A SOLITAIEE 123 



time nor opportunity to use the glass, conse- 

 quently there must always be an element of doubt 

 as to the exact nature of my quarry. Still, the 

 fact that it was a large dark - coloured beast, and, 

 above all, lying alone, went a long way to prove it 

 to be a good buck. One last scramble down a 

 clitter of rocks (as they say in Dartmoor), and, 

 crossing the snow, I was beside the animal, which 

 had scarcely, if at all, moved from where I had 

 last seen it. 



My doubts were soon at rest : it was a solitaire. 

 The horns were not very fine (I easily beat them 

 afterwards), but they were well ringed at the base, 

 and by the teeth, one of which was missing, I judged 

 him to be seven or eight years old, if not more. 

 Although the chamois is said to attain the age of 

 a quarter of a century or even more, it is very 

 rarely that the horns exceed ten inches. One 

 w^onderful pair I saw in this country was not only 

 longer than this, but the span between the curves 

 was so great, and the outward curve of the tips 

 such, that they looked more like those of a wild 

 goat. Only two or three Herzegovinian sportsmen 

 can show horns over ten inches, and of these I am 

 fortunate enough to count myself one. 



The bullet was nicely placed in the shoulder, which 

 was shattered. It was a little high (due to the 

 5500 feet elevation, perhaps), but the frothed blood 

 at the mouth showed that the lungs were penetrated. 

 The meat of old chamois, especially bucks, is worth- 

 less. I should have liked, however, to have taken 

 home the skin, though the fur in early autumn is 

 of little value. Time, however, did not allow of 

 the lengthy process of skinning, so all I could do 



