THE MOOSE 
139 
1899, the amount granted annually has been 
125,000. 
From 1892 to 1902, 1,580 Reindeer were im- 
ported from Siberia and 144 from Lapland, from 
which 6,116 fawns have been born in Alaska. 
Dr. Jackson states that “the animals born in 
Alaska are developing into larger and stronger 
animals than their parents.” Of the whole 
number of Reindeer, 2,692 have been sold, butch- 
ered or lost by death. On May 1, 1903, the total 
number remaining alive in Alaska was 5,148. 
The number of fawns born in 1902 was 1,654. 
The Reindeer experiment has been wisely con- 
ducted, on good business principles, and is an 
unqualified success. There are nine Reindeer 
stations, extending from Point Barrow, on the 
Arctic Ocean, to Eton Station, near St. Michael, 
on Norton Sound. The Laplanders who were 
taken to Alaska to educate the natives in the 
care and use of Reindeer, have done their work 
conscientiously, and the Eskimo have eagerly 
embraced the opportunity to acquire a domestic 
animal, good for use and for food, to take the 
place of the vanished walrus and Barren Ground 
caribou. 
On the whole, the systematic introduction of 
Reindeer along the northwest coast of Alaska — - 
now almost barren of wild life fit for human food 
— is one of the most humane and sensible meas- 
ures ever undertaken for the children of the cold. 
If this industry is further fostered, and diligently 
pursued, its ultimate value in the promotion of 
the moral and material welfare of the Eskimo 
is beyond calculation. The multiplication of 
the herds in the hands of private owners means a 
great increase in the animal food supply, less 
dependence upon the foods of civilization, a 
greater measure of general prosperity and con- 
tentment, and in the end, far less expense to the 
government in the form of annual maintenance 
for starving natives. 
The Moose' is the largest animal of the Deer 
Family, living or extinct. Even the Irish elk, with 
antlers which, in at least one specimen, spread 
9 feet 3 inches, was a smaller animal. It is a 
satisfaction to know that the most colossal deer 
that ever trod the earth is alive to-day, and an 
inhabitant of our continent. 
1 Al'ces americanus. Called in Europe, the “ Elk ” ; 
and our Elk is there called the “Wap'i-ti.” See 
Frontispiece. 
It is not, however, an easy matter to convey a 
truthful and adequate impression of this antlered 
giant of the north. The young specimens occa- 
sionally seen for a brief season in zoological parks 
and gardens are scarcely more than suggestions 
of the adult animal. The mounted groups in our 
large museums do indeed represent its full size ; 
but to be fully appreciated, the Moose must be 
seen alive, adult, full of strength and purpose, 
striding like a four-legged colossus through the 
evergreen forests of Canada or Alaska, or swing- 
ing away at incredible speed from the dangers of 
the chase. 
Imagine, if you can, an antlered animal stand- 
ing between six and seven feet high at the shoul- 
ders, its legs quite four feet long, its neck and 
body covered with a heavy thatch of coarse, pur- 
plish-gray hair from three to six inches long, 
and its huge head crowned with massive antlers 
spreading from five to six feet in width. Its 
head is among the lower branches of the forest, 
and its long legs stride with indifferent ease 
over fallen tree-trunks which to the hunter are 
barriers to be climbed over, slowly and labo- 
riously. 
The Moose can instantly be recognized by its 
broad, square-ended, overhanging nose, large 
ears, high hump on the shoulders, and long, 
coarse, smoky-gray hair. The adult male is 
further distinguished by antlers that are enor- 
mously flattened and expanded, in a form pop- 
ularly known as “palmation.” 
The Moose is not a grazing animal, like the 
elk, and most other members of the Deer Family. 
It lives by “browsing,” or eating the bark, twigs 
and leaves of certain trees, and also moss and 
lichens. It is strictly a forest animal, and is 
never found on open, treeless plains. It is 
very fond of still water, and is much given to 
frequenting the small lakes and ponds which 
abound in some portions of its home. It is as 
fond of wading in shallow water as a boy, and is 
a ready and powerful swimmer. It loves to feed 
upon lily pads and stems, and moose hunters 
have' assured me that it even seeks the bulbs 
growing in the muddy bottom. 
Except in Alaska, the majority of Moose killed 
by hunters are shot from ambush beside ponds, or 
from canoes. Frequently, Moose that are surprised 
when wading and feeding in shallow water, make 
the mistake of rushing into deep water, to escape 
