Moose- Hunting in Canada. 201 



to the only other legitimate way of hunting the moose, namely, 

 "creeping," or "still hunting," as it would be termed in the States, 

 which is, as nearly as possible, equivalent to ordinary deer-stalking. 



After the rutting season the moose begin to "yard," as it is 

 termed. I have seen pictures of a moose-yard, in which numbers of 

 animals are represented inside and surrounded by a barrier of snow, 

 on the outside of which baffled packs of wolves are clamorously 

 howling ; and I have seen a moose-yard so described in print as to 

 make it appear that a number of moose herd together and keep 

 tramping and tramping in the snow to such an extent that by mid- 

 winter they find themselves in what is literally a yard — a hollow, 

 bare place, surrounded by deep snow. Of course, such a definition 

 is utterly absurd. A moose does not travel straight on when he is 

 in search of food, but selects a particular locality, and remains there 

 as long as the supply of provisions holds out; and that place is 

 called a yard. 



Sometimes a solitary moose "yards" alone, sometimes two or 

 three together. Occasionally, as many as half a dozen may be found 

 congregated in one place. When a man says he has found a 

 "moose-yard," he means that he has come across a place where it is 

 evident, from the tracks crossing and recrossing and intersecting 

 each other in all directions, and from the signs of browsing on the 

 trees, that one or more moose have settled down to feed for the 

 winter. Having once selected a place or "yard," the moose will 

 remain there till the following summer, if the food holds out and they 

 are not disturbed by man. If forced to leave their "yard," they will 

 travel a long distance — twenty or thirty miles — before choosing 

 another feeding-ground. After the rutting season, moose wander 

 about in an uneasy state of mind for three weeks or so, and are not 

 all settled down till the beginning of November. 



In "creeping," therefore, or stalking moose, the first thing to be 

 done is to find a moose-yard. You set out early in the morning, 

 in any direction you may think advisable, according to the way the 

 wind blows, examining carefully all the tracks that you come across. 

 When you hit upon a track, you follow it a little way, examining it 

 and the ground and trees, to see if the animal is traveling or not. If 

 you find that the moose has "yarded," that is to say, fed, and you 

 can come across evidences of his presence not more than a couple of 



