MOUSE HUNTING. 87 



which the new hand meets with in moose liunting, and 

 the one which tcachos liim to lean entin.'ly for assistance 

 upon his Indian giii(h>, is tlie extreme unfrecjuency with 

 which an accidental siglit of game is obtained in the 

 forest. Moose tracks are perhaps plentiful, also signs of 

 fresh feeding on the bushes, and impressed forms of the 

 animals, where they have rested on the moss, (n* amongst 

 ferns, hut how seldom do we see the animals themselves l)y 

 chance. Suddenly emerging from thick cover on the edge 

 of an extensive barren occupying several thousand acres, 

 tlie eye of the hunter rapidly scans the open in eager 'i 



quest of a moving form, but meets with continual disap- 

 pointment. Not a sign of life, perhaps, but the glancing ' : % 

 iVuAit of a v^oodpecker or the i^roak of a raven. One is |- 

 prone to believe that the country is deserted by largo 1 4 

 game. Presently, however, your Indian, who, leaving • |« 

 you to rest on a fallen tree and enjoy a fevv' whitFs of the 

 hunter's solace, makes a cast round for his own satisfac- 

 tion, returns to t(>ll you that there are moose within 

 (possibly) a few hundred yards of you. You discredit 

 it, but are presently induced to believe his assertion 

 when you are shown the freshly-bitten foliage (anyone 

 can soon learn to distinguish between a new-cropped 

 bough and a bite over which a few hours have passed), 

 or, perhaps, the mud still eddying in a little pool in 

 which the animal has stepped. You may listen, too, by |!; 

 the hour tofjether for some token of their whereabouts, 

 but hear no sounds but those of the birds or scjuirrels. 



If there is daylight, and the wind pro})itious, your 

 guide will probably in half an hour or so point to a 

 black patch seen between tree stems, indicating a portion 

 of the huge body of a moose, unless you have bungled 



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