^4 BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA. 



materially different from those of the Elk— coarse and 

 porous when dressed for leather. They are used by the 

 Indians, however, for saddle-bags and for tents. They are 

 heavy, and consequently regarded as worthless when the 

 hunter has a long, rough Journey before him. The antlers 

 are heavy also, and even more cumbersome; but the average 

 hunter takes pride in the careful preservation of them. 



The largest pair of antlers I ever saw w as taken from 

 the head of a Moose that was killed in the Teton Basin, 

 near the head of Snake Kiver. When standing on the 

 points, they encircled the tent door, and a man could walk 

 under the arch by slightly stooping. They measured, from 

 tip to tip, eight and one-half feet. The monarch which 

 carried them was a grand specimen of the ruminant divis- 

 ion of the animal kingdom. His weight was never known, 

 but, as he lay on his brisket, his withers were higher than 

 any horse in the outfit. An ordinary man could barely 

 "chin" the Moose as he lay on the ground, as the horse- 

 nian would express that simplest way of taking a measure- 

 ment. He was "fifteen hands " high without his legs under 

 him. 



In the fall of 1884, in company with a hunting party of 

 three gentlemen from an Eastern city, I shot and wounded 

 a two -year- old cow Moose, in a small lake in the Coeur 

 d'Alene Mountains. The ball passed through one shoul- 

 der, and, of course, disabled her; but any man would have 

 been foolhardy to have approached her. 



One of my companions had a well-trained dog, which 

 was sent into the water to drive the Moose out of a clump 

 of willows in which she concealed herself after being 

 wounded. The dog swam to the little island, only to be 

 driven back into the water. The enraged Moose followed, 

 with lunges that were terrific. The dog was a strong swim- 

 mer, but he could no more escape the mad Moose than if 

 he had been chained. He was borne down, and would have 

 been killed only for the depth of the water. As it was, he 

 was well-nigh drowned, wheij a quick shot killed the cow, 

 and thus made it possible for him to swim ashore. 



