PHOTOGRAPHING A MOUNTAIN GOAT 189 



the level on which I stood. The goat was about eight feet 

 below me, while below him was a sheer drop of a hun- 

 dred and fifty feet or more, down to the slide-rock. 



" He was a very large goat, weighing, I should say, 

 fully three hundred pounds. He had a magnificent pair 

 of horns, fully ten inches long. I was surprised to note 

 that he did not show the least sign of panic, or even fear. 

 He looked up at me quite calmly, and then, ignoring me 

 entirely, solemnly and serenely gazed out over the crags 

 below. 



" After a few trials from above I found it impossible 

 to get a good picture of him without getting much 

 nearer; so I yelled down to Mack: * I'm going down to 

 him. If he charges me, you must kill him, in a hurry.' 



" Setting the focus of my stereo camera for six feet, 

 and placing the bulb in my mouth, I gradually worked 

 my way down the ledge, carrying my camera in one hand 

 and holding to the wall with the other. When I was 

 within about twelve feet of him. Mack yelled to me : 



" ' Look out tharl He's a-raisin' his tail, like a buf- 

 falo bull! He's goin' to knock you off!' 



" Mack was raised in Texas, with the buffalo, and 

 diagnosed the case correctly. The very next instant, so 

 it seemed to me, the goat came at me, head and tail up, 

 ears drooped forward and eyes blazing green. He came 

 with a bouncing rush, hammering the stones with his 

 front feet so that the loose ones flew like broken ice. I 

 was taken completely by surprise, for I did not think 

 that on a ledge so narrow an animal could or would 

 charge me. 



