Chapter 21, Koyukuk Moose and Chapter 22, Koyukuk Wolves Summary and Analysis

Chapter 21 begins one September in the late 1940s. Sidney heads out for a solitary evening moose hunt. He spots a bull moose in the magical evening, and the moose meanders toward him. As the moose comes into range, Sidney is so taken by the majestic animal and the beautiful evening that he does not fire. The moose looks at him and walks away. Sidney later is unsure whether the animal's majesty or his knowledge that such a larger, older animal might have tougher meat led him not to shoot.

Prior to the 1900s, Sidney believes there were few or no moose in the Koyukuk. In the early 1900s, the few moose wandering into the area were hunted. Between 1929 and 1935, Sidney saw none. Heavy snows in 1937 allowed moose to migrate...