252 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



of the Indians of the Territories and portions of British 

 America have an annual drive, in which they slaughter the 

 poor creatures in large numbers; but they, unlike the 

 wretched white " skin-hunters," utilize the meat for mak- 

 ing pernmican, and the hides for making clothing, snow- 

 shoes, and moccasins ; whereas the latter leave the carcass 

 to rot on the ground, taking only the hide. They also de- 

 stroy without regard to sex, and gravid females and calves 

 are slaughtered as readily as old bulls. These hides bring, 

 in winter, when the coat is inclined to be dark and the in- 

 ner hair close and woolly, from four to five dollars ; and 

 for this sum men travel weary miles and destroy some of 

 the finest animals on the continent with a recklessness of 

 consequences worse than barbarous. If the destruction 

 continues as it has been carried on heretofore, the animal 

 will soon be a memory of the past, and will be known only 

 through works on natural history. 



I have not had as much experience in hunting it as other 

 large game ; for in the Far West, where it is common, it 

 was dangerous to frequent its haunts a few years ago, ow- 

 ing to the enmity of the Indians against all intruders on 

 their preserves, and the fact that white men could only fol- 

 low it with safety in large parties, as it was a stranger in 

 places settled by them. 



I have followed it in several portions of the continent, 

 however, from Maine to Western British America ; but I 

 must say that the hunters I accompanied were more fre- 

 quently unsuccessful than otherwise, owing to its extreme 

 caution and speed, and the wooded and often mountainous 

 character of its home. All my expeditions were not fail- 

 ures, however, and I have enjoyed some delightful sport 

 with it that atoned for laborious days and nights spent in 

 its vain pursuit. In Idaho and Montana, where it is still 

 quite numerous, sportsmen who are strangers in these coun- 

 tries must take guides and camping outfits with them; 

 and if they do not slay dozens of moose, they will at least 

 have the pleasure of beholding some of the wildest and 

 grandest scenery on the continent. 



