CAMP FIRES IN THE YUKON 113 



side of a low tundra-covered mountain, but making 

 very slow progress as the snow was two feet deep 

 and became deeper as we ascended, while the tundra 

 beneath the snow was wet and boggy so we wallowed 

 along nearly waist deep in the mire beneath and 

 the wet snow covering. The temperature was 

 nearly zero and there was a slight crust on the snow, 

 but in spite of the cold and with only our hunting 

 shirt and no coat or sweater we were wet with per- 

 spiration: the glare of the unclouded sun upon the 

 unbroken whiteness would have been unendurable 

 except for our snow glasses. As we went forward 

 and upward we noticed the ram come down from the 

 peak and begin to dig through the drift for his break- 

 fast, while the caribou herd in the bottom land was 

 coming in our direction. When we were half a 

 mile down the range from the ram and at a level 

 of one thousand feet below him, the old fellow 

 stopped feeding and looked in our direction and as 

 we loomed black against the white background, we 

 sat down in the snow in order to convince that ram 

 we were rocks and not animated beings. The per- 

 sistent creature continued to gaze at us and there 

 was nothing for us but to sit in the snow and shiver 

 and swear as the intense cold struck through our 

 garments, dripping with perspiration which made 

 our teeth chatter and our knees shake with a real 

 chill. 



As we sat there helpless, the caribou herd came 



