Dec. 7, i0tjl.J 
♦ii^h ^bt fittest on ifs feet again and dropped dead. 
The dittei'fehSfc feeHV^eh the actions of a deef and elk 
wlien struck by a ball is fdrtiafkable. While a deer 
shows in a very lively way when it is stf tiCKg Uti elk, on 
the eontra.rv, seldom ever flinches, so that you may iJe 
M-if^t-rnhfe ii' leloSiely and yet not know whether or not it 
Is ilk. 
A great difference is also showri ufctWeeft the two ani- 
mals when wounded and being followed. Ko trisftter 
i!,f)>v badly a deer is wounded, "it is hard to approach, 
fi4W8ys iiSilig its tlsaal catition in selecting a place to lie 
down, wliile aii elk lVif:H ttiottui Wound will often lie 
down with its head behind a log M itte, so that its head 
is hid from view as it is approached ffotti Wetlind, while 
tHib^y^may be exposed to view, thus giving trie liufitef 
everj^ iiavahta^fe; 
Before reaching the age Ot Iiai'ing opportunity to be 
among big game, I eagerly read evefyfniftg I could get 
the subject, either in the way of natural htscofy and 
intorrriaiiOll Concerning their habits and living, or simply 
narration of expefiehi^es; but found most of rny read- 
ing of no practical benefit when It e&me to getting into 
the ^oods arnong the real, live gatiie; and only by hard 
txperienjse eah -tve learn fully of their ways. 
Tlie bid ifiai^jiti, "Leai-n to do a thing by doing it, 
would apply to no pufsUit faettef than that of hunting. 
A novice who was very desirous of iearnihg 1lo-«V to hunt 
bees once traveled many miles to see old Petef Fyock, 
bfib bf the old-time veteran hunters, who was the last 
6f 3lit:H chafficf-ers of my acquaintance to pass away, to 
seeui-e from hihi the desifed information. After learn- 
ihg his mission, old Petef said to hiftl, in his slow, de- 
liberate way, "Oh. it's a tfade, and yoti have to learn 
it!'' That was all the information he received for his 
tfqtlble: 
It was al'Ways trly habit when hunting on snow to fol- 
low the first track of garfie 1 cattle to, no matter whether 
Was ffesh ot riot, so long as its direction did not con- 
flict tbt) widely With the general difeetion I wished to 
hunt. Once, whilfe following ah old track of a single 
buck, I crossed a very fresh tfack of a fawn. The tracks 
crossed at right angles, the fawn going directly toward 
home. I halted and reasoned with myself thus, "If I 
keep on after this big deer, old as the trail is. I may 
get it, and the chances are about equal that I won't get 
ft If I switch ofif after this fawn, it being alone. I can 
be stife of getting it, but I won't have so much when I 
do get it- Which shall it be?'* 
After weighing the chances and balancing them with 
the weight of the deer, I decided that, as I needed some 
meat at ohce. I had better be sure of a small piece than 
tiike chances on a larger. I started after the fawn, 
full of confidence. In an hour I had it scared up. witli- 
out having seen or heard it. For six hours I pushed on 
after it, with a grim determination to have it. After 
dark -I tramped wearily home without having seen it. 
I declared that I would not be outdone by a fawn, and 
before the sun was up next morning I was on its 
trail where I had left it, and by 9 o'clock was so close 
to where it Was feeding that I found its droppings still 
smoking. It was an ideal morning to hunt; the sun 
was shining warmly and made the snow soft; but not- 
withstanding all the favorable conditions, and my ex- 
treme caution, that blamed critter got out from under 
my very nose without my seeing or hearing it; and all 
day long I followed it, using all the caution and strategy 
I knew, and at night I left it about where I had the 
night before, and went home, tired, but so much wiser 
than I was two days before. 
Two years of argument could not have convinced me 
that a fawn with five or six months' experience, alone in 
the woods, on a good tracking snow, could so completely 
- outwit me, with several years' successful hunting ex- 
perience, that in two days I could not so much as get 
a fleeting glimpse of it or even hear it; but two days 
of hard experience did the business. I hope it is 
living yet, a wise old deer, successfully baffling all pur- 
suit. Emerson Carney. 
Maine Hunting. 
Boston, Nov. 30. — Still the big-game hunters who have 
suffered from the deep snows and early winter weather in 
Maine are coming in. Mr. William G. Harding and Mr. 
