300 



THE WILDERNESS OF THE UPPER YUKON 



the Stikine River region had the diverging or "spread" 

 type of horns, and this, therefore, was assigned to them 

 as a definite character. But among the numerous speci- 

 mens coming from the same region during subsequent 

 years, the narrow type of horns has probably been more 

 common. 



The diverging type of horns is found in all localities 

 where sheep exist, though in some districts it is more 

 common than in others. I did not see the diverging type 

 among the sheep on the Pelly River, though undoubtedly 

 it exists there. It is common among those at the head 

 of the MacMillan and Stewart Rivers, and in the Ogilvie 

 Rockies. It is particularly common in that part of the 

 Yukon Territory close to the coast ranges and directly 

 east of them. But, everywhere, the narrow type of horns 

 is more abundant; sometimes both types occur together 

 in the same band ; sometimes all the members of a band 

 have one type of horns, while all the sheep of another 

 band in the same locality have the other type. 



What is true of the comparative divergence of the 

 horns is equally true of their comparative length, circum- 

 ference, and shape. In some districts, including the 

 Pelly River and the Ogilvie Rockies, horns of large basal 

 circumference (fifteen inches or more) are most excep- 

 tional. Big horns are more common in those districts 

 where the diverging type is most abundant. 



It thus appears that the northern sheep, wherever they 

 live, are subject to essentially the same conditions of en- 

 vironment and climate; their food and enemies are es- 

 sentially the same, and their natures, their habits, their 



