86 ON THE EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS 
the judge gave them each a fine which was far 
larger than the value of the moose. It was so 
large that it quite effectively discouraged any 
other hunter from wanting to take a chance on a 
moose. It made the three remaining animals 
comparatively safe from rifles for some time to 
come. The warden’s friends began to speak of 
the moose as “ Bill’s pets.” And now, perhaps, 
you begin to see how our hero came, later, to get 
his name of Old Bill. The countryside chris- 
tened him that, in honor of Bill Snyder. 
Bill Snyder himself came up on the reservation 
that first winter, to see the moose, and to help 
feed them after the big blizzard. Little Bill, 
hidden in a thicket, saw him pulling a sled load 
of hay. He was a big, smiling man, and some- 
how Bill wasn’t afraid. He was alone at the 
time, and in his eagerness to get the hay, he moved 
in his cover before the man had gone far away, 
and Snyder caught a sight of him. The smile on 
his face grew broader. 
Spring came with no adventures to Bill’s credit 
except another tussle with a stray dog, which 
evidently mistook Bill for a deer and ran him 
