THE BIG GAME OF ALASKA 



69 



exact measurements of a ram, although I distinctly remember 

 measuring one which reached close on 3 feet at the shoulder. 

 I append the full measurements of a ewe killed by Mr. A. J. 

 Stone on Kenai Mountains in 1903. 



It is a popular belief amongst hunters that the age of a 

 ram can be determined by the number of rings which can be 

 counted on one horn. Judging from a number of heads which 

 I saw killed by sportsmen and natives in Alaska, I should say 

 that this test is correct, since in all the cases in which I was 

 able to tell the age of a ram by its teeth, the number of rings 

 corresponded to the age of the animal. As most sportsmen 

 know, the age of a sheep can be accurately estimated up 

 to five years old by examination of its teeth — a yearling 

 having two, a two-year-old four, a three-year-old six, and a 

 four-year-old eight front teeth, respectively. The last is 

 what is termed a " full mouth." 



In the case of domestic sheep, which are fed on hard 

 substances such as cake, etc., they often become what is 

 known as "broken-mouthed" at about six years of age, 

 when their teeth become broken or fall out. But I have 

 observed in the wild sheep that as a rule they retain the 

 full series of good teeth to a considerable age, the reason 

 probably being that they are always feeding on soft grass 

 and other kinds of food which do not damage the teeth. 

 The careful observer will at once remark that there must 

 be some explanation of these rings on the horn increasing 

 in number each year. Many people who acknowledge the 



