IBEX 



2901 



IBSEN 



IBEX, i'beks, the name given to several 

 species of wild goats, called steenbock by the 

 Germans and bouquetin by the French. The 

 most familiar species formerly inhabited the 

 mountainous regions of Central Europe, but has 



in the southern portions of the United States, 

 but is seldom seen farther north than South 

 Carolina. The ibis is a sociable bird and gen- 



THE IBEX 



now become very rare. The horns of this ibex 

 are long and flattened, and in the European 

 species attain a length of forty inches. The 

 Himalayan ibex is the largest of the species. 

 It stands about forty inches high at the shoul- 

 der, and its horns are often more than fifty 

 inches long, with a circumference of twelve 

 inches at the base. Hunting the ibex is a 

 favorite sport of natives of India. This is at- 

 tended with great danger, owing to the rugged 

 nature of the haunts of the animal and its 

 amazing agility in climbing and descending 

 precipices. In Central Asia the ibex roams in 

 herds, sometimes numbering 100 or more. Al- 

 though constantly hunted, it is so prolific that 

 no decrease in numbers seems to have occurred 

 there. As a trophy the head and horns of the 

 animal are highly valued by sportsmen. 



IBIS, i bis, a storklike wading bird, closely 

 related to the curlew. It has a long, slender 

 bill with a downward curve, long legs and a 

 long neck usually almost bare of feathers. The 

 sacred ibis of Egypt is about two and one-half 

 feet in length and has black and white plumage. 

 It was worshiped by the ancient Egyptians and 

 embalmed after death. The scarlet ibis has 

 red plumage, the wing feathers being marked 

 with a black stripe. The white ibis is common 



THE IBIS 



At the left is the white-faced, glossy ibis ; at the 

 right, the bird which was the sacred ibis of Egypt. 



erally lives in colonies, as many as forty pairs 

 sometimes nesting in the same tree. 



IB 'SEN, HENRIK (1828-1906), a Norwegian 

 dramatist, one of the most famous writers of 

 his century. The titles of his works are house- 

 hold words in all advanced countries, for trans- 

 lations have appeared in many languages. His 

 dramas, partly in 

 prose and partly 

 in verse, embody 

 the spirit of mod- 

 ern times, and it 

 is through h i s 

 masterful presen- 

 tation and treat- 

 ment of many of 

 the social prob- 

 lems of his age 

 that he attained 

 to supreme emi- 



nence and au- 



IBSEN 



thority in the modern drama. He was an 

 apostle of individual freedom, a firm believer 

 in the glory of work, and dreamed of the re- 

 organization of society through the good influ- 

 ence of women. 



Brand and Peer Gynt are his two best dra- 

 matic poems. The former is an arraignment 

 of the half-hearted pietism of many of the 

 Norwegian people; the latter tells the story of 

 the devoted love of an unselfish woman for a 

 faithless, unscrupulous man. Peer Gynt, in a 

 dramatized version, has met with great favor 

 on the stage. It was one of Richard Mans- 

 field's most popular productions. His first prose 



