ii6 CANADIAN NIGHTS 



these natural sounds ; but if a man breaks a twig, 

 or, treading on a dry stick, snaps it on the ground, 

 the moose will distinguish that sound from the 

 hundred voices of the storm, and be off in a 

 second. 



Why it is that the moose has developed no 

 peculiarity with regard to his feet, adapting him 

 especially to the country in which he dwells, 

 while the caribou that shares the woods and 

 barrens with him has done so in a remarkable 

 degree, I will leave philosophers to decide. In 

 the caribou the hoofs are very broad and round, 

 and split up very high, so that, when the animal 

 treads upon the soft surface of the snow, the 

 hoofs spreading out form a natural kind of snow- 

 shoe, and prevent its sinking deep. The frog 

 becomes absorbed towards winter, so that the 

 whole weight of the animal rests upon the hoof, 

 the edges of which are as sharp as a knife, and 

 give the animals so secure a foothold that they 

 can run without fear or danger on the slippery 

 surface of smooth glare ice. Now the moose, on 

 the contrary, is about as awkward on the ice as a 

 shod horse, and will not venture out on the frozen 

 surface of a lake if he can help it. His feet are 

 rather small and pointed, and allow him to sink 



