The Meeker herald., 1912-08-24
Nature F.kir Tells Of the Bull Moose

N&IuIC tAkT CHS OI the DUH MOOSC
Once upon time II. r. Roosevelt,
In his haste, referred to one Rev. w.
J. bcng as n nature fakir. The
gentleman of the cloti, has taken oc-
casion to attack the bull moose since
T. r. has taken such lively interest
in that animal. Citing 7. R. as
authority upon the subject he tells
the character Of the bull moose In
the following way:
The bull moose lives on the public
domain and is very wasteful feeder.
AS 4. Roosevelt well says, mo beast
is more destructive to the young
growth Of II forest" When his great
paunch h full to bursting of the del
ecacies he has gathered from the
common supply, he wanders toward
his day-bed, stripping the bark from
tender young trees, especially of the
rarer and more beautiful kind, like
the mountain ash and the striped
maple. His method is to strike his
strong front feet into the bark and
tear Oh great strip by lifting his
head. He chews bit OF this, only to
throw II aside and strip another tree
farther on. In trailing a bull moose
one can often follow his course far
ahead by the unsightly gashes or
''peelings" which he leaves behind
him. Another destructive method Of
feeding is by riding down young trees
whose tops are above his reach. He
straddles the trunk, bending it down
by his great weight, holding it under
his belly while he eats all the buds
and tender twigs. A tree thus moose
ridden rarely RECEIVERS. 1t remains
bent or broken. like Il discarded boss;
it cannot breathe without its leaves;
1t dies and the winter SHOWS cover it
from sight.
Another noticeable characteristic
of the bull moose is his inordinate
and interchangeable selfishness. Whe-
ther roaming the woods in solitude,
or tearing up the earth, or coming
headlong to the call he is thinking,
first, last, and and all the time, of the
safety Of his own skin and the full
ness of his own stomach. I can take
OF my hat to n COW moose, having
frequently seen her sacrifice herself
to save her offspring or to protect the
herd In the winter yard; but l never
yet saw bull moose do anything for
any body but himsef. He is the In
carnAtion of self interest. A COW, or
even . calf moose, II she sees danger
approaching, will warn the others
bsssre she takes the fiFst stsp for her
own safety; but a bull noase will
sneak away silently at the first sniff
of peril, leaving all others to look out
for themselves. And that, by the
way, is the real reason why female
animal is invariably found at the
head Of a band of moose or deer of
any kind. II they are approaching
danger, you will invariably find the
COWS ahead, the calves close behind,
while far In the rear comes the bull,
taking care not to expose his precious
hide, and running from safe dis
tance at the first warning of danger.
This characteristic of the noble
totem, however, need not be en-
phasized-unless, purchauce, the new
party goes over bodily to the suf-
fragettes.
Further indications of the bulls
essential selfshness are found in his
frequent abuse and brOwbeating of
all other moose that are smaller than
himself. He cannot tolerate a rival,
hut flies into jealous rage at the
first suggestion that there is any
other bull moose in the universe.
His voice at such times is squeak
ing grunt, ridiculously small for SO
great an animal, which sounds like
ungwuh! ungwuh! Herein we have
suggestion of those ferocious war
riors described In Parkman's Com
spiracy of Pontiac" Who always
began aspeech by shouting 'Ongweho
nwe" which, in the tongue of that
tribe, means, 81 am the only man;
all others are squaws or liars"