156 Moose -Hunting. 



are a yellowish white, and the legs brown, and of extraordinary 

 length. White, of Selborne, writing of a moose which he had seen, 

 quaintly remarks upon "the strange length of its legs, on which it 

 was tilted up much in the manner of the birds of the grallse order." 

 A curious muscular development of the upper lip, termed the moufie, 

 is common to both sexes, and a pendulous gland hangs from the neck 

 of the males. The neck and withers are surmounted by a volumin- 

 ous mane of a light gray color. This hair is dyed various brilliant 

 colors by the Indians, and is used to embroider designs upon birch 

 bark, velvet, and other materials. 



The largest moose that I ever saw measured six feet and nearly 

 five inches at the withers, a trifle less at the buttock, and four feet 

 and five inches from the withers to the buttock, and from withers to 

 the top of the skull, twenty-seven inches. The head measured two 

 feet and five inches from the moufie to a point between the ears, and 

 nine inches between the eyes. The horns weighed forty-five pounds, 

 and measured four feet and three inches from tine to tine at their 

 widest part, and at their greatest width the palmated parts measured 

 thirteen inches. The horn, at its junction with the skull, was eight 

 inches in circumference. The whole carcass, before gralloching, must 

 have weighed close upon twelve hundred pounds. I have heard of 

 cases where the specimen exceeded these measurements, but the re- 

 ports lacked confirmation. The moose is commonly represented 

 very much higher at the withers than at the buttock, which is un- 

 doubtedly a mistake, as in no instance (and I have measured many 

 animals) have I found any great difference in favor of height at the 

 withers, although the mane gives a casual observer a contrary im- 

 pression. The great length of its legs and prehensile lip are of much 

 benefit to the moose, and wonderfully adapted to his mode of feeding, 

 which consists in peeling the bark from, and browsing upon, the 

 branches and tender shoots of deciduous trees. When the branches 

 or tops of trees are beyond his reach, he resorts to the process termed 

 by hunters "riding down the tree," by getting astride of it and bear- 

 ing it down by the weight of his body until the coveted branches are 

 within his reach. 



The senses of smelling and hearing are very acute; his long ears 

 are ever moving to and fro, intent to catch the slightest sound, and 

 his wonderfully constructed nose carries the signal of danger to his 



