CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MOUNTAIN SHEEP 25 



The Mountain Sheep 



High on the mountain's frowning crest, 



Where lines of rugged cliff stand forth, 

 Where Nature bravely bares her breast 



To snowy whirlwinds from the north; 

 High in the clouds and mountain storms, 



Where first the autumn snows appear, 

 Where last the breath of springtime warms, 



There dwells my gallant mountaineer. 



And truly he is a gallant mountaineer. Wherever found, 

 the Mountain Sheep is a fine, sturdy animal, keen-eyed, bold, 

 active and strong. It fears no storm, and defies all enemies 

 save man and domestic sheep. From the former it receives 

 bullets, from the latter, disease. Whether its home is the 

 highest crags of the saw-tooth ranges, the boldest rim-rock 

 of the mountain plateaus or the most rugged "bad lands," 

 it is always found amid the scenery that is grandest and most 

 inspiring. 



In summer its favorite pastures are the treeless slopes 

 above timber-line, where, on our northern mountains, grasses 

 and wild flowers grow in astonishing profusion. When the 

 raging storms and deep snows of winter drive the elk and 

 deer down into the valleys for shelter and food, the Mountain 

 Sheep makes no perceptible change in altitude. 



All the year round this animal is well fed, and its savory 

 flesh invites constant pursuit by the mountain lion, and by 

 hunters both white and red. The massive, curving horns 

 and handsome head of the adult ram, taken amid grand moun- 

 tain scenery, with much difficulty and no little danger, con- 

 stitute, in my judgment, one of the finest trophies that a true 



