CAMP FIRES IN THE YUKON 115 



fifty yards. Still the ram continued his study of 

 migrating caribou and still we sat upon our icy 

 perch, until the herd had passed five miles below us ; 

 that ram had with his curiosity held us prisoners for 

 exactly two hours and we were nearly frozen. 

 When he finally turned his gaze away, we leaped 

 from our snowy couch and dashed down-hill under 

 the brow for half a mile and then started up a gulch, 

 with the purpose of climbing above the ram and 

 coming out a hundred yards to the leeward of him. 

 About five hundred feet from the top of the bench 

 where we had last seen him feeding we were wallow- 

 ing waist deep through the snow, sweating and pant- 

 ing, when above us the old fellow looked down and 

 then vanished. We forgot fatigue and ran straight 

 up the mountain a hundred and fifty yards, plowing 

 through the snow, and as we reached the brow there 

 stood the ram, broadside two hundred and fifty 

 yards away, looking at us. My heart was racing 

 like a runaway engine, my breath came in gasps, and 

 I was shaking like an aspen under the terrific strain 

 of the climb and that final spurt; the rifle came to 

 my shoulder, but it wavered and trembled all over 

 the mountain at every spot except on the mark: I 

 lowered the rifle. The Indian beside me was in- 

 dulging in queer rites, shaking his head from side 

 to side and working his mouth with a very obvious 

 chewing movement; he whispered: " Me fool him 

 sheep, think me caribou." Again the rifle came to 



