Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1890-02-28
A REMARKABLE RIDE.

w OIL, III LClt JOu VI AiuO h"N
once on a moose's back" The
speaker was Andrew Hutchins, of
Gardiner, Me-, and, taking a CON-
Portable seat by the fire, he CON-
menced his yarn. cit was while |
was in the northern part of Name,
on a hunting trip with party of
men from Boston. They had had
good luck with small game, but
they wanted a moose. | told them
that would show them one before
long, and 1 did. One or two days
after they began asking me where
the moose was, and kinder got me
riled. | took my gun, and told
them that I'd get moose pretty
quick If they wouldn't come racing
around like pack of steers. On
l went, and had gone about a mile
when heard a Doise as il the devil
had got loose. l got up tree as
soon as possible, and Just got fair.
ly seated when two of the finest
moose 1 ever sat eyes on came
right under the tree. Here was luck
and l took aim at the largest and
pulled the trigger.
Andrew at this point looked
rather sheepish, as If he didn't want
to proceed, but, after considerable
urging, the Gardiner News says,
he again continued
"The truth 1t was, boys, in my
hurry from the camp l forgot to
bring my cartrid ges, and didn't
even have one in my gun. Well, l
knocked my head against a limb
and tried to think how l was going
to get one of those moose, who all
this time were eyeing each other
like cats and dogs. All of a sud.
den they Stated for each other and
cane ker plu0k together, then they
backed off again and tried it over.
They kept at this for quite a time,
and seemed to be getting kind OF
tired out, and were walking round
and round till they got their wind
The largest one was right under
me, and l could almost touch his
antlers. 1 never knew how it hap.
pened, but down l went, heels over
head, and lit right on that critters
back. He didn't seem to like this
sort of surprise party, and just
threw back his head and went, the
other one following after; lucky for
me the trees in that place were
pretty high, and there wasn't much
danger OF being knocked off by the
limbs.
"WelI, sir, the time that it takes
to tell this was enough for that
moose to 60 halt mile, and the
smaller one right behind all the
time. 1 was cllnging to the sides
Of that moose like a cockroach to o
biscuit. 1t was all l could do TO
breathe, and / had lost my hat long
ago. | now noticed that we were
gong toward the camp, and We
soon hove in sight of 1t. | gave
shout, and as I did so telt some
thing slip down my throat. The
boys heard the noise, and looking
up saw US coming. Down wen
the board they were playing cards
on, aud of scudded like so many
Jack rabbits. We were now right
in the comparing place, and wan
ted to stop there, but l didn't, no
sir. l didn't stop there, but jus
about hundred yards from th'
camp the moose stopped sudden,
and I went over his head into
brook. l wasn't much hurt, an'
scrambled out like a grasshoppe
out of a knOn. .hele, and right II
front of me lay those two moose
dead as a herring. Iput on a
straight a face as l could, an'
walked up to the camp as uncon
cerned as possible. Here's th
moose l promised you, boys l sail
and we went back and cut them up
, The boys didn't say word till al
; ter supper, and then one OF then
handed me a looking-glass. "A
sure as l am, what am, my face
which was covered by a heaV.
beard when 1 started, was a
smooth as a boys, and two OF m
front teeth were gone. My hat
; fonnd on the smaller moose
antler.