THE ALCINE DEER OF THE OLD AND NEW WORLDS. 77 



bushes close by, gave a little warning " hist ; " and, look- 

 ing up, I saw a fine moose standing about eighty yards 

 ofi", and slowly looking about him. He had come out of 

 the woods close to our point of exit, and we must have 

 been passed by him quite handy. I was capped ; and in 

 a few minutes crowds of moose-birds had assembled to 

 share the hunter's feast. But for our caution we should 

 never have seen or heard him. 



In November, the rutting season over, the bull moose 

 again seeks the water and recovers his appetite : re- 

 maining, nevertheless, in poor condition throughout the 

 winter. He may be now seen standing listless and 

 motionless for hours together, and seeming to take but 

 little notice of the approach of danger unless his nostrils 

 are invaded by the scent of a human being, which will 

 start a moose under any circumstances. About this 

 time the cows, young bulls, and calves congregate in 

 small parties of three to half a dozen, and affect open 

 barrens and hill sides, where there is a plentiful supply 

 of young wood of deciduous trees, constituting what is 

 termed a '' moose-yard." If undisturbed they wiU remain 

 on such spots, feeding round in an area more or less limited 

 in extent, for several weeks ; when, the supply of pro- 

 vender failing, they break up camp and proceed in search 

 of fresh ground. When the weather and state of the 

 snow permits, these shifts are practised throughout the 

 winter. In Canada, however, and in Northern New 

 Brunswick, the moose is a far less migratory animal than 

 he is in Nova Scotia, owing to the great depth of the 

 snow ; once he chooses his yard he has to remain in it, 

 and is quite at the mercy of the hunter who may have 

 discovered the locality, and who can invade his domains 



