TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 95 



the edge of the timber. The noise of the un- 

 expected blow on the rock near at hand no doubt 

 seemed to them a more imminent peril than the 

 report of the rifle far off on the barren, and they 

 ran from the nearer danger. 



The subsequent shots, and the crippling sting 

 in the hind-quarters, told one moose that danger 

 was abroad on the barren, and the retreat of the 

 wounded bull told his companion that it was 

 time to seek a change of scene. Probably neither 

 moose could see the dark objects on the bog with 

 sufficient distinctness to identify them as the chief 

 enemies of their race, but Judson Gray, expert 

 moose hunter and caller, with the eyes of a man 

 in his prime, could easily see the antlers on the 

 heads of the moose. It seemed to me to be a 

 clear demonstration of the inferiority of the 

 moose's vision. 



The moose's superiority In his sense of smell and 

 hearing, much more than offsets his deficiency of 

 vision. Sometimes the moose's ability to scent 

 danger and escape it is surprising. In other 

 cases he shows a degree of indifference to the scent 

 and sight of man that is inexplicable. It has 

 been said that this occasional indifference is met 

 only in sections where moose and men have been. 



