550 General Notes. [ August, 
except somewhat in degree, from the lowest efforts of the brain 
of a savage; indeed it is doubtful if the undirected faculties, those 
given by nature alone, of a human child of the same age—about 
four years—would produce results of a much higher grade. 
When to these, however, is added, by the art of man, the faculty 
of language, the human infant develops with amazing rapidity 
into the man of intellect, leaving far behind its late rival which 
grows only into greater bulk and force of muscle, the growth of 
the individuals thus epitomizing into a few years the whole his- 
tory of the vast progress and the brutish immobility of the two 
races which they represent—Arthur Erwin Brown, Fune 20, 1878. 
Is THE Rocky MOUNTAIN SHEEP COVERED wiTH WooL ?— 
_ Two questions are very frequently asked of western hunters: 
ts te * bighorn’ covered with wool?” and “Do antelopes shed 
their horns?” If a vote were taken on these two subjects both 
questions would probably be answered in the negative. 
During a number of years I have had occasion to travel over 
the low country of the West, as well as through some of its most 
elevated portions. Within the latter I have often met with the 
Rocky Mountain sheep, or bighorn (Ovis montana). As the high 
mountains where these beautiful animals usually occur are not 
accessible during the cold seasons of the year, I never saw the 
sheep otherwise than covered with hair, somewhat resembling 
that of the antelope. It is neither so fine nor so straight as that 
of the deer, but very nearly of the same color. In the summer of 
1877 my work carried me to the Wind River mountains, 
Wyoming Territory. On July 17th I found myself quietly resting 
on a rock, amid large fields of snow, atan elevation of about 12,000 
feet above sea level. While studying the surrounding scenery 
I was aroused by the sounds of rapidly approaching steps. ~ 
Looking up I saw four mountain sheep running towards me. At 
first I scarcely recognized the species of the animals, They were 
ofa a, different color from any I had seen before, and seemed 
to have a very rough skin. By the time I had completed my 
ahaa verane the sheep (female) had done likewise, and were 
moving off in an opposite direction with considerable speed. A 
shot =- after their retreating forms wounded one of them, but 
all e 
July pes a party of four of us ascended a high peak near the 
southern termination of the range, in north latitude 42° 40’ 
(approximately). As we reached timber-line, about 11,200 feet 
sea level, we saw a band of more than one hundred mountain 
sheep. Several were secured by the aid of our rifles. Upon 
_ dressing them we found that the “hair” was shorter than usual 
—about three-quarters of an inch in length. It was apparently 
growing rapidly, and was pushing before it a layer of very fine 
wool, about half an inch in thickness. In other words, the sheep 
: se their wool. This latter i is exceedingly fine, and of 
