The sun., 1894-12-30
TRUTH ABOUT BIG HORNS.
A MAN FROM THE FOOTHILLS
PUTS THE WILD SHEEP RIGHT.
Dow.s Story or the 1yS00-foot Jump Taken
by Flock of8OO-Their e,OOO-root Stair
wars In the Mouutnins-A Lions Fate.

~ object ~ said the man from tho foothills.
I draw the line right here Read thatl"
He handed cut this newspaper clipping;
W. n Dow Of the Green Mountain Cattle Company
relates that he near his ranch Powder River,
not long ago band Of 300 mountain sheep. They
were browsing on lofty clin, when for some un-
accountable reason. the flock became stampeded and
rushed away like the whrlwind. on they came pell-
nell 10 the edge OF the cli, which cut sharp into
q perpendicular decline Of fully 1900 feet The leaders
paused. but there help for it the rear guard
crowded them over, and the entire flock went neck
heels down into space II was doubt curious
sight 20 800 mountain sheep doubled up into balls
and falling such lofty preclpice. Down they
came, after another. until the whole band had
made the awful jump As this such frightful
leap for any breathing creature TO make and live It 10
not surprising to know that thirteen out Of the 800
killed by the conclusion. The cowboys OF the
ranch secured the meat which they declared far supe
rior to their choice Montana steers.
"what do you think of him p continued tho
man from the foothills. "What do you think
of Dow don't know him. and don't know his
cattle company. Never heard OF either OF 'em.
But I'll say It right now. that there has been a
good many lies told about the Rocky Mountain
sheep, but this thing Of Dow's beats 'em all. I
don't see how he can ever look a big horn sheep
In the face without feeling sheepsh himself
after thatl draw the limo at Dowl"
Fifteen hundred fcetl" said the man who
was listening. THE idea Of anything tumblng
fifteen hundred feet and livingi / should say it
was lie!"
"Huhp" said the man from the foothills
"That fifteen hundred feets all right. Fifteen
hundred feet amt surprising for a big horn TO
jump. That amt what I'm kicking about,
Dow's all right on the fifteen hundred feet"
"where does the lie come in, then ?" asked
tho man who was listening.
doaa ha 1ia tp
says thirteen of them sheep were killed,
don't he?"
"Yes."
"well, that's where the lie comes in! Tho idea
that there ever was q Rocky Mountain sheep
that would let little drop OF a quarter OF q
mile or so wipe 1t outl Thirteen o. those sheep
killed. Why, blamed II don't doubt the 900
now, and the 1.500-foot jump"
II the man who was listening had any further
opinion On the subject he didn't mention it.
Its time. now. that there was a little truth
told about tho Rocky Mountain sheep" contin-
ued the man from the foothills. In the first
place. you'd think. from what Dow says and
from what most every body else has always said
about the big horn. that this top-heavy bus
cute denizen of the crags and peaks was al
ways in the habit of going down stairs, so to
speak, in that simple and easy way OF just
doubling up aud t9mblng down, but he isn't.
out for a lark. His regular business way of get
ting down from the top, OF preciplce to the
1t makes me mad. knowing that he can do it.
70 have chap like this Dow stand up and say
that IA big horn would hesitate to take n leap OF
1900 feet, and had to be pushed of before he'd
do II! Never saw any OF them 5000 fcet-hiRh
ts FODDER aid Thoash YOU never nSrn
from the way you spoke up a while ago. That's
about as high up as the bis horn climbs for the
np Well, sir, them hills most OF 'em, are split.
hero and there clear from bottom to top, straight
been yanked away from tine ether part for
twenty. nifty. or even q hundred feet and lett
but II was done, and there amt any doubt In my
mind that " was done on purpose to make stairs
for che biz sheep 10 get down bot
ing hunters or mountain lions on his track. and
wanted TO ge, away. How DO know them hills
sides OF the big splits. on one side you'll SEQ a
rock sticking out couple OF feet or so. and ON
the rock juts out, you'll see a hole in the
wall Just the shape Il the rock opposite It.
down. sometimes on one side and sometimes on
What does that shown Why, L shows that, il
would every one 1T plumb and snug into the
hole opposite it, Just the same as they did be-
below the enc above it., and maybe
the bottom Of the split. Now do you see ? Them
splits are scattered around all over the big horn
sheep pastures, and whenever you see big
horn, or ten, or no matter how many, shipping
the Dunchgrass and smiling now and then Cor
danger, you can bet that one o. them straight
II the danger they're always looking for comes,
every, big horn in sight will be out OF sight in
Where would they goH Down stairs, of course!
Here you are! Top OF the split. Zip! goes
s S DO the S ss
maybe it's hundred It's all the same TO the
big horn. He lights on the shelf and drops down
To the next rock on the opposite side. And 30
on. zig-zag to and fro, criss-crOss, until he has
climbed 10 the bottom, That's the way the big
when he's on business bent. Does he climb up
the same wayf cant say as to hat ! never
Dow says about it. il he says that the big horn
cant climb up stairs. thenl shall believe that
:" suppose that Dow would say that what
I'm going to tell you now about a big norm is
way on, bu. started in TO tell little truth
care what Dow or any other person who has
been lying about them thinks or says. The
and he | cant be blamed for that, FOR i tell
you that big-horn mutton Is good especially
Mhsn t Is leesy Whsts isssyi NV WHY M leSSy S6Sn
6s. sp0ps Its Lying y ysTy perGsRSl1 vegetable TsTs
h vsS SSTSssS psrSspes es
smell II In the air. and It's just ike your girls
breath in the new onion season. the night she
didn't know you were coming. And you don't
mind Il any more than you do that The big,
horn sheep just dotes on these leeks. aud he
eats 'em and he eAts em. What happensI His
meat gets sscked chuck full OF the flavor. and
want To tell you that when you shove your teeth
into hunk O. big-horn mutton that's leeky
you've got pretty near mouthful that can't be
beat. That's what leeky Isl
"Well. The mountain lion dotes on big-horn
mutton. don't know whether he likes 1t any
better when it's leeky than he does when II
amt; but that's got nothing 10 do with IT, One
day thought ia play smart game on big
horn and bag him, sure. l knew there was a
mountain lion over on one side OF a mountain
feeding place for big horn and that on the other
side was one OF those big splits I've been telling
you about thought Il up that Just as like as
not that lion would come on raid aud send tho
sheep humping for the split TO 20 down stairs.
SO lay In ambush on the far side OF the split,
and waited for the lion To drive big horn my
way. What intended 70 do was 70 knock over
the sheep before IL had a chance 10 start down
stairs, and then shoot the lion, 30 that could
go around and get my game.
|. Now my schsms would have worked as fine
as silk II something hadn't been wrong with my
Winchester. But | am glad sOmetLing was
wrong with the gun, because II there hadn':
been, all I'D have got would have been lot OF
blg-horn mutton aud a mountain lions carcass.