136 IN THE LAND OF THE GREAT SPIRIT 



neck, and the prolongation of the upper lip or moufle. 

 And it is just these points that give the moose its 

 quaint and rather ungainly character. 



When in the full vigour of life, the bull moose has 

 a curious process of hairy skin some four or five 

 ^* inches long, called the "bell," hanging from its throat. 

 It is not believed that this functions as a gland. I 

 have heard that this is also occasionally seen on 

 females, but I never remember to have myself seen 

 one that had it. The colour of the moose is very 

 — variable, but always in some tone of black or grey. 

 I have never seen the slightest tinge of red in any 

 adult. 



There is by me as I write a magnificent robe or 

 skin which has not been stretched at all. Kakikapo's 

 squaw prepared it, scraping it clean with an old axe- 

 ^ head and tanning it in the smoke of the wood-fire. 

 This skin measures from the scut to the front of the 

 withers eight feet six. 



Its colour is a beautiful glistening black, with here 



^ and there the slightest suspicion of grey. But this is 



the early winter skin of a bull in his prime. Later 



on in the year this coat would have turned grey. 



Females and young are grey, and very old males 



J incline even to white. A second small skin, also in 



