The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-02-26
MOOSE CALLERS.
A BIRCH BARK HORN LURES
THE NOBLE GAME.
How the Indians In the Maine Wilder
ness Attract the Wariest OF Wild
Animals-Plaintive and
Seductive Notes.

can forests Tor pleasure Ut
| " pecuniary profit can claim to
G have developed his woodlore
to fine art unless his education en-
braces proficiency with the moose
horn. And like poets, moose callers
are born,. not made. To learn to
sound the seductive notes of the love.
lorn cow requires not only thorough
knowledge of every mood of the will
derness, but an intimate acquaintance
as well with the eccentric actions OF
the greatest of all American game
animals.
To-day, the few moose that roam
the Maine wilderness are the most
wary of all the wild animals. Their
intuitions are almost human, ant
when one man has called to his stand
and has shot unaided one OF. these
broad.antlered kings of the wilderness
he can assure himself that he hassomt
knowledge of hunting.
The Penobscot Indians enjoy to-day
almost monopoly of skill in the call
ing of moose. Few whites can equa
them and none ever surpassed them
With them the art seems to have been
handed down from generation to gen
Grafton. To the initiated all callt
seem the same, but the suspicious eal
of the courting bull seldom fails to
detect the false ring in the wooine
notes. And when once the suspicion
has become a certainty the courtshir
of that particular moose is postponed
for an indefinite period.
The call of the love-lorn cow-moose
is like no other sound heard in the
forest. Tho sound nearest, and yet
by no means like it, is the moo.oo.ing
of domesticated COW. 1t is re-
sonant, deep.lunged below, gradually
dropping into a plaintive wall, a sigh
of intense fervor. It ends with one
or more petulant grunts. In. express
sion it is almost human, and when it
rises above the deep silence Of a for
est night it is weird and almost ma
jestic.
On still night the call of the moose
is heard for miles. The resonant
quality of the notes carries it afar,
and it is, therefore, an important aid
to hunters. "Crusting," that is,
hunting when SHOWS are deep ano
when a crust has formed on top that
will hold the hunter, but which will
not bear the great weight OF the moose,
is, of course, more deadly, but Wise
laws in Maine now prohibit the slaugh'
ter. So the best hunting in Maine is
when the moose are matinT, the time
when the moose-horn comes into
play.
The moose.horn is simply bit ot
birchen bark, rolled into the form Of
cornucopia. At the small end the
oriice Is about an inch across, at the
other eight inches or more.
The night best adopted for euccess
full calling is still and light; the stand
where the hunter takes his place, on {
point or high piece of ground where
it will be difficult for the wary quarry
to circle and get the hunters wind.
Rolled in a comfortable blanket, the
hunter waits. The guide. with the
birchen call. sounds the first love
notes, then relapses into silence. L
no answering call comes he waits many
minutes. There cannot be too much
time taken between the calls, for
much. called moose seldom answers.
But if the answer sounds across the
forest, the call, with plaintive note,
with the sigh of the cow yearning for
her mate, sounds again. If the bull
comes slowly, the Indian gives the
challenge of a trouble-seeking bull,
and with the horn thrashes about the
bushes. Sometimes the thought that
rival is by drives the most suspicious
of moose mad with jealousy, and they
come dashing through the forest.
sounding a hoarse challenge as they
come. Success now depends alone
upon the workmanship of the hunter
for the bull will rush snorting to th'
fray. But if the bull suspects, he may
quietly creep within earshot OF tht
hunter, and, uncertain in his fea'
by tainted air, steal away so quietly
that not twig is disturbed. And
when once he is out of range, the next
day will see him many leagues away.
New York World.