380 BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA. 



As the first rays of the golden morning light shot across 

 the grassy plateaus, the evergreen groves, the snow-capped 

 peaks of Mount Ki-icht-hutl, I took up the field-glass and 

 scanned that portion of the country visible from our camp, 

 for game. I soon located two magnificent old rams standing 

 on a ridge a few hundred yards away, gazing down in a stu- 

 pid, curious' way at our camp-fire. Their great, muscular 

 bodies, clad in their heavy winter coats of dark, coarse hair, 

 with the peculiar white patch about the rump; their strong 

 but shapely limbs and massive, rolling horns, outlined 

 against the bright gray of the morning sky, afforded a fine 

 study, and I watched them for some minutes with the most 

 intense interest before attempting to secure one of them. 



There was no cover that would enable us to approach 

 nearer to them, and our only chance for a shot was to take 

 it from where we were. We picked up our rifles, assumed 

 what is known on the rifle-ranges as the kneeling position, 

 took careful aim at the larger animal, and fired. They were 

 too far away, however, for effective shooting, and we both 

 failed to score. At the double report they bounded away 

 a short distance, stopped, took another brief look at us, 

 and then disappeared behind the hill. Charley followed 

 them, while I breakfasted. He failed to get another shot at 

 these, but returned in half an hour with a large ewe that he 

 had killed a short distance beyond where they had stood. 



I went to the top of a high hill near camp, and from 

 there saw four separate bands of Sheep. The smallest num- 

 bered twelve; the next larger, nineteen; the next, thirty- 

 two; and the largest, something over fifty. They were on 

 a broad, open table-land, about a mile away, in such a posi- 

 tion that it was well-nigh impossible to get within shooting- 

 distance of them. I made a long detour to the left in the 

 hope of approaching them — moving cautiously through 

 small groves of timber, crawling on the ground behind 

 slight elevations or ridges, skulking from tree to tree and 

 from rock to rock. 



In this way I traveled perhaps two miles. At frequent 

 intervals, a Mule Deer, and sometimes several of them, 



