656 



THE CHAMOIS. 



the black patch of hair on the forehead, the brown-black mane, and a wash of reddish- 

 brown, tempered with gray, which begins upon the head and envelops the shoulders 

 and part of the back. The Addax is rather higher at the croup than at the shoulder, 

 being about three feet seven inches high at the shoulder, and three feet eight inches at 

 the croup. The horns are equally large and prominent in either sex, and at a little 

 distance it is no easy matter to discriminate between the male and his mate. 



GOAT-LIKE in aspect, and very hircine in many of its habits, the CHAMOIS is often 

 supposed to belong to the goats rather than to the Antelopes. 



It is, however, a true Antelope, and may be readily distinguished from any of its 

 relations by the peculiar form of the horns, which rise straight from the top of the 

 head for some inches, and then suddenly curve backwards, so as to form a pair of 

 sharp hooks. Formerly, this animal was reported to employ these ornaments in aiding 

 itself to ascender descend the frightful precipices on which it dwells. This opinion is, 

 however, entirely erroneous, the horns being intended for the same mysterious purpose 

 which they serve when placed upon the head of the duyker, koodoo, or any other Antelope. 

 In descending a precipitous rock, the Chamois is greatly aided by the false hoofs of the 

 hinder feet, which it hitches upon every little irregularity in the stony surface, and 

 which seem to retard its progress as it slides downwards, guided by the sharp hoofs of 

 the fore-feet, which are placed closely together, and pushed well in advance of the 

 body. Thus flattened against the rock, the Chamois slides downwards until it comes 

 to a ledge broad enough to permit it to repose for a while before descending farther. 

 In this manner the