Woodland Caribou 



account of its lightness, the snow is no impediment to the long- 

 legged gaunt moose, which is not obliged to 'yard,' as in more 

 Southern deep-snow regions, but wanders at will from valley to 

 mountain top in search of the tender twigs of willow, white 

 birch and cotton wood. The Indians surround the moose in its 

 feeding grounds and as it runs one or more of them is tolerably 

 sure of a quick shot." The moose in this section has long been 

 the main support of the Indians and in their household economy 

 no part of the beast is wasted. To quote further, "The hides 

 were brought indoors, the hair was shaved off, and all the sinew 

 and meat adhering was removed by means of a sort of chisel 

 made of a moose's shin bone. . . . The skin was now 

 washed in a pan of hot water. The tanning, with a soup of 

 the liver and brains, is done the next summer. The various por- 

 tions of the moose were divided among the village. One family 

 got the head, another a slab of ribs, another the fore shoulders. 

 The shin bones were roasted and cracked for their marrow; the 

 ears, although nothing but cartilage, were roasted and chewed 

 up; the rubber-like 'muffle,' or nose, and every particle of flesh, 

 fat or gristle that could be scraped from head or hoofs were 

 disposed of. Even the stomach was emptied of its contents, 

 boiled and eaten." 



In the Old World there occurs a near relative of the moose 

 in the forests of the Scandinavian peninsula as well as parts of 

 Russia and Prussia. The animal is known to the English by the 

 name of elk, which term has unfortunately been applied in this 

 country to the wapiti. 



Woodland Caribou 



Rangifer caribou (Gmelin) 



Length. 6 feet. Height at shoulder 4 feet. Length of antler yo to 

 40 inches. 



Description. Differs from all the preceding members of the deer 

 family in the presence of antlers on the female as well as the 

 male, the muzzle is also entirely covered with hair and the feet are 

 more deeply cleft. Colour, dark dove-brown, lighter in the neck, 

 posterior part of the abdomen, and inside of legs as well as a 



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