OUR ALASKAN EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 



HUNTING WHITE SHEEP IN THE NAHANNA MOUNTAINS. 



T. STONE. 



My first knowledge of the white sheep 

 (ovis Dalli) was obtained in the summer 

 of '96 while traveling through the upper 

 Stickeen river, several hundred miles from 

 the land of the Nahannas. 



Combining all possible information I be- 

 came thoroughly convinced that the Liard 

 would be the proper route from which to 

 take observations as to the geographical 



lay between my picture and its realization, 

 I never lost hope; nor did time hang heavy. 

 Work was a sovereign specific against dis- 

 couragement, and of work I had plenty. 

 Even the month of isolation at Hell's Gate 

 passed swiftly; the sun shone most of the 

 time, and the winged migrants to the North 

 lent their cheerful companionship. My 

 short stay at Fort Liard gave me the chance 



OUR OUTFIT ON THE LIARD RIVER. 



J. STONE. 



distribution of thi- animal. In this conclu- 

 sion experience has proven me correct, and 

 I have been rewarded beyond my highest 

 hopes. 



On this route we saw the last of the black 

 sheep and the first of the white, as we trav- 

 eled North, and located the line of their di- 

 vision, satisfying ourselves thoroughly that 

 the 2 species do not mingle, nor shade off; 

 that the season does not effect change of 

 color: in short, that the 2 are entirely dis- 

 tinct. 



When I sailed from Seattle in the summer 

 of '97 I could plainly see, in fancy, these 

 sheep, high up in the Nahanna mountains, 

 and though hundreds of miles of distance 

 and 11 months of hard travel and hard work 



to secure a first-class helper in John Mc- 

 Leod. 



The voyage from Fort Liard to the Indian 

 settlement near the mouth of the Nahanna 

 river, 100 miles, did not consume much time. 

 The river here skirts the base of the moun- 

 tains, and as we passed along I narrowly 

 scanned them from the low foot-hills to the 

 serrated summits. The prospect here was 

 not calculated to infuse hope, as the moun- 

 tains seemed better fitted for the home of 

 the goat than the sheep, which was the ob- 

 ject of my quest. However, I remembered 

 seeing a piece of the skin of a white sheep 

 at Fort Liard, which must have been taken 

 in this region. Therefore, I renewed my 

 confidence. 



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