226 THE DRAMA OF THE FORESTS 



while another is being pursued. But I warn you, if you are in 

 pursuit of a moose and if he turns at bay for the first time . . . 

 look out ... for then he will surely attack you; if, how- 

 ever, he turns at bay through sheer exhaustion or from over- 

 whelming pain, he will not always fight; but under the first 

 condition, the hunter is a fool if he approaches within ten paces 

 of a bayed moose." 



"the owl" makes a kill 



Rising early next morning we made a very small fire to cook 

 our breakfast and were ready to start as soon as dawn came to 

 light us on our way. Oo-koo-hoo took great care in loading his 

 gun as he expected to come upon moose at any time. He 

 placed a patch of cotton about the ball before ramming it in, 

 and made sure that the powder showed in the nipple before 

 putting on the percussion cap. And as he took his fire-steel 

 and whetted a keener edge upon his knife, a smile of hunter's 

 contentment overspread his face, because he well knew how 

 soon he was to use the blade. That morning he did not hght his 

 pipe as usual because, as he explained, he wanted to have his 

 wits about him; furthermore, he did not wish to add to the 

 strength of his man-smell; and whispering to me he added with 

 a smile: 



"My son, when I smeU some men, especially some white 

 men, I never blame the animals of the Strong Woods for 

 taking fright and running away." 



And that reminds me that while we white people consider the 

 negro the standard-bearer of the most offensive of all human 

 body smells, the Indian always unhesitatingly awards the palm 

 to the white man, and sometimes even the Indian children and 

 babies, when they get an unadulterated whiff from a white 

 man, will take such fright that it is hard for their mothers to 

 console them — a fact that has often made me wonder what 



