58 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Methods of escaping the hunters. 



that when close pressed they sometimes turn 

 upon the incautious huntsman, and tumble him 

 down the precipices, unless he has time to lie 

 down, and let the animal bound over him. 

 Some authors have likewise asserted, that when 

 they cannot otherwise avoid the hunter, they 

 will even precipitate themselves from the sum- 

 mits of the rocks, and fall on their horns in such 

 ;i manner as to escape unhurt; or that they will 

 suspend themselves by their horns over the pre- 

 cipices, by a projecting tree, and remain in that 

 situation till the pursuer abandon his fruitless 

 efforts. 



We are assured on respectable authority, that 

 the ibex will mount a perpendicular rock of fif- 

 teen feet at three successive bounds, of five feet 

 each. It does not appear as if he found any 

 footing on the rock, seeming to touch it merely 

 to be repelled, like an elastic substance striking 

 against a hard body. If he happen to be be- 

 tween two rocks which are near each other, and 

 he want to reach the top, he leaps from the side 

 of one rock to that of the other alternately, tih 1 

 he has attained the summit. The fore-legs of 

 these animals being considerably shorter than the- 

 hinder ones, enables them to ascend with much 

 more ease than to descend; hence nothing but 

 the severest weather can induce them to go 

 down into the valleys. 



The voice of the ibex is a short acute whistle, 

 somewhat like that of the chamois, but of less- 



