The Mountain Sheep and its Range 



sheep had been down in the timber on the east side 

 of the ridge, as I found the remains of several, in 

 the winter coat, that had been killed by cougars." 



Mr. D. C. Nowlin, of Jackson, Wyo., was good 

 enough to write me in 1898, concerning the sheep 

 in the general neighborhood of Jackson's Hole; 

 that is to say, in the ranges immediately south of 

 the National Park, a section not far from that*just 

 described. He says : "In certain ranges near here 

 sheep are comparatively plentiful, and are killed 

 every hunting season. 



"Occasionally a scabby ram is killed. I killed 

 one here which showed very plainly the ravages 

 of scab, especially around the ears, and on the neck 

 and shoulders. Evidently the disease is identical 

 with that so common among domestic sheep, and 

 I have heard more than one creditable account of 

 mountain sheep mingling temporarily with do- 

 mestic flocks and thus contracting the scab. I am 

 confident that the same parasite which is found 

 upon scabby domestic sheep is responsible for the 

 disease which affects the bighorn. It is not difficult 

 to account for the transmission of the disease, as 

 western sheep-men roam with their flocks at will, 

 from the peach belt to timber line, regardless alike 

 of the legal or inherent rights of man or beast. 

 Partly through isolation, and partly through moral 



329 



