'Pm. 24, 1900.31 
FOREST AND STREAM. " 
147 
they had lost their way, in which case they would not re- 
port before daylight next morning. They would simply 
camp where darkness overtook them. The Indian has 
such a superstitious nature that he will not travel after 
dark if he can avoid doing so. 
At this stage the checkman, or wife, of Pokh Pokh 
Mamelouse Mowich reported that her husband was com- 
ing, walking, with his horse loaded, and soon he arrived. 
He had killed two deer, a small one which he had tied on 
the saddle and a large one which was dragging with a rope 
attached to the horn of the saddle and tied around the 
neck of the deer. Neither one was as large as the smaller 
of mine, yet he was not strong enough to load the larger 
one on the saddle, and did not know how to use the sap- 
ling to help him, so he used the only means he knew to 
get them to camp, for, unless brought in, they would not 
count. 
While the checkmen were busy taking care of this 
cargo. Black Tail Eagle, the man who kills elk, rode up 
empty handed, merely gave an Indian grunt, tossed the 
riata to his checkman, and slunk away to his tent. 
Uses Ilpilp Metott Pokh, the man who kills bear, fol- 
lowed, also empty handed, very much disgusted with his 
day's work. 
When The Man of Many Horses, Nebbouse Testamena, 
reported without anything, I felt like throwing up my hat, 
but I knew it would not do. Indians possess, at least, 
one noble trait in never showing the least spirit of exul- 
tation over a vanquished rival in his presence. 
Our camp was located at a flowing spring in a beautiful 
forest of yellow pine, tamarack and fir, with a dense 
growth of white pine, white willow, white birch and alder 
at the head of the gulches and on the highest points, 
most admirable conditions for a winter home for 
deer during the deep snows that fall at those high alti- 
tudes. We were between eight and nine thousand feet 
above sea .level, almost at the highest point of the divid- 
ing ridge of the Imnaha mountains, between the Grande 
Ronde and the river from which the mountains take their 
name. 
The first day's contest was over and we stood even. 
On this night there was no loud talking and laughing 
in the tepees of the Indians as on the previous evening, 
a sign of determination in the Indian character. 
All interest now centered in the next day. At such a 
high altitude, these October nights were freezing cold, 
so I soon deserted the camp-fire for my tent, rolled my- 
self in a goodly supply of warm blankets and was soon 
pursuing the chase in my dreams. 
Next morning I awoke early, struck a match and found 
it to be 4 o'clock, so I called my cook. At half past S 
breakfast was over, the horses were brought in and sad- 
dled, and at 6 we were ready to start. The Indians ap- 
peared to be very anxious to get out ahead of me, which 
was just what I wanted. My plan was to follow them a 
short distance to get their range or the direction in which 
they intended to hunt, and then choose a different course. 
This was the day of big counts, and I did not propose to 
be beaten. 
The ground was frozen quite hard, and the huntsman 
who would see the track of an elk or deer must look 
sharp. I followed the Indians, about 50 yards behind, 
watching the ground closely, for we were crossing the 
great divide now, the highway of all kinds of large game 
as they traveled north and south. When about half a 
mile from camp, I saw the print of half of the foot of an 
elk in the frozen ground. The elk was going south, and 
the track could not have been made more than an hour 
before we came. The Indians had not seen it, so I said 
nothing and kept on following until I was satisfied in 
regard to their course, when I turned abruptly to the 
right up a small gulch to get out of their sight as soon as 
possible. When there was no longer a possibility of their 
shadowing me, I returned to where I had crossed the elk's 
track, which, by dismounting and walking, I could fol- 
low though with great difficulty. I followed cautiously 
along until I came to a heavy growth of white pine which 
the elk had entered. I believed they would stay here dur- 
ing the day, but to be certain, made a circuit of the 
thicket, and on returning to the starting point found they 
had not left it. Then proceeding slowly along their 
trail, I had not gone 200 yards, when I saw the head and 
shoulders of a fine large elk. He was lying down, and 
the shrubbery was so thick that one could see but a short 
distance, consequently I was at close range. I took de- 
liberate aim and fired, and fortunately accomplished my 
intention of breaking his neck. The others, for there 
were more of them, before I could reload, were running 
rapidly through the timber, which stood so thick it was a 
difficult matter to get a shot with any degree of certainty. 
