THE PELLY MOUNTAINS 201 



for two thousand feet, the whole wall studded with cas- 

 tellated pillars of rock projecting upward from it; while 

 below was an exquisite cliff-bound basin containing a 

 shining lake. 



A mile and a half across the basin was the crest of a 

 mountain, below which was a cornice of snow covering 

 about an acre and extending down a steep slope. As 

 I turned my field-glasses along the crest, a grizzly bear 

 standing on the sky-line just above the snow, came into 

 view. The bear, high on the mountain-crest, outlined 

 against the sky, presented a wonderful picture of wild 

 life in a stupendous landscape. 



It soon jumped over into the snow, walked back and 

 forth several times, then lay down about thirty feet from 

 the edge and appeared like a small, black spot. Shortly 

 I saw, not a hundred yards distant to the right, in line 

 with the snow, a band of twenty sheep feeding indiffer- 

 ently, though they had often looked toward the snow at 

 the time when the bear had been moving. It was too 

 hazy to clearly distinguish their horns, but I thought 

 they were rams. Since it would have required many 

 hours to descend and make the wide circuit necessary to 

 climb, unseen by them, I did not attempt it, but watched 

 them. 



In half an hour they started single file directly for 

 the snow, and to my complete astonishment walked up 

 on it, not twenty feet from the sleeping bear. Eight that 

 were ahead paused in the snow, apparently looking at the 

 bear; then all slowly walked on over the snow and dis- 

 appeared on the other side of the crest. Stranger still, 



