The Springfield herald., 1912-09-20
will give him tho best chance of .uo

cess.
When these animals are moving
about they are not dinicult to see. for
their white rump patch is most con-
spicuous and can be detected at .
great distance. The secret OF success
is not to be In hurry. Like nearly
all other animals. they have always a
sentinel on the lookout when they are
feeding. generally q eve. and tho
hunters chief aim should be to spot
this animal and avoid being seen by
It, He should then take a careful note
of the country, and by proceeding
slowly and cautiously. and by keeping
in the shadows II possible, he should
be 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.
Owing to th0 scarcity Of all other
food. the rumknants of this country
have to depend almost entirely on the
cacti and the young shoots and green
bark of the mesquite and paloverde
trees for sustenahce. They are also
very partial to the ocotillo (Fouquiera
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
always In the best OF condition at this
time OF year. l do not know OF any
animals, either In Africa or America.
whose meat is SO delicious to eat. and
1t 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
for the way some of the horns arc
split at the ends. which often spoils
an otherwise perfect head and reduces
Its length by two to four inches. 1t
hns 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
are 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 VIC 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, for Its fauna Is al
most as remarkable as Its fora. and
many species are confined to this 10
cality and are not found elsewhere.
Among game animals are the puma
(Felis concolor) and littlerknown
species OF jaguar-the 'u9re" of the
Mexicans-the bay lynx IL, ruffa). a
local variety OF the Texas collared
peccary ID. angulatus sonoriensIs).
the black and the white tailed deer
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 black-tailed 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 a shot.
1t would be impossible in a short
| article to describe in detail the vari-
GUS animals that live in the Sonora
| desert, or to mention the best hunt
ing-grounds. 1t Is undoubtedly the
finest game country In the southwest
| today, as 1t has been untouched. and
therefore unspoiled, 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 abso-
lutely non.eSistent. so that TO one
should contemplate a hunting trip 10
the Sonora desert unless he Is pre-
pared to face discomfort and probably
| actual hardship.