IN THE ALASKA- YUKON GAMELANDS 



were enough sheep on the mountain to supply a 

 dozen museums — they were in sight along its 

 five-mile comb nearly all the time — but they 

 knew we were there, too, and they knew also 

 that we weren't coming up for the purpose of 

 giving them a tea party. 



After leaving the horses, just at the edge of 

 timberline, in charge of Bill Longley, we climbed 

 up a draw until a bunch of seven rams (young 

 and old) came into view 1,000 feet above us. We 

 ducked out of sight, then crawled until we could 

 go no farther without exposing ourselves in 

 crossing a ridge ahead. We lay in the under- 

 brush and rocks for half an hour, hoping they 

 would feed out of sight; but they didn't, so Cap 

 and I retreated down the draw and skirted the 

 ridge, coming up on the other side. About this 

 time the other boys decided to move also, so 

 when we circled the mountain we found them all 

 lying under a protecting rock a few hundred 

 feet above, waiting for us. When we reached 

 them we advanced upward, keeping to the right 

 of and under the ridge, Cap in the lead and Harry 

 and I following; William and Rogers had fol- 

 lowed the comb of the ridge, slightly above us. 

 Suddenly Cap, who was fifty or one hundred feet 

 ahead of us, motioned that he saw the rams, and 

 soon we climbed to where we also could barely 

 see their backs outlined against the sky on the 

 ridge 200 yards away. Neither Harry nor I 

 could see enough of them to shoot before they 



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