90 CHAMOIS. 



and tufted with coarse, black hairs. The neck is pecu- 

 liarly long, and has, at the back, a short, upright mane. 

 The shoulders are very deep. The tail is tufted at the 

 end. The colour is a dirty or reddish white, marked 

 with numerous large rusty spots. 



36. ANTELOPE TRIBE. 



Light and agile beyond, perhaps, all other quadrupeds, 

 the Antelopes delight chiefly on rocky and mountainous 

 countries. Their horns are hollow, turned upwards, and 

 have spiral or annulated knobs. 



Chamois. The skins of these animals form a well- 

 known kind of soft leather; and it is on account of this, 

 and of their flesh, which is in great request as food, that 

 they are pursued with great eagerness by the inhabitants 

 of Savoy, Switzerland, Italy, and other countries in 

 which they are found. They inhabit the lofty sum- 

 mits and valleys of the Alps and Pyrennees, collected 

 together in flocks of from four to about eighty in num- 

 ber. These, when they feed, are said to place a sentinel, 

 for the purpose of giving notice of danger : on the least 

 noise he utters a shrill whistle, and the whole flock 

 scampers off to the rocks and precipices, with the utmost 

 rapidity. Amongst these they leap and run about with 

 a fearlessness and agility which is truly surprising. They 

 are able to spring across rocks, even to the depth of 

 twenty or thirty feet, without the slightest injury. 

 Their senses of sight, hearing, and smell, are all sin- 

 gularly acute. Their young ones, usually two or 

 three in number, are produced in the month of April or 

 May. 



The Chamois is about the size of a goat, but its limbs 

 are, in proportion, much longer, and its fur is by no means 



