Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-02-07
GIANTS OF THE WOODS.


From the :" Emigrant and Sportsman in Canada
From the Goth of September to the
Goth of October is the season for moose
calling, and the full of the moon is the
best time, as the bulls seldom come ur
to call before sunset i have had most
success in that short half hour between
shutdown and dark. Later than that
even with moonlight, no one can make
sure of his shot, and the moose, though
not q very difficult animal to kill, is,
have always thought, more tenacious
! of life at this time of the year than at
any other, and require to be hit in the
right spot. The old bulls leave off call
the soonest, and the young ones / have
called as late as the first of November.
They are very pugnacious in the season.
and tight desperately. LA.''3> 3o
! On one occasion, had it not been for
my Impotence, should have witnessed
one OF these encounters. I was calling
IN little barren or open space in the
woods, and during quarter of an hour
of breathless suspense 1 could hear two
bulls advancing toward me from diff
ferent directions, and both so near that
it was a tossup which would come first.
At last one fellow came out into the
open and stood defantly awaiting the
approach of his rival, whom he could
plainly hear rampaging through the
neighboring thicket. Had been able
to control my Impotence for minute
or two, I should no doubt have seen q
set-to between these gigantic beasts;
but it is q hard matter for the sports
man to keep his finger off the trigger
of his rifle when beast some II or 10
hands high, and with q pair of antlers
| five feet in the stretch lying back on his
withers, stands broadside on within
fifty yards. The ptation was too
much for me, and as [ fired I heard
the horns of his would-be antagonist
crashing through the alder bushes not
fifty yards off. After getting his death
wound he never moved while one
might count thirty, and then lurching
heavily once or twice like a boat in q
sea, he came down with crash, stone
dead. On another occasion wounded
bull charged me repeatedly, in most
determined but rather laundering way.
Fortunately was in the woods, and
had no difficulty in avoiding his attacks
by lodging round the trees. Had it
been in the open / might not have
fare so well. aa lint .er.-.
l know of nothing more exciting
than to hear moose slowly approach
ing through the woods; one is some
times kept on the tiptoe of expecta-
ton for half an hour Or even longer.
The stiffness after sunset is so pro-
found that his slightest movement is
distinctly audible. The sportsmen
hardly dares to breathe; and when at
last the animal comes out on the lake
or opening within range it is a grand
moment, If happily he has not delayed
his coming till too late to be seen.
Mooses walk at the rate of about four
Lilies an hour, even in the woods so
thick that it is hard to understand how
they get their horns through. They
carry their heads high, noses well up,
and horns thrown back on their with
ers. When disturbed they move in a
long stumbling trot, clearing every OBJ
struction in their stride; they never
jump or gallop.
The Nova Scotian Indians are the
best moose callers in the world, and
among them the old men are better
thar the young ones. [ have never
seen q white man who could call moose
really well. .v5-..
Sometimes moose answer to the call
much moro readily than at others. I
once brought up young bull by tear
ing piece of birch bark off a tree to
make horn; he heard the noise and
came up, so had no further trouble.
have at different times brought up
moose from distance who cane to
my call unsuspiciciously, without need
ing any further stimulus in the shape
of a low, half-suppressed call which the
more wary old bullssometimes need to
bring them within shot. These low
calls, made when the moose is pausing,
uncertain whether to come or go, close
to the caller, yet not within shot, re-
uuire the greatest skill-a false note,
and all is lost. I have at times seen an
old Indian trembling with excitement,
the small end of his horn to his lips,
the other end on the ground to deaden
the sound-his face pulled up with the
volumes of wind he is pouring into his
horn, which produce a low and far-of
sounding series of grunts. u &c -.
As the haunts of the moose are in
thick forests where it is impossible to
see any object at a greater distance off
than sixty or seventy yards, and as their
senses of hearing and smell are very
acute, it requires more skill and expert
ence to creep them in the fall than it
does to hunt any other animal in this
country. The Micmacs of Nova Scotia
are by far the, best moose hunters.
The hunters would seem to require two
or three pairs of eyes instead of one.
He must steer clear of rotten sticks,
for to tread on one is ruin to our hopes,
and the ground is covered with them
AS he creeps along on fresh tracks he
must keep sharp lookout for the ami
NAL and at the same time watch the
wind and the browse. Unlike the Carl
boo, who are always travelling about,
feeding as they go along, the moose,
when the rutting season is over, if not
disturbed, choose locality Astounding
with their favorite browse-young
maple and moose-wood- remain there
for the rest of the year, contracting
their daily rounds in search of food as
! the snow gets deeper. until at last the