230 THE WILDERNESS OF THE UPPER YUKON 



The old ewe was extremely watchful and distinctly 

 the leader. Taking out my kodak, I remained flat on 

 my back, hoping that after reaching the crest they would 

 turn and come in my direction. But they passed directly 

 over and disappeared on the other side. The wind was 

 blowing from me to them. Holding my kodak ready, I 

 slowly followed the sheep-trail on the crest, toward the 

 point where they had disappeared. When within fifty 

 yards, I passed around a high, protruding rock and saw 

 them lying down just below the sky-line. Instantly 

 dropping back and preparing the kodak, I suddenly 

 stepped forward in plain sight and pressed the bulb as 

 the old ewe jumped up. All had begun to run across 

 the curving slope as I snapped another exposure. It was 

 hazy, and their color blended so perfectly with the rock 

 that they appear but indistinctly in the negative. I saw 

 them again after they had crossed a canon and were 

 beginning to ascend the slope toward that part of the 

 crest where the two large rams had gone the day before. 



Proceeding in that direction, I looked over all the 

 country that I had not previously seen, until about the 

 middle of the afternoon when I observed some sheep 

 feeding in a basin below me. There were two ewes, each 

 followed by two lambs, and five mature ewes without 

 lambs. All, including the lambs, were very dark, and 

 the neck of one ewe was distinctly gray. I watched them 

 for some time until they lay down to rest without a "sen- 

 tinel." Like other ewes they fed much more actively 

 than rams; were more nervous, and oftener threw up 

 their heads to look; and they also maintained a more 



