184 



RANCH LIFE AND THE HUNTING-TRAIL 



which went to a small, boggy pool, which the goats must certainly have 

 often visited in the spring ; but it was then unused. 



When I reached the farther side of the plain and was about entering 

 the woods, I turned to look over the mountain once more, and my eye was 



THE WHITE GOAT AT HOME. 



immediately caught by two white objects which were moving along the ter- 

 race, about half a mile to one side of the lick. That they were goats was 

 evident at a glance, their white bodies contrasting sharply with the green 

 vegetation. They came along very rapidly, giving me no time to get back 

 over the plain, and stopped for a short time at the lick, right in sight from 

 where I was, although too far off for me to tell anything about their size. 

 I think they smelt my footprints in the soil ; at any rate they were very 

 watchful, one of them always jumping up on a rock or fallen log to mount 



