THE MOUNTAIN GOAT AS WE SAW HIM 93 



them, measured, weighed and ate them. Finally, we 

 brought back with us five living specimens; and as I 

 became really acquainted with this creature, its stock 

 gradually rose to par. 



In its form, the mountain goat is the most pictu- 

 resque and droll-looking of all our large game ani- 

 mals. In some respects it is the bravest and hardiest of 

 our hoofed animals, and the only one that is practically 

 devoid of fear. 



I am tempted to believe that of the few men who 

 have hunted this strange animal, not many have taken 

 time to become thoroughly acquainted with it, or to for- 

 mulate a careful estimate of its character as revealed 

 in its native mountains. Many writers have called it 

 stupid, and very few have recognized it as an unrivalled 

 mountaineer. 



It is folly to attempt to compare any animal with 

 the Himalayan tahr, the markhor, ibex or chamois until 

 the comparer has seen and studied them in their homes. 

 It is my belief, however, that no animal, hoofed or 

 clawed, can surpass the climbing feats of the mountain 

 goat. Certainly there is no American quadruped, not 

 even the bold and hardy mountain sheep, which will 

 with the utmost indifference climb an eighty-degree 

 precipice, or jog across the face of a five-hundred-foot 

 wall on a footing so narrow and uncertain that the 

 strongest glass cannot detect it. I have never seen a 

 mountain sheep take such desperate chances on the rocks 

 as any goat will essay as serenely as a boulevardier 

 promenades along a ten-foot sidewalk. 