However, I brought another down, but he rose almost im- 
mediately and rushed through that dense growth of tim- 
ber, as only an elk could, I followed along as fast as 
possible, hoping soon to come to an opening, where I 
could get another shot, but when I reached open ground 
he was nowhere to be seen. 
The direction the elk had taken in his mad rush was 
almost toward camp, and I was so near that I concluded 
to go and tell the checkmen where they could find the 
first one before following the one that was wounded. 
The ground had tliawed some during the day, and it 
was an easy matter to follow the trail in the openings, and 
I had not traveled far before it became evident that the 
elk was not badly wounded. After a distance of two 
miles he struck the trail of the others, and followed it so 
well that I knew he would not lie down soon, but I 
was out for elk, and determined to follow until dark. 
About this time a deer walked directly across my 
path, and I soon had him hanging from a sapling, and 
hurriedly resumed the pursuit of the elk. I followed about 
five miles further, when the trail entered an impenetrable 
windfall, and I gave up the chase. 
It was now sundown, and camp eight or ten miles away, 
and the greater part of the distance covered so thickly with 
brush and timber that I was obliged to ride very slowly, 
but I made the best of the situation, and crowded my 
horse along as fast as possible. When I had reached the 
deer and lashed it on the horse, it was as dark as it 
would be that night. I could not see the landmarks, so my 
safety lay in the north star and a sagacious horse for 
guides. Just after starting with the deer, I heard the 
scream of a panther. I knew what he wanted, but did not 
intend to lose my prize without a fight, so I struck^ a 
match, and saw that my gun was all right, then dis- 
mounted and led my horse, so as not to get entangled with 
it in case of an attack by the hungry panther. 
I traveled perhaps a mile in this way, but he kept a 
safe distance, though making a great deal of noise. He 
finally gave up the job as a bad one, of which I was 
heartily glad. 
The rest of the way there was nothing to contend with 
except the trees and bushes, which the horse seemed to 
seek for the purpose of removing defenseless legs and 
eyes. 
At last, however, with a few bruises and scratches, I 
reached camp and found for supper a bountiful supply of 
deer tongue and elk's heart. 
All of my rivals were in with great stories to tell of 
their misfortunes. The game was wild, ammunition bad, 
the sight of Nebbouse's gim had got moved, and many 
others of a similar nature. Uses Ilpilp Metott Pokh had 
brought in one small deer. I sympathized with them, for I 
could afford to, as the count now, at the end of the 
second day, stood three hundred for the reds against 
eight hundred for the whites. But I did not dare to feel 
elated, for there was another day in which we must travel 
thirty-five miles back to our Grande Ronde camp. 
This was Wednesday, and according to the. rules, we 
must be in camp on Friday morning with all of our 
game. Before leaving that morning I had given orders 
to my attendant to find a place where my horse could get a 
bountiful supply of bunch grass during the coming night, 
as I intended to make my greatest ride the last day. 
I arose early Thursday morning, to find it had clouded 
over and a little snow had fallen, with a prospect of much 
more. Breakfast was eaten long before daylight, and 
every one was anxious for the day to break. Everything 
was activity in the camp of my opponents, the checkmen 
tying great rolls of meat into bundles, preparatory to pack- 
ing it for transportation on their ponies. 
As daylight began to appear, I saw by the movements 
of the Indians that they intended to do something different 
from what they had done on the previous two days, for a 
young buck who was not one of the competitors, brought 
in his horse, saddled him, placed his riata on the saddle, 
wiped out his gun and filled the magazine with a fresh lot 
of cartridges. 
The others had made no sign of getting ready, although 
I had my horse ready to mount as soon as it was light 
enough to see the sights of the gun. When this time 
came, I threw a fresh load in my gun, strapped a brace of 
revolvers on my cantenos and started, the young Indian 
following. It dawned upon me at once that the scheme 
was to have him follow me during the day as volunteer 
company. This did not please me, for I knew that if I 
should see any game and try to steal up on it, he would 
in all probability frighten it before I could get a shot. 
This was what he was sent along for, and the question was 
how to get rid of him without giving offense. 
He was then about 50 yards behind me, and I called 
him up, intending to gain his confidence, and after 
awhile give him the slip, so he now joined me, following 
close behind in Indian file. 
