THE ELK, Oil MOOSE. 
129 
the low herbage like cattle, hut crop the tops of the 
higher plants and low brushwood, or reach and pull 
down the branches of trees ; for, as Frederic Cuvier 
observes, their upper lip is a true organ of prehension, 
and that the whole of the manners of the animal, 
which he was enabled to study in confinement, plainly 
indicated the adaptation of its form to an abode in 
forests, and to a sustenance on the foliage of trees. 
The same animal, when wishing to graze, reached 
the ground with its muzzle with extreme difficulty, 
and often on such occasions fed leaning on its knees. 
During winter, the shoots of the willow, birch, and 
red willow, are among their favourite food; and Dr 
Richardson, on the authority of Lewis and Clark, 
notices the Guallheria Shallon as much sought af- 
ter to the eastward of the Rocky Mountains. 
During winter, it is a favourite object of the chase, 
particularly among the Cree Indians, who account 
themselves the most dexterous in this pursuit. In 
winter, the hunter tracks the Moose by its footmarks 
in the snow, and it is necessary he should keep con- 
stantly to leewai-d in the chase, and make his advance 
with the utmost caution ; for the rustling of a wi- 
thered leaf, or the cracking of a rotten twig, is suffi- 
cient to alarm the watchful beast. The difficulty of 
approach is increased by a habit which the Moose 
Deer has, of making a daily sharp turn in its route, 
and choosing a place of repose a#near some part of 
its path that it can hear the least noise made by any 
one that attempts to reach it. To avoid this, the 
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