GAME OF THE KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA 



449 



A I,ITTI,E BULL MOOSE THAT WAS 

 FORCIBLY EDUCATLD 



A few days later there occurred an- 

 other scene in the same locahty and with 

 a somewhat amusing sequel : 



"August 2/ — Ther., 58-34. 



"One of my favorite visitors was a 

 little bull moose. At first he always 

 came in company with a five-year-old, 

 but the latter got too much scent once 

 and ran off, with the smaller one trail- 

 ing wonderingly behind. On this occa- 

 sion he was alone. The way he kept 

 eyeing the blind rather indicated that a 

 visit had been made there during my 

 absence. 



"Today he came from the long point, 

 where the flies were scarce, and after 

 filling up nearly to the bursting point, 

 laid down in the middle of the lick for 

 a nap. As this was to be the next to 

 my last day in the blind, I concluded to 

 try some more experiments. Coming 

 out of the blind, he saw me at once, but 

 did not get up — simply turning his ears 

 my way and expressing great astonish- 

 ment in his big, round eyes. 



"When I got very close he arose and 

 walked to the edge of the marsh, when, 

 getting the sun behind me, I took his 

 picture (see pages 455-458). And later I 

 tried to force him down toward the lake 

 in order to get a more effective back- 

 ground. This he objected to, but ran 

 about playfully, showing no concern 

 whatever over the scent. 



"After taking a few more pictures, I 

 concluded that I would be doing a very 

 poor service to leave him in this unso- 

 phisticated state of mind. It was plain 

 he now no longer feared the sight or 

 scent of man, and would doubtless soon 

 fall a victim to a party of hunters camp- 

 ing half a mile down the shore. 



"Selecting a good-sized club, I got as 

 close as possible, paitly accomplished by 

 grunting like a bull. 



"Throwing the missile with all my 

 force at his well-covered ribs, I gave a 

 piercing yell at the same time. The 

 marksmanship was poor, for the stick 

 struck the ground just this side and one 

 end flying up hit him in the pit of the 

 stomach. This probably had greater ef- 



fect than a drubbing on the ribs — how- 

 ever much it violated the ethics of strik- 

 ing below the belt — for he jumped up 

 into the air with his back arched like a 

 scared cat. When he came down there 

 was no doubt about his intention or 

 ability to get out of that part of the 

 country. Before I could pick up the 

 camera he had vaulted over and beyond 

 the fallen timber." 



Only once, when I blew up a huge 

 grizzly bear with a flashlight machine, 

 have I known an animal that got its edu- 

 cation quicker, and never, as later events 

 proved, to better purpose. 



The following day I came to the blind 

 at an early hour, hopeful that one of 

 the big bulls from the hills would come 

 within photographic range. Just what 

 occurred becomes a necessary part of 

 the diary entry of the previous day. 



"August 28 — Ther., 72-38. 



. . "From the start the wind was 

 variable and so light that the mosquitoes 

 became annoying for the first time. 

 Twice I saw a cow moose wandering 

 about, but she was wary. As the hours 

 passed I was satisfied that the little bull 

 had made his valedictory appearance and 

 was not disappointed by the thought. 



"Precisely at 2 I heard the sound of 

 a heavy animal running, then a splash 

 down toward the lake, where I could see 

 the little bull strugghng out of a mud 

 hole, his feet working like the blades of 

 a water-wheel, and then out he got, 

 rushing on without a stop or a glance 

 to the rear. Evidently something was 

 after him — possibly a grizzly bear that 

 looked now almost as big as a locomo- 

 tive. 



"Getting out the field glass I covered 

 what was likely his back track for a long 

 distance, finally noticing the figures of 

 two men coming down a hillside, and as 

 each was armed with a rifle I knew they 

 were not my guides. On their approach 

 I arose, and after a greeting found that 

 the larger and heavier of the two was 

 Jim Jeffries, the ex-heavyweight cham- 

 pion of the worid. He explained in sub- 

 stance that they were out after a supply 

 of fresh and tender meat, preparatory 

 to hunting big bulls for their heads : that 



