408 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Nov. 19, 1898. 
I have dropped almost in his tracks many a fox which 
was not half so hadly hit. ♦ 
As' this fox seemed very indifferent about coming 
to my call, I knew there must be some reason, and 
noticing that his stomach was pretty full I cut him 
open and Imihd was 1UU °f what looked like a chicken 
or a partridge. There were no feathers mixed up with 
what I found, but he may have been a dainty fox and 
removed feathers cr skin from what he was about to 
eat. 1 H C. M. Stark. 
DuNTAKTON, N. H. 
An Episode in Moose. 
New Glasgow. Nova Scotia, Nov. 1.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: Nova Scotia is the home of the moose. 
There are seasons when the laws of the Province for- 
bids that he be slain; there are laws enacted under the 
auspices, and re ccmmendations of the Game Society 
how and when he shall not be slain; there is appointed 
by the Government a Chief Game Commissioner, whose 
duty it is to see that these laws are respected and that 
offenders are punished. For snaring, hunting with dogs, 
ki'ling out of the prescribed season, there are heavy pen- 
alties, ranging from $25 to $200. Yet, notwithstanding 
all this, in outlying districts, miles away from the cen- 
ters of civilization, as it were, there are occasional 
breaches of the law. and it is a very difficult matter to 
have the offenders brought to justice and punished. 
Quite recently the game warden at New Glasgow re- 
ceived information that a notorious pot-hunter, some 
thirty miles distant, had brought home the carcass of a 
moose, a very large one, with the most magnificent 
antlers that had been seen for some time. The cir- 
cumstances of the killing were reported as suspicious, 
and it was evident to the informant, although the animal 
had been shot and bore the marks of two bullets, that 
at the time of receiving these bullets the animal was 
standing helpless, caught in a snare. All incriminating 
marks that might have been made by this snare were, 
however, so skillfully removed from the carcass that it 
would be an utter impossibility for a casual witness to 
swear positively that the animal had been snared.. 
The young man who accompanied the hunter to the 
woods and helped him home with the venison, horns 
and hide, was something of a hunter himself, although 
il was not known that he had ever been successful or 
had brought home such large game as a moose. 
The Commissioner was informed of the circumstances, 
and the suspicions of the warden that this particular 
animal had been unlawfully taken, and they had Mr. 
S"ocdler summoned before the justice at New Glasgow, 
charging him with "setting snares for the destruction 
of moose, contrary to the statute in such case made and 
provided." 
Mr. Cross, the young man who had been his compan- 
ion on this expedition, was subpeenaed as a witness, and 
on the day of trial Mr. Spoodler was present with his 
attorney, expressing his determination "to fight it out." 
It is hardly necessary for me to go into the full de- 
tails of the trial, but parts of the evidence were of such 
an extraordinary nature, and so interesting to listen to 
by those who were concerned in the preservation of this 
noble game, that I shall give only a particular part. 
The questions were asked the witness, Mr. Cross, by 
the attorney for the prosecution, and were about as fol- 
lows: 
' Q. You are quite a hunter, are you not. Mr. Cross? 
A. I've done a little of that in my time. 
Q. Ever shoot a moose? 
A. Yes. 
Q. When? 
A. Last Monday, week. 
Q. How long ago since you first commenced to hunt ' 
moose? 
A. Probably fifteen years. 
Q. And this moose that you refer to is your first 
successful shot? 
A. Yes. 
And he continued: On the third day of October Mr. 
Spoodler asked me if I would like to accompany him 
that day to the woods. We took provisions for a couple 
of days, my rifle, a Winchester magazine, 15 shots, and 
some things in a bag which I did not see at the time of 
starting. We took Mr. Spoodler' s horse and wagon, and 
drove eight or nine miles to Dunbar camp. Putting 
up our horse and wagon at the camp, we started through 
the woods, made horns of birch bark and commenced 
calling for moose; had proceeded about a quarter of a 
mile or so, when Mr. Spoodler shouted out, "Look 
ahead!" 
Q. Shouted out loud, did you say? 
A. Yes. I looked ahead; I distinctly observed up over 
the underbrush the horns, head and neck of a moose. 
1 raised my gun and fired. Seeing that the head was in 
nearly the same position, I fired the second time, and 
the head disappeared. 
