112 
ORDERS OF MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS 
portion. A large adult ram measures 39 
inches high at the shoulder, and the ewe 331 
inches. 
By reference to the map, it will be seen that 
this species is very widely distributed throughout 
Alaska and the Yukon Territory. Ten years 
ago it was abundant on the Kenai Peninsula, 
and the head of Cook Inlet, but many have been 
killed, and the number greatly reduced. Re- 
cently Congress has passed a law protecting 
not only the White Sheep, but all the large game 
animals of Alaska. 
The Black Mountain Sheep, or Stone’s 
Sheep , 1 of northern British Columbia, is dis- 
tinguishable by the wide spread of its horns, the 
dark-brown color of its sides and upper parts 
generally, and white abdomen. It is of the 
same size as the white sheep, but the two species 
together form a striking contrast. The precise 
range of the Black Sheep is south of the head 
waters of the Stickeen River. Although this 
species and the white sheep have not yet been 
found inhabiting the same locality, it is probable 
that they will be, and we have ventured to show 
both in one plate. 
Fannin’s Mountain Sheep’ is also a new 
species, found first on the Klondike River, Yu- 
kon Territory, in 1900. It is about the size of 
the white sheep, and has a snow-white head, 
neck, and tail-patch, and a bluish-gray body, like 
a white sheep covered with a gray blanket. It 
1 O'vis stone'i. 2 0. jan'nin-i. 
also has a blue-gray tail, and a band of brown 
running down the front of each leg. The first 
specimen was sent from Dawson City to the 
Provincial Museum at Victoria, B. C., in 1900, 
and since then others have reached New York. 
In the table below are given the measure- 
ments in inches of some of the largest and finest 
wild sheep horns with which I am personally 
acquainted. 
Origin of American Mountain Sheep. — 
It seems highly probable that a number of spe- 
cies of North American mammals and birds 
were acquired by immigration from the Old 
World. Of this there is no stronger evidence 
than that furnished by the genus Ovis, which 
was cradled in the mountains of Central Asia. 
Western Mongolia and Thibet have produced the 
colossal Argali, the wonderful, wide-horned Polo 
sheep and the robust Siar sheep. 
As the genus spread southward, it produced 
the small Urial and Burrhel, and stopped short 
at the northern edge of the super-heated plains 
of India. But northward, its fate was very dif- 
ferent. From the place of its nativity, — let us 
say the Altai Mountains, — there stretches north- 
east ward through Siberia and Kamchatka, Alas- 
ka, and British Columbia to northern Mexico a 
practically unbroken range of mountain sheep, 
7,500 miles long. From northern India to north- 
ern Mexico, the species stand in the following 
order: burrhel and urial; Argali and Polo’s 
sheep; Siar sheep; Kamchatkan sheep; white 
MEASUREMENTS OF MOUNTAIN SHEEP HORNS. 
BASAL LENGTH 
CIRCUM- 
FERENCE. 
ON OUTER 
CURVE . 
SPREAD. 
OWNER. 
Siberian Argali, 
Ovis amnion, . 
Central Asia, 
191 
591 
40 
W. T. Hornaday. 
Marco Polo’s 
Sheep, . . . 
Ovis poli, . 
Central Asia, 
151 
591 
39 
Robert Gilfort. 
Siar Sheep, . 
Ovis siarensis, 
Central Asia, 
151 
471 
301 
W. T. H. 
Big-Horn, 
Ovis canaden- 
sis, 
} British Co- 
\ lumbia, 
16W 
404 
17 
G. O. Shields. 
Black Sheep, . 
Ovis stonei, 
( British Co- 
i lumbia, 
14:1 
321 
28| 
Unknown. 
White Sheep, . 
Ovis dalli, . 
[ Kenai Pen., 
\ Alaska, 
12f 
381 
231 
W. T. H. 
Mexican Sheep, 
Ovis mexica- 
nus, . . . 
) Chihuahua, 
\ Mexico, 
161 
35 
r-i\^ 
GO 
Charles Sheldon. 
1 Circumference half way between base and tip, 16 inches ! Weight, skull and horns, 3S lbs. 
