American Big Game in its Haunts 



with two lambs, but the greater number had only 

 one. Most of the young appeared about two 

 months old. Their usual gait was a short gallop, 

 seldom a walk or trot." 



The great curving horns of the wild sheep have 

 always exercised more or less influence on people's 

 imagination, and have given rise to various fables. 

 These horns are large in proportion to the animal, 

 and so peculiar that it has seemed necessary to ac- 

 count for them on the theory that they had some 

 marvelous purpose. The familiar tale that the 

 horns of the males were used as cushions on which 

 the animal alighted when leaping down from great 

 heights is old. A more modern hypothesis which 

 promises to be much shorter lived is that advanced 

 a year or two ago by Mr. Geo. Wherry, of Cam- 

 bridge, England, who suggested that "The form 

 of the horn and position of the ear enables the 

 wild sheep to determine the direction of sound 

 when there is a mist or fog, the horn acting like an 

 admiralty megaphone when used as an ear trum- 

 pet, or like the topophone (double ear trumpet, 

 the bells of which turn opposite ways) used for a 

 fog-bound ship on British-American vessels to de- 

 termine the direction of sound signals." 



It is, of course, well understood, and, on the 

 publication of Mr. Wherry's hypothesis, was at 



310 