Theodore Ripley, both of the Boston Herald mechanical 
force, have just got home from their annual hunting trip. 
They went to Patten, Me., and thence to the Sebois region, 
as they have done in each other's company for several 
seasons. Last year, it will be remembered, that Mr. Rip- 
ley shot the big moose, an account of which appeared in 
the Forest and Stream at the time, and early this season 
a most readable article concerning the same hunt. This 
jfall they intended to go in fourteen or fifteen miles on 
foot, toward the Allaguash, further than the transporta- 
tion of twenty-five miles by buckboard from the railroad. 
They took tents, and intended to make a thoroughlv out- 
of-door trip, away up the East Branch of Sortie Brook. 
But the first day in the woods it snowed, at which they 
were much rejoiced. The second day it snowed, and 
snowed nearly two feet, at which they were considerably 
disturbed. They came upon a deserted camp, after 
making not one-half the distance they had intended from 
the buckboard road, and concluded to stay in this camp. 
They did not pitch their tents at all, as the snow lasted 
all the time they were in the woods, with occasional aug- 
mentations. They easily got their two deer each, hand- 
some bucks, while the guides took a couple for food at 
the camp. They saw a number of moose of the spike-horn 
sort, but these neither wanted, as both have splendid 
moose heads to their credit a]read3^ The novelty of buck 
deer fighting they looked upon with wonder, seeing the 
battles several times. In the midst of one of these battles 
Mr. Harding shot one of the bucks. The other got away, 
after giving his fallen foe a parting gore. Partridges were 
vinusually scarce, and Mr. Harding attributes this to the 
great abundance of foxes, black cats or fishers, sables and 
weasels. They at once found their camp infested with 
weasels — little white fellows with only tips of brown at 
the end of their tails. They tracked sables and saw a 
■number of ■ foxes. Fishers they tried hard to get sight 
of and within shooting distance, ^ut did not succeed. 
Theg? say that they had little idea of the amount ef such 
orame m that region till they saw the tracks on the fresh 
FOREST ANt> STREAM 
snows. Breaking 'camp and tramping out to the buck- 
board road was particularly difficult for men not accus- 
tomed to wading through two or three feet of snow, but 
they earns out ahve, and feel well repaid in experience and 
the novelty of being in the woods with so much snow on 
th« ground. They are not just ready to try it again, how- 
ever. 
Maine gunners have been reaping a harvest of deer 
since the snows have fallen. The animals are being 
killed nearer to the settlements than ever before. It is 
certaifi that the number of deer killed by Maine citizens 
is greater than the number killed by non-residents, and 
still there is talk of taxing sportsmen who come from 
outside of the State. 
44^ 
MoLUNCUS, Me., Nov. 29. — Here we are in the Maine 
dee" c'ottfttfy. The snow is deep — nearly two feet — but 
there are sportsmen here, and they are getting game. 
Nearly seventy deer have been forwarded from James 
.Millmore's place this fall, and eight go to-morrow morn- 
ing. Sportsmen have no trouble in getting their full 
equal quota. Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Connell go out with 
four deer to theif credit. Mrs. Connell shot one yester- 
day herself, and Miss N. Knight, of Newburg, has shot 
two this fall. Both women are brave about the weather. 
They go out dressed for braving the snow — rubber 
boots and sweaters. The best feature of this point is that 
the deer are to be found within a mile of Millmore's 
plaec, Dr. Chapin, of Springfield, also goes out to- 
morrow with his full quota of deer. A sister of Miss 
Knight had a funny experience last fall here. She is 
accustomed to the woods; shoots partridges every fall. 
Last fall she came up with a lady friend, also in love with 
shooting. Miss Knight took her friend ai'ound the 
woods, hunting, and they had good luck partridge shoot- 
ing. Somebody told the story down at Bangor. They 
informed the game warden that Miss Knight was guid- 
ing without a license. The warden came up to investi- 
gate. He looked into the case, and wisely concluded 
to let the lady hunters alone. Prof. J. F. Moody, of 
Auburn, is here, and out after deer. 
Special. 
Some Thoughts Upon f Moose 
Hunting* 
A FORTNIGHT ago, while sitting with a companion be- 
side a New Brunswick barren, I discovered a cow moose 
and her calf feeding toward us. We had a small but 
hot and almost smokeless fire made of branches of dry 
juniper. The day was r^w and the sky overcast. It 
was noontime, and we had just finished our luncheon. 
