76 THE WILDERNESS OF THE UPPER YUKON 



ram on the edge of the canon and sat down to smoke my 

 pipe. 



After the excitement of the hunt the vast panorama 

 of mountains about me never seemed so beautiful. Di- 

 rectly below were the bare, steep slopes extending to the 

 timber which bordered the creek. Beyond, lay the valley 

 of the west fork, fringed green by the spruces, while 

 the waters of the creek were shining and glistening in 

 the rays of the setting sun, which tinted with gold the 

 heavy clouds on the horizon. The lofty mountain be- 

 hind camp stood out boldly, its high-turreted rocks and 

 rough peaks forming fantastic shapes against the sky- 

 line, and at its base our camp fire burned brightly. 

 Behind, stretching far away, were the bewildering masses 

 of the main Ogilvie ranges, the varied rocks blending 

 their colors and fading like a wavy ocean merging into 

 the soft, dull blue of the sky beyond. A large ram lay 

 at my feet; below in the canon was another; above on 

 opposite sides of the leaping stream two more my final 

 success. Still with me is the vivid memory of those wild 

 sheep rushing across the rocky slope in that wonderful 

 landscape. 



After photographing the dead ram near me I began 

 to take off the skin of his head and neck. The clouds 

 gathered fast and it soon began to rain. After cutting 

 off the head I carried it with the skin down into the 

 canon and then went up to the third ram killed, which 

 was very gray, and was selected to represent the "Fannin" 

 type for the collection of the Biological Survey. After 

 photographing him I gralloched him and left him for 



