HUNTING THE MOOSE. 



ITS 



THE MOOSE. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



HUNTING THE MOOSE. 



animal is the largest of the genus Alces, oeing higher at 

 {Li the shoulders than the horse ; its horns weigh sometimes 

 near fifty pounds ; accordingly, to bear this heavy weight, its neck 

 is short and strong, taking away much of the elegance of propor- 

 tion so generally predominant in the deer ; but when it is asserted 

 that the elk wants beauty or majesty, the opinion can be enter 

 tained by those who have seen the female only, the young, or the 

 mere stuffed specimens ; for those who have had the opportunity of 

 viewing the animal in all the glory of its full-grown horns, amid 

 the scenery of his own wilderness, no animal could appear more 

 majestic or more imposing. It is however the aggregate of his 

 appearance which produces this effect; for when the proportions 

 of its structure are considered in detail, they certainly will seem 

 destitute of the harmony of parts which in the imagination pro- 



