350 THE DEER OF AMERICA. 



It is rare, however, that these yards have all the surface com- 

 pactly trodden down. They make paths from the radial points 

 to reach the trees or shrubbery in the neighborhood, so that the 

 area of their habitation is much extended by streets or paths, 

 well packed down, between which the deep snow remains undis- 

 turbed, and frequently this system of paths constitutes the yard, 

 with but a very limited central area, quite trodden down. When 

 the snow is deep and covered with a hard crust, the deer are 

 sought in these yards, but not exclusively. 



The reindeer are much less accustomed to yard in winter than 

 the Moose, and it is a habit rarely observed in any other of the 

 deer family, so far as I have information. 



Since the appearance of civilized man with firearms, and the 

 introduction of those weapons among the savages, a change has 

 necessarily been made in the chase of the deer, as well as other 

 game, or at least the old modes are less relied upon, and the new 

 weapon has become the principal dependence. The mode of 

 hunting this deer now is, in general, the same with the civilized 

 and the savage hunter, especially on the frontiers and with the 

 larger species, which are only found in the wilderness beyond the 

 borders of the white settlements. 



More endurance and sagacity are required in the chase of the 

 Moose Deer than anj' of the others, for they are more suspicious 

 and cautious, and seem to possess the senses of smell and hear- 

 ing in a higher degree than the smaller species. Indeed, it seems 

 to be a general rule that the older and tlie larger specimens of 

 a given species are more difficult to capture than the smaller, 

 as well as that the larger species are more cautious than the 

 smaller. 



A life-long experience and study of the habits of the animal 

 and of wood craft, seem to have endowed the Indian with 

 greater skill than the white man, especially in the pursuit of the 

 Moose and the Caribou ; hence the white hunter generally secures 

 the services of an Indian when he goes in pursuit of this noble 

 game. 



The proper season for hunting the Moose is at the commence- 

 ment of the rut, say in September, when his antlers have per- 

 fected their growth, the velvet has been rubbed off, and they 

 have become finely polished against the trees. Then it is, that 

 he is in the best condition and the venison is the choicest ; then 

 it is, that his desires have stimulated his courage and deprived 

 him of a portion of that caution which makes his capture so dif- 



