Arizona republican., 1892-02-24
Correspondence of rnE REPUBLICAN.

ATcHIsoN, Kan, April. l3.-Dnring the hunting trip in the Rocky mountains went one day with my iriend pr,r,as su visit n certain famous canyon We were seated on the brink talking about its beauties when Brooks suggested that we roll rocks down the gorge to see them blow their way through the trees below We pried of very big one, and were watching it tearing along when suddenly Brooks cried out.
 Mountain sheepr
 We had scared ont 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 repeating rifle-and the firing created so many reverberations and echos in the canyon that 1t sounded like a battle
 Finally Brooks jumped on his horse and told me to follow, as we might catch the sheep in en open country us they crossed into their favorite haunts Then followed wide ride In which we be- came separated, and it happened that found the sheep.
 They were standing still when 1 came up to them. but they ran away when 1 went to get off the horse to shoot. had eleven cartridges in my gun. and made ten fair misses; with the eleventh bullet l stopped one just before the sheep went over the side of the mountain Brooks came up few moments later, and said 1 was jumping up and down, yelling and waving my hat. when he came in sight Mountain sheep are very scarce and very hard to kill have known old hunters who have never seen one. and suppose 1 was rejoicing over my good iuck
 There is popular impression that mountain sheep will jump from crag to crsg and land on his horns, but there is nothing in the story The sheep live in the widest part of the noun iaius and disappear with great sud denness when disturbed in their natural ieeding ground. but if a hunter happens io run upon them in open country they gre apt to stand and look at him for moment in anazement.
 The mountain sheep only resembles inc domestic animal in the particular that Il has horns which distinguish the 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 are shorter and the body longer and much heavier The tlesh IS regarded as a greater deli eacy than that of elk. which outranks velsison. and there is nothing of the nut ton taste about 1t An antelope resem. hles huge jack rabbit after it has been skinned. and there is something common 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 frpin which the illustration accompany ing thls article was made certainly weighed 400 pounds. and the meat was larded with far
 Amateur hunters are apt to give exag- gerated accounts of the great distances their rifles will shoot
 A hundred yards IS a long distance to shoot accurately In shooting long dis. tances you are supposed to raise your sight. but in the presence of game this ,s apt to be forgotten. and then you must | aim over your object, and there is so much guessing about this that you might as we'll not shoot al all have repeatedly seen deer jump out of the way of a bullet at 300 or 400 yards. The | smoke from the gun frightens them, and they jump, the 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 |
 short run The hunter knows this
 fixes himself to fire as soon as the
 nal stops. Nay hunters whistle to
 as boys do tvtabbits
 ter the first shot the deer will run
 and usually stor again. but at .ery long range, An eIS or an antelope | makes hee line for safety when dis turbed
 A female deer or antelope when | wounded SO seriously that it cannot get | away will cry in the most DltIful man.