182 
FOREST AND STREAM„ 
(Sept. 5, 189C. 
A MOOSE HUNT IN MAINE. 
{Concluded from, page J6'A.] 
Oct, 8, — ^After breakfast I told Joe to go and look over 
the upper dead water. He said he could not do it unless 
he stayed all night. I told him I could keep camp alone, 
so, shouldering his pack and my rifle (a Winchester .45-70, 
model 1886), he started on an eight-mile cruise. We 
arranged that if it cleared off by 3 o'clock I was to go and 
meet him at the dam. It was still cloudy at 3 o'clock and 
I did not go, so this left me in camp all night alone. I 
cooked my supj^r of venison and fried potatoes, spent the 
evening by poking the fire and thinking where Joe was, 
and turned in early. It was quite lonesome, but I soon 
fell asleep. I awoke at 12 o'clock and looked out of the 
tent. The moon was shining bright and the wind had all 
gone down. It was a perfect night, but quite old, for 
when I got the pail to take a drink I found lin. of ice in 
it. After breakfast I went to gather driftwood for kind- 
lings. It was not long before I heard footsteps on the 
shore, and Joe came trudging up the path to the tent with 
a big load on his back of all the things that we both had 
CAUF B'REKZB-OUT. 
taken over to the dead water the day before. He had seen a 
great many signs of moose, and had paddled up to within 
15ft. of a oow and a calf moose; they were not a bit afraid 
of him, and simply waded to shore and there stood and 
looked at him. He said he would start right off again 
and explore the other branch of the stream, and if it was 
a possible thing to do we would carry the canoe and 
blankets in and call there for moose the next fine evening. 
By 10 o'clock he had started, and I was again left alone to 
keep camp. Joe returned the next day and said he had 
followed another branch of the stream and it was a good 
place for moose, although he had not seen any, but lots 
of tracks and fresh signs of naoose; and he thought that 
we had better go in a couple of days and camp in that 
country. 
Thursday and Friday we spent cruising around the 
country and enjoying camp life. Friday night was the 
coldest we had had; the water in the paU was frozen solid 
to the bottom, but we did not mind it in our sleeping bags 
and blankets. After breakfast we packed our luggage 
and enough provisions for a three days' trip, and started 
for the country Joe had visited a few days before. We 
had very heavy packs and got along very well until we 
came to cross the brook just below our camp. Joe bad 
on his high rubber boots and I my hunting shoes. Joe 
got across the log all right, but when I got in tbe middle 
of it it commenced to slip, and in a minute I was precipi- 
tated into the muddy stream. This of course put an end 
to this day's trip, so we thought, but we returned to camp 
and I dried my clothes before the camp-fire. In a couple 
of hours I had the mud all scraped off, clothes changed 
and dried, and was again dressed and ready for business. 
While my trousers were drying I sat in the front of the 
tent wrapped in my sleeping bag, and was looking over 
the map of the surrounding country; Joe suddenly 
stopped chopping and said, "Captain, look and see how 
far you think it is to the next lake beyond here," I 
looked and said, "Compass com'se northeast, abcut five 
miles distant from upper dead water." "What do you 
say? Will we try and cut our way through the unbroken 
wilderness and return by the aid of axe and compass 
down the stream to the West Branch and home that 
way?" I declared that I was willing to go any place 
where he would go. He thought we had better start as 
soon as we could and camp where night overtook us, and 
we immediately packed our packs and again started. 
This time Joe carried all the duffle over the logs, and I 
managed to get over all right, and we were soon on our 
way to the unknown country. We reached the dam at 
8 P. M. and paddled up the stream to the road Joe had 
traveled a few days before. In one hour's paddling we 
reached the road where we selected a camp site, and it 
was not long before we had up the temporary lean-to for 
the night. We had venison, biscuits and tea and were 
very much pleased with our little shanty of balsam 
boughs. We turned in quite early that evening and were 
soon sleeping before a roaring camp-fire of birch logs. 
Sunday, Oct. IS, it looked very much like rain, but we 
returned to Home Camp for the tent and other things 
left behind. It commenced to rain just as we were un- 
loading our canoe, but we got the tent pitched and a fire 
built before it rained hard. We then sat down to a 
dinner of venison, tomatoes, biscuits and coffee, and we 
ate until the pans were all empty, for we were hungry 
after our long carry and paddle. This camp I named 
Camp Cruise No. 1. While we were sitting in the tent I 
was suddenly surprised by hearing a cow moose call, a 
short distance back of the tent. Joe said it was quite a 
treat for me, as many sportsmen come into the woods 
and never hear a cow call or a bull grunt. I was not 
surprised to hear a call, for we were in a fine, big game 
country and were to visit a still better one if it was 
po^igiW© to cut our w^j tbrpugh the forest to tUe lafee 
beyond. After supper we went down the stream in the 
canoe and called a few times, but got no answer, but saw 
two cow moose. 
