72 THE DEER OF AMERICA. 



whole country was occupied by Indian tribes, who to a great 

 extent lived upon them. For the next hundred years but few 

 white men visited the country, and scarcely any settled in it ; 

 and yet in that time nearly all the bison had crossed the Missis- 

 sippi River ; and after the most diligent research, I cannot learn 

 that one has been seen in Illinois for the last eighty-five or ninety 

 years. Tlie last bison were observed in Illinois between 1780 

 and 1790. 



If the range of the Moose is more inaccessible than that of the 

 bison, and so he has been enabled to protect himself better when 

 partially surrounded by civilization, his habitat has been con- 

 stantly more and more circumscribed, as civilization has advanced 

 upon him, till now he is only found in considerable numbers in 

 Northern Alaska. Whimpon, who explored the Yukon River in 

 1867, found the moose very abundant in 65° and 66° north lati- 

 tude, and about 146° west longitude. He says : " This part of the 

 river abounds in Moose. At this season (June) the mosquitoes 

 in the woods are a terrible scourge, and even the Moose cannot 

 stand them. He plunges into the water and wades or swims, as 

 the case may be, often making for the islands. This is, there- 

 fore, a favorite part of the Yukon for the Indian hunter. The 

 Moose are scarce at Nuclukayeth, and never known as low as 

 Nulato. They must, however, be abundant on the smaller rivers, 

 as, for example, the Newicargut, where the meat obtained was 

 nearly all of this animal." Nulato is in west longitude 159° 

 and within less than two degrees of . the Pacific Coast, and but 

 little south of Behring Strait. 



Some are met with every year in Montana, where they are 

 sometimes called by the hunters Tree Toppers, and are repre- 

 sented as being much taller than the average of the species ; 

 though this I much doubt, presuming the size has been exag- 

 gerated by hunters desiring to sell me live specimens at exorbi- 

 tant prices. They are said to be found in considerable numbers 

 in the Dominion north of Montana, whence they are now rapidly 

 disappearing. 



It is impossible to say how abundant they are in the extreme 

 northern part of the continent, but it is probable they are not 

 much diminished, for there they were never in great numbers, 

 and probably never remained through the arctic winter. A few 

 still remain in the extreme northeastern parts of the United 

 States. In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick a few are taken 

 each year, but it requires the most skillful hunters, with patient 



