280 A JOURNEY TO THE 



1772. the chace for two days, before they could come up with, and 

 ^" ' kill the game. On those occasions the Indians, in general, 

 only take with them a knife or bayonet, and a little bag con- 

 taining a set of fire-tackle, and are as lightly clothed as pos- 

 sible ; some of them will carry a bow and two or three arrows, 

 but I never knew any of them take a gun unless such as had 

 been blown or bursted, and the barrels cut quite short, which, 

 when reduced to the least possible size to be capable of doing 

 any service, must be too great a weight for a man to run with 

 in his hand for so many hours together. 



When the poor moose are incapable of making farther speed, 

 they stand and keep their pursuers at bay with [284] their 

 head and fore-feet ; in the use of which they are very dex- 

 terous, especially the latter ; so that the Indians who have 

 neither a bow nor arrows, nor a short gun, with them, are 

 generally obliged to lash their knives or bayonets to the end 

 of a long stick, and stab the moose at a distance. For want 

 of this necessary precaution, some of the boys and fool-hardy 

 young men, who have attempted to rush in upon them, have 

 frequently received such unlucky blows from their fore-feet, 

 as to render their recovery very doubtful. 



The flesh of the moose, thus killed, is far from being well- 

 tasted, and I should think must be very unwholesome, from 

 being over-heated ; as by running so many hours together, the 

 animal must have been in a violent fever ; the flesh being soft 

 and clammy, must have a very disagreeable taste, neither 

 resembling fish, flesh, nor fowl* 



The Southern Indians use dogs for this kind of hunting, 

 which makes it easier and more expeditious ; but the Northern 

 tribes having no dogs trained to that exercise, are under the 

 necessity of doing it themselves. 



* Though I was a swift runner in those days, I never accompanied the 

 Indians in one of those chaces, but have heard many of them say, that after 

 a long one, the moose, when killed, did not produce more than a quart of blood, 

 the remainder being all settled in the flesh ; which, in that state, must be ten 

 times worse tasted, than the spleen or milt of a bacon hog. 