Q. At about what distance, should you judge? 
A, I would say about 50yds. Mr. Spoodler had no 
gun. Immediately after firing, Mr. Spoodler told me 
to run back to camp and prepare the dinner; that he 
would attend to the moose now, dress it and make it 
ready to carry in to camp. When dinner was ready, I 
was to come out and help him. In the course of half 
an hour I went back to the place. Mr. Spoodler had the 
carcass cut up and roped, ready to be carried in. With 
a pole through a. loop of the rope, we slung it on our 
shoulders, and made three trips before we got it all in. 
We then loaded it up in the wagon and started for home, 
arriving there after dark. 
Q. After you fired at the moose, you went up to ex- 
amine what you had shot, didn't you? 
A, No. 
Q. For what reason? 
A. Before, starting on this trip, Mr. Spoodler in- 
structed me, that to be successful in our hunt I should 
obey him in everything; in other words, I would be re- 
quired to do what I was told by him, and ask no ques- 
tions about it, as upon my obedience to orders de- 
pended entirely and altogether our success, and when he 
instructed me to proceed to camp I did so, 
Q. Did Mr. Spoodler instruct you as to any further 
details? 
A. He told me, after I had shot the moose, that it was 
not necessary that I should go up to where it was lying; 
it was getting late in the afternoon, and night would be 
upon us before we got home, unless we hurried up. 
Q. Did you, when you first went to the place where 
the moose had fallen, observe anything pertaining to 
snares? 
A. No, I did not see anything that would lead me to 
infer that I was in the vicinity of a snare. 
Q. Did you observe any ropes, chains or poles? 
A. There were poles kicking about there. 
Q. Anything else? 
A. Yes, bushes and blood and hair. 
Q. In going through the woods after you left the 
camp, did you proceed noiselessly, picking your steps 
cautiously? 
A. Not particularly cautious. We talked and laughed 
and smoked our pipes. 
Q. Did you blow the calling horns? 
A. Yes. 
Q. Are you an adept in the art? 
A. Not particularly so. 
Q. Now, Mr. Cross, isn't it the practice of moose 
hunters in the woods and during the calling season to 
station themselves in one particular spot, near what is 
called a "yard," and call without moving from that spot? 
A. Yes, I think so. 
Q. But in this case you walked along, talking and 
laughing and smoking, until suddenly Mr. Spoodler 
shouted out, "Look ahead!" 
A. Yes. 
Q. Is it not your opinion, now, Mr. Cross, that this 
particular moose was at the time you fired the shots 
caught fast in a snare? (The justice ruled that "opin- 
ions" were not particularly wanted just then.) 
Q. Are you certain that this moose, at the time you 
fired the shots, was free to jump and get out of the way 
as fast as moose generally do under such circumstances? 
A. I cannot say. 
Q. Did yo.u. ever see a moose in a snare? 
A. Not that I am aware of. 
Q. In what direction was the wind blowing when you 
started from the camp into the woods? 
A. I did not observe. 
Q. Did Mr. Sroodler make any remarks about the 
direction of the wind? 
A. No. 
There was a good deal of cross-firing here between 
the attorneys; they addressed the court for and against 
the respective clients, and awaited the decision. 
Mr. Cross was the sole witness available to the pros- 
ecution, and it was evident that the Commissioner had 
not made out a case, although the circumstances pointed 
strongly in the direction of an infraction of the law, yet 
it was insufficient for conviction. 
The justice read over the evidence. Then he com- 
menced by saying that it was purely circumstantial. 
Fifteen years ago, if he recollected aright, from this Same 
bench. Mr. Spoodler had been before him on a similar 
charge. On that occasion he had been convicted and 
fined in the sum of $25. From that day to this he was 
under the impression that fine had had its effect, and Mr. 
Spoodler had been a good and law-abiding citizen ever 
since. But in the statement of the witness on this oc- 
casion he felt bound, before giving a decision upon the 
case, to say something more than usual. It was simply 
an opinion, drawn from the evidence given to the court. 
He proceeded by saying that he was something of a 
hunter himself. True, he had not aspired to anything 
larger or heavier than partridge, with an occasional duck, 
accidentally perhaps a wild goose or two during their 
season. 
Upon one occasion a discussion arose as to the most 
exciting and ecstatic moment during the period of a 
successful hunt. First, whether it was when the game 
was sighted; second, when the trigger was being pulled; 
third, when the shooter ran out to ascertain the result. 
