

EUMINANTIA. 239 



security. Its sense of smell, it is said, will enable it to perceive 

 an aggressor at the distance of one and a half miles. It is rest- 

 less, a'nd very much alarmed until it gets a sight of the object 

 of its terror, leaping upon the highest rocks at hand, in order 

 to obtain a more extensive prospect. When undisturbed, its 

 voice is a low kind of bleating ; if excited by the approach of 

 a hunter, it utters a suppressed whistle, or hissing sound, and all 

 the while, shows much agitation ; but when the hunter comes 

 near, it flies with its utmost speed, bounding from ledge to ledge, 

 where the eye can mark no footing, --and from crag to crag, and 

 point to point sweeping over the glacier, throwing itself down 

 precipices of fearful depth, and pitching, almost by miracle, upon 

 the slightest projection. " It does not descend at a single bound, 

 nor in a vertical direction, but by projecting itself obliquely or 

 diagonally forwards, striking the face of the rock three or four 

 times with its feet for the purpose of renewing its force, or 

 directing it more steadily to the point it aims at ; and in this 

 manner, it will descend a rock almost perpendicular, of twenty 

 or thirty feet in height, without the smallest projection upon 

 which to rest its feet." 



The hunting of the Chamois, is among the most perilous of 

 human undertakings, and involves "a perversion of mental ener- 

 gies capable of better things." It has been remarked; "no 

 Chamois hunter ever dreams of any other death than that of fall- 

 ing from the brink of a precipice, or being buried in some chasm 

 beneath the treacherous snow ; " yet urged on by a sort of fas- 

 cination, "he pursues his course of life with feelings allied to 

 those of the gambler, alternating with hopes and fears." 



The Chamois seldom drinks. Its food consists of mountain 

 herbs, flowers, and the tender roots of trees and shrubs. This gives 

 a richness and a fine flavor to the flesh, which is much esteemed 

 as a venison. For this and the skins, the Chamois hunters jeopard 

 their lives. The animal can seldom be captured alive, and 

 rarely thrives in captivity. "Like the Swiss, its congenial 

 home is among its native mountains, and in its native liberty." 



A. furcifer. (Lat. Prong-bearer ;Jor Antilocapra Americana. 

 The PRONG- HORNED ANTELOPE. 



The absence in this animal of inguinal and lachrymal openings, 

 and 6f accessary hoofs, together with the fact that it has branch- 

 ing horns, (Plate VII. fig. 17,) of which no instance occurs among 

 the other species of Antelopes, led Audubon to refer it to the 

 genus Antilocapra, derived from the two genera, Antilope and 

 Capra, Goat- Antelope. This Antelope is confined to the Western 

 portions of North America, and is never seen East of the Missis- 



