34 With Rod and Gun in JVezu England 



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*' I was hunting in the neighborhood of Mt. Katahdin, and had as 

 companion one of the most experienced and successful guides in the State. 

 Although we had been in the woods several days, we had not seen or heard 

 a moose, or in fact any other large game, and I had about determined that 

 a change of locality had become a necessity. Early one morning, however, 

 my guide, who was the most expert moose caller I ever met, succeeded in 

 attracting the attention of a big bull, and soon we heard him crashing 

 through the woods in our direction. On he came, bounding over under- 

 brush and windfalls, uttering at intervals a peculiar, discordant note. 

 With the guide I was ensconced in a little clump of sapling spruces, where 

 I waited, with ready rifle, for a favorable opportunity for a shot. The guide 

 repeated the call, and the moose drew nearer ; the call was again given in 

 a very low tone, and soon the huge animal came into view. He was a mag- 

 nificent specimen, with very widely spreading and perfect antlers. 



by her usual long-drawn note, and they go to shelter in the thick fir or 

 spruce undergrowth, the calves lying down in the snow to the leeward of 

 their mother for the night, and, strange to say, they do not melt the snow 

 beneath them as another animal would. I have often found the places 

 where they had lain all night, and the snow was simply packed down, not 

 melted at all. In December the bulls commence to hook the trees and 

 stumps so as to loosen their horns, for after the rutting season is over they 

 seem to desire to get rid of their weapons ; during that season, however, 

 they make a great display of them when called up, and I know of no 

 animal that will start in on a fight with more determination to win than 

 will a pair of bull moose. They rush together with a crash, and hook, 

 push and jump sideways, trying each to obtain an advantage over his oppo- 

 nent, and the battles fought between them are savage and prolonged, and 

 they often result in a serious injury to one or both of the fighters. In 

 January the old bulls lose their horns, but some of the younger ones retain 

 them until the middle of February. 



" In the spring the cows search for a secluded spot in which to drop 

 their calves. If possible they take shelter on one of the islands in the 

 back lakes, but when this is not practicable they seek as retired a place 

 as possible and removed from their usual feeding grounds. The cow usu- 

 ally gives birth to two young, although she often rears but one ; for their 

 great enemy, the bear, is ever ready to follow up the cow and claim a part 

 or the whole of her progeny. I have often seen places in which such 

 encounters have been held, and I almost invariably found a calf's skin 

 rolled up as snugly as if the butcher had done it, the hoofs and a few of 

 the hardest bones only being left with the skin. If the bear, however, 

 delays his coming until the calf is three or four weeks old, he finds he is 

 too late, for the calf can then run faster than he. 



" In summer the moose are very fond of going into the water and 

 feeding on the lily-pads and aquatic grasses, and they often immerse the 

 head to obtain the roots of the yellow or cow lily. They usually remain 

 in the swamps during the heat of the day and come out and feed in the 

 cool of the morning and evening. In browsing they strip the leaves off 



