WILD ANIMALS AND MEN 223 



position of your quarry. Then is the time to take off your 

 snowshoes and approach with greater care then ever; but re- 

 member, always keep to leeward of the track and always look 

 up wind. Should you now come to an open space, watch care- 

 fully any clumps of trees or bushes; if passing through heavy 

 timber, watch for an opening, and if there should be fallen tim- 

 ber there, scan it most carefully where the dead trees lie, for 

 there, too, your game may be lying. Remember, my son, if you 

 approach a moose directly he will either see or scent you, and 

 in circling, you must understand that only the skill of the 

 hunter in reading the signs can successfully determine the size 

 of the circle — sometimes it may cover a quarter of a mile. 



"Then, too, my son, the seasons play a part in hunting. In 

 winter, a moose, of course, does not go to water, but eats snow 

 to slake its thirst. But whenever there is open water, a moose 

 will go to drink about sunrise; in the fly season, however, all 

 rules are broken, as the brute then goes to water night or day, 

 to get rid of the pests, and it will even remain submerged with 

 nothing above the surface — save its nose. In stormy weather 

 look for moose among heavy timber, and in fair weather search 

 the open feeding places. But in bad weather, though the hun- 

 ter gains one advantage, the moose gains another; for while 

 many twigs and sticks are apt to be broken by the high wind 

 and thus the sound of the hunter's approach is less likely to be 

 heard, the eddying currents of air are then more apt to carry 

 the hunter's scent to the moose regardless of the fact that his 

 approach may be faultless. 



"Also, my son, you must be careful not to disturb the little 

 tell-tale creatures of the woods or success that seems so near 

 may vanish in a moment; for a raven may fly overhead, and 

 spying you, circle about — just as the pigeons used to do — 

 and then crying out may warn the moose of your presence. 

 Or you may flush a partridge; or a squirrel, taking fright, 

 may rush up a tree and begin chattering about you; or a rabbit 



