THE MOUNTAIN GOAT AS WE SAW HIM 115 



As might be expected of an animal that is born and 

 reared amid appalling dangers of many kinds, the moun- 

 tain goat is a creature of philosophic mind. Through 

 sheer necessity, he is much given to original thinking; 

 and like all thoughtful animals, his mental processes and 

 his moods and tenses are highly interesting. Watch him 

 closely, day after day, and you will soon conclude that 

 the term *' stupid " does not apply to him. Let us see 

 whether, with our slight knowledge of him, we can in a 

 small measure put ourselves in his mental place. 



In the first place, Oreamnos has chosen the rugged 

 crags at and above timber-line as the ground best calcu- 

 lated to enable him to escape from his wild-animal ene- 

 mies, — the bears, pumas and wolves. From these his 

 rugged heights render him measurably secure. When 

 danger threatens, and he climbs up or down to the shel- 

 tering arms of the steepest precipice he can find, no wild 

 creature without wings dares to follow him. Unfortu- 

 nately, however, his evolution did not take into account 

 the necessity of adequate provisions for safety from the 

 modern rifleman. And how could it? There is no such 

 thing as safety for any wild creature, save under man's 

 own laws. 



In times of danger the elk, the moose and deer gen- 

 erally stampede wildly over the face of Nature, without 

 much thought. Usually they are able to run straight 

 away from the hunter. To them the great desideratum 

 is speed for the first mile. But not so the goat. He 

 must find a retreat accessible to him, but inaccessible to 

 his pursuer. He must disappear as quickly as possible, 



