CHAPTER IV 



UNDISCOVERED SHEEP IN ASIA 



4 T this point Kleinschmidt on his way to Nome, 

 r\ before meeting us, had learned from the Chukchi 

 chief, Tangana, that mountain sheep were sup- 

 posed to hve in the hills somewhere northward. Collins 

 and Elting now went with him in the launch from our 

 anchorage to inquire further about them. Several natives 

 had come out to us in a large skin boat with their 

 wives, children, dogs and skins. Kleinschmidt put the 

 rest of us ashore and towed the skin boat to their vil- 

 lage around a point several miles away. Kusche and 

 Dr. Young went off with shotguns to collect birds, and 

 secured a Pacific eider duck, red-throated loon and 

 young ones, a Mongolian plover and young, and some 

 phalarope. Returning in the launch Kleinschmidt and 

 Elting shot two slaty-back gulls, two pigeon guillemot, 

 and a horned puffin. 



Lovering and I fired in vain at some eider ducks with a 

 .22 rifle and then climbed over the saddle of the hills at the 

 northwest corner of the island. The hills were covered 

 with sharp loose stones, large and small, blackish from 

 exposure, where not covered with red, green, cream or 

 orange and black Hchens. Much of the hillside showed 

 gaudy red tints of iron and Kleinschmidt said he came 

 upon a chunk which was extremely heavy. Between 

 the tumbled heaps of stone the draws were covered with 

 tundra, moist from the undercurrent of running water, 



(64) 



