THE WILD SHEEP 323 



distinct, and they see but little of each other ; the 

 sheep being restricted mostly to the dry, inland 

 mountains ; the goat or chamois to the wet, snowy 

 glacier-laden mountains of the northwest coast 

 of the continent in Oregon, Washington, British 

 Columbia, and Alaska. Probably more than 200 

 dwell on the icy, volcanic cone of Mount Rainier ; 

 and while I was exploring the glaciers of Alaska I 

 saw flocks of these admirable mountaineers nearly 

 every day, and often followed their trails through 

 the mazes of bewildering crevasses, in which they 

 are excellent guides. 



Three species of deer are found in California, 

 the black-tailed, white-tailed, and mule deer. The 

 first mentioned (Cervus Columbianus) is by far 

 the most abundant, and occasionally meets the 

 sheep during the summer on high glacier meadows, 

 and along the edge of the timber line ; but being 

 a forest animal, seeking shelter and rearing its 

 young in dense thickets, it seldom visits the wild 

 sheep in its higher homes. The antelope, though 

 not a mountaineer, is occasionally met in winter 

 by the sheep while feeding along the edges of the 

 sage-plains and bare volcanic hills to the east of 

 the Sierra. So also is the mule deer, which is al 

 most restricted in its range to this eastern region. 

 The white-tailed species belongs to the coast ranges. 



Perhaps no wild animal in the world is without 

 enemies, but Highlanders, as a class, have fewer 

 than lowlanders. The wily panther, slipping and 

 crouching among long grass and bushes, pounces 

 upon the antelope and deer, but seldom crosses the 

 bald, craggy thresholds of the sheep. Neither can 



