April 22, 1899.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
20t 
jaws snap in his dying struggle. The men ran to where 
I was and wanted to go up to him at once; but I made 
them sit down and eat berries for at least ten minutes, 
while I kept a close eye on the bear, for my past experi- 
ence with big game has taught me never to go too close 
until I was sure tiie last breath was gone. The Indian 
jumped in the air several times and said, "Good gun; 
good gun;" and wanted to make a trade for the arm 
right there; but it was not for sale at any price. I now 
left them to skin the beast, while I kept on over the hill 
in search of caribou. 
I could not even see a sign and returned to where 1 
had left them. They had been more fortunate, however, 
and pointed out a large herd on a hill about two miles 
distant. The Russian took charge of the bear skm, 
while the Indian and I started after the caribou. On our 
way over the hill we saw four large bears feeding on a 
little knoll about a mile to the right. It was a tempta- 
tion hard to overcome, and I hesitated for some time 
whether to continue after the caribou or to try conclu- 
sions with the four bears. The Indian seemed to read 
my mind, and very wisely suggested that if we shot at 
the bears the caribou would run away and we would not 
see more, while bears were plenty and wc could get 
them any time. I think he had two reasons for making 
this suggestion. The first was 
that he did not like the idea of 
meeting four bears at one time, 
and the other was that he was 
quite tired. We had no time for 
parley and continued toward the 
gentler game. The great horned 
beauties were on the open barren, 
and it was no easy matter to get 
in range of them; but by crawl- 
ing on hands and knees for a 
quarter of a mile, we got within 
300yds. I lold the Indian not to 
shoot at any of them, as I wanted 
to pick out the ones I wished 
myself. The largest one to be 
seen was lying down, and as I 
rose up to get aim on him he 
jumped to his feet and started. 1 
pulled down on him and missed. 
The second shot was better, and 
he fell at the crack of the gun. 
We walked up to where he lay, sup- 
posing that the others had all 
gone, but to our surprise nine or 
ten came down to him and looked 
in wonder at us. I saw that one 
of them seemed to be monarch of 
the herd, and that the one I had 
killed was only a fawn compared 
to him, so I drew down on him 
and the ball entered the neck and 
lodged in the back of the head. 
(The men found the little bullet 
mashed flat while skinning him.) 
This was the handsomest animal 
I ever saw on four feet. ■ The re- 
mainder of the herd' ran off about 
looyds from where the leader 
had fallen,' and turned again to 
see what we were or what we 
were doing. I noticed a very 
peculiar one with two rows of 
white spots along the sides, and 
thought I would like to have him. 
At the report of the gun lie 
jumped in the air and ran about 
50yds., then fell. Several more 
canie around the hill and joined 
those we had been shooting at. 
The band now numbered about 
eighteen. I could have killed 
more, but had all I needed. It 
was now nearly sundown, and we 
were too tired to skin the ani- 
mals, and decided to leave them 
where they lay until next morn- 
ing. It was a great risk, how- 
ever, as the bears were quite nu- 
merous and there were many 
prowling wolves. 
At 3 o'clock the next morning 
we were up and started back for 
the skins and some of the meat. 
We were not one moment too soon, for several bears 
had scented the dead animals and were going directly to 
them. We intercepted two of the bears, and after a 
very interesting experience, which I have not time at 
present to relate, we added the skins of two large griz- 
zlies to our collection. Another one was also brought 
to bay before night, and when we reached camp and had 
.broiled some caribou steak, we lay down, and did not 
need rocking to put us to sleep. 
The next- day was Sunday, and we were all glad of it, 
as there was no work to be done on that day, and we 
all enjoyed a good rest. In the afternoon we walked up 
on a little hill above camp to eat berries; the ground 
was literally black with them. In gazing around on the 
valleys below and admiring the beautiful scenery, I dis- 
covered a large dark object among the spruce trees. I 
saw that it was an immense bull moose, his great wide 
antlers spreading out on either side. I called the atten- 
tion of the men to it, and one wanted to go at once to 
the camp and bring my rifle, but I told them no, I would 
not shoot on Sunday, if I never got a moose. Yet this 
was the only animal I needed to make my collection 
complete. The Indian told me that by morning the 
moose would be gone away. This did not change me a 
particle, though, and the subject was dismissed for the 
time. Presently another large moose stepped out into 
the open. He, too, had a wonderful spread of horns. 
