VOL. LXXXVI 
JANUARY, 1916 
No. 1 
The King Moose of the Minnesota Woods 
How Huge Bulls Battled for Supremacy While two Alert Campers Sat Silently in a Canoe Watching 
an Unusual Contest 
By C. H. Lockwood. 
(Original Drawings by the Author) 
HE year 
1915 found 
M innesota 
the only 
State in 
the Union 
where the 
a v e r a g e 
big-game hunter could legally 
stalk his majesty, the “bull 
moose.” True, for the first time in 
twelve years, Wyoming allowed moose 
hunting on a limited scale, the experiment 
being, that fifty bull moose may be killed in the 
whole State under $100 licenses, instead of an 
indefinite number during a limited season. In 
Minnesota every hunter who purchases a big 
game license is permitted to kill and ship, within 
the State, one deer (buck or doe) and one male, 
antlered bull moose. 
Just why Minnesota happens to be the only 
State where moose-hunting is permitted by law, 
is perhaps largely a matter of circumstance. 
When the average reader thinks of moose-hunt¬ 
ing, it is safe to suppose that his mind reverts 
either to Maine, or New Brunswick, for the 
reason that certain writers have made the Maine 
woods and the New Brunswick forests famous 
in literature. On the other hand, while Minne¬ 
sota probably possesses equally as many moose 
as Maine, yet, it has never been written up ex¬ 
tensively in either the national or the local press; 
and there are thousands of people in central 
and southern Minnesota who know very little 
about the numbers of moose roaming the wilder¬ 
ness country throughout the northern part of 
the State. 
It is encouraging to note that while Minne¬ 
sota has at the present time a goodly number 
of moose, she is also in a fair way to protect 
and increase these animals, rather than see 
them destroyed or diminished. What 
is known as the “Superior Federal 
Photo By Coombs, Bangor 
Forest and Game Preserve” is a tract of land 
comprising nearly two million acres, in northern 
Cook, Lake, and St. Lewis counties,—a natural 
breeding grounds for the moose and a haven of 
refuge. 
The Game and Fish Commission of Minne¬ 
sota has been practically reduced to the author¬ 
ity of one man, the acting secretary, Mr. Carlos 
Avery, of Hutchinson, Minnesota. 
The most important work lately 
connected with the big game pro¬ 
tection theory in Minnesota, was 
the making of game wardens out 
of all the Federal and State, fire 
and forest rangers. These men 
are now clothed with authority to 
make arrests for game law viola¬ 
tions, and they are of particular 
service within the big “Superior 
Preserve.” 
In practically all of the northern counties, 
moose may be found in fair numbers; but per¬ 
haps the especial locality which has annually at¬ 
tracted the most moose hunters is along the 
north shore of Lake Superior. Grand Marais, 
Beaver Bay, Chicago Bay, and Lutson are some 
of the principal stopping points for moose hunters 
in the north shore country. While moose hunting 
has never been as popular a sport in Minnesota as 
deer hunting, yet its possibilities are as great, 
or even greater, and the pursuit of these big 
animals necessarily brings forth some of the 
highest degrees of sportsmanship. Moose hunt¬ 
ing is no lazy man’s job, for, being shy of the 
smell of smoke, and the sound of axes, one 
must follow his quarry back into the real wilder¬ 
ness, usually over rough trails, where the pack 
sack plays an important part in transporting the 
necessities for the hunter, and, where brawn 
and muscle may mean success or failure. 
One of the most popular methods of moose 
hunting is what is commonly known as “moose 
calling.” Whether the deceptive call is made in 
imitation of the calling of a cow moose in 
mating time, or, is an imitation of the lowing 
of a bull moose, is a point upon which not all 
moose hunters will agree. In connection with 
