CAPTURE OF ANIMALS. 77 



crosses a stream or enters a lake ; and it should be set under 

 water and concealed by some covering. If it is as heavy as 

 it ought to be (say of three or four pounds' weight), it should 

 not be fastened at all or even clogged ; as the animal is very 

 active and violent when taken, and will be sure to break loose 

 by tearing off a limb or smashing the trap, if his motions are 

 much impeded. If the trap is left loose, the Deer, when 

 caught, will make a few desperate plunges and then lie down ; 

 and will seldom be found more than ten or fifteen rods from 

 where he was taken. When the hunter approaches he will 

 make a few more plunges, but can easily be dispatched. 



Mr. Gunter, the Canada trapper, whom I have heretofore 

 quoted, gives the following directions for trapping Deer in 

 winter : 



" Fell a maple or bass-wood tree near where the Deer haunt. 

 These trees furnish their favorite browse. Make a small hole in 

 the snow, close to the top of the tree. Set your trap, lower it into 

 the hole and shove it to one side, eighteen or twenty inches, through 

 the snow. Finally take some deer-scent, obtained from the glands 

 on the hind legs of a Deer, and which has a very strong odor, and rub 

 it on your trap. This done, when the Deer come to feed on the 

 twigs of the fallen tree, you will be pretty sure to take one." 



THE MOOSE. 



This is the largest kind of deer, and its habits are in many 

 respects like those of the common deer. It is more confined, 

 however, to the snowy regions of the North. It is found 

 throughout the greater part of British America, ranging as 

 far north as the Arctic Sea. In the United States, it is found 

 in Maine, Northern New York, Oregon, and Washington 

 Territory. On the Eastern Continent, it is found throughout 

 the northern parts of Europe and Asia. Its favorite haunts 

 are the hard-wood lands. In general color, it is yellowish- 

 brown or ashy-gray. The hair in summer is short and soft, 

 and long and coarse in winter. The full-grown Moose weighs 

 from eight hundred to fifteen hundred pounds, and stands 

 seven and even eight feet high. Its horns have an expanse 

 of nearly six feet between the tips, and a palm or spade on 



