NINTH ANNUAL REPORT. 



11 



HEAD OF THE GOAT SHOWN ON THE OPPOSITE PAGE. 



striking character is its almost pure white coat. This coloring 

 is in perfect harmony with an environment of snow fields, but in 

 some parts of its range it renders the animal unnecessarily con- 

 spicuous. Until white men appeared on the scene, it made very 

 little difference to the goat whether his enemies could see him or 

 not, as his home was beyond the reach of pumas, wolves, and for 

 the most part of bears and until other game became scarce, the 

 Indians did not hunt this inaccessible peak-dweller too closely. 

 All the types of Oreamnos are characterized by this white coat 

 and the only exception is the well authenticated occurrence of 

 goat in the Selkirks of southern British Columbia, with a clearly- 

 defined dark brown line extending along the center of the back 

 and terminating in an almost black tail. This color variation 



