MOOSE HUNTING AND CALLING. 173 



the sound of a breaking stick and then the grunt of a bull 

 moose. Ed quivered like a dog drawing on game. For 

 twelve years he has been calling and shooting moose, and, 

 being a true sportsman if ever there was one, he felt all the 

 cool yet glorious eagerness of his kind. 



" He'll be twenty minutes coming in, I dare say. He's 

 a mighty mean moose not to have come earlier/' whispered 

 Ed. And indeed the light by this time was not very good, 

 although the stars were struggling feebly through an army 

 of clouds. 



From the moment when we first heard the bull moose 

 onwards the drama enthralled us, especially when a second 

 actor, or, if you prefer it, the feminine interest, entered 

 upon the scene. It has been said that the bull moose is 

 monogamous, but this is certainly not the case, and on' 

 that night we had very good proof that he is not altogether 

 constant. For presently from somewhere in the woods a 

 cow called and the bull answered. Ed was much upset at 

 this rivalry. " How can I get him away from her ? " said 

 he ; " but I'll try." 



Try he did, though it was slow work, the bull sometimes 

 coming towards us at quite a fair pace, but at others wan- 

 dering back. As he came closer Ed and I got into the 

 canoe. We sat there for what seemed a hopelessly long time, 

 until at last we heard the bull enter the water about a quar- 

 ter of a mile away on the farther side of the lake. Ed did 

 not dare to call now, but filling the bark-horn with water let 

 it trickle into the lake through the narrow end of the horn. 

 The bull almost at once began to work his way round by the 

 head of the lake, which was lucky, as had he taken the other 

 direction he must have winded us. He had about six or 

 seven hundred yards to ^travel, and had not, as far as our 

 ears could tell us for of course we could see nothing 

 covered half the distance when the deserted cow also entered 

 the water a little lower down. 



