078 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxviii. 



River), moose were iniicli iiioi-e abundant in the adjacent country than 

 t}i<\v liave e\('r heen since. In the \icinity of farniini>" and ranching- ,set- 

 tleinents. however, they would seem to have become soniewliat accus- 

 tomed to the not distant presence of man. as is surel}' evidenced by their 

 c()mparati\ (' abundance still in the eastei'n sections of the province of 

 Manito])a (and elsewhere), although they have been much hunted there 

 of late 3^ears. No doubt the close season and the due enforcement of 

 the relatively resti'ictive killing' law have been important accounting 

 factors for this state of affairs, which is so satisfactory not only to 

 naturalists and sportsmen but also to other interested residents. 



During summer, when the weather is warm and mosquitoes very 

 troul)lesome, moose resort for protection to the shores of lakes and 

 streams, and while standing in the water the}^ sometimes seem quite 

 indiflerent to the near presence of man, and will then retire only after 

 being repeatedl}^ tired at. I myself had proof of this on one occasion 

 when ascending the Anderson River in the end of June, 1866. There 

 Avere five or six in the party when we observed three full-grown moose 

 in the water. As they were not in good condition, we, did not care to 

 kill them, but, in ordcM' to test the truth of this peculiarity, I made the 

 Indians tire a numV)er of shots very close to them, but to no purpose. 

 In fact, we had to scream and 3'ell at them before they. got out and 

 stalked away at a very leisurely pace. According to a consensus of 

 Indian reports from various quarters, the moose copulate annually 

 during the months, or moons, of September and October, and the off- 

 spring appear some nine months later. The female generally selects a 

 dense thicket on a lake island or islet, or in a clump of trees on a dr}^ 

 spot in the midst of a marshy swamp or other sulmierged tract of for- 

 est, for the purpose of bringing forth her young, which are usual I3" one 

 or two, and occasionally, it is said, as many as three, in number. At 

 Ikirth, the hair-covering is very short and of a dirty-yellowish color, 

 the eyes are open, and the newcomer is rather weak and helpless; but, 

 after a comparatively short time, it is able to move about and soon 

 becomes quite active. Suckling is supposed to continue for two or 

 three months. When in good condition and stalked, the flesh of the 

 moose is excell(Mit (>ating and, on the whole, more tender and luscious 

 than the venison of the red deer or either species of caribou; but ani- 

 mals killed after a long chase on snow, or during, or after the rutting 

 season are far from palatable, owning to a strong and ver}- rank flavor 

 then acquired. The skins are dressed by native women and the result- 

 ing smoked leather is made into tents or lodges, moccasins, tunics, 

 shirts, and trousers for winter and summei' use l)y the resident popu- 

 lation of the interior. Some skins are also cut up for pack cords and 

 others turnc^d into parchment for the recjuirements of the Hudson's 

 Bay Company and others. Hunters assert that hermaphrodites and 

 barren females are sometimes met with, and that these imperfect exam- 



