THE MOUNTAIN-GOAT 219 



these bears were mountain-goats, since there are no 

 white bears in the United States. The " bears" unfor- 

 tunately got away. 



The best places to find the white goats are in the 

 mountains reached by the Great Northern, the North- 

 ern and Canadian Pacific Railways. The surveying 

 parties reported them from many places in the Cascade 

 Mountains last year. Of course, the animals are less 

 wild and shy at some distance from the railway, but 

 the majority of sportsmen of my acquaintance who have 

 met them do not agree with the naturalists as to the 

 timidity of the white goat, so often spoken of. It is 

 best to approach these animals from above, since they 

 are said to be on the look-out for danger from below. 

 Owen Wister (who, by the way, did not believe until 

 1889 there was such a thing as this goat) has had 

 much experience with these animals and says they are 

 far less wary than the mountain-sheep. Their watch, 

 he says, is concentrated upon the approaches from be- 

 low. All the hunter has to do is to get above him, to 

 make at once for the summit of the ridsfe which he 

 proposes to hunt, and the unsuspecting creatures will 

 never give him a thought. 



" Upon my word for it," he continues, "it is inexcusa- 

 ble to kill him, except for a specimen in a collection, 

 he is so handsome, so harmless, so stupid, and in his 

 remoter haunts, where the nature of man is still a 

 closed book to him, he 'thinketh no evil'; he will stand 

 looking at the hunter with a sedate interest in his large 

 deep-brown eyes." 



In the vicinity of the goat-licks it is not even neces- 

 sary to do any hard climbing to get a goat. If a man 



