[vf HUNTING \ THE V SHEEP . if BY \|/ THEODORE ROOSEVELT fCopyrlght, 188T>. by G. P. Putnam's Sons. Published under arrangement with G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London.] more common- I WJ ly known as mountain I sheep, are extremely wary and cautious anl mals, and arc plentiful liW ltmi lew ' l ' nces - This j s rat jj er surprising, foi they seem to be fairly prolific (al though not as much so as deer and antelope), and comparatively few are Irtlled by the hunters. In size the big-horn comes next tc buffalo and elk, averaging larger than the black-tail deer, while an old ram will sometimes be almost as heavy as it small cow elk. In his movements he is not light and graceful like the prong-horn and other antelopes, his marvellous agility seeming rather tc proceed from sturdy strength and won derful command over iron sinews and muscles. The huge horns are carried proudly erect by the massive neck; every motion of the body is made with perfect poise; and there seems to b« TIO ground so difficult that the big-horn cannot cross it. There is probably nc animal in the world his superior in climbing; and bis only equals are the other species of mountain sheep and Ihc ibexes. Xo matter how sheer the cliff, if there are ever so tiny cracks or breaks in the surface, the big-horn will bound up <>r down it with wonder ful ease and seeming absence of ef fort. The perpendicular bounds it can make are truly startling in strong con trast with its distant relative the prong-horn which can leap almost any level jump, but seems unable to clear the smallest height. In descending a sheer wall of rock the big-horn holds all four feet together and goes down in long jumps, bounding off the surface alnipst like a rubber ball every time he strikes it. The way that one will vanish over the roughest and most broken ground is a perpetual surprise to any one that has hunted them; and the ewes are quite as skilful as the rams, while even the very young lambs seem almost as well able to climb, and certainly follow wherever their elders lead. To him the barren wastes of the Bad Lands offer a most attractive home; yet to other living creatures they are at all times as grimly desolate and for bidding as any spot on earth can be; at all seasons they seem hostile to every form of life. Occasionally the big-horn come down Into the valleys or along the grassy slopes to feed, but this is not often, and in such cases every member of the band is always keeping the sharp est look-out, and at the slightest alarm they beat a retreat to their broken fastnesses. At night-time or in the early morning they come down to drink at the small pools or springs, but move off the instant they have satis fied their thirst. As a rule, they spend their time among the rocks and rough ground, and it is in these places that tliev must be hunted. 111 color they harmonize curiously with the grayish or yellowish brown of the ground on which they are found, and it is often very difficult to make them out when ly It 011 a ledge of rock. > f'jj :hc nHppcru icc-covcrcil buttes ivc clambered. # Time and again they will be mistaken for boulders, and, 011 the other hand, I have more than once stalked up to masses of sandstone that I have mis taken for sheep. When lying down the? big-horn can thus scan everything below it; and both while feeding and resting it invariably keep* the sharpest possible look-out k for all danger from beneath, and this trait makes it needful for the hunter to always keep on the highest ground ai.d try to come on it from above. As far as lay in us. on our first day's hunt we paid proper heed to nil the rules of huatiiig-cral't; but without suc cess. T'p the slippery, ice-covered buttes we clambered, clinging to the rocks, and slowly working our way across the faces of the cliffs, or cau tiously creeping along the narrow ledges, peering over every crest long and carefully, and from the peaks scanning the ground all about with the field-glasses. But we saw no sheep, and but little sign of them. Finally we struck the head of a long, winding valley with a smooth bottom, and after cantering down It four or five miles, came to the river, just after the cold, pale-red sun had sunk behind the line of hills ahead of us. Our horses were sharp shod, and crossed the Ice without difficulty; and in a grove of leafless cotton-woods, on the opposite side* we found the hut for which we had been making, the cow boy already inside with the fire started. Throughout the night the temperature sank lower and lower, and it was impossible to keep the crazy old hut anywhere near freezing point; the wind whistled through the chinks and crannies of the logs, and. after a short and by no means elab orate supper, we were glad to cower down with our great fur coats still on. under the pile of buffalo robes and bear skins. My sleeping-bag came in very handily, and kept 111 c as warm as possible, in spite ol' the bitter frost. We