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: 
THE BIGHORN. 297 
take a circuit around the object of their curi- 
= usually approaching nearer and nearer, 
within rifle-shot—frequently stopping to 
eo Also, they are often deco with a 
scarlet coat, or a red handkerchief attached to 
the tip of a ramrod, which will sometimes 
allure them within reach of the hunter's aim. 
But this interesting animal, like the buffalo, is 
now very rarely seen within less than 200 
miles of the frontier: though early voyagers 
tell us that it once frequented regions east of 
the Mississippi. 
The bighorn (carnero cimarron, as called 
by Mexicans, and sometimes known to trap- 
pers as the mountain sheep), so abundant in 
most of the Rocky Mountain chain, is found 
in the spurs and table-plain cliffs about the 
sources of the Cimarron river (whence this 
stream acquired its name), as well as in the 
highland gorges, and other parts of those 
mountain borders. Its flesh is said to be ex- 
cellent, and is preferred by many hunters to 
venison. It is larger than a common sheep, 
and covered with brownish hair instead of 
wool—darker than the deer, but whitish on 
the belly. It is most remarkable for its huge 
spiral horns, resembling in shape and curva- 
ture those of the sheep, but sometimes over 
three feet long, and four to six inches in 
diameter at the base.* 
* Mr. Irving furnishes the following dimensions of a male of 
this species: ‘“ From the nose to the base of the tail, five feet ; 
length of the tail, four inches; girth of the body, four feet ; height, 
three feet eight inches,” &c.— Rocky Mis., Vol. I, p. 48. 
