87 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE CHAMOIS. 



Having come thus far, it is time, I think, to give some 

 account of the chamois itself. First of all be it known 

 that the chamois is no goat,* but belongs to the ante- 

 lope genus, f of which it is the only specimen inhabiting 

 Europe. It is larger and more strongly built than a 

 roebuck, and is much heavier. A good buck will weigh 

 55 lbs., and one above 601bs. is a particularly fine fellow. 

 Some however have been shot that weighed 74lbs. and 

 82lbs4 But such are rare and difficult to get at; for 

 these old bucks remain alone in their inaccessible fast- 

 nesses and the most secluded places ; and it is only when 

 the winter has set in, and 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 



* " Well, Peter, I do not think that the sport was so bad after all ; 

 for I believe that the chamois, in chase of which the Swiss risk their 

 lives, and are out for days together on mountains of eternal ice and 

 snow, is little better than a great goat after all." 



" I didna hear of sic a beast mysel ; but I ken, by yer honour's ac- 

 count, he is no worth the speering at."— The Art of Deer Stalking, by 

 W. Scrope, Esq., chap. vii. 



f Antilope rvpicapra. 



% In 1856 I shot one in the Tyrol that weighed, when cleaned, 75 lbs. 



