MOUNTAIN GAME. 145 



rily free from molestation ; but aside from this 

 it certainly seems as if it was naturally less 

 wary than either deer or mountain sheep. 

 The great point is to get above it. All its 

 foes live in the valleys, and while it is in the 

 mountains, if they strive to approach it at 

 all, they must do so from below. It is in 

 consequence always on the watch for danger 

 from beneath ; but it is easily approached 

 from above, and then, as it generally tries to 

 escape by running up hill, the hunter is very 

 apt to get a shot. 



Its chase is thus laborious rather than ex- 

 citing ; and to my mind it is less attractive 

 than is the pursuit of most of our other 

 game. Yet it has an attraction of its own 

 after all ; while the grandeur of the scenery 

 amid which it must be carried on, the freedom 

 and hardihood of the life and the pleasure of 

 watching the queer habits of the game, all 

 combine to add to the hunter's enjoyment. 



White goats are self-confident, pugnacious 

 beings. An old billy, if he discovers the 

 presence of a foe without being quite sure 

 what it is, often refuses to take flight, but 

 walks around, stamping, and shaking his 

 head. The needle-pointed black horns are 

 alike in both sexes, save that the males' are 

 a trifle thicker ; and they are most effective 

 weapons when wielded by the muscular neck 

 of a resolute and wicked old goat. They 

 wound like stilettos and their bearer is in 

 consequence a much more formidable foe in 

 a hand-to-hand struggle than either a branch- 

 ing-antlered deer or a mountain ram, with his 

 great battering head. The goat does not 



