Traveling piggy-back style from Chatham, to Newfoundland.

 In 1972, there were an estimated 40,000 moose in Newfoundland. Wildlife officials in the tenth province believe that since 1945, there have been more than 180,000 moose legally hunted.
The significance of those two statements may escape you unless you know that the ancestors of all those moose once roamed the Miramichi forests in the vicinity of the Bartibogue River.
Very well then, how did the moose get from the Miramichi to Newfoundland? Well, it's very simple. A group of men from the Bartibogue area lassoed the moose, tethered them on to sleds, and took them to Chatham to put them on the train.
The story of the capture of the live moose to stock the forests of Newfoundland is well known among older residents along the river. They have all heard versions of the story; most of them have heard of the man who led the hunt, the almost legendary John Connell.
John Connell has, apparently, more than one claim to fame. He's known for his tame moose "Tommy" (Tommy's original saddle is on display at the Miramichi Natural History Museum, Miramichi East, Wellinton Street) but perhaps he is best known for the feat he performed in that winter of 1904.
John was a guide of note in the forests around the turn of the century. He was a hunter and fisherman second to none and he knew the habits of the wild creatures in the Miramichi woods.

Moose Requested !

John Nowlan of Chatham, who was raised by Connell's nephew Mike, recalls hearing about the moose capture during his growing up years. He is not positive but he thinks the request for live moose must have come from the Newfoundland government.
"I don't know if anyone would remember that now, but I guess the impression we all had is that there was some definite request. I don't know why else anybody would go out and catch a live moose," John Nowlan says.
John thinks the men who were involved were paid $50 for each moose "That was a lot of money in those days!"
There was a lot of snow in the winter of 1904. Even in March, people have heard that the snow was four feet deep. This made it very hard for the moose to travel any distance and they were mainly confined to their "yards".
For that reason, John Connell and his collaborators had little difficulty finding a colony of moose. The men used snowshoes to go deep in the woods, the snow being to deep and heavy for their horses to negotiate. When they reached the moose, according to those who have heard the old stories, they formed a circle around them.

 The Round-Up..."Then they lassoed them -- just like cattle," John Nowlan says. "The moose, of course, had no antlers at that time of year, and it's also the time of their least strength. Moose are thin in the late winter. They probably weigh a couple of hundred pounds less than they will in the fall after a summer of good feeding."
Having lassoed the moose, the men would tether it, and drag it out to where the horses waited with high-sided sleds. When they had captured six by this method, they removed their snowshoes and drove to Chatham (a distance of 10 to 12 miles) where they put the moose on the train.

Four Survived ?

John Nowlan seems to remember hearing that one of the moose died of fright at the station and perhaps another died in route. Reports seem to indicate that only four moose eventually arrived in Newfoundland -- two cows and two bulls.
Many years later, Jack Connell of Chatham (the great grandson of John Connell) received a press release from the Department of Tourism in Newfoundland. The release notes that the government had just come into possession of an early photograph showing one of the first moose to arrive in the province.
The release reads, in part: "The photo shows a yearling cow which was one of four moose released in the Howley area of Newfoundland in 1904, as an experimental attempt to introduce this species of big game animal to Newfoundland. The success of this project is now a matter of record, since the animal shown in the photograph became one of the original progenitors of a moose population currently estimated to be in excess of 40,000.

 Roots Have The River © Barque & Byte 2003

While working on a project concerning our local history here in Miramichi, one story that is well known to many local people, is John Connell and his moose Tommy. This true to life story to some is hard to believe and is assumed more lore than reality. Well, lore is fine by me, but the fact is John Connell could talk to the moose of Bartibog. His woods skills and understanding of the large herbivore made it an easy task for him to capture the moose in the deep snow of the winter.

            These initial animals have multiplied into a herd of approximately 120,000 or more. Statistics show that more than one million have been harvested since the provincial hunt was allowed. Some people think this is to many moose for the island to handle. On an average of almost one a day they encounter automobiles and the collisions are at times fatal for both moose and man. Moose have walked into post offices and one had to be rescued from St. John’s Harbor after traveling through the city core and downtown.

 Newfoundlanders love their Moose and the local sayings go, “Got a get me a moose by! ” Nothin quite like it on Saturday Night, HockeyNight In Canada and a bottle of Moose, By!  Ya don’t know whatcer missin!” This is how one fellow from Fogo Island put it to me!

                After reading the October issue of Down Homer Magazine and 10 Things You Don’t Know About Moose, brought back the memory of reading Canadian Geographic Magazine issue November/December 2000. Neither article mentioned the story of John Connell or how or where the relocated moose came from.

Bartibog River empties into the Mighty Miramichi River, just outside Miramichi City limits and slightly downstream. Its upper stretches have been logged heavily since the days of John Connell but the moose remain just the same. The area moose are protected but for three days a year, during the annual harvest. Licenses are acquired through a lottery developed by the Department of Natural Resources and monitored by both Provincial and Federal Wildlife Enforcement Officers.

                Poaching is still a problem here in the county of Northumberland as it probably is in other parts of Canada. Despite this illegal hunting and the ever receding forests, the Maritime region and Bartibog Moose continue to live on into another millennium. During the 2003 Harvest numbers were down for animals acquired through the lottery, wildlife officials reduced the number of permits allowed into the Bartibog zone for the 2003 season.

                New Brunswick has an estimated population of 25,000 moose, we are a lot smaller of a province than is Newfoundland but many animals suffer the same tragic collisions with automobiles. Fence barriers and under road tunnels, have proved to prevent these fatalities to both the moose and to man on Northern and Southern New Brunswick highways.

2004 in Howley Newfoundland residents are celebrating the Moose and a recent issue of Downhomer Magazine tells that particular story at www.downhomer.com 

D.P. Stewart County Crier’s Office © 2003 for more stories from the Miramichi, visit http://www.CountyCrier.Com