
Woodland Caribou 
account of its lightness, the snow is no impediment to the long- 
legged gaunt moose, which is not obliged to ‘yard,’ as in more 
Southern deep-snow regions, but wanders at will from valley to 
mountain top in search of the tender twigs of willow, white 
birch and cotton wood. The Indians surround the moose in its 
feeding grounds and as it runs one or more of them is tolerably 
sure of a quick shot.” The moose in this section has long been 
the main support of the Indians and in their household economy 
no part of the beast is wasted. To quote further, ‘‘The hides 
were brought indoors, the hair was shaved off, and all the sinew 
and meat adhering was removed by means of a sort of chisel 
made of a moose’s shin bone. . . . The skin was now 
washed in a pan of hot water. The tanning, with a soup of 
the liver and brains, is done the next summer. The various por- 
tions of the moose were divided among the village. One family 
got the head, another a slab of ribs, another the fore shoulders. 
The shin bones were roasted and cracked for their marrow; the 
ears, although nothing but cartilage, were roasted and chewed 
up; the rubber-like ‘muffle,’ or nose, and every particle of flesh, 
fat or gristle that could be scraped from head or hoofs were 
disposed of. Even the stomach was emptied of its contents, 
boiled and eaten.” 
In the Old World there occurs a near relative of the moose 
in the forests of the Scandinavian peninsula as well as parts of 
Russia and Prussia. The animal is known to the English by the 
name of elk, which term has unfortunately been applied in this 
country to the wapiti. 
Woodland Caribou 
Rangifer caribou (Gmelin) 
Length. 6 feet. Height at shoulder 4 feet. Length of antler 30 to 
40 inches. 
‘Description. Differs from all the preceding members of the deer 
family in the presence of antlers on the female as well as the 
male, the muzzle is also entirely covered with hair and the feet are 
more deeply cleft. Colour, dark dove-brown, lighter in the neck, 
posterior part of the abdomen, and inside of legs as well as a 
47 
