A MOOSE QUARTETTE AND A SOLO. 



J. R. KING. 



September o, 1901, Dr. D. W. Greene of 

 Dayton, Ohio, and I started for a moose 

 hunt in New Brunswick, arriving at Fred- 

 erickton the nth. We remained there one 

 day, buying provisions and necessary foot- 

 wear. For the benefit of those who have 

 not taken a hunting trip in New Bruns- 

 wick I suggest that they defer buying foot- 

 wear until they reach Frederickton. We 

 received much valuable assistance from Mr. 

 R. P. Allen, secretary of the Tourist Asso- 

 ciation of Frederickton. Those contem- 

 plating a trip there will find him a valuable 

 assistant and thoroughly reliable. 



The afternoon of September 12, we start- 

 ed for Boistown, arriving at 6 p.m.. 

 There we were met by E. W. and 

 B. Norrad, who were to be our 

 guides. They took us that evening by wag- 

 on to Hayesville, 10 miles distant. Early 

 the next morning we were ready to start 

 for their camps, 30 miles Northwest. From 

 Hayesville we went 4 miles by wagon. Then 

 everything had to be loaded on a sled and 

 hauled the remainder of the way, over a 

 fairly good road through an unbroken for- 

 est. That took us nearly 2 days as we had 

 a heavy load. One can go the whole dis- 

 tance from Hayesville to Norrad's camp on 

 horseback in one day, if preferred,. We 

 arrived there Saturday afternoon, the 14th, 

 in good shape, rested Sunday, and early 

 Monday morning started for Little lake, 3 

 miles distant. 



We found well trodden moose paths 

 around the lake, but saw no moose, nor 

 could we get any response to the horn. At 

 noon, while we were eating lunch, a cow 

 moose and her calf, a yearling bull, came 

 within 50 feet, and after gazing inquiringly 

 at us started leisurely away through the 

 woods ; this owing, no doubt, to the fact 

 that the wind was blowing from them to us. 



The remainder of that day and the next 

 were spent in diligent search for our game, 

 but without avail. Wednesday, the 18th, 

 while walking through a thick wood, the 

 doctor suddenly came on a fine bull moose, 

 but it got out of sight before he could fire. 

 The same day I saw a cow and a calf feed- 

 ing in Twin Sister lake, about 5 miles from 

 Little lake. The next day Mr. Ed Norrad 

 and I went to Brown lake, 3 miles North- 

 east of his camp, and a little after sundown 

 we saw a bull moose enter the lake on the 

 opposite side from us, about half a mile 

 away. I tried to work around to get a 

 shot, the wind being unfavorable, but the 

 bull took fright before I was near enough, 



and hurrying out of the water he disap- 

 peared in the woods. 



The next morning was all that could be 

 asked. A sharp frost during the night and 

 not a breath of air to disturb the lake made 

 it perfect for calling. We were early at the 

 lake, took up our station where we had 

 been the night before and called, but got no 

 response. On my suggestion we went to 

 the point where we had seen the bull enter 

 the lake the night previous, and called. At 

 the second call an answer came from across 

 the lake and a few moments later his bull- 

 ship entered the water and deliberately 

 waded toward us, keeping in shoal water. 

 That was my first good view of a bull 

 moose in his native state. He was a mag- 

 nificent specimen, with large antlers. His 

 bell, as nearly as we could judge, was fully 

 18 inches long, as it dragged in the water 

 when his body was nearly clear. We had 

 ample time to observe all that, which we 

 did under a glass, as it took him nearly 20 

 minutes to round the end of the lake. 

 When about 300 yards distant, he turned 

 from us toward the shore, and fearing he had 

 our scent, as the wind had started a little 

 in his direction, my guide advised me to 

 fire. I took deliberate aim across a stump, 

 behind which I was sitting, and fired. Mr. 

 Bull stopped, turned slightly toward us and 

 looked surprised to think that anyone 

 should dare so rudely to break the solitude 

 of his haunts. I tried twice more, taking 

 careful aim each time, but he still stood 

 unmoved. As I was shooting a 45-90, with 

 black powder shells, the smoke was so 

 dense I could scarcely see the moose. On 

 the third shot* I saw the bullet strike the 

 water some distance short of the mark. 

 I then aimed high and saw the next shot 

 strike the water just under his body be- 

 tween the fore and hind legs. The maga- 

 zine being empty, I hastily reloaded and 

 got in 2 more shots before he reached 

 the brush, but without effect. The gun had 

 been loaned me through the kindness of 

 Mr. William Chestnut of Frederickton, 

 and not being familiar with its capacity 

 we had . expected too much of it. Owing 

 to the larger caliber I had taken that gun 

 with me in preference to my own, a 30-30 

 Winchester with smokeless shells. The 

 latter gun, I became satisfied later, is of too 

 small a caliber for moose unless one can 

 strike a vital spot. 



Had we remained at the place first se- 

 lected by us in the morning the moose 

 must have passed within 50 yards in front 



