The Black Moose in Pennsylvania

Historical evidence of the presence of the Black Moose in Pennsylvania, though not plentiful, is convincing. Dr. J. D. Schoepf, the distinguished German army surgeon and naturalist, who travelled through Pennsylvania in 1783-1784, has this to say in his "Travels in the Confederation," Vol. I, Page 161, in speaking of the vicinity of Heller's Tavern, one mile south of the Wind Gap in Northampton County: "The farmers were not well content with their lands. The nearness of the mountains brings them in Winter unpleasant visits from wolves and now and then, bears. And there is no lack of other sort of game; deer and foxes are numerous: elks wander hither at times. From several descriptions furnished by people hereabouts, it seems that they give the name Elk to the Moose as well as to the Canadian stag, and so give rise to errors. Both animals come down from the North, where one is known as Moose, Black Moose or Original, and the other (the Canadian stag) as Grey Moose to distinguish it from the first."