were up and had taken breakfast next morning by the time the first streak of dawn had dimmed the bril- llancy of the stars, and immediately afterwards strode off on foot, as we had been hampered by the horses on the day before. This day, though the weather had grown even colder, we did not feel it, for we walked all the while with a quick pace, and the climbing was very hard work. The shoulders and ledges of the cliffs had become round and slippery with the ice, and It was no easy eask to move up and along them, clutching the gun in one hand, and grasping each little projec tion with the other. When on the way back to camp, where the buttes rose highest and steepest, we came upon fresh tracks, but as it was then late in the afternoon, did not try to follow them that day. When near the hut I killed a sharptail for supper, making rather a neat shot, the bird being eighty yards off. The night was even colder than the preceding one, and all signs told us that we would soon have a change for the worse in the weather, which made me doubly anxious to get a sheep before the storm struck us. We determined that next morning we would take the horses and make a quick push for the chain of high buttes where we bad seen the fresh tracks, and hunt them through with thorough care. We started in the cold gray of the morning and pricked rapidly off over the frozen plain, columns of white steam rising from the nostrils of the galloping horses. When we reached the foot of the hills where we intended to hunt, and had tethered the horses, the sun had already risen, hut it was evident that the clear weather of a fort night past was over. The air was thick and hazy, and away off in the north west a towering mass of grayish white clouds looked like a weather-breeder; every thing boded a storm at 110 dis tant date. The country over'which we now hunted was wilder and more mountainous than any we had yet struck. High, sharp peaks and ridges broke off abruptly into narrow gorges and deep ravines; they were bare of all but the scantiest vegetation, save on some of the sheltered sides where grew groves of dark pines, now laden down with feathery snow. The climb ing was as hard as ever. At first we went straight up the side of the tallest peak, ami then along the knife-like ridge which joined it with the next. The ice made the footing very slippery as we stepped along the ledges or crawled round the jutting shoulders, and we had to look carefully for our footholds; while in the cold, thin air every quick burst we made up a steep hill caused us to pant for breath. We had gone but a little way before we saw fresh signs of the animals we were after, but it was some time be fore we came upon the quarry itself. We left the high ground and de scending into a narrow chasm walked along its bottom, which was but a couple of feet wide, while the sides rose up from it at an acute angle. After following this for a few hundred yards, we turned a sharp corner, and shortly afterward our eyes were caught by some grains of fresh earth lying 011 the snow In front of our feet. On the sides, some feet above our heads, were marks in the snow which a moment's glance showed us had been made by a couple of mountain sheep that had come down one side of the gorge and had leaped across to the other, their sharp toes going through the thin snow and displacing the earth that had fallen to the bottom. The tracks had evidently_ been made just before we rounded the corner, and as we had been advancing noiselesly 011 the snow with the wind In our favor, we knew that the animals could have no suspicion of our presence. They had gone up the cliff on our right, but as that on our left was much lower, and running for some distance parallel CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1908 to the other, we concluded that by rnn ning along its top we would I>e most certain to (."'I a good shot. Clambering Instantly up the steep side, digging my hands and feet into tiie loose snow and grasping at every little rock in frozen projection, I reached the top: and then ran forward along the rldg a few paces, crouching behind tin masses of queerly-sliaped sandstone' and saw, about ninety yards off aeros the ravine, a couple of mountain rams. The one with the largest horns was broadside toward me, his sturdy, mas* lve form outlined clearly against the sky, as he stood on the crest of the ridge. I dropped on my knee, raising the rifle as I did so; for a second lie did not quite make me out. turning his head half round to look. I held the sight fairly on the point just l>ehind his shoulder and pulled the trigger. At the report he staggered and pitched forward, but recovered himself and crossed over the ridge out of sight. We jumped and slid down into the ra vine again, and clambered up the op posite side as fast as our lungs and slip|>e*j ice would let us; then taking the trail of the wounded rain we trot ted along. We had not far togo; for, Wc