74 THE WILDERNESS OF THE UPPER YUKON 



winding upward I reached a point high above the sheep, 

 where the ground was so rough and steep that it was 

 difficult to work among the crags and rocks to the part 

 of the crest that I had marked from below as directly 

 above the sheep. The slope now became so dangerous 

 that it was necessary to sling my rifle on my back, so 

 that I could use both hands. At length, I stood at the 

 marked point, just below the crest, and paused awhile 

 to rest and recover my breath after the exertion of the 

 climb. 



After a few moments I slowly crawled forward and 

 looked over. A hundred and fifty yards below me was 

 the large ram, lying down near the edge of the second 

 ravine, and a little to the left below it the heads of two 

 smaller ones were just visible. The wind was fresh and 

 fairly strong, blowing directly from me to them. As 

 no other sheep were in sight I concluded that the rest 

 were below in the ravine. The ram was peacefully look- 

 ing down on that wondrous landscape, without suspicion 

 of danger from above. Sitting with elbows squarely on 

 my knees, I fired at the centre of its body. I heard the 

 bullet strike him before he rose with a jump and stepped 

 forward, quickly passing out of sight over the edge of the 

 ravine. The two smaller rams sprang to a standing posi- 

 tion, and looked sideways and down, apparently not much 

 alarmed. None of the others appeared while I remained 

 stretched at full length, motionless, for ten minutes. The 

 big ram then suddenly staggered in sight again on the 

 edge of the ravine and I aimed, fired, and the bullet 

 struck him in such a way that I was confident he had 



