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 mocse 

 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 

 Tiunted 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 

 "black mountain rising from the opposite 

 shore of the pond aflforded 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- 

 poses 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. 



