ii 4 CAMP FIRES IN THE YUKON 



along below us, twenty-four beautiful animals, bulls, 

 cows, and calves, showing black against the snow, 

 only a hundred yards away. Our watchful sheep 

 began to occupy himself with the study of animal 

 life in the Yukon and was particularly intent upon 

 observing this herd of caribou, but as we were di- 

 rectly in the line of vision between him and the 

 herd we continued to sit still and shiver and to ob- 

 serve the caribou ourselves, after first taking the 

 picture of the herd strung out on the snow fields be- 

 low us. The old bull was a fine old specimen, but 

 he certainly had his hands full; one moment he 

 would rush to the head of the column to keep the 

 leader on the course he had decided must be fol- 

 lowed; then he would rush back and herd the rest 

 of the animals into a bunch, so they would not be 

 strung out too far, and would threaten with lowered 

 head the younger bulls that came too near the cows, 

 or dash at a calf that straggled a bit. The old fel- 

 low had a large contract to run that herd, but he was 

 wonderfully active and one hundred per cent, effi- 

 cient, and it really seemed a pity to think he was 

 going to die, for looking down the bottoms we could 

 see Hoyt waiting for the bull. 



My ram continued to gaze past us at the herd, so 

 we continued to sit tight and not move. The herd 

 moved down opposite our camp, and we saw Hoyt's 

 Mauser belch flame three times as he put an end 

 to the activities of the caribou at one hundred and 



