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to lie down, and how it will act if trailed. The custom in the winter is to 
follow the moose trail by making a series of wide semicircles from its tracks, 
since before it rests it will loop back on its own course to come up wind of 
any pursuer. If the moose is found, it is approached with great stealth, 
the natives oftentimes removing a good part of their clothing to keep from 
making any noise. 
Richardson (1852, page 257) tells of a small breed of dogs which were 
used along the Mackenzie river for moose hunting, holding the animal 
at bay until the Indians came up on their snow-shoes. The use of dogs 
for hunting is a common practice, but it is probably impossible today to 
distinguish any special small breed of dog from the packs of underfed 
mongrels. The Indian dogs are notably small, supposedly because they 
are put in harness as small pups as well as being often starved. At least 
white men say that the same dogs would grow much larger if well taken 
care of during their first year. 
The dry shoulder blade (scapula) of the moose is used to call that 
animal during the rutting season. This is done by rubbing the bone 
against willows, in imitation of the sound caused by the moose when it 
rubs off the velvet from its horns. Scapulimancy also occurs among the 
Dogribs, a complete description of which is best taken from Whitney 
(1896, page 262) : 
"Everybody was in good humor that night in the lodge, and I was very much inter- 
ested in watching the development, out of a caribou shoulder blade, of an Indian hunting 
talisman. The shoulder blade when finished becomes at once talisman and prophet. It 
is scraped clean of its flesh, and then with a piece of burned wood the Indian pictures 
upon it, first, the points of the compass, and then one or more hunters, with caribou in 
the distance. When his drawing is complete the blade is held over the fire, and the dark 
spots that appear in the bone indicate the direction in which the game will be found. Where 
several hunters are represented in the drawing, that one nearest the spots is hailed the 
lucky individual.” 
When a moose is killed the Bear Lake Indians cut off its ears and throw 
them into a tree. The moose is then skinned. In former times the hunter 
returned to his companions and sent one of them for the meat, to whom 
it was given, and he in turn having brought it in, distributed it among the 
camp. According to Father Ducot, the Indians when lucky in the chase, 
leave a bladder full of blood, to be found by the wolverine, whose good will 
they value ( See Duchaussois, 1923, page 259). 
Caribou were formerly killed in great quantities on the barren grounds. 
The methods included stalking, decoying, impounding, snaring, and spear- 
ing, The hunting was done generally by a band or group as a communal 
affair initiated by either of the two most important men, the best hunter, 
or the oldest man. Whatever meat was procured was given to the latter 
for distribution. The Indians stalk the caribou as near as possible, then 
run after it in full pursuit. This method was largely a matter of chance, 
unless the snow was deep and soft, in which case the hunters on snow- 
shoes had easily the advantage. If they were on the barren grounds, 
where the snow was hard, the Indians depended on a fortunate shot to 
drop an animal, which often caused the herd to split up and part to turn 
directly into the face of their enemies. Sometimes even the sound of firing 
produced this effect. In such cases slaughter was comparatively easy. If 
not enough meat was secured the hunters went on again, knowing that 
caribou will stop to feed if let alone. The whole process was then repeated. 
