i 4 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 



ice to control my descent and bring more 

 bearing surface as a brake on the ice. I hitched 

 along. Pausing on a projecting rock to look 

 round, I discovered two goats watching me. 

 They were within a stone's toss. Both were 

 old and had long faces and longer whiskers, 

 and both were sitting dog fashion. They made 

 a droll, curious appearance as they watched me 

 and my every move with absolute concentra- 

 tion. 



I do not know how long the average goat 

 lives. The few hunters who have been much 

 in the goat's territory offer only guesses con- 

 cerning his age. One told me that he had shot 

 a patriarchal billy that had outlived all of his 

 teeth and also his digestion. The old fellow 

 had badly blunted hoofs and was but little more 

 than a shaggy, skin-covered skeleton. 



Although his home is a healthful one, the con- 

 ditions are so exacting and the winter storms 

 sometimes so long, severe, and devitalizing, that 

 it is probable that the goat lives hardly longer 

 than twelve or fifteen years. 



The goat is, I think, comparatively free from 

 death by accidents or disease. Until recently, 

 when man became a menace, he had but few, and 

 no serious, enemies. Being alert and capable 

 among the crags, and in defense of himself ex- 

 ceedingly skillful with his deadly sharp horns, 



