50 



NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Fart I. 



THE MOOSE. 



lachrymal pits small ; neck short ; ears 

 very large and thick ; horns, consisting 

 of a very large flattened expansion, fur- 

 nished with numerous prongs on the ex- 

 ternal border, with a large isolated braiichof 

 the principal stock. Tail excessively short. 

 A tuft of long hair, like beard, beneath 

 the tiiroat, in both sexes, and a protuber- 

 ance in the same place in the male. Legs 

 long ; feet long, and placed obliquely on 

 the soil. Hair coarse and friable. Gen- 

 eral color fawn-brown. Dimensions, as 

 given by Dr. Harlan : length from the 

 nose to the base of the tail, 6 ft. 10 in. ; 

 height before, .5 ft. 2i in. — behind, 5 ft. 

 4|m.; length of the head, 23 in.; ears, 10 

 in.; horns, 37 in.; neck, 18 in. ; tail, Ih 

 inch. Weight of the horns sometimes 60 

 pounds. 



History. — Moose were formerly very 

 plentiful in Vermont, and in many places 

 the early settlers depended upon their 

 flesh for no inconsiderable part of the sub- 

 sistence of their families. They are now 

 exterminated from all portions of the state 

 excepting the county of Essex, in the 

 northeastern part. There they are still 

 found, and several were killed there du- 

 ring the two last winters. The head and 

 horns of one of these, obtained by Judge 

 Parker, of Orleans, and now in his pos- 

 session, weighed 9.5 pounds, of which the 

 horns are supposed to constitute one half. 

 The hide and quarters of this Moose, when 

 dressed, weighed a little more than 800 lbs. 

 The height of its horns exceeded 3 feet, 

 and the distance between their tips was 

 more than .5 feet, and larger than this are 

 not often found at the present day. But 

 it would appear from the statement of Dr. 

 Williams that larger individuals were ta- 

 ken in early times. He says that one of 

 these animals in Vermont was found by 

 measure to be 7 feet high, and that the 

 laro-est Moose were estimated by the hun- 

 ters to weigh from 1300 to 1400 pounds. 

 The food of the Moose consists of grass, 

 shrubs, the boughs and bark of trees, es- 

 pecially the beech, which they seem to 

 prefer above all others, and a species of 

 maple, £cer pcnnsylvanicutn^ which is call- 

 ed Mooseicood. In summer they keep 

 pretty much in families. In winter they 

 herd together, sometimes to the number 

 of 20 or 30 in a company. They seem to 

 prefer cold places ; and when the snow is 

 deep they tread it down for a space of sev- 

 eral acres, forming what is called a yard. 

 Within this space they range, and sub- 

 sist upon the twigs and bark of the trees, 

 while the snow remains deep upon the 

 ground. In order to eat from the ground, 

 they are obliged to kneel or spread their 

 fore legs, on account of the shortness of 



their neck. They move with a long sham- 

 bling trot, and with a rattling of their 

 hoofs, which may be heard at a consider- 

 able distance. Their course is swift and 

 straight, and they leap over the highest 

 fences with ease. The males only liave 

 horns, which are shed and reproduced an- 

 nually. The rutting season is in Septem- 

 ber, and the young are produced about 

 the first of June, usually two at a birth. 

 The female is smaller than the male.* 

 This animal was called Monsall by the 

 Algonquin Indians, 0/-?>ji(t/ by the French 

 inhabitants of Canada, and Moose, or 

 Mouse Deer, by the English.! 



Since the above was written, I have 

 had an opportunity of examining a living 

 Moose in Burlington. It was a female, 

 two years old, and had then been in cap- 

 tivity about two months, having been ta- 

 ken in Canada, near the north line of this 

 state, in March, 1842. The height at tiie 

 shoulder was about 6 feet, and it agreed 

 fully with my description, so far as it is 

 applicable to the female, that sex being 

 without horns. It had become so tame 

 as to be led by a halter without difficulty- 



THE ELK. 

 Cervus canadensis. — Gmel. 



Description. — Head well formed, ta- 

 pering to a narrow point ; ears large and 

 rapidly moveable ; eyes full and dark ; 

 horns lofty, graceful, with numerous 

 pointed cylindrical branches, which curve 

 forward. The hair is of a bluish gray 

 color in autumn; dark gray during the 

 winter, and at the approach of spring as- 

 sumes a reddish, or bright brown color, 

 which it retains during the summer. The 

 croup of a pale yellowish white or clay 

 color. Colors nearly the same in the two 

 sexes ; but the females are without horns. 

 Height at the withers, according to Dr. 

 Harlan, 4 feet, the horns 3 feet, first ant- 

 ler 1 foot, second 10 inches, length of the 

 tail 2 inches. 



History. — The horns of the elk have 

 been often found in Vermont, which may 

 be reo-arded as suflicient proof of the for- 

 mer existence of that animal within the 

 state ; and if the animal was found here 

 after the settlement of the state was com- 

 menced, it is doubtless now completely 

 exterminated. Elks live in families. 

 Their rutting season is in September, and 

 the young, one and sometimes two in 

 number, are produced in July. Their horns 

 are generally shed in March. This spe- 

 cies is said to be still found in numbers 



* Williaraa' History, Vol. 1, p. 99. 

 f Harlan, Fauna Americana, p. 239. 



