CHAPTER XII 



THE MOOSE IN INDIAN MYTH 



The moose and the Indian have always been 

 closely associated. The Indian gave the moose 

 the name by which he is known to us today. The 

 most skillful hunters of the moose have been 

 Indians, and some writers have even asserted that 

 no one but an Indian can master the art of "call- 

 ing" the moose in the early fall days when the 

 mating instinct asserts itself. Around anything in 

 which a primitive people are interested, if the peo- 

 ple possess imagination, legends are sure to grow 

 up; around everything which was a vital part of the 

 Indian's experience, like the moose, the bear, and 

 the beaver, myths were woven, carrying the un- 

 certain threads which connected man with the 

 Spirits, good and evil, which were created by his 

 hopes and his fears. 



But an Indian is not easily persuaded to narrate 

 to white men the folk-tales which he has heard 



his elders tell beside the lodge fires of his people. 



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