Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1904-12-16
six Weeks During Which the Great
Animal Is Hounded by
Hunters.

woods, and the greatest game animal to
be found in the temperate zone has been
fair game for the hunters since mid
night of Friday, October IA, for the close
time which has protected him for ten
months ended then, and for six weeks
the bull moose of Maine have to run the
gantlet of the sportsmens fire, says the
Bangor Commercial
Moose hunting is the greatest sport to
be had in the Maine woods, for the size
of the game and the valuable trophy
which the head of good-sized bull
makes with its ornamentation of great
antlers is enough to cause sportsman
to endure almost any hardship in the
hope of securing one of the big fellows
There is also an element of danger which
makes the sport the more enticing for
bull moose on rampage is danger
GUS foe, and unless the hunter fortunate
ly disables his game at the first shot
there is trouble in store for him. The
ntoose's great size enables him to crash
through the woods with the speed of a
locomotive and with almost as much
power, and the knife-like hoofs and
brought into play at close range. More
than one hunter has paid the penalty for
his carelessness and met death beneath
the feet of one of these maddened mon
sters, and others have been treed and
nearly frozen to death while a bull
moose kept watch, as patiently as a
sphinx beneath the limb which shell
tered them
Moose weighing more than 1000
pounds are often brought out of the
woods, and their great heads, adorned
with wide-spreading antlers. form the
decoration of many a den" The
largest moose ever brought to Bangor
measured nine feet from his forehoofs
to the top of his antlers, and weighed
over 1,200 pounds. In many cases the
antlers measure more than five feet from
tip to tip, and in some cases the breadth
exceeds six feet.
I When the various water plants which
form the summer food of the moose
have become edible in the spring the
moose leaves the yard or sheltered spot
where he has passed the winter and
seeks the waterways. Here he spends
the summer, feeding on the tender
plants and bathing in the water to keep
cool and to protect himself from the
vicious flies which are terrible pest in
some parts of the woods. When thus
engaged the moose are often easily ap-
preached by persons in canoes. and more
than one summer visitor has carried
home a photograph of big bull or a
COW and calf taking their daily bath.
The cows and calves are often seen to-
gether during the summer months. and
in some instances are very tame and
linger in the vicinity of the camps, eyi-
IDENTIFY pleased at the attention bestowed
upon them.
Usually in April the horns of the bulls
begin to sprout and they attain mar
velops growth before September They
wear their soft covering called velvet"
until September, and are sometimes
found late in that month with the COW
ering still on. During August and Sep
tember the bull moose are In the pink of
condition, and are dangerous animals
to meet, They tear through the woods
for weeks at time, believing chal-
lenge to any living thing that roams the
! woods. Fierce fights between rival
bulls are common at this period and
many instances are on record of such
fights, in which both combatants fell
with their antlers locked in the death
struggle.
When the cold weather comes on the
moose go back into the woods and seek
shelter in the thickets from the cold
winds of winter. They are often found
''yarded,' a dozen or more together in
some spot where there is plenty of food
in the form of young poplars, NAPLES and
birches.
The reports which have been brought
from the hunting regions indicate that
moose are unusually plentiful In the
Maine woods this fall. Whether the in
crease Is due to the protection the animals
have received during the past few years,
or whether their numbers have been re-
cruited by moose from the northern part
of the state, or perhaps from New
Brunswick, Is not known, but whatever
the reason for the increase the moose
are certainly more plentiful than they
have been for many years.