Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-12-04
A BABY MOOSE.
1t Was the Only One Ever Rearea In
Captivity.


William r. Hornailay writes for Hal.
per's Young People the following
description Of the only baby moose. ever
reared in. captivity-ip fact, tho only one
ever seen by a person capable Of describ-
ing Git il; =. ....., 80.
Byng Inlet, ut the mouth Of the Magnolia
wan River, few miles east Of French
River, it was to meet o live moose baby
two weeks old that 'Lo, the poor Indian,
had brought down to sell. Did we buy
it? OF course we did, or VIC would not
dare to come home and tell Of it; and
when our fishing was all done, ana the
pestifcrous black flies had bitten us un-
til they we're tired, we made large crate,
put the little moose within, and brought
her back to Buffalo with us.
CAT first her acquisition was viewed by
certain members Of the household with
genuine dismay. AS baby aud q pet
she WIS so very long-Eegged and loose
jointcd, SO out-lanoish- looking, so homeiy
and SO odd that her nnreserved adoption
into the family seemed impossible. But,
as her champion anticipated, the other
members Of the family have succeeded
in their efforts to 1--we up to her standard.
We named her Miss Byng, because we
found her at Byng Inlet, and her long
legs have walked right into the affections
OF us all. She appreciates the efforts
that have boen nude to appreciate her,
and treats US accordingly.
40 every stranger she is q living con-
undrum, FOR outside Of moose-lanl no
one has yet recognized her species
without help. Because Of her long ears
most persons pronounce her young
donkey. A rev have decided, aftor sage
consideration. that she is d cross between
donkey and deer. The total alb
sence Of u tail is explained by the sup
position that it has been sat OK bitten
off.
ANY one in this country is exeusabls
for not recognizing her species unaiaea
l would not dare 10 say what / might
have called her had met her first in
Cawupore instead of Canada, She has
as yet only an Indication Of the long,
overhanging and haif-prehensile nose
which is so noticeable feature Of the
fely grown moose.
IS Her color is q uniform brownish-rcd
ct the shade called sandy darkest on
the body, ard palcst on the legs. The
h;tir is longest on the hump and back of
the neck, where it is between two and
three inches in length, wayy, and tipped
with black; it is also black underneath,
and forms short erect name; on the
hind quarters it is two inches long, and
also strongly tipped with black on the
body it is an inch c. more in length, very
wayy in texture, and forms q dense
wooIly coat. Indeed, the whole neck and
body would be described by technical
describer as densely hairy The hair
on the ears is fine, soft, and abundant,
and Of a beautiful gray color, while on
the headitis sandy, like that Of the body,
but smooth and fine. The chin is black,
the lips are blush, and the eyes are
black-bl The hair on the legs is short,
straight, close, and lighter in color than
that on the body.
SO much for the personal appearance
OF q baby moose three months old Her
color and the quality of her hair are
almost exactly similar to that of buffalo
calf of the same age, while the hump ON
the shoulders and the shortness Of the
neck render the resemblance still more
striking"