124 THE BEGUILING OF THE MOOSE BULL 



startling tales of terrific encounters listened to with bated breath 

 around the camp fire. 



At the nuptial season the moose attains to the prime of condition. 

 His massive neck seems to have doubled its ordinary dimensions. 

 His black pelage has now become glossy as the coat of a well-groomed 

 horse, and his huge limbs and long canon bones are ornamented 

 with bright orange stripes, sharply contrasting with the general 

 sombre tone of colour of the grizzled body. His broadly palmated 

 antlers, now hard as flint, rough as the bolls of ancient birch trees, 

 become a thing of beauty as well as a terrible weapon against a foe. 

 His sharp hoofs, rather delicately formed for such a great beast, 

 are formidable auxiliary weapons of offence. 



At this time he often seems to forget entirely the fear of man, 

 and if wounded will often charge desperately : sometimes indeed 

 even without the slightest provocation. 



Returning after this digression to our hunters, let us suppose 

 that an hour has elapse d and still nothing has happened of a startling 

 character : only the men have listened to an occasional low hoarse 

 note vibrating over the forest at intervals of about two minutes, 

 growing distinctly nearer all the while, outlining what might be 

 called the vocal trail of an advancing moose. 



Suddenly however the great ' wood-eater ' begins what the Indian 

 calls ' sounding ' . He has reached the ruined trunk of a huge 

 pine tree, and against this he strikes his antlers repeatedly until 

 the forest re-echoes as if to the blows of a dozen woodmen's axes. 

 For a long time he keeps on ' sounding ', proving that his temper 

 is evidently -'up ', perhaps from the disappointment of having failed 

 to meet a rival to settle with. Rearing on his hind legs he hits out 

 furiously, and there follows a mist of falling fragments of broken 

 wood as he delivers lightning-like blows with his terrible forefeet 

 against some fire-killed rampike. 



At length he wearies of these pugilistic exercises and moves 

 forward once more, giving utterance to a frog-like croaking, the 

 weakness of the utterance contrasting grotesquely with the bulk 

 of the giant whence the weak voice emanates. 



Will he never emerge from covert ? Surely now he must be 

 sneaking round the black edge bordering the little swamp ; but he 

 has ceased to give voice or any sign of his presence whatever. 



Now the Indian redoubles his efforts, yet with a certain masterly 

 restraint, not overstepping the modesty of nature. He begins to 

 put into the notes something of a new and most seductive expression. 



At close quarters he well knows that when ' speaking ' to the 

 moose one false intonation, one awkward quaver will send the 

 great creature off into space in ghost-like silence. Instantly would 



