The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1889-08-03
Great Sport IN Idaho.

have lots OF them to kill, there Is no
more exhilarting sport now to be had
than going after wild sheep and
goats" said William Kennedy, Offices
burg, Idaho.
1.-The heights of the Bitter Root
Mountains are covered with snow.
and there are plenty of big horn and
white wild goats up there. Every
winter we go up there aud have
hunt. 1t is no trouble to get this kind
of game, especially the goats. The
big horn are little harder to get and
require more skill. These are the
things you read about in your early
school books, that, like the chamois,
leap from lofty heights and light on
their heads, not damaged in the least
by reason of the great horns which
they have. These mountain sheep
weigh from 800 to. $50 pounds each.
They are strong, stalwart fellows, and
we'll muscled, and their necks, though
long, are carried we'll up over their
forelegs, SO that the perpendicular
from their ponderous horns is well
preserved. The horns themselves,
with the head, weigh from fifty to
seventy-five pounds. The female Is
smaller than the male and has the
smaller horns, resembling those OF the
goat. This is the animal known by
naturalists as the owls montana, and
it is only found in the Bitter Root
Mountains, in Bearhead county, Mont,
and in the same range of mountains
over in Idaho. Last winter l shot and
killed ten of these big horns
and already this fall killed
seven. They are splendid eating.
tasting something like venison. We
ascend the Black Fork OF the Salmon
river, and it is right on the very top Of
the mountains that you find the big
horn and the mountain goats most nu-
merous. The goat is the aploceros
montanus of zoology. lthas jet black,
polished, slender horns, much like the
channels, and is clothed with long white
hair. 1t has also tolerably long
bushy white tail and beard. These
goats are exceedingly active, and II
they see the hunter before he sees
them they will elude him, and 1t Is
pretty nearly impossible to find them.
Being white, they are hard to see in
the snow, and the only way to do is to
keep watch out for their horns. They
roam in bands of from ten to twenty,
: while not often more than three OF the
, sheep are found together The goat
meat is very much like mutton. l am
an old resident OF Leesburg, which is
just up from the Gibbon Valley. For
years past whenever the snow gets
very deep in the Bitter Root mountains,
: the big horn sheep and goats come
: down to feed. 1t is at such times that
we made our biggest hauls. Going az
ter them in the mountains one Is
obliged to wear snowshoes We usual
ly take two kinds-the web foot ones
in going up and the Norwegian, or
long runner shoes, in coming down.
, The only way TO kill this kind of game
is to watch your chance. Hounds are
of no avail. You can't bring anything
to your assistance, but must depend
alone on your own individual skill.
"a light step, keen eye and as good
long range rifle as can be had are the
essentials. I went hunting for goats
and sheep the last of October Far up
on crag on the side of old Mount
Williams l saw what appeared to be q
little speck, covered by two straight,
| short lines of black. knew it was
goat, but he was SO far away on his
dizzy eyrie in the sky that l was afraid
I would miss him. / had magnificent
SO caliber Henry rifle, however, and l
took as careful aim as possible. Tbs
two dark lines, followed by a fieecy
body which showed against blue
cloud, turned double somersalt 1t
seemed, fifty feet out from the crag,
and shot down into the gorge. almost
one thousand feet below. | had
wearisome trip getting down into the
deep canyon. I had to dodge fallen
trees and rocks and avoid deep ravines,
but, finally, l got there, and he was as
dead as a mackerel. l had made a
center shot, and taken him through the
heart. got four goats that trip, all oil
them very fine ones. John Kincald
and Tom Wilson, of Salmon City, who
were with me, also got five or six goats
and three mountain sheep. We could
not begin to pack the meat down,
of course, so we merely took the
hams and other choice parts, beside
the skins. Both the big horn and
goat skins make very fine robes.
They are used in that part of Idaho q
great deal. Spread on the floor they
make room exceedingly warm and
comfortable. A number OF English
sportsmen have come in over the
| NOrGQ6Fu L dCluC tfiu opChe % SOoN uOesi
of time in the Bitter Root Mountains
during the past two or three winters
They have killed great deal OF game,
but there is plenty of it there yet The
biggest wild animal there, is the elk
The elk we have up there are as big
as oxen. Aside from those in the Sas-
katchewan country, they have no peers
on the continent. AS to small
game, like timber wolves, coyotes,
foxes. beaver and sable. the mountain
regions of Idaho are pretty well filled
The country is not settling up fas'
enough in such localities as to make
the game timid. There are many men
| in the Bitter Root and Sawtooth Noun
tains who make hunting and trapping
a business, and they make good money
out OF it. They market their mes
aud skins at HALEY and Ketchum prin
cipally, but spend most of the winter
in the wild regions of the mountains
where they have erected cabins, ant
are well situated for long campaign
j