232 HUNTING IN THE ARCTIC 



sheep below us looked up and across the river to the 

 point, some three or four miles away, from which the 

 reports came. As shot after shot rang out they shifted 

 uneasily and began to move up hill, stopping frequently 

 to look toward the place of the shooting. 



To cut off our game we had to run about three- 

 quarters of a naile to the bottom of the gulley, down a 

 steep slope covered with snow above our knees, then climb 

 the opposite bank. We did so, taking almost an hour 

 to accomplish it, and as we drew ourselves carefully to 

 the fringe of bare rocks which showed through the snow, 

 saw to our annoyance that the whole troop of sheep had 

 crossed the canyon far below us and were ascending the 

 slope which we had left. Helplessly we lay in the snow 

 watching the seven rams, who had left the females, 

 proceed slowly in single file up to the ridge from which 

 we had first spied them, for we were in plain view and 

 could not move without letting them see us. 



Another band of fourteen had already gained the sky- 

 line of the divide far above us and four small rams were 

 farther west, gradually working in the same direction. 

 There was nothing to do but avoid giving the alarm to 

 those which we had unsuccessfully tried to stalk, and we 

 spent the time in eating lunch. Then we went westward 

 to a point which overlooked the course of Benjamin 

 Creek in its lower channel, and from here we could see 

 the top of the cHff forming the deep canyon just above 

 the cabin in which we had made a camp. 



Heavy clouds, however, soon began to shut off the 

 view toward Cook's Inlet and betokened a storm. We 

 retraced our steps just as a blinding snow squall struck 

 us, accompanied by thick fog which shut out all objects 

 at a hundred yards distance. Back we followed our 



