The Mountain Sheep and its Range 



the rifle has had much to do with destroying the 

 sheep." 



Sheep were formerly exceedingly abundant in 

 all the bad lands along the Yellowstone and Mis- 

 souri rivers, and in the rough, broken country from 

 Powder River west to the Big Horn. The Little 

 Missouri country was a good sheep range, and 

 also the broken country about Fort Laramie. In 

 the Black Hills of Dakota they were formerly 

 abundant, and also along the North Platte River, 

 near the canons of the Platte, in the Caspar Moun- 

 tain, and in all the rough country down nearly to 

 the forks of the Platte. 



The easternmost locality which I have for the 

 bighorn is the Birdwood Creek in Nebraska. This 

 lies just north of O'Fallon Station on the Union 

 Pacific Railroad and flows nearly due south into 

 the North Platte River. It is in the northwestern 

 corner of Lincoln county, Nebraska, just west of 

 the meridian of 101 degrees. Here, in 1877, *he 

 late Major Frank North, well known to all men 

 familiar with the West between the years 1860 

 and 1880, saw, but did not kill, a male mountain 

 sheep. The animal was only 100 yards from 

 him, was plainly seen and certainly recognized. 

 Major North had no gun, and thought of killing 

 the sheep with his revolver, but his brother, Luther 



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