232 THE DRAMA OF THE FORESTS 



moose's neck with his ball, and on questioning him as to how he 

 knew, he replied : 



"My son, if an animal is hit in the neck and the neck is 

 broken, the beast will collapse right where it is; but if hit in the 

 heart, it will lunge forward; if hit in the nose, it will rear up; 

 if hit in the spine, it will leap into the air. Yes, my son, I 

 have seen a great bull buffalo leap lynx-like, into the air, 

 when it was struck in the spine." 



Knowing that the hunter had wanted to procure more than 

 one moose I asked him why he had not at once pursued the 

 other? And he explained : 



"For two reasons, my son: first, because I don't want a bull, 

 I want the tenderer meat and the softer skin of a cow; and 

 secondly, even if I had wanted him, I would not have pursued 

 him at once as that would cause him to run. If a moose is 

 pursued on the run, it overheats, and that spoils the meat, 

 because the moose is naturally a rather inactive animal that 

 lives on a small range and travels very little; but it is quite 

 different with the caribou, for the caribou is naturally an active 

 animal, a great traveller, that wanders far for its food, and to 

 pursue it on the run only improves the flavour and the texture 

 of its meat." 



OLD-TIME HUNTING 



After supper, as we sat in the comfortable glow of the fire, 

 we talked much of old-time hunting, for in certain parts of the 

 Great Northern Forest many of the ancient methods are 

 practised to-day. Fire is often made by friction; many hunters 

 still use the bow and arrow, while others use the flintlock gun; 

 frequently, too, they rely upon their spears; bone knives and 

 awls as well as stone axes are still applied to work; fish nets are 

 yet woven from the inner bark of cedar; and still to-day wooden 

 baskets and birch-bark rogans are used for the purpose of heat- 

 ing water and boiling food. Notwithstanding our far over- 



