68 CAMP FIRES IN THE YUKON 



Looking at this aged ram with his broken horns 

 and battered, battle-marked face, it took but little 

 imagining to picture him battling with his rivals 

 among the crags that rip the sky, gamely taking 

 heavy punishment and giving back even heavier 

 blows, slowly but surely forcing his adversary over 

 the precipice, tumbling to a quick death on the rocks 

 below. Undoubtedly the battered face and the 

 broken horns were the honor marks of battle royal, 

 though the broken horns doubtless antedated the 

 scars on the face, which were probably due to the 

 fact that the loss of part of the horns prevented 

 the old warrior from protecting his face. 



These rams are by no means as peaceful as they 

 might appear, for at certain seasons of the year they 

 engage in battle just as the moose and the caribou, 

 and when two fight the others stand aside and im- 

 partially judge the contest. They do not slash and 

 paw, but stand off ten or twelve feet, facing each 

 other, then with lowered heads dash directly at each 

 other, coming together with a crack that sounds like 

 a shot from a large caliber rifle. Then they try to 

 push each other off the mountain, and, not succeed- 

 ing, they both back away and dash headlong at each 

 other, until one is either dead or decides discretion 

 to be the better part of valor, and leaves the range. 



The writer has talked with well-informed people 

 who have the idea that broomed and broken sheep- 

 and goat-horns are due to the fact, as they have 



