CHAPTER XL 



THE MOOSE ; THE BEAST OF THE WOODLAND. 



THE moose is the giant of all deer ; and many hun 

 ters esteem it the noblest of American game. Be- 

 yond question there are few trophies more prized 

 than the huge shovel horns of this strange dweller in the 

 cold northland forests. 



I shot my first moose after making several fruitless 

 hunting trips with this special game in view. The season 

 I finally succeeded it was only after having hunted two 

 or three weeks in vain, among the Bitter Root Mountains, 

 and the ranges lying southeast of them. 



I began about the first of September by making a trial 

 with my old hunting friend Willis. We speedily found 

 a country where there were moose, but of the animals 

 themselves we never caught a glimpse. We tried to kill 

 them by hunting in the same manner that we hunted elk ; 

 that is, by choosing a place where there was sign, and 

 going carefully through it against or across the wind. 

 However, this plan failed ; though at that very time we 

 succeeded in killing elk in this way, devoting one or two 

 days to their pursuit. There were both elk and moose 



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