CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MOUNTAIN SHEEP 25 
The Mountain Sheep 
High on the mountain's frowning crest, 
Where lines of rugged cliff stand forth, 
Where Nature bravely bares her breast 
To snowy whirlwinds from the north; 
High in the clouds and mountain storms, 
Where first the autumn snows appear, 
Where last the breath of springtime warms, 
—There dwells my gallant mountaineer. 
And truly he is a gallant mountaineer. Wherever found, 
the Mountain Sheep is a fine, sturdy animal, keen-eyed, bold, 
active and strong. It fears no storm, and defies all enemies 
save man and domestic sheep. From the former it receives 
bullets, from the latter, disease. Whether its home is the 
highest crags of the saw-tooth ranges, the boldest rim-rock 
of the mountain plateaus or the most rugged ‘‘bad lands,” 
it is always found amid the scenery that is grandest and most 
inspiring. 
In summer its favorite pastures are the treeless slopes 
above timber-line, where, on our northern mountains, grasses 
and wild flowers grow in astonishing profusion. When the 
raging storms and deep snows of winter drive the elk and 
deer down into the valleys for shelter and food, the Mountain 
Sheep makes no perceptible change in altitude. 
All the year round this animal is well fed, and its savory 
flesh invites constant pursuit by the mountain lion, and by 
hunters both white and red. The massive, curving horns 
and handsome head of the adult ram, taken amid grand moun- 
tain scenery, with much difficulty and no little danger, con- 
stitute, in my judgment, one of the finest trophies that a true 
