THE MOOSE. 231 



walked through meadows of tall grass, the 

 withered yellow stalks rising to his flanks, 

 while his body loomed above them, glistening 

 black and wet in the level sunbeams. Once 

 he stopped for a few moments on a rise of 

 dry ground, seemingly to enjoy the heat of the 

 young sun; he stood motionless, save that his 

 ears were continually pricked, and his head 

 sometimes slightly turned, showing that even 

 in this remote land he was on the alert. Once, 

 with a somewhat awkward motion, he reached 

 his hind leg forward to scratch his neck. 

 Then he walked forward again into the marsh ; 

 where the water was quite deep he broke into 

 the long, stretching, springy trot, which forms 

 the characteristic gait of his kind, churning 

 the marsh water into foam. He held his 

 head straight forwards, the antlers resting on 

 his shoulders. 



After awhile he reached a spruce island, 

 through which he walked to and fro ; but 

 evidently could find therein no resting-place 

 quite to his mind, for he soon left and went 

 on to another. Here after a little wandering 

 he chose a point where there was some thick 

 young growth, which hid him from view when 

 he lay down, though not when he stood. 

 After some turning he settled himself in his 

 bed just as a steer would. 



He could not have chosen a spot better 

 suited for us. He was nearly at the edge of 

 the morass, the open space between the spruce 

 clump where he was lying and the rocky foot- 

 hills being comparatively dry and not much 

 over a couple of hundred yards broad ; while 

 some sixty yards from it, and between it and 



3 8 B 



