98 THE UPPER YUKON 



abreast looking down upon us with the curi- 

 osity natural to them, they presented a most 

 beautiful sight. A hundred paces above the 

 large rock around which we came was yet 

 another rock, and crawling to this on hands 

 and knees we were out of their line of vision. 

 In due time we peered over the edge of this 

 friendly protection, and the rams, standing 

 like statues, watched us. The ram to the left 

 looked to be the best. The one in the center 

 the next best, and the one to the right the 

 poorest; yet they were all fine rams. The 

 center one was standing on a boulder, while 

 behind him was yet another boulder that tow- 

 ered above his head, so that he looked as if 

 he was standing upon a huge stone settee. 

 The distance between us was too great to 

 guarantee a successful shot, yet knowing that 

 our quarry would bolt the moment we left 

 our shelter, I decided to try to hit the one on 

 the left. With the sight on the rifle raised 

 to three hundred yards, I took a long and 

 careful aim at this ram, resting the rifle on the 

 rock while I lay down behind it. The shot 

 was a clean miss, although it must have al- 

 most grazed him, as after the shot he was 

 quickly off for good. 



The next shot was made at the one stand- 



