The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-20

olSp ~
drank a pint of tea and glided noiselessly
through the dew draped forest In thu
direction OF the deadwatsr.
Reaching his last night's stand he "a
perfectly still for full half an hour. Then
placing the horn to his lips and covering
the edge Of the mouthpieoe with his fef'
hand he rave q low whine.
The faint sound echoed II seemed FOL
a short hundred yards. but nothing ap-
parently moved.
CHANGING far down the lake tho hunter
could just make out q huge dark shape
Noiselessly 1t worked from bsnssth the
shadows OF the forest and gliding ovel
a small heath was a~pparentiy bent %
ascending the brow OF the far side.
1t was the big moose.
Very carefully Luke measured the dis.
lance with his eye. sToo far; a full
thousand yards and the old 1856 was
only good Tor about three hundred.
Again the horn VA placed to his lips,
and this time the abort '~my-rrufgh' OF
a fighting bull broke the otherwise perfect
stiffness Of the morning.
Its effect was instantaneous.
The bull threw up his head. rolled
around his ungainly cara, sounded his
call and started forward at a trot.
Nearer and nearer he came.
Nine hundred. eight hundred. seven
hundred. six hundred and fifty. six
hundred" muttered Luke and pressed
back the trigger to avoid any sound OF
cluck. click as his thumb pulled back the
hammer.
At 900 yards the clicking Of the bulls
hoofs ceased and he came to so
sudden g stop that his impetus caused
him to slide forward a full yard. tearing
up the turf as he did, with o~utstretched
nose and dilated nostrils. With a snort
he wheeled around and, as the woodsman
emphatically cursed. tore of oyer the
brow. not to pause till q good half mile
circle had been measured of. Thsn again
circling he journeyed a full two miles
and was joined by a COW.
Then Luke Belding crossed over to
that other side. Who in hell-for there
was a mans ~track-passed over that
heath the evening before2 Yes. the
track led right to where the moose had
turned. No wonder he had wheeled. and
quietly the man swore again.
Now Luke Bedding was as stubborn az
he was curious. and yard by yard he took
up the back track OF that moose.
After much winding he struck the
straight trail and followed IL nearly three
miles to where the bull had left the cow.
On the return trip he took out his compass
Save where a huge boulder or tree trunk
had INTERVIEWED the track did not vary
fifteen feet from the straight line.
Not once again during the trip did Luke
catch sight Of the big moose and he
returned to the settlements empty handed.
Several parties reported having seen the
big bull. but none procured even a single
shot.
September waned and October crept in.
The first real cold weather made itself
manifest and the moo left the water
for the ridges, where the snoF Is never
really deep and by themiddle OF November
Old Peter and Luke Belding set out for
Bradley Ridge. for as yet no one had
claimed that thousand dollars.
The first day in camp it rained steadily.
Toward evening it cleared, the wind
SllIt6u 10 tue nOTtu diu everything Wh6
Arm in the embrace OF one Jack Frost.
Old Peter found the icioles hanging
from all branches as he emerged from
the dingle the next morning and knew
the next storm would bring soft weather.
Save for a crrrracck OF q birch with
the frost and the eunuu-r-r-rgh az the
air found access through a hole in the
lake not a sound disturbed the other
wise perfect stiffness OF the winters
morning. You might just As well stay
in camp as endeavor to still hunt on such
a morning. and stay in camp they did.
As on many other occasions during the
summer did tho old Indian outline ia
Luke his method Of still hunting.
He would explain how you must first
study some open space such as a barren
or lake to get the wind. How the general
course of an undisturhed moose would
be while feeding down wind. How you
could tell the age Of a rack up to three
days by examining the telltale bitten of
twigs.
How when you worked toward the edge
Of a thicket It was imperative to move
the whole body at once. not tofturn the
head or shoulders quickly. How mos,
moose fell east and west. How a moose's
intestines ran like this: