170 CHAMOIS HUNTING. 



of the waters on the third day of creation. Soon the 

 whole chain of the Tyrolian Alps was uncovered, and 

 lay beaming before us in the first glad flush of the 

 morning. 



Above us, in our more immediate neighbourhood, 

 the forms of things now grew more distinct. It was 

 no wild spot nor much broken : here and there the 

 latschen trailed along, sometimes in dense clumps and 

 sometimes singly. In looking to the left amongst 

 fragments of rock we saw a splendid buck : he was 

 leisurely nibbling the buds of the green branches he 

 found there, quite unconscious of our presence. Be- 

 tween us and him was a broad deep fissure, and all 

 the intervening space was bare, so that to get near 

 him unobserved was almost impossible. While look- 

 ing at his fair proportions, and wishing that it were 

 practicable to get even a long shot at him, he put an 

 end to our hopes and speculations, by moving slowly 

 away. Before doing so he turned his head in the di- 

 rection where we stood, and lifting it high in the air 

 gazed for a moment, and directly after was among 

 the latschen. We saw him again at intervals, as 

 he bore away to the opposite side of the mountain. 

 It was very tantalizing, for it was a chance if we 

 should see so good a buck that day. The older bucks 

 are generally alone : they keep too in solitary nooks 

 and inaccessible places ; and if at early morning they 

 are with the herd, they leave it betimes to stray and 

 feed alone. 



"Look! there are chamois!" said Xavier, pointing 



