240 THE WILDERNESS HUNTER. 



feet ; these " peelings " form conspicuous 

 moose signs. It crops the juicy, budding 

 twigs and stem tops to the same height ; and 

 if the tree is too tall it " rides " it, that is, 

 straddles the slender trunk with its fore legs, 

 pushing it over and walking up it until the 

 desired branches are within reach. No beast 

 is more destructive to the young growth of a 

 forest than the moose. Where much perse- 

 cuted it feeds in the late evening, early morn- 

 ing, and by moonlight. Where rarely dis- 

 turbed it passes the day much as cattle do, 

 alternately resting and feeding for two or 

 three hours at a time. 



Young moose, when caught, are easily 

 tamed, and are very playful, delighting to 

 gallop to and fro, kicking, striking, butting, 

 and occasionally making grotesque faces. As 

 they grow old they are apt to become danger- 

 ous, and even their play takes the form of a 

 mock fight. Some lumbermen I knew on the 

 Aroostook, in Maine, once captured a young 

 moose, and put it in a pen of logs. A few 

 days later they captured another, somewhat 

 smaller, and put it in the same pen, thinking 

 the first would be grateful at having a com- 

 panion. But if it was it dissembled its feel- 

 ings, for it promptly fell on the unfortunate 

 new-comer and killed it before it could be 

 rescued. 



During the rut the bulls r,ee r . the cows far 

 and wide, uttering continually throughout the 

 night a short, loud roar, which can be heard at 

 a distance of four or five miles ; the cows now 

 and then respond with low, plaintive bellows. 

 The bulls also thrash the tree trunks with 



