antlers.
For fear of driving the moose out of the neighbourhood, it was decided
that there was to be no firing of guns that day, as the Indians were
certain there had been no answer to the call of the male on the part
|