"""im"'] PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 307 



will be given to a dog to eat. They can not be prevailed upon to bring 

 young ones to tbe Fort alive, although many are caught everj' spring 

 while crossing rivers and lakes. They say that this would spoil their 

 hunting altogether ; but why, I could never get one to explain ; prob- 

 ably the idea has some connection with the superstitions entertained 

 among the Chippewyans regarding the women. 



In spring, when the females are near calving, they proceed to places 

 where they are least likely to be disturbed by wolves, such as islands 

 in lakes and rivers, and also in prairies and large swamps which are 

 overflowed with water at that season; there they search for a dry spot 

 among thick woods where they may bring forth their young. When 

 the calves are very young the mother in their defense will even attack 

 a man. At such times her appearance reminds one forcibly of that of 

 a vicious horse. She raises her head, throws back her ears upon her 

 neck, and suiflf's or blows like a horse ; then she bounds toward her 

 enemy, striking the ground with her fore feet, her eyes glittering with 

 rage. 



When the snow happens to be very deep Moose are run down on 

 snow-shoes and killed with arrows. In spring, when there is a crust, 

 accidents frequently happen in this species of hunting. If the hunter 

 chance, from the nature of the country, to run too near the Moose, after 

 he is fatigued, he will turn like lightning, leap toward his assailant, and 

 trample him under foot. I have known several people who had very 

 narrow escapes of this kind. On one occasion three Indians were hunt- 

 ing and fell upon the tracks of a female Moose and her young one. They 

 immediately gave chase, and in a short time the " Mannisheesh," or 

 young one, became fatigued and stopped. One of the Indians who had 

 left his companions a short distance behind, approached in his haste 

 too near the game. The young Moose instantly leaped towards him. In 

 his eagerness to escape his snow-shoe caught in a willow, and down he 

 went with the Moose on top of him bucking and trampling with all 

 four feet. His companions came up. The Moose again took to flight, and 

 they went to pull out of the snow what they were quite certain would 

 be a mangled corpse, but the man had scarcely received a scratch, so 

 they shook him, and joining in a hearty laugh started again in pur- 

 suit. 



The Moose down at Peel River and the Yukon are much larger 

 than up this way. There I have known two cases of extraordinary 

 Moose having been killed, the meat alone of each of them weighing 

 about 1,000 pounds. The Loucheux have a superstition that the Indian 

 who meets with one of these extraordinarily large Moose is sure to die 

 within the year, or else meet with some grievous misfortune. 



A north wind in winter, when the sun does not rise high above the 

 horizon, affords the best chance for Moose bunting. From some cause 

 which I do not understand, the sun being then towards the south, shin- 

 ing against the wind, causes the trades to be seen from a considerable 



