THE WILD FOWL AND GAME ANIMALS OF ALASKA 127 



ently paying no attention to them, and when the men passed 

 the first little bush, knoll, or other cover the one in the rear sank 

 down behind it while his companion kept on. The caribou con- 

 tinued to circle as the single hunter advanced, and were almost 

 certain to pass close to the concealed man and thus afford a deadly 

 shot at short range. The sudden appearance of the concealed 

 hunter drew the attention of the game from the man who had 

 gone on, enabling him to drop flat upon the ground without be- 

 ing noticed. The caribou, in starting off wildly from the new 

 danger, often ran within shot of the man who had last concealed 

 himself Hunters told me that in this way they often got several 

 shots before the animals finally gathered their wits and left the 

 vicinity. 



The large woodland caribou of the upper Yukon lives in the 

 forest with the moose. The latter ranges over much of the inte- 

 rior, and during my residence in the country a single individual 

 was killed in the Yukon delta close to the sea — a very rare oc- 

 currence. In summer they are rarely hunted by the Indians in 

 the dense forests of the upper Yukon, but are killed every now 

 and then on the banks of streams or while swimming across them. 

 In winter they wander from place to place, browsing on the tender 

 twigs of cottonwoods, white birches, and willows, until the in- 

 creasing depth of snow forces them to unite in '' yards." When 

 caught in deep snow or with a heavy crust they are easily killed 

 by the Indians who follow them on snow-shoes. 



On the upper Yukon the old method of moose hunting in 

 early winter was for the Indians to go out on snow-shoes after a 

 heavy snowfall and search for fresh trails. When one was found 

 the swiftest runner, stripped to a shirt and breeches and carry- 

 ing a light shotgun loaded with ball, started off after the moose, 

 while the women and slower runners followed. Sometimes a 

 moose would run eight or ten miles before being overtaken. At 

 this season the cold is generally very intense, and the hunter 

 would quickly freeze if he stopped while heated from his long 

 run and with so little clothing. For this reason, after killing the 

 moose, he returned to camp at a run, leaving the followers to cut up 

 and drag the carcass home. When there was a light crust, small 

 dogs were used to bring the moose to bay and enable the hunter 

 to kill it with less exertion. Before the snow fell in autumn the 

 moose were stalked in the dense spruce thickets, but they were 

 very wary animals, and usually became alarmed and started off 

 at a swift trot, with a great clatter of hoofs, before the hunter 



