en it led him to the
edge of a little round pond in the woods, whence he could find no exit
of the trail. After waiting for some time, he beheld the head of the
animal rising above the surface in the very middle of the pond. While
hastening for his gun, which he had left at a little distance, the moose
made for the opposite shore, and emerging from the water, regained the
shelter of the forest ere he could get round for a shot. The animals
have been known also to visit the seashore, and one was seen swimming
off to an island over a mile distant, which he reached in safety.

The moose feeds chiefly on the leaves of young shoots and bushes, or the
smaller trees--the red and other maples, the white birch, the balsam,
fur, poplar, and mountain ash; and occasionally, as has been said, on
the roots of the yellow pond-lily, with a bite now and then at a tussock
of broad-leaved grass growing in the dried bogs. To get at the foliage
beyond the reach of his muzzle, he frequently charges a young tree and
rides it down, till he has brought the tempting leaves within his reach.

The horns of the animal begin to sprout in April, the old pair having
fallen some time before. In the middle of this month the coat is shed,
when the animal for some time afterwards presents a very rugged
appearance. The cow towards the end of May produces one or two calves,
generally near the margin of a lake, or in one of the densely-wooded
islands, where they are secure from the attacks of the bull moose, who,
cruel tyrant that he is, often destroys them. Rarely more than two are
born at a time.

Besides its human foes, the moose is attacked occasionally by the bear.
Captain Hardy describes coming upon the traces of a recent struggle
between a young moose and one of these animals. "The bear had evidently
stolen through the long grass upon the moose, and had taken him at a
disadvantage in the treacherous bog. The grass was very much beaten
down, and deep furrows in the soil below showed how energetically the
unfortunate moose had striven to escape from his powerful assailant.
There was a broad track plentifully strewed with moose hair, showing how
the moose had struggled with the bear, to the wood, where, no doubt, the
affair ended, and the bear dined."

As the winter approaches, the cows, with the young bulls and calves,
congregate in small parties on the open "barrens" and hill-sides. When
the snow comes thickly down, they form what is calle