512 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



the same posture, gazing in the direction of the fancied danger, 

 If fully satisfied of its reality, they abandon their position for 

 another and .a safer one, high among more rugged peaks, and 

 and often beyond the possibility of offensive approach. Their 

 hue is so akin to that of the rocks which grace their range, 

 they are with difficulty identified when standing motionless, 

 and the hunter is constantly, liable to mistake the one for the 

 other. 



In size the mountain sheep is larger than the domestic 

 animal of that name, and its general appearance is in every 

 respect dissimilar excepting the head and horns. The latter 

 appendage, however, alike belongs to the male and female. 

 The horns of the female are about six inches long, small, 

 pointed, and somewhat flat, but those of the male grow to 

 an enormous size. I have frequently killed them having horns 

 that measured two feet and a half or three feet in length, and 

 from eighteen to nineteen inches in circumference at the base. 



These ponderous members are of great service to their owner 

 in descending the abrupt precipices, which his habits so often 

 render necessary. In leaping from an elevation he uniformly 

 strikes upon the curve of his horns, and thus saves himself 

 from the shock of a sudden and violent concussion. 



The color of these animals varies from a yellowish white to 

 a dark brown, or even black. A strip of snowy whiteness 

 extends from ham to ham, including the tail, which is short 

 and tipped with black. 



Instead of wool, they are covered with hair, which is shed 

 annually. Their cry is much like that of domestic sheep, and 

 the same natural odor is common to both. 



It is extremely difficult to capture any of them alive, even 

 while young, and it is next to impossible to make them live 

 and thrive in any other climate than their own. Hence, the 

 Mountain Sheep has never yet found a place in our most ex- 

 tensive zoological exhibitions. 



