tliis forenoon on the North side ; and in the ererm^ 
one of the men killed a buffaloe. At dark we came 
to large rapids, where we had to miite tiie erews of 
two or three canoes, to force them through. It waa 
lometime after night before we could encamp. We 
at length, after havrng gone twenty-one miles en- 
camped on the South side in a small grove of timberj 
Ihe first we had seen during the day. 
we have before heard of timt animal, and from Mr. CassV 
verbal description, we are led to belie> e, that it much 
more nearly resembles the wild sheep, called the Muffion 
or Mosmon, to be found in the uncultivated parts of Greece,^ 
Sardinia, Corsica andinth.e desart of Tartaiy ; and which 
is thong-htto be the primitive rare and the real sheep in its 
wild and savage state. Perhaps it may be found to be ex- 
actly the sair\e ; of which we find the following description. 
The Mufflon, or Masmoii, though covered with hair^ 
Sears a stronger similitude to the Ram than to any othei* 
snimal ; like the Ram i t^h as the eyes placed near the horns j 
^x\d its ears are shorter than those of the goat : it also re- 
sembles the Ram in its bornSj and in all the particular con- 
tours of its form. The horns also are alike ; they are of m 
white OP yellov/ colour ; th^^y liave three sides a« in the 
Ram, atxl bend backwards in the same manner behind the 
€ars. The muzzle and inside of the ears we of a whitish 
colour tinctured with yellow ; jthe other parts of the face 
are of a browi>jsh grey. The general colour of the haii^ 
over the body is of a brown, approachinj^ to that of the, 
?ed deer. The inside of the thighs and belly are of a white 
tinctured with yellow. I'lie form upon the wljole seems 
more made for agility and strength than that of the com- 
mon sheep; andthe MuHlon is actually found to live in a 
isavage state, and maintain itself either by force or swift- 
ness against all the aniinals that live by rapine. Such is its 
extreme speed that many have been inclined rather to rank 
it amonjc the deer kind, than the sheep. But in this they are 
tleceived, as the Musmon has a mark that entirely distin- 
|:^uishes it from that speciea, being- known never to shed 
its horns. In some these are seen to g-row to a surpri- 
sing* size ; many of them mevisuring'> iii their eonvolu*- 
Goldsmith ^ 
