THE CHASE. 361 
peculiar to the pursuit of the Moose, and is substantially con- 
fined to the amorous season, although the call is available, as we 
have seen, as auxiliary to other modes of hunting, and at other 
seasons. 
In general the deer is a very silent animal, and the use of the 
voice is almost entirely confined to the two largest species, the 
Moose and the wapiti. The Moose, most of all, expresses his 
passions or his sensibilities by uttering sounds expressive of dif- 
ferent passions and sensibilities, which are intelligible not only to 
his own kind, but are understood by the hunter as well. To im- 
itate these, sometimes an instrument, made of bark or a hollow 
horn, is used as an aid, while others succeed well by muffling the 
mouth with the hands; some possess this faculty of imitation in 
a much higher degree than others, and some even can never 
acquire it. 
During the rutting season, as has been said, the male Moose 
especially, impelled by the ardor of his passions, loses a part of 
that timidity and caution by which he is governed at other 
seasons. They become not only ardent, but courageous and 
combative. Until mated with a female, they crush through the 
forests and swamps in a half frenzied condition, seeking the 
desired object, and apparently aching for a fight. Now it is that 
the hunter seeks to take advantage of his temperament, by im- 
itating such calls of his kind as are most likely to allure him to 
love or to combat. In the call hunt the hunter has compar- 
atively little to fear from the sight of the Moose, but from the 
senses of smell and hearing he has everything to apprehend. 
The time chosen is either night or early morning. He must 
make his camp a sufficient distance from the ground selected for 
the hunt, to prevent its giving notice to the game of his presence 
in the neighborhood. There must be no wind to carry the odor 
of the hunter in any direction, else the sagacious and suspicious 
animal will be sure to take advantage of it, to approach the 
hunter from the leeward, and so detect the fraud at once, when 
the hunt is spoiled. A full moon is required to enable the hun- 
ter to see the game when it approaches, and to shoot with ac- 
curacy when in range. 
On a still night in September or October, with a good moon, 
after the antlers of the Moose have become nicely polished by 
being rubbed against the tree-stems, the experienced hunter re- 
pairs to the well-known resort of the Moose, selecting an elevated 
position in a country as open as may be found, and conceals him 
