themselves. Indeed they seem to prefer the most dangerous routes 

 and the most rugged crags, on the loftiest projection of which one 

 sometimes may be seen, silhouetted against the sky like a statue. 



Thanks to their vigilance and swiftness, they are more than a 

 match for their wild enemies and their number might soon increase 

 were it not for man. The hunting of such game is too fine a sport 

 and the horns too highly prized a trophy to be foregone lightly ; but 

 his fleetness and sure-footedness, his grace of movement and of 

 posture, have made this noble creature such an object of admira- 

 tion that no one will regret that many states are protecting him by 

 law to prevent his extinction. 



45 



