156 THE CHAMOIS. 



"Even so, 

 This way the chamois leapt ; " 



a cliamois-liunter figuring in his powerful dramatic poem 

 of "Manfred." 



Though goat-like in aspect and habits, the chamois is a 

 true antelope, and is distinguished from its congeners by 

 the peculiar form of its horns, which, rising straight from 

 the crest of the head for some inches, curve backward 

 suddenly, so as to form a pair of sharp hooks. There is 

 something peculiar in the way in which the chamois de- 

 scends the precipitous slopes of its mountain-haunts. The 

 false hoofs of the hinder feet catch in every irregularity of 

 the soil, and thus play the part of a " drag " or " brake," 

 while the animal slides forward on the sharp hoofs of its 

 fore feet, which are set close together, and pushed well in 

 advance. 



Few animals exhibit more acuteness than the chamois, 

 and it is gifted with the faculty of scenting man at a very 

 considerable distance; so that the life of the chamois- 

 hunter is full of hazard, and he may spend vigilant and 

 laborious days without securing a prize. The wary animal 

 will take alarm at old and half-obliterated footprints in 

 the snow ; and if it comes upon them in the course of its 

 rapid bounds down the mountain-side, it will suddenly 

 arrest its career, and dart off in an opposite direction. 



It lives in small herds, which, when grazing, invariably 

 post one of their number on some commanding eminence 

 as a sentinel. On any alarm occurring, however, their 

 scent is so keen and their sight so quick, that they take to 

 their heels before even their pickfet can give the signal. 



