LARGE BULL-MOOSE COMES 141

had to go through was not only thick, but also had a mass
of dead sticks under foot, so before we had reached the
spot the shooting was to have taken place from, and from
where the shot would be easy, Bruin heard one of us snap
a twig. He became suspicious. Consequently it was
necessary to shoot at once from a most awkward position,
and though one of the bullets found its mark, the four or
five others that were sent after him failed in their mission.
At the time he was hit he made such a stumble that it
seemed impossible for him to live long, and we thought that
if he were left alone for a time he would lie down almost
at once. So we pushed on down the hill. But as soon as
we had got to one of the open places we stopped to give
the bear time.

We had hardly been there a couple of minutes when
one of the men said, ‘“‘ I can hear the bear grumbling up
in the timber; he is about a quarter of a mile away.”
Thereupon we all listened and soon heard the sound, too.
It was not the bear at all, but a bull-moose grunting;
moreover, it was soon evident that he was coming
towards where we were. So, as he seemed determined
on war, I gave a few answering grunts, which aroused
his ire to such an extent that we could soon hear him
coming, and by the way he grumbled and grunted and
threshed the trees with his horns it was palpable,
though he was still out of sight, that he was in a nasty
temper.

Now it happened that I had moved off a short distance
from the others, possibly thirty yards or so, in the direction
of the bull, so that when he came to within not more
than twenty yards of my position, and stood just back in
the balsams using all sorts of bad language and doing
dire damage to the neighbouring trees with his horns, it
must be acknowledged that my feelings were not those
of perfect security, as [had not a rifle with me. Moreover,
it occurred to me just then that probably the others had
forgotten to load their rifles again—one of them had—
and as my sole weapon was a stick, the chances were
that if the bull made up his mind to take a round out of