Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-04
CARIBOU IN A HERD.
A Sight In . Maine Pond which De.
lighted the Hunters.

A Sight in . Maine Pond which De-
lighted the Hunters.
From the New York Sun.
II was trout fishing early one summer
up in Somerset county, Me-" said a New
York sportsman. MY camp was on the
shore Of one OF the many small lakes that
abound in that rart Of the state. One
evening, just at sunset, my guide came IN,
all a-quiver with excitement.
"1f you want to see something that
neither you nor any other man will ever
be likely to zee again. said he, Just sneak
down to the pond with me-
Il crept stealthily in his wake down
through the thick timber to the edge of
the lake. 1t was still light enough at the
upper end OF the lake, where we were
camped. and which WAS not in the shadow
of the hills. for US to see plainly a quarter
Of a mile along the margin of the water.
The guide cautiously parted the dense
growth of young birchcs that fringcd the
edge of the lake On that side.
1ook yonder!' he whispered.
Il looked and my heart almost jumped
out Of my mouth. The sight was almost
past believing All along the uppar shore
of the lake. standing belly deep among the
lily pods, in various attitudes Of grace and
statelfncss, the water was alive with carl
bou. Masnificently antlered bulls stamped
and snorted and tossed their kingIy heads
among them spor;ed a drove Of velvet
coated calves. We counted fifty-seven
bulls and cows, and almost every COW had
a proprietary interest in at least one calf.
We watched this remarkable congregation
OF caribou in silence-tbe sight being too
much for speech-until the shadows of
evening began drawing deeply about them,
and we could have seen them only dimly
a Few minutes later. Then my guide Whis-
pered:
Well pull on 'em just once, anyhow,
and see how many we can drop
Selecting each Of US big bull, we fired.
discharge of the guns. There was a sound
OF water in great commotion for a mo-
ment, and the next instant the woods were
filled with the crashing of the flying herd
through the thick brush. My guide and
l sent the contents OF our second barrels
after the caribou as they rushed in a con-
fused and thickiy punched mass from the
water In less time than 1T takes to tell
all WIS as quiet as If nothing had occurred
to disturb the solitude of the great wilder
ness. In the water, their huge hulks show
Ing above the broad mat of lily pads, lay
the dead bodies Of the two old bulls We had
selected as our first targets On the edge
OK the lake, one with his head in the water
and his TANKS stretched on the shore, and
the other with his antlers lifted high OIL
land. his hind parts buried among the
lilies, lay two other bulls. the victims Of the
two chance shots that followed the herd
In it's flight
I've seen a good many caribou in my
time, said the guide-who was Nat Moore,
at that time Names greatest caribou
huHter-'but the natural history of Maine
never calculated on me or any one else ever
getting in a~nong such a congregation of
EN- as that was
Two or three seasons after that thirty
caribou came into that same lake while
Nat was there. He shot one. and expected
to see the rest OF the herd dash instantly
away into the woods. To the old guides
surprise, instead Of the rest scampering
away. they seemed to be panic stricken,
and hudd!ed together In the pond, snoring
and splashinE the water about. 1t wasn't
until Nat lad shot and killed seven Of the
drove that the survivors recovered their
wits ana removed themselves without any
more ado cut of the reach of his deadly
aim. This was twenty years ago. / have
been on those Maine waters every year.
almost. since then. and have never seen but
three caribou there In all that time, and
two ot these saw last year, killing one,
e BIZ bull : ssss fs ~ $3.50