American Big Game in its Haunts 



haps it was somebody's tame sheep, but we were 

 the first ones up there that spring, and of course 

 it was not a tame sheep. If we had not been out 

 of meat I would not have disturbed the animal. I 

 walked toward it to make it get up, but it would 

 not, and still lay there. When I was within thirty 

 feet of it I took up a stone and threw it, and called 

 at him. The sheep stood up and looked at me. 

 I said, 'Go on, now/ and he started in the direction 

 I wished him to take. When he came in sight, the 

 man fired two or three shots at him, but did not 

 hurt him, and the sheep again lay down in sight of 

 camp. Afterward I fired at him about 300 yards 

 up the side of the mountain, but I did not touch 

 him. However, he was disturbed by the shooting, 

 and moved away. 



"It is often difficult to find a reason for the way 

 sheep act. It is possible that this young ram, 

 which was in the Sunlight Mining District, had 

 seen many miners, and that they had not disturbed 

 him, and that so he had lost his fear of man. He 

 was not at all afraid of horses, perhaps because he 

 was accustomed to seeing miners' horses; or he 

 may have taken them for elk. I do not see why 

 our wind did not alarm him. At all events, for 

 some reason, this one showed no fear. 



"Along the Gardiner River, inside the northern 

 296 



