69 
three quarters of its courfe, they 
“again begin to feed, and to defcend 
towards the woods; whither they 
retire when it is likely to fnow, 
and where they always pafs the 
‘winter. The bouquetins affemble 
in flocks, confifting at the moft of 
ten, twelve, or fifteen; but more 
ufually in fmaller numbers. The 
males which are fix years old and 
upwards, haunt more elevated places 
than the females and younger bou- 
quetins; and as they advance in 
age are lefs fond of fociety; they 
become gradually hardened againit 
the effects of extreme cold, and fre- 
quently live entirely alone. 
In fumimer they feed principally 
on the genipi and other aromatic 
plants which grow in the high alps; 
and in winter they eat the lichens, 
ané@ broufe on bufhes and the tender 
». .. of trees. They prefer thofe 
dy, where the dwarf birch and 
alpwie willows grow, and where 
rhododendron, thalirum, and faxi- 
Jrages, abound. 
‘The bouquetins having their fore 
legs fomewhat fhorter than the hind 
legs, naturally afcend with greater 
facility than they defcend ; for this 
reafon nothing but the fevereft wea- 
ther can engage them to come down 
into the lower regions; and even 
jn winter, if there are a few fine 
days, they leave the woods and 
mount higher. 
Winter is the feafon of love with 
them, and princpally the month of 
January. The females go with 
young five months, and confequent- 
ly produce in the laft week of June, 
or the firft of July. At the time of 
parturition they feparate from the 
males, retire to the fide of fome rill, 
and generally bring forth only one 
young, though fome naturaliits af- 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. 
firm that they occafionally produce 
two. 
The commoncry of the bouquetin 
is a fhort fharp whiftle, not unlike — 
that of the chamois, but of lefs conti- 
nuance: fometimes it makes a fnort, 
and when young bleats. 
The feafon for hunting the bou- — 
quetin is towards the end of fum- 
mer, and in autumn, during the 
months of Auguft and September, 
when they are ufually in good con- 
dition. None but the inhabitants 
of the mountains engage in the © 
chace; for it requires not only a 
head that can bear to look down 
from the greateft heights without 
terror, addrefs and fure-footednefs 
in the moft difficult and dangerous 
paffes, and to be an_ excellent 
mark{man, but alfo much ftrength 
and vigour, to fupport hunger, 
cold, and prodigious fatigue. The 
moft determined hunters of bou- 
quetins live in the mountains of the 
Lower Vallais: for inftance, the 
natives of Servan, a village in a 
wild and piéturefque fituation, four © 
leagues from Valorfine, and two or 
three from Martigny, are hunters, 
and the bouquetins being no longer 
found in their mountains, they hunt 
in thofe of the valley of Aoft, ob- 
taining a permiffion for that purpole 
from the inhabitants. 
The female fhows much attach- 
ment to her young, and even de- 
fends it againit eagles, wolves, and 
other enemies ; fhe takes refuge in 
fome cavern, and prefenting her 
head at the entrance of the hole, thus _ 
oppofes the enemy. 
When a bouquetin is fhot, the 
hunters let it cool upon the fpot, and 
then embowel it, putting the blood ~ 
into one of the entrails, which is 
efteemed by the peafants a fove- 
. . . reign 
