60 CALIFORNIA MAMMALS. 



like a domestic lamb, but coarser and not as loud, nor as fre- 

 quently. I had hopes of raising this lamb but did not succeed in 

 getting- into the settlements in time to sa.ve her. She was very 

 gentle and soon accepted our company in lieu of her own kind. 

 If we all went out of sight of where she was tied she soon got 

 uneasy and bleated, but when we came back she settled down 

 contentedly. 



Bighorns are exceedingly sure footed animals and quite 

 active. They do' not seem to run fast, and I doubt if they could 

 run far at their most rapid gait. The soft, rubber-like soles of 

 their hoofs do not slip on smooth rocks. In jumping upward they 

 can surpass any deer, and they will go rapidly down a cliff where 

 it would seem' impossible for anything not provided with wings 

 to pass. The old stories of Bighorns jumping over cliffs and 

 alighting on their horns are untrue. In jumping downward they 

 alight on their feet, and the ewes are as active and sure footed 

 as the rams. The horns of old rams are more or less bruised 

 and worn away at the points by striking against rocks in feed- 

 ing and in passing along cliff sides. 



My impression is that Bighorns are more easily killed than 

 deer. i. e., a wound that a deer would probabl}- recover from would 

 probably prove fatal to a Bighorn. I consider the mutton of 

 Bighorns equal to the best venison in flavor, but the few Big- 

 horns whose flesh I have had the opportunity to taste were all 

 in good condition. 



The lambing season is principally March. I have ne\er 

 seen twins and do not know of any record of more than one 

 lamb at a time. The principal natural enemies of Bighorns are 

 pumas and coyotes. Indians kill many, but the white hunters 

 are responsible for the extermination of Bighorns over much of 

 their former range. They seem to be able to hold their ground 

 better in the comparatively open hills of the deserts than in 

 the high timbered mountains. 



