198 Moose- Hunting in Canada. 



That curious shiver that runs through nature — the first icy current 

 of air that precedes the day — chilled us to the bones. I rolled 

 myself up in my blanket and lighted a pipe, trying to retain what 

 little caloric remained in my body, while the Indian again ascended 

 the tree. By the time he had called twice it was gray dawn. Birds 

 were beginning to move about and busy squirrels to look out for 

 their breakfast of pine-buds. I sat listening intently, and watching 

 the blank, emotionless face of the Indian as he gazed around him, 

 when suddenly I saw his countenance blaze up with vivid excitement. 

 His eyes seemed to start from his head, his muscles twitched, his face 

 glowed, he seemed transformed in a moment into a different being. 

 At the same time he began, with the utmost celerity, but with ex- 

 treme caution, to descend to the ground. He motioned to me not 

 to make any noise, and whispered that a moose was coming across 

 the barren and must be close by. Grasping my rifle, we crawled 

 carefully through the grass, crisp and noisy with frost, down to the 

 edge of our island of woods, and there, after peering cautiously 

 around some stunted juniper bushes, I saw standing, about sixty 

 yards off, a bull-moose. He looked gigantic in the thin morn- 

 ing mist which was beginning to drift up from the surface of the 

 barren. Great volumes of steam issued from his nostrils, and his 

 whole aspect, looming in the fog, was vast and almost terrific. He 

 stood there, perfectly motionless, staring at the spot from which he 

 had heard the cry of the supposed cow, irresolute whether to come 

 on or not. The Indian was anxious to bring him a little closer, but 

 I did not wish to run the risk of scaring him ; and so, taking aim as 

 fairly as I could, considering I was shaking all over with cold, I fired 

 and str,uck him behind the shoulder. He plunged forward on his 

 knees, jumped up, rushed forward for about two hundred yards, and 

 then fell dead at the edge of the heavy timber on the far side of the 

 barren. 



We went to work then and there to skin and clean him, an oper- 

 ation which probably took us an hour or more ; and having rested 

 ourselves a few minutes, we started off to take a little cruise round 

 the edge of the barren and see if there were any caribou on it. I 

 should explain that "cruising" is, in the provinces, performed on 

 land as well as at sea. A man says he has spent all summer "cruis- 

 ing " the woods in search of pine timber, and if your Indian wants 



