Moose- Hunting in Canada. 203 



of breaking, and the noise of the wind in the trees deadens the sound 

 of your footsteps. If the ground is dry, and there is not much wind, 

 it is impossible to get near the game. When you have determined 

 that the moose is somewhere handy, — when you come across per- 

 fectly fresh indications of his presence, — you proceed inch by inch ; 

 you must not make the smallest noise ; the least crack of a dead 

 branch or of a stick under foot will start the animal. Especially care- 

 ful must you be that nothing taps against your gun-stock, or that you 

 do not strike the barrel against a tree, for, naturally, any such unusual 

 sound is far worse than the cracking of a stick. If, however, you suc- 

 ceed in imitating the noiseless movements and footsteps of your 

 Indian, you will probably be rewarded by seeing him presently make 

 a " point " like a pointer dog. Every quivering fiber in his body 

 proves his excitement. He will point out something dark to you 

 among the trees. That dark mass is a moose, and you must fire at it, 

 without being too careful what part of the animal you are going to 

 hit, for probably the moose has heard you, and is only waiting a 

 second before making up his mind to be off. 



Generally speaking, the second man sees the moose first. The 

 leader is too much occupied in looking at the tracks — in seeing 

 where he is going to put his foot down. The second man has only 

 to tread carefully in the footsteps of the man preceding him, and is 

 able to concentrate his attention more on looking about. The 

 moment you spy or hear the animal, you should imitate the call of a 

 moose, — first, to attract the attention of the animal, which, if it has 

 not smelt you, will probably stop a second to make sure what it 

 is that has frightened him ; secondly, to let the Indian in front know 

 that the game is on foot. Moose-creeping is an exceedingly diffi- 

 cult and exciting pastime. It requires all a man's patience, for, of 

 course, you may travel day after day in this way without finding any 

 traces of deer. To the novice it is not interesting, for, appar- 

 ently, the Indian wanders aimlessly about the woods without any 

 particular object. When you come to understand the motive for 

 every twist and turn he makes, and appreciate the science he is dis 

 playing, it becomes one of the most fascinating pursuits in which 

 the sportsman can indulge. Sometimes one may be in good luck 

 and come across a moose in some glade or " interval," the result of 

 the labors of former generations of beavers. An " interval " is the 



