How they do yafn when they get together. Can any- 
body tell lis what kind of a day 'is best for a hunt? I used 
to know, but experience seems to have untaught me lots of 
things. Does one fox give more scent than another, or 
> is it all weather? Should a hound be fed on the morn- 
■ ing of a hunt? I have seen a tired hound eat a sand- 
wich and start off like a new dog. 
The season for hunting is about over, and the best we 
can do is to read about it ; so, if you can't write up a hunt 
help in the discussion, and suggest new subjects and 
theories. May we not have the space, Mr Editor? 
Joseph US. 
Shbrbrooke, Quebec, 
After Sheep in Wyoming. 
Among the pleasant memories of my trip to Jackson's 
, Hole last fall T give the sheep hunting first place, and in 
the following' I shall confine myself to experiences with 
that noble animal, leaving out the elk and antelope, for 
which this region is justly famous. 
I left the liole on Sept. S and camped in the evening 
near the head of Flat Creek in time to catch a fine string 
of troul. The next day I started out with my guide, 
Clark Caswell, to prospect for sheep on the mountain 
of the same name. We hunted all day, ascending to the 
top, at an altitude of 11,000 feet, but finding no tracks 
less than ten days old we decided to move on. f was oul 
lor good heads of sheep, antelope and elk, but sheep being 
by far the most difficult to obtain, J had decided to start 
first on the uncertain part of the hunt. 
The /th found us camped in a snug basin beside a small 
pond, and at an elevation of 9,200 feet. That evenmg we 
saw the first elk, and I had a long shot at a bull 
The following morning was spent in camp, but m the 
aiternoon we took a short hunt with the glasses, and 
succeeded in locating three rams. It had alwaj's been 
my ambition to hunt sheep, and of course the first sight 
of this, one of the noblest game animals in North Amer- 
ica, filled me with great enthusiasm. Through a power- 
ful telescope I could easily see that one of the rams had 
a large head, but as the shy fellows alreadj^ had our 
scent, we lay still till they had trotted out of sight, and 
-then returned to camp. 
The next day we started earl}-, intendm.g to hunt up 
our sheep of the previous evening, but the wind proving 
false, we rode over to the head of Granite Creek, and 
leaving the horses in a beautiful little meadow made the 
ascent of the Granite Range and carefully examined every 
bit of ground \Ye were not rewarded by the sight of 
game till late in the afternoon, when, as we were descend- 
ing, we caught sight of a bunch of nineteen sheep on 
the opposite side of the valley. The glasses showed 
them to be al! ewes and lambs, but I Avas very anxious 
'^o get a closer look, so we set out for a long stalk. 
The sheep were working slowly along the edge of the 
^ rim rock, and if we could but gam the top of the cliff 
Ehey would only be about 200 feet below us. 
This wo proceeded to do, although it turned out to be 
a much harder job than we anticipated. Up and down 
• the most impossible crags we crawled, till Clark vowed 
we would be shot for goats if any other hunter happened 
to be about However, in tim.e we gained the desired 
point, and removing our boots stole carefully doAvn a steep 
rock slide and peeped over the edge of the cliff. Nothing 
was in sight, but presently the whole band came troop- 
A BEAUTY. 
ing around a buttress of rock, and began feeding directly 
below us. So large a flock as nineteen is an unusual 
sight in this country, even on the winter ranges, and 
we watched them for some time with great interest. Then 
we began shouting, but tfiis they could not hear because 
a gale of wind was rising out of the valle}^, and pre- 
vented any ordinary sound from, reaching them. I doubt 
even if my .30-30 would have alarmed them much, es- 
pecially if we had kept out of sight. A couple of rocks 
dropped into their very midst finally convinced them that 
they had business elsewhere, and the way they vanished 
was a caution. 
It was almost night when we reached the horses, and 
a dark two-hour ride we had of it getting back to camp. 
It seemed too much to expect to find sheep three days 
in succession in a country where they are as scarce as 
about Jackson's Hole. Nevertheless, the following day, 
the wind being fairly satisfactory, we decided to hunt the 
first range, and started as usual on horseback, knowing 
ihat before night we would have all the exercise requisite 
to a good .sleep without the pull to the top of the ridge, 
which was easily accomplished in the saddle. 
Picketing the horses, we carefully surveyed the caiion 
Avhere we had seen our first sheep: then descending into 
it we found fresh sheep paths, and tracks, stamped in the 
loose shale. Making the sleep ascent of the further side, 
we kept around to the uOrth of a high bald hill, finallv 
coming out on another but higher, pass. Advancing 
slowly, we scanned bit by bit the country which came in 
si.ght below — a mass of small broken hills, interspersed 
with meadows and patches of dwarfed spruce. Noth- 
ing showed up, however^ aad crossing this pass we as- 
L^OHfiST AND smnAU. 
cended the main backbone of the range, keeping to a 
sheep trail that led us up along ihe souih side aiid followed 
just below the summit. We went some distance on this 
trail, then gaining a favorable point began to look over 
the country on the north s de. 
