254 CHAsmo THE MOOSE. 



about, as if suddenly roused into excitement by the hot 

 scent of some animal that had been disturbed by our com- 

 ing. They broke into a simultaneous cry, and plunged like 

 mad into the thicket. We pushed our boat back towards 

 the open water, when we heard the plunge of some animal 

 into the lake, on the other side of the island. Martin, who 

 was in the leading boat with me, by a few vigorous pulls at 

 the oar, rounded the point between us and the spot where 

 we had heard the plunge, and there, not ten rods from the 

 shore, making for the mainland, was the game which, of 

 all others, we most desired to see. 



"A moose! by Moses!" exclaimed Martin, hi huge excite- 

 ment. "Hurrah! hurrah! A moose! he's ours! he can't 

 escape!" and away he dashed in pursuit. The other boats 

 now hove in sight, and a loud hurrah! went up from each, 

 when they saw the nature of the game that had been 

 started. There was no difficulty in overtaking the animal, 

 desperate as were his efforts to escape. We shot past him, 

 and turned him back in a direction towards the island again, 

 and I picked up my rifle to settle the matter. 



"Don't shoot him," said Martin; "don't shoot him yet; 

 he can't get away, and if you kill him, he'll sink; and if he 

 don't, we can't get him into the boat. Let us drive him 

 back to the island." The other boats were, by this tune, 

 up with us, every man in a wild state of excitement, eager 

 to be first in at the death. We had headed the aniuial 

 towards the island, with our three boats so arranged, as 

 that he could swim in no other direction, without running 



