656 THE CHAMOIS. 
the black patch of hair on the forehead, the brown-black mane, and a wash of reddish- 
brown, tempered with grey, which begins upon the head and envelops the shoulders and 
part of the back. The Addax is rather higher at the croup than at the shoulder, being 
about three feet seven inches high at the shoulder, and three feet eight inches at the 
croup. The horns are equally large and prominent in either sex, and at a little distance 
it is no easy matter to discriminate between the male and his mate. 
YOAT-LIKE in aspect, and very hircine in many of its habits, the CHAMors is often 
supposed to belong to the goats rather than to the Antelopes. 
It is, however, a true Antelope, and may be readily distinguished from any of its 
relations by the pecuhar form of the horns, which rise straight from the top of the head 
for some inches, and then suddenly curve backwards, so as to form a pair of sharp hooks. 
Formerly, this animal was reported to employ these ornaments in aiding itself to ascend 
or descend the frightful precipices on which it dwells. This opinion is, however, entirely 
erroneous, the horns being intended for the same mysterious purpose which they serve 
when placed upon the head of the duyker, koodoo, or any other Antelope. In descending 
a precipitous rock, the Chamois is greatly aided by the false hoofs of the hinder feet, 
which it hitches upon every little irregularity in the stony surface, and which seem to 
retard its progress as it slides downwards, guided by the sharp hoofs of the fore-feet, which 
are placed closely together, and pushed well in advance of the body. Thus flattened 
against the rock, the Chamois slides downwards until it comes to a ledge broad enough to 
permit it to repose for a while before descending farther. In this manner the active 
creature will not hesitate to descend some twenty or thirty yards along the face of an 
almost perpendicular cliff, being sure to make good its footing on the first broad ledge 
that may present itself. 
Although it is a very swift animal when upon level ground, and is unsurpassed in 
traversing the precipitous Alpine passes of its native home, it makes but a poor progress 
upon smooth ice, and in spite of its sharply pointed hoofs, slips and slides about upon the 
glassy surface as awkwardly as any ordinary animal. 
The Chamois is one of the most wary of Antelopes, and possesses the power of scenting 
mankind at an almost incredible distanee. Even the old and half-obliterated footmarks 
which a man has made in the snow are sufficient to startle the sensitive senses of this 
animal, which has been observed to stop in mid career down a mountain side, and to 
bound away at right angles to its former course, merely because it had come across the 
track which had been left by the steps of some mountain traveller. Like all animals which 
live in herds, however small, they always depute one of their number to act as sentinel. 
They are not, however, entirely dependent on the vigilance of their picket, but are always 
on the alert to take alarm atthe least suspicious scent, sight, or sound, and to communicate 
their fears to their comrades by a peculiar warning whistle. As soon as this sound is 
heard, the entire herd take to flight. It is worthy of notice, that the sentinel must possess 
the power, not only of announcing danger to its friends, but also of indicating the direction 
from which it comes. Facts of this nature, of which there are abundance on record, prove 
that although the sounds of animal voices appear to us to be without definite signification, 
they yet possess the capability of communicating ideas to others of the same species. 
When their attention is aroused by any thing suspicious, they have a habit of gazing 
fixedly in the direction of the object which has excited their alarm, and will remain 
still, as if carved out of the very rock on which they stand, halting in one fixed attitude 
for an almost incredible length of time. 
Their ears are as acute as their nostrils, so that there are few animals which are more 
difficult of approach than the Chamois. Only those who have been trained to climb the 
giddy heights of the Alpine mountains, to traverse the most fearful precipices with a 
quiet pulse and steady head, to exist for days amid the terrible solitudes of ice, rock, and 
snow, and to sustain almost every imaginable hardship in the pursuit of their game,— 
only these, or in very rare instances those who have a natural aptitude for the sport, 
and are, in consequence, soon initiated into its requisite accomplishments, can hope even 
to come within long rifle range of a Chamois when the animal is at large upon its native 
