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MOOSE-CALLING. 105 



I 

 "^1 



" call " into the buslies close to the ground, gives vent to ,{■! 



a loAver and more plaintive sound, intended to convey the # 



idea of impatience and reproach. It has probably the .?J 



desired effect ; an answer is given, the snappings of !*; 



branches are resmned, and presently the moose stalks 



into the middle of the moonlit barren, or skirts its sides 



in the direction of the sound. A few paces further — a 



flash and report from Ijchind the little clump of concealing 



bushes, and the great carcass sinks into the laurels and |r 



mosses which carpet the plains. : 



Whatever may be adduced in disfavour of moose- ■'^ 



calling on the score of taking the animal at a tlisadvan- 

 tage, it is confessedly one of the most exciting of forest 

 sports. The mysterious sounds and features of night life 

 in the woods, the beauty of the moonlight in America — ■ !, 



so much more silvery and bright than in England — the ;,', 



anxious suspense with which the hunter regards the last •■ 



flutterings of the aspens as the wind dies away, and 

 leaves that perfect repose in the air which is so necessary i:- 



to the sport, and the intense feeling of sudden excitement 

 when the first distant answer comes to the wild rinjiinff 

 call, are passages of forest life acknowledged by all who ;;• 



have exi)erienced them as producing a most powerful •; 



eflect on the imagination, both when experienced and in t 



memory. 



But few moose are shot in this manner — very few in 

 comparison with the numl)ers tracked or crept upon-— for 

 the per centage of animals that are thus brought up, even i^ 



by the best Indian caller, is very small, and it is the ? 



attribute of native hunters in every wild country where ; 



there are large deer — as the moose, reindeer, or sambur — ; 



to attain their object by imitation of their voices. 



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