New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-10-21

He Killed Many Moose, Caribou,
Bear and Other animals.

Bangor Oct 90 (SpeciaD-"JTncle" Nathan
Moore, the famous guide and hunter of Somer-
set County is dead at his home in Moscow. at
the age of lightweight There is little question
that Mr., Moore the oldest hunter in the
state and that he had more game to his credit
than has any other who hunted In
those woods. For more than seventy years Mr..
Moore tramped through the great northern will
derness hunting all the big game animals which
inhabited those woods.
In the SeventY-odd years that Mr.. Moore hunt
ed he killed 276 moose over 200 caribou over
100 bears and unnumb ered deer and other
smaller animals. and yet he never has so much
as wounded a human being The whole secret
of this was living up to the simple rule. Never
shoot until you know what you are shooting at -
That rule Mr., Moore made at the outset of his
career as hunter. and he followed it, with one
exception. all his life with the result above told
That exception which it seems was a
reasonable one. One afternoon he was out
hunting and shot fox. He skinned the fox
and threw the body into a small clump Of
bushes. taking the pelt home with him Next
morning he went out on a hunt and went over
the same territory the previous afternoon.
arriving at the clump of bushes he could hear
a noise IN there and could something NOV
ing He knew that 1t must be an animal for
there was no room for a person. he took a
chance and fired. With the report of the rife
great golden eagle scared UP into the air for
a short distance and then tumbled back dead
lie eagle measured feet and two inches
from tip of wing to tip of wing
BY reason of his close observance of his rule
Mr. Moore lost many moose. caribou and bear
and his record so much lessened thereby
but he said that he was glad of it for he Womb
rather never have killed any game than to have
human life charged against him.
mat his rule saved him from shooting AT
ieast, one man. Mr.. Moore knew. The story Of
1t shows how a cool headed man. even in the
excitement OF coming upon a big game animal
which he has tracked for miles can have con
trol enough to stop and think
lie got upon the track of a moose one day
and started in to follow him. 1t was a long
chase but he kept gaining. for in a chase of
THIS kind though it is not generally known a
man VIII always gain upon a moose. At last
ne was so close that he could hear the big
animal as he crashed through the woods and
over the dry limbs the ground. With re-
neWed vigor he continued the chase and in due
course of time, came within sight of his game
He was standing about twelve rods distant as
pretty a shot as man of Moores ability could
wish for Up went the rife, which had never
failed before and the finger pressure was on
the trigger. But ii refused to work. The lock
had frozen. Before ii could be thawed out the
moose was gone
The chase had to start all over again This
time II did not last so long, for, coming into a
spruce growth, the hunter saw. not more than
three rods away. what he thought was the
moose, standing head toward him. He was con-
hdent that il was the moose. for the
breast, as 1t appeared through the opening, was
as black as bear. and I'm the view which he
had previously had of the animal such the
case. His rife sprang to his shoulder and he
was ready to fire Then he remembered some
thing.
moose standing in the woods, either face
to or back TO a hunter. he views him through
the opening of the boughs, frequently looks like
a man. Therefore, 1T possible that man
might have the appearance of a moose If
viewed in the same way. All that he had TO
convince him that it was his moose was that it
black and looked like a mooses breast
Remembering this he took three steps to The
left, and there he saw his moose was a man
from a nearby lumber camp, who was standing
a f0 "A team
telling of this Mr.. Moore says that he was never
more frightened in his life than at that moment