The decision was in favor of the third, although some of 
the boys afterward declared that the decision was faulty, 
and that the supreme and most exciting moment oc- 
curred when after returning to camp they were getting 
themselves outside of three or four fingers of good "hot 
Scotch." 
''Be that as it may, however, I feel that I must say 
that here we have two hunters starting out for moose; 
they arrive at the camp; they take one gun, and a bag 
containing something else; they fashion the proverbial 
moose horn; they proceed to call; they keep right on 
through the woods, never halting for a moment to ascer- 
tain whether or not their call is being answered by the 
unsuspecting moose; they laugh and talk and smoke — 
things that the true hunter never thinks of doing when in 
pursuit of the game. 
"All at once, according to the witness, Mr. Spoodler 
shouts — yes, actually shouts — 'Look ahead!' Mr. Cross 
looks, and sees the horns, head and neck of a moose 
towering up over the underbrush. As I am informed 
and verily believe, no well regulated animal of this 
kind, wild in the woods, would have hesitated the fraction 
of a second before he had put sufficient distance between 
itself and that sound to have insured its escape; but it 
didn't do my thing of the kind. We must infer that there 
were good and sufficient reasons. 
"Mr. Cross raises his gun and fires at the head. Seeing 
that there was not a perceptible move, he fires again, 
and the head drops out of sight. 
"In a Winchester rifle, such as he had, it takes very 
little time to drop the lever and insert a second cartridge; 
it works almost automatically, but there is a perceptible 
lapse of time — very short, it is true, but still sufficient 
for the animal shot at, if it were not killed dead at the 
first fire, to have moved, and moved a perceptible dis- 
tance at least. But according to this witness, the an- 
imal still kept its postition, and it took the second shot 
to make it disappear. 
"And now comes the most extraordinary part of the 
story cf this witness. What does he do? He de- 
liberately does as Mr. Spoodler tells him; he immedi- 
ately goes back to camp, a quarter of a mile away, to 
prepare dinner, without a protest, without even mani- 
festing a desire to ascertain the result of his shots. 
''True, he had been cautioned bv Mr. Spoodler that 
it was entirely necessary to obey the orders given him, 
. that they might be successful in their hunt. Abjectly, 
like a child in its pinafore, when the most supreme and 
exciting moment had arrived, this witness was content 
to go from the vicinity of that successful shot, and after 
fifteen years of hunting for this opportunity — fifteen years 
of tiresome tramping through the forest in search of the 
very game he had just sighted, without seeking to ascer- 
tain the result of his shot. It must have been galling in 
the extreme. 
"But why? The inference is plain, plainer by far than 
the ancient handwriting upon the wall — there was a pur- 
pose in all this. I am inclined to infer that this moose 
was, I was about to say, 'spellbound' by the sight of 
these two mighty Nimrods of the chase, and that he 
lost his presence of mind. That is not the case, how- 
ever; the instincts of this animal never desert him when 
he is in danger and free to act. 
"I infer, and I am bound to say that ninety-nine per- 
sons out of a hundred will coincide with me in the as- || 
sumption, that this particular animal, and at this par- 
ticular time, was anchored fast in a snare or trap of 
some kind, and it was ruthlessly shot down without a 
ghost of a chance for its life, and contrary to the habits 
of every genuine sportsman the world over. 
"Mr. Cress was conveniently absent, and at the 
proper time to suit the hunter. He saw nothing at all — 
nothing incriminating— it was all removed, conveniently 
removed, I may say; and he appeared upon the scene 
of his exploit only when all evidence of the presence 
of a snare had been put out of sight, by whom 1 am 
unable to say. 
"We can draw our inferences, but such inferences are 
not evidence. 
"The charge against Mr. Spoodler is dismissed." 
Arthur Main. 
Boston Notes. 
Boston, Nov. 7. — Dr. G. A. Suffa and Dr. Robbins, 
of Boston, have returned from a successful hunting trip 
to New Brunswick. Both bring back fine bull moose, 
though that of Dr. Robbins was not equal to his trophy 
exhibited at the sportsmen's show last spring, in the 
exhibit of the Megantic Club, I believe. That head wa^s 
one of the best ever taken, with a remarkable spread. 
This vear his moose was a young one of Eew°r prongs. 
Dr. Suffa's moose was a fine one, with beautiful antlers, 
and he is justly proud of his success. Both hunters are 
much pleased with moose hunting in New. Brunswick, 
though they do not like to give away the location they 
visited to everybody. They saw twelve moose in all. 
