MOUNTAIN-SHEEP HUNTING 



Howe left camp at daylight, and we did not see them again 

 until they staggered into our camp in the adjoining valley late 

 that night. Howe had killed two good rams out of a band of 

 seven, which they had discovered in a distant basin late in the 

 afternoon. This completed our legal allowance of three rams 

 each. Of the six rams we secured, three were affected with 

 a swelling of one or both sides of the lower jaw, which resembled, 

 and doubtless was, the disease of domestic animals known as 

 lumpy jaw. However, these diseased rams seemed to be in as 

 good condition as the others, and the guides claimed that they 

 themselves and their parents could recall the same affliction 

 in certain sheep as far back as they could remember. 



The horns of these Stone's sheep differ from those of the 

 Rocky Mountain bighorn in being much smaller around the 

 base, but having more of a flare and a greater measurement 

 around the curve. One pair of horns secured that year by one 

 of the hunting parties was said to have measured forty-three 

 inches around the curve. As these rams grow older they be- 

 come much darker in color, although the face, flanks, and 

 lower part of the body remain white or grizzled. These sub- 

 arctic sheep differ from all northern animals in that the color 

 of their pelage becomes darker instead of lighter during the 

 winter. 



