A PERSISTENT HUNTER. 199 



hearing is concerned, for in every goat that was killed 

 on this trip the ears were so filled with ticks that the 

 insects formed a compact plug which it was necessary 

 to force out with a hard stick when cleaning the skins. 

 The feet are almost square and the outside rim of 

 the hoof is sharp, making a knife-edge which enables 

 the animal to grasp any crack or opening and thus 

 obtain a firm foot-hold. 



The most common error of naturalists who have 

 never seen either a living or dead Rocky Mountain 

 goat is in regard to the position of the head. In nearly 

 all the cuts of the animal in books or magazines the 

 head is raised above the line of the shoulder. The 

 anatomical structure of the animal clearly precludes 

 this. The neck is short and set so low down that the 

 head cannot be raised above a line even with the top 

 of the shoulder. Taken as a whole, the proportions 

 of the goat are similar to those of an American bison, 

 or buffalo, on a small scale. 



The specimen was skinned and the skeleton laid 

 bare, and then the naturalist attempted to carry the 

 whole load of skin and bones to camp. The load was a 

 heavy, awkward bundle, but he made his way along, 

 and by four o'clock in the afternoon reached a point 

 on the mountain above the camp. He was tempted to 

 leave his burden here and return for it next day, but 

 the thought that it meant a whole day lost caused him 

 to stagger on, and he finally reached camp long after 

 dark. He found that there was not much in a load 

 of bones and skins to arouse any but a scientific en- 

 thusiasm, and he spent several hours after supper in 



dressing the skins and rubbing his legs with vase- 

 14 



