172 



RECREATION. 



of us and would have afforded a most ex- 

 cellent shot. 



Owing to the unusually warm fall we 

 found we were about 10 days too early for 

 the mating season and could get no an- 

 swer from the bulls, although we found 

 numerous tracks and spoor about the lakes, 

 especially Lake Tahoe, 5 miles from our 

 main camp, where Mr. Ed Norrad and I 

 went September 26th. There were 3 

 sharp frosts in the latter part of the month, 

 with good effect. The evening of the 30th, 

 we got good responses to calls, but could 

 not get the moose near enough for a shot, 

 although one of our party saw 2 large bulls 

 across the lake.. 



The next morning, being too windy for 

 good results, we got no answers. The fol- 

 lowing evening, however, was almost per- 

 fect. A short time before sundown, a 

 large bull answered the horn from about a 

 mile distant. He came from the West, 

 tearing through the woods, making as 

 much noise as a runaway team of horses, 

 until within 200 yards, when he suddenly 

 stopped and would not come nearer, de- 

 spite the seductive notes of the horn and all 

 the wiles adopted by Norrad. Much ex- 

 cited, I waited on the opposite side of a 

 small barren for a sight of the moose, but 

 the timber completely hid him from view. A 

 few moments later we heard a deep grunt 

 from the Northwest, followed by the rattle 

 of horns heralding the approach of another 

 large bull. He came steadily on to the 

 edge of the timber 75 yards distant, but it 

 was then too dark to see to shoot, even had 

 he come out. Almost simultaneously with 

 his arrival, came another from the West 

 and one from the South, and the quartette 

 we had near us for nearly an hour, would 

 put to shame the famous jubilee singers. 



We determined, as we could not get a 

 shot, to get as much fun oyt of the affair 

 as possible, and gradually creeping through 

 the hardack brush until we reached a point 

 30 yards from the moose, where we were 

 screened by a clump of trees, we took up 

 our station. Norrad called and grunted 

 alternately on the horn, which infuriated 

 the animals so that they tore up the ground, 

 hooked the bushes and trees and attacked 

 one another, bellowing and snorting con- 

 stantly. The heavy voiced one seemed to 

 be monarch of them all, as we could hear 

 him chase the others about. He finally at- 

 tacked a dead pine stub, which we after- 

 ward found to be over 40 feet long and 

 about 8 inches in diarrfeter, with such force 

 that it cracked, and finally, with a crash, 

 fell to the ground. The bull celebrated the 

 event by several bellows of triumph which 

 we applauded. This caused them all, ex- 

 cept the "big voice" to hasten away. He 

 started slowly back to the ridge from which 

 he had come, grunting in apparent disgust 



at each step, until the sound gradually died 

 away in the distance. 



This was a most thrilling experience, 

 and alone worth the price of the whole trip. 

 After stumbling along through the dark 

 nearly an hour we reached our tent, tired 

 and hungry. At noon the next day Mr. 

 Jim Moone, a camp attache, arrived, bring- 

 ing me the doctor's gun, an 8 millometer 

 Mannlicher. He told us the doctor had 

 killed a large moose at 10 a.m. and a cari- 

 bou at 5 p.m. the day before with a single 

 shot each, and hence his full complement. 



That evening we took up our stations on 

 opposite sides of the lake, and the sec- 

 ond call was answered by a bull coming 

 from the ridge on the West side of the 

 lake. As the main trail from that ridge 

 had several branches when nearing the 

 lake, the wisest thing seemed to go to meet 

 him, lest he should become confused and 

 lose his way. In a short time he made his 

 appearance, grunting at each step, and took 

 the trail leading nearest the lake. Being so 

 screened by firs, it was impossible to get a 

 good shot until he had approached within 

 40 yards, and then only his flank was vis- 

 ible between the trees. Almost simultane- 

 ously with the report of the gun, the bull 

 pitched forward, falling on his head, but 

 immediately sprang to his feet, facing. The 

 next shot I fired at the middle of his fore- 

 head, striking about one inch below the 

 base of the horns. He fell again and lay 

 several seconds as if dead. All at once he 

 bounded to his feet, but was still so screen- 

 ed by trees that again only his flank was 

 visible. The third shot struck just 2> T A 

 inches from the first. He fell again and to 

 all appearances was dead. The rest of the 

 party then came up, and on turning around 

 after greeting them, to point out the moose 

 we found he had got up and slipped away 

 so quietly he had not been heard. On 

 search, he was found standing in a fir 

 thicket, 50 yards away, but on our ap- 

 proach he wheeled and started straight to- 

 ward the lake. I fired my 30-30, the ball 

 striking 4 inches below the back bone and 

 passing the entire length of him. That 

 seemed only to hasten his speed toward the 

 lake, some 75 yards distant. My next shot 

 was wild, striking his horns. He had then 

 entered the water and he began to swim 

 for the opposite shore. By the time we 

 reached the edge of the lake he was 125 

 yards out, swimming low down, exposing 

 only his head. The next shot was fired 

 from the Mannlicher and broke his lower 

 jaw. That seemed to confuse him so that 

 he raised his neck some distance out of the 

 water, affording a good target. I fired at 

 this mark, the ball striking him about 8 

 inches back of the left ear, and coming out 

 at the base of the right ear. That settled 

 him, and he sank head downward in \0 



