May, 1919 
FOREST AND STREAM 
•205 
Four noble rams from Mexico 
graves merely marked by laying rocks 
on the ground in the form of a cross. 
My guide told me these people had per- 
ished for want of water; that in most 
part they were well-to-do immigrants 
travelling from Mexico to the States and 
that Mexican bandits, hearing of the trip, 
would make a short cut through the 
mountains to this place and either poison 
the water or dip it out of the hole. This 
is simply a large hole in a rock about 15 
feet in diameter. The travelers finding 
no water, would perish while the bandits 
would return with their loot. 
The next morning we replenished our 
water supply and by noon we were 
camped in Mexico. As there were no 
large trees, it was necessary for us to 
camp in the open, with nothing above us 
but the canopy of heaven. As my guide 
had written me there would be no danger, 
although the Revolution in Mexico was 
going on, I was surprised to see him fill 
his belt with cartridges and tell me to do 
the same. I asked why we carried so 
much ammunition, and he informed me 
we were likely to encounter Mexican out- 
laws. If so, we would have to shoot our 
way out or be marched to the interior 
with a good chance of being stood up 
against an abode hut. 
We cooked our lunch, prepared our 
beds and lounged around camp until late 
in the evening, as the sheep do not 
come down to feed until towards dusk. 
I might add here that hunting the 
“Big Horn” in this part of Mexico is 
different from any place I have ever 
hunted them before. The mountains rise 
abruptly out of the desert and are of 
granite formation with absolutely no 
vegetation of any kind upon them. The 
sheep come down off the mountains in 
the evening and at night, to feed on the 
ironwood that grows along the ravines 
at the foot of the mountain. So instead 
of climbing to the highest point, which 
is usually necessary in the Rocky Moun- 
tains to get this game, it is only neces- 
sary to hunt on level ground near the 
foot of the mountains and catch the 
sheep before they return to cover, high 
up among the rocks. I don’t think I have 
ever hunted in a country so void of vege- 
tation as this part of Mexico and I have 
never hunted for sheep in any country 
where they were so easy to get as there. 
L ate that afternoon we strolled forth 
in quest of game and discovered a 
couple of sheep high up on a ledge 
of rock. After watching them for some 
time through our glasses and seeing that 
neither had a good pair of horns we de- 
cided not to try for them. Nightfall 
found us in camp with no game. On ac- 
count of the danger from bandits we de- 
cided not to build a fire and for our sup- 
per we ate the scraps left from our noon- 
day lunch. As the weather was cool, we 
soon turned in for the night. 
The next morning we were out early; 
it was necessary to get to the feeding 
ground by daylight, as the sheep stopped 
feeding at that time and started back 
up among the rocks on the mountains, 
however, they often linger on the lower 
ledges until 8 or 9 o’clock in the morn- 
ing. We hunted this morning without 
success and after lunch we decided to 
move further into Mexico and went into 
camp a little after sundown. While my 
guide was getting supper, I went over 
to the foot of the mountains to see if any 
sheep had been feeding in the canyon 
near by. About sundown I discovered 
two, bounding from rock to rock. They 
looked almost black up among the gran- 
ite rocks and seemed larger than they 
really were. I was not long in getting 
busy. After missing several shots, I 
finally killed the smaller of the two, which 
had a fair head. I fired signal shots 
and my guide was soon at my side to 
help me dress the game and get it to 
camp. It was my first sheep and I was 
feeling fine. We ate supper and I was 
soon in dreamland. 
T he next morning by daylight we 
were again working along the foot 
of the mountain and saw a few 
sheep, but were unable to get a shot, 
so decided again to move camp. This 
time we drove around the mountain to 
the opposite side. Remember these moun- 
tains rise abruptly out of the desert and 
a person can drive right up to the foot 
of them with a rig, there being no foot- 
hills like most mountains. It was late 
when we went into camp and we did hot 
go out that evening. By this time the 
fear of bandits had somewhat worn off, 
so we cooked a good supper and kept 
a small campfire until bed time. I listened 
while my guide told me many interest- 
ing stories of his various trips to this 
section of the country, of his successes 
with but few failures. 
The next morning we were after them 
again and it was not long before we saw 
a big ram low down on the mountain. 
As he was too far away to shoot and 
there was open ground between us, we 
sat on a rock and watched him through 
our glasses. We soon discovered another 
nearby. The rams soon lay down and 
we then advanced boldly across the open 
toward them. When within about 200 
yards, they jumped up and ran. We 
both opened fire. The one I was 
shooting at went over a little saddle 
in the mountain, the other ran down 
the mountain. I knew my guide had 
hit his, because a mountain sheep when 
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 252) 
Traveling into the sheep country 
