The Black Moose in Pennsylvania

In Short

Henry W. Shoemaker’s The Black Moose in Pennsylvania is a regional natural history and folkloric study investigating the historical presence of the eastern moose in the Keystone State. Combining fossil records, historical accounts, local place names, and hunter traditions, Shoemaker traces the animal's southern migration routes, gigantic proportions, and eventual extirpation at the hands of early settlers. The book concludes with a narrative legend, "The Original," illustrating the deep spiritual respect native inhabitants held for the creature. It endures as a vivid portrait of early American wilderness and forgotten wildlife history.

The Story

Shoemaker constructs his historical inquiry by piecing together fragmented evidence to prove that the "Black Moose" or "Original"—a creature distinct from the elk or "Grey Moose"—was an occasional visitor and inhabitant of Pennsylvania's northern and central mountain ranges. The narrative arc opens with the author's personal encounters with veteran woodsmen and fossil discoveries. Visiting old hunters in Clinton County and inspecting unearthed antlers, Shoemaker notes how common memory and physical artifacts point to a forgotten giant in the state’s fauna.

Moving into documented history, the narrative examines mid-to-late 18th-century accounts. European naturalists and early chroniclers observed moose descending during severe winters from the Adirondacks and Catskills, crossing the Delaware into Pennsylvania. They traveled along the Allegheny crests as far south as the Maryland border. The text follows these migratory pathways through local geography, showing how mountains, streams, and settlements earned names like Moosic, Moosehead, and Chickalacamoose. Shoemaker emphasizes the imposing size of these colonial-era specimens, citing records of colossal antlers unearthed in mountain swamps or displayed above tavern doors, far exceeding modern dimensions.

As settlement expanded, the moose's confiding nature made it easy prey for hunters. Shoemaker outlines how the arrival of firearms and indiscriminate hunting along migration corridors broke the species' movements and quickly led to its local demise by the 1790s, roughly coinciding with the extermination of the eastern bison.

The work culminates in a dramatized historical legend set at Kittanning Point. Young Jacob, a Seneca warrior carrying a deep resentment against white encroachment, camps alongside a friendly, browsing moose. When an armed white hunter stumbles upon the scene and raises his rifle to slay the revered animal, Young Jacob intervenes to protect the beast, shedding white blood and sealing his fate as a skulking exile. Through this narrative ending, Shoemaker cements the transformation of the Black Moose from a biological reality into an enduring symbol of lost wilderness and native heritage.

How It Unfolds

Traces in the earth The author visits aged mountain hunter Seth Iredell Nelson and examines Canadian horns on his wall, prompting inquiries into local moose lore. Discoveries of unearthed antlers in Tamarack Swamp and early natural history records establish the physical basis for the animal's past presence in the region.

Written records of the wilderness Eighteenth-century naturalists and local historians provide eyewitness accounts of the "Black Moose" or "Original." Travelogues and regional histories document sightings near mountain passes, hunting grounds near Scranton, and salt licks near the New York border.

Echoes from the campfires Old hunters and Native American descendants share oral traditions detailing regular migration corridors along the Allegheny summits. Legends recount how the animals bathed in deep mountain pools during specific moon phases and were held in high spiritual esteem by native tribes.

The final slaughter Severe winters once drove moose south across the Delaware into Pennsylvania, but expanding settlements created a barrier of rifles. Hunters relentlessly killed off the remaining animals, resulting in their complete regional extermination around the 1790s.

Relics of giant antlers Massive antler sets preserved in tavern doorways, such as Jacob Heller's tavern near the Wind Gap, reveal the extraordinary scale of colonial moose. Shoemaker compares these historic specimens to modern records to illustrate the decline in animal sizes over centuries of overhunting.

The shadow at Kittanning Point In a legendary tale, the Seneca warrior Young Jacob camps at Burgoon's Run accompanied by a trusting moose. When a white hunter attempts to shoot the creature, Jacob reacts to save the animal, cementing the moose as a tragic emblem of the vanishing frontier.

The People

• Henry W. Shoemaker: The author and dedicated antiquarian whose curiosity about mountain lore drives the collection of interviews, historical records, and natural history artifacts.
• Seth Iredell Nelson: An venerable mountain hunter at Round Island who killed over 500 elk and provides key initial insights into early Pennsylvania wildlife.
• Jim Jacobs ("The Seneca Bear Hunter"): A legendary Seneca hunter and grandson of Captain Jacobs who unearthed fresh moose antlers in 1819 and remained a famous figure of big game lore until his death on the railroad tracks in 1880.
• Dr. J. D. Schoepf: A German surgeon and naturalist whose 1783 travel accounts clarify the confusing terminology between the "Grey Moose" (elk) and the true "Black Moose."
• Jacob Heller: An old tavern keeper near the Wind Gap who preserved a set of massive, 91-pound moose antlers above his doorway for decades.
• Dorcas Holt Buchanan: An intrepid pioneer woman and tavern keeper on the Juniata known for her fearless encounters with river game and mountain wolves.
• Young Jacob: A defiant Seneca warrior who harbors deep mistrust toward white settlers and acts as a protector of the sacred "Original" at Kittanning Point.

In Its Own Voice

"Around this camp game was abundant. The elk and the fleeter moose stood among their native pines, or thundered onward like the tread of cavalry..."

H. Hollister's early history captures the majestic movement and dense numbers of big game that once filled the Lackawanna Valley before European settlement.

"To have a moose browse in the vicinity of an encampment presaged victory in war, to find a moose head or antlers in the forest, good luck in the chase or domestic life."

Shoemaker describes the profound reverence local tribes held for the moose, viewing its peaceful presence near their camps as a blessing.

"Doubtless the Moose of Colonial days was a much larger animal than any specimens seen today, even the gigantic so-called 'Alaskan' Moose."

The author asserts his belief that intense hunting pressure over centuries led to a noticeable decline in the physical stature of North American big game species.

What It's Really About

Underneath its zoological inquiries, the book is an elegy for an obliterated ecosystem and a meditation on human carelessness. Shoemaker contrasts two fundamentally opposed worldviews regarding the natural world. To the native inhabitants, the moose—or "Original"—was a noble ancestor figure to be respected and harvested only out of dire necessity. To the expanding European population, the animal was merely meat, trophy antlers, or an obstacle to civilization. The text explores how rapid environmental transformation, unrestricted hunting, and the loss of apex predators degraded both wildlife populations and the wilderness itself, transforming a rich natural heritage into distant, unverified folklore.

Why Read It Today

The Black Moose in Pennsylvania offers a fascinating window into early American natural history and regional antiquarian research. Readers who enjoy local lore, historical conservation, and forgotten state history will appreciate Shoemaker’s earnest attempt to document a vanished species through rural oral histories.

The prose possesses an unpretentious, antiquarian charm, filled with vivid descriptions of mountain taverns, frontier personalities, and rugged wilderness geography. However, modern readers should approach the text aware of its period limitations. Shoemaker relies heavily on anecdotal accounts, local hunter yarns, and romanticized characterizations of Native Americans typical of early 20th-century popular history. The narrative frequently mixes biological speculation with folklore, requiring a reader who enjoys the flavor of old mountain tales rather than strict modern scientific rigor. What remains with you is a poignant sense of loss—a reminder of how quickly a majestic species can be erased from a landscape, leaving behind only place names and antlers on tavern walls.