The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-08-28


him almost jump out of his skin. He is
also apt to make the most ludicrous mis-
takes. Toward morning, about daybrcal:,
l have frequently mistaken the first faint
buzz Of some minute fly, within foot or
so of my eur, for the call of moose two
or three miles off.
About ten o'clock the Indian gave it up
in despair and came down the tree; we
rolled ourselves up in our rugs, pulled the
hoods of our blanket coats over our heads,
and went to sleep. | awokc literally shak-
ing with cold. 1t was still the dead of
night; and tho stars were shining with in
tense brilliancy, to my great disappoint-
mcnt, for was i'll hopes of seeing the first
streaks of dawn. 1t was freezing very
hard, far too hard for me to think of going
to sleep again. SO reused the Indian and
suggested that he should try another call or
two. Accordingly we stole down to the
edge of the little point of wood in which
we had cnscunced ourselves, and in few
minutes tho forest was rc-cchoing the
plaintlvc notes OF the moose. Not an an
swcr, not sound-utter silence, as if all
the world were dead, broken suddenly and
horribly by a yell that made the blood cur
die in ones veins. 1t was the long, quay
ering, human, but uncarthly scream Of Il
loon on the distant lake. After what seemed
to ne many hours, but what was in reality
but short time, the first indications of
dawn revealed themselves in the rising of
the morning star, and the slightest possible
paling in tho eastern sky. The cold grew
almost mbearable. That curious shivcr
that runs through naurc-thc first icy Gu,
rent of air that preccdcs the day-chilled
us to the bones = | rolled myself UP in my
blanket and lighted pipe, trying to retain
what little caloric remained in my body,
while the Indian again assembled the tree.
by the time he had called twice it was gray
dawn. Birda were beginning to move
about, and BUSY squirrels to look out for
their breakfast of pine. buds. l sat listen
ing intently, apd watching the blank emo
tionlcss face of the Indian as he gazed
around him, when suddenly saw his coun-
tenancc blaze. up with vivid excitement.
Ills eyes seemed to start from his head, his
muscles twitohcd, his face glowcd, he
seemed transformed in moment into n
different being, At the same time he began
with the utmost celebrity, but with extreme
caution to descend to the ground. He mo-
toned to me mot to make any noise, and
whispered that n moose was coming across
the barren and must be close by Grasp
my NY Iillc, we CIuWlcu carefully through
the grass, crisp and noisy with frost, down
to the edge Of our island of woods, and
there, after peering cautiously around some
stuntcd juniper bushes, l saw standing,
about sixty yards off, a bull moose. He
looked gigantic in the thin morning mist
which was beginning to drift up from the
surface of the barren. Great volumes of
steam issued from his nostrils, and his
whole aspect, looming i'll the fog, was vast
and almost terrific. He stood there per-
fectly motionlcss, staring at tho spot from
which he had heard tho cry of the supposed
COW, irrcsolutc whether to come on or not
The Indian was anxious to bring him lit
tie closer, but did not wish to run the risk
of soaring him, and so, taking aim as fairly
as | could, considering was shaking all
over with cold, fired and struck him be-
hind tho shoulder. He jumped forward on
his knees, jumped up, rushed forward for
about two hundred yards, and then fell
dead at the edge of the heavy timber OH
the far side of the barren.