They were on the ground early in September, though not 
as early as they will go again. The calling was good, 
though not what it is a week or two earler, according 
to the opinion of the guides they met. They got re- 
peated answers to the birch horn, but either the calling 
was not all it should be or. the bulls already had mates. 
Dr. Suffa shot his moose in broad daylight, the guide 
paddling him up to the game in dead water. It took six 
sho*-s from the Doctor's .30-30 expansive bullet, three of 
which hit him. The bobbing moting of the canoe made 
the shots go wild; but odd enough the great moose only 
turned as each shot struck him, and did not attempt to 
make off. The guide was much alarmed at the determin- 
ation of the moose not to move, and expected the brute 
to charge the canoe. In another instance the guide was 
unwilling cr afraid to paddle the canoe up to a bull 
moose, evidently standing his ground, just behind some 
alders that projected out from the shore of the same 
dead water where the other moose was taken. Both 
could hear the animal, but he could not be seen clearly 
enough for a shot. Mr. Suffa whispered, "For heaven's 
sake, put me on to that moose!" The canoe did not 
move. The hunter almost shouted this time, "Put he up 
to that moose!" The paddle splashed, and the moose 
was gone. In explanation, the guide declared that the 
moose behind the alders was a cow, but that there was 
a big bull just up the shore all ready to charge upon them 
had they troubled the cow. But Dr. Suffa is sure that 
he saw the horns of the one behind the alders, though 
indistinctly. He considers the location a remarkable one 
for moose, and I have no doubt but what he would point 
it out to one or two of the right sort of hunters, who 
mie-ht address' him at Berkeley street, corner Bovlston. 
Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Boynton, of Lewiston, Me., and 
Mr. and Mrs. Dumfee, of Waltham. Mass., have re- 
turned from a hunting trip to the wilds of New Bruns- 
wick. They went about forty miles into the woods from 
Keswick, and lived in an improvised cabin. Mr. and] 
Mrs. Boynton got two fine caribou. Mrs. B. shooting 
her share. She is an expert with the rifle, or proving 
such, having never used one till within a year or two. 
She succeeds in shooting off the heads of partridges al- •< 
most every shot. To tbe list of successful Maine big 
game hunters there mav be added: H. E. Hayes, Brook- 
line, Mass., one deer; Edward Burbeck, Newton, Mass.,^ 
two deer; Charles Rickenberg. Jamaica Plain, Mass..| 
two deer; B. S. Tolman, Waltham, Mass., one deer;' 
O. H. Hallett. Waltham. Mass.. one deer; H. S. Milton, 
Waltham, Mass.. one deer; all the above were taken' 
at Eustis. Me. From the Megantic Preserve. A. W. Rob- 
inson, Mrs. A. W. Robinson, Mr. and Mrs. F. F 
Staples, Mr. and Mrs'. D. C. Pierce. H. W. Robinson 
and G. O. Currier, all of Boston, have brought out ten 
deer. Mrs. E. S. Briggs, of Boston, has taken a deer 
at Loon Lake, Rangeley. Geo. Russell and W. H. 
Kingsbury, of Everett, Mass., have taken three deer at 
Kennebago. Dr. and Mrs. W. H. Bradbury, of Chico- 
pee, Mass.. have taken two deer at Billv Sou'e's Pleasant 
Island camps. John Kennedy and Guv Kennedy, of, 
Boston, have killed two deer at Round Mountain Lake; 
camps. G. F. Foyle, of Boston; John Foster and E. Al 
Emerson, of Waltham, Mass., have been at Salmon' 
Stream. Peredicta, Me., on a hunting trip. They se^j 
cured six deer. . 
Nov. 14.— Considerable snow has lately fallen tn the 
Maine woods; from 6 to 8in. reported in some sections. 
Yet it has not generally been very • satisfactory to the 
big game hunters, being followed by crusts, and then 
rapidly melting away. Still it has covered the rustline 
leaves" and hunting has been better than before, and! 
doubtless some big reports will be heard concerning the 
game taken when the hunters return. 
Mr. W. C. Harding, of the Boston Herald, is out .ol 
the Maine woods, from a delightful trio into the Seboifi 
region. Here he secured his moose and full allotment o! 1 
deer. The claim is made that he shot his moose at 2 
