The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1892-02-09

been saying that there's moose about
ten miles up the river, near the mar
rows. There were several yards Up
there last winter. but we hunted them
out pretty we'll. II good grazing
place, though, and they say the moose
are gathering in again You may
imagine what thrill went over me at
tho mere suggestion. The bare idea OF
me, a native Texan, going ca a moose
hunt away in Maine. Felix laughed at
mo and said that would find it was
not so much fun at last, but he was as
eager as l. Maine man as he was, he
had never been moose hunting but
twice in his life. We prepared for
hunt, however, a wagon load of camp
ing materials being made up by the
manager and two or three of the men
who were going with us. Guns and
hunting-knives were put into first
class condition and everything was ar
ranged for three-days' stay in the
woods ! kept hearing them talk
about good hunting dog they were
going to take with them, but when
they brought it out on the morning of
our start | couldn't keep from laugh
ing 1t was little shaggy mongrel,
about as large as b rat terrier and the
most undoubted plebeian of the dog
kind ever saw in my life. For good
ness sake, Felix exclaimed, is that
the best this country can do in the
way of hunting dogT oh, you don't
know it at all!' retorted Felix, good.
naturally. 1T wouldn't take moose
more than three minutes TO tramp one
of your fine dogs into shoestrings. >
And then I said no more. especially as
the little dog took a most insane fancy
for me and followed me around like
shadow. | saw that his tastes were
good, though his pedigree might be a
little off.
"We drove easily through the open
woods, and finally struck camp at a
point about eight miles from the mill.
The men cut down poles and made a
kind of pen house, open on the south
side and rooted over with poles and
brush, taking as much pains as though
they had come to spend the winter,
told them. They built huge bonfire
opposite the open side of the hut, and
we spent the night very comfortably,
wrapped in our heavy blankets.
1.-THE next morning we started on
our first hunt, separating into two
parties, the three mill men constitut-
ing one, while Felix, the manager and
l composed the other. The little dog
went with me, of course, but even
with his assistance we found no moose
that morning We saw the tracks of
some very large ones, however, and we
even came upon one of their yards,
on the southern slope of hill, where
the snow was all trampled down and
where the twigs and banks of the trees
showed that they had recently been
browsing, but the yard was empty.
When we returned to camp, however,
we found the other party already
there, and the savory odors arising
from the fire told that they had not re-
turned empty handed. They had, in
truth, killed yearling calf and had
brought the choicest morsels of it's
flesh to the camp.
'Thc next morning we started out
again, in the same order, aud after we
had tramped an hour or two we reached
the deserted yard. 1t was evident that
several large moose had been there
since we left. Felix and the manager
decided to lie in wait for little while,
on the chance of their return, while
begged them to hold that miserable
little nuisance of dog and let me slip
off and hunt over the ridge and down
the valley for mile or SO. To tell the
truth l was devoured by frantic de-
sire to meet a moose and kill him all
by myself, and didn't think anything
else could satisfy me. was awfully
conceited, but it didn't take long to
knock all that out of me-
81 had gone about half a mile, l
should think, and was wandering along
trying to look everywhere at once,
when all at once came face to face
with the very thing was looking for
and was within fifteen feet of it be-
fore / saw it. The minute ! saw it ]
wished I was somewhere else. hadn't
expected to see such ar enormous
brute in the first place, and ! hadn't
expected it to be as ugly as homemade
sin, either. Boys, that animal was
eipnt fa OF hiuh and Won nap COO for