Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-12-27
MASQUERADING FOR MOOSE.
HOW an Old Maine Trapper Brought
Down the Wary Animals.
ce Lewiston {Me.) Journal.

Correspondence Lewiston tMe) Journal
The first time l saw Nate Moore was in 1861.
We were driving in sleigh up the Kennebec
road, above Bingham to watch for foxes. Look
ing ahead up the road we saw man with an
axe, and slung on the axe on his shoulder
dead fox. He was wallowing through the light
snow that fell the night before-eighteen
inches strong My horse was also wallow-
ing, but of the two the horse walked the
fastest, and the man and the fox were
overtaken what will you take for that
Iox?" says I. II was buying fur.l "a dollar and
half" says Nate, for it was he "l'll take him..
says L; where did you get him. and how. with
out gum" Oh" says he. Il killed him with
my axe. The snow is light and deep he
couldn't get away from me. | drove him into
hollow log, and that ended his chicken hunt"
That same morning. little further up the river,
one of Seth Adams boys saw fox trying to
travel not tar from the house and he caught
stick of wood from the wood-pile and went after
him. and soon overlook and dispatched him.
The fox, in trying to escape. would turn somer-
sauits and roll over and over. and make the
snow fly like dust on dry road, but he couldn't
get ahead. So | bought two in the flesh aud
had them to skin and dry.
But to return to Moore. / was fayOrably i'm
pressed at first sight with him. He was we'll
shaped. of a solid hunter form, and carried an
honest face. He is the best hunter within my
knowedge-almost always successful He is a
good tTapper. but his forte is the rifle. Hunting
the moose and caribou is his speciality, although
he is good on bear and wildcat. He shot in the
spring Of 1861 ten caribou in Moxy township, in
Somerset county. His manner of hunting them
was to wrap himself in sheet and stalk in among
a herd walking slowly, and with as little noise as
possible, and if one should lift his head to listen
he would stop standing erect and looking for all
the world like a stub of tree covered with snow.
AS soon as the animal would go to feeding again
Moore would again walk on. and in this manner
he would be able to select one OF the herd that
he wanted and to approach as near as he
seven in one drove on MoXy Pond once, and
shot seven of them. They got confused and
came near running him down. After he COM
menced to fire, they would run toward him Just
as often as away. and it was lively times for q
good while. The melee ended by the re-
mainder Of the herd making Off up the noun
tains. 1t is a wild country between where
Moore lives and Moosehead lake, but he knows
every inch of the ground. When he goes out
on hunt he don't come home empty-handed.
Nate is a crack shot too. One time last year.
think. he took party to certain pond in the
sOlitudes OF Somerset county for sporting, and
after camping near the pond. he went down to
get pail of water preparatory to cooking din
ner. and looking up the pond, he saw large,
black animal coming down the shore toward
where he was. He ran back and told his party
what he saw. and they sent him back with his
rifle. while they kept quiet in camp. Nate got
behind a tree just In time to see q large moose
round the point in front of him and within range.
The moose Immediately smeled him and threw
up his head and swung around to run, but Nate
was expecting that maneuver. and quick as
thought unhooded on him. The moose gave
one or two plunges and fell over dead.