The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals: A Book of Personal Observations

"A sheep's token of surrender is to lie down and lie still. Once he 'possums, no matter what you do, or how badly you may hurt him, he will never flinch. And when this sheep ("Old Stonewall") was thrown down by the trap, he evidently thought that he was captured, and lay still for a few minutes before he found out the difference, which gave me time to come up with him.... So I went to camp, got a trap clamp and some sacks, made a kind of sled and dragged him in. It was just midnight when I got him tied down, and just sun-up when I got to camp with him. I fixed him up the best I could, stood him up beside the other big-horn and took their pictures. He looked so "rough and ready" that I named him "Old Stonewall." But for all his proud, defiant bearing he has always been a good sheep, and never tried to fight me. Still he can hit quick and hard when he wants to, and I have to keep him tied up all the time to keep him from killing the other bucks." Now, I know not what conclusion others will draw from the above clear and straightforward recital, but to me it established in Ovis nelsoni a reputation for quick thinking, original reasoning and sound conclusions. In an incredibly short period those animals came up to the status of tame animals. The five sheep caught by Mr. Frakes were suddenly confronted by new conditions, such as their ancestors had never even dreamed of meeting; and all of them reacted in the same way. That was more than "animal behavior." It was Thought, and Reason!