1 82 CAMP FIRES IN THE YUKON 



footing lower down, before releasing finger hold on 

 the rocks for a new grasp. On the rock slides 

 travel was rapid, as I merely devoted my attention 

 to keeping footing as the sliding mass bore me along, 

 but particular attention was given to the little detail 

 of getting out of the slide before it went over a 

 sheer drop. The smooth slopes of finely powdered 

 lava frozen hard and covered with snow, through 

 which the boot calks did not bite into the footing, 

 gave considerable difficulty, and several times my 

 feet went out from under me and I started to slide, 

 but good luck was my guardian and success crowned 

 my rather desperate efforts to check the descent, 

 with only a few bruises. 



On reaching Baker, I found he had taken off the 

 heads and hides of all the goats, and we began to 

 measure the two heads he had finished dressing; one 

 of them had horns eight and one-half inches long, 

 while the last goat gave us a horn length of nine 

 inches, both showing seven years of age. The 

 serio-comic appearance of these woolly creatures is 

 somewhat heightened by the pantaloon effect of the 

 legs, as the thick fur comes down the leg and then 

 stops about ten inches above the foot; this is due 

 to the animal having worn off the long wool about 

 the lower leg from walking in the rocks, giving the 

 appearance of trousers pulled up ten inches above 

 the hoof. 



It may be interesting to the uninitiated to learn 



