[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 julcln<v . tenderness, and
flavor; but at all oh-r times of the
year it is toug'\ string.'. Mid worthless.
/ • *'• ?'
• .. :J
AN ISLAND OF QUIET.
Yet Gcing Downtown In Madeira Is an
Z;xiting Evtnt.
Madeira is populated, yet is one of
the quietest a well as one of the most
beautiful place.* in the world. Al
though the roads are paved with round
beach stones, there is nothing to re
mind one of the fact, because, as Da
vid G. Fail-child, agricultural explorer
of the department of agriculture, ex
plains in the National Geographic
Magazine, there are no horses or jolt
ing wheels.
All vehicles in Madeira are'on run
ners. If you go calling It Is In a bul
lock sledge with canopy top and com
fortable seats. If you move a bank
safe or a steam boiler It Is carried on
a "stone boat," or sledge of poles, and
you may have to get forty oxen to pull
it. If you are in a vlllq 011 the hillside
and want to get 'downtown you take a
running car and slide down over the
cobblestones.
Two strong men, each holding a
guide rope, pull your car over a bag
of grease to grease the runners and
then give you a running shove and
jump each 011 a runner behind as the
car shoots down at a breakneck pace
over the cobblestones.
The men yell, hens and dogs scam
per. foot passengers cling (dose to the
wall of the narrow street, the runners
get hot and fill the air with odor of
burning wood as you shoot round sharp
corners, down the busy thoroughfare,
past gorgeous masses of flowering
creepers which hang over the walls of
the private villas that border your
road.
But, oh. the change when you get to
the bottom! You are obliged either to
walk or take a carro, drawn by slow
moving bullocks, squeaking and slip
ping over the stones.
Handicapped.
Judge—Remember, witness, you are
sworn to tell the truth, and nothing but
the truth. Witness—Judge, I am try
ing my durudest to do it, but that pie
faced slob of a lawyer there won't let
me!—<llli< ago Tribune.
CLUBMEN BLAZE
WAY TO VICTORY
Pennsylvania League Lines Up
For the Campaign.
ARE READY F9R "BATTLE
Republicans inaugurate An Aggressive
Canvass to Insure the Election of
Taft and Sherman and to Keep the
Keystone State at the Head of the
Party Column In November.
I Special Correspondence. ]
Wilkes-Uarre, Sept. 22.
Pennsylvania's Republican campaign
was formally opened last week at tin
convention of the League of Republi
can clubs, and there is every assur
ance that the Keystone state will give
a splendid account of herself at tin
election on Nov. 3 next.
The clubmen were particularly for
lunate in having so many men of na
tional prominence as tlieir guests and
j TO speak at their mass meeting.
Vice Presidential Nominee James
S. Sherman was very happy in his
references to the stalwartism of Penn
sylvania Republicans, and he declared
that their fellow Republicans of the
Empire state would vie with them a»
the coming election in rolling up a
big majority for the entire Republi
can ticket.
Congressman Nicholas Longworth.
Senator lioies Penrose and John Hays
Hammond were among others who ad
dressed the great assemblage in the
armory.
This meeting, the splendid attend
ance at the convention and the demon
stration made by the mine workers
and others in the parade which was
given prior to the opening of the
1 meeting, left no room to doubt the en-
I t husiasm for Taft and Sherman among
| the Republicans of this state.
Aside from the cordial indorsement
: of the nominees and the platform of
the Republican national convention,
1 the club league placed upon record
strong testimonials to United States
: Senators Penrose and Knox, and later
| on there was an exhibition of earnest
! and sincere approval of a suggestion
i from Colonel John R..Wiggins that the
j members of the league should goto
| work at once to insure the election of
: Republican members of the legislature
who will in January next be called
upon to elect a successor to Senator
Penrose. Colonel Wiggins was ap
pia tided when he advocated the re
election of Senator Penrose.
Following the re-election of Robert
B. Habgood, of McKean county, to the
presidency of the league and the elec
tion of other officers, a platform was
adopted, which among other things
say#:
A Patriotic Party.
"The Pennsylvania State League of
Republican clubs in its twenty-second
annual convention assembled, declares
Its unwavering faith in the policies of
the Republican party under which the
state of Pennsylvania, in common with
| Its sister states, lias grown and pros
pered. In the more than flftv years of
Its existence the Republican party in
state and nation has over been loyal
to the patriotic Institutions of the
country. whilM it has advanced the
tout, rial Interests o." a!' the poplc ~.,y
wise an!', progressive* legislation.
"In every great :n;>v 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 <or,unitte'\ warmly commending
j the work of ihe members or tIi■ Rj
< publican clubs In recent cumpaians.
\\ \ n \ v.\ \ \ \ \ S. 4/m
SECOND TO NONE
/ ADAM,
> 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