MOOSE-HUNTING IN THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 33 



The cow Moose does not grow bold like the bull who is 

 so ready to battle for her in the fall of the year. Further- 

 •more, it is only during one short month that the antlered 

 monarch of the woods is brave to defend his mate. After 

 the rutting-season he abandons the cows, and, in company 

 with other bulls as sullen and ungainly as himself, retires 

 to the most secluded lairs, and there skulks in cowardice 

 — afraid of his own shadow. 



All winter long the bulls are found in pairs or in herds, 

 with no cows or young about. They ^'eniain separated till 

 the calves are well grown and are able to run from danger 

 by the side of the mother. 



While the young are small, they do not depend upon 

 flight to escape an enemy. They are effectively guarded 

 from beasts of prey by the mother. She will drive Wolves, 

 Bears, and Mountain Lions in disorder from the field. When 

 a man approaches the secluded bedding-ground, the mother 

 silently steals away. She leaves the helpless young to 

 hide in the ferns or chaparral; and well it hides, too. At 

 the signal of the departing mother Moose, who caresses it 

 with her nose, and may be breathes her ' ' God bless you ' ' in 

 its ear, the little creature becomes, in looks, a part of its 

 surroundings, and the hunter might step over it as a life- 

 less, moss-covered stone or piece of wood. 



In 1885, I spent the month of June on the St. Joseph 

 River, in the Coeur d' Alerie Mountains, and I had there an 

 experience with a young Moose which might be of interest 

 to sportsmen. It is a beautiful country for a hunter to 

 spend the summer in. There are great forests, dark and 

 cool with shade; there are lakes and streams alive with 

 mountain trout; and there are Deer, Bears, Elk, and Moose 

 in numbers to make glad the heart of the most sordid 

 plodder. An English gentleman, with enthusiasm and cash, 

 filled me with the desire to find a Moose in the velvet and 

 in the gloss of a summer coat. We procured a camp outfit, 

 and sought the head-waters of the little St. Joseph River. 

 There we found a great park of giant pines, the ground 

 beneath all carpeted with soft ferns and velvety moss. The 



