MOOSE-CALLING. 115 



lovvcHt jKirts of his throat, clioitked in the niichlln, then 

 again resumed, and its prohniged eadencca allowed gra- 

 dually to <lio away. It was a masterly peifornianee ; and 

 our pulses beat high as the echoes returned from tho 

 sides of the tliiek forest whieh skirted the barren, and wo 

 listened for some reply from tlu^ moose. 



Then followed a ])i'()l()nged crashing, as if a whole 

 iirmy of giants was forcing its way through the brittle 

 rampikes ; it seemed impossible that a moose could have 

 caused su(.'h a, tremendous ujjroar — then a pause, and the 

 moose answered the call — (^)uoh ! ipiofh ! He was 

 evidently close at hand, though still concealed by tho 

 closeness of the covert ; and we wi're, moreover, lying 

 crouched as flatly as possible on the ground, and behind 

 a little rise in the barren, whic^li intervened most conve- 

 niently. Here he remained for some moments, occasion- 

 ally drawing his antlers with great rapidity and violence 

 against the dead stems on either side, and making tho 

 brittle branches fly in all directions ; then another ad- 

 vance, though with less noise, and his grunts became less 

 frequent ; at last, a dead stop, and not a sound for some 

 moments. He was evidently becoming suspicious, not 

 seeing the object of his desire on the barren before him 

 where he had expected, for moose have a wonderful 

 faculty of travelling through the woods towards a sound 

 if only once heard, I have known them to come for 

 miles, and straight as an arrow, to the exact spot where 

 the Indian had been calling an hour or more previously, 

 having left it in consequence of not hearing the answer. 



There was a slight rustle just behind us, and, looking 

 round, I perceived the Indian rapidly worming his way 

 through the bushes, gliding like a snake. He beckoned 



I 2 





