THE CHAMOIS. 89 



above and between the eyes ; they are round and rougher 

 at the base, but incline somewhat to flatness towards the 

 top, which is smooth and polished. They do not stand 

 up perpendicularly, but slant forwards at a right angle 

 with the forehead ; their points, which are very sharp, 

 being bent back and downwards. This feature is not 

 peculiar to the buck alone ; there is however consider- 

 able difference between the horns of the male and female, 

 which often assists the sportsman in distinguishing the 

 two. The horns of the male chamois are thicker and 

 altogether stronger-looking than those of the female ; 

 and instead of diverging from each other in so straight a 

 line as hers generally do, their outline describes a slight 

 curve as they rise upwards and apart from each other. 

 But a still more striking characteristic of the buck is, 

 that the points of his horns are bent much more inwards 

 than those of the doe ; hers form a semicircular curva- 

 ture towards the back, while his, turning over abruptly, 

 form rather a hook. This gives the head quite another 

 expression ; it has something more resolute about it, as 

 well as a dashing air and a look of bravado. The horns 

 of a very good buck will be seven inches high, but I 

 have seen some that much exceeded this measurement.* 

 Although, when near, all these peculiar differences in 

 the horns of the buck and doe are easily discernible, at 



* The finest I ever saw are in the collection of Count Arco of Munich, 

 and are 9i inches high. The buck to which they belonged was shot by 

 poachers at Berchtesgaden a few years ago. This collection of the Count 

 consists of antlers of the red-deer and the roe-buck, with a fair number 

 of the horns of the chamois, and is perhaps the finest in the world. 

 Never before were antlers of such magnificent size and such strange 

 formation collected together ; and the room in which they are placed, 

 built expressly for the purpose, and the tasteful arrangement of the whole, 

 contribute greatly to the beauty of this superb collection. £30,000 has 

 been offered for it, and refused. 



