THE GAME [RESOURCES OF ALASKA. 
473 
although they may not entirely desert the low country, moose resort 
largely to the mountain sides and the scattered groves of trees near 
timber line. As to their winter habits little is known, but apparently 
they do not “ yard,” or at least not to such an extent as the eastern 
moose. The calves are born from early May to late June and follow 
the cows at least until the next spring. The rutting season begins 
about the middle of September. 
Various methods of hunting moose are employed in Alaska. Of 
these still hunting is most common. Calling with the bircli-bark 
horn, so successfully practiced in eastern Canada, is not greatly in 
vogue, but when properly executed is effective. Contrary to the cus¬ 
tom in the East the imitation of the bull is used most frequently, 
although evidence that bulls can be attracted by the call of the cow 
is not lacking. In some instances dogs have been successfully em¬ 
ployed. The Indian’s lazy method of lying in wait near trails or 
ponds known to be frequented by moose is also practiced. 
Although moose occur throughout practically all the interior of 
Alaska and in some places near the coast they are not uniformly 
distributed, and certain localities are much more favored by them 
than others. Beyond doubt they are more numerous on the Kenai 
Peninsula than in any other area of equal size, and here they attain 
a larger size than elsewhere. They are fairly common also in certain 
districts near the Yukon River between Eagle and Circle, while 
many less-known parts of the interior are much frequented by them. 
CARIBOU. 
Caribou inhabit the treeless and semi-treeless parts of Alaska, in¬ 
cluding the bare mountain ridges of the interior and the open rolling 
tundras of the coast from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific side of the 
Alaska Peninsula. Throughout this region the greenish white lichen 
or “ reindeer moss,” which constitutes their principal food, is abun¬ 
dant. Except in crossing from one mountain ridge to another they 
rarely enter the timber and consequently are seldom seen by travelers 
on the main river highways. They scatter widely in summer and in 
fall collect in herds, often very large, but at all times they roam 
widely. The great herds in the fall of the year perform a more or 
less regular movement in the nature of a migration, and within cer¬ 
tain limits their course of travel and times of arrival at given points 
are well known. Probably the best known of the large herds is the one 
which collects along the watershed between the Yukon and Tanana 
rivers. This herd still regularly musters from 1,000 to 3,000 or more 
animals, although levied upon annually by hunters from Forty Mile, 
Eagle, Circle, and the new mining towns on the Tanana River. Herds 
perhaps equally large range the little-known Arctic slope along the 