The moose were not more than 100 yards away and 
were absolutely in the open. We arose, and when I 
saw that there were no horns, I laid down my rifle and 
got out my camera. The cow was large, probably 
weighing 900 pounds, and to my surprise, she had a 
good-sized bell. The calf (perhaps a yearling) was 
nearly as tall as the cow, but of course slender. They 
fed slowly to within 70 or 80 yards of us, then turned 
about and finally wandered again very slowly in our 
direction. We were standing in plain view. The cow 
came on, while the calf seemed to have found particu- 
larly attractive ground and lingered behind. At 60 yards 
the cow observed us, looked intently a few moments, 
then resumed her feeding and advanced slightly to one 
side. She looked several times, and at last, when 25 
yards away and exactly down wind, receiving both the 
smoke from the fire and our scent, she looked at us, laid 
back her ears, and we thought had a generally cross ex- 
pression. After smelling and looking, she went on feed- 
ing. It has been suggested to me that the omoke may 
have destroyed or obscured our scent. 
In the meantime I had made three exposures, and 
as the calf came on turned and snapped him. He saw 
my movement, looked a moment, then trotted toward 
the cow and nearer to us. She appeared alarmed at his 
action, and together they trotted perhaps 40 yards, then 
walked on through scattering trees and out of sight. 
Last year a woodsman met a bull moose coming out 
of a thicket into a logging road, and not over 20 yards 
ahead of him. The moose saw him, looked a little while, 
then stepped out into the road, apparently to get a better 
view, and stood gazing until shot. This year the same 
man met a bull moose in such a road, and having a heavy 
pack on his back, and not wanting a moose, he stood 
and waited for the animal to leave. The bull moose 
showed no fear, and at length the man slipped his arms 
out of the pack straps, laid down his burden, and after 
giving his lordship ample time to escape, shot him. The 
moose turned partly around and fell dead. 
These and similar experiences lead me to the follow- 
ing suggestions: 
First — That the moose is not particularly keen of 
vision, and is warned of danger chiefly by hearing and 
smell. 
Second — ^That the knowledge of man's presence, gained 
hy sight only, and in the open, does not greatly alarm 
the moose and does not spell danger. I take it that man 
appears rather insignificant, is regarded with curiosity, 
and so long as he remains in sight, excites little fear. 
However, once let him vanish after being seen, and the 
moose departs in haste. 
Third — That the moose, unless frequently shot at and 
concurrently followed or hit, has little regard for the 
noise of a gun; in other words, he pays no attention 
to the report unless it be accompanied by other signals 
of danger. I know a gentleman who some years ago 
fired an old army musket twelve times at a moose in the 
open about 250 yards away, without disturbing his feed- 
ing, though he looked about once or twice. Of course, 
the moOse would have been alarmed had the bullets 
struck under or near him, but they plainly went high 
and struck far beyond, and he heard only the report of 
the gun. Of course, the moose does not comprehend the 
nature of man's weapon, nor the flight of a death-dealing 
missile, nor possible injury to himself from a creature at 
a distance, but he maj'' know by bitter experience, or 
more likely the noise of bullets striking objects near 
alarms him. 
Fourth — It is my belief that the moose fears, more than 
all other enemies, the bear, which constantly destroys 
the young, and often attacks even the cows. Of «ourse 
the bear travels silently and stealthily, and the first 
warning of his presence is often the fatal rush, There- 
fore, let the moose hear any unusual sound when he 
cannot see its cause, and he waits not an instant; he 
says, "Bear!" and flees in a panic. 
I suppose in the cases mentioned above, where the 
woodsman shot the moose, had the man been wearing 
a fur coat and walking on all fours the moose would in- 
stantly have shown great excitement and would either 
have charged at once or have fled. 
It should be remembered that moose, like men, have 
various dispositions, and that the same moose at differ- 
ent seasons or in varying states of health will behave 
diversely, A rutting bull moose of mature years fears 
nothing which lives in the woods, nor even man, while 
at other times he may show much caution. There are 
times, as in summer, while there is no shooting, when all 
moose seem to realize a truce with mankind. At a lake 
I know a few miles from a New Brunswick village, both 
bulls -and cows frequently appear unconcernedly on one 
side while men and boys gather cranberries on the other 
side only a few hundred yards away in plain sight. 
