THE ELK IN NORWAY. 139 
‘Moose passing through here two hours ago,’ (the 
Indians‘ are very partial to the ‘present participle’). 
‘Here moose lying down,’ ‘ Moose biting this only one 
half-hour since,’ then very softly, ‘Put on cap, we close 
? 
to moose ;’ and accordingly m a few minutes (about 
two hours after we had commenced to follow the tracks) 
he stopped suddenly and pointed, but without saying a 
word. <A fine bull moose was lying down within thirty 
yards of us. I was standing a little to the right, 
and unluckily some thick young spruce prevented my 
seeing him. H—, who was to the left, had a fine 
chance, but his rifle missed fire, and away went the 
moose, crashing through the forest without giving 
me even a second’s sight of him. After a pipe of 
consolation for our ill-luck we got on the track again, 
and after following him for an hour more came up with 
him among some burnt wood. I got a shot at about 
sixty yards and hit him; he fell, but immediately rose 
and went off, and we still followed him perseveringly. 
This time, however, he seemed determined to wear 
us out, as he kept almost entirely in the burnt forest, so 
that we had perpetually to climb and scramble over the 
fallen and half-rotten timber for some two hours. Joe 
said the moose was evidently hard hit; but as he 
was leading us away from our camp, and the day 
was advancing, we judged it better to give him up, 
and to make the best of our way back. 
