SHEEP OR GOAT? 



FRANK MELVIN. 



One day in November, 1901, George Reed 

 and E. H. Underhill were hunting bear in 

 the Sangre de Cristos, a spur of the Rocky 

 mountains, which forms the Eastern boun- 

 dary of the San Luis valley in Southern 

 Colorado. When near the timber line they 

 separated. Mr. Reed continued toward the 

 top of the range and soon left the timber 

 far behind. When he reached an altitude of 

 about 12,000 feet, the ground became much 

 broken and rocky, which necessitated slow 

 and careful traveling. While making his 

 way cautiously over this broken country, 

 Mr. Reed espied what he took to be a cin- 

 namon bear cub, about 200 yards distant. 

 The opportunity for a shot being favorable, 

 he immediately fired and the animal fell. 

 At the sound of the rifle shot, 5 strange an- 

 imals, resembling sheep or goats, sprang 

 from anion? the rocks and started off up 

 hill. Mr. Reed is an old-timer in that 

 country, having hunted in the Rocky moun- 

 tains 20 years ; and after that long an ex- 

 perience, to have a new animal sprung on 

 him, right in the heart of his favorite hunt- 

 ing grounds, was almost too much. He 

 simply stood and watched them make their 

 escape, without firing another shot. 



After his surprise had passed, with the 

 fleeing animals, he advanced to the one he 

 had shot and found that he had indeed 

 killed a strange animal, that resembled 

 both the domestic sheep and goat. He at 

 once went in search of Mr. Underhill, who 

 helped him take the animal home. Mr. 

 Underhill being a taxidermist, mounted the 

 animal life size and has it now in his pos- 

 session, but still without a name. 



The animal killed resembles a domestic 

 sheep, in being low and blocky-built, with 

 short legs. It is a female, about a vear and 

 a half old, stands 25 inches high at the 

 shoulders, its body being 30 inches in 

 length from the point of the shoulder to the 

 after part of the ham. The neck is short 

 and extends straight out from the shoul- 

 ders, there being no curve from the top of 

 the head to the top of the hips. Its ears 

 are about 3 inches long, are thin, and 



hang down close to the sides of the head. 

 It has horns about 3 inches long, which ex- 

 tend upward and backward from the top of 

 the head. It has a heavy coat of fine wool, 

 almost fur, slightly curled, 8 to 12 inches in 

 length, extending down to the knees and 

 hocks. In color it is light buff on the 

 breast, seal brown on the shoulders, coal 

 black around the central portion of the 

 body, then seal brown merging into buff on 

 the hind quarters. From the knees and 

 hocks down, the hair is short and black, as, 

 in fact, all the points are black ; nose, tail 

 and tips of the ears. While in general 

 make-up it resembles a domestic sheep, 



its tail, which is short, its ears and its horns 

 resemble those of certain families of the 

 domestic goat. 



Mr. Reed claims that 2 of the 5 that 

 escaped, were almost white, while the others 

 were colored like the one secured. 



This is an exceedingly interesting find. 

 The animal shown in the picture is a goat, 

 not a sheep. It is apparently one of a 

 flock that has resulted from a pair of do- 

 mestic animals, previously kept in con- 

 finement, but now run wild. Your careful 

 and conscientious observations, and the 

 thorough and painstaking manner in which 

 you have followed up the discovery are 

 most creditable to you. — Editor. 



"What prompted you to rob this man's 

 till?" asked the judge of the prisoner. 



"My family physician," was the reply. 

 "He told me it was absolutely necessary 

 that I have a little change." — Opportunity. 



438 



