HER FIRST MOOSE 



29 



got his rifle quickly and shot at the 

 shoulder. The deer jumped away with- 

 out the slightest indication of being 

 hit, stopped at the edge of the brush 

 and wagged its tail. McGinty, who 

 had come out of his cahin said, "Give 

 it to him again." Jack fired once more 

 and he fell. We had now enough ven- 

 ison to supply half of the cam]). 



The afternoon grew monotonous 

 around camp and we decided to take a 

 little trip up the lake, hoping we might 

 get a glimpse of a moose. Not so nu- 

 merous as deer, yet the greatest of all 

 game in the American forest to-day, 

 is the moose, the "king of the 

 woods," a massive, ungainly beast, 

 with coarse, brownish hair and a brist- 

 ly mane, almost black. The belly and 

 legs are grayish, with a touch of yel- 

 low. The horns of an old bull will 

 spread five feet from tip to tip. His 

 weight often exceeds 1,200 pounds, or 

 that of a good-size horse, his height is 

 greater than that of a horse, being six 

 feet to the top of the withers. The 

 bark and twigs of young poplar, birch, 

 maple, and a bush known as moose- 

 wood, form the chief diet of this ani- 

 mal in winter. In summer and fall he 

 feeds around the banks of lakes and 

 sluggish streams on the pads and roots 

 of lilies. He is fond of standing in the 

 water, both for the purpose of feeding 

 and to keep off flies. 



We jumped in our canoe at the foot 

 of the path leading from the camp to 

 the landing, myself in the bow, Jack 

 in the centre and McGinty in the stern. 

 Making ourselves comfortable, we 

 were soon gliding through the narrow, 

 picturesque waterways into the deep, 

 wide expanse of pure clear water con- 

 stituting the main lake. Having often 

 made this trip we soon learned to know 

 every spot and rock around and in the 

 lake. We were approaching a good- 

 sized, wooded island not far from the 

 mainland when McGinty spied an un- 

 familiar speck more than one thousand 

 yards away, looking like the edge of 

 one of the rocks that dot the lake. Even 



will) our field-glasses it seemed only a 

 black speck on (he water. We paddled 

 and glided nearer, the wind again be- 

 ing in our favor.. Looking through 

 the glasses we soon decided it was a 

 moving object. What was it? Slower 

 and slower we glided in silence. Down 

 it went into the water out of sight, up 

 it came, only a black speck ; nearer and 

 nearer we canoed. The glorious sun 

 was- dying in the west and night shades 

 were falling fast. Keeping the field- 

 glasses on this speck, we finally de- 

 cided it was a moose. But was it a bull 

 or cow? Five hundred dollars fine for 

 killing a cow. Down the head went 

 into the water again, out of sight; up 

 it came in sight, slowly feeding on the 

 pads and roots of the lilies at the bot- 

 tom of the lake, the animal gradually 

 wading to the further shore. Now I 

 recognize its big ears ; little closer and I 

 see its horns, not so very large are they, 

 as it is a three-year-old. Getting into 

 shallow water, and making for the op- 

 posite shore, faster and faster it moves. 

 The guide says : "Now, don't you get 

 excited, Mrs. Van Saun and upset us 

 in this lake. Keep your balance and 

 take a steady aim." 



I raised my rifle and took a full fore- 

 sight, allowing for the fall of the bullet 

 at two hundred yards. Hardly had the 

 flash left the gun when the guide, look- 

 ing through the glasses, said : "Yon 

 hit him in the shoulder. He fell. Shoot 

 again and finish him." I put five shots 

 in him, to be sure. We canoed up to 

 him, and found him dead at the water's 

 edge, Jack declaring this to be the best 

 music he had heard in the Maine 

 woods. 



It was growing dark as we returned 

 to camp. Next morning we got an early 

 start, paddled down to the spot and 

 towed him to shore. The two guides 

 dressed him on the bank. His horns 

 were bright and well shaped, and his 

 head, nicely mounted, hangs as one of 

 our highly prized trophies of the Maine 

 woods. 



