Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-02-07
E. W. HOWE, HUNTER
THE AUTHOR OF aTHE STORY OF A COUNTRY
TOWN" GOES SHOOTING.
Rocky Mountain Sheep and Their Ways-A POpa-
ularly Accepted Horn Story EIplOded-S'ns
Good Elk ShoOfng-Magnihcsnt Antlsrs.
sp.e,aI corrs,posdsnes or tie Register.

ArcHIsoS, KAN, February dur
ing a recent hunting trip la the Rocky
Mountains / went one day with my
| friend Brooks 10 visit certain famous
canyon. We were seated on thebrink
talking about it's beauties when Brooks
suggested that we roll rocks down the
gorge to see them plow their way
through the trees below. We pried oil
a very big one, and were watching 1t
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 fred at them as fast as we
couli-and you can fire very rapidly
with a repeating rifle-and the firing
created so many reverberations and
echoes in the canyon that IL sounded
like battle.
Finally Brooks jumped on his horse
and told me to follow, as we might eaten
the sheep in an open country as they
crossed into their fayorite haunts. linen
followed wide ride, In which we be-
came separated, and it happened that l
found the sheep.
They were standing still when came
up 10 them, but they ran away when l
went to get of the horse to shoot. had
eleven cartridges in my gun ana MADE
ten fair misses with the eleventh ouilet
| stopped one Just before the sheep went
over the side Of the mountain. BROOKS
came up few moments later, and said
| was jumping up and down, yelling
and waving my hat, when he came In
sight. Mountain sheep are very scarce
aud very hard to kill. / have known
old hunters who have never seen one,
and suppose was rejoicing over my
good luck,
There is q popular impression that
mountain sheep will jump from crag To
crag and land on bis horns, but there Is
nothing In the story. The sheep live In
the widest part of the mountains and
disappear with great suddenness when
disturbed in their natural feeding
ground, but II hunter happens TO run
upon them in open country they are apt
to stand and look at him for moment
In amaZement.
The mountain sheep onS resembles
the domestic animal 10 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 flesh is regarded as greater deli
cacy than that OF elk, which outranks
venison, and there is nothing OF the NUT
ton taste about It. An antelope resem-
bles huge jack rabbit after 1t has been
skinned, and there Is something com
mon looking about the meat, but the
flesh Of the mountain sheep Is OF that
deep carmine color which distinguishes
all really good meat. The carcass OF
the buck from which the illustration ac-
companyjng this article was made, GER
tainly weighed 400 pounds, and the
meat was larded with fat.
Amateur hunters are apt TO give ex-
aggerated accounts Of the great dis
tances their rifles will shoot.
A hundred yards IS long distance TO
shoot accurately. In shooting long dis
tances you are supposed to raise your
sight, but IN the presence OF game this
is apt to be forgotten, and then you
must aim at your OBJECT, ana there Is SO
much guessing about this that you
might as well not shoot at all. have
repeatedly seen deer jump out OF the
way OF bullet at 800 or 400 yards. The
smoke from the gun frightens them,
and they jump, the bullet striking
where they stood before the gun was
fired. A deer is curious, and will nearly
always stop AMI 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
to deer as boys do to rabbits.
After the first shot the deer will run
away and usually stop again, but at
very long range. An elk or an antelope
makes bee line for safety when dis
turbed.
A female deer or antelope when
wounded so seriously that 1t cannot get
away will cry in the most pitful man