My plan for the day was to follow the trail we came 
out on fifteen or twenty miles, and then make a detour 
to the right and skirt the head of the caiions which faced 
the Grande Ronde River, for in these places there was 
sure to be a rich hunting ground. 
We were now traveling over a level plateau, covered 
with a light growth of yellow pine timber, with just 
enough snow on the ground to hold the tracks of any game 
traveling. After a ride of two hours we came upon the 
track of a very large grizzly bear, which had crossed the 
trail but a few minutes before. I could see plainly that my 
Indian friend was scared, and when I told him that I was 
going to follow the track and try to kill the bear, he ob- 
jected, saying: "Mica hiu mamelouse," meaning he will 
kill you quickly, but he concluded to go, although I was in 
hopes that he would leave me. 
We did not have to go far before my horse got scent 
of the grizzly, and gave a terrific snort, and it was all I 
could do to keep his head toward the enemy. The bear 
had entered a thick growth of young pine, fir and 
tamarack trees, which was so dense that we could not ride 
through it, so I told my companion to go around this to 
the right, while I would go to the left, and we would 
meet on the opposite side, and if the bear had left the 
thickets, his tracks would be seen. 
We had separated but a few minutes when I heard most 
terrific yells. I was sure the bear had caught the fel- 
low, so I turned my horse, put my spurs to him, and went 
flying over logs, through the brush toward the noise. 
When I reached a point where I could see the young 
brave, he was going toward camp as fast as his horse 
could carry him, his long, thick hair streaming behind, and 
laying on the whip for dear life, while giving the most 
frantic, blood-curdling Indian yells. The bear had got 
scent of me and stampeded toward the Indian, who was so 
badly scared that he forgot all about using his gun. I did 
not see him again that day, so I was alone, bear and 
Indian both gone, 
I then went around the thicket until I came to the 
place where he had seen the grizzly, and from the leaps 
the latter had made, it was evident that he was as 
badly scared as the Indian. I followed the track as 
fast as possible, until it entered a great windfall, through 
which I could not ride, and it would have been a warm 
reception the bear would have given me if he had caught 
me in such a place on foot. It was always my practice not 
to shoot a grizzly unless I was up a tree or on the back of 
a horse, so I reluctantly gave him up. The Indian had 
probably prevented my obtaining the great prize, which 
would have scored 1,000 points. 
It was getting late in the afternoon now, and I at once 
returned to my original plan. 
In the second canon after reaching the brow of the 
mountain, looking down into the Grande Ronde VaUey, I 
came upon as fine a herd of black-tailed deer as I ever 
saw, containing at least a hundred head. They were 
below me on a bench which extended out from the main 
range. I took three cartridges in my hand, selected a 
good deer and dropped him in his tracks, and reloaded 
again as quickly as possible. The echo of the report of 
the gun seemed to confuse the deer, and they merely 
bcftinded around and then stopped. I dropped another, 
and then another, now having three — all I could carry. 
Although I could have killed as many more, I refrained, 
it being my practice never to kill more g'~" I 
could use. When I emerged from my covert, the herd 
went bounding away, a magnificent sight. 
1 then walked down to where my prizes lay, took my 
sheath knife and cut off the heads, dressed the bodies, 
unjointed the legs at the knees, skinned the lower legs 
down to the feet, cut a slit through the hide just above the 
forefeet, and run the hind foot through the slit, making 
what hunters call saddle bags out of the deer. Then, with 
the aid of a sapling already described, I hung them on 
the saddle, one on each side hanging with the back down. 
The third I placed in the middle and then lashed the three 
as one around the horns of the saddle with the riata. The 
deer thus well secured, I shouldered my gun and started 
at sunset for camp, at least ten miles away, I made 
haste to reach the trail before dark, after which I felt 
easy. My horse, having such a heavy load, had to travel 
slowly down the mountain, and it was almost 9 o'clock 
when I reached camp. 
Every one rushed out to see what I had, and when 
they looked at the horse by the dim light, they were 
amazed, as they could see nothing of him but head and 
tail, he was so completely covered with deer. 
The checkmen soon had him uncovered, and while at 
work keiDt up a chatter of complimentary remarks about 
the white himter, at the same time heaping ridicule upon 
their husbands, the red men, calling them "old women," 
which is the worst insult an Indian can receive. 
My opponents had also brought in three deer, scoring 
in the three days 600 points, having brought into camp six 
deer. 
