THE GAME ANIMALS OF CANADA 53 



' the valleys of the larger tributaries of the Mackenzie River. There does 

 not seem to have been any great diminution in their numbers during past 

 years, although they represent to the Indians during the summer months 

 a very convenient means of food, and, in consequence, are killed in an 

 indiscriminate manner. 



They are accustomed to roam the swamps and inaccessible parts of the 

 country, either singly or in pairs, and it required a considerable amount 

 of skill, energy, and perseverance to encompass the death of one of these 

 members of the deer family. They are accustomed to roam the spruce 

 forests during the winter, occasionally seeking the sheltered side of a 

 coulee to feed upon the shoots of alder and willow. . . . During the 

 summer months they are more nomadic in character, rarely remaining 

 in one locality for a very long time, except for the purpose of haunting 

 the vicinity of a small lake or stream. ... It is only by the exercise of 

 a good deal of stealth and ingenuity that the local Indians can arrive 

 sufficiently close to them in summer months to achieve their destruction. 

 Probably the district which is the natural habitat of these animals is that 

 comprised within the limits of the Athabaska River. There does not 

 appear to be as yet any considerable reason for fearing a serious diminu- 

 tion in the numbers of the moose, although it would seem advisable in 

 the course of time to have more specific regulations regarding the killing 

 of these animals during the close season. 



In the discussion following my address on "The Conser- 

 vation of Northern Mammals," at the seventh annual 

 meeting of the Commission of Conservation in 1916, Doctor 

 C. W. Wilson, Assistant Surgeon R. N. W. M. Police, stated: 

 "Where moose were quite plentiful, in the region included 

 within the delta of the Mackenzie, the greater destruction 

 has been due to the trading companies, for instance the 

 Hudson's Bay Company. Two Indians told me that they 

 supphed.the Company's post with two hundred carcasses 

 a year, of moose alone. The result is that very seldom is 

 a moose seen in that whole district at the present time." 



The condition of moose in British Columbia is encour- 

 aging from the reports of Mr. Bryan Williams, the former 

 provincial game warden. In his annual report for 1914 he 

 states: "In the north the moose seem to be on the increase, 

 and spreading down farther to the south. This year a 



