THE MOOSE 



139 



1899, the amount granted annually has been 

 $25,000. 



From 1S92 to 1902, 1,580 Reindeer were im- 

 ported from Siberia and 144 from Lapland, from 

 which 0,116 fawns have been born in Alaska. 

 Dr. Jackson states that "the animals born in 

 Alaska are developing into larger and stronger 

 animals than their parents." Of the whole 

 number of Reindeer, 2,692 have been sold, butch- 

 ered or lost by death. On May 1 , 1903, the total 

 number remaining alive in Alaska was 5,148. 

 The number of fawns born in 1902 was 1,654. 



The Reindeer experiment has been wisely con- 

 ducted, on good business principles, and is an 

 unqualified success. There are nine Reindeer 

 stations, extending from Point Barrow, on the 

 Arctic Ocean, to Eton Station, near St. Michael, 

 on Norton Sound. The Laplanders who were 

 taken to Alaska to educate the natives in the 

 care and use of Reindeer, have done their work 

 conscientiously, and the Eskimo have eagerly 

 embraced the opportunity to acquire a domestic 

 animal, good for use and for food, to take the 

 place of the vanished walrus and Barren Ground 

 caribou. 



On the whole, the systematic introduction of 

 Reindeer along the northwest coast of Alaska — 

 now almost barren of wild life fit for human food 

 — is one of the most humane and sensible meas- 

 ures ever undertaken for the children of the cold. 

 If this industry is further fostered, and diligently 

 pursued, its ultimate value in the promotion of 

 the moral and material welfare of the Eskimo 

 is beyond calculation. The multiplication of 

 the herds in the hands of private owners means a 

 great increase in the animal food supply, less 

 dependence upon the foods of civilization, a 

 greater measure of general prosperity and con- 

 tentment, and in the end, far less expense to the 

 government in the form of annual maintenance 

 for starving natives. 



The Moose 1 is the largest animal of the Deer 



Family, living or extinct. Even the Irish elk, with 



antlers which, in at least one specimen, spread 



9 feet 3 inches, was a smaller animal. It is a 



satisfaction to know that the most colossal deer 



that ever trod the earth is alive to-day, and an 



inhp^bitant of our continent. 



'" 

 1 Al'ces americanuR. Called in Europe, the "Elk"; 

 and our Elk is there called the "Wap'i-ti." See 

 Frontispiece. 



It is not, however, an easy matter to convey a 

 truthful and adequate impression of this antlered 

 giant of the north. The young specimens occa- 

 sionally seen for a brief season in zoological parks 

 and gardens are scarcely more than suggestions 

 of the adult animal. The mounted groups in our 

 large museums do indeed represent its full size; 

 but to be fully appreciated, the Moose must be 

 seen alive, adult, full of strength and purpose, 

 striding like a four-legged colossus through the 

 evergreen forests of Canada or Alaska, or swing- 

 ing away at incredible speed from the dangers of 

 the chase. 



Imagine, if you can, an antlered animal stand- 

 ing between six and seven feet high at the shoul- 

 ders, its legs (juite four feet long, its neck and 

 body covered with a heavy thatch of coarse, pur- 

 plish-gray hair from three to six inches long, 

 and its huge head crowned with massive antlers 

 spreading from five to six feet in width. Its 

 head is among the lower branches of the forest, 

 and its long legs stride with indifferent ease 

 over fallen tree-trunks which to the hunter are 

 barriers to be climbed over, slowly and labo- 

 riously. 



The Moose can instantly be recognized by its 

 broad, square-ended, overhanging nose, large 

 ears, high hump on the shoulders, and long, 

 coarse, smoky-gray hair. The adult male is 

 further distinguished by antlers that are enor- 

 mously flattened and expanded, in a form pop- 

 ularly known as "palmation." 



The Moose is not a grazing animal, like the 

 elk, and most other members of the Deer Family. 

 It lives by "browsing," or eating the bark, twigs 

 and leaves of certain trees, and also moss and 

 lichens. It is strictly a forest animal, and is 

 never found on open, treeless plains. It is 

 very fond of still water, and is much given to 

 frequenting the small lakes and ponds which 

 abound in some portions of its home. It is as 

 fond of wading in shallow water as a boy, and is 

 a ready and powerful swimmer. It loves to feed 

 upon lily pads and stems, and moose hunters 

 have assured me that it even seeks the bulbs 

 growing in the muddy bottom. 



Except in Alaska, the majority of Moose killed 

 by hunters are shot from ambush beside ponds, or 

 from canoes. Frequently, Moose that are surprised 

 when wading and feeding in shallow water, make 

 the mistake of rushing into deep water, to escape 



