HUNTING THE MOOSE. 53 



deer, however, does not run far, before the crust on the snow, 

 through which he breaks at every step, cuts his legs so much 

 that the poor animal stands at bay, and endeavors to defend 

 himself against the dogs by striking at them with his fore- 

 feet. The arrival of the hunter within a convenient distance 

 soon terminates the combat, as a ball from his rifle rarely 

 fails to bring the moose down. 



I will now close the account of the moose with an anecdote 

 I once heard of a hunter. 



The hounds had been put into the woods for the purpose 

 of scenting a deer a business with which they were well 

 acquainted, whilst the hunter placed himself in a convenient 

 spot, suitably near the deer's run-away, so as to be able to 

 bring it down at a shot, as it fled at the noise of the dogs 

 from the mountain to the river. The spot he selected to wait 

 in ambush was on a certain flat, very near the foot of a 

 steep hill. This flat was about three-quarters of a mile in 

 length : at one end was the hill by which our hunter stood ; 

 at the other, a steep bank along the edge of the river. The 

 hunter had chosen his position well; he had narrowly ex- 

 amined the contents of his rifle, and made sure that the 

 priming was in good order ; he had rubbed the edge of his 

 flint on his hat to make it brighter all was in readiness, and 

 he stood in a listening attitude, with his ear turned towards 

 the hill, and his mouth slightly open to assist his hearing. 



He had not waited in his hiding-place long, when the dis- 

 tant cry of the hounds struck his ear. He now knew that 

 but a few minutes would pass before a deer would be seen 

 bounding along in the path of their run-away, for the dogs 

 had given tokens of the chase by their yells. He was not 

 deceived ; he heard plainly the rapid, but heavy bounds of a 

 deer, which in an instant after he perceived, as it broke over 

 the brow of the hill, with its majestic antlers thrown back 

 over its neck. Now comes the decisive moment ; one leap 



more and his noble breast is exposed to death, within a few 



5* 



