226 THE OX FAMILY 



be up to the time of publication will be found men- 

 tioned in the Appendix. 



For sportsmen the animal always has been a large, 

 white, goat-like creature, with small, slim, short, curved 

 black horns, like those of the chamois. He has a pelage 

 somewhat like that of the cashmere-goat, the hair being 

 long and fleecy. Owen Wister says the hair hangs 

 long, like that of a Spitz-dog or an Angora cat. The 

 animal, although it has had "thirteen generic names," * 

 I believe, thus far, has not been either a Spitz-dog or 

 an Angora. I would respectfully suggest these names 

 to the naturalists as likely ones when it is thought best 

 to make another change. Spitzdogoid-Angoracati would 

 be a lovely name for a change. This would work no 

 serious harm, since the mountain-goat never has been 

 properly named after either Lewis or Clark, and, be- 

 sides, they only brought in a part of a goat which 

 had been used as a coat. 



But to return to the beast the sportsman knows. It 

 has an awkward gait and is often seen sitting up on its 

 haunches like the "begging dog." It is an excellent 

 climber and can readily escape its enemies, chief of 

 which are the wolves. It fights well with its sharp 

 black horns. 



In winter the goats are usually driven lower in the 

 mountains by the heavy snows. They are then found 

 browsing in the timber and make the well-defined 

 trails, beside which patches of their hair will be ob- 

 served in the bushes. The goats are usually seen in 

 small companies or flocks, frequently containing but a 

 single family. 



* Baillee-Grohman, in The Century. 



