BIG MOOSE OF LITTLE TOBIQUE 103 



cember 31st, hunters of all stripes and from almost 

 every civilized nation resort to this region and with 

 one purpose — to kill a bull-moose or a bull-caribou. 

 But all are not successful. If they were, the pride of 

 the expert would soon lead his sporting into a more 

 uncertain channel. Uncertainty is the charm that 

 captivates the hunter, and he finds all he wants of it 

 in the chase of the moose and caribou. If he suc- 

 ceeds, he considers himself lucky. If he fails in 

 securing his antlered trophy, he swallows his disap- 

 pointment, and without the sauce of excuse. Mind 

 you, I speak now of the expert hunter. From the lips 

 of the other sort excuses will fall " thick as autumnal 

 leaves that strew the brooks in Yallombrosa." By 

 the way, this quotation from Milton is not a happy 

 one, for the blind poet seems to have " put his foot in 

 it " when he created the simile. The forests of Yal- 

 lombrosa are made up of pines whose foliage is not 

 deciduous ; therefore the brooks can never be strewn 

 with thick autumnal leaves. 



To return to my story. I arrived at " The Forks " 

 on September 19th, and here my guide and cook met 

 me. They said my son was camped some five miles 

 away from the river and near two little mud lakes. 

 On the margin of one they saw the tracks of a moose, 

 and from their great size were convinced that none 

 other than the Big Moose of Little Tobique could have 

 made them. 



