Hunting the Moose " on the Crusts 107 



made a secret vow not to shoot at a hind, I was obdurate. 

 Nor did his request to borrow my gun meet with consent ; 

 so shouldering his axe with redoubled energy, Brown pushed 

 forward, arid once I saw him raise it, and as suddenly 

 lower the weapon as the animal twisted and turned in a 

 clump of pine saplings. He had, in fact, lost a good chance 

 of braining the moose or breaking its spine, and now, over- 

 excited by the chase and dead-beat by extra exertion, he had 

 no alternative but to give in, whilst the elk and its canine 

 foes pursued their ways through the forest. Being myself 

 fairly out of breath, I hung back also ; and as we were both 

 moving leisurely along, there appeared the two wardens, who 

 had lost the tracks in attempting to cut off the animal's retreat. 

 But now that the hounds were in full cry and the moose well- 

 nigh worn out, it seemed only a matter of time to get up with 

 our quarry ; we accordingly followed the footprints, which were 

 painfully distinct from the blood of the wounds inflicted by the 

 dogs, or made by the frozen crust. Here I noticed large gouts 

 where she had halted for a moment, or a gory pit caused by her 

 nose, when in her struggles she had suddenly sunk to the brisket 

 and buried the muzzle, or where mouthfuls of snow had been 

 seized to slake thirst and cool the parched tongue. I must, how- 

 ever, allow that the chase was exciting, and had it been a male 

 moose I should have enjoyed the fun immensely; but con- 

 sidering the circumstances, I could not enter heart and 

 soul into the hunt in the same way as my companions, who, 

 now worked up to the very extreme of venatical frenzy, were 

 madly rushing on regardless of all obstacles. 



It is a most perplexing moment to the Canadian hunter 

 when, in hot pursuit of his quarry, he happens to strike the 

 tip of the unwieldy snow shoe against a snag, and is sent "a 

 cropper, spread eagle-fashion," on his face, the long snow shoes 

 standing on end. If inexpert at recovering himself, he may 

 have to roll about for some time before gaining the erect 

 position. Indeed it so happened, for as we sped along in 



