53 



CHAPTER IY. 



MOOSE DEER. 



THIS giant of the deer tribe, although at one time abun- 

 dant in all the north-eastern States, at the present time 

 holds only a precarious and short-leased existence in the 

 northern portion of the State of Maine. However, when 

 the Canadian frontier is crossed they become more abun- 

 dant, increasing in number till about the 57th degree of 

 latitude is reached, above which they are seldom found. 

 In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick the sportsman in 

 pursuit of moose would still find a reward! for his labour, 

 but in that section of country lying to the south of James's 

 Bay and stretching westward to Lake Winnipeg this giant 

 deer can be obtained in greater abundance than in any 

 other portion of the American continent. 



For their capture two methods are usually adopted ; 

 firstly, by calling them up to where the sportsman is 

 concealed, by imitating the voice of the female, or call of 

 the male, through the assistance of a horn of birch bark ; 

 this device can only be employed in the still evenings of 



