78 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



stitute their favorite food is wonderful. Their pace is 

 either a walk or trot, the usual bounding gait of other 

 species being unknown to them. Even if a fallen tree in- 

 terrupt their progress, instead of rising at it like a horse, 

 they manage to clamber over in a most effective manner. 



Two methods of capturing moose I have not alluded to 

 for why? They appear so antagonistic to all those feel 

 ings that should actuate the gentleman viz., by snaring 

 and trapping. The miuutia3 of the modes of proceeding 

 by which the unsuspicious game is induced to enter either 

 of the above devices, I am certain would not be interesting 

 to a sportsman. 



For many years it was a disputed point whether the 

 moose-deer of America and the elk of Europe were the 

 same species; but the most eminent of recent and present 

 authorities agree that they are identical. Captain Hardy, 

 of the Royal Artillery, who was stationed many years in 

 Canada, and devoted much of his time to moose-hunting, 

 as well as studying this animal's habits, and who is also 

 conversant with the European elk, emphatically asserts that 

 there are not the smallest grounds for any diversity of 

 opinion on the subject. Audubon, an authority on Amer- 

 ican natural history second to none, refuses to give a de- 

 cision, and justly so, for he was not conversant with the 

 European animal. 



The following adventure occurred to me while sojourn- 

 ing in the habitat of the moose : 



For some days my fly-rod had been indefatigably and 

 most successfully at work, furnishing not only my own 

 table, but many of the neighboring families with trout, so 

 that a change of programme was far from unacceptable. 

 One morning as I was deliberating in which direction I 

 would go, my host asked me if I should have any objection 

 to accompany him to lift some traps he had not visited 



