THE ELK, OB MOOSE. 129 



the low herbage like cattle, but crop the tops of the 

 higher plants and low brushwood, or reach and pull 

 down the branches of trees ; for, as Frederic Cuvier 

 observes, their upper lip is a true organ of prehension, 

 and that the whole of the manners of the animal, 

 which he was enabled to study in confinement, plainly 

 indicated the adaptation, of its form to an abode in 

 forests, and to a sustenance on the foliage of trees. 

 The same animal, when wishing to graze, reached 

 the ground with its muzzle with extreme difficulty, 

 and often on such occasions fed leaning on its knees. 

 During winter, the shoots of the willow, birch, and 

 red willow, are among their favourite food ; and Dr 

 Richardson, on the authority of Lewis and Clark, 

 notices the Gualtheria Shallon as much sought af- 

 ter to the eastward of the Rocky Mountains. 



During winter, it is a favourite object of the chase, 

 particularly among the Cree Indians, who account 

 themselves the most dexterous in this pursuit. " In 

 winter, the hunter tracks the Moose by its footmarks 

 in the snow, and it is necessary he should keep con- 

 stantly to leeward in the chase, and make his advance 

 with the utmost caution ; for the rustling of a wi- 

 thered leaf, or the cracking of a rotten twig, is suffi- 

 cient to alarm the watchful beast. The difficulty of 

 approach is increased by a habit which the Moose 

 Deer has, of making a daily sharp turn in its route, 

 and choosing a place of repose so near some part of 

 its path that it can hear the least noise made by any 

 ore that attempts to reach it. To avoid this, the 



