Moose - Hunting. 1 75 



accustomed to their abrupt way of speaking ; the tone is neither harsh 

 nor loud, but the utterance is so curt and sententious, that one is 

 always startled and taken unawares, and this is more especially the 

 case when on the trail. Around the camp-fire, their finely modulated 

 voices are very musical and capable of wonderful expression. As we 

 lay off, enjoying our pipes after supper, I asked Sebatis to tell me 

 what he knew of the bull-moose. 



" Well," he said, " I tell you all 'bout it. You see, more 'n two 

 years ago, me an' Lola hunt moose these mount'ins. One day we 

 find sign very large moose ; hunt 'im all day, moose travel so fast we 

 can't come up with him 't all; by-em-by night come, then camp some- 

 where ; nex' day we follow track till 'bout sundown, then I find sign 

 close on brook, then sign lost, can't find 'im anywhere, just same I 

 lost 'im to-day. Then Lola an' me walk in brook, try find where 

 moose take land again Well, Lola, he follow brook up-stream. I 

 go down, don't find sign anywhere; by-em-by come on lake, then I 

 see moose swimmin' 'most cross lake, only see little piece horn stickin' 

 up, swim so deep, you see, try hide ; then I go 'round lake, creep jus' 

 like wildcat, don't make no noise 't all, try cut 'im off, you see. Well, 

 by-em-by get pretty tired cfeepin', then lift up my head look some- 

 where, an' by tunders ! I see moose layin' down handy ; then I say I 

 got old bull-moose this time. Jus' when I put on cap my gun I hear 

 moose jump, then I fire ; well, s'pose you don't 'lieve me, when I come 

 on place, no moose there, then scared pretty bad ; sartin I think mus' 

 be devil. Well, you see, I don't like give 'im up that way, so I load 

 gun an' go hunt 'im sign again somewhere. By-em-by I find sign 

 again jus' on other side big windfall ; well, I stan' there lookin' roun', 

 an' by tunders ! I hear a gun fire, an' then I see Lola stan' there 

 'longside young t'ree-year-old bull-moose. I ask Lola where he 

 start that moose. Well, you see, when I leave Lola on brook he go 

 up-stream, then by-em-by see moose sign, then he go hunt 'im, you 

 see, an' kill 'im jus' when I meet 'im. By tunder! that's very 

 crur'us; I can't 'stand it 't all. Then Lola an' me look everywhere, 

 don't find no sign that big bull-moose ; so we have give 'im up' 

 an' go home. By tunders ! I never know anythin' so crur'us all 

 my life." 



" Don't you suppose that you got confused in some way, and that 

 the bull-moose you saw in the lake did not take ground again, and 



