Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/554642
John Seerey-Lester egends of the Hunt Ornery, short-tempered, and suffering from arthritis, the old Montana trapper knew just the place where TR could kill his first moose. F or one reason or another, all of Theodore Roosevelt's moose hunts had ended in failure, until he met an old trapper by the name of Hank Griffin while hunting in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana in September 1889. TR, along with his ranch manager and friend, Bill Merrifield, was experiencing his usual run of bad luck whenever he hunted North America's largest antlered animal. Then he met Old Griff, who was trapping beaver in the mountains. The old-timer told TR of a place where he could guarantee a moose. Roosevelt wasted no time in agreeing to go with the old man. While Merrifield returned to the ranch, TR and the trapper headed into a high marshy valley between two forest-clad mountains, ideal habitat for moose. The valley was studded with small ponds amidst dense stands of willows, reeds, alders, and rank grass. Shortly before sunrise the men climbed to a small outcropping from where they could watch the entire valley for any signs of moose. L S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 8 2