The Sheep and Goats 



225 







.^^b^.^:--^; 





P/zo^o 'j^'/ /. T, i\\>u-))ia«] 



iJicrHia,Hst<,l. 



PUNJAB SHEEP. 

 Tlii-s is an example of one of the breeds wbich cany no wool whatever. 



chamois-stalking ; but the pursuit seems to fascinate 

 gave some charming descrip- 

 tions of the silence, the rugged 

 rocks, and the astonishing 

 views over the great orange 

 Sahara Desert seen from the 

 to^JS of these haunts of the 

 Barbary shee^J — mountains on 

 the summits of which his Arab 

 guides would prostrate them- 

 selves in evening prayer as 

 the sun sank over the desert, 

 and then, rising, once more 

 resume the chase. The young 

 lambs of the Barbary sheep 

 are charming little creatures, 

 more like reddish kids. They 

 can follow the mother o\'er the 

 steepest ground at a great 

 pace. When caught, as they 

 sometimes are by the Arabs, 

 they soon become tame. The 



The Barbahy Sheep, Aoudad, 



OR AliUI. 



This is a large wild sheep of 

 the North African highlands. The 

 old rams have a very fine appearance, 

 witli a long flowing beard or mane, 

 and large horns. 'J'hese wild sheej), 

 though somewhat goat-like in appear- 

 ance, are typical of tlieir I'ace in 

 general habits. They live in the 

 Atlas Eange, and in the splendid 

 lieiglits of the Aures ^Mountains, which 

 lie at the back of Akreria and fring-e 

 the great Sahara Desert. In the 

 isolated and burning rocks whicli jut 

 up in the desert itself into single 

 mountains they are also found, living 

 on gi-Qund wliicli seems absolutely 

 destitute of water, grass, or vegetation. 

 They li\'e singly or in small families; 

 but tlie rams keej) mainly alone. 

 Sometimes tliey lie in shallow caves 

 during the heat of the day. These 

 caves smell like a sheep-fold. More 

 generally the sheep repose on some 

 shelf of rock, where they exactly 

 match the colour of the stone, and 

 are invisible. The ground is among 

 the nrost difficult in which any hunt- 

 ing is attempted, except perhaps in 

 sportsmen. Mr. A. E. Pease recently 



/ / 1; // I i' / / -- J 



[Sorth FifidUey. 



1 \\ T\Tri n ^iiEEp. 



The fat tail of this sheep was eonsiderej by Charles Darwin as due to degeneration. 



