Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-08-11
BIG SHEEP OF THE ROCKIES.
PlunginG Over High Cliffs and Land
ing Unhurt on Their Horns.
t,ronl "a Philad.lpAta Tlmes.

|
| particularly Montana, the Big Horn or
Rocky Mountain sheep furnishes the
most sport to huntsmen. Chasing the
! buffalo across the plains on horseback
and killing them with a revolver, which
was at one time the favOrite method OF
! hunting the big bison, used to be tue ne
| plus ultra of NimrOdic amusements in
| Montana but since the buffalo have DIS
! appeared hunters have dritted back lhto
| the mountains, where the "OVls-Mon-
| tana" are to be found during late years In
! the greatest abundance. There may be
| lots Ofiun scampering over the pralrie
after a 1,500-pOund bull, but there
is the heat and violent exercise,
not to speak of the danger Of your horse
| plunglng into a prairie dog mole ana
| sending you dOWnwards to grass at an
angle OF 10 or 20 degrees. The mountain
sheep is always found among the peaks
! ami cliffs in cool attitudes and pretty
near the timber or perpetual snow line.
| The big-hOrn sheep OF the Rocky Noun
tains is most difficult animal to bag,
They are usually found IN pairs, often in
| fiocks of from four 10 forty and sometimes
| in bands OF a hundred or more. one old
sheep hunter living on Pryor's FORK, near
| here, relates that be saw not long ago
flock of eighty-one sheep in the Bitter
Root range. and about i've years ago,
while scouting through the Teton basin,
in Northern Wyoming, near the southern
boundary OF the Yellowstone National
Park, he ran upon band that must have
numbered over 800.
THEIR HOME IN THE MOUNTAINS.
These animals range all the way from
the Rio Grande to the Mackenzie, but at
the limits named they are exceedingly
scarce and most difficult to kill. Their
natural home is among the mountains of
| the Upper Yellowstone and Missouri
| rivers. Some few are found in Washing
| ton Territory, Oregon and California, but
the centre around which they revOlYe is
the Yellowstone National Park anu the
| bordering counties of Montana, Idaho
and Wyoming. Particularly are they
plentiful In the mountains from which
! they take their name, viz: the Big Horn.
Very little is known OF the aabits Of this
| rare game animal, even by those who have
| written on the subject. They range WIN
| ter and summer alike in the same latl-
tudes and attitudes, only in summer they
wander farther away than in the opposite
! season. During the cold months they stay
| on the southern slopes of the mountains
so as to catch the sun. In the summer
| they are generally found on the higher
| benches, where the bunch grass and
mountain clover are abundant. Among
the peaks where they babituate one of the
| first things to appear In the spring is the
| wild onion or leek, which is eagerly
sought out and devoured by them. This
wild plant imparts to the flesh
a delightful flavor, and makes
the meat of the big horn the most deli
| ciOus in the mountains. Their greatest
enemy is the mountain lion. In tact the
| principal diet of the mountain lion is the
tender offspring of the COWS Montana"
When lambs are not to be had, the fierce
North American panther does no object
to feastIng on the parents. These rare
| sheep are also subject to sort
of scab disease, which, when
| it becomes epidemic, sweeps off
at short notice scores of them, young
and old alike. The lambs are usually
brought forth from May 3 to the 20th.
ROLLING OVER THE CLIFFS.
The "Ovis Montana" is adorned with
the most remarkable head-gear imagin-
able in the shape OF monstrous horns.
These are used by them for various pur-
poses, but principally as means of de-
tense. Astonishing as it may seem, they
also use their immense horns to assist
| them in descending from one lofty emf
| hence to a lower. If in skipping from
crag to crag, and from ridge TO ridge,
should it become necessary to make jump
dOwnwards, no matter what the height,
they roll themselves up into kind OF
ball, vault out INTO the air and, turning a
| succession of sOmersaults, keep the ball
rolling, 80 to speak, until they strike on
their powerful horns below. The shock
would Kill an ordinary animal, but these
hardy deniZens OF the mountains dOn't
seem to mind it much, for they spring to
their feet and 20 bounding over impossible
chasms and Jagged rocks until it becomes
necessary to make another descent, when
the same tactics are repeated.
W. +. Dow, OF the Green Mountain Cat
tie Company, relates that he saw near his
ranch on Powder river. not long ago, a
band of 800 mountain sheep. They were
browsing on lofty cliff, when for some
unaccountable reason the flock became
stampeded and rushed away like the
whrlwind. On they came pell-mell to
The edge OF the cliff, which was cut sharJ
into a perpendicular decline of fully 1,50(
feet. The leaders paused, but there was
no help for 1t, the rear guard crowded then
over, and the entire flock went neck over
heels down into space. 1t was no doubt
a curious sight to see 800 mountain sheer
doubled up into balls and falling oy er suct
a lofty preCipice. Down they came, one
after another, until the whole band haC
made the awful jump. AS this was such
a frighttul leap for any breathing crea
ture to make and live, 1t is not surprising
to know that IL out OF the 800 were killed
by the conclusion. The cowboys of thu
ranch secured the meat. whlch they de
clared far superior to their choice Mon
tana steers.
HORNS or GREAT SIZE
Some of the mountain sheep horns at
tain a remarkable size. One pair brought
into this fort last February by Cheyenne
Indian measured seventeen inches IL
circumference although only forty inches
in length. The ram from which they
were taken was IL splendid specimen
weighing over 200 pounds, and stood
when erect, nearly up to a mans shOul
ders. Beiug such wary animal, the fol.
lowing story of the capture of a big horn
by Mr.. +. f. Baker, a Pennsylvania gen.
tleman who has ranch near Boulder, il
the western part of this territory, will
seem most strange and surprising. The
story comes well authenticated aud there
can be no question about its Veracty
MIR. Baker actually accomplished the sin.
gular feat Of catching and holding by his
unaided strength wild Rocky Mountain
sheep-a eve. He came upon her ut the
foot OF a shopping bank which led up TO q
steep but not very high cliff of rimrock
Ilis dog OF the shepherd breed, trained
for hunting, was following, ard when il
saw the sheep pursued it up the bank u
the elf. whore il stood at bay, making
demonstrations AZ the dog, which was
prompt in returning them.