20 CALIFORNIA PISH AND GAME. 



one day came across a well-beaten sheep trail on the ridge between 

 Ontario and Telegraph peaks. In most places the soil is too hard and 

 rocky to take a print, hence tracks are not as abundant as one might 

 suppose. 



Regarding the general habits of the sheep, several points seem clear. 

 As before noted, they are very shy and alert, despite years of freedom 

 from pursuit by man. From the fact that tracks when found are usually 

 in great abundance, and from direct observation, it is evident that they 

 travel most often in bands. However, the occasional sight of one, two 

 or three odd sheep perhaps points to the conclusion that certain indi- 

 viduals at times stray from or are cast out of the band. This might 

 occur in the case of several males striving for the leadership of the 

 band. It seems very possible that adventuresome young, especially 

 males, not yet arrived at the breeding age, might stray from the herd. 



From the appearance of the lambs in late September, at which time 

 they are quite active, the writer would put the lambing season in late 

 February and early March. 



The question of water is not a serious one for the sheep. Not only is 

 water accessible in the headwaters of the canyon streams, but springs 

 issuing from the sides of Ontario Peak, at some places within 200 feet 

 of the top, give a ready supply. This whole region in winter is covered 

 with a heavy blanket of snow, and this, when melting in the summer, 

 often forms large pools of clear water. That the sheep move about and 

 drink at night is evidenced by one observation, when several of them 

 were seen one moonlight night to slip down to one of the springs on 

 Ontario and drink. 



What constitutes their food can not readily be told without long- 

 continued observations during feeding (a very difficult and well-nigh 

 impossible task) and by a study of the stomach contents. There is 

 no doubt, however, that the following plants form an important part of 

 the diet: the leaves of the chinquapin {Casianopsis sempcrvirens) , a 

 wild parsnip (Palpinacca sativa) growing around water holes, berries 

 of the manzanita (Arctostaphylos) , twigs and leaves of Ehns trilohata 

 and Rhamnns crocens calif ornicus, and finally grass growing near 

 springs and streamlets. 



All that has been said applies to the sheep only during the warm 

 season of the year. "What becomes of them in winter is not known. 

 They are certainly not at the mountain tops. The heavy snow blanket 

 covering the mountains thaws during warmer spells only to freeze again 

 into a solid sheet of ice. At such times they become exceedingly slippery 

 and dangerous, and it seems inconceivable that the sheep or any living 

 creature of large size could avoid sliding off into the canyons below. 



There are two places that give great promise as wintering areas. 

 These are the spurs to the northeast of Cucamonga and Telegraph peaks, 

 respectively. They drop low enough to receive only an occasional, tran- 

 sient snow covering. This region is exceedingly wild, trailless, and not 

 visited by man, and would seem to present all the requirements of winter 

 quarters for the sheep. 



Regarding the number of sheep living in this territory, it is not 

 possible to say definitely. If all the sheep are in one band, then their 

 number is between fifty and sixty head. There is, however, no evidence 



