Dec. 23, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



423 



not see any moose. Let me see. Tliis is what day of the 

 month?" 

 "The 18th." 



"Hm! The 18th! We started from civilization on the 

 11th, Thursday of last week; now it is Thursday agam, 

 eight days, and we haven't seen a track." 



"Hold on," said I, "Don't go too fast. I think we have 

 seen tracks enough, certainly more moose tracks than j-ou 

 would have seen deer tracks at home in the same time," 

 He lives in Elk county, Pennsylvania, in a good deer 

 country. 



"Well, perhaps we have seen one or two old tracks. 

 You can't tell on these bogs when tracks were made. 

 Most likely all of them in the summer — July and August. 

 How much longer do you suppose we shall go on this 

 way? Do you honestly believe there are any moose about 

 here? If there are, how are to we get at them?" 



To this I made no direct reply, but called "Aleck!" A 

 grunt with a sort of interrogative inflection, was the 

 answer. "Any moose about here, Aleck, do you think?" 



"Moose here? Lots moose; plenty moose. You see 

 fresh tracks on portage? Big track on bog? Must be 

 good many moose for sure. Kill some bye and bye when 

 we get to other pond where we goin'; more moose there, 

 certain." 



"That's always the way," went on the Captain, "It's 

 always 'wait till we get to the next pond,' or 'wait till to- 

 morrow or the day after.' It's just like trout fishing, 

 'there is a larger trout to be had a little further on in 

 some other splendid pool. I know all about it. What is 

 there to make the next pond any better than this, or the 

 last, or to make the day after to-morroAv any better than 

 to-day, or next week or next month any better than last 

 week or than now? I think we ought to see or hear some- 

 thing, if only so as to encourage us.'" 



"How about the three bears we saw and the two you 

 shot at,"I replied. 



"Oh, we saw the bears; I admit that, but that was only 

 accidentally; we were not hunting them particularly." 



"No," I replied, "we were not after those bears, but 

 still we saw on one day at different times two bears and a 

 third bear on another day. AVe have killed grouse and 

 caught a good many fine trout. When we get to the 

 pond Aleck has in his mind we shall kill moose. I think 

 we have done well so far and I know we shall do exceed, 

 ingly well before we finish our trip. You can growl to the 

 crack of doom and not affect my opinion of things. Last 

 year I was twelve days in the woods before I got a shot 

 and then killed a splendid bull, and I mean to get a bet- 

 ter one this time," 



While this conversation, of which I have given a. mere 

 fragment, went on, Aleck had been drawing something 

 with a piece of charcoal on a slip of bark, and now pro- 

 duced it. We examined his work and saw a rough map, 

 showing what om- course was to be as we joiu-neyed east, 

 ward. One small pond, then a lake, then two small 

 ponds and then another lake. On this last Aleck put his 

 finger, "We go there. Eall plenty moose for sure. May- 

 be you not think so ? You wait we get there." 



Upon this we went to bed. 



The 19th was clear and warmer. In the afternoon we 

 took a load of our things to the head of the lake, and 

 then across a portage, passing the first small pond of 

 Aleck's map — a mysterious looking place, suggestive of 

 moose, with fresh tracks abou;t it— to a beautiful lake, 

 where we left them, covered with rubber blankets. It 

 took us an hour to walk back to the pond, and a quarter 

 of that to paddle to camr). The Captain had slipped in a 

 hole in the bog and was wet to his hips, so he spent the 

 evening wrapped in blankets. Rain feU off and on all 

 night, but the next morning, after breakfast, signs of fair 

 weather appearing, we struck camp and left for Brule 

 Lake at 8:40, passing the pond at 9:30, and finishing the 

 portage at 10:30. I knocked the head off a grouse on the 

 way. We crossed the lake and camped on a point on the 

 east side, cx)mmanding a fine view. At 4 o'clock in the 

 afternoon we went to the outlet of the lake and caught a 

 dozen trout for supper and breakfast. After that we 

 watched for moose until dark. The evening was calm 

 and beautiful; later the night turned cold and there was 

 a heavy frost. 



