RECREATION 



Volume XII. 



APRIL, 1900. 

 G. 0. SHIELDS (COQUINA), Editor and Manager. 



Number 4. 



AN ALASKAN MOOSE HUNT. 



JOHN C. CAMPBELL. 



In the June number of Recrea- 

 tion I saw an article headed ''Gen- 

 eral Advice," written for the benefit 

 of A. E. Snyder, in re big bore guns 

 for shooting big game in South Afri- 

 ca, and I can not agree with what 

 "40-82" says about it. I was there 

 several years and did considerable 

 hunting. I came in contact with 

 many hunters of big game, notably 

 H. C. Selous, who always uses a .450 

 rifle, solid cylindrical bullet, for lions, 

 elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopot- 

 ami ; and for antelope, or, as they are 

 called there, bok (buck), the same 

 bore rifle, shooting a rather lighter 

 charge of powder and hollow pointed 

 conical bullet. Some of the buck there 

 are fully as large as either our moose 

 or elk, if not larger, the smallest size 

 weighing about 350 pounds. I have 

 often carried the smaller size slung on 

 the end of my .40-82 Winchester. 



I also read with interest an article 

 entitled "A Cute Bear." It reminded 

 me of a similar instance I saw in the 

 case of a fox, while wintering on one 

 of the lakes at the head waters of the 

 Yukon. I spent part of my time trap- 

 ping, being an old trapper and hunt- 

 er. Have had much experience trap- 

 ping foxes, wolves, etc., and thought 

 I knew all about it till I tried to trap 

 foxes in Alaska. They were plentiful 

 around my camp, so I determined to 

 have some of their skins. I built 

 small enclosures of logs to put the 

 bait in, setting the trap after disin- 



fecting it in the usual way, and using 

 mitts while setting it. I used part of 

 the leg of a horse for bait. The first 

 time the fox came along he quietly 

 lifted the trap, put it one side, without 

 even springing it, and carried off my 

 bait. Thinking I would make sure 

 of him the next time, I tied a piece of 

 poisoned meat to another piece of the 

 horse leg, and tied the bait to the 

 back of the enclosure. On going my 

 rounds next morning I found my bait 

 gone and the trap removed as usual, 

 unsprung. I took up the trail, which 

 was a difficult matter on account of 

 tracks being so numerous and the 

 fox being accompanied by another 

 one. He made directly across the 

 lake, carrying the bait in his mouth, 

 never letting it drag in the snow un- 

 til he got about halfway across, when 

 he began to show signs of the poison 

 working on him. His mate left him 

 about that time and took a different 

 route. The fox which had taken the 

 poisoned bait began to zigzag, to find 

 a suitable place for hiding his prize. 

 Finding one to his satisfaction he 

 covered the meat with snow and con- 

 tinued his course across the lake, 

 which at that point is over 3 miles 

 wide. On my arrival at the other shore 

 I found him stretched out and not 

 quite cold. He proved to be a fine 

 cross fox, and I sold his skin to a re- 

 turning Klondiker for $6. The fox had 

 a splendid tail, and one of the dog 

 drivers connected with the N. W. M. 



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