16 MOUNTAIN SHEEP

composed of some kind of clay or mud which probably
contains alkali or something of medicinal value ; at any
rate they are eagerly sought for by all sorts of hoofed game.
One spring, when in the East Kootenay, it was my good
fortune to see three immense rams at one of these ‘* licks,”
and, as sheep are always less wary at that time of the
year, it occurred to me that it might be a fine opportunity
to get a photograph of them. The rams were, however,
in a seemingly impossible position for a stalk, and if it
had been the shooting season and I had desired to lall
one of them, the idea of attempting to approach them
until they had moved into a more favourable place would
have been immediately abandoned. Still, just for the sake
of a bit of sport, I determined to try it.

The position of the “lick” was on the far side of a
small gulch that commenced about half-way down the
side of a very steep grassy hill and continued down to
the bottom. Some forty yards from the gulch where
the “lick? was there was another depression running
parallel with it, but of lesser size. Practically the whole
hillside was devoid of timber or cover of any kind except
for the two gulches. The most feasible way to make the
stalk would have been to follow along the foot of the
hill and creep up the gulch farthest away from the rams,
but unfortunately the direction of the wind was wrong
for such a move. Under the circumstances, the only way
was to go to the top of the hill and make an effort to
get into the smaller depression. If this could be accom-
plished in safety the rest was easy, but it necessitated
descending a good quarter of a mile of the hill in full view
of the rams.

My companion on that trip was a man called Jack
Lewis, who was also with me on a memorable sheep hunt
that you will be told about a little later on, and, after
discussing our plan of action, we decided that the stalk
might be pulled off successfully if we did it in the following
manner. One of us was to lie still with his glasses on
the rams, and, if one of them looked our way, a low whistle,
as a signal to lie still, was to be given. Then, after the