GAME OF THE KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA 
477 
meadows, which harbored not only the 
band of sheep I had seen the night be- 
fore, but many others. 
On the way up the valley we came 
to the last timber, consisting of spruce, 
mountain ash, and a considerable num- 
ber of Cottonwood trees, intermixed with 
willows and alders. At this terminus of 
the forest growth there were many moose 
trails and numerous fresh beds made by 
these animals in patches of grass between 
the willows. It was plain that the head 
of this high valley and the smaller ones 
containing willows were the summer re- 
sorts of the bull moose. Only two shed 
antlers were found in our extensive wan- 
derings, one many years old, confirming 
my view that all the moose at such eleva- 
tions returned to the shores of the lake 
and adjoining lowlands during the late 
fall and midwinter months. 
On the few occasions that Tom had 
hunted sheep here he had always re- 
turned to the cabin at night ; but, as this 
meant a waste of time and energy, it was 
deemed best for my purpose to erect a 
tent in the midst of the sheep range, so 
that I could have a chance to watch them 
almost continuously during the i8 hours 
of daylight. 
An hour after starting we came to the 
pond, which seemed to be the best and 
most convenient location, commanding 
as it did three of the best sheep valleys, 
and yet not too close to interrupt the 
movement of sheep from one district to 
another. 
The tent was placed on a little knoll, 
close to a fine spring, and where a great 
b)lack mountain rising from the opposite 
shore of the pond afforded a striking 
background (see picture, page 475). 
Numerous adjoining knolls covered with 
glacial rocks were the homes of many 
marmots, who viewed my canvas home 
with surprise and protestation (see pages 
434,435)- 
After lunch we made a reconnaissance, 
locating an unusually large flock of sheep 
up a valley to the north which drained 
into the pond, and there we spent the 
remainder of the afternoon, with the 
sheep brought within easy inspection by 
the use of a powerful field-glass. 
The wind was blowing straight up the 
valley toward the flock, but there was no 
indication that any of the sheep suspected 
our presence. Not only before coming 
north, but later, I knew of the conflicting 
views held by sportsmen and guides in 
reference to the alleged inability of sheep 
to detect the near-by presence of man 
through scent, and it was one of my pur- 
po3es to make every possible experiment 
in this direction. 
Late in the afternoon Tom and Charlie 
returned to the cabin, leaving me to spend 
the night in the tent. Before dark I 
watched scattered bands of sheep leave 
the meadows for the higher slopes, where 
gradually they gathered into several 
good-sized bunches. 
At 9:30, when distant objects became 
obscure, I went into the tent, and while 
slipping into the sleeping-bag I happened 
to look out the wire ventilator in the rear 
canvas wall, noticing two large animals 
coming down a ridge a hundred yards 
back of the tent. 
My first impression was that they were 
sheep, or possibly caribou, but when one 
rose on its hind legs and looked about, 
I could only conclude that a pair of the 
big brown bear of Alaska had come to 
the meadow for the purpose of digging 
out marmots or ground squirrels. 
These animals have a bad reputation 
among miners and explorers, due I think 
to their immense size and their near re- 
lationship to the grizzly, around which 
many of the blood-curdling tales of this 
country have been woven. Based upon 
my own experience and the carefully 
sifted experience of others, I had long 
ago come to the conclusion that there 
are no dangerous wild animals whatever 
in the northern hemisphere, except the 
grizzly, and this only occasionally when 
molested. 
Having no intention of interfering 
with these visitors, I felt little concern, 
although quite appreciating that it might 
be a dearly paid experience if I neglected 
taking such precautions as were then 
possible. So the little automatic revolver 
was placed by my side, the opening of 
the tent closed, and, when too dark to 
see anything further, I crawled into the 
canvas sleeping-bag. Once there seemed 
to be something sniffing behind the tent, 
