The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-03-31
MOOSE OF THE NORTHWEST
WOODS OF NORTHERN MiNNESO-
IA FILLED WITH THEM.

Partly Under Water in Summer
Bulls in Mating Time, He Thinks.
Kill Many Cows.
Much information concerning III"
nature and habits of the moose IS
furnished by J. A. Turnbull, who mas
just returned from a trip of two an
a half months in the wilds of nor IL
ern Minnesota on the Canadian bonn
Diary, writes the ST. Paul (Minn.) cor
respondent OF the New York Sun.
Few people have any conception
of the astuteness of these animals.
said Mr.. Turnbul. They possess Il
keanness of scent and bearing that Is
almost beyond belief and an intelli-
gence that is seldom credited TO them
by any one except those who have de-
voted considerable time to studying
them and their ways.
"In the section Of the country
where we were the larger part Of ou-
stay moose were exceedingly plentiful
and we had the finest opportunity 70
observe their actions. We followed
&u,Ul HUH one p-dtI " dhc1ii]A,
deavorlng not to brighten them, c \
all the while noticing them very
closely.
'In the mating season, which cor
mences around September 20 AMI
ends about the middle CT October,
the bulls are exceedingly vicious,
while the cows are timid and seak
the deepest forests. being easily
frightened. I. is M opinion that the
males kill many Of their mates at
this time
The cows soon betake themselves
to some Island in order that they
may not be disturbed by wolves Of
other wild animals. The moose calves
are about as honely and IN lightly IS
ANYTHING | have ever seen. Their
llea Is are nearly as long as their
bodies and when they are 3 or
weeks Old they weigh about 100 lbs.
The calf and its mother remain TO-
gether for about nine months. the
mother, Of course. providing food and
shelter for the younger animal. But
after that length of time has elapsed
she will try to get away. In order
to do this they will often travel miles
up stream SO as to leave no scent,
and as a rule they succeed in accom-
plishing their purpose.
THE bulls have a peculiar grunting
sound whereby they call to the cows
A man can initiate the call after long
practice, but not SO perfectly as to
deceive them. The only way in which
this ruse can be successfully carried
out is to make your call at the same
time that the moose make their
noise. In this manner | have called
them under the branches OF the tree
in which have been sitting from dis
tances as great as a mile or more.
The macs also have an odd habit
of striking their antlers against trees,
making sound that rings clear as
bell, after which they below long
and loud. On quiet night they can
be heard miles away. | believe this
is their mode of expressing defiance
and challenging a rival to contest.
1T is astonishing to see them go
through the woods while bearing their
immense antlers. They calculate the
distance between two trees to a mic
ETY. and hardly ever strike branch.
But perhaps the strangest part OF
this performance is that this does not
seem to retard their speed in the
slightest.
I'm the summer they seek the wat
er, where they will not be pestered by
flies, and stay there during most OF
the warm weather. AS they are not
built to reach the grass with their
jaws. being very high in the fore
quarters. they feed on lily pads, roots,
watercress and moose maple during
the summer The watercreSs grows
chiefly in deep water, and to reach it
/ have seen moose dive in water from
ten to fifteen feet in depth, leaving
only their heels visible. They stay
under from a minute to minute and
a half and usually do their diving at
hight When they have filled their
large jaws they proceed to sort out
such parts as they want and eat them
leisurely.
. when autumn approaches they
take to the rocks and high places.
where they live on yellow birch and
white willow tops. have seen them
stand on their hind legs, reach the
top OF a birch tree fifteen feet above
the ground, snap 1t off and then pull
of the young shoots. In the winter
they sustain themselves on lichens,
ground hemlock and white cedar
, when the snow becomes deep and
the temperature is far below zero
they herd together in some dense &C.
dar swamp and trample down the
t~fx, fh1v