Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1879-07-25
THE SpORTSMiN'S PARADISE.
Hunting the Moose and Carih,o in Tan.
ada--.Strange Sights in Nova Scotia.

Hunting the Moose and Carih,o i'm Can.
ada--.Strange Sights in Nova Scotia.
Lord nunraven in Nineteenth Centary for July,
The moose may also be run down in
winter time on snow-shoes. This may
be called partly a legitimate and partly
an Legitimate mode of killing the ami
NAL, IL the snow is not very deep the
moose can travel, and 10 come up with
him requires immense endurance on.
the part of man, but no skill except
that involved in the art of running ON
snow-shoeS, You simply start the ami
NAL and follow after him for day, or
sometimes two or three days, when you
come up with him and walk as close as
you like and shoot him.
II the snow hes very deep in early
Spring, moose may be slaughtered with
ease. The sun thaws the surface,
which freezes up again vt night and
forms an ICY crust strong enough To
s. pport man on snow-shows, or dog,
but not nearly strong enough % support
y moose. Then they can be run down
without trouble. You find your moose
and start n dog after him. The I'M
fortunate moose founders helplossly in
the SNOW, cutting his legs to pieces, and
in very short time becomes exhausted
and you can walk up to MIN, knock
him on the head with an AK
or stick him with q knife, rs
you think best. Hundreds and
hundreds of moose have been
slaughtered in this soandalous manner
for their hides alone. The settlers also
dig pits for them and snare them, both
of which practices, | need hardly say,
are ncfarious. There is nothing sports
manhke about them and they involve
waste of good meat, because unless u
man looks To the snare every day
which these men never do--ho runs the
chance Of catching n moose and finding
the carcass unfit for food when he re-
visits the place. shall not describe
the method of suaring moose, for fear
some reader who has followed me thus
far might be tempted to practice il, or
lest it might be supposed for n moment
that had ever done such " wicked
thing myself.
Many men prefer oariboo.hunting to
moose.huniing, and | am not sure that
they are not right. The American cav
iboo is, believe, identical with the
reindeer Of Europe, though the Ameri-
can animal grows to much larger
size and the males carry far finer horns,
The does have small horns, also.
| believe the carihoo is the only species
of deer marked by that popularity.
Cariboo are very fond Of getting out ON
the lakes rs soon MS the ice will bear
and feeding round the shores. They
feed entirely on moss and lichcns, prin-
cipally on the long, gray moss locally
known ms "old mems boards" which
hangs in graceful festoons from the
branches Of the pines and on the
beautiful purple and cream colored
cariboo moss that covers the
mails, and will venture close TO lumber
camps to feed on the moss which grows
most luxuriantly on the tops Of the
pines which the ax-men have felled.
Cariboo cannot be run down, and the
settlers rarely 60 after them. They
must be stalked on the barrens and
lakes, or crept up to in the woods,
precisely in the same manner Ms the
moose.
Such is brief outline of some Cana
dian sports. Life in the woods need
not be devoted entirely to hunting, but
can he varied to great extent by fish.
ing and trapping. The streams and
lakes TEEN with trout, and the finest
salmon fishing in the world is to he
found in New Brunswick and on tho
north shore Of the gulf. In Lower
Canada there is still n good deal of fur
to be found. In New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia beavers are almost extinct,
and marten, mink, lynx, otter. and
other valuable fur-bearing animals are
comparatively scarce. II would be hard,
think, for man to spend holiday
more pleasantly and bcneticially than
in the Canadian woods. Hunting leads
him into beautiful scenery; his method
of life Induces due contemplation Of
nature and tends To wholesome thought.
He has not much opportunity for inn
proving his mind with literature, but
he can read on. Of the great book Of
nature, and find "books in the running
brooks, sermons in stones and good in
everything" II he has his eyes and
ears open be cannot fail TO take notice
of many interesting circumstances and
phenomena; and if he has any knowl-
edge Of natural history, every moment
of tho day must be suggesting some
thing new and interesting To him.
A strange scene, for example, which
came within my observation last year,
completely puzzled mo that time and
has done so ever since. | was in Nova
Scotia in the fall when one day my In
dian told me that in lake close by all
the rocks were moving out Of the water
"a circumstance which thought not
a little strange. However, | went To
look at the unheard-of spectacle, and
sure enough there were the rocks APP
parently all moving out Of the water
on to dry land. The lake is Of consid-
cradle extent, but shallow and full Of
great masses of rock. Many Of these
masses appear TO have travelled right
out Of the lake, and are now
hig and dry, some fifteen yards above
the margin of the water. They have
plowed deep and regularly defined
channels for themselves. You may
- 49,. r. 81 ..aaa (.,,,. L1,al,a r.