132 MOOSE HUNTING. 



would almost seem to savour more of reason than of 

 instinct; but so many well-authenticated instances of 

 its having been done are recorded, that it may be very 

 safely accepted as a matter of authentic fact, and as 

 such it is very generally acted on by the Indians, who 

 when following the trail of a moose make a point 

 while advancing of making a series of detours or circles 

 to leeward, which cut in upon the track here and there, 

 and yet keep the animal to windward of them. By 

 this means they frequently succeed in outwitting the 

 wary beast by outmanoeuvring him in his own tactics. 



The places where game generally make their beds 

 in the forest vary according to the nature of the 

 climate and country, and even to the time of year, but 

 as a rule it is usually among thick bush, or on the 

 edges of heavy windfalls, especially where a growth of 

 young trees has sprung up among the fallen timber. 



Another favourite place is on dry spots among 

 sloughs and swamps, where long grasses, canes and 

 brushwood afford convenient hiding places; when the 

 weather is hot, and the flies are bad, the margins of 

 lakes, pools, and rivers are very favourite places of 

 resort but as a rule, wherever their resting places may 

 be by day, if game are much disturbed by hunters, 

 they are proportionately far removed from their nightly 

 feeding grounds. 



Many animals make a regular habit of travelling 

 considerable distances in this way, both morning and 

 evening, and they rarely return a second time to th^ 

 same spot ; they therefore cover a large area of ground 

 in the course of their wanderings to and fro, especially 

 where water is scarce. In countries where flies are 

 very bad, most of the game is however driven out of 



