Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1896-06-02
ONE HUNDRED CARIBOU.
A Sight in Maine the Like Of Which
No One May See Again.

Twas trout fishing early one sum
mer up in Somerset county, Me-, I"
said New York sportsman to Sun
reporter. "My camp was on the
shore of one of the many small lakes
that abound in that part of the state.
One evening, just at sunset, my
guide came in, all a-quiver with ex-
element
If you want to see something
that neither you nor any other man
will ever be likely to see 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 quarter of a
mile along the margin of the water.
The guide cautiously parted the dense
growth of young birches that fringed
the edge of the lake on that side.
"'Look yonder!" he whispered.
IT looked and my heart almost
jumped out of my mouth, The sight
was almost past believing. All along
the upper shore of the lake, standing
belly deep among the lily pods, in
various attitudes of grace and state
illness, the water was alive with
caribou. Magnifcently antlered
bulls stamped and snorted and
tossed their kingly heads among
meek faced COWS, while in and ont
among them sported a drove Of
velyet-coated calves. We counted |
81 bulls and cows, and almost every
COW had proprietary interest in at
least one calf. We watched this re-
markable congregation of caribou in
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 whispered:
Wen pull on 'em just one, any
how, and see. how many we can
drop .......
Selecting each of US q big bull,
we fired. A terrified chorus of snorts
followed the discharge of the guns.
There was a sound of water in great
commotion for a moment, and the
next instant the woods were filled
with the crashing of the flying herd
through the thick brush. My guide
and | sent the contents Of our Sec
Ond barrels after the caribou as they ,
rushed in a confused and thickly {
punched mass from the water. In I
less time than it takes to tell all was
as if nothing had occurred |
to disturb the solitude of the great
In the water, their
huge hulks showing 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 Of
the lake, one with his head in the
water and his TANKS stretched on the
shore, and the other with his antlers
lifted high on land, his hind parts
buried among the lilies, lay two
other bulls, the victims of the two
chance shots that followed the herd
IN its flight II
GIVE seen good many caribou
IN my time, said the guide-who
was Nat Moore, at that time Names
greatest caribou hunter-'but the
natural history of Maine never cal
culated on me or anyone else ever
getting in among such congrega-
ton of 'em as that was. -
1.-TWO or three seasons after that
30 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,
Ind huddled together in the pond,
'norting and splashing the water
about. 1t wasn't. until Nat had ID
'hot and killed seven of the drove s
hat the, survivors recovered their
Wits and removed themselves With
'ut any more ado out Of the reach of
lis deadly aim. This was 20 years !
go I have been ON those Maine j
waters every year, almost, since /
hen, and have never seen but three /
aribou there in al that, time, and la
wo of these saw last year, killing q
me, big bull" b. Il
RaMars Of TIRE Othar Staircase. liz