The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-05-14
dSTHIDE A ZIG HORN.
Col. Parker Tells How n Montana Ranch.
man Caught One Alive.

" TheT ltttr BIb" ~ NLOUInuh
man Caught One Alive.
There aro more lies told about the Rocky
Mountain big horn sheep than about any other
living thing. not excepting bears" said Col.
Noah Parker OF Parkcr's Springs. PA. But I
know n true story about one. It's the story
OF u man who caught a big horn alive.
Any one who knows about the big horn
sheep OF the Rockies knows that. gen
orally speaking. II would be quite as
easy to grab a streak OF lightning and
hold It as 1t would be to get his hands on ono
OF these wary. shy and agile animals. In the
first place. to get within even long rifle range
OF 0 big horn. unless by accident. Is something
that the most expert mountain hunters ure
ablo to do only by the greatest strategy. the
severest toll. and no little risk. to such almost
inaccessible fastnesses does the sharp-eyed.
keen-sccnted. sure-footed big horn retire with
ease at the first indication Of danger.
THE Rocky Mountain big horn is ~instinc-
lively suspicious. cautious beyond any other
animal that lives. and possessed Of marvellous
powers OF speed and skill in making its way
over places that are inaccessible to the most
nimhle.footed OF any othor American animal.
This sheep is the chamois Of America. l fol-
lowed one once for two weeks. day after day
without missing one. sleeping on the trail.
until l pursued 1t almost to the clouds on the
crest of the Sierras before l managed to get
within rife reach OF 1t. 1t stood almost de-
Family on a rocky shelf. overlooking a caion.
but thirty feet or more away from the edge
OF the chasm. The shot was q long
one. but I folS that l could nut u
rifle ball under the big horns shoulder easy
enough. and 1 did. But the determined beast
beat me after all. The proper thing for It to
have done would have been to drop dead in its
tracks. or bound away until it dropped dead
somewhere else. to which spot l could trace 1t
by its bloody trail. But this big horn did
nothing Of the kind. With one mighty leap.
when the rife cracked. the buck cleared tho
space between 1t and the edge Of the cafion.
and hurled itself into the tremendous depths.
To lose such n prize as that after a struggle
for two weeks to win it was heart breaking.
Now. II it is SO difficult to get even a long
rife shot at u big horn. what do you think tho
capture Of one in q struggle at close quarters
once. out near Boulder. Montana. That wasn't
80 many years ago: and biE-horn sheep were
witi,in a thousand i% miles Of i there ef to da .sn Z one
ro rF1a NIX Baker ha used ID t. l,ys here in Pennsyl;
ing for big horn the day he came upon this one
the chances are that he would never have seen
denly upon 1t at the foot Of a slopIng bank
, Which ny, M1 .w sr%wn ed, BY an Almost psrpendis-
panied by one OF his herd dogs. which had also
been trained as a hunter. The sheep started up
cliff cut Oh, it, hight up tie mountain side.
and y when tent the he zig zig horn reached the foot Of ths
el,4 9h he . dSs. X s taS firSa' VIZ Il It's en ram apd a .u.Rsa
TIE elm the great sheep presented q formIda.
ID s5i s 'sSnt oS to t q re d"S; o Th 1ha tr Sns Miss f Ss,s.l,
which would have smashed the skull 81 a
FL I'a;. eSs over the ftratssis PGint, q tSs
able to do something that he had never heard
ana II dot THAT %HW WAS as' to @ 1r a,' a prisose TO Of 20 the SRe'G b,s
horn, He took his hnck track. while the dog kept
~, sheer n p, Pat at f thy AM ana sett,nG to the end Of the
until he was directly above the big horn. which
probable result Of his plan might be. Baker
down squarely astride the sleeps back. At
fhe s same I mGmsnt bI ne threw ,es his arms around
brought to bear on tho big horns windpipe all
The pressure he was capable OF; The instant
1anisbs stru snjm the f inss 1 sn n;sr the fIg Had as
along the crest Of the mn, Finding 1t could
big horn threw itself to tho ground and rolled
over and over down tho hank. In that brief
ped OF Of him as II il had BEEN sr MIs @ht Oh
by knives, ana he Tns marked and bounded
anu rluetEti untl ITO nhQ barely u Dit OF
breath, or an inch OF sound skin. But no neld
on 70 the big horn like grim death. The dog
had taken AN active part in the struggle. but
the sheep paid no attention to him. putting all
Of his energy into efforts TO loosen himself from
Bakers hold and burden.
The yells that Bnke or set up and the noise
tbs, dog made in the exciting and unusual
melee. were heard by ono OF Baker's men ut
ranch u quarter Of a mile away. The strus.
gle between Baker and III" sheep had taken
them some distance away from the hill. and
they were in sight Of the ranch. The hired
MAN ETnUD8u n gun md hnrria1 IA |
the scene; baker was naked. bleedlng:
to rs man when he came within hear
niivo or not ut al. The man hurried away 10
he ranch. and By the time he got back with
ne lariat Baker; sheen. and dog were each
about In the last stages OF exhaustion. Tho
man Iassoed ~ biz horn: and Tho captive was
md Baker Tas carried to the ranch more
lead than alive, The sheen wa so nearly
played out that Il had to he helped along, too.
was renncd up at the ranch. 1t wasa
light With the big horn. He had, intended to
lend his prize East. hut finding that the sheep
refused to either eat or drink. and
vas visiDly dying in its captivity, he ordered
no animal set free. In less than "A minute