252 



RECREATION. 



they had heard "a bear or something" 

 splashing in the edge of the bog ; had 

 heard "a raven or something" croak 

 rather loudly several times; and once 

 had heard a limb snap. No, they 

 didn't stand up in their place of con- 

 cealment to investigate these noises. 

 "They didn't seem important enough." 



Ned coughed. 



"Well, gentlemen, if you had in- 

 vestigated you would have seen an 

 all-fired big moose mighty nigh you ; 

 and when you're moose hunting again 

 don't pick a blind you can't see out of 

 just because a moose can't see into it. 

 We'll take a look around in the morn- 

 ing. Supper's ready." 



After a fruitless attempt at calling 

 in the early morning, we circled the 

 lake under Ned's guidance and soon 

 found the track of an enormous 

 moose where he had left the ridge and 

 headed for the lake. Step by step we 

 followed the clearly defined course of 

 the old patriarch, as he wound in and 

 out among the trees in stealthy and 

 cautious approach. Here he had 

 rubbed himself against the rough bark 

 of a spruce, leaving telltale hairs ; 

 there he had stopped to listen, with 

 all 4 feet firmly planted in the soft 

 moss. Without trouble we carried 

 the trail out on the bog, even finding 

 the broken limb, where he had 

 stepped on a fallen spruce top. There 

 he had paused again to listen, and 

 there, perhaps, had come the last call 

 which banished all his fears. Along 

 the bog he must have made an impet- 

 uous rush, with a stride averaging 8 



to io feet. Ned could not resist the 

 remark, as he pointed to the splashes 

 of mud thrown right and left, 



"There's your 'bear,' gentlemen." 



When we found where the moose 

 had stood, in plain view, within 75 

 yards of our concealed friends, the 

 mystery of his escape seemed inex- 

 plicable. We followed the tracks into 

 the woods and the reason of his final 

 and abrupt retreat was revealed. The 

 huge footprints led straight to the 

 trail of a party of hunters that had 

 passed that way the day before. 

 There he had wheeled and made off in 

 a Northerly direction. It did not in- 

 terest us to follow farther. 



The mortification of our friends, as 

 the tale graphically unfolded itself, 

 was painful to witness, but Mr. L. 

 lanced the whole matter when he said, 



"I never looked for a moose to 

 come out where he did." 



It was clearer then. They had 

 been the victims of a preconceived 

 idea as to where they should see their 

 moose. A preconceived idea of what 

 a moose will or will not do is more 

 dangerous to the success of a hunt 

 than any other single factor. Indeed, 

 it is almost fatal to it. A moose sim- 

 ply can not do what is expected of 

 him. 



We left camp that day and sought 

 fresh grounds to the Southward ; but 

 Fortune, which had sent such a rare 

 opportunity only to see it slighted, 

 turned a deaf ear to all our prayers, 

 and the rains descended on the end of 

 a fruitless quest. 



"Can she remember what happened on 

 her 26th birthday?" 



"Yes; she was just 18." — Yonkers 

 Statesman. 



