n8 CAMP FIRES IN THE YUKON 



following a course at the foot of the mountains 

 until we had made five miles, where we dismounted 

 to examine the slopes with glasses. Across a can- 

 yon were many sheep feeding on scattered and small 

 willow bushes low down at the base of the moun- 

 tains, but they were all ewe sheep, so we decided to 

 travel farther into the range and look for rams. 

 At the canyon we dismounted and led our horses 

 down the steep walls to the bottom and then up the 

 other side. The canyon bottom is the lowest point 

 in the range and here were found scattered patches 

 of four-feet-high willows. Countless paths, plowed 

 down from the mountains to these willow patches, 

 showed where the sheep in the morning, unable to 

 paw through the deep snow on the slopes for feed, 

 had come down to the very bottoms of the canyon 

 to browse on willows. 



It is at this season of the year, when the sheep 

 come down to the canyons to feed, that the grizzlies 

 hunt for sheep, as the bears lurk in the canyons and 

 stalk the sheep as they feed upon the willows. 



By scanning the back trails from the canyon to 

 the peaks we were able to observe where the sheep 

 had returned to the crags and passed over the sum- 

 mits for the night. After riding along the top of 

 the canyon for several miles and tracing numerous 

 trails disappearing across the range, we found one 

 trail winding along the crags but not leading to the 

 top; minute examination revealed a band of seven 



