American Big Game in its Haunts 



their food very largely on sheep. In fact, the 

 Sheep Eaters are reported to have killed little else, 

 whence their name. Both these tribes hunted more 

 or less in disguise, and wore on the head and 

 shoulders the skin and horns of a mountain sheep's 

 head, the skin often being drawn about the body, 

 and the position assumed a stooping one, so as to 

 simulate the animal with a considerable closeness. 

 The legs, which were uncovered, were commonly 

 rubbed with white or gray clay, and certain precau- 

 tions were used to kill the human odor. 



A Cheyenne Indian told me of an interesting 

 happening witnessed by his grandfather very many 

 years ago. A war party had set out to take horses 

 from the Shoshone. One morning just at sunrise 

 the fifteen or sixteen men were traveling along on 

 foot in single file through a deep cafion of the 

 mountains, when one of them spied on a ledge far 

 above them the head and shoulders of a great 

 mountain sheep which seemed to be looking over 

 the valley. He pointed it out to his fellows, and 

 as they walked along they watched it. Presently 

 it drew back, and a little later appeared again 

 further along the ledges, and stood there on the 

 verge. As the Indians watched, they suddenly saw 

 shoot out from another ledge above the sheep a 

 mountain lion, which alighted on the sheep's neck, 



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