GAME OF THE KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA 



483 



ready stated, we noticed how quickly and 

 unsuspiciously small and scattered bands 

 of sheep descended and joined flocks al- 

 ready feeding in the valley. 



HOW THE BIG RAM WAS PHOTGGRAPHlilD 



"At noon the lunch-box was opened, 

 but before we had fairly made a start I 

 saw a big ram approaching along a ridge 

 from the direction of our camp. He 

 came rapidly, with head up and mincing 

 steps, looking very much like a small and 

 sturdy caribou stag. When in sight of 

 the meadow he stopped and looked down 

 for fully five minutes, occasionally scan- 

 ning the mountains on our side. 



"We feared that, like the others, he 

 would turn away at the sight of the de- 

 serted meadow. Tom, however, thought 

 that the ram was most anxious to join a 

 band of his fellows and might cross to 

 our side in order to look for such be- 

 yond. At any rate he soon started down 

 toward the creek and we were in doubt 

 as to his final destination. At the edge 

 of the bank he disappeared, and we then 

 felt sure he would come along our ridge, 

 but on which side was the question. 



"Several moments passed, and I feared 

 he was then passing behind the blind, 

 cut off by a wall of rock against which 

 our backs were resting. Slipping the 

 strap over my neck, which supported the 

 heavy camera, I was just in the act of 

 climbing over the top of the blind when 

 Tom seized my arm, whispering: 'Good 

 Lord, here he comes right at us.' 



"And there, stalking along most un- 

 concernedly, was the ram, not 40 yards 

 away, and, if not interrupted, would 

 soon be gazing down into the blind. 



"The several portholes made for the 

 camera all faced the meadow, for an in- 

 vasion from any other quarter had not 

 been looked for. When he got within 

 75 feet I was in a quandary. To rise up 

 nearly full length above the low wall of 

 the blind meant his instant alarm, with 

 no time to obtain the sharp focus neces- 

 sary with such a big lens. 



"Holding my fire, I trusted to fate. 

 At 50 feet he stopped, turned broadside, 

 and nibbled at a sprig of vegetation. Si- 

 lently and quickly, in one steady motion, 

 I arose, with my eyes fixed on the focus- 



ing mirror instead of looking at the ram 

 directly. On the ground glass I saw his 

 head raised suddenly and turned my 

 way. Quickly the milled head of the 

 focusing screw brought him in focus and 

 the focal-plane shutter clanged harshly. 



"But his white form, had vanished 

 when I raised my head, and, to Tom's 

 and Charlie's inquiring glances, I could 

 only say that the efifort was successful, 

 provided the ram was not in air when 

 the shutter revolved." 



It was two days before I went to 

 Tom's cabin, and when darkness be- 

 grudgingly came at 10 p. m. I dropped 

 the negative into the developer and in a 

 few minutes saw on the plate the big 

 ram, broadside, head up, gazing at the 

 camera (see page 492). 



PECULIARITIES OF THE SHEEP 



The next and final day at the head of 

 Benjamin Creek was reserved for study- 

 ing and photographing a large flock of 

 sheep, heretofore occupying the end of a 

 ridge west of our tent and which always 

 fed on a large circular meadow, nearly 

 surrounded by small canyons. 



At no time did the daily program vary. 

 By 7 o'clock the entire flock of about 50 

 descended the mountain, crossed a little 

 creek, and then in bunches of six to a 

 dozen scattered out over the meadow, 

 feeding not only on grass, but small 

 bushes. Quite often some of these 

 bands, containing many lambs, would 

 work their way out to the edge of the 

 meadow, fully three-quarters of a mile 

 from the base of the mountains, so that 

 their retreat could readily be cut off by 

 the intervention of a man with a rifle or 

 by any fleet-footed predaceous animal. 

 This, of course, meant an entire absence 

 of molestation during the season and 

 probably for years. 



In the daily movement of the sheep on 

 the steeper mountains I noticed that in 

 coming down they usually took an earth 

 trail, however loose the soil or treacher- 

 ous the shaly rocks. On their return 

 the steepest cliffs, if affording a good 

 foothold, were ascended in preference to 

 the near-by trails used on their descent. 



The probable reasons, if my brief ob- 

 servations warrant an opinion, were 



