Page:They who walk in the wilds, (IA theywhowalkinwil00robe).pdf/206

 axes of the lumbermen. All the following morning he pressed on with his tiny herd, keeping his direction unerringly though the snow fell so thickly that no landmarks could be detected. Early in the afternoon the snow ceased, the white-grey sky changed to a sharp and steely blue, and the sun shone dazzlingly, bringing not warmth, however, but an intense and snapping cold. The dead-white wastes flashed into a blinding sparkle of diamond points. And then, when the first thin rose of approaching sunset was beginning to flush the shining glades, he reached the place of his desire.

Close in the hollow, southward-facing curve of a dense fir copse, overtopped by a group of tall hemlocks, the bull proceeded to establish his new winter home. Here, beneath the wide branches of the hemlocks, was a dry shelter shielded from the fiercest winds by the thick, surrounding screen of young firs; and here, too, was abundant forage, in the stunted birch, poplar and willow which dotted the levels outside the copse. For the moment the moose family chose to pasture on the low berry bushes and coarse herbage, which they could still get at easily by pawing away the snow. But they knew that it was now only a matter of days before the great winter storms would set in, and the snow would gather to a depth of five or six feet on the level, making all movement slow and toilsome for their heavy bulks.