A GREAT MOUNTAIN SHEEP HUNT 247 



thought that had he lived he would have put on another 

 thirty or forty pounds by the time severe winter weather 

 set in. My bullet struck him just behind the shoulder, 

 ranged back through his stomach, and passed out on the 

 opposite side. 



" After that we climbed up to see what had become 

 of my third ram, and were very much surprised at find- 

 ing him lying dead! I had killed my legal limit of 

 mountain sheep, which was one more than I had in- 

 tended! This one was five years old, with horns already 

 fifteen and one-half inches in circumference, and his gross 

 weight was two hundred and eighty-seven pounds. 



" I felt very badly over this sheep, for I had intended 

 to kill only two, one for the Carnegie Museum, and an- 

 other for the director. But there was no time to spend 

 on the mountain in regrets. Our long stalk, and the work 

 afterward on the rams, had carried us well toward the 

 close of the day. By that time the wind had abated, it 

 was raining softly, and almost dark. Packing up all the 

 meat we could carry, Mack and I laboriously worked 

 our way down to Avalanche Creek, to the new camp 

 which John had made. 



" That was a damp and gloomy spot; and we named 

 it Camp Necessity. We were profoundly tired, and 

 ravenously hungry having had no mid-day bite ; but the 

 delicious mutton chops which John Norboe had ready 

 for us soon put us at peace with all the world. 



" But not for long; for that proved to be a fearful 

 night. It rained all night, and nearly drowned us out; 

 but that was not the worst of it. The wind increased in 



