3° 2 



The Wild Sheep of the Sierra. 



snow-bound in Bloody Canon a few years ago, and were killed with 

 an axe by some travelers who chanced to be crossing the range in 

 winter. 



Man, being the most powerful, is the most dangerous enemy of 

 all, but even from him our brave mountain dweller has little to fear 

 in the remote solitudes of the Alps. The golden plains of the Sacra- 

 mento and San Joaquin were lately thronged with bands of elk and 

 antelope, but, being fertile and accessible, they were required for 

 human pastures. So also are the magnificent feeding-grounds of the 

 deer — hill, valley, forest, and meadow ; but it will be long ere man 

 will care to take the highland castles of the sheep. And when we 

 consider here how rapidly entire species of noble animals, such as 

 the elk, moose, and buffalo, are being pushed to the very verge of 

 extinction, all lovers of wildness will rejoice with me in the rocky 

 security of Ovis Montana, the bravest inhabitant of the California 

 Alps. 



