104 Tue Aroostook Woops. 

piece down the road, watching, each side, thinking very likely 
they would have another sight of her in some spot off the 
road. Sure enough, in a moment or two they heard a 
rustling on the left of them, when she showed up beautifully, 
standing upon a knoll quite still, looking at them several 
seconds, then trotting away again out of sight. This time 
they had a clear view of the cow moose standing not more 
than twelve rods away and upon elevated ground. She had 
changed her old winter coat of long, thick and coarse hair, 
with which they present a rough and shaggy exterior in early 
spring, for a new coat of fine, satin finish, which was very 
short and a shining black, and having become quite 
fat again, upon the quantity of new and tender browse 
everywhere growing for them, her round, smooth body was a 
picture. No jumps did she make, not being at all frightened, 
merely startled, and trotted off at her leisure. _ As they walk 
along, Joe exclaims again and again, ‘‘Oh! Oh! wasn’t she 
a black, glossy beauty ; don’t they trot grandly.” 
They continue on to camp without meeting with anything 
else worthy of note, excepting a baby porcupine. . He was 
sitting near the top of a young sugar maple, eating the young 
leaves, with his quilly tail hanging staight downward, look- 
ing very comical indeed, as he stopped his eating upon seeing 
them beneath him, and drew down his head and shoulders 
until he was half his length in appearance, remaining per- 
fectly motionless, with his black eyes ever on them. At first 
glance at the porcupine, one might take him to be a large 
bird, sporting a long tail, as Joe remarked to him, that he 
had altogether too much tail for his wings, his small, black, 
bead like eyes twinkling innocently as they looked him over, 
but not harming him, nor wishing for his fur, as it is not the 
most elegant kind, if smoothed the wrong way. 