Now the men were nearly wild for me to secure one of 
the two ; but I was still firm in my resolve, and after 
watching their peculiar antics for some time we returned 
to camp for the night. 
At daylight next morning I awoke and gave orders to 
the men. Two of them were to get breakfast ready, 
while one of them was to accompany me. I went straight 
to where the game was last seen, and with eyes and ears 
ready for the slightest sign or noise we crept stealthily 
along. I expected the animals to be lying down, and as 
the grass and underbrush was very thick and nearly 4tt, 
high, it was a hard matter to see any animal when lying 
down. I was mistaken, however, for I soon came to a 
warm lair where one of the moose had just left. The 
footprints in the dewey grass were quite plain, and we 
were soon on his trail. We almost held our breath, for 
the slightest sound would betray our presence and the 
game would be gone. The tracks in the grass led over 
a little hill, and as we stood scanning the valley in front 
a crashing noise was heard to the right and the moose 
Started on a rapid trot, with his great antlers high in the 
air. It was a beautiful sight, and one I shall never for- 
get. He ran straight from me, and the only fatal spot 
exposed was the back of the head. I sent a bullet whist- 
ling after him, and it went between his horns and struck 
a tree in front of him. This seemed to surprise him, an I 
he immediately turned to the left and gave me a broad- 
side shot. I took careful aim for his shoulder, and as 
the little gun spoke the great animal sank to his knees, 
and then on his side, where his proud, tossing head was 
soon at rest. On our way back to camp I could have 
killed two others, one of which had a much finer head 
than the one I had just secured, but nothing could induce 
MR. HARRY E. LEE AND HIS ALASKAN MOOSE HEAD. 
me to kill them. If they have not been killed this win- 
ter for meat they will make a nice prize for some lucky 
sportsman next fall. I would like to suggest that the 
American sportsmen should by all means try to secure 
this tract of land from the Government as a game pre- 
serve, and I hope someone will take the matter in hand 
before another year, for the game is wantonly killed bv 
market hunters every winter, and if this is not soon put 
a stop to it will be entirely exterminated. 
When we returned to camp the Indian was very much 
impressed that I had found the moose where we had seen 
them the day before, and hardly believed that we could 
have got one so quickly until he went down to help get 
the skin and head. By securing this moose I now had ac- 
complished every purpose that I had come to Alaska for, 
and in fact I had secured far more and much finer speci- 
mens than I had ever hoped for, and without an hour's 
sickness a scratch or an accident. I thought it 
truly wonderful. Now came the task of getting 
the heads and skins to the boat, which was abotit 
nine miles over a very rough country. Each one took 
his load, and we expected to reach camp that night; but 
our loads were too heavy, and the underbrush so dense 
that we did not get much more than half way and had 
to lie down in the swamp for the night. We had no shel- 
ter, and the cold rain which fell during the night was any- 
thing bvit pleasant. When we reached camp the river 
was rising very rapidly, and we had hard work wading 
out to where our boat was tied. We took it in on high 
ground, and the men returned to the hills for the other 
skins and heads, which we could not begin to bring at 
the first load. I remained at the camp and salted the 
skins and got them ready for taking down to the coast. 
During the afternoon I noticed the river getting higher, 
and higher, until all of the lower banks were covered, but 
fortunately our tent was on a bluff about 40ft. above the. 
stream. Dark clouds in the northwest indicated a storm for 
the night and in a few hours came such a hurricane as [ 
had never witnessed. I had brought stout ropes from 
the boat and had fastened the tent down as best I could, 
but the fierce winds threatened to blow it into the river, 
which was now a roaring torrent. I have put in some 
bad nights in camp, but never experienced another one 
like this. Toward morning the wind calmed somewhat, 
but the rain and sleet came down faster and faster. I 
was worried about my men, knowing what dangerous 
places they had to cross, and was quite anxious for their 
return. I was also uneasy about the rough-looking logs 
that were tearing down the river, as they frequently 
formed a backwater, and woe to the craft that comes 
against theni. Sharp snags are often projecting which 
tears a hole in the strongest boat, and the rapidity of the 
stream will sometimes force a boat over or draw it 
under and in either case not only are the boat and its 
contents lost, but the lives of all connected with it. 
