NEZ' BIG MOOSE 311 



woodsman nor an Injun never says Deer if he means 

 Moose, Elk, or Caribou, Mule or Blacktail, or any o' 

 the others." 



" What do you mean hy the short cuts that people 

 sneak through ? " asked Olive. 



" The ways o' killin' that don't give the beast fair 

 play, and are more like butcherin' than huntin', — fire- 

 huntin', houndin', jackin', and all sorts of water killin', 

 runnin' 'em down on snow-shoes, waitin' at the salt 

 licks, and ' callin' ' for Moose. 



" Fire-huntin' is creepin' out in the dark where you 

 think there are Deer by a pond or marsh, and flashin' 

 a torch. If there's any Deer about they'll stop still 

 and look at the light, and their eyes ketch the shine of 

 it so you can see 'em and get good aim and shoot 'era in 

 the head, for they don't see anything but the light. 



" Jackin' is 'most worse, and folks use it on Deer and 

 Moose. You take a boat, and sneak at night in the 

 shadders raound a pond where they wade in to feed on 

 water-lilies. You have a covered ' Jack ' lamp on your 

 cap, and when yer hear a splash, yer turn and flash yer 

 light that way. Half likely yer'll see two stars close 

 over the water, and they'll be Moose eyes. Then yer 

 can shoot, or if yer feel real mean and ugly and can git 

 the canoe between the Moose and shore, you'll make 

 him swim fer it until he's tired, and then kill him." 



" I think those are mean, horrid ways," cried Dodo ; 

 "but I suppose of course only wild, savage sort of 

 people do it ? " 



" You're mistaken there, young lady. Mj ! don't I 

 mind down home in Maine, when I was a little shaver, 

 how the fellers used ter come from the cities all rigged 



