21 8 Sheep 



of the ventral surface, including the breast and greater part of the chest, 

 and thence along the sides to the thighs, nearly black ; the lateral 

 extension along the Hanks becomes narrower posteriorly, and the neck is 

 somewhat grizzled with white ; outer surface of both fore- and hind-limbs 

 blackish-brown, either uniform or in some specimens varied with a slight 

 mixture of whitish ; back of head with a broad area of black, narrowing 

 posteriorly and continued to the tail as a well-defined dorsal stripe; 

 tail wholly deep black, except a few white hairs on the middle oi its 

 lower surface ; a narrow blackish chin-bar, varying in breadth and 

 distinctness in different individuals ; hoots black ; horns light brown." 



In its relatively small size this sheep agrees with the Alaskan race, 

 as it does in the form of its horns. It differs in that its prevailing 

 coloration is either dark gray or blackish-brown, according to the area in 

 question, instead of being a nearly uniform dirty white colour. With 

 the typical race it agrees in a general way as regards its pattern of 

 coloration, hut the umber or wood-brown ot the former is everywhere 

 replaced in the present animal by blackish-brown, or black. The stature 

 in the present race is, moreover, considerably inferior, and the horns are 

 less massive, with a more outward curvature at the tips. 



Distribution.- — The upper part of the Stikin \'alley, British North-West 

 Territory, near the Alaskan frontier, at an elevation of between 6000 and 

 7000 feet above sea-level, and about 2^0 miles south of the area known to 

 be inhabited by the Alaskan race. 



Mr. Stone, the discoverer of tliis apparently well-marked race of 

 bighorn, writes as f)llows to Dr. Allen, its describer : — "The only 

 specimens of this sheep I had the opportunity of discovering were the 

 males which I found during the months of August and September in the 

 most rugged parts of the mountains, entirely above the timber-line. I 

 often found them singly, and at no time did I discover more than five in 

 one bunch, though one of my party reported having seen eleven together. 



