218 THE MOOSE 



everywhere he could trace the history of the world 

 in which he lived ; each morning come on romance 

 in footprints, tragedy in massed tracks, "sermons 

 in stones, and good in everything." 



A grim, silent country lay around him — a land 

 of desolate barrens, wild woods, and fierce waters ; 

 but he had freedom and omnipotence — gifts of the 

 gods ! 



His wisdom and strength was such that, barring 

 some extremely untoward occurrence, he had naught 

 to fear from any enemy save man. And man 

 troubled the headwaters of the Sushitna very 

 little. 



As he walked sombrely and slowly through the 

 timber lands, with the odd clack, clacking which 

 ever marked his measured coming, the ground rose 

 up before him into billowy ridges fissured with 

 small watercourses. Farther, the forested area 

 merged into a high barren, where the slope became 

 acute, and cut a straight line between the waving 

 grasses and the sky. 



He pressed upwards, for beyond the barring 

 horizon lay all the lure of the October world — 

 antlered bulls to fight and conquer, cows roaming 

 in the thick underbrush, lakes to wallow in, and 