Tired of the constant strain of the glass, I was just 
enjoying the rugged view, when my eyes a.ignted by ac- 
cident on a bunch of seven sheep dotted over a snow 
drift which partially filled a big ba.sin below us. We 
hastened to make ourselves as small as possible, for our 
position against the sky line was a dangerous one, and 
moreover the wind was exactly wrong. Quickly retrac- 
i.ng our steps along the south side, and gaining a point 
which appeared safe, we lay down and took a good look. 
So sm.ooth was the top of the range that it was very 
difficult to get a view of the sheep without exposing 
ourselves, and we were in fear and trembling lest some 
flash of light from the lens of the glass should attract 
their attention. Certain it was that the flock were all 
rams, and at least two good heads were present; we 
could see them qune nicely, outlined against the snow. 
But their position was absolutely safe, and all we could 
do was to wait developments. 
The sheep, having nibbled a short time at the snow, 
sauntered out among some huge boulders, and there lay 
down for a m.idday siesta, only one ram., who mounted 
SCANNING THE COUNTRY. 
a huge flat rock for sentry duty, remaining in sight. 
There was no telling how long we might have to re- 
main, so it was decided that the best thing we could do 
was to eat lunch, Tiie day was perfect, and the view 
up and down the .granite valley superb. Not a cloud 
was in sight, and just enough wind breathed upon us to 
keep us from being uncomfortably hot. 
Now, if this tale was of a model and imaginary hunt, 
the following should not appear, but I am not dreaming — 
simply relating the truth. 
I was very comfortably munching my bread and cho- 
colate, and thinking that after all sheep hunting was 
pretty easy, when I , accidentally raitled the top of the 
lunch tin. Like a flash, every sheep was in the air, 
though at that distance it seemed incredible to me that 
they could have heard so slight a noise. Luckily they had 
not located the sound, and instead of bolting from it they 
came toward us under the cliff until they w£re out of 
sight. We knew, however, that they hadn't gone far, for 
we soon heard them, among the rocks some distance below 
lis. 
Lunch and rest were forgotten. Although the wind 
was not favorable, we decided to trust to the lee along 
the north side, and to drop straight down to the edge 
of the cliff, a movement which, if successfu', would gain 
us an easy shot. The place which we had to go down 
was a particularly steep and wicked slide of \oo e rocks, 
and I had the greatest dcubt whether we cculd accom- 
plish our object without discharging a whole ava anche 
on the game below, to say nothing of including ourselves 
in the said avalanche. 
However, we removed our shoes, and taking only our 
rifles crept dcwmvard, placing one foot ahead of the 
other with the utmost caution, while supporting our 
bodies with our free hands. It seemed to me we must 
have been twenty minutes in making that descent yet we 
were successful, in that only one small stone rolled OA'er 
the cliff. As we approached' the edge, every neive was on 
a tension. W^ould the sheep see us and bound out from 
below, giving a difficult flying shot, or would there be 
time to pick the biggest head and make sure? 
As it turned out. nothing was in sight. We followed the 
cliff to its eastern end, without result; then we worked 
westward. Surely they could not have escaped us, and 
just as I was feeling a bit gium, Clark, who was lead- 
ing, turned his head slowly and gave me a solemn wink. 
I crept up to him. and sure enough there they were, feed- 
ing on a grassy slope, a third of a mile distant. They 
were also above us, which was a d'sadvantage; but now 
we had the wind right, and our spirits rose. 
Slipping back, we made a safe sneak up hill, with 
scant cover, until at last we were about on their level. 
Just then' the mystic seven began to work toward us. and 
curling up behind a rock we resolved to give them all 
they wanted. But they soon started feed'ng again, and 
we slid along, now with the most laborious caution, 
slowly, but surely, lessening that fatal distance. 
We were crawling over a very difficult country, com- 
posed of narrow benches and steep, sun-baked slides. 
My socks had no bottoms left, and my feet began to feel 
the effects. A false step might mean no sheep or a 
broken leg, or both together; yet neithet the discom- 
forts nor risks were felt in the all-absorbing presence of 
those seven rams. , . . 
At last we drew up behind a rock, bevond which we 
could not advance, for a deeo gully filled with snow 
separated us from the game. The shot was'not much oyrr 
100 yards, yet the cover was so scarce t'-a*- it was Hifi- 
cult to pick the largest animal, and aim wUbont i'lnioin? 
the whole bunch. Several times they looked richt af 
and once two youn? fellows plavins' on <5nme looqp ^'m'e 
made such a noise that I thought the whole of them had 
gone. . 
