HEIGHT OF THE MOOSE-DEER. 65 



man will find the ordinary smooth-bore gun quite as effi- 

 cient as the rifle. A weapon of heavy calibre is here also 

 of great importance. 



I never think of the State of Maine without the most in- 

 tense feelings of pleasure, for among its pine-clad hills and 

 wood-irnbosomed lakes I enjoyed many, many weeks and 

 months so free from care, so productive of pleasure, that 

 the recollection can neve^ pass away. 



This region of country is characterized by numerous 

 labyrinths of lakes that are scattered over it in every di- 

 rection, divided from each other by mountainous ridges, 

 clothed to their summits with giant pine-trees and the 

 many varieties of hard woods peculiar to these latitudes, 

 alike giving beauty to the landscape and affording food 

 and shelter for every kind of northern game. On the ex- 

 tensive flat meadows that edge these lakes, or form the 

 margin of many of the numerous noble rivers, in the hol- 

 lows, ravines, and hill-sides, was the moose-deer's home to 

 be found, his choice of quarters being regulated by the 

 changes of the seasons. Portions of New Brunswick and 

 Nova Scotia are now favorite resorts of this giant deer; 

 but in Northern New Hampshire, Vermont, and North- 

 eastern New York, where a quarter of a century since 

 moose were plentiful, I doubt if at the present date a sin- 

 gle specimen can be found. Such is the result of civiliza- 

 tion and the influx of the white man. 



The size to which the moose-deer grows has been vari- 

 ously stated. Audubon says over twenty hands ; Mr. Hays, 

 an animal artist of great talent, and who has spent many 

 years studying his profession in the native haunts of all the 

 subjects he has used his brush upon, informs me that he 

 has known animals to grow much larger. From this gen- 

 tleman's experience as a hunter and naturalist, I have not 

 the slightest doubt that he is correct. However, 1 believe 



