THE WILD SHEEP 317 



of sheer precipices, and alight on his big horns. 

 I know only two hunters who claim to have actu 

 ally witnessed this feat ; I never was so fortunate. 

 They describe the act as a diving head-foremost. 

 The horns are so large at the base that they cover 

 the upper portion of the head down nearly to a 

 level with the eyes, and the skull is exceedingly 

 strong. I struck an old, bleached specimen on 

 Mount Ritter a dozen blows with my ice-ax with 

 out breaking it. Such skulls would not fracture 

 very readily by the wildest rock-diving, but other 

 bones could hardly be expected to hold together in 

 such a performance; and the mechanical difficul 

 ties in the way of controlling their movements, 

 after striking upon an irregular surface, are, in 

 themselves, sufficient to show this boulder-like 

 method of progression to be impossible, even in 

 the absence of all other evidence on the subject; 

 moreover, the ewes follow wherever the rams may 

 lead, although their horns are mere spikes. I have 

 found many pairs of the horns of the old rams con 

 siderably battered, doubtless a result of fighting. 

 I was particularly interested in the question, after 

 witnessing the performances of this San Joaquin 

 band upon the glaciated rocks at the foot of the 

 falls; and as soon as I procured specimens and 

 examined their feet, all the mystery disappeared. 

 The secret, considered in connection with excep 

 tionally strong muscles, is simply this: the wide 

 posterior portion of the bottom of the foot, instead 

 of wearing down and becoming flat and hard, like 

 the feet of tame sheep and horses, bulges out in a 

 soft, rubber-like pad or cushion, which not only 



