American Big Game in its Haunts 



have come to their full fighting powers, and do 

 fight fiercely at certain seasons of the year. And it 

 is believed by many people that the great develop- 

 ment of horns among the mountain sheep is merely 

 a secondary sexual character analogous to the 

 antlers of the deer or the spurs of the cock. 



Most people who have hunted sheep much will 

 believe that this species depends for its safety 

 chiefly on its nose and its eyes. And if the observa- 

 tions of hunters in general could be gathered and 

 collated, they would probably agree that the 

 female sheep are rather quicker to notice danger 

 than the males, though both are quick enough. 



PROTECTION. 



It is gratifying to note that the rapid disappear- 

 -ance of the mountain sheep has made some impres- 

 sion on legislators in certain States where it is 

 native. Some of these have laws absolutely for- 

 bidding the killing of mountain sheep; and while 

 in certain places in all of such States and Terri- 

 tories this law is perhaps lightly regarded, and not 

 generally observed, still, on the whole, its effect 

 must be good, and we may hope that gradually it 

 will find general observance. The mountain sheep 

 is so superb an animal that it should be a matter of 

 pride with every State which has a stock of sheep 



312 



