THE BIG GAME OF ALASKA 



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portunities for shelter and exposed food 

 supply than might be found on the 

 more level ground of the lowlands. In 

 summer the sheep feed mostly on the 

 open slopes, luxuriant with low, matted 

 vegetation, and in the beautiful saucer- 

 like basins lying just below the ultimate 

 heights. Unlike the caribou, they are 

 very keen of vision and depend little 

 upon scent for warning of danger. As 

 a test of this I once sat in a concealed 

 position above a small band of them and 

 lit my pipe and watched the smoke drift 

 toward them on the light breeze. They 

 gave no sign of alarm, but continued 

 feeding until I showed myself, when 

 they precipitately took to flight. 



The white color of these sheep, as 

 might be supposed, often makes them 

 quite conspicuous. They frequently lie 

 for hours in the warm sun on smooth, 

 green hillsides, where they are readily 

 seen from all points for miles around. 

 However, their coat in summer is always 

 decidedly brownish from earth stain, and 

 one may easily overlook a large flock of 

 them when they are on a hillside of light 

 brownish limestone such as is character- 

 istic of several localities in which I have 

 found them. In winter, the color of the 

 long, thick coat is snowy white and may 

 afford them considerable protection from 

 enemies, though just why other mountain 

 sheep having practically identical sur- 

 roundings are not also white is a mystery. 



The white sheep formerly ranged over 

 practically all the mountains of the in- 

 terior of Alaska, and at present it is ab- 

 sent only from those mountains which 

 lie near permanent settlements. It is 

 abundant near the coast on the Kenai 

 Peninsula and on the Arctic slope north 

 of the Endicott Mountains, but elsewhere 

 it is strictly confined to the peaks and 

 ranges of the interior. 



MOUNTAIN GOAT 



A still more hardy mountaineer than 

 the sheep is the white goat (Orcamnos) 

 which inhabits the coastal mountains of 

 Alaska from the Canadian boundary at 

 Portland Canal northwest to the vicinity 

 of Cook Inlet. Besides including the 



great glaciers, this region is one of ex- 

 tremely rugged mountains throughout, 

 and though the scenery is magnificent, 

 the climate, at least from the human 

 standpoint, is not always all that could 

 be desired. But the goats seem to prefer 

 it to the sunnier ranges of the interior, 

 to which they seldom stray. They live 

 almost entirely at high altitudes, fre- 

 quenting very steep cliffs and rock-walled 

 canyons, and if a glacier affords passage 

 from one part of their range to another, 

 they unhesitatingly make it their high- 

 way. 



To approach a mountain goat success- 

 fully is therefore quite as much a feat of 

 mountaineering as of crafty hunting. In 

 fact, it is more so, for the goat is rather 

 stupid and keeps watch only over the 

 country below him, 'so it is necessary to 

 get above — and to get above a white goat 

 is usually to attain the uttermost heights. 

 But the lusty hunter who does so has 

 few regrets, for the magnificent scenery 

 is ample recompense for the physical ex- 

 ertion. Hunting the chamois in the Alps, 

 now practically a thing of the past, 

 scarcely could have offered such scenic 

 surroundings as may now be had in the 

 pursuit of the mountain goat in Alaska. 



The flesh of the mountain goat, except 

 in young animals, is strong and not espe- 

 cially palatable, while its hide has little 

 commercial value. The additional fact 

 that the animal cannot be obtained by 

 lazy methods makes it very improbable 

 that it will be extirpated in the near 

 future. It has short, strong legs, a short 

 neck and a thick, heavy body, withal pre- 

 senting a clumsy appearance quite the 

 reverse of what might be expected from 

 the precarious nature of its habitat. The 

 horns, which range 7 to 10 inches in 

 length, are small, recurved, polished, and 

 blackish. They are present in both sexes. 



Many an old-timer in Alaska will tell 

 the visitor that a species of ibex different 

 from both sheep and goat inhabits the 

 territory. When such stories are sincere 

 they undoubtedly refer to young goats or 

 to either the young or the female of the 

 white sheep, for no true ibex is native to 

 any part of North America. 



