202 



THE AMERICAN MOOSE 



Moose-hock moccasins, tanned with the hair 

 on, are often used in the woods in winter. The 

 skin is peeled down without being cut open, and 

 sewed up at the lower end. The hock joint forms 

 the heel. They are seamless, except at the toe, 

 and are excellent for snowshoeing. 



Until tht European trader came the Indian 

 was dependent on his own resources for supplying 

 all the articles required to meet his simple needs. 

 Various animals contributed to furnish him materi- 

 als for clothing, weapons, and domestic utensils, 

 but the moose furnished more than any of the 

 others. Bernard R. Ross, long in the service of 

 the Hudson's Bay Company in the Mackenzie 

 River district of the Canadian Northwest, has 

 given an account of the animals which are useful 

 from an economic point of view to the various 

 Indian tribes of that region. 



" The uses to which the various parts of the moose 

 are put are many," he says. "The hide supplies 

 parchment, leather, lines, and cords; the sinews 

 yield thread and glue; the horns serve for handles 

 to knives and awls, as well as to make spoons of; 

 the shank bones are employed as tools to dress 

 leather with; and with a particular portion of the 



" Canadian Naturalist and Geologist, vol. vi. (1861), pp. 433, 437. 



