Boss of the Woods 



by James B. Hendryx . . . paintings by Charles Culver 



JUDGES of fauna seldom classify moose among the handsome 

 creatures of the wild. 



With their overdone heads and underdone rumps, upper lips 

 that hang flabbily over their chins, a ridiculous tuft of chin hair, 

 and a shoulder hump just large enough to interrupt the stream- 

 lining, they place well to the rear of the beauty parade. 



The most complimentary adjective that can be applied to a 

 moose is "lordly," and that goes only for the male with his great 

 spread of antlers. His wife, with her huge ears, drooping snout, 

 and tapering body is somewhat less than alluring. And un- 

 doubtedly the most ungainly object in nature is the youngster, 

 with spindly legs so long that his nose won't reach the ground 

 unless he kneels or spraddles his front legs widely apart. 



But the moose has his claims tq fame. He may be awkward, 

 but he's the world's largest deer. He ranges through Canadian 

 provinces and some of the forested states that border on Canada. 

 He reaches his greatest size in the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, 

 where specimens weighing three-quarters of a ton, with 6-foot 

 antlers, have been reported. 



These antlers are unique in nature. In front they branch like 

 a deer's horns but at the rear they unite into broad, flat surfaces 

 from which six to twelve points protrude. When you look at this 

 impressive array of head armor you wonder how a moose can 

 possibly make his way through the woods without getting hung 

 up. Yet he can travel through a thicket through which a man has 



