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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC .MAGAZINE 



Photo from F. H. Moffit, U. S. Geological Survey 



SMALL BAND OF DAEL's SHEEP NEAR THE HEAD OF THE NABESNA, A TRIBUTARY OF 



THE COPPER RIVER 



for protection. In the mountains be- 

 tween the Yukon and Tanana rivers, 

 where I once enjoyed the privilege of 

 seeing several hundred caribou within a 

 few days, I repeatedly put this to the test 

 and was amazed to find such helpless and 

 naturally timid animals so lacking in 

 powers of observation. While I sat or 

 stood within full view they came down 

 the wind directly toward me without the 

 slightest sign of alarm until within a few 

 rods. Several times small herds passed 

 within 50 yards utterly oblivious to dan- 

 ger until reaching a position where the 

 wind blew from me to them, when 

 they immediately became terror-stricken. 

 Curiosity also is one of their failings, 

 and it may readily be believed, as often 

 stated, that a man on horseback, by tak- 

 ing a prominent position on an open hill- 

 top, will attract any caribou that may be 

 in the vicinity. More than once while 

 skinning a dead caribou I have been 

 interested to see several of its one-time 

 comrades circling about, coming again 

 and again within 50 yards to stand and 



watch for a moment and then dash wildly 

 away. 



It has never been my good fortune to 

 see more than 40 or 50 caribou at one 

 time, and although such enormous herds 

 as are reported on the Canadian Barren 

 Grounds have never been seen in Alaska, 

 there is much reliable evidence that herds 

 numbering several thousand animals are 

 still to be seen there. 



MOUNTAIN SHEEP 



The well-known bighorn or Rocky 

 Mountain sheep, formerly so common in 

 Colorado, Montana, and other Western 

 States, does not extend to Alaska, but is 

 represented there by another species 

 (Ovis dalli) of slightly smaller size, 

 more slender horns, and pure white color. 

 Like other mountain sheep, this species 

 spends most of its life above timber- 

 line, even remaining among the heights 

 during the severe northern winter. This 

 is perhaps not such a hardship as might 

 be supposed, for the irregularities of the 

 cliffs and gorges often afford more op- 



