510 



THE CLOVEX-HOOFED ANIMALS: 



Chamois will hardly have been spared the feelings 

 of inward terror, as he climbed over a precipice or 

 threaded his way through a chasm and was suddenly 

 aware of a rolling of stones above him, caused by 

 a fleeing flock and he could barely save himself by 

 crouching behind a boulder or ledge; or as he fol- 

 lowed a wounded Chamois and unexpectedly found 

 himself in spots where the consequences of a mis- 

 take in a step or leap, which had to be made, were 

 but too obvious. One certainly must not think 

 that both Chamois and hunter always have to crawl 

 about rocky precipices like Flies on a wall. The 

 locality often is so favorable that the hunter can 

 obtain his prey without the exercise of special skill 

 and with little trouble, as, for instance, when the 

 spoor follows the course of a road or extends through 

 a wood or valley. There is scarcely any variety of 

 hunt in which the conditions differ so widely. 

 The Usual Method " To shoot a good buck with a rifle 



of Hunting the is usually a difficult feat; but as 

 Chamois. chance in some instances spoils op- 



portunities, so is it favorable in others. One some- 

 times has chances for a shot where he does not 

 expect them at all. The paths which Chamois may 

 select when driven by beaters are very uncertain and 

 present a thousand aspects, for precipices, chasms 

 and crags alternate in the most variable manner. 

 Over the face of steep precipices the flock nearly 

 always takes the same road, unless driven off by a 

 shot. Over a chasm they all spring; sometimes 

 they go down the rocky inclines, jumping from point 

 to point, in a zigzag direction, without stopping. 

 They like to hide in the heaps of wood, which have 

 been cut and piled for the charcoal burners, and it is 

 almost incredible how quickly they work their way 

 through the intricate tangle of trunks and limbs. If 

 the wind is good — that is, blows from the hunter 

 toward the game — they are usually urged forward 

 easily; but the main thing is to make them see the 

 beater, for while stones thrown down the mountain 

 side startle them, they do not disturb them enough 

 to put them to flight. The Chamois know whether 

 the stones are dangerous to them or not; so if they 

 are under cover of a rock, they calmly wait, in 

 spite of all the stones that may come bounding 

 down over it. If the atmosphere is foggy the hunts- 

 man can be successful only when there are a great 

 many beaters, and they proceed in close order. 

 When a flock approaches, one can frequently ob- 

 serve with interest and pleasure how frivolous and 

 unconcerned a crowd a herd of Chamois is. For the 

 main body leaves all care to the leading doe, and 

 while she stops to listen and watch the others butt 

 against each other and fight, unless the beaters are 

 too near. 



"As regards distance, especially across a chasm, it 

 is easy to be deceived, and many a Chamois owes its 

 escape to miscalculation in this respect. There is 

 a rule among experienced hunters that the distance 

 is too great for successful shooting when one can 

 not easily distinguish the horns. A badly wounded 

 Chamois soon- lies down; but if it is pursued, or a 

 Dog is set upon its trail, it resumes its flight and 

 generally mounts on a crag where a Dog can not 

 follow it — and then the hunter must shoot it down. 

 In craggy, precipitous mountains a Dog is useless, 

 for the trail of the wounded Chamois can be easily 

 traced by the blood drops on the gray stones. 

 Sometimes, however, the hunter loses his game be- 

 cause of inability to reach the spot where the animal 

 lies dead." 



Chamois in Ma- The flesh of the Chamois can vie 

 terial and Poetical with that of any other animal in 

 Aspects. flavor and excellence, in my opinion 

 far surpassing even that of the Roe, which is deemed 

 the tenderest and most palatable of all indigenous 

 European kinds, the Chamois venison being distin- 

 guished by a savory taste, which can not be com- 

 pared to anything else. The hide which is manu- 

 factured into excellent leather, is nearly as valuable 

 as the venison. The horns are also put to account 

 and the hair taken in a strip running along the 

 course of the backbone serves as an ornament on the 

 hats of professional as well as amateur hunters. 



The Chamois plays the same part in the poetry of 

 the inhabitants of the Alps, as the Gazelle does in 

 the literature and folklore of the Orient. Hundreds 

 of songs describe it and its pursuit in an interesting 

 and poetical manner; numerous and widely varying 

 traditions and fables are intertwined with its natural 

 history, so far as it has become known to the com- 

 mon people. 



The Chamois Chamois taken young are capable of 



in a State of domestication. They are fed upon 



Domestication. Goat's milk, succulent grass and 

 herbs, cabbage, turnips and bread. If the owner 

 have some good-natured Goats in his possession he 

 may install them as foster parents, and the small, 

 light-hearted natives of the mountain will thrive all 

 the better for it. They merrily play with the kids 

 and saucily romp with the Dogs; they follow their 

 keeper about trustfully and come up to him to beg 

 for food. They always exhibit their natural inclina- 

 tion for the highest attainable points and objects 

 upon which they may mount. Blocks of stone, piles 

 of any sort of material in the yard, walls and other 

 eminences are their favorite haunts, on which they 

 sometimes remain standing for hours. They never 

 become as strong as Chamois in the natural, un- 

 tamed state, but seem to bear confinement quite 

 well. In some individuals a certain fierceness of 

 temper makes itself apparent in old age and they 

 sometimes use their little horns in quite a bellicose 

 and resolute manner. Their frugality in the matter 

 of food renders captivity more easy for them to bear. 

 In old age they are still less fastidious about their 

 food than in youth. In respect to bodily endurance 

 and indifference to hardship one might say that they 

 are born hardy. In winter a little straw under a 

 small open shed is sufficient provision for them. 

 They do not appear to be comfortable in a stable; 

 space for exercise and a supply of fresh air are 

 essentials for their continued well being. Those in- 

 dividuals that are taken old always remain timid 

 and shy. 



Chamois seldom propagate themselves in cap- 

 tivity. In 1863, however, Schoepff had the pleasure 

 of having his captive Chamois give birth to a 

 healthy kid. The nurture of the little one was en- 

 trusted to a Goat, and it grew and throve so well 

 that it nearly equaled its mother in size when one 

 and a half years old. After two years the old 

 Chamois gave birth to another kid. 



THE SAIGA. 



The Saiga ( Coins tataricus) differs so considerably 

 from all other known Antelopes in some important 

 peculiarities, that it is justly regarded as the repre- 

 sentative of a distinct species. It exhibits some 

 affinity to the Sheep in shape and action, in other 

 respects, however, resembling Reindeer. Its body 

 is very short and thick, the fur consists of extremely 