found him lying on his side. as I expected, we found him lying 011 his side a couple of hundred yards i>e yoml the ridge, his eyes already glazed in death. The bullet had gone in be hind the shoulder and ranged clean through his body crosswise, going a little forward; no animal less tough than a mountain ram could have gone any distance at all with such a wound. He had most obligingly run round to a part of the hill where we could bring up one of the horses without very much difficulty. Accordingly I brought tip old Manitou, who can carry any thing and has no fear, and the big horn was soon strapped across his back. It was a fine ram. with perfect ly-shaped lint not very large horns. The other rani, two years old. with small horns, had bounded over the ridge before I could get a shot at him: we followed his trail for half a mile, but as he showed no signs of halting and we were anxious to get home we then gave tip the pursuit. It was still early in the day, aud we made up our minds to push back for the home ranch, as we did not wish to be caught out in a long storm. The lowering sky was already overcast by a mass of leaden-gray clouds; and it was evident that we had 110 time to lose. In a little over an hour we were back at the log camp, where the ram was shifted from Manitou's back to the buekboard. A very few minutes sufficed to pack up our bedding and provisions, and we started home. Mer rifield and I rode 011 ahead, not spar ing the horses; but before we got home the storm had burst, and a furious blizzard blew in our teeth as we gal loped along the last mile of the river bottom, before coming to the home ranch house; and as we warmed our stiffened limbs before the log Are, 1 congratulated myself upon the success ful outcome of what I knew would be the last hunting trip I should take dur ing that season. The death of this ram was accom plished without calling for any very good shooting on our part. lie was standing still, less than a hundred vards off. when the shot was fired; and wo ciinie across him so close merely by accident. Still, we fairly deserved our luck, for we had hunted with the most patient and painstaking care from dawn till nightfall for the better part of three days, spending most of the time in climbing at a smart rale of speed up sheer cliffs and over rough and slippery ground. Still-hunting the big-horn is always a toilsome and labo rious task, si lid the very bitter weather during which we had been out had not lessened the difiieulty of the work, though in the cold it was 1 :uch Vv : ex hausting than it would have been to have hunted a«-ross the •■ •Me In No other kl'i 1 of h'.::itlng does as much to bring ot>; the gool qualities, both moral anil physical, of the sportsmen "ho folio v it. If a in: 1 keeps at it, it is bound to make hl:n both hardy and resolute; to strengthen his muscles and till out his lungs. Mountain mutton is in the fall (In most delicious eating furnished by ■ -v game animal. Nothing else compares with it for julclnv mcnt for the development of industry or the im provement of conimnrco, it lias taken the lead and maintained the ascend ency. It has been opposed and ob structed by the Democratic party and its achievements have always been in spite of the assaults and obstructive tactics of the Democratic party. Only once in the past fifty years have the people voted for a change from He publican to Democratic rule. They were misled by the arguments of tin supporters of Grover Cleveland Into believing that tariff revision which would lead to ultimate free trade would be better for the common peo ple than the Republican system of pro tection to American industry A Painful Experience. 'The experience was a wretche l and l painful one. as the records of the see ' ond Cleveland administration clearly demonstrate. From the Cleveland ad i ministration to the present ime Re publican presidents and Republican policies have been sustained. L'ndet ' Republicanism thus restored to power, ! the country has experienced its great | est progress. It has seen the free sil- I ver heresy come and go. It ha? Ob ■ served the cry of anti-imperialism and | of government ownership of railroads. I These theories were advanced as the entering wedge for the overthrow of Republican success, but they have been met and countered in each suc ceeding national election. We are now approaching an election where new theories are to be met. Democratic Experiments. "One of those is the projiosition to j impose upon the government of the I United States tlie business of an in i surance company tor the protection of j deposits in national banks to the pre i judlce of the larger deposits of the farmers and thrifty industrialists oi the country who have placed their faith in state banks and savings funds. We are opposed to the introduc tion of this theory as an experiment in our national life, believing that it is not a government I unction to protect the money of the