MOOSE-HUNTING IN THE KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 19 



was too far away for a sure shot, and how to get nearer — a 

 little nearer, at least — was the puzzle I must solve. 



I had learned well the lesson of the cunning of the ani- 

 mal I must outwit. Even if he had been bold on the trail, 

 in his run of fourteen miles for a feed upon his favorite 

 lily-pads, he would now start at the snap of a twig, or the 

 first breath of air that came to him from me, or even from 

 the tracks I had left behind, and would soon put miles of 

 prairie between himself and me. There was a stretch of open 

 deep water between my cover and the game. To pass that 

 would be impossible, and to skirt the lake, through the wil- 

 lows, offered the danger of a noisy course. I knew his 

 quick ear would never fail to catch the least sound, so I 

 went back to the open, beyond the fringe of brush, and 

 traveled a mile through them. Then I was compelled to 

 guess, without guides, the location of the cluster of flags, 

 in which I had last seen the Moose. I came up to the point, 

 creejDing like the Panther that seeks a vantage-ground from 

 which to sj)ring upon the Fawn, to the edge of the cat-tails. 

 They were dense, and higher than my head, 



I proceeded, I thought, as noiselessly as the snow falls, 

 and with more caution than I ever possessed before or 

 since. I parted the yielding cover, and the open lake was 

 revealed to me. I knew that was the spot, right before 

 me, where the great brute was feeding when I last saw 

 him. Yes; the water was still muddy and disturbed where 

 he had been wading; but the Moose was gone! He had 

 stolen away silently, but swiftly and surely. Had there 

 been in that spot any other living animal, my skill and 

 determined effort would have surprised it; but the Moose 

 had fairly outwitted me. 



Then, the next thought was that the great fleet creature 

 would hie himself to yonder dense wood, whence he came 

 two hours before. To do so, he must run over an open 

 prairie fourteen miles wide, and could not avoid being 

 seen, at least. I looked in vain, however, and satisfied 

 myself that he had not yet left the willows and weeds that 

 bordered the lake. 