Monday, Oct, 14^ — ^Morning came and with it showers, 
but it stopped raining at 8 A. M. , and Joe taking the canoe 
and I a large pack basket full, we started on, not knowing 
where we would end up. It took us two hours to make 
the two miles carry, for we had to stop and cut tree after 
tree to pass over the canoe. When we reached the dam 
we took a short cruise up the dead water until we could 
go no further, but would again have to take to the road. 
Here we found great signs of moose. Tbe water was still 
roily where a moose had just waded across, and the shore 
on both sides resembled a cow yard more than the heart 
of tbe wilderness. Joe thought it best for me to go back 
to the old logging camp and then travel back to our tent, 
two miles away, and fetch toother load over the carry, 
while he went out and tried to find the lake. So we 
started in opposite directions and he said to me: "When 
you return this afternoon you sit down in the alders near 
the dam and you will surely see a moose before dark." He 
had not gone from me a minute when I heard him 
whistle, and I knew that it was a signal to come and fetch 
the rifle. As I reached the spot he pointed to a little 
thicket on the shore and there stood a small bull moose 
with small horns. He did not stand very long, although 
he did not see us, and I would not shoot it, as I wanted a 
fine head or none at all. He turned into the woods and 
was lost to view. We again separated and I went back 
to the tent and brought back a good big load of pro- 
visions. 
It was nearly 2 o'clock and I thought I would go down 
to the stream and watch for moose, so picking up my 
rifle, camera, field glasses and blanket I was ready to 
shoot moose or take their pictures, just as it happened, I 
had been sitting in the clump of alders about half an hour 
when I saw a large bull moose push through the alders 
about 100yds. distant on the opposite side of the stream, 
so picking up my rifle and keeping perfectly quiet I 
waited. On and on he came, and it was a fine sight to see 
a bull moose coming right down the stream toward me, 
I first took notice of his horns, but it was a small-horned 
one, so putting down my rifle I took up my kodak and 
adjusting it waited for him to come closer to me. 
On and on he came until he was within 100ft. of me, 
and I then thought it time to take his picture. It was 
very dark and cloudy, and I knew I had to take a time 
exposure of him. Just as I opened the shutter he moved, 
and I knew this picture was spoiled. I then wound on 
another film. While I was doing this a large cow moose 
came out of the alders and waded down the stream to 
where the bull was, so I waited and thought I would take 
the two together. This took a long time for them to get 
near enough together, but I waited, and in a few min- 
utes they were both in the middle of the stream, I got 
the camera all ready, and I gave a long low moose call 
the best I could, and they both looked up and stood per- 
fectly still, and I pressed the bulb and got a good time 
exposure. 
"They were not frightened at this, for they did not see 
or smell me yet, so they went on feeding. I did this 
several times, and altogether got six exposures, the last 
one when they were standing on the bank. 
They then moved off into the woods, and I was much 
pleased with my afternoon's experience. 
It was dusk when I reached camp. The rain was 
beginning and there was not a sign of a lean-to or any 
place to sleep. It was getting dark very fast, so I cut 
THE END OF THE FIVE-MILK CARRY. 
poles and rigged up the rubber blanket for a lean-to, and 
it was pitch dark when I began to chop wood. I then 
began to think of Joe, for I thought that he might be 
lost or darkness had overtaken him, and I was more 
worried about him than myself. It was now near 8 
o'clock and raining, and I had just leaned the coffee-pot 
over the fire, when I heard the familiar whistle of Joe 
and knew that he would not have to lie out all night in 
the rain. He was very tired and had not found the lake, 
but had followed a northeasterly course for four miles in 
a very dense woods and thought he had passed the lake, 
and then he had taken a southeasterly course and found 
the stream that leads out of the lake, about a mile or two 
below it. He said it was a great game country. He had 
found two old moose horns partly eaten by equirrels and 
mice, and had seen a large buck deer with a fine set of 
horns. He said it was further to the lake than he 
thought, but he would try it again in the morning. 
It was now raining very hard, but we managed to fry 
gome egga md getaonje supper,- Our Jit^e lean-to was 
commencing to leak quite freely, but it was now 9 o'clock 
and we crawled into our blankets and let it rain. I 
named this camp Camp Misery, for Joe would exclaim : 
"All the comforts but home." Indeed it was a night of 
misery, for toward morning it stopped raining and 
turned cold, and the bottom of my blanket which pro- 
truded from the lean-to was frozen into a cake of ice. 
