The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1912-09-19


this animal and avoid being seen by
1t. He should her take a careful note
of the country, and by proceeding
slowly and cautiously, and by keeping
in the shadows If 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 m~ountain-side, SO that they
should be approached, whenever the
wind allows of it, from below.
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
bark of the mesquite and ~paloverde
trees for sustenance. 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. | 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 are
split at the ends, which often spoils
an otherwise perfect head and reduces
It's length by two to four inches. 1t
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
are especially dry, and are often much
worn and SCARED on their upper sur
face, as can be seer 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, for Its fauna is al
most as remarkable as its fora, and
many species are confined to this To-
cality and are not found elsewhere.
Among game animals are the puma
(Felis concolor) and a little-known
| species of jaguar-the 'tigre" of the
Mexicans-the bay lynx o.. ruffa), a
local variety of the Texas collared
peccary Cd. 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
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. II is undoubtedly the
finest game country In the southwest
today, as II 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 existent, so that no one
should contemplate a hunting trip to
the Sonora desert unless he Is pre-
pared to face discomfort and probably
actual hardship.