380 



THE STORY OF THE WILD GOAT. 



canons and beetling crags, amid steel-blue glaciers and snowy peaks, where 

 the silence is seldom broken save by the rush of mountain torrent, the howling 

 of the storm, or the crashing of the treacherous avalanche — here, far removed 

 from the trail of the ordinary hunter, the mountain-goat, solitary in its habits, 

 and contented with its chaotic and gloomy surroundings, increases and mul- 

 tiplies. 



Its sure-foo'tedness and its boldness are proverbial, as is its unpleasant 



' '"^- "' r 



SPIRAL-HORNED GOAT OF AFGHANISTAN. 



odor. The power possessed by the goats of ascending very steep heights is 

 marvelous. On more than one occasion I have seen — contrary to the teaching 

 of ^sop' — that when two individuals have met on a path too narrow for both 

 to pass, one has lain down in order that the other might go over his back. 



The Spanish wild goat inhabits the Pyrenees, the ranges of Central Spain 

 and the mountains of Portugal. The animal seeks the highest ridges and 

 peaks of tjie mountains during the summer, but in winter the doe comes to 



