The flock, after playing and feeding about for 

 an hour or more, started to return. The in- 

 jured leader lay quietly on the grass, but with 

 head held bravely erect. The two lambs raced 

 ahead and started to climb the precipice over 

 the route they had come down. One ewe went 

 to the bottom of the wall, then turned to look 

 at the big-horned leader who lay still upon the 

 grass. She waited. The lambs, plainly eager 

 to go on up, also waited. Presently the ram 

 rose with an effort and limped heavily away. 

 There was blood on his side. He turned aside 

 from the pirecipice and led the way back toward 

 the top by long easy slopes. The flock slowly 

 followed. The lambs looked at each other and 

 hesitated for some time. Finally they leaped 

 down and raced rompingly after the others. 



The massive horns of the rams, along with 

 the audacious dives that sheep sometimes make 

 on precipices, probably suggested the story that 

 sheep jump off a cliff and effectively break the 

 shock of the fall by landing on their horns at 

 the bottom! John Charles Fr6mont appears to 

 have started this story in print. Though sheep 



28 



