TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 75 



trained a pair [of moose] to draw a sleigh, which 

 they did with great steadiness and swiftness, sub- 

 ject, however, to the inconvenience that, when 

 they once took it into their heads to cool them- 

 selves in a neighboring river or lake, no efforts 

 could prevent them." 



New Brunswick guides tell of a moose which 

 was driven on the ice of the St. John River many 

 years ago from Fredericton to St. John and return 

 in a single day, the entire distance being i6o 

 miles. He was warm but showed little evidence 

 of fatigue at the end of the journey. His owner 

 gave him the shelter of a stable the following 

 night, with the result that the moose died. An 

 animal which can survive a winter in the open air 

 at the Arctic Circle needs no other stable than that 

 which nature furnishes in every forest thicket. 



While a moose is able to travel great distances in 

 a short time, nevertheless, if undisturbed, and in a 

 section where browse is plenty, he by choice will 

 remain indefinitely in a relatively small area. 



The moose is fond of the water. It is his refuge 

 from the serious insect pests of summer, and there 

 is^ an abundance of feed in the shallow bays. The 

 moose swims well, but not rapidly. Like the 

 caribou, his shoulders are well above the water 

 when swimming. Stone relates how an Alaska bull 



