342 [June, 



From the Trustees of the New York State Library, dated 2d June, 

 1855, acknowledging the receipt of the Proceedings, Vol. 7, No. 8. 



Dr. Hallowell read a letter from Mr. Charles J. Gilman, dated 



Brunswick, Maine, 1855, inclosing the following communication 



from Mr. James E. Powell, a hunter in that State : 



" In regard to the moose, I speak of it only as I am acquainted with it in 

 this State (Maine), other latitudes causing some slight variation in its habits. 



When the snows have left the ground entirely bare, which, in the favorite 

 haunts of the moose, happens about the middle of May, they leave their winter 

 haunts and approach the marshes, ponds and rivers, where they come to search 

 for their summer food, consisting of all the various aquatic plants which flourish 

 in this region. Their favorite food, however, is the water lily and rush, in all 

 their varieties, and at this season they crop them as soon as they appear, close 

 to the bottom, frequently holding their heads under water a minute or eighty 

 seconds, and often wading in water so deep that when they put their heads down 

 under the surface, to obtain the small lily leaves or to dig up the root of the 

 plant (which they often eat at this season), before the leaves are plentiful, only 

 a portion of the back is visible. About this time the females go apart, seeking 

 the most impenetrable thickets that border on or are near water, and there bring 

 forth their young ; those of three years old and upwards almost invariably 

 producing two. Still I have occasionally, but very rarely, seen and known 

 three at a birth. Those of two years old never produce more thaa one. They 

 shed their coats of long, rough hair, too, at this period, and are soon covered 

 with short, smooth, fine hair, of a dark brown color, which, however, soon 

 becomes a jetty, glossy black on the sides and back and grey on the legs (with 

 the exception of one variety of the animal, which is of a grey color, and which 

 is now very scarce here.) As the season advances, the moose frequent the water 

 still more, and remain in it longer at a time. In May, or early in June, they 

 seldom stay in it more than half an hour at once, but in July and August they 

 sometimes remain in the water several hours, and also frequent the waters very 

 much during the night, especially in hot, dry, sultry weather, or thunder 

 storms, which they seem particularly to delight in, swimming back and forth, 

 apparently in a high state of enjoyment. During these visits to the water, the 

 female, or cow, secretes her young with great care, to protect them from the 

 ferocity of the old bulls that would destroy them. For this purpose they com- 

 monly select a very dense clump of large bushes, or a spruce or fir thicket, which, 

 by its density, prevents the bull from reaching them, on account of his horns, 

 which generally sprout in April. They grow rapidly, and are very tender and 

 easily hurt at this time. By September the horns are out of the velvet, and 

 have acquired hardness, and towards the close of this month the rutting season 

 commences, and the moose leave the water for two or three weeks and resort to 

 the mountains. At this period the bulls are frequently very fat (I have killed 

 them with nearly three inches in thickness of fat on the rump), and are often 

 very fierce and savage, sometimes even attacking the hunter, but in the course 

 of a few weeks they become thin and poor, in consequence of their continual 

 roaming and their many combats, the effects of jealousy. They also neglect 

 food at this time. At this period the loud bellow of the bull, or the sonorous 

 'call' of the cow is frequently heard and distinguished by the watchful hunter 

 at the distance of two or three miles, in the stillness of night. The bulls also 

 make another noise, which, from its peculiar sound, the hunters call chopping; 

 it i3 produced by forcibly bringing together and separating the jaws in a pecu- 

 liar and singular monner, and (as its name implies) resembles the sound of an 

 axe, used at a great distance. They also emit a variety of strange sounds and 

 cries. When they return to the water they spend a great deal of time in it for 

 a week or two, but afterwards they gradually shorten their visits, until the 

 sharp frosts set in. Still, they occasionally come into it, till ice forms an inch 



