The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-01-13
WAYS OF THE MOOSE
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NoeLesT
or ALL WILD ANIMALS.
The Largest Of the Deer Family, Lfv-
Ing ar Extinct-Tbe Alaskan Bull
Moose Have the Greatest AntIers.
The Cow and Her LnKsinIy Calf.

Tbr barEssf OF the Deer Fanny, Ify-
Ing ar EKtinct-Tbe Alaskan Hull
Moose Have the Greatest AntIers
The Cow and Her unKsinIy Calf.
Now and then In wanderings through
the mountain and forest one comes up
on gigantic blackish brown deer
which by reason Of the great length of
It's yellowish gray legs stands higher
than tall horse. II Is clothed In
coarse. bristly hair, longest on the neck
and shoulders, and II has a rather ugly
oycrhanging nose which distinguishes
IL at once from all other kinds Of deer.
From the throat Of the male hangs a
long hair covered appendage known as
the bell" and In the fall aud winter
he has also pair OF widespreading
antlers, very heavy and much fattened
or "plamated." He stalks the forest
through underground and over fallen
trunks like king OF giants, or, If
alarmed, he speeds away at an amaz-
! ingly swift swinging trot and with n
crushing which resembles the sound OF
| falling trees. Such Is the moose, the
] ihi S'P' III hb bfflt ilfilir VI 'AAii'As
The moose Is chiefly an animal Of the
notthern woods, the southern limit Of
! its range being the head Of Green riv-
! era Wyoming. II Is also found in
! northern Maine, New Brunswick,
southern Canada, Idaho British Colum-
! bia, Alberta, Athabasca, Yukon and
! Alaska. II is strictly a dwellcr Of the
forest. seldom venturlng 10 treeless
plains. 1t lives for the most part by
browsing on the leaves. twlgs and bark
Of trees, particularly young trees. In
order To reach the tops Of tall saplingS
the moose rears UP against them, strad-
ding them with his long legs and lit
orally riding them down. He is fond
est OF birch, hemlock, alder aspen, will
low and maple. He also eats mosses
and lichens.
In May the Cow" as the female
moose is called, gives birth to a long
legged ungainly, tawny colored calf,
To protect which the mother VIII fight
any woodland creature to the death.
She has no nntlcrs, but she can use
her great sharp hOofs with the skill Of
prize fighter and has been known to
pound To- death a large black bear and
fairly trample his body into the
ground. The calf stays with It's moth
er for two or three years, or until he
wandcrs off 20 seek "A mate for him
self. one day last summer / came sud
denly upon COW moose standing knee
deep in shallow pond, while from
hnnnut IA hnr nnaE hnr lnnly Ina
calf pecrcd out at me with eyes wide
open, as If with astonshment. | hur-
ried home and returned with "A camera,
but when | reached the spot they were
gone
Like all American deer, the "bull'
moose sheds and rcncws his antlers
every year. They become full grown,
hard and sharp about the 1st Of Octo-
ber the beginning Of the breeding sea
son. At this time Of year the bulls are
very savage and not only fight furious
ly among themselves, but are apt to
attack anything or anybody who comes
In their way.
The call of the bull is a long drawn
bawl with several loud gruntS ut the
end. If there Is n COW within hearing
she will answer with a low cry, and
the bull will come forward To meet
her Hunters often take advantage OF
this fact and attract the bull by an
imitation OF the call of the COW, exc
cuted on cone shaped horn made of
birch bark. Lying concealed on the
bank of a lake or stream, they give
out the call, and when the bull comes
within range they shoot him. But as
this trick is usually played at night
and as the bull sometimes never gives
any warning of his coming until he il
almost on the spot the sport is apt 10
bc dangerous The bull at such time
Is in no mood To be trincd with. and
unless the hunter Is cool headed aud n
good shot the moose is not only willing
but very able To kill him ana dozen
like him If they happen 10 be on the
spot
Probably the largest moose Of which
there is reliable record was shot by
Carl Runglus, the animal painter. in
New Brunswick In 1901. This great
beast stood seven feet high at the
shoulders, and the length Of its head
and body together was nine feet seven
inches. The Alaskan moose have the
largest antlers, and one pair from an
animal shot on the Kenui peninsula
has spread OF seventy eight and
half inches and has thirty-four points.
With the dry skull TO which they are
attached these antlers weigh ninety
three and n quarter pounds, Il weight
which nothing but an animal of gigan-
tic strength could carry at top speed
over the toughest ground and through
thickly wooded country.
In the winter when the snow is deep,
the moose, sometimes several families
together. will gather In n certain sec
tion Of woodland and be breaking out
paths for themselves over space OF
perhaps several acres from what ls
known as n yard" where. " not dis
turbed. they may stay FOR weeks to-
gethcr But the moose is able 10 travel
well at all seasons. and even in deep
snow his long legs enable him To move
u pace which astonishes any hunter
who tries TO run him down on snow
shoes
\ wild free life is the only one on
which n moose can live and thrive. In
captivity Il is much less nervous than
most deer and Is disposed to hc gentle
'nd afrectionate Rut. as rule, IL viii