Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-01-29
A Moose Hunt in the Maine Woods.
BY C. A. STEPHENS

BY C. A. STEPHENS
So many tourists, Young and old, have
come down into the Maine lake region the
past summer to camp out in the country OF
the whispering pine, and hunt that noble
came. the moose. that | deem it not un-
likely that many of our young folks, espe-
ciallv our boys, would enjoy moose hunt,
even on paper. A prominent lumber
merchant Of the Pine Tree State has kindly
furnished me with one of his youthful ex-
ploits in this line, which | have attempted
To write out.
There were four of us, and we We're rath-
er oueer party. There was old Ben Murch,
lumberman and hunter well known in that
region: Il young Penobscot Indian named
Lewis. or. as he was more commonly call
ed. Lewey;" young Boston chap
named Larkin, but whom We had nick
named Larks,' and myself. We had
cone up from Bangor to the head of Ches-
uncook Lake, then as now sort OF supply
depot for the logging-camps.
When mention that one OF our party
was an Indian, some may perhaps think
that he was Il savage,-one OF the Dian
keted, tomahawking sort. Quite the con-
trarv. Lewev was a very sensible matter
of-fact Young man dressed like Christian,
and. saving Il tendency to extreme brevIty,
spoke very fair English. Indeed. the fel-
low was quite humorist in certain, dry,
terse wav of his own. and very tolerable
company of an evening. Murch and he
frequently hunted together, selling the
venison ut the neighboring logging-campS.
And on the evening preceding the first
dav of our hunt, February ), Lewey had
come down to the head from his wlgwam,
or winter camp, Oh the CusabeXls. One
versed in woodcraft might well wonder
how two experienced hunters should hap
pen to take a couple of boys with them on
a moose hunt, Well, | suspect that LarkS
used undue-possibly pecuniary-intluence
with them Such things are sometimes
done.
Day broke clear and frosty. We Were
off bv sunrisc-on snow-shoes. The snow
was crisp. And rs the early sun-rays tell
in thronrh the bare tree-topS the whole all
resounded with the sharp swapping OF the
frozen wood, relaxed by the warmth An
hours walk took us across the lowland>
between the supply-depot and the river
1.-THE West Branch ofthe PenohscOtj, which
enters the lake at some distance above.
Crossing the river on the ice a little below
Pine Stream Falls,-so near that we could
hear the plunging waters.-we began tc
ascend the ridgy slopes which lead NJ
among the highlands in Township No. Y,
in Range XIV.
Now. BOYS" said Ben. stopping to
tighten the strings of his snow-shoes. " the
less We say and the fewer twigs We snap
the better: for, unless I'm much mista-
ken. :. pointing to the cropped branches OF
a yellow birch. I've shall come upon a
ward within couple of hours. So keep
whist. Mind the going. Don't tread on
the dry brush You youngsters may as
we'll keep few rods behind And when
ever raise my hand-so-stop, both of
you. stock-stiIl. Il.-and don't move till |
tell yc"
Thus instructed we moved cautiously on
again
What does the old fellow mean by a
.yard?'" whispered Larks, as we picked
our way along behind. And rs some 9th
ers NAV perchance need word in eXpla-
nation. we will try to give ii.
Suppose. as is often the ease, that late
in the fall. Just as the SHOWS are coming, a
herd of moose-a dozen say. though gen
erallv not more than three or four-are
browsing on the bank of a river, or along
the shore of a pond or lake \ snow
storm comes on. and there falls Il foot. per-
haps. Naturally enough. the moose don't
90 over rs much ground next day after
their browse rs if the ground We're bare.
And verv likely, too, since it is natural
for all creatures to follow beaten paths.-
nor are human beings eXceptions,-very
likely. | say, that nightfall will find them
retracing their steps to the place whence
they started in the morning. And thus
they will remain for several days. not 90
inc over more than mile or two OF
Ground, unless disturbed by wolves or
men. Then comes another storm, with
another foot of snow This makes walk
inc about still more laborious. And the
moose. consulting their ease, 60 about still
less. 50 they keep on, narrowing, their
feeding ground after every storm. till,
when the snow has become four and five
or six feet deep, it is nothing unusual to
find a herd of from three to II dozen snow
ed into Il ward of from five to thirty acres,
with deep beaten paths running through il
in every direction, the twigs cropped and
bark gnawcd from all the trees.
believe this the more satisfactory ex-
PLANTATION of a moose-yard, though many
so-called natrralsts will tell you that the
moose select their yard before the SHOWS
come,-that they are in this matter gov
erned bv instinct" All of which you may
safely believe the moment they satisfacto
rilv define that word, instinct.
Now, if u hunter can steal up unobserv-
ed, or rather unheard, within rifie-shot o.
one of these yards, why, he stands good
chance of securing one of the herd, at
least. But the difficulty is to approach
unperceived. For there is no keener-eareo
animal under the sun than moose. They
will often hear or smell a man half 4 mile
and that, too, when there is no perceptiblt
breeze. The only chance of surprising ;
ward is when there's Il stiff breeze from ii
and then it is a pretty ticklish job. and bu
rarely done.
A little farther on we saw where clus
ter of hazel-bushes had been bitten off
and soon shrubby pine with all its lower
branches stripped Of their t;assels. Thes'
were indications of a yard not many mile
off The moose had been here; but latel
SHOWS had covered the track.
We walked on with as little noise a
possible 1t was rather blind work
though; for the thick mixed growth mad
it impossible to see more than six or eigh