At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon I heard the men 
cutting their way through the fallen timber. The poor 
fellows were nearly exhausted. T had cooked everything 
left in our camp for them, and it did me good to see 
them devour it. I also had cut some spruce logs and had a 
good fire to dry out their drenched 
clothes. We retired early for the 
night, for none of us had had any 
sleep the night before. 
The sun was well up when we 
awoke. The storm had almost 
abated, but the river was tearing 
down everything in its path. The 
hanks were caving in on all sides 
and large trees were being swept 
along as if they were chips. Soon 
our boat was ready, and a num- 
ber of the skins and heads which 
I had worked so hard for were 
piled in. The large horns were 
projecting over the sides, and the 
tent and camping outfit, with the 
four large men, brought the gun- 
wales well down to the water. It 
was a risky load on such dan- 
gerous waters. Everything was 
lashed securely, as we fully ex- 
pected an upset before we got 
half way down, and each man was 
ready to .swim for his life. The 
bends of the river were some- 
times sharp curves, and it re- 
quired all the strength and skill 
that we possessed to keep off the 
rocks, or prevent being drawn un- 
der the embankment. A number 
of times our escape seemed mirac- 
ulous; but fortune favored us, and 
swift as an arrow we sped along. 
Soon our eyes were gladdene^'l 
with the sight of the broad mead- 
ows^ but they were now almost 
covered with water and looked 
like a great lake. The mast of 
our sail boat was the next glad 
object that met our view, and it 
only required a few moments to 
be alongside of it. One of our 
party had a watch, and looked at 
the time when we started _ and 
when we reached the mouth of the 
river; and what had taken us five 
days to go up, we came back in 
three hours and twenty minutes. 
The little islands and dry spots 
along the banks of the river were, 
literally covered with ducks of 
every variety, while thousands of 
geese and swan were hovering in 
the air. I secured with my rifle 
quite a number of the latter, and 
also several of the eider duck. I 
found the little miniature bullets 
just the thing for this class of 
shooting. I was also fortunate in 
securing some grand specimens 
of the tufted puffen and a variety 
of other birds, which are only 
found on the coasts of Alaska. I 
value my collection of feathered game almost as much as 
the' fine specimens of large animals which I secured, and 
in fact there are some of them that I think more of. 
When we arrived at the coast we were met by a large 
crowd of brawny but good-hearted prospectors, and 
when they saw the great variety of animals and birds they 
were nearly wild with joy. and when we told them of 
the ascent to the head of the Sheep River without acci- 
dent or mishap they were perfectly astonished. 
We then showed them the ore specimens which were 
taken from the quartz ledges and told them of the beau- 
tiful country which surrounded this new gold find. Not 
only their looks brightened, but their minds changed, and 
several who had arranged to return to the States decided 
to remain in Alaska and make a new effort, to secure a 
fortune in the fastnesses of those unknown hills which 
nature has made rough and almost inaccessible in order 
to guard her richest treasures. The eastbound steamer 
was at anchor in the bay, but I could only secure a lim- 
ited space for my trophies and could only take about halt 
of them. I then decided to take passage on that staunch 
little schooner, the Nellie G. Thurston, which was also 
at anchor and would sail direct for Seattle in a few days. 
I found on this schooner just the space I needed, and. 
the noveltv of a schooner ride on the outside course was 
quite to my taste. The officers and crew were the j oiliest 
lot of fellows I ever met, and the courtesies of Hon. 
Thos, C. Dunn (owner of the boat, who was also a pa'?- 
seiiger) will never, be forgotten. In thirteen days we 
arrived safely at Seattle, and while I was delighted to 
get back to civilization again, I shall always look back 
with pleasure to the grand old mountains, the rapid,_ roll- 
ing rivers, the great moving glaciers, and the animals 
and birds as I saw them in their native element. 
Chicago, 111. HarrY E. LeE. 
