THE GOORAL. 43 



unless you are capable, as he is himself with his bare legs 

 and feet, of moving as noiselessly as a cat, it usually precludes 

 anything but a snap-shot; and should the ground be pre- 

 cipitous and broken, sometimes not even that before a beast, 

 on being alarmed, can get instantly out of sight, and is often 

 out of range ere it reappears, if it does so at all. For wild 

 animals, when they suddenly detect danger very close to 

 them, are so terrified that they make off like an arrow; 

 whereas, if it is farther from them, they will often stand 

 and gaze in doubt, giving ample time for a steady aim, or 

 stop to look back after going a short distance. 



After dinner, and a pipe beside the camp-fire, I turned in 

 pretty early, as the " bear-slayer " 

 had informed me that if we ex- 

 pected to see " gooral " we must 

 be up near the summit of Dhuj 

 teeba (hill) about sunrise. Be- 

 fore proceeding further in search 

 of the Nemorhcedus gored of 

 natural history, a slight sketch 

 of this " Himalayan chamois," as 

 it is sometimes called, may not 

 be out of place. The ordinary Head f " Gooral " r Himalayan 



, . , , . ,, IT- chamois. 



height of a full-grown buck is 



about 28 inches at the shoulder. The colour of its short 

 rough coat is usually a uniform greyish brown, with a white 

 patch on the throat. Its legs are sturdy and goat-like, 

 and of a darker brown than the body. Both sexes carry 

 short black horns, those of the full-grown buck being some- 

 times 7 inches or so long, annulated from the base to about 

 half their length, and slightly curved backwards. The doe 

 is similar to the buck in appearance, except as regards her 

 horns, which are thinner, smoother, and shorter. I once saw 

 the skin of a pure albino gooral which was shot in the 

 Kumaon hills. The natives who lived near its haunt had a 



