The Calumet news., 1912-11-11

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this animal and avoid being seen BY
It, lie ehould then, take careful note,
of the country, and by proceeding
slowly and cautiously, and by keeping.
in the shadows II possible, he should +,
he able to approach them easily
enough and select the best head, There
is another point that should be remem
bered and that,is that the sheep. when
frightened nearly always try to, escape
down The mountain-side, so that they
should be approached, whenever the
wind allows of 1t. from below. ,t
Owing TO the scarcity; OF all other
food, the ruminants of this country
have to depend almost entirely, on the
cacti and the young shoots and green
bari, of the mesquite and. paloverde
trees for sustenance. They are also
very partial TO the ocotillo (Fopquers
splendens). and when the latter begin
to- flower late In April, the sheep come
down from the mountains TO the edge
OF the plains and feed almost entirely
on them. This diet seems TO agree
with them excellently for they are
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time Of year. do not know OF any
animals. either In Africa or America
whose meat is so delicious TO eat, and
II Is far nicer than that of the prong.
horn antelope. which Is much priced
by the Mexicans.
The dryness of the climate In the
Sonora desert is largely responsible
~ he
split at the ends. which often spols
an otherwise perfect head and reduces
It's length by two to four inches. II
has the same effect on ones finger
nails, with become very brittle and
split or break at the slightest provo
cation The horns of the old rams
ere especially dry, and are often much
worn and SCARED on their upper sur
face, as can be Seen In the photo
graph of the biggest ram we shot; but
this Is due TO the blows they receive
when fighting among themselves head
to head
Mountain sheep are not the only
trophy that can be. secured In this in
teresting country. Tor It's fauna Is al
most remarHssle asl its siiora. iand
many species are confined to this 10
cality and are, dot found, Elsewhere.
Among game animals are the puma
| (Felis concolor) and iittle.known
species of iaguar-the "tigre" of the
Mexicans--the bay lynx, OL- ruffa).
local variety of the Texas collared
peccary Cd. angulatus sQporiensis'.
4 Al I'll a,I t,< nh tn oil lnd
and the pronghorn antelope
One of the principal charms OF
hunting in this country is the variety
of scenery met with, For the deer
are found in abundance in the Santa
Catalina mountains, among the pines
and silver birches of the beautiful
Canada del Orc. In The foothills lynx
puma and the blacktailed deer can
generally be found, but here the scene
Is quite different and the vegetation
becomes more Characteristic Hunting
| is difficult. as there is but little cover
and days pass often without a chance
| for shot
II would be impossible In short
article to describe in detail the vsr'-
Gus animals that live In the Sonora
desert, or to mention the best hunt
ing-grounds. II is undoubtedly the
finest game country in the southwest
today. as II has been untouched. and
therefore unspoiIed. by the ,ordinary
traveller. But although big game Is
plentiful, good trophies are not Sc,
cured without hard work and much
patience The heat is intense and
water is very scarce-in parts absc-
lutely non-existent. so that no one
should contemplate hunting trip TO
the Sonora desert unless he Is pre-
pared to face discomfort and probably
actual hardship.