THE MOOSE 85 



stumbled forward and his huge body thudded on the 

 sand."* 



Mr. Grant says that in the Western mountains 

 moose-calling is practically unknown, although a sub- 

 stitute is found by making any unusual noise, such as is 

 produced by rapping a tree twice with an axe, in imita- 

 tion of the double cough or short call of the bull, or by 

 beating alders with a stick to imitate the antlers thrash- 

 ing in the bushes. These contrivances sometimes at- 

 tract the attention of a bull who is close at hand, and 

 bring him out into the open. Calling in Maine, how- 

 ever, will always be a popular but unsportsmanlike 

 means of hunting the moose ; unsportsmanlike, because 

 everything depends upon the guide and nothing on 

 the hunter, the only skill required of the hunter being 

 the ability to sit still on a very wet log or on very cold 

 ground. Whatever shooting is done is at close range 

 and in the dusk. 



It is too much, however, to ask of the average sports- 

 man, who escapes from his desk for a couple of weeks 

 in the w'oods, to show the skill and endurance neces- 

 sary even to follow the guide while the latter trails 

 hour after hour through wet leaves or soft snow, to 

 say nothing of camping on the tracks. In fact, few 

 men do it, and it not infrequently happens that the 

 actual killing is done by the guide. No true sports- 

 man, of course, allows his guide to carry a rifle; but 

 even then many moose have been killed by the sports- 

 man's rifle in the guide's hands. 



This matter of calling moose is important to sports- 

 men and high-priced guides, who are paid on account 



♦ Field a?id Stream. 



