122 SPORT IN NORTH AMERICA. 



top of a little liill wliicli commanded the platform, 

 and a few seconds afterwards five detonations awoke 

 the echoes of the mountain. The shepherd stood 

 as still as a statue, but presently I saw him make a 

 signal to me with his hand. I stood ready, but 

 with a beating heart, when, immediately afterwards, 

 I saw five wild goats bounding past witliin twent}'' 

 jiaces of me. I aimed at one, and the gun missed 

 fire, but with the second barrel my goat fell within a 

 few feet of the precipice. The others escaped by a 

 path along the rocks, and were soon out of sight. 

 I ought to have congratulated myself on my good 

 fortune, I suppose, in having killed one wild goat, 

 but instead of doing so I found myself cursing the 

 bad luck which had caused my first barrel to miss 

 fire. Instead of one goat, I coveted two. M. 

 Simonds had killed two goats, and his negro had 

 knocked over another; but the animal had fallen 

 over into the torrent, and was lost. As for the 

 shepherd, the herd had not passed within gun-shot 

 of him. However, we regained the huts, bearing 

 with us three splendid wild goats. 



THE PECCARY. 



Almost every creature is terribly alarmed at the 

 discharge of a gun, and if it escapes the mur- 



