HUNTING RAMS 219 



I was much interested to observe his keen senses of 

 hearing and smell, which were fully as acute as those of 

 the wild animals of the woods. When at a distance from 

 camp he was as alert as any of them. Many times, when 

 from an elevation I saw him feeding, I would try to 

 approach unheard, but not even a moose could have 

 detected me sooner than he did. When in a favorable 

 wind he always scented me from a long distance, and 

 Jefferies used to know of my approach to camp wholly 

 by Danger's actions long before human ears could hear 

 any sounds of footsteps. If one loves a horse, there is no 

 situation where that affection can be so intensely bestowed 

 as on the single animal far off in the wilderness where it 

 seeks companionship in its master more dependently than 

 anywhere else. After the trip, Danger must be shot 

 the only alternative was starvation. 



August i. Very early the next morning I was pushing 

 through willows on my way to climb the east part of the 

 mountain behind camp, hoping that other rams might 

 be found there. No clouds were in the sky, but a haze 

 hung over the mountains and the wind was strongly 

 blowing. In that direction a succession of spurs extended 

 out from the mountains, enclosing large areas where 

 rams might be feeding. One of the spurs sloped down 

 to a high dome-shaped ridge, which I ascended nearly 

 to the top, and keeping below the sky-line went around 

 the dome to get a look on the other side. 



The two stray rams I had seen before were lying down 

 near the top, about two hundred yards to the left. Crawl- 

 ing behind some dwarf-birch bushes, I watched them 



