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Show V -eV , I ( N , 4 X " ', N, " V .- in.- Hfc y . ' , N- ' 7 ' r- W'"" ' - - t" 70 blg-game-hunter will deny, j I think, the difficulties that at-V.J at-V.J tend the shooting of mountain M sheep. To the so-called sportsman sports-man who gauges his success suc-cess by the number of heads secured, se-cured, irrespective of their value. It cannot, course, appeal; but to the hunter-uaturallst, who can enjoy and appreciate the wild and imposing country In which his quarry lives, and finds his greatest pleasure in pitting his own skill and cunning against those of a worthy foe, this form of shooting yields a most exciting, if arduous, sport. But today the number of mountain sheep is fast diminishing, and it is exceedingly difficult In America Ameri-ca to find and obtain a good, or even moderate, head without an extraordinary extraordi-nary amount of traveling and hunting even then success is not assured while the short open season for sheep presents an added obstacle. Nor is such a trip by any means inexpensive, for American guides have a way of charging for their services which is altogether out of proportion of their value. Mountain sheep, however, can be found in the very northwest of Mexico, Mexi-co, around the head of the Gulf of California, in Lower California, and rarely in Chihuahua. Further south they cannot go, for the torrid heat and waterless, desert of the Tierra Caliente (hot country) prevent their further progress. Therefore this region re-gion forms the vanishing point of the genus Ovls in America, and the study of these sheep is all the more interesting inter-esting on that account, writes L N. Dracopoll in Country Life. Of the mountain sheep found In Mexico there are four species or subspecies: sub-species: The Ovls mexicanus, whos type locality is the Lake Santa Maria district in Chihuahua; the Ovis canadensis cana-densis gaillardi of .the Piuacate' mountains moun-tains in Sonora; and the Ovis nelson! and Ovis cervina cremnobates of Lower California. The first-named of these Is now almost extinct, for they used to Inhabit a country which was plentifully supplied with water and easily accessible, and they were soon almost exterminated by so-called "sportsmen." They are distinguished by the large size of their ears and molar teeth, while their forehead Is noticeably less concave than that of the typical Ovls canadensis. These sheep have been rightly, I think, described de-scribed as a new species; but the other oth-er three are only sub-specie3 or local tarietles of the true Ovis canadensis typicus. It would be tedious, therefore, there-fore, to go fully into the minute peculiarities pe-culiarities that differentiate them from the well known Rocky Mountain sheep, as they are of Interest only to the eoologist, 'and not to the big game-hunter. game-hunter. There is one point, however, that makes the Ovls canadensis gaillardi gail-lardi a particularly fine trophy, and that is the remarkable bulk of the horns, which are much bigger and more massive In comparison with the bodily size of the animal than those of the sheep In Wyoming and the north. Not Wild or Shy. At present in the Pinacate mountains moun-tains and in the Sierra del Pozo in Sonora there is a large number of them, and they are not very wild or shy, as they have not been much molested mo-lested by the Indians and not at all by the white man, for the country is unknown, and has a bad name owing to its extreme aridity. In the daytime and during hot weather the sheep are always found high up In the mountains. They come down to feed during the night, but Invariably return to the rocky ledges and precipitous cliffs, which are their favorite haunts, soon after dawn. Here they bed down in the niches of the lava or under some overhanging boulder for the rest of the day; and bo well does their coloring harmonize with their surroundings that not even the trained eyesight of the Indian can detect them. The hunter must, therefore, there-fore, be early in the field. He should, If possible, camp high up the mountains moun-tains in the sheep country, for this will give him the best chance of success. suc-cess. When these animals are moving about they are not difficult to see, for their white rump patch is most conspicuous con-spicuous and can be detected at a great distauce. The secret of success is not to be in a hurry. Like nearly all oiher animals, they have always a sentinel on the look-out when they are feeding, generally a ewe, and the hunter's chief aim should be to spot this animal and avoid being seen by it. He should then take a careful note of the country, and by proceeding slowly and cautiously, and by keeping in the shadows if possible, he should be able to approach thern easily enough and select the best head. There is another point that should be remembered, remem-bered, and that is that the sheep when frightened nearly always try to escape down the mountain-side, so that they should be approached, whenever the wind allows of it, from below. Owing to the scarcity of all other food, the ruminants of this country have to depend almost entirely on the cacti and the young shoots and green bark of the mesqulte and paloverde trees for sustenance. They are also very partial to the ocotillo (Fouqulera splendens), and when the latter begin to flower late in April, the sheep come I dou from the mountains to the edge ! of the plains and feed almost entirely on them. This diet seems to agree with them excellently, for they are always in the best of condition at this time of year. I do not know of any animals, either in Africa or America, whose meat is so delicious to eat, and it is far nicer than that of the prong- j horn antelope, which Is much prized by the Mexicans. j The dryness of the climate In the j Sonora desert 13 largely responsible j for the way some of the horns are ! split at the ends, which often spoils ! an otherwise perfect head and reduces j its length by two to four inches. It has the same effect on one's fingernails, finger-nails, whih become very brittle and split or break at the slightest provocation. provo-cation. The horns of the old rams are especially dry, and are often much worn and scarred on their upper surface, sur-face, as can be seen in the photograph photo-graph of the biggest ram we shot; but this is due to the blows they receive when fighting among themselves head to head. Mountain sheep are not the only trophy that can be secured In this interesting in-teresting country, for its fauna is almost al-most as remarkable as its flora, and many species are confined to this locality lo-cality and are not found elsewhere. Among game animals are the puma (Felis concolor) and a little-known species of jaguar the "tigre" of the Mexicans the bay lynx (L. ruffa), a local variety of the Texas collared peccary (D. angulatus sonoriensis), the black and the white tailed deer and the pronghorn antelope. One of the principal charms of hunting in this country is the variety of scenery met with. For the deer are found in abundance in the Santa Catalina mountains, among the pines and silver birches of the beautiful Canada del Oro. In the foot-hills lynx, puma and the black-tailed deer can generally be found, but here the scene is quite different and the vegetation becomes more characteristic. Hunting is difficult, as there is but little covr and days pass often without a chance for a shot. it would be Impossible In a short article to describe in detail the various vari-ous animals that live In the Sonora desert, or to mention the best hunting-grounds. It Is undoubtedly the finest game country in the southwest today, as it has been untouched, and therefore unspoiled, by the ordinary traveler. But although big game Is plentiful, good trophies are not secured se-cured without hard work and much patience. The heat is intense and water is very scarce In parts absolutely abso-lutely non-existent, so that no one should contemplate a hunting trip to the Sonora desert unless he Is prepared pre-pared to face discomfort and probably actual hardship. |