THE GOAT OF THE BOCKS. 



C07 



The Wild Goats and Bouquetins probably form, as the best 

 authorities represent, but one and the same genus. In any 

 case the latter are much better known than the former. They 

 closely resemble our domestic goats, from which they chiefly differ 

 in the prodigious development of their horns, the said horns being 

 generally knotty, slightly divergent, and supported by osseous 

 axes. Their name, according to Gervais, comes from two words, 

 Bouc-estain, signifying the Goat of the Rocks. They belong exclu- 



sively to the Old Continent. These animals are very wild. The 

 precipitousness and lofty elevation of their pasture-grounds render 

 their chase a matter of peril. The same may be said of the Chamois, 

 or Isard, which inhabits the loftiest ridges of the Alps, the Pj'renees, 

 and the mountains of Greece. Dogs are of no avail in hunting these 

 animals. In Asia the falcon is employed in capturing the bouquetin. 

 In Europe the chamois-hunters are excellent marksmen indefatigable, 

 tearless, capable of great endurance, keen, and vigilant. It is at morn 



