Photo by George Shiras, 3rd 
these; sheep fed For hours without looking about, except the sentinel 
ABOVE, on the LEET(SEE PAGE 486) 
The keen vision of these sheep is practically their sole reliance for detecting danger. 
They always feed or rest on open ridges or hillsides devoid of bushes, from which they can 
have an unhampered view in every direction. They also possess unusual power of inference, 
detecting danger from the actions of other sheep, however distant the latter may be. 
away, it was a good illustration of their 
acuteness of sight and their quickness in 
realizing the character of the danger. Not 
knowing how these sheep could escape in 
the direction they were going, I called to 
Tom for advice. He yelled that they 
were now headed for an ice-bridge across 
the canyon (which I did not know of), 
and, after crossing this, he thought they 
would swing around our way again for 
the purpose of ascending the mountain 
slope just behind, and that if I hurried 
there would be a chance for a picture. 
But after exercising all the energy at 
my command the sheep won, and I could 
see them 200 yards below quartering up 
the mountain. In a few minutes they 
reached a ledge of rock within a hundred 
feet of the crest of the great black cliff 
opposite the site of our former camp. 
This was our last view of the white 
mountain sheep until two days later, when 
we entered the pass of the low divide 
above Skilak Lake. 
Our visit had made the sheep consider- 
ably wilder, and the flocks which for- 
merly rested each night on the lower 
benches now whitened the ledges of many 
a high cliff; but no red had dyed the 
white and woolly sides and no flock no- 
ticed an absent one within its ranks. 
The next morning we left for Skilak 
Lake, camping a half mile this side of 
the low divide and giving the men a 
chance to make a second trip to the cabin 
that day. 
OUR LAST view OE THE WHITE SHEEP 
At an early hour the next morning the 
little tent was taken down and cached 
with other articles, to be called for the 
following day, and then with heavy 
packs we began trudging along the slight 
rise to the low divide, through which 
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