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KING OF CANADIAN WOODS Big Garhe Sportsmen From All Over World WorldVisit Visit the Northern Forests to toHunt Hunt trie Mbbse I Hig game moose in pmJcnlar is a valuable asset of our Canadian neighbors because visiting sportsmen from the States from Europe and even from tlie far parts of the earth and the islands of the sea visit the outlying provinces of our neigh ¬ bors in search of sport the like of which is to be found nowhere else if ws except the northern woods of Maine MaineThey They come hunting the moose monarch of the forests of the Dominion and king of all antlered H animals the world over and they leave a train of shining dollars behind The money paid for rail ¬ road fares for guides for provisions and all that by those who get and also by those who do not reaches an almost unbelievable total and our broth ¬ ers across the lilies are not overlooking any bets when it conies to a question of cold cash cashTlie Tlie lawmakers of the Dominion while making small liriiit bags put no obstacle in the way of the hunter who wishes to take his trophies home the heads the horns the hides the hoofs for the reason that a single good head hung at the club or in the library of the shooter is a fure that may draw across the line and to the moose woods a dozen or more parties the following year yearThe The limits indeed are small two bull moose iu the northwestern territory in all or nearly all the other provinces oie And mind you it is a very serious matter to break the game law or in fact any law in Canada Mining men in tlie north ¬ western woods though seem to be exempt They must eat and boast that Mining camps know no game law for fresh meat is scarce and when tlie miners have a chance they get while the getting is good It is to be re ¬ membered also that they are a long way from civilization aiid it would be hard to get a jury to convict no matter how clear the case 1er liaps the game suffers but as a rule the enforce ¬ ment of the law is rigid everywhere and all kinds of game are on the increase all over Canada CanadaTlie Tlie seasons are short except in the far north where moose shooting is permitted for seven months September 1 to April 1 In Alberta it is only fortytwo days the month of November and twelve days in December In Manitoba it is still shorter November 20 to December 10 In Nova Scotia it lengthens out Oct l or 1 to November 20 and in Now Brunswick it is from September 15 to November 30 In spite of the short seasons how ¬ ever 1230 moose were repotted as killed in Nova Scotia last year and in all tlie provinces those reported and those killed for meat of which no record was kept for every piece of big game killed is not registered in Canada or anywhere else undoubtedly would reach a total of 10000 head Yet the natural increase more than offsets this thisTEN TEN THOUSAND MOOSE Think of it Ten thousand moose ten mil ¬ lion pounds of moose meat But it is the heads the horns the hides the hoofs a sportsman most desires The flesh is a secondary consideration Appreciating this Itlio Dominion government makes the export iTiilfus oYriliese trophies light usuaTly i or 5 Nor is the cost of a nonresident shooting license excessive 23 in Quebec Saskatchewan On ¬ tario British Columbia and Manitoba d iu Nova Scotia 50 iu the northwestern territory and Now Brunswick and an even 100 in the Yukon country Guides also are required to pay a small license fee usinllyx5 or less As a sort of offset to this in many of the provinces no payments are required froni resident farmers farmersOne One thing that is in favor of the inoose is the fact that few fall victims to predatory animals Occasionally when pressed by hunger a band of wolves will try and pull down a moose As a rule all animals are satisfied to leave them alone even a grizzly hesitating before matching his strength against that of a fullgrown bull moose which is far from being flic case with deer for with them the loll of the wild is oftcu more than double that taken by man and his gun gunPaddling Paddling in the shallows along the border of some quiet lake when the season first opens is a favorite way of mose hunting with many The lily stalks and leaves are green and jiiicy smart weed abundant water grass plentiful and all suit the taste of the moose He splashes along talcing a nip of the one and then a mouthful of tlie other while the canoO the hunter in front and the guide in the stern 5 Iying his paddle moves noiselessly stealing along the edge of tfie weeds like i ghost working against the wind so the animal will not get a whiff of the man scent scentWhen When the critical moment comes there is always a chance in the uncertain light for a novice to overshoot Some experts say Chalk your fore ¬ sight Others recommend nickel or ivory fore ¬ sights and some who can afford it say gold As for me in what afterdark shooting I have done mostly at muskrats in the water I found using phosphorus on the sight of my shotgun to be a great help Not too much of it only a little touch That and remembering that one must shoot low always spelled success It looks as if the same thing coupled with the same care would work equally well on moose or any other kind of big jamc in night shooting shootingCALLING CALLING TRICKS THEM ALL ALLFor For daylight shooting at certain seasons nothing will bring the game be it moose or duck within easy range like calling Making the game come to you instead of trying to go to it itA A yelpcr will draw wild turkeys to the gun when all other means of getting a shot fails A caller brings ducks to decoys they would other ¬ wise pass A guide who can honk causes many a shy old goose to leave his fellows and go to his doom The same general principle applies to all game A monster mOose as well as a tiny teal is tricked by it But in November when the weather is cold and the marshes all frozen then the old hunters say If you want a moose stalk him Only take care that he does not become the hunter instead of the hunted huntedTlfe Tlfe wind must blow from moose to man That gives him only sight anil hearing to depVnd on The other way from man to moose his wonderful sense of smell is worth fr protection twicowhat sight and hearing are makiiiz it wellnigh im ¬ possible to come within range rangeTlie Tlie stalking not only requires skill but endur ¬ ance and patience as well An adept at stalking says Go into the woods jirepnred to follow your game for several days Take food matches salt a knife and compass An electric flashlight is ni good thing to have in your knapsack Thou stick to it even if the going is bad and you have to do fifteen miles or over a day Above ail if you thVnfr you are lost dont get rattled but sit down and figure in which direction camp is then lay your course and keep to it If you are wrong it will bring you out soriiewhere to a river a road a trail that can be followed and is better than wnn deriug around in a circle until you drop exhausted exhaustedAfter After the weather becomes cold and the ground snowcovered the moose of a neighborhood yard up the yard consisting of hardwood ridges with sloughs and swamps on each side and sometimes containing us many as fifty moose These big ani ¬ mals tramp down the bushes and weeds making beaten roads to their feeding grounds nearly always going and coming over the same route They would be easy to waylay and shoot when traveling but for the fact that they usually yard after the open season has closed then they are safe safeThe The moose of British Columbia and the Yukon are said to be the largest in the world A hunter to avoid following the tracKs of a female think ¬ ing them large enough to be those of a male and having his labor for bis pains should know the foot ¬ prints of a bull moose are more round and blunt than those of a cow which rre long aiid pointed E T Martin in Hunter Trader and Trapper
