90 CHAMOIS HUNTING. 



the rutting season begun, that there is any chance of 

 seeing them. In order to do so the hunter must brave 

 the intense cold as well as all the dangers of a region 

 of snow and ice, for he will be led to spots where good 

 nerves are required not to feel overcome with horror 

 at the scene around. 



The hair of the chamois changes in colour at various 

 seasons of the year, as is the case with the roe, and 

 red and fallow deer. In summer their coat is of a red 

 yellowish brown; in autumn it grows much darker, 

 and in winter is quite black. But though the changes 

 here indicated may be looked upon as the general 

 rule, there will often be found in the same herd one 

 or more differing strikingly from the rest, of a buff- 

 colour perhaps, while all the others are of a reddish 

 brown. The hair of the forehead, around the nose, 

 the lower jaw, and the inside of the ears, is of a yel- 

 lowish tinge, and remains throughout the year the 

 same. The belly, the inside of the legs, and the 

 shaggy hair that overhangs the hoofs, are also of this 

 colour, and never change ; the black stripe too, on 

 both sides of the head, extending from the eye to the 

 corners of the mouth, remains a striking feature under 

 every circumstance. 



The outer hair is long and coarse ; that on the ridge 

 of the back is of greater length than on any other 

 part of the body, especially in winter, and of this the 

 ornament called " Gems-bart " is made. Each hair is 

 tipped with white ; so that when a number of exactly 

 the same length are bound together and spread out 



