New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-07-24
STALK II G
THE MOOSE
Continued from page four

with now ana LNen a moose To 5talh dIiU ip
annoyance from mosquitoes or black flies, we
abandoned everything else for the pleasures Of
the hour.
1t was probably O'Clock when we started
back down the river There was more smoke
in the air and there was puffy breeze. Down
the winding isle of the river between the high
walls of trees, we could not tell what direc-
ton it came from, except that it was souther-
~ For days we had been hoping for good
blow from the north, to throw the fires back
upon themselves.
We added some more moose film to our foot
age as we went along But the guides seemed
to be less careful than they had been, and one
could tell from the 'G}sicI" they put into their
paddle strokes that they We're intent upon get
ting the days paddle over with. did not
suspect there was anything back of this other
than the feeling that good days stalking hal
already been done, and It was a long way
home But as it turned out later, the Couchai
brothers sensed danger from the fire and
wanted to get out of the river
The wild life of forest is remarkably in
different TO fire until danger is INN nent
There was a great deal of smoke every where
on days when there was little breeze and
atmospheric pressure was heavy. Great col
umns of smoke could be seen on the horizon all
day long and should the wind spring IN
strongly from the fire area it might bring the
fire in great leaps across the Intervening for
est, dry as finder from the weeks of drought
We hurried along, and soon entered the river
Pafo Il hot ~y,o
smoke downstream ahead of us was not caused
by the big fire in the distance, but came from
a new fire along the river, started by embers
from the main fire. Due to the freshening
breeze, we occasionally had good visibility
downstream, and again we would be running
into a blanket of smoke.
We heard moose grunting in the woods to
our left and ahead of US. 1t was a cow calling
to her calf. We stopped padding to listen,
then went on cautiously. Around turn we
came upon them. The COW was well ahead,
and entered the river just as she saw u.s. She
swan across, but the calf took alarm and
lodged back into the bush. Shaefer was crank
ing his camera. AS l sat motonless, I saw a
spruce tree on the river bank ahead of US burst
into fame. The calf crcled around US and
swan the river behind US.
With common consent we took the camera
down and separated the canoes. We suffered
SO much from smoke that we all had cur
handkerchiefs out and dipped them in the
water to battle our eyes. Nobody said any
thing about turning back, but I, for one,
thought about it, That would have meant
going up the river and portaging through the
forest TO either Lake Dassera5 or the Kama
suta River without any trail, staggering I'M
dertaking. In taking down the camera. and
separating the canoes we drifted ashore and
everybody went overheard in the shallow wa
ter to facilitate the work. 1t occurred to me
that the wetter I got the better it might be
for me before I reached the lake, so
"ducked" and made good job Of it. Schaefer
did, too. Then we piled in and ran for it.
The fire along the river was incipient as
yet or we would have been compelled to turn
back. At places there was marsh and we had
clear going, but in the woods the fire was
spreading all around and sometimes burning
on the river banks. The river was only about
one hundred feet wide often less than that
We ran through some mighty hot places, but
there was no general confagraton with great
flames licking everything up, as occurs when
fire really gets Roadway. Much of the time
/ couldn / see where were going. | left it
TO John, who was always nay canoe mate and
welded the stern paddle. Two or three times
I saw vague shapes of animals running IN
the smoke. John called out to me now and
then, once to say big bull moose had swum
the river after we passed. Ny handkerchief
dried on my face and had to be wet time and
time and again, and my flannel shirt became
dry. Ny eyes and throat suffered acutely once
or twice when ran into thick smoke, but at
such times, even when | quit padding, Joha
heaved away and we through. We early
left the other canoe behind, but thought them
always close to US. When we finally ran out
onto the lake, with not even a SINCE but with
streaming eyes and gasping lungs we missed
the other canoe. They were loaded heavy
ard had but two paddles; expected them
momentarily to paddle out Of the smoke But
they did not. I became alarmed and swung
the canoe around to go back John unged
on his paddle and back we sped into the
smoke. The other canoe was coming along
safely, but had been held up on a mudbank
In our impetuosity we nearly ran them down.
Back again at our island we took stock of
our outfit and found everything unframed.
There was carpet of burnt spruce needles
and small cinders in each canoe and Schaefer