Iditarod pioneer., 1915-10-02

ing perhaps, that he was master or the situation, and then, like flash IL daWucd on Henry thai he ilad neglected 10 load his rifle.
 Firing. no doubt, of being inqui$itively stared at Mfr Moose slowly anbicd back to the upper end Of David Strandberg'S big sand rat where the taiIinGS and sand are beng cOrrlieu by the master hand Of Frank Andrrson Frank, by the way, has been ac- cuSed of laying out an iHinrn>r rae" cUursr, where future Eerbys will be run Not until the advent of Sir Royal Moose ON the premises for try-0ut has the ruInor seemed to have any foundation in fact, but the doubling ones now realize that there really Is = ,Tur truth ill the assertion. Mr- Moose entered the big arena, satisfied hun self aS tu the course, and then prorefdrd to go some He evidently was feeling fine: and perhaps thought Of "the days or real sport" At any rate be set lip record that will stand for some time to come stretching forth his icug, 1.-the limhS, nc began tu show signs of speed at the second stride when he reached the center of the rulirSp space Was being annihilalrd al an alarming rate, and ere he reached thF liAlSl he was going like locomotive With the Throttle thrown wide open, tiniShing the distance in rerurc time Bert kfhnfdE' who is some authority on speed, offered 10 wager hl5 winnings on the recent morse f1cP that inc nrW entry rOuld beat Mrarhaih now famous blue horse city block and without any preliminary training His stride which was measured afieFWard from stpp to Step. was eleven feet and the foot prints were as large ds q young elephant :. This being only an exhibition iry-out. how ever, tltr moose slowed down on rcarhlng the tundra and then slowly trotted Up Tn" draw on the right limit, qHie!ing down to q walk until ha reached the top of the big divide at the head of Slate creek. Here Tor brief momcnt he paused ai if to take a last farewell look, the outlines or his magniuccnf physique si!hnuettrd asailSt the ci'ar morning sky. picture 'hat Will long be remembered, and then he disap, nrnrcd over the brow Of lne hill toward Discovery
 In ttr meantime veteran hunters and ain ateur SpDftSmen were gfttiN2 ready Ter inc chase. HialInrr Johnson with fitle m lahd and his two thoroughbred StdSh0un0S al his side set off in hot pursuit directly on his lraii while owen Gray, a seasoned hunter and hero Of many bard fought chase" StarIrd rn around the mountain, an tirlDatln2 that he might perhaps circle around. After several hours of tracking brth hunters returned. thtir efforts to SC rure shot haVln& proved unaVa'iing- h'S- rOyrry was notified that there was moose meat 0n foot, coming their way. but a sleepy voice responded, There Is no one up here"
 But al Flat fl was quite different. The Branch, which is fdIn6ilS as | central news distributing agrnry. and IS always the first iu learn or any important or unusual events, be ii from the lorai confines rf our littic community or thr Warrng rcnterS of Europe immediately spt busy So when spuial Jack PctcrSOH, who Is T noted game hunter. and who happencd to be on duty at inc time. learned of the presence ot moose in the vicinity. he douned his hunt ing togS and with bis neFeF-fai'lnS rlhf sarnt"red ID otter creek, promising 10 give Mr. Moose a most royal reception should h. rtaAr4. to come bis way. Put i' Is Quttf probable that owing 10 the rather ro" re cpptiUn at thr head of Flat rrPrk and the unannrpriatiyp efforts tn make things inter 1J,I fnftfpH Transfer his presence to more appfttiatFe communities
 The miners. on being approached for net securing fresh moose meat when delivered at tbp,r very doorstep. so io speak. re Spnndpd that It would be nnsprrtsmdn'ike and eliminate the thrill 0f lhe chase were they to have done so, and 1t would be too tame an affair. Perhaps. also, With mai same generosity and kinh1iufSs of spirit Tor which the boys Ou the Ip-Grade nave been noted this sIlmmeS, they believed in giNn& the animal a fair chance for l'S NIr. Na'- urally, there is some difference or opinion as 1o this, and some believe that II WAS d pure case of "huck asur- This iS rare disease in the North. bat is qnitr common in the Maine woods and other nNiaDic mt lipnaire hunting localities If usually oniE affects the arStOcratic dWeilrrS or the larger cities. who, when on their hnnfln2 trips, and their guide places them tacr 10 fare With their quarry. bFrome s" spel,- bound and fascinated that they are nnahif to Dlll tIp tFiSStF DT Sih'Dt put E'i''N'i'i indeed has it been known to affect sea sonpd sourdnu9hs Grant Murdock. who held reserved seat, suggested that II was 1t and proper that the animai Should go unmoIcSted and have ihf freedom CT 'nc creek. for ii lad undoubtedly shown itself to be a most ubNGing moose, and pfrhaps had been given tie local Moose password, and such being the case, was ceftainN entitled 10 loyalty and protert,on- Ills royal hishnesS was uncommnnicaftVe. however, as to why and WbeNre be came and maHy theories have been advanced by local znoln- 9ists and wild game authorities: Milhiil the recollection "f the oldest n%na1i,tnt % .ti |. | this is the tlrst moose to have hOn0reh th' : section with visit. over on Moore crech, only forty miles away, moose frequently are met with and while there Is a diVtde or two to cross, it is not unreasonable to sup pose that q stray moose might wander over this way. and q bull moose often will travel 100 miles or more in search Of his mate A, this scasOn bull moose are utterly 0rVnid of fear, and a human being or hablation has little or no terrofs for him
 Another theory advanced is that the moose had scented the reindeer which nave been pastured on the slopes of Red noun tain. at the head of Fan creek, during the past few weeks, and as moose have very keen scent, their presence could be de- tpcted long way of; and it is quite prop able that he might have decided to inyesti-
 
 chancpd to come over the hill the following afternoon reported that he had noticed moose tracks almost everywhere on inc u'- vide. which would go to show that the moose had been up there for some time during the previous day and night. ana later wandered down the draw In attempt ing to cross the lower end or me DIE oaiii he had become mired in the moving sands, and perhaps had been struggling there for several hours. An inspection made after- ward of the scene showed plainly where inc moose had got out of the mire, but there was no sign of where he entered, the action Of the water and sand having oDiit- crated all signs in the meantime.
 The moose was first seen at 5:3o m me morning by the night cook. and 1t was a few minutes after when he finally passed over the hill. How long it had been on the sand flat before this is merely con- jecture. "
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