92 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
“‘ Five out of twenty-two specimens shot by me tumbled over precipitous 
walls into inaccessible places and were lost. One of the lost five was found 
in a bunch of three resting on a ledge, seemingly not over a foot wide, on 
the face of a cliff fully 2,000 feet high from base to summit. They were 
not over 150 feet from the crest of the summit, over which I leaned and 
watched them, unobserved, for some time. How they reached the place 
or left it I could not tell. 
“ As this animal has been but little observed by naturalists or hunters, 
I will relate one other adventure as illustrating its wonderful vitality, 
agility, and endurance. One of my Indians came in one night and reported 
having crippled a large ram, which he failed to get. The next morning 
I decided we would hunt in that direction, in the hope of securing the 
cripple, as I have the utmost horror of leaving a crippled animal of any 
kind to die a lingering death. Reaching the level top of a high ridge, we 
skirted it for a short distance, and then separated into two parties. I took 
with me the Indian who claimed to have crippled the ram the day before; 
in reality, however, I did not believe his report. After following the edge 
of a deep cafion for about a mile, he proposed that I should watch from 
above while he descended to look for the cripple. He had been gone for 
some time, and was out of sight, when I heard him halloo. On running 
along the crest for some distance I finally discovered him making his way 
up the bottom of the cafion, calling every few steps. I could not at first 
make out what he was up to, but soon a sheep made its appearance from 
behind a jutting point, and a little later it was plainly to be seen, creeping 
along over the rocks ahead of the Indian, up the rugged cafion, seemingly 
with difficulty. I concluded the Indian could easily get in range and kill 
the poor beast, and I could not at first understand why he did not do so, 
but I soon came to the conclusion that he had discovered that the easiest 
way of getting the skin and bones to the top of the long, hard climb was 
to drive the animal ahead of him, knowing that I was at the top and 
would be on the lookout. i) 
“As I proceeded to the head of the cafion, in order to be ready to 
dispatch the beast on its arrival, I could see that one hind leg was broken; 
and as I watched the poor thing jump from one crag to another as it 
mounted that long, steep climb, I felt disgusted with such proceedings, and 
would have gladly carried up the skin rather than see the animal suffer, 
had I been in a position to do so. While I was thinking what this animal 
must have suffered during the preceding twelve hours, of how exhausted 
it must be from such a climb on three legs, and wondering if it would 
really get to the top, to my surprise it suddenly stood on the crest of the 
cafion wall, seventy-five or a hundred yards distant, fully fifteen minutes 
sooner than I thought possible. 
“As it turned toward me, and caught sight of me, I raised my rifle 
and fired. It fell, turning completely over; then it jumped up, and was 
away across the ridge like a shot, its broken leg swinging like a pen- 
dulum at every jump. As soon as I recovered from my surprise, I followed 
as fast as I could run, only to see it disappear over the side of the next 
cafion. It circled the side of the cafion wall, and took a stand on a jutting 
