242 The White Goat 



knew, — such as flour and sugar bags, — it alone 

 weighed thirty pounds ! We carried home, be- 

 side the head and hide, the web-tallow, and this 

 was three-quarters of an inch thick. Hunters 

 will know what ample supply this means in 

 animals much larger than the goat. This speci- 

 men was, my most companionable guide told me, 

 of good but not supreme size. We carried home 

 none of the meat. The flesh of the grown-up 

 goat cannot be eaten with much pleasure ; but 

 later, for the sake of a complete set of specimens, 

 I shot a kid ; and the flesh of this we ate with 

 entire satisfaction for our Thanksgiving dinner. 

 And this brings me to the next point. 



" These wild goat," says my journal, "are twice 

 the size and more of the ordinary goat, and if 

 their hides kept clean and snow-white as they 

 naturally are, they would be a splendid-looking 

 animal." 



This was written two weeks before I was able 

 to examine one that was in very truth snow- 

 white ; and lately, while looking through the 

 books to find what they have to say that may 

 fill out my imperfect knowledge, I have come 

 more than once on the statement that the goat 

 is not pure white, but has a tinge of yellow, or 



