104 CAMP FIRES IN THE YUKON 



use the sky for shelter since we have no tent, and 

 roll up in our sleeping robes for warmth. 



August 57. Fair and cold. Across the St. Clair 

 bottoms, which are a half-mile wide, the mountains 

 rise abruptly from a tundra bench, and looking at 

 the mountain opposite our willow patch without the 

 aid of glasses we located a band of seven rams, feed- 

 ing low down on the slope. In the gap through the 

 mountain wall we saw over two hundred of the beau- 

 tiful, snow-white animals dotting the slopes, but 

 they were all ewes and lambs, with the exception of 

 a large band of rams six miles back, which it was 

 impossible to reach, as we would have to stalk near 

 the ewes, which would inevitably stampede and 

 frighten the rams that were feeding upward on the 

 near-by mountain. We therefore started on horse 

 across the bottoms, fording the several branches of 

 the St. Clair. 



Arrived on the tundra bench, we tethered the 

 stock and began our ascent of a ridge leading up- 

 ward to the snow slopes, where we stopped to take 

 another look at the rams. We found the entire 

 band had stopped feeding and had made their way 

 to the top pinnacles, where they were lying down en- 

 joying the landscape. A stalk from below in plain 

 sight of the game was impossible of success, a stalk 

 on the flank was equally futile for the same reason, 

 and to attempt to circle the mountain and come at 

 them from the rear was entirely out of our consid- 



