THE MOOSE 37 



head deep under the water to do so. The moose 

 love to feed in this way in the hot months, 

 when they spend all the time they can in the 

 water, feeding or lying down ; nor do they 

 altogether abandon the habit even when the 

 weather is so cold that icicles form in their 

 shaggy coats. 



" Crouching, I stole noiselessly along the edge 

 of the willow thicket. The stream twisted 

 through it from side to side in zigzags, so that 

 every few rods I got a glimpse down a lane of 

 black water. In a minute I heard a slight 

 splashing near me ; and on passing the next 

 point of bushes I saw the shadowy outline of 

 the moose's hind-quarters, standing in a bend of 

 the water. In a moment he walked onwards, 

 disappearing. I ran forward a couple of rods, and 

 then turned in among the willows, to reach the 

 brook, where it again bent back towards me. 

 The splashing in the water, and the rustling of 

 the moose's body against the frozen twigs, 

 drowned the little noise made by my moccasined 

 feet. 



" I strode out on the bank at the lower end of 

 a long narrow pool of water, dark and half frozen. 

 In this pool, half-way down and facing me, but 



