The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1892-02-20
f. w. HOWE, HUNTER.
THE AUTHOR OF 1.-THE STORY OF A
COUNTRY TOWN" GOES SHOOTING.
Rocky Mountain sheep and Their Ways.
A Popularity Accepted Horn Story Ex-
pIoded-Some Good Elk Shooting-A
Magnificent Set Of AntIers.

~ploded some Good Elk shooting-A
Magnificent Set of Antiers.
Especial Correspondence
ATCHIsON, Kan, Feb. 4.-During q re-
cent hunting trip i'll the Rocky mountains
| went N day with my friend Brooks to
visit a certain famous canyon. We
were seated on the brink talking about
! its beauties when Brooks suggested that
we roll rocks down the gorge to SEQ
them plow their way through the trees
below. We pried off a very big one,
and were watching it tearing along.
when suddenly Brooks cried out,
Mountain sheep"
We had scared out thirty or forty,
which had gone into the canyon after
water. We fired at them as fast as we
could-and you can fire very rapidly
with Il repeating %rifie-and the firing
created so many reverberations and
echos in the canyon that it sounded like
a battle.
Finally Brooks jumped on his horse
and told me to follow. us We might catch
the sheep in an open country as they
crossed into their favorIte haunts. Then
followed a wide ride, IN which we be-
came separated. and it happened that
found the sheep.
They were standing still when | came
up to them, but they ran away when
went to get off the horse to shoot. | had
eleven cartridges in my gun, and made
ten fair misses; with the eleventh bullet
| stopped one Just before the sheep went
Over the side of the mountain. Broohs
came mp Il few moments later, and said
| was jumping up and down, yelling and
waving my hat, when no came in sight.
Mountain sheep are very scarce and
very hard to kill |! have known old
hunters who have never seen one, and
! suppose was rejoicing over my good
luck.
There IL Il popular impression that Il
mountain sheep viii jump from crag To
crag and land on his horns, but there
is nothing In the story. The sheep
live in the widest part of the noun.
tains and disappear with great sud-
| denness when disturbed in their natural
feeding ground, but IT a hunter happens
to ruu upon them in open country they
are apt to stand aud look at him for a
moment IN amazemrnt.
The mountain sheep only resembles
the domestic animal IN the particular
that it has horns witch distinguish tho
ewes as well as the bucks, although the
horns of the female are quite small. The
hair and color Of the mountain sheep are
that of the deer, but the legs arc shorter
and the body longer and much heavier.
The flesh Is regarded as II greater deli
cacy than that of elk, which Outranks
venison, and there Is nothing OF the mutt
ton taste about it. An antelope resem-
bles IA huge Jack rabbit after it has been
skinned. and there Is something conmo,
looking about the meat. but the flesh of
the mountain sheep is Of that deep car
mine color which distinguishes all really
, good meat. The carcass of the buck
| from which the illustration accompany
ing this article was made certainly
weighed 400 pounds, and the meat was
larded with fat.
Amateur hunters are apt to give exag-
gerated accounts of the great distances
| their rifles will shoot.
A hundred yards IL II long distance to
shoot accurately. In shooting long dis
tances you are supposed to raise your
sight, but in the presence of gamo this
is apt to be forgotten, and then you must
aim ove your object, and there is sc
much guessing about this that you
might rs we'll not shoot at all. | have
repeatedly seen deer jump out Of the
way of "a bullet at 800 or 40O yards. The
smoke from the gun frightens them,
and they jump, tho bullet striking
where they stood when the gun was
fired, A deer is curious, and will nearly
always stop and look at the hunter after
a short run. The hunter knows this
and fixes himself to fire as soon as the
animal stops. Many hunters whistle tc
deer as boys do to rabbits.
After the first shot the deer will iur
away and usually stop again, but "a
very long range. An elk or an antelope
makes a bee line for safety when dis
turbed.
A female deer or antelope wher
wounded SO seriously that it cannot gel
away will cry in the most pitiful nan