FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT. 55 
forms a semi-erect mane, like that of the mountain goat, which 
extends quite over the shoulders.“ The tip of the tail of each 
of these animals bears a very small bunch of dark-brown hair, 
and about twoscore of long, brown-tipped hairs are scattered 
through the coat of the ram, on the hindquarters. 
The full winter coat of Ovis dalli is long and thick, and softer 
than on Ovis montana. On the neck, shoulders, and abdomen it 
is so abundant it may properly be called shaggy. Because of the 
greater abundance and length of its pelage this animal seems 
very stockily built, but this is not the case. In midsummer it 
is as clean-limbed and shapely as an antelope. A noticeable 
peculiarity of the midwinter pelage is the length and fineness of 
the hair on the neck, which is quite unlike that on the Big Horn. 
The old hair begins to fall off in May, and by the end of June 
has almost entirely disappeared. The transformation is as great 
as the shearing of a domestic sheep. Owing to the extreme short- 
ness of the new hair, it seems to be more stiff and coarse than 
afterward, when it attains its full length. In comparison with 
other species, the pelage of Ovis dalli resembles that of fanmint, 
while the coat of Stone’s Sheep is more like that of the Big Horn. 
Fortunately for all these animals, their hair is so brittle and so 
easily broken, their skins possess little value to mankind, although 
they are often put to use by the natives as clothing and robes. 
Had Nature seen fit to clothe the wild sheep like the best of the 
fur-bearing animals it is extremely probable that very few speci- 
mens would now be alive on this continent. 
Horns.—The most strongly characteristic features of the horns of Ovis 
dalli are two in number—(1) the front and rear side grooves, caused 
by the overhang of the upper surface of the horn, and (2) their light 
color. 
In fresh specimens the horns have a pale yellow, semi-trans- 
parent appearance, strongly suggestive of amber. From speci- 
mens that have been kept for a considerable period, and from 
which the natural oil of the horn has dried up, this amber-like 
appearance disappears, and thereafter the color is much the same 
as in the horns of Ovis montana. 
The horns do not spread widely, as in Ovis stonei, but they 
possess a peculiarity which is not found in any other American 
vis. The top of the horn is wider than its central transverse 
diameter; and, midway between the two ends, the upper surface 
