THE AMATEtJH SPORTSMAN. 
1 
a nice pair of horns we followed it ; saw the body, but not 
the head. As we were certain from the size of the track 
that it was a buck we shot, and got an immense doe. 
We had now killed all the deer and caribou that the law 
of Maine allows, and all we could now legally get was a 
moose. 
The next to the last morning before leaving the woods 
the snow was crusty and gave us poor hope, but we soon 
discovered tracks, following them we saw where a moose 
had broken branches with his horns. As it was impos- 
sible to step without making a noise, owing to the crisp 
snow, we returned to the camp to wait until the weather 
moderated. At eleven o'clock we followed out our trail 
back to where we had left his tracks. Slowly but surely 
we drew nearer, but he was leading us toward a swamp 
thicket. Hark ! a twig broke not far ahead. The rifle of 
the guide was covering something. He had his orders, 
" I must have the first shot, but do not let that moose 
getaway." I could see nothing, hear nothing but my 
beating heart, but kept my eye on the point covered by 
the guide's rifle. Were the trees moving ? No, it was the 
antlers of a monster moose and I could see the brown spot 
at the top of his forehead. Taking quick aim I fired. As 
the rifle spoke it was echoed by that of the guide. One 
shot through the brain and one near the heart, the noble 
beast dropped dead in his tracks less than one hun- 
dred feet from where we stood. He had heard or seen us 
and turned to see his danger, but too late. We took the 
head to camp, and returned the next morning to get. the 
hide and one hind quarter, and carried them to the near- 
est point, where a sled from the Oxbow met us and we 
were soon on our way from cold and snow back to dear 
old Wilkes-Barre with sunshine and comfort. Now as I 
sit in my little private den in an easy armchair, my slip- 
pered feet resting near the skin mat of old " Swift," now 
long gone, and leaning back with eyes fixed on many 
trophies of the chase, I can in fancy see through the curl- 
ing smoke all the stormy times, the excitement of each 
particular hunt, and each dear friend who was with us. 
Many now are gone to the " happy hunting grounds," 
but on this eve they all come back in memory to live and 
tell the same old stories over and over. 
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 
RUFFED GROUSE SHOOTINQ. 
BY FRED SAXE. 
When the Summer, with its intense heat, has passed, 
and the first frost of Fall has changed the foliage to 
many golden hues; when the warblers, orioles and other 
insectiverous birds have migrated to their Winter homes, 
then enters, with its cool, invigorating air, the month of 
October. 
As the open season for grouse shooting commences 
this month, two friends and myself left here on the morn- 
ing of the last day in September with the intention of 
enjoying a few days of that sport in Monroe County. We 
arrived at our destination by six o'clock, and after eating 
supper retired early, as we were tired after our long walk 
from the railroad station to the boarding-house. 
When we arose next morning most unpropitious 
weather greeted us. We could see by the wet ground and 
the dark clouds that hovered overhead that it had been 
raining heavily, and from appearances it might rain 
again before long. Regardless of these indications we 
set out, accompanied by guide and dog, to roam the 
pathless woods in search of the gregarious grouse, but 
in less than an hour we were soaked with water up to our 
hips from tramping through the wet brush. Towards 
noon a strong wind arose and the clouds passed away. 
We had been traversing a ridge, but with so little success 
that we were debating the advisability of trying new 
grounds. Just then we heard the report of the young 
lawyer's gun, and knew he must have bagged a bird. 
As he came up to us f^he ^uido called: "Look oat • 
'Tell 'is trailing. We will soon .s(^e some birds." As 
he spoke four bitxl.'j arofia. I shot at them, but missed. 
We followed them up, and the dog 8oon pointed, when 
the guide scored one. The dog found another not ten 
yards away, and that I killed. We hunted there awhile, 
but did not raise any more, so we left for a large swamp 
lying about two miles distant in a northerly distant. 
While strolling through the picturtsque woodlands 
and enjoymg the bracing air, we came upon an old under- 
ground house or cave, now in ruins, which we stopped to 
examine. Our guide told us that this house had bci^n for 
several years inhabited — some twenty yec.rs ago — by a 
family by the name of Parks, consisting of a in an and his 
two children, son and daughter. The lather could carry 
on a slight conversation, but the children could not talk. 
They wore no clothing, and with their unkcTnpt hair and 
tough brown skins, they presented a most uncouth nppear- 
ance, and were generally known as the wild people of 
Monroe County. 
Shortly afterwards we reached the large swamp, and 
it was not long before " Tell " had pointed a brace of 
woodcock. As these fell to our guns, we heard the report 
of two guns in the forest. We found plenty of birds, but 
as the foliage was rather thick it was impossible for us 
to see them when twenty or thirty feet away, so we had 
to risk snap shots when we heard the buzz. 
Late in the afternoon one of the party who had strayed 
away from the others, while sitting on a fallen tree en- 
joying a rest, and contemplating nature, was suddenly 
startled by hearing shouts of : "Help, help! Lost, lost!" 
His first thought was that the wild people of Monroe 
were haunting the place, but he quickly responded to the 
cry, and upon investigating found that it was only a 
young man who had been out gunning and had wandered 
into the thicket and had become so bewildered that he 
did not know which way to turn. He soon recovered 
from his panic when in our company', and after the proper 
direction to reach his home had been given him, left us, 
having thanked us and expressed his determination never 
to get in such a fix again. It was evening when v-.. re- 
turned to our boarding-house, hungry and tired. 
We spent one more day hunting grouse, but, although 
the day was fair and we had pretty good luck, the day 
was not so full of incident as our first day afield. We 
bagged six woodcocks and a couple of grouse and occa- 
sionally dropped a squirrel as they scampered among the 
trees while collecting their Winter stores. 
That night we left for the city, and when at the station 
we found we had six grouse, nine woodcock, six gray and 
one black squirrel to take home with us. We arrived 
safely, much benefited by our outing and feeling ready to 
start again on the ordinary rounds of business life. 
West Pittston, Pa. 
Game birds are reported very scarce in certain sec- 
tions of Maine. There will, however, be a perfect glut of 
deer meat in Maine markets, and it is stated that it will 
be cheaper than b eef. 
Bears are reported very numerous in the vicinity of 
Bingham, Me. 
W. S. Emery, of Eustis, Me., states that during the 
present deer-hunting season he will have a buck for all 
who come to his camp. That is, provided they shoot 
straight. Deer are so plentiful that everyone will have 
a good opportunity' to get his share. 
Dr. Heber Bishop, of Boston, Mass,, states that ihere 
are plenty of moose in the lower provinces of Canada, 
but that sportsmen ng there this season wiil be at a 
great disadvantage ing to their being unable to secure 
the service of competent guides. All tlie good guides 
are already engaged by their former patrons. 
