or the
reason that then the days are shorter and the weather colder, and on
that account and also on account of the fact that the sun and winds of
March have not arrived to harden the deep soft snow, the forest
creatures prefer to remain more at home.

APPROACHING MOOSE

In approaching the Moose Hills we saw many moose tracks, but they were
old, the freshest having been made two days before. The age of these
the hunter was able to determine from the amount of newly fallen snow
in the track, as well as from other conditions; for he well remembered
how much snow had fallen each day for the last week or two, when and
which way the wind had blown, and when the sun was strong and the cold
severe. Now selecting a two-day-old trail as the best for us to
follow, he decided to camp for the night, and we spent the interval
between supper and bedtime discussing not only the hunting of moose,
but also their range and habits.

The extreme range of a moose covers from five to fifteen miles. More
often it is confined to a much smaller area that merely includes the
low-lying river and lake valleys that afford him the choicest of summer
food--the pineapple-like roots of waterlilies--and also affords him
protection from flies while he is wading and delving for those very
roots; and the higher lands among the hills, where he spends the winter
in the denser forest.

But it is in midsummer that we can study the moose with greatest ease,
for then he spends the sunrises and sunsets wading among the lily pads,
and if we are careful to observe the direction of the wind to guard
against being scented, and also careful to cease paddling or any other
motion before the big brute looks at us, we may, with the greatest ease
and safety, propel our canoe to within from a hundred yards to fifty or
forty feet of the great beast as he stands looking at us with raised
head and dilating nostrils trying to catch our scent. If he catches
it, he suddenly tosses his ponderous head, drops back slightly on his
hind legs as he swings round, and is off with a grunt. Nevertheless,
he--or she--will pause long enough to leave the sign that all deer
leave upon the ground when suddenly startled by--to them--the dreadful
smell of human beings. Or if it happens to be moonlight and the moose
is a bit mystified by the steady, but silent, scentless, and motionless
approach of our canoe, he may at first stand gazing at us, then grunt
at us, then back out of the w