24 f 
'i^i- ii i * ^jrn i „ liiiii n i i t < i gM> i , ii n i iji i i alvi>» - i i!t iii i . — , , — '-^ — mmu 
Finally my chance came. The largest ram presented a 
side shot, wh.le Ciark had picked out the next best, 
feeding close to mine. Shoving the rifle slowly forward, 
I rose and fired, and with the dull thud of the bullet the 
big ram wheeled and faced me and I fired again. Mean- 
"Whilc Clark's sheep jumped and stopped, and he shot 
twice, evidently landing his bullets. 
Now all. was the wildest confusion. Three sheep broke 
past us, leaping dovvn the steep hill and appearing again 
far belovv. In a few seconds almost they had vanished, 
■ My ram made a few turns and fell dead, while Clark's 
sheep, followed by two others, ran off in a westerly di- 
rection, I taking a flying shot at the wounded animal as 
he disappeared. 
Our excitement was intense, and in my hurry to cross 
the snow gully I slipped and came near going a long 
way. After that I cut steps across with the stock of my 
gun, for it was no easy thing to get a foothold on that 
hard, steep snow slide, witli nothing but the remains of 
a pair of socks. 
The ram was a beauty. He was large, with a very 
dark coat of hair, and his head, although not a record- 
breaker, was considered good sized for a Wyoming sheep. 
The base of the horns measured 15 inches, while the 
length was 2954 inches, the left horn being slightly broken 
at the tip. The total length of the animal was 62 inches, 
and his standing height was 37 inches. The little .30-30 
had done it work well, the ball ranging through from side 
to side about 3 inches above the heart. 
Clark returned for the boots, camera, glasses, etc., 
which were scattered over various parts of the mountain, 
while I looked around for traces of the wounded ram. I 
found a few drops of blood, but as the trail led in the 
direction of camp I did not attempt to follow. 
When Clark returned, the camera had to do its duty, 
and then we sat down and finished our interrupted lunch. 
-After eating, we dressed out the meat, and leaving the 
bulk for next day, we started along, one with the head 
and the other with a ham. 
I insisted that we follow the trail of the other sheep 
and do all that was possible to recover him. Clark did 
not believe there was any chance of finding him, and in* 
deed the prospect did look very poor. 
We worked hard on the trail, and just as we had lost 
all sign happened to spy out the sheep, stone dead. The 
bullet had struck too far back, and I rather wondered 
that it kil'ed him as soon as it did. 
This sheep was not so large as the other, but had a 
very pretty pair of horns. We left a gun, knife, cartridges, 
etc., about the carcass to keep off rjyotes. and then, each 
shouldering a head, reached the uorses in good season 
and rode to camp. 
I believe this was one of the pleasantest hunts 1 ever 
had. and although I made another successful sheep hunt 
in October, it was under conditions so trying that the 
pleasure was, to say the least, mixed. 
We were. I think, extremely lucky in finding sheep 
so easily. The animals have been sadly reduced, not so 
much by constant hunting as by their great enemy, the 
scab, a disease which apnears to wine out whole colonies. 
I heard of but two other srheep heads being taken out 
of the Jack.^on's Hole region this fall, and there could 
have been very few rart'es which killed sheep without 
being heard from. Chief Warden Nelson, whom 1 met 
while hunting elk later on. was of the opinion that sheep 
should be crrtected for a term of years, as moose are at 
present, and I believe the measure would be a . very wise 
llUJi£ Oi- THE SitliEl'. 
one. Two days after this hunt I saw three fine rams 
while taking the outfit over to Crystal Creek, but they 
were of course left scrupulously alone. 
The excitement of a long stalk after mountain game 
cannot be' imagined un.il experienced, and for my part 
give me a day with the sheep in the Western mountains 
above all othcr.^orms of sport. 
J. C. Phillips. 
■Wyitn'nj Spring Nate. 
IsHAWOOD, Wyo., March 8. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
On the South Fork of Stinking Water, eighteen miles 
above Ishawood. you will find Brown's Ranch, where there 
is always fine trout fishing. Almost every day I go to the 
river I see lots of fine trout. 
All the grou=e have gone to the mountains now; they 
will be down next month. 
Elk and sheep are wandering by. Deer seem not to 
have come down from the mountains yet. The winter 
has been so fine they have no cause to look for winter 
feed, Antelone seem to be scarce up here. All game has 
wintered well so far. 
The other day while coining through a canon in com- 
pany of Cy Snyder, we =aw n ciiowch'dp com'nQr toward 
-■^ome e1k. The elk seemed to be afraid of he'ng can'?ht. -o 
they divided, hut one wa^ c.-ntjLrbl Aft'-r ibe >lid<' wni 
pa-^t. we went d-^wn. and ituTe wrc the dead i-lk. It 
moderately fat. hrt =0 Indlv rni«''fr1 to he fit onl\ for 
h^ar bait. \»'b'>n fbe t"nie cni»i<»i for them to leave I'n'tr 
di'S-onts. Two bfa»-<: vverf l-ilJcfl \n<t var near t)v al-io 
two more seen. A few others are traveling tip an ' d"wo 
the river. N, E. B. 