My score was i,ioo, consisting of six deer and one elk, 
A fine dinner was subsequently given in Kansas City by 
the defeated party, at which all the members of our com- 
pany were present, except the white hunter who, on ac- 
count of business demands, was not able to attend. 
The young Indian had good cause for his frantic fear, 
for about two years before the events related, seven In- 
dians of the same tribe had encountered a mammoth 
grizzly, and in the struggle with him, six of them were 
killed, their bodies being horribly mangled and dismem- 
bered. The one who escaped the great beast was badly 
wounded, but he crawled to camp and told the story._ The 
next morning the great beast, with immense claws 6 inches 
long, was found in a dying condition. He was quickly 
dispatched, and his hide, which contained as many as fifty 
or sixty gashes from the knives of the luckless Indians, 
was preserved. It was for a long time, and is prob- 
ably now, kept at the Laprairie Indian Agency. 
G. W. Williams. 
Moose Calling. 
Providence, R. L, Feb. 16. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
I hand you herewith for publication, if you like, a letter 
I received two years ago from Frank H. Risteen. 
Like many other American sportsmen, I valued Mr, 
Risteen's friendship and mourn his loss. Everywhere in 
this eastern country 1 meet men who are indebted to 
him, and his facile pen was always imparting information 
for the pleasure of his fellows. Fred Talcott, 
Fredericton, Oct. 16. — ^Dear Mr. Talcott : I was much 
interested by the account of your efforts to hyptonize the 
expatriated bull moose. If you and I could have tem- 
porarily changed places that beautiful Friday evening I 
think we would both have enjoyed the experience, for 
while you were calling up or "calling down" (for he seems 
to have taken your remarks offensively) the moose at 
Providence, I was calling up a bull moose in his native 
wilds at a little pond on one of the branches of Bear 
Brook. 
I am not certain that I told you when here that I was 
going out soon for a short trip to the Bear Brook and 
Little River region. At all events I left the following 
Wednesday and came back on the ensuing Saturday. 
Friday night, about sun-down, I called a few times _at 
this pond-laole, and at last received an answer from a dis- 
tant ridge. The woods were as still as death, and the 
grunts of the moose as he drew nigh could be heard with 
the utmost distinctness. I don't think it would be an 
exaggeration to say that he grunted 200 times. Being 
som.ewhat inexperienced in such matters — for it was the 
first time in my lite that I had ever heard a moose com- 
ing from a distance to the call — I could not figure out 
how far he was away, but think he must have been about 
a mile off when he started. Sometimes he would seem to 
pause and listen, and then, when I would call again, he 
would respond and open his throttle valve. It was a very 
exciting experience. My companion had a double-bar- 
relled shotgun, loaded with ball, and (as he told me 
later), intended to give him both barrels at once! I had 
my old favorite Martini, and we crouched behind a bush 
so as to be ready the moment the moose hove in sight. 
I reckoned that moose just the same as dead. But, as 
usual, it was the unexpected that happened. Whether I 
made some blunder in the calling as he came close up 
which made him suspicious; or whether he was naturally 
a wary old customer; or whether he had been recently 
beaten in a fight: or whether he caught as he approached 
a vagrant whiff' of human scent — at all events, when he 
came to the head of the pond, about 100 hundred yards 
awajf, he did not show himself, as we expected, but came 
down through the thicket of alders and ancient rampikes 
that flanked the right side of the pond. He came within 
60 yards of us, and there remained some time, now and 
then snapping a stick, or brushing the twigs with his 
horns, and occasionally indulging in a grunt. After 
perhaps 15 minutes he turned and made back, still grunt- 
ing at intervals, and crossing the brook above the pond 
(still keeping to the shelter of the bushes), he came down 
towards us on the left side of the pond, which was the 
side we were on. 
We then shifted to the right side of the pond, as it 
gave us, we thought, a better chance to see his form 
against the background of the sky. But though he came 
fully as close as on the first occasion we could not catch 
a glimpse of him. It was then moonlight, and approach- 
ing 7 o'clock. I tried every scheme I could think of to 
bring him out, such as pouring water out of the horn, 
and also withdrawing to a distance and calling, while my 
companion remained behind with the fire-arms, but all 
without effect. We heard him take a long inward breath as 
though he had caught our scent, and that was the very 
