E 58 J 
NATURAL 
Account of the Bouquetin, or Moun- 
tain Goat ; from Coxe’s Travels 
in So tectland. vol. ii. 
Obferved at Michael Paccard’s, 
| a guide of Chamouny, a head 
and horns of the male douguetin, or 
mountain-goat, and ftufted {peci- 
mens of a female and a young one, 
As this animal is extremely rare, 
and inhabits the higheft and almoft 
macceflible mountains, the defcrip- 
tions of it have. been very inaccu- 
rate and confufed. But a new light 
has been lately thrown on the ifub- 
ject by Dr. Girtanner of St. Gal- 
fen, and by M. van Berchem, fe- 
eretary to the Society of Sciences 
at Laufanne; and although thefe 
two naturalifts differ in fome in- 
flances, yet their joint labours have 
affifted in afcertaining the nature 
and ceconomy of this curious ani- 
mal. The following account, there- 
fore, of the bouquetin, is drawn 
principally from their obfervations 
in Rozier’s Journal, and from ad- 
ditional information obligingly com- 
manicated to me by M. van Ber- 
chem himfelf. 
This animal is now chiefly found 
mpon that chain which ftretches 
from Dauphiné through Savoy to 
the confines of Italy, and princi- 
pally on the alps bordering on 
Mont Blanc, which is the moft ele- 
vated part of thatchain. Its parti- 
cular haunts are the valley of Cor- 
HISTORY. 
j 
mayor to the fouth of Mont Blanc, 9 
thofe heights which lie between J] 
Mont Blanc and the frontiers of the ~ 
Vallais, and the mountains which ~ 
border the Val Savarenche; but it — 
is met with more abundantly in the — 
mountains of the valley of Cogne, 
which is the frontier of the valley — 
of Dent in Piedmont; and almoft — 
always frequents thofe parts that 
have a fouthern afpect. 
The feveral names by which the — 
bouquetin is known in different lan- J 
guages, are, in Greek, by Homer and ~ 
fElian, Aié wygiog; Latin, [éex,which 9] 
name has been adopted by moft © 
modern naturalifts; Italian, Capra © 
Selvatica; German and Swils, Steiz- 
Lech, or Rock- goat, the female, 4} 
Etagne, or Vbfchen and Yob/chgeifs, ~ 
perhaps from the Latin Ibex ; © 
Flemith, Wildcheit; French, Box- 
quetin, anciently Souc-efain, the — 
German name reverfed. Belon © 
named it Hircus ferus; Briffon, © 
Hiircus Ibex ; Linneus, Capra Ibex; @ 
Pennant, the dex; and Dr. Gir- © 
tanner, Capra Alpina. [have adopt- — 
ed the name of Bouquetin, becaufe 
it is the provincial appellation of — 
the animal in the Alps. 
The fyftematic naturalifts agree — 
in taking the fpecific character of — 
the bouquetin from the beard, and — 
the horns, which they deferibe as — 
knobbed along the upper or ante- — 
rior furface, and reclining towards 
the back, 
The i 
