The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-10-08
ON A BIG BULL MOOSE
DULUTH TIMBER CRUISER TAKES
INVOLUNTARY RIDE
Is Carried Nearly Mile at Friehtful
Rate of Speed-Expects to Be Dash
ed to Death-Moose Leaps Fallen
Tree and Leaves Cruiser in the Air.

DULUTH, Mimi, Oct. John Gum,
Duluth timber cruiser, has just re-
turned from northern st. Louis coun-
ty, where he had probably the most re-
markable experience with a moose on
record. He mounted and rode bull
moose at lightning speed for nearly
mile.
II was working in the vicinity OF
White Birch Lake, southeast of Tower
he said, in explaining the incident:
Last week had the most exciting ex-
perience of my career. Moose are pretty
thick up that way, and the male AMI
mails are very bold and saucy if one
happens to get in their way.
"About IL o'clock in the forenoon of
Sept. %, I was sitting near the camp
behind a jackpine writing up my min
utes of some land that had explored
I heard the brush crack several times
nearby, but did not look UP Immediate
ly, supposing that it was Dennis Kee-
gan, my helper, getting ready to pre-
pare dinner.
Il got up from the ground and turn
ed around, intending to speak to him
about something, when to my aston
ishment there was a huge bull moose
right beside me. I thought sure he
was on the point of attacking me and
quick as thought I grabbed his antlers
on the left side of the head with my
right hand and threw my right arm
over his shoulders so that he could not
swing his body around and rush me.
But the moose, it transpires, was
Just as much surprised as I, and every
bit as frightened. Quick as flash that
mighty head went up and he Simply
left the ground and seemed to shoot
through space like a comet. At least
that is the way it seemed to me. 1
don't know how it happened, but I
found myself astride the moose and
going through the woods so fast that I
could scarcely catch my breath.
Like a Runaway Engine.
cit seemed to me for all the world
that was aboard a runaway locomo-
tive 1 was afraid the moose would
collide with a tree or something else
that would fetch him up short, but the
trees just seemed to open up ahead of
him as if they were glad to get out of
his way. I don't know how far that
moose would have carried me, or where
if had fallen off.
81 did not get off very gracefully but
the dismount was a success. The ami
NAL came to a fallen tree, which was
held up about three feet from the
ground by the stump, and then he
made leap that would, as it seemed
over the tree if it had been standing
upright. The moose simply shot out
from under me and let me fall to the
not
light on any rocks, or hit the log that
the moose cleared and merely sustained
a few bruises. I was so excited that
my nerves were badly shaken and l
could scarcely walk. l met Keegan in
hot pursuit. He. was approaching the
camp at the time I mounted the moose,
and had seen my surprising and excit-
ing adventure at the start. l thought
he would never quit laughing when l
told him how I dismounted."
The Cook County Herald in last
weeks issue contains a story of how a
moose pursued a man in a buggy in
| that county short time ago. Andrew
Hedstrom was returning from the West
| side district and he passed bull moose
near the Mayhem farm. The animal
| was beside the road. The road turns
| at right angles near there going around
one side of the farm.
Mr.. Hedstrom looked back after
making the turn and saw the moose
vault over the fence and run across
| the field after him. He whipped UP
and later saw the moose clear the 9TH
er fence and get into the road. Mr..
Hedstrom stirred his horse to faster
speed, when the moose abandoned the
| pursuit and turned into the wood.