Arizona republican., 1895-02-03
CIRCULATING.
BY MARTIN HUNTER.

WIllUC nuuUtt OI OllS CPPSi CS' Maurice, who was at that moment quietly enjoying glass of grog, sup plied to him by some of his young ac- auaintances and admirers of the town 0f Three Rivers. Old Ben used to visit towns once a year regularly to dispose of his belts, have good time, and go back to the xilds with fresh supply of bacon, aa7, tobacco, ammunition, etc. Nothing definite was known of the early history of Ben; in fact. the peo- rle of Three Rivers knew not his sec ond name. They conjectured that, Nike most men, he had a family name; but this Ben kept to himself, and he Eas known by one and all of his friends simply as Ben.
 Everyone agreed that he had moved VI good society in his younger days, for Bis early training would show out at dimes in spite of his assumed hunters English.
 On the glasses being replenished by the young man called Charley Ben kold them the moose story somewhat as follows:
 Well, look here, boys, l had very little to do with that particular moose, or the moose with me; but 1 had a good deal to do on that occasion to keep from freezing. Howsoever, here st is just as it happened:
 ''lt was toward the end of March, 1865, that was camped, along with Nabanake Indian, on one of the large streams that fall into the west side of the upper part of the St. Maurice. We Had made our head camp there in the fall, and had done pretty well with beaver till the ice formed, after that We trapped for martens straight along through the winter. Once only we left our hunting grounds, and that was on New Years eve. Nicholas the Wabanake, my chum, said: Let's go snto Fort Weymontachingue and see the Indians feast and dance;;' for on New Years it is the custom of the audson's Bay company to hold open house to all, corners. So we took a few uarten skins to trade for tobacco and went, and we saw big Indians eat big much
 ''I had made a bargain with Nicholas, before leaving Three Rivers, to hunt together during the fall, winter and spring and to go equal snooks on the furs after the trapping was over. In ihe beginning of spring, or rather, l should say, the very last part of win Ger, for it was the end of February, my eartner found yard of moose. Says he: Now, Ben, we will just let those moose put on fat till there is a good crust on the snow, and then we are sure of killing them
 4 All right, Nick says I; just as you think best
 But, as bad luck would have it, be- fore rain or sunshine came to form a crust. we got news at one of the lum- ter shanties that there was a party of surveyors up, running lines for timber limits. l made inquiries in what di- cection they were then working, and found by what the shanty men told me, that they would strike our moose gard the following day or the day aft home 10 camp, 9 distance of about five miles, and told the news to Nick; and maybe he was not just hopping.
 "'However, Ben. says he. those beg gar5will frighten our moose tomorrow. So we may as well give them the wind ourselves, and run the chance of kill ing one. Let us start at once, and sleep at the foot of the mountain, so as to be ready at the break of day to wind the critters
 ''With biscuit and pork in our blank ets, we reached the base of the noun tain before dark, made a rousing fire gut plenty of green boughs, laid down smoked and told yarns the best part o1 dlle night, for it was too Gl@1ned colo to sleep much. Morning came at last and, after nasty breakfast, we start ed. We each showed biscuit in oul shirt and fastened a tin cup on our belt The cup was to melt snow in, if pushed by thirst. Our blankets, of course, we left, as we wished to be as light as pos sible.
 ''We had almost reached the top O. the mountain, when Nick said: They are off His quick ear had heard { dry branch break. We took no more grecaution to pick our steps, for now that they were off we must hurry afte shem with all speed. A moose, wheI once started, never stops to eat O. drink as long as there is one step O run in him. Now, with caribou it. different. If, after short run, the. hear no one after them, they begin tc browse around and rest themselves fo another spurt; but a moose, never; IL runs till he drops.
 ''Our moose (there were two) onl. sun together for about the first mile and then separated. Nick and