672 



U. S. P. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS ZOOLOGY GENERAL REPORT. 



I regret very much not to have it in my power to furnish a satisfactory description of this 

 species, but the only specimens at my command consist of fleeces, without head, legs, or tail. 

 I cannot, therefore, speak with any certainty in reference to such details as the character of the 

 nose, &c. This is said by Sundevall, who examined a specimen in the Leyden Museum, to be 

 like that of Capra hircus, or the common goat, which is hairy, except between the nostrils. 

 The same thing, however, is stated of the antelope, which really has a narrow naked strip to 

 the nose, reaching to the edge of the lip. 



Judging from the fleeces before me, the size is considerably larger than that of the average 

 of common sheep. The hair is entirely of a yellowish white color, and is composed of a coarse 

 brittle material, with intermediate softer and silky hairs. The hair is very long, and hangs 

 down all over the body, tail, and upper part of the legs, much as in the merino sheep. There 

 is a long goat-like tuft of hairs on the chin. 



According to Richardson, " the long coarse hair is abundant on the shoulder, neck, back, and 

 thighs. A considerable tuft of it attached to the chin forms a beard, and there is likewise 

 much of it on the chest and lower part of the throat. Under the hair of the body there is a 

 close coat of fine white wool. The hair on the face and legs is short, and without wool." 



The figures and description of the skull and other bones of this species by Dr. Richardson 

 show very clearly that the affinities are much more with the antelopes than the goats or sheep. 

 In fact, none of the more modern systematic writers place it in the genus Capra, or, indeed, in 

 the Ovine group. The mere general resemblance externally to a goat is a matter of little 

 consequence ; indeed, its body is much more like that of a merino sheep. The soft silky under 

 hairs are very different from those of a goat, as well as the jet black horns, which are without 

 any ridges, and smooth and highly polished at the extremities. 



The mountain goat is found in the higher portions of the northern Rocky Mountain and 

 Cascade ranges, at an altitude considerably greater than that of the Bighorn. It is most 

 abundant in the elevated peaks and crests in Washington Territory, and is found as far north 

 as 65 north latitude, according to Richardson. It occurs sparingly near Fort Benton. Owing 

 to the almost inaccessible character of the localities it inhabits, it is very difficult to obtain 

 good specimens, the robes brought by the Indians being always much mutilated. 



List of specimens. 



