294 TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 



antlers are hard, however, the bull puts on flesh at a 

 tremendous pace, and gains in contour and weight 

 daily. 



One mighty moose crossed our path frequently, and 

 his head carried no horns whatever. In size, bulk and 

 general appearance he was a giant of his kind, but 

 Fortune had docked him of his chief beauty. By 

 some mischance, wound, or accident of sorts, his 

 horns had ceased to grow; but there he was, a gay 

 Lothario for a' that, with a heart for many a fair 

 lady of the moose world. It was most strange, but 

 this uncrowned monarch held undisputed sway over 

 his range of forest kingdom, and his triumphal battle 

 cry rang through the woods at night. Lying con- 

 cealed in the underbrush one day, I saw our hornless 

 friend drive before him a stalwart young moose, fitted 

 out with antlers of most business-like appearance. A 

 lunge of the great bull neck, a fierce drive from the 

 razor fore-feet, and the deer fled before the battering 

 onslaughts of his hornless foe. 



This particular animal appeared to keep to the same 

 stretch of forest country, undeterred by our presence, 

 for we frequently caught a glimpse of the rushing 

 bulk; but, as a rule, when suddenly frightened, par- 

 ticularly when crossing a trail and getting the scent 

 of a human being, or sighting so fearsome a vision 

 as a man in the precincts of the timber belt, a moose 

 simply goes for all he is worth, sometimes covering 

 ten miles at a stretch without drawing up. 



The early morning we found to be the best time for 

 tracking, before the animals lay down for the day, and 



