304 



RECREATION. 



sand around the body held no footprints 

 other than hers, and of course he had 

 taken away none of the meat. She had 

 been sacrificed just to appease the fiend's 

 desire to see something die. I noticed she 

 was a mother, and I prayed that her young 

 one was old enough to care for himself. 

 Her executioner had not respected the law 

 enough to refrain from shooting, yet he 

 had been too cowardly to profit by his 

 atrocious act. How contemptible such a 

 man must be ! 



"Men are much dependent on fire, and 

 it is no wonder they smell so smoky. They 

 have fires on all occasions it seems. Nearly 

 all the food they eat is prepared over a 

 fire, and they keep fires burning in their 

 houses just for the sake of the heat pro- 

 duced. Remember, my comrade, that where 

 you see a blaze or smoke, or scent the lat- 

 ter, there you are nearly sure to find man. 

 If you are pursued by men and can elude 

 them until darkness falls, a sharp lookout 

 for the blaze they are almost sure to make 

 where they pass the night may enable you 

 to circle them and be well out of harm's 

 way 'ere another sun rises." 



"Yes, Bud, that's sound advice," said the 

 other. "A good moose motto would be: 

 'Beware of Smoke.' To change the sub- 

 ject, how extensive a yard have you laid 

 out here?" 



"Not unusually large," replied Bud. 

 "Moose are lazy unless there is a reason 

 for activity, and I'm no exception. I've 

 planned my feeding ground so as to get 

 just enough exercise to keep me feeling 

 well and no more. If many join us we 

 can enlarge it, and we'll probably have to 

 shift it some under any circumstances. I 

 sleep ordinarily back there under those 

 spruces, and a short distance below is 

 an excellent place to lie during the day. 

 The sun shines in warmly and I can easily 

 see what's going on. It's too bad our old 

 friend who tarried at Spectacle pond isn't 

 here to enjoy the coming winter with us. 



"Speaking of his freak antlers reminds 

 me of the set I grew 2 seasons ago. They 

 were long and round, rather than flat, and, 

 although of equal length, they were the 

 cheapest appearing headdress I've had 

 since I got my growth. For business, how- 

 ever, they were all right, and in a fight 

 were big medicine. I was mixed up in an 

 affair near Felker pond with a bull much 

 older than I, but came out winner. We 

 met at the top of the horseback and I told 

 him he was not wanted. He snorted at 

 me, and asked what I thought I could do 

 with those light antlers. He had a magni- 

 ficent head, broad, solid and heavy and I 

 could see that in a clinch mine would stand 

 no show. I was the heavier otherwise and 

 considered myself more active. Instead of 

 opening the combat, I taunted him until 



his blood fairly boiled. He lowered his 

 head and came U me on the jump. That 

 was the chance 1 was awaiting. I let him 

 almost reach me, then jumped to one side, 

 avoided his rush, threw down my own 

 head, and was back with my antlers in his 

 ribs before he knew what had happened. 

 His impetus was so great and my impact 

 so solid, that we both went down, over 

 the side of the horseback toward the pond. 

 I was up first and was waiting when he 

 again charged. The same trick was again 

 effective, but that time I kept my feet, and 

 when he started to rise I gave it to him 

 hard. He showed no sign of owning defeat, 

 so I continued my advantage, ramming him 

 nearly to the water's edge. No, I don't 

 know how badly he was injured, nor what 

 became of him. He needed taking down a 

 bit, and his opinion of himself was un- 

 doubtedly lessened when I finished with 

 him. 



"The following winter my antlers were 

 unusually slow in coming off, perhaps be- 

 cause they were distasteful to me. In 

 March, I was still wearing them. They 

 were not secure and I knew that before 

 many days I should be rid of them. Had 

 the growth of trees been thicker up here 

 I should have probably lost them sooner. 

 There had been many and heavy storms, 

 and the snow was about 5 feet deep in the' 

 woods. Not long previous there had been 

 a ram, followed by a freeze. That had 

 formed a hard, thick crust, strong enough 

 to hold me when motionless, but through 

 which, unless I stepped carefully, I 

 would break. On top of the crust was 

 another layer of snow about ankle deep Ir 

 those conditions I was startled by hearing 

 men. They came carelessly toward me and, 

 ot course, I was warned of their approach 

 long before they appeared. I dreaded going 

 forth from the well made trails which I had 

 traveled when feeding, but the men came 

 steadily nearer and no alternative was left 

 I hey had climbed the mountain at another 

 point and were coming around on a course 

 which could not fail to reveal to them my 

 presence. It did, however, allow me to work 

 down to the extent of my trails and to 

 shape my course toward the valley without 

 having first to ascend the ridge. That was 

 a great help, and, notwithstanding the deep 

 snow, I made fair progress. It was labor- 

 ious traveling, nevertheless, and after going 

 a short distance I waited, trusting the 

 men would pass and allow me to return 

 It was warm for the season and the violent 

 exercise caused the steam to rise in a per- 

 fect cloud from my body. 



"I listened to the men and could soon 

 distinguish the sound made in the snow 

 by the contrivances woven from caribou hide 

 and stretched in ash bows, which they wore 

 on their feet. They followed my feeding 



