THE CHAMOIS 105 



jumped by a chamois measured 21 feet, while a perpendicular 

 wall, 14 feet high,^ was jumped by a semi-tame chamois 

 frightened by a dog ; and the writer has measured a vertical 

 depth of 24 feet, down which a wounded buck cornered by a 

 bloodhound unhesitatingly ventured to leap without injury to 

 himself. When in their flight suddenly coming upon the flag- 

 line chamois will not always turn to one side or leap clean over 

 it, but will sometimes boldly charge the bunting, and if the 

 cord is not too old and stands the strain, the result is a chamois 

 violently flung on its back. In a few instances they have been 

 known to get entangled in the cord and strangled to death. 

 A somewhat singular and ludicrous result of such a charge 

 once occurred to me, and may be worth repeating. It happened 

 at a drive in the Hinter Authal, Prince Hermann Hohenlohe's 

 excellent preserve in Tyrol. There being but three guns pre- 

 sent, flags had to be used between the posts. I was posted 

 on a rock at the bottom of a steep and high slope of loose 

 stones stretching many hundreds of feet upwards ; my range 

 of vision and of fire being unusually confined in every other 

 direction. Two shots fired in rapid succession by my host, 

 who was the nearest gun above me, put me on the qui vwe, and 

 not needlessly, for there, flying down the slope, bounded a 

 chamois straight for my post. The Prince's coup double had 

 knocked over the companion buck, and the frightened animal 

 was travelling at a terrific pace. On getting closer I observed, 

 to my utmost surprise, that to one of its horns was attached 

 what appeared to be a scarlet handkerchief, which fluttered like 

 a pennant in the air as the animal pursued its headlong flight. 

 The fluttering rag made it impossible to determine by its horns 

 whether the animal was a buck, but its large size, strongly 

 formed neck, and whole appearance confirmed me in my 

 belief that it was a buck. On it came with the speed of a 

 ricochetting cannon-ball straight down towards me, and would 



' The Editor is not responsible for the measurement of this jump. He 

 v^umes that it was measured by the gentleman named, and on his authority 

 • is printed, — W. 



