MOOSE-HUNTING IN CANADA 145 



snare every day (which these men never do), he 

 runs the chance of catching a moose and finding 

 the carcass unfit for food w^hen he revisits the 

 place. I shall not describe the method of snaring 

 a moose, for fear some of you gentlemen might be 

 tempted to practise it, or lest it might be supposed 

 for a moment that I had ever done such a wicked 

 thing myself. 



Many men prefer caribou-hunting to moose- 

 hunting, and I am not sure that they are not right. 

 The American caribou is, I believe, identical with 

 the reindeer of Europe, though the American 

 animal grows to a much larger size and the males 

 carry far finer horns. The does have small horns 

 also. I believe the caribou is the only species of 

 deer marked by that peculiarity. Caribou are very 

 fond of getting out on the lakes as soon as the ice 

 will bear, and feeding round the shores. They 

 feed entirely on moss and lichens, principally on the 

 long grey moss, locally known as " old men's 

 beards," which hangs in graceful festoons from the 

 branches of the pines, and on the beautiful purple 

 and cream-coloured caribou-moss that covers the 

 barrens. They are not very shy animals, and will 

 venture close to lumber camps to feed on the moss 

 which grows most luxuriantly on the tops of the 



