CHAPTER VIII 



LOOKING FOR RAMS 1904 



September 17. The next day I hunted the ridges and 

 mountains behind camp, and, after a careful search, was 

 obliged to return without having seen anything except 

 some new sheep tracks which indicated the presence of 

 a band somewhere in that locality, and warned me that 

 the country had better be avoided for a day or two. 

 The ground-squirrels had all retired for the winter, but 

 red squirrels were abundant in the woods. Several large 

 flocks of ravens were seen; possibly they were migrating 

 to another locality. Selous had climbed over the moun- 

 tains on the north-east and found a magnificent draw at 

 the head of Clearwater Creek. There he had killed a 

 bull moose with very small horns, although they appeared 

 large when he shot it. The moon was nearly full and 

 judging by the new tracks of bulls, then occurring every- 

 where even on the tops of the ridges, the rut was in full 

 swing and the bulls were travelling widely. 



September 1 8. The temperature was falling fast when 

 we went to sleep, and in the morning the thermometer 

 recorded six degrees above zero. Selous took Louis to 

 accompany him to the Clearwater draw, and I started to 

 climb the mountain in front of camp. It was clear all 

 day and a cold wind swept the snow in great clouds about 

 the crests. Passing through the timber, I saw the fresh 



