70 



ZOOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 



of nature to destroy the decrepit members of their tribe. 

 The cimarron, recognizing the Ovis domcstica&s his near 

 relative, is scandalized at her fatness, stupidity, and help- 

 lessness, and possibly considers it his duty to put her 

 " out of her misery." But, if he does not spare his poor 

 kindred, he certainly does not spare himself either. 

 Frederick the Great's dictum seems to be his motto : " II 

 faut trailer son corps en canaille" In merciless winter 

 storms he will fly against the wind at a tearing gallop 

 for hour after hour, and he rarely descends from the 

 highlands on account of the weather only. Wounded 

 to death, he still tries to keep up with his flying com- 

 panions ; I have seen a young ram struggling to his feet 

 again and again with a load of buckshot in his lungs, 

 stamping the ground impatiently at his growing weak- 

 ness, till he finally fell over on his side, almost exsanguis, 

 but working his hoofs to the last. The cimarron cannot 

 be "cornered," like the Swiss chamois, surrounded, and 

 captured at the edge of a precipice; driven to such ex- 

 tremes, the leading ram leaps clown into certain death, 

 and the herd will follow unless they are numerous 

 enough to break the blockade with the chances in favor 

 of a few survivals. Declivities of twenty or thirty feet 

 will not stop them : they have a wonderful knack of 

 alighting on their hoofs. There is a prevalent notion 

 that mountain sheep in jumping from a high cliff 

 will alight on their horns ; but that is a mistake : they 

 jump off head foremost in order to keep their bal- 



