The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1905-01-07
MoosF sEAsoN in MAIME.
Six Weeks During Which the Great
Animal Is Hounded by
Hunters.

The moose, that monarch Of the Maine
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 10 run the
! gantlet of the sportsmen's IRE. 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 a good-sized bull
makes with its ornamentation of great
antlers is enough to cause a sportsmaR
| to endure almost any hardship in th0
hope Of securing one OF the big fellows
There is also an element of danger which
makes the sport the more enticing, foA
bull moose on a rampage is danger
GUS foe, and unless the hunter fOrtunate~
ly disabIes his game at the first shot
there is trouble in store for him. The
moose'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
great antlers are terrible weapons when
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 anu
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 den" The
largest moose ever brought to Bangor
measured nine feet from his forehoofs
to the top of his antlers, and weighed
over 1900 pounds. In many cases the
antlers measure more than five feet from
tip to tip, and in some cases the breadth
exceeds six feet.
When the various water plants which
form the summer food of the moose
have become edible in the spring the
vuvose 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 /
Iinger in the vicinity Of the camps, evil
IDENTIFY pleased at the attention bestowed /
upon them
Usually in April the horns OF the bulls
begin to sprout and they attain mar
velous 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 tie bull moose arc in the pink OF |
condition, and are dangerous animals
to meet, The2 tear through the woods
for weeks at time, believing a 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 90 back into the woods and seek
shelter in the thickets from the cold
wiads 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
hirches.
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 isdue to the protection the animals
have received during the past few years,
OF 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