The National tribune., 1890-03-13

Domestic breeds Of sheep are remarkable for
their tendency 10 yasy, and besides these aud
Eub-yaiieties Of feral forms there are at present
in the British Museum 30 varieties Of oyine
rHmiuaDts.
Speaking generally. all the more lofty con-
IiucHial mountain chains afford q bone 10 some
kind o. true wild sheep; while the nloufOn-
Ovis musim0B-exists IN the insulaT highlands
~ Gambia. Cyprus Sardinia aud Corsica Owls
tracelephus belongs systematically 10 the Alri-
can ranges: bui whether 10 all or If the animal
j. identical throughout that continent, i not as
YET ascertained. il may be remarked here. how
ever, that very recently an accomplished tray
elcr Joseph Thomson, reported what he calls
the soudad or mcuiIon, as habitually
HUNTED WITH BoAR-HoUNDs
IN the heart Of The Atlas lie docs not describe
The animal hut il Is quite safe % say that in
such country a. the one over which his Jour
Deg lay, a 50ar-hOuud would have about a.
much chance Of catching wild sheep like the
bis-horn or burrhcl as he would Of oYertaking
q bird.
Concerning this latter creature, biologists. or
81 least many u them. make 4 specific disfinc-
tom between the areaIi Of Asiatic highlands in
general and the LErfhel Of the Upper lima
laFas. According 10 Muir. no important differ
ences separate the argaii from our American
form. The Asiatic variety is somewhat
EIlalacT, VhiiC is horns are less regularly cy-
c.o.cai, aud this is about al that can be said
Probably the same may be true with respect to
tic aIga.i and burrhel, aud although Kinloch's
plates represent their heads as dissimiiar they
may be substantially the same. Usually the
lalier D. described. or rather talked about a.
much The smaller creature and il is true
that the writer was informed lately by Mr.
RGtkhil who has just returned from very
successful exploration u certain heretofore un-
known parts 81 Tibet. that he found gigantic
N.f.rr H.s-ts a-4as. 10 4T..a = -.
posi- 10 several localities Of this region On
the other band, Col. Prejevaisky 10 whose geo
graphical aad other discoveries those 81 Rock
hili may be- considered complementary. writes
q tie lurrLel, with HL0n be was well ac.
guaihted, In q somewhat different strain Ia
tic Ala-saaH Mountains. where - be remarks
D. scaled kuku-yamaH, or " blue goat bv the
Nou20.s < exists in great ngmbcrs' on their
eastern or more rocky slopes" There lie
continues, ibis animal b. not much larger than
an ordinary sheep" Further. its ground color
j. tawng gray or tawDy-cTims0n. On the
upper part u The face The chest, the fore
part q tie legs along the line marking
the division 81 The sides nom tie stomach aud
On the tip 81 the tai il is black willie The
inner portions Of the limbs are yel!owish-
white" ~ be horns be thought 10 be large in
proportion ~ the EIZe Of the animal. and they
were curved upward from the base. with ibcir
points twisted backward. Among ewes these
apUenaages correspond with the diminished
bulk and are nearly upright. BurAel" saws
IrsJegal,Ey, live EiuEly, Do pairs, or in small
bands Of from lyctO y" EEccplionaIly. a. be
supposed, although their congregation i prob
ably a. regular - that 81 the big-horn at Ger.
tain Seasons they assemble ia large l0cks, and
on ore occasion his com aBioH. Lieut. PyItsef.
counted hundred together Every aggregate
has q male sentinel: aud, ia fact. the whole
further description 81 this animals habits and
character corresponds 20 80 great degree with
That which Muir las given Of the ~ild sheep Of
the slefTas which will be presently referred
10, that, with the exc ption Of minor differ
ences, attributable 10 locality, these observers
might well be thought 10 be writing about the
same creature. which had simply grown larger
10 one place tAan another, because tic struggle
Tor existence was less severe Leaving, then.
the Asian forms u the wild sheep and the
question Of relationship between o. argali, o.
bnuiel and o. polii, let as turn 10 what all nat.
uraiists and hunters regard a.
THE HoELEsr SPECIMEN or Tux FAMILY TX.
TAST,
the Owls montana Of America. It's range as
defined by Prof Baird extends " from tic
region Of the upper Missouri and Yellowstone
% the Rocky Mountains aud high grounds
adjacent % them on the eastern slope, and as
fsT south ar the Rio Grande Westward = q q
70 The coast ranges Of Washington Territory.
Oregon and California, and ii follows the high.
lands some distance into Mexico
The big-h0m iubaJits. or las inhabited
says Muir, al the ranges intervening between
the Hasatch on the cast and the Sierra Nevada
and throughout the entire Rocky Mountain
ystem its specific identity seems 10 be certain.