Photo by George Shii'as, 3rd 
VIEW OF SKILAK lake; FROM OUR CAMP (SFE PAGE 439) 
A COW MOOSE THAT BECAME SELF- 
EDUCATED 
"Caribou Island Camp, 
"August 17 — Ther.j, 74-38. 
"Just before noon the wind veered to 
the south, coming" well offshore. Char- 
lie paddled me across the bay to the 
blind and then went after a mess of 
partridges. 
"I was hardly in ambush before the 
old cow moose was at a mud hole op- 
posite, drinking" a gallon or two of the 
muddy mixture. So active was the ef- 
fect upon the salivary glands that long 
strings of saliva drooled to the ground 
(see also pages 443 and 448). 
"Determined to try for a close picture 
and to test her disposition when thus 
interrupted, I boldly walked in view, 
crossing the bare and much-trampled 
field to within 50 feet. She stood broad- 
side, head up, and unquestionably look- 
ing at me out of one eye, but to all ap- 
pearances utterly indifferent to my ap- 
proach (see page 451). Taking a pic- 
ture, I went a little closer, when she 
turned away without looking, and again 
the camera recorded the scene. 
"While changing plate-holders, I was 
surprised to see the moose turn about 
and come toward me on a slow trot. To 
the uninitiated this would probably have 
meant a bold charge, and to the nature 
faker sufficient grounds for an exciting 
story. The animal was now so close 
that I could notice the nostrils working 
convulsively, and could see that if let 
alone she would pass to my leeward 
about five feet — the first position in 
which she could get the scent without 
coming at me directly (see page 453)- 
"Wishing to avoid alarming her so 
soon, I backed across the field to the 
edge of the marsh, but she still followed. 
Turning my back to the animal, I walked 
ahead, and upon reaching a place where 
the ground was almost impassable with 
fallen timber, I stopped. By this time I 
noticed that she had crossed my tracks, 
and thinking perhaps I was mistaken 
about her wishing to get the scent I 
awaited developments. The cow imme- 
diately came up, circled almost within 
reach, and then was struck by the scent. 
"The effect was instantaneous and 
remarkable. Sinking back on her 
haunches, I noticed that the shoulders 
trembled violently, just as though a rifle 
ball had penetrated her through and 
through, and then, with a quick awk- 
ward plunge, she made off at her fastest 
gait. And thus this innocent and impas- 
sive animal suddenly revealed its in- 
herited dread of human scent." 
447 
