The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-08-14

he lurched forward and went down the
steep descent rolling over ard over in
his struggle to regain footing.
Having brought down my game /
mentally congratulated myself that my
worst troubles were over, but the mis-
take was soon apparent The excite
ment of the hunt passing, | awoke TO
! the consciousness OF singing pain in
my feet. which were bleeding from
dozen cuts. for l had been obliged to
! remove nv shoes in order to follow the
sheep with any degree of safety.
RECOVERING THE GAME.
Making my way painfully over the
sharp and ragged rocks slid down a
! hundred or more yards to the place
where lay the bodies of the eve and
lamb, and putting aside the rife made
a careful examination of my booty.
wishing to see in what respect the ami
mails for which l had travelled so many
miles differed from others of their kind.
1 found that the white sheep of Alaska
bear striking resemblance to the big
horned sheep OF the Rockies, except
that the hair is of a pure white, of a
fine. silky texture, and from six to
/ eight inches in length. Leaving the ami
mails I went in search of the old ram
and found him 100 feet further down
the mountain side. During his strug-
giles he had wedged himself between
two rocks and lay with his feet in the
air. having been shot through the
{ shoulder and neck. 1t did not require
a second glance. to assure me that l had
secured a splendid specimen. The old
fellow must have been the leader of the
herd. He was much larger than the
eve. weighing about $50 pounds. In
every way except as to the hair, ne re-
sembled the mountain sheep, even in
the size and shape of his horns, the
color of the eyes and the general shape
and contour Of limbs and body.
My work was finished. the day waned
and il was little to my mind to be
caught alone in the gathering night of
that bleak and desolate region. I soon
left the sheep just as they were, to
make my way back to camp with all
possible speed. Regaining the spot
where I had left my shoes. I replaced
them and began the difficult and tortu-
Gus return to the plateau, where we
had passed the previous night. Arriv-
ing at the camp 1 found Professor Dy-
che and the Indian eating their supper
of biscuit and coffee and the meat of
an eve, which the guide had brought
down. He had secured the eve and
ram, while Dyche had brought down
good sized lamb, at which he proudly
pointed. I allowed them the gratifica-
ton of their pride until my hunger was
SaIlSieu, llnulnS the meat OF the eve
of as fine a flavor as I had ever tasted.
After listening to a description of their
hunt, which closely resembled my own,
l asked them to go with me at day
break and help secure the bodies of
the three sheep had left on the noun
tain side.
Returning on the following morning
I removed the hides of the sheep and
taking as much of the meat as we
could carry retraced our steps to the
camp. Carefully packing the heads
and skins we lost no time in returning
to our first camp on the shore of the
Knik river, whence we embarked in
the Indians canoe for the trading sta
ton Is miles below. A few days spent
at the post hunting and fishing in the
neighborhood concluded my sojourn at
Cooks Inlet. and, laden with my booty,
l returned by steamer to Sitka-
Twenty years of my life have been
passed in hunting and travelling
through the west, up the Mackenzie
river and through the Yukon district,
but 1 do not hesitate to say that never
in my experience have / come upon a
more dangerous locality to the hunter,
or a more difficult place of access than
the rallying grounds of the white sheep
of Cooks Inlet.
r K SCRTRNER