CHAPTER III 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 



Civilized man, seeking a foothold in the wilder- 

 ness, begins by destroying the forests. He must 

 have room for his cornfields, and for his village. 

 Thus the moose, dependent on the forest for 

 subsistence, retreats before the advancing axmen, 

 with their guns and dogs — leaving civilized man to 

 study the moose through the medium of a speci- 

 men stuffed by some upholsterer, perhaps, and 

 displayed in a museum. As a result a large 

 measure of mystery has always surrounded the 

 m.oose, and in popular estimation he has possessed 

 a medley of contradictory attributes. 



It is little more than a century since zoology 



was elevated to the rank of a science. And a 



century is too little time in which to correct all 



the errors which, through careless observation, 



had crept into the books in which the moose and 



his habits were described. Few even now possess 



the ability, and at the same time the opportunity, 



63 