Tuesday morning, Oct. IS, — We had for breakfast fried 
partridge which I had shot coming over the trail the day 
before. As soon as breakfast was over Joe started to find 
the lake, and I went back to the tent and brought over 
the two-mile trail a load of duffle. This left only two 
more loads to bring, and Joe and I would go the next day 
and bring all. It was 3 o'clock when I got back and I 
went down to the dam and watched for moose for about 
one hour, but the wind was blowing hard and it was cold 
and not very pleasant, so I returned to the lean-to. I had 
supper ready when Joe returned and was soon sitting lis- 
tening to his day's cruise. He said he had found the lake 
and it was five miles from here, but we could make it in 
two or three days' carry. 
Oct. 16 brought a light rain, but it cleared off a little 
and we started with our first load to the upper dea0 
THE MOOSE TENT ON rBEDINCI. 
water. That day we took our entire outfit from both 
camps to the new location, and then when it was grow- 
ing dark we paddled down stream and called for moose. 
We saw two cows wading and feeding in the stream, and 
as we did not molest them they did not leave until they 
were through feeding, 
Thursday morning, Oct. 17. — ^The ground was covered 
with snow, and it seemed as if one had been carried while 
asleep from summer to winter in a single night. After 
breakfast Joe went back to the stream and I packed my 
basket, and when Joe came along with the canoe I joined 
him, and we started with the first load over the trail 
which Joe had blazed to the lake. Joe named this trail 
Capt. Taylor's Carry. We traveled until 11 o'clock and 
then turned the canoe over and placed my pack under it. 
We were now on top of the mountain and halfway over 
the five-mile carry. We then returned to our tent for 
dinner. 
After dinner we took another load and carried this 
right through to the lake; then returned to camp, reach- 
ing the tent at 5:30 P. M. very tired after our twelve- mile 
carry. Friday morning brought rain, but we packed up 
the tent and took the last load through to the lake. It 
was a wet, slippery carry, and Joe was much ahead of 
me when we reached the lake at 12 o'clock. After din- 
ner we started back to the top of the mountain, where we 
had left the canoe and first load, and had everything back 
at 3 P. M. and pitched the tent. 
Our rations were getting low and we had to be sparing 
of them. For supper we had bread, bacon, potatoes and 
tea. Supper over, we sat in the tent and talked over our 
trip, and I turned in for the night, while Joe was building 
a large fire to last all night, and the whole camp ground 
was a blaze of light. The night was very co!d and windy, 
but we were soon asleep. 
We had slept about two hours when I heard a rush in 
the tent which awoke me, and I heard Joe exclaim, "By 
gory, Captain," and I was quickly up and getting out of 
my sleeping bag. I saw a very bright light outside, 
which I supposed was the camp fire. Joe was out first in 
an instant, and we discovered that our stock of provisions, 
although rather small, which we had placed in a pile and 
covered with a rubber blanket, was on fire. Joe grabbed 
the pail of water, and he had first to break the ice in the 
pail, and then threw the rest of the water on the fire and 
soon had it out. This was hard luck for us, for our stock 
of provisions was small and we had only enough to last 
us until we reached the West Branch again. I named 
this camp Hard Luck. 
Saturday morning was cold and very windy. We ate 
breakfast of bread, bacon and tea, about all we had left. 
Joe said he would have to go and find a camp and try and 
procure some flour and other provisions, and he started 
out in the canoe, not knowing where to go. I stayed and 
baked the bread out of the flour we had tried to save from 
the fire, but the coffee, chocolate and flour bad all mixed 
together, and it looked more like graham flour than 
wheat. Joe returned without having found any one on 
the lake shore, and so we decided to break camp and pro- 
ceed down the stream toward home. There was a very 
heavy wind blowing from the north and the little lake 
was lashed into a white foam, and it was very dangerous 
to face the storm in a frail canoe; but it was sink or swim, 
starve or paddle, so we decided to venture out. We placed 
the tent and all in the canoe and pushed off from shore. 
The waves rolled high and it was getting worse every 
minute. It seemed as if our little canoe with its heavy 
burden could not last much longer in this heavy sea, but 
through the guidance of Providence and the coolness of 
Joe, and his ability in using the paddle, we at last rounded 
the point on shore and were in smooth water behind the 
point. It was very cold and icicles hung all along the 
shore on the alders. Just below the end of the lake we 
pitched camp, and here we had a gran4 view Qt Mouefe 
i 
