FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT. on 
of the year, was very much alike. The summer coat acquires a rusty hue, 
which in all probability is due to coloring matter in the soil and beds of 
decomposed shale, where the sheep so frequently lie down. Winter speci- 
mens appear to be quite free from this stain, exhibiting, so far as I have 
ever observed, a clear white coat.” 
The White Mountain Sheep is noticeably smaller than the Big 
Horn, and its more ample pelage has the effect of making it seem 
short in the legs and heavy in the body. The face averages be- 
tween one and two inches shorter than that of the Big Horn, of 
the same age. The horns are much more slender and more deli- 
cately modelled than those of Owvis montana, and by them alone 
this species can readily be distinguished from all others. Their 
closest resemblance is to the horns of Owls nivicola, of Kam- 
schatka. 
During the last five years, explorations in Alaska and the North- 
west Territory have greatly extended the known range of this 
species. Indeed, it would not be surprising if the complete ex- 
ploration of the Northwest reveals the fact that the White Sheep 
inhabits every important mountain range north of the 6oth parallel 
and west of the Mackenzie River. Whether it has ever crossed 
the Mackenzie delta, and spread through the mountains that ex- 
tend eastward along the coast, remains to be determined; but 
it is entirely probable that it has done so. The gap (if one there 
be) between the low mountains immediately eastward of the delta 
and the high range extending southeastward from Cape Bathurst 
can be no greater than the eastward wanderings of the Big Horn 
from the Rocky Mountains, along both the Yellowstone and the 
Missouri rivers. 
The localities of the White Sheep which are most accessible 
to American sportsmen and naturalists are the mountains of the 
Kenai Peninsula and the Alaskan range surrounding Cook’s Inlet. 
One of the best published accounts of hunting this animal in its 
home, and its habits when pursued, is from the pen of Mr. A. J. 
Stone,* and refers to the mountains about fifty miles west of 
the Mackenzie delta, the Arctic terminus, in fact, of the Rocky 
Mountain system. The following is from Mr. Stone’s report: 
“T found these animals everywhere above the timber line, and almost 
always occupying the most rugged parts of the mountains, the males par- 
ticularly favoring the most rugged and rocky ridges. 
* Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, XIII., p. 43. 