schemer and sp emu lator, while the savings of the honest toiler are to be prejudiced and endan gered. "With this new theory advanced as another expedient by the candidate of thf Democratic party, this convention has no other concern than to point out its fallacy and the danger that would follow its attempted introduc tion. We stamp this "new thought" of the versatile dreamer of Democracy as an insidious and dangerous bit of demagofuery, no more entitled to the respect of the people than was his proposition to sell fifty cents worth of silver bullion to the government of the United States for a good gold dollar. Warning to Republicans. "We warn Republicans upon tli • farm; in the factory; in the mine; and in business circles generally, agaius! the experiments that are being pro posed by our Democratic opponents; each and every one of them Is simply intended to confuse the political sit uation and to undermine the founda tions upon which the prosperity o! the country has been reared, in orner I to discredit the Republican party and to place the Democrats in power. We believe as firmly today in the protec tive tariff of the Republican party we ever did. "We believe the time has conic j when the tariff law may be revised by its friends in order to regulate sue! I inequalities as may have arisen or t I correct such abuses as may have crept I in, but we do not waive our devotio. | to ihe protective principle, nor do w yield in the slightest measure oui dc mand that American industry shall he a safeguard against unfair foreign competition. "We believe the tariff should be so adjusted, so maintained, that every imported article that comes illl<> com petition with domestic manufacture, shall be made to pay duty represent Ing the difference in cost between the wages paid abroad and the wages paid at home, with a reasonable profit tt. the manufacturer. Our industries have grown and prospered under this sys teni, and we claim for the Republican party the credit of having made it j what, it is. The Two Senators. | "Our distinguished senators, the Hon. Boise Penrose and the Hon. Philander I C. Knox, are to be congratulated upon | the records they have made at Wash i ington. The long service of Senator j Penrose upon the important commit- I tee of postoflices and postroads. dur j ing which time he has seen tht• growth | of the postal business of the country j from eighty millions per annum t M | two hundred and twenty millions per annum, and during which he has ccn tributed largely in the developing of the free rural delivery service o! the country, is especially noteworthy. "What shall we say of our junior senator? When the proposition 'o prosecute the illegal trusts of the country was brought before Mr. Cleve land's attorney general. Richard OI ney, it was reasoned that tli laws were too feeble to reach the powerful malefactor. Under Theodore Roose velt, how different the situation' Mr Knox, the attorney general and now the junior senator from Pennsylvania, declared the law sufllci?nt to hold the rich malefactor equally with the poor and, still better, he demonstrated the truth of his opinion by bringing the Illegal combinations to the bar of jus tice and overthrowing them. And this brines us to the final declaration of this convention." The league convention was one of the most successful that has been held in recent years and a telegram re ceived from Colon"! Wesley It A.n ! drews. chnir'":;n of the Republican ; state MELDRUM & J ANDERSON O /■ 396-408 Main Stret t. BUFFALO, S. Y. / '¥ IBlanket, I d I OOK over your beddin | I" supplies and if there . a shortage of blankets, com If forters, sheets or pillow case. \ the time to buy them isriglii | now. We are holding a p special sale which brings all d grades within the reach of I =>ll. I White Wool Blaokets A > '% These blankets are perfect \ | in eveiy way except that | they are counter soiled and k ; injured in window displa - " / $4 Blankets - $2.51' $5 Blankets - $3 0C | $6.50 Blankets - $4.00 | $lO Blankets - $5.00 I 50c Grey Fleeced Blank . ets 3S fi 85cGrey Fleeced Blank | ets - • - 5C / SIOO Grey Fleeced Blank t ets - - 7E 7 $l5O Grey Fleeced Blank- | | ets SI.OO 112 / $1.50 Grey or Tan Felted r !| Blankets - $1.25 / | Railroad Fares Refunded y We refund your railroad %■ fares according to the rules p iL of the Chamber of Com- g mcrce. \ \\ • • li We prepay mail, freighvr^ or express charges on goodal g to nearby points. | ADAM, z MELDRUM &" I / ANDERSON CO,, i £ American Block, Buffalo, N.Y. * \ \ V..\ A A V V \ Merchant Tailoring Fall Stock has arrived in all popular shades. Brown and Elephant Gray are the leaders of this season. Call and look them over | Theo. Haberstock MRS. M, F, Conway Has removed from Broad Street and is now located on Fourth Street, opposite the Odd Fellows Block, where she will continue to serve her customers \titli I Home-made Bread Cookies and any thing in the Bak ing line made to order. Mrs. M. F. Conway