ADVENTURES IN THE KENAI 269 



the distance between the band and myself had been 

 decreased enough to chance a shot, provided the sheep 

 had not increased their rate of travel. I crouched low 

 and came out directly on top of the ridge with no cover 

 available. Sure enough, there they were, not quite 

 two hundred yards ahead of me, traveling slowly and 

 in the same direction as I had last seen them. The 

 moment I came in sight of the band my binoculars were 

 on them for a last look, and before I took the glasses 

 from my eyes they were off up the mountainside at 

 top speed. 



"I only wanted to kill the two largest rams in the 

 bunch, and naturally chose the largest for my first target. 

 The first shot brought the big fellow down, stone dead. 

 I thought the next shot was intended for the largest 

 remaining head, but unfortunately the band was now 

 running diagonally away from me, and at the instant 

 I pulled the trigger a very small ram jumped up beside 

 the one at which I had aimed and got killed for his pains. 

 After my hard run I was winded badly, and the disgust 

 with myself for killing such a little sheep all went to 

 spoil my aim, and I am willing to confess that I made 

 several beautifully clean misses before I downed the 

 fellow I was after. 



''The sheep that range on the Kenai Peninsula are 

 apparently of a pure white color, but against a back- 

 ground of snow they show up rather yellow at a distance. 

 The report of my rifle had apparently disturbed band 

 after band of sheep on the mountainside that had been 

 invisible to me before I fired, for now the slopes rising 

 abruptly in front of me seemed literally covered with 

 Uttle yellow specks moving rapidly towards its summit. 



"1 took the heads of the two largest sheep on my back, 



