144 CAMP-FIRES OF A NATURALIST. 



" They seem to like the high crags and mountain- 

 tops, and when undisturbed remain there most of the 

 time. They grow very fat on the short, thick bunch- 

 grass that grows on the slopes and coves on the 

 mountain-side. The high ground affords them the 

 opportunity to watch for their enemies. When dis- 

 turbed they always break down the side of the moun- 

 tain for the woods, but usually keep going until they 

 reach another range of high mountains, though it 

 may be miles away. 



" Ewes and lambs do not range on the high moun- 

 tains, at least while the lambs are small, but remain 

 lower down near the edge of timber-line. Certain 

 alkali spots on the side of the mountains are great 

 places of resort for the sheep, and they go there as 

 frequently as deer do to a salt-lick. The lambs are 

 born in the latter part of May or the first of June." 



" There is one thing that always seemed a myth to 

 me," said the judge, "and that is the stories we hear 

 about the fearful leaps rams make down precipices, 

 where they are said to alight on their horns and re- 

 bound to their feet, thus saving their legs from the 

 terrible shock. I never believed there was any truth 

 in such stories." 



" Well, as usual, your judgment is correct. Those 

 stories are all myths evolved from the fertile brains 

 of those men who do their hunting by the fireside of 

 some ranch in the mountains. Take a man who 

 comes to a place like Thorp's ranch and shows the 

 people that he is a 'tenderfoot' and is going to write 

 a book, and they will fill him up with more stories 

 of adventure than a hunter can find in a lifetime. 