I heard a good deal of complaint regarding the small- 
bore rifles, and rumor had it that Henry Braithwaite's 
parties had this year , wounded and lost many moose, 
much to his disappointment as well as sorrow. Further, 
that he attributed the loss to the use of the small-bore 
rifles. The question to my mind is one largely deter- 
mined by the temperament and experience of the hunter. 
The cool and experienced shot will kill cleanly and 
surely with either style of gun, and naturally prefers the 
lighter weapon witKlow trajectory. The average sports- 
man, however, is inexperienced, is usually under ex- 
citement which is often increased by the nervous anxiety 
and hasty and copious advice of his guide, and is likely 
to shoot, if not wildly, at least inaccurately and without 
deliberation. I met a gentleman returning from his first 
moose hunt — one of the crack trapshooters of the States 
— who confessed to having killed his moose with seven 
shots- from a Mannlicher, no one of which struck the 
heart or lungs, and his caribou with the thirteenth shot 
from the same gun, having missed the other twelve. 
Comment would be superfluous. The gentleman realized 
that such shooting was inexcusable; and I predict that 
he will some day be as expert with the "queen of 
weapons'' as he now is with the scatter gun. I would 
give to the cool and certain shot a small bore, but the 
ordinary hunter will be less cruel and have less disap- 
pointment if he uses the large bore. The .30 is a lancet, 
deadly indeed, but allowing the animal not hit in heart, 
lungs or spine, time to travel beyond reach. The large 
bore, on the other hand, is a club which paralyzes by 
concussion, and bleeds for tracking. Humanity, as well 
as success, fellow sportsmen, require that we do not 
shoot until we have used all possible ingenuity and skill 
to get to close quarters with the game, and then that 
we shoot deliberately and unerringly. 
M. F. Westover. 
Protection Near New York. 
Mr. J. E. Overton, who has become famous for his 
pursuit of game and fish law violators on Long Island, 
has continued his good work through the autumn. 
In September he had three St. James men fined $25 
for taking scallops before the open season. In October 
he caused a Bay Shore man to pay $100 for offering for 
sale ruffed grouse before the season opened. 
During the deer season on Long Island he watched 
the deer grounds very closely, and the general belief is 
that very few were taken illegally. About 100 were killed 
during the open season, and among them some very 
good bucks. 
Mr. Overton recognizes the importance of breaking 
up the shipping of game to market from Long Island. 
On Nov. II he took two boxes in the express car of the 
Long Island Express Company, on the morning train 
from Wading River, and found five partridges and 
twenty-one quail. He has begun actions against the 
shippers for the recory of $385 in each of the two cases. 
On attempting to repeat his inspection the next morning 
the express company refused him entrance to their car. 
A visit to the express company by Mr. Overton's at- 
torney produced during the day a telegram announcing 
that the refusal had been reconsidered, and that their 
cars might be inspected. Since then no opposition has 
been offered. 
Also on Nov. 11, Mr. Overton seized three grouse in 
possession of a newsboy on a train from Greenport. 
These were pinnated grouse, and evidently snared birds, 
and may very possibly be birds turned out by some 
preserve or club people near Greenport, on Shelter 
Island. The destruction of such rare and valuable birds 
by the pot-hunter is shameful and also discouraging. 
Mr. Overton has also recently arrested a Jerseyman 
taking scallops in Peconic Bay in violation of Section 
128, and two other men for throwing starfish into the 
waters of Peconic Bay. One of the latter is in jail for 
thirty days. 
The cold storage people's attorney had entered a de- 
murrer to the game protector's complaint, and there is 
no telling when the case will come to trial. 
Newfottndland Caribou. 
Boston, Nov. 25. — I note your request to readers of 
Forest and Stream to report their luck on shooting and 
fishing trips. My trip was to the Grand Lake barre'ns of 
Newfoundland in the latter part of last September, cari- 
bou shooting. I secured three. The largest weighed be- 
tween 400 and 500 pounds. The head has thirtj^-five 
points, and is perfect. The next largest has twenty points, 
and one doe seven points. Samuel Wax. 
President Lo«bet as a Sportsman ♦ 
In his youth. President Loubet was an indefatigable 
hunter, and has kept up this love for the sport. His 
favorite occupation at his country place, Rambouillet, is 
hunting. He is a tireless walker, and is fond of going 
off with a single game-keeper in search of his game. 
"You may smoke your segar, Joseph," he will say, and 
chatting pleasantly, the two set forthf the president for- 
getting the cares of state in his pursuit of the feathered 
or furry prey. 
