106 THE MOOSE 



trees growing across the way, as the young one 

 expected, but thrashed them against any strongly 

 growing bushes for minutes at a time, the while 

 Moosewa waited and watched apprehensively, not 

 realizing that antlers, " being intelligent of seasons," 

 would be in hard fighting trim by September. 

 Soft or hard, they seemed enormous to a youngster 

 with none at all, though they were really nothing 

 wonderful for Alaska, measuring probably some- 

 where about fifty-five inches across the palms, 

 which were very white in colour, owing to the fact 

 that they had not long been out of velvet. Indeed, 

 tiny shreds, waving like pennons in the breeze, still 

 adhered in places. 



The moose of Alaska is a much finer beast than 

 his relative of Canada, and the antlers grown in 

 the Kenai Peninsula of late years have surpassed 

 in size and spread the best Canada has ever pro- 

 duced. The old bull would have been accounted 

 quite a sizeable specimen elsewhere, and it was not 

 until another of his tribe came along that the 

 faithful follower made comparisons. 



Now began the time of times in the moose 

 world. 



" All made of passion, and all made of wishes." 



