46 THE CHAMOIS GOAT. 



THE CHAMOIS GOAT 



Inhabits the same districts as the ibex, and abounds jn the 

 mountains of Dauphine, Piedmont, Savoy, and Switzerland. 

 They are seen in flocks of eighty or a hundred, dispersed among 

 the crags of those stupendous mountains. The chamois resem- 

 bles in size the common goat, but is greatly admired for the 

 beauty of its eyes, which are round, sparkling, and animated. 

 Its head is ornamented with two horns, of about half a foot 

 long, of a beautiful black, rising from the forehead almost be- 

 tween the eyes. These horns stand forward, bending a little 

 back towards the extremities, and ending in a sharp point. The 

 ears are elegantly placed near the horns, and two stripes of 

 black adorn each side of the face ; the rest being of a pale yel- 

 low. This animal has scarcely any cry, except a feeble bleat 

 by which it calls its young ; but in cases of danger, when it gives 

 warning to the rest of the flock, it makes through its nostrils a 

 hissing noise, which is heard to a great distance. It is extremely 

 vigilant, and to an eye remarkably quick and piercing, adds a 

 scent not less acute and distinguishing. When it perceives its 

 enemy distinctly, it stops a moment, then, in an instant, takes 

 flight ; and it is said to be able, by the acuteness of its smelling, 

 to discover a man at the distance of more than a mile. Upon 

 any apprehension of danger, the chamois begins a loud hissing. 

 The first hiss is in the beginning very sharp, but deeper towards 

 the close, and continues the whole time of one respiration. 

 Having, after this first alarm, reposed itself for a moment, it 

 looks round, and if it perceives the danger to be real, it continues 

 to hiss at intervals. During this time, the animal seems in the 

 most violent agitation, striking the ground with its fore feet ; it 

 bounds from rock to rock, and flies to the edges of the precipices 

 to look for the enemy. It is said, that some of them always act 

 the part of sentinels ; and it has generally been observed, that, 

 where a herd of them is seen feeding, two or three are mostly 

 detached from the rest. The hunting of the chamois is attended 

 with the same difficulties and danger as that of the ibex ; and 

 like the latter, it will, when hard pressed, turn upon the hunter, 

 and precipitate him from the top of a craggy rock, where he 

 must meet with inevitable destruction. The usual method of 

 taking them, is by placing persons at all the passages of a glado 

 or valley, and shooting them from behind the clefts of the rocks. 

 Their extreme swiftness renders them unapproachable by any 

 mode of pursuit, and dogs are totally useless in this chase. They 

 run along the crags with such rapidity, and bound from rock to 

 rock with such ease, that no other animal can follow them ; and 

 nothing can be more astonishing, than the extraordinary facility 



