THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT. 393 



heart, so we were not a little surprised at his tenacity of 

 life. Shouldering the slain, we returned to camp, and feast- 

 ed that night on tender kid. Having satisfied to the full- 

 est an ambition of mine, we broke up our quarters, and 

 four days after were back in Deer Lodge, I, for one, being 

 highly pleased with our good fortune. 



To hunt the mountain goat successfully one must be 

 cautious, patient, and persevering ; and he who can exercise 

 these faculties need have little fear of not placing a few 

 among his trophies of the chase. He may have to dare 

 crags and chasms ; but as sport means exercising a per- 

 son's mental and physical qualities against those of wild 

 animals, few care for dangers and annoyances in compari- 

 son to the success achieved. This goat will, it is said by 

 old hunters, charge its human foe if it thinks it cannot es- 

 cape otherwise, and display its butting power to as good 

 advantage as the domestic species. It prefers to seek safe- 

 ty in flight if it can, however, and does not hesitate a mo- 

 ment to plunge into a precipice to escape threatened dan- 

 ger. Fabulous tales are told about its immunity from in- 

 jury in these terrific leaps; yet it is no more daring than 

 the ibex or chamois, nor is it superior to them in passing 

 over pendent crags, vaulting gloomy precipices, or clamber- 

 ing up the most stupendous ascents. Hunting it is much 

 the same in character as pursuing these animals, except, 

 perhaps, that it is less cautious where it is not hunted 

 much. He who would follow it, however, must learn to be 

 patient and daring, and care little for disappointments, for 

 he is likely to have many of these unless he is more than 

 ordinarily fortunate. It might, I think, be hunted to good 

 advantage with sharp terriers or sheep dogs, as they would 

 keep it at bay until the sportsman arrived on the scene, 

 when he could easily finish the work, and then boast of 

 something more tangible for his day's labor than a view 

 of majestic mountain scenery. 



17* 



