THE BIG GAME OF ALASKA 63 



lbs. 

 Kidneys and fat . . . . • . 30 



Scalp and fat . . ... 110 



Head and antlers . . .115 



Total weight . . 1576 

 No allowance made for weight lost. 



Mr. H anbury measured the height of this moose as being 

 84 inches at the withers, but whether this was taken following 

 the curves or between two upright pegs I am not certain. 



I am convinced that the position of the forelegs when a 

 beast dies makes an enormous difference in measuring. The 

 shoulder has considerable play, and no doubt when the 

 weight of the body is not supported by the legs, the animal 

 often measures more when lying on its side than its actual 

 height when standing. 



I have myself measured a dead moose when stiff and 

 cold, which I killed on the Kenai Peninsula, and try how 

 I would, I could not make it less than 80 inches from the 

 heel of the foot to the withers, although the measurement 

 seemed too large at the time. 



After reading an article in the -FeV/iaf of December 26, 1903, 

 I began to think we must have under-measured our Alaskan 

 moose, rather than otherwise. According to the letter 

 referred to, a certain American sportsman killed a bull 

 moose on the banks of Lake Superior, the exact weight of 

 which when most of its entrails had been removed was 

 1632 lbs., and he estimated its live weight to have been close 

 on 1750 or 1800 lbs. This bull measured 7 feet 6 inches 

 in height at the withers, and 10 feet 6 inches from nose to 

 tail. The writer naively remarks that unfortunately these 

 were the only two accurate measures taken. After this 

 I think that Alces gigas must be misnamed. 



