52 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



IIII.LY AND THK I. AMI; UK ( Al' I I R 1. 1 >-kN I K KUKR TN THE DISIAXCE 



closure. He liked to get as high as possil)lc 

 and whenever I raised the blanket he tried to 

 climb it. 



The day after this lamb was captnred, a 

 storm set in and continued for three days. 

 The clouds hvmg low over the mountains, and 

 we lost track of the sheep we had been watch- 

 ing. Under these circumstances we decided 

 that if it did not clear soon, we would return 

 to the base camp, and if no ewes were seen, 

 proceed to a range of mountains near the 

 mouth of Knik River where Professor L. L. 

 Dyche had good success collecting specimens 

 several years previously. We had not gone 

 there at first on account of the depth of the 

 snow. 



During this time I was confined to camp, 

 caring for the lamb, and also endeavoring to 

 break up the chills and fever which attacked 

 me every other day. My illness subsided, but 

 the lamb became worse, and it was soon 

 evident that its condition was hopeless. In 

 spite of the medicines administered, it became 

 greatly emaciated, soon lost his appetite, and 

 on the morning of May twenty-seventh, it died 

 lying on my blankets. 



The storm continued, and we returned to 

 our base camp, which we found undisturbed. 



Remaining here two days, yet being unaldc 

 to locate any sheep, we again packed up and 

 started for the river, camping early in the 

 afternoon. The Indians packed the outfit over 

 a bar which we could not cross with the loaded 

 boat, and the remainder of the day was devoted 



to watching the mountains. 

 Before night a lamb and 

 ewe were seen, but they 

 were in such a bad place it 

 was useless to attempt their 

 capture that day, so we 

 contented ourselves with 

 watching them until dark. 

 At nightfall they took 

 shelter in the high rocks, 

 as usual. 



( )n the following day, 

 Hicks and the two Indians 

 found this lamb, and made 

 an effort to capture it, but 

 the Indians thwarted the 

 effort Ii\- carelessness and 

 disobedience, and it ended 

 in failure, much to the dis- 

 gust of Hicks. 



Another day's travel 

 brought us to our destina- 

 tiiiH. Without the loss of 

 a moment we made prepa- 

 rations to pack in several 

 days' provisions, and climb 

 into the range where Hicks and Dyche had 

 seen large bands of sheep on a previous trip. 

 After a long, hard climb to timberline, we 

 crossed the mountain and skirted along a steep, 

 grassy slope for about three miles. Our camp 

 was made at timberline, near the head of a 

 small stream that ran through an open valley. 

 The mountains on either side rose abruptly, 

 a steep grassy slope occurring between timber- 

 line and the rocks. 



As the mountain was so steep that nothing 

 could be seen from our camp, we crossed the 

 creek and climbed to the top of a high knoll. 

 Five sheep were seen about a mile away, and 

 a little later twelve more came into view from 

 behind a point. They were all ewes. After 

 watching for an hour we became convinced 

 there were no lambs in the bunch. Shift- 

 ing the glasses to the broken country 

 beyond our camp, it was not long before 

 a lamb and ewe were sighted. They were 

 in an awful mass of rocks and crags, near the 

 summit of the range. 



As we were about to give chase, the ewe 

 started up the mountain in great haste. Her 

 actions were puzzling, for we were sure she 

 had not seen or scented us. At last we con- 

 cluded that she was attempting to exercise 

 the lamb. After describing a circle, she re- 

 turned and lay down near the spot from which 

 she started. 



It was a warm day, and long before reach- 

 ing the rocks we were wet with perspiration. 

 The slope between timberline and the crags 



