THE WATSON RIVER COUNTRY 163 



migan were as numerous as in the mountains east of the 

 Yukon River. 



As I was descending, I saw across the valley two white 

 specks on the north-west slope of Mount Gray, and my 

 glasses revealed two sheep feeding high among the rocks. 

 They soon lay down, and, it being too late to reach them 

 before dark, I crossed the valley to determine their sex, 

 but when I reached the lake there was not enough light 

 to distinguish them. 



The shallow water at the head of the lake was covered 

 with a thin sheet of ice. Beavers had damned the mouth 

 of the inlet and the water had backed up to form another 

 small lake, which also was covered with ice. In the mid- 

 dle of the latter they had constructed a large house. As 

 I approached, the ice was cracking and I plainly heard 

 splashing. Creeping silently to the shore, I saw three 

 beavers at work on the house. At intervals each would 

 swim under the ice to the shore and get a stick, which 

 was held at one end in the teeth and taken under the ice. 

 Every few feet the beaver would force its head against the 

 ice, break it, and breathe for a moment. One proceeded 

 in this way to the house, breaking the ice four times, 

 another six times, and another seven. Reaching the 

 house they would drag the stick upon it, and spend ten 

 minutes in working it into the structure. They would then 

 return for another stick. When it was too dark to watch 

 them longer, I silently withdrew and returned to camp. 

 Johnson had tramped all day without seeing a sheep. 



October 19. Early in the morning I looked across the 

 lake, to a spur projecting from Mount Gray, and saw two 



