The Glenwood post., 1917-01-06
NO MOOSE EVER y
"TREED" A MAN

York, famous hunter and guide in
Maine for so years, no moose ever was
known to "tree' man in the sense in
which the term is generally understood,
numerous reports to the contrary being
fables or at best exaggerations.
"In my day." said Ben York, 81
have seen thousands of moose and
killed hundreds of them. I have fol
lowed them days and nights, at all sea
sons. l have watched them for days at
time to learn their tricks; I have
kept them in fenced Enclosures near my
camp for years at time, and have
tanned and driven them to harness all
along the West Branch. More than all
and woodsmen who were alive and ac-
tive when there were as many moose in
Maine as there are hedgehogs now, and
have never known or learned from
any reliable sources of single instance
of human being being '.treed' by
one of the animals.
During the mating season. says
York, the bulls act very strangely at
times, rushing about in an aimless man
uer, climbing steep hills, swimming
furious streams and placing themselves
in peril of their lives in many ways.
While the fury for combat is on an OLD
bull he will crash through the woods,
running his head against rocks and
trees and often injuding himself seri-
ously If a man should get in the bulls
way at such time, why, very likely
he would become a candidate for the
hospital. At such time the bull never
stops to note how much damage he has
done. He keeps racing right along at
top speed until he gets all tagged ont
or meets rival for the object of his
affections.
The stories that some guides tell, -
said York, "about moose driving hun
tiers into trees and standing guard over
them all night, paving the ground and
believing with rage, are inventions of
nature takers to awe greenhorns. / am
convinced that no moose ever deliber
ately attacked human being, unless
wounded and crazed with pain, il
which condition the meekest of anima
often become dangerous; and whoevc:
tells of being treed by moose at any
time or under any circumstances is
drawing upon his Imagination.
81 have seen two bull moose fight,
he says, "while I stood within few
rods of them, and keep up the battle
for half an hour without becoming
aware of my presence. At other times
l have padded up to mother moose
when she was feeding on the roots of
pond lilies with her head under water
and drawn off half pint of her mill;
without alarming her. l have seen
moose fight with wolves and bears, and
have observed their extreme soicitude
for their young; but never yet have |
human being.
'While l. talking about moose, =
York said, Il want to say that | take
no stock in the so-called moosehorn for
calling bulls to their destruction in the
mating season. The COW moose, whose
cry is said to be closely initiated by
the birch bark horn, utters Il long AMI
dolorous wall at times, whatever the
time of year. / have stood close by
several times while cow moose were
making such cries, but never knaw bull
hours. All through the mating season
the bulls are very alert to catch th4
slightest sound, and let a twig snap or
an ak handle beat a tattoo on a hollow
stump and the bull is away in the di-
rection of the sound, believing his dc.
fiant challenge. l have used the birch
bark horn with some success in calling
moose, but | have done as well or bet
ter by rapping the butt of my rifle
against the trunk of a tree or breaking
twig in the thicket. II is my bei."f
that the dominant passion in the mind
of bull moose in mating time Is to
meet and defeat every rival, and that
the dolorous cry of the COW neither at
tracts nor repels the male.'
Many of the Oldest hunters and
guides agree with Mr. York concerning
the freeing of men by moose, but most
of them believe that the birchbark
horn Is very useful to the hunter.
Harsh physics react, weaken the