During the 21st the wind came up from the S.W. and 

 the usual rain made its appearance in the afternoon. The 

 day being Sunday was passed in a proper way in and 

 about camp. Aleck having reported a barren of con- 

 siderable extent up the creek from the lake, we started to 

 paddle up stream to look at it, but did not go far on 

 account of the heavy wind and rain. Next morning we 

 left camp at 8:20, leaving some of oiir things seciu-ely 

 packed and covered, and taking with us supplies enough 

 to last a week, so that we could carry everything across 

 at one load and not have to make two trips. As we had 

 a fifteen foot— or as they call it there, "a two fathom and 

 a half" — canoe, tents, blankets, etc., our loads were all 

 fair ones. We got over the portage to the first pond at 

 9:10. Aleck not having any name handy for this water, 

 we called it Leaping Trout Pond; the trout breaking 

 water all about us as we paddled to the head, which we 

 left on the next portage at 9:37, making the portage and 

 getting over the second pond by 10 o'clock. Where we 

 disembarked for ouv last portage was the track of a 



tremendous old bull, and tracks were so numerous that 

 we dubbed the place Moose Track Pond. 



The sight of so much "fresh sign," or "Shkeenum 

 mikan-o'-we," as Aleck would no doubt have called it, put 

 us all in a good humor, and we halted fifteen minutes to 

 take a smoke. "Beeg buck! Eh?" said Aleck as he shoul- 

 dered his pack and then the canoe, for he carried both. I 

 was content to take a tent, the blankets, my ovm pack, 

 camera, etc., etc., with my rifle, some fifty pounds, and 

 the Captain had about as much. We finished this portage 

 at five minutes after 11, a.nd laimched our canoe on the 

 lake, where we were to find, as Aleck said, "plenty 

 moose." This sheet of water is shaped somewhat like a 

 very shoi-t and fat letter H, the crossbar of the letter rep- 

 resenting the main part of the lake, with a bay in each 

 corner. The direction of the longest diameter is nearly 

 north and south. We camped on the west side, and so 

 had a bay on our right and left front, and in otu- right and 

 left rear as well. The country has been a good deal 

 burned about the lake. The east side is open for some 

 distance back, with very little brush; but the west side, 

 apparently bui-ned over long ago, is covered thick with 

 brush and small second growth timber. Well defined 

 moose paths go all about the east side and follow the 

 shores; so before going to camp we paddled over there to 

 look for tracks. We did not have to htmt for them; they 

 were to be seen without that, and so fresh that we went 

 across to our camp ground well satisfied, and the Captain 

 could only grumble in a feeble way. 



We dined at 12:30, and arranged om* camp without 

 pitching the tent. During the afternoon we paddled 

 about a little, but the wind blew too hard for us to stir 

 about much. We supped before sundown and then went 

 to the southeast bay to watch for moose. The wind fell 

 and the sun set in a beautiful, clear sky, with the new 

 moon and a stai- or two hanging over the top of the west- 

 ern ridge. We had not gone very far in the bay when on 

 the hard- wood ridge away back from the eastern shore 

 we heard an old bull "Bok! bok! bok!" 



"Moose comin'," said Aleck, his black eyes flashing 

 with excitement. It always amused me to see how ex- 

 cited he became when after a moose. The wiiTd was from 

 the southwest, so we had to paddle furiously to get out 

 of the bay and well up to the north end of the lake, past 

 our camp, to avoid giving our scent. We lay quiet about 

 oOyds. off the east shore and waited. Soon we heard the 

 rattling of his horns as he came on, knocking the dead 

 spruces and balsams out of his way. "Boh! boh! boh!" 



"Come pretty close," whispered Aleck. It was "plenty 

 light enough to shoot," as the Captain expressed it. The 

 sun had just set and the west was all aglow. The eastern 

 shore sloped gently back for 150yds., then descended, 

 making a broad hollow, back of which was the hard-wood 

 ridge mentioned. We were looking east and the bank 

 before us was in light from the still biilliant west. While 

 the moose was crossing the hollow we heard little of him, 

 but when he came slowly sidling up the near side close to 

 the top we heard him again, "Boh! boh! boh!" Suddenly 

 there he was in full sight on top of the bank, 150yds. back 

 from the beach, from which we were distant 50yds. 



"Oh! oh!" whispered Aleck, "beeg. beeg bull!'" 



The Captain was in the boAv, I in the middle, Aleck in 

 the stern with the paddle. The bull liad come up out of 

 the hollow a good deal to our right, and now walked 

 slowly along to the left parallel with the shore. When 

 nearlj'- opposite us he paused a moment and slowly turned 

 his head, his huge horns gleaming in the warm light. I 

 think that because the Captain had but one eye— he had 

 lost the other by a shot when quail shooting in North 

 Carolina the year before — Aleck had some doubts about 

 his shooting ability, although he had himself, at twenty 

 yards, hurled a stick of wood in the air when the wind was 

 blowing a gale, and seen the Ca.ptain knock it in the mid- 

 dle with a shot from his Winchester. I don't believe 

 Aleck Langevin ever sat in a canoe with a better shot. I 

 knew him a good deal better, and as the old bull stalked 

 along, I leaned forward and whispered all the outlandish 

 names I could thinlj of to him, as expressive of the brute's 

 size. 



"By jove, Toney! Look at him! A regular hand credo! 

 Don't miss him, old fellow. Look at his horns! Mindi- 

 duh eslikun, Aleck! Eh? By Zeus, he's a perfect mon- 

 ster! a behemoth! a jing swizzler! If Mac was here he'd 

 call him a 'buster,' sure. Take a sure pull on him! About 

 a foot back of the shoulder'U fetch him. By George! we 

 mustn't lose him for anything! He's what S. Avould call 

 a real 'goU-sender.'"' With such encom-agement I filled 

 the Captain's ear. The only perceptible result of this 

 friendly counsel was a nod, which I interpreted to mean, 

 "Never fear, I'll settle him;" as, indeed, I knew he would. 



The bull was a large one, and well deserved all I had 

 said abotit his bulk and appearance as he pau?ed agaiji 

 and slowly turned his head with its huge antlers, as 

 though suspicious of something, but knew not what or 

 where. He might bolt in an instant, if convinced of 

 danger and its direction— a moose does not start until he 

 knows there is danger and where it is; then he starts, and 

 when he will stop is a question to which he is generally 

 best able to reply. Up went the Winchester, and at the 

 report the buU made a plunge and rushed to the left with 

 tremendous strides. Hit, of course ; the Captain could 



not miss him at that distance. An ordinary deer would 

 stand a poor chance, running, a,t tha,t range, before the 

 same gun and its skilled handler. 



Click, sjiap, bang! Click, snap, bang! Two more shots 

 are in him before he has made half a dozen strides. At 

 the last he wheels suddenly clear round, and catching the 

 fourtfj shot in his right side as he turns, falls stone dead. 



"Now you got him," cried Aleck, his black eyes wild 

 with excitement, "I tell you he beeg bull for sure. Oh I 

 gi'eat horns," 



"Seven feet high, Aleck?" I queried, 



"I do' no. Maybe so big," 



For a minute or two we sat still, and after congratulat- 

 ing the Captain, talked over the bull's appearance; when 

 we first heai-d him; how we had paddled to avoid giving 

 our wind; the noise he made with his horns; hoAv far his 

 boh! boh! boh! could be heard; the length of the shot, 

 and so forth. Then we turned to look at the lovely 

 western sky, with its crescent moon and evening star, 

 until Aleck's impatience got the better of his manners, 

 "You want to go see him. We best go now, maybe more 

 moose comin'." So we went up to where he lay and 

 looked at him. 



"By Jove, Cece, he's larger than I thoiight he was, I 

 knew he was big when I saw him come out over the top 

 of the bank, but I did not expect this. How tall is he?" 



Out came the tape line and we measured him carefully. 

 Straightening the foreleg, without pulling, and measur- 

 ing from the tread of the hcof , bent up to the noi-mal 

 standing position, to the top of the withers, the bull stood 

 (3ft. lOin. From the edge of the upper lip up over the 

 nose to between the horns measured 30in.,and from there 

 to the end of the back 7ft, 7iin. ; around the body 7ft, 

 lOin. The horns spread 4ft. 9|in. 



It is hard to forget some scenes. I can see now that 

 great moose lying on the open, burnt ground, with his 

 immense antlers spread out over his ungainly head. The 

 warm glow from the still quite bright western sky lighting 

 him up, the Captain and Aleck coming out dark against it. 

 The youjig moon and a star or two over all. with a middle 

 distance of lake, now gold by reflection, near at hand; 

 beyond, dark as the spnice-covered ridges behind the Brul6 

 on its further bank. After a while we took to our canoe 

 again, but we Avere restless and did not feel like turning 

 in; so we paddled around to the bay in the southeast end 

 of the lake and heard a coav bawl. A bull answered, and 

 Avent off in the direction of another pond that way, and 

 hearing nothing more Ave presently went back to camp. 



We raked a few coals together to warm our toes, 

 cramped by sitting in the canoe so long with wet mocca- 

 sins (a moose hunter, by the way, does not want much fire 

 Avhen close about moose; smoke scares them), and smoked 

 a quiet pipe. As I knocked the ashes out of mine, ready 

 to tiu'n in, I said, "You're not sony you came, are you?" 

 To which the Captain, dear felloAv, replied, "No; I am 

 paid already for the whole trip. I only hope you kill as 

 big a. bull as this one." Next morning I killed one stand- 

 ing 6ft. 8iin. , with horns spreading 4ft, 2in. 



Cecil Clay. 



ANGLINa 



'T^HERE has been some discussion of late touching the 

 art as Avell as the science of angling. There is a dif- 

 fei'ence, certainly. 



I have a friend Avho is a lover of music; he can enjoy a 

 minstrel performance or an Italian opera. I have seen 

 his eyes flU under the influence couched in the skiQ of 

 Ole Bull and Wilhehnj; once I saw him fairly break 

 down over a sonata from Beethoven finely rendered. He 

 says if anything goes wrong with the performer or if he 

 makes a mistake, he (my friend) is advised of it by cold 

 cliills running doAvn his back. And yet, to this friend of 

 mine the science of music is a sealed book — he cannot 

 read a note. Some one told him he possessed the art of 

 music. Had he cultivated himself in this art there is no 

 telling what sort of a phenomenon he might have be 

 come. 



Again, I have knoAvn of those who are so much after 

 the manner of automatons that their scientific acquire- 

 ments become painful to one compelled to listen to their 

 performances— Gradgrinds in music, so to speak, to lAdiom 

 a minstrel show is a nightmare. 



A combination of art and science may be desirable, but 

 if one may not have both I prefer the art. This being a 

 gift that comes without asking, is none the less worthy; 

 with it one is consoled by tiie reflection that work will 

 enable Mm to acquire the other. On the other hand the 

 labor of a lifetiine will not bring to him that which kind 

 na,ture only can bestow. 



The art of angling is a gift, ti-uly, the science an acqui- 

 sition. With the gift one sometimes takes to the study 

 of the science as a duty OAving to the art. Again, the art 

 affords so much pleasure to some of its possessors they 

 become contented with it; they think the science can 

 add but Uttle to the already full measure of happiness 

 they possess in the art. 



The science of angling may he acquu-ed at the end of a 

 wharf in the busiest part of a busy city. A cane pole, a 

 cotton line and worms for bait may serve as instruments 

 to knowledge. The delicate bamboo, the silk line and 

 exquisite fly may serve the same ptirpose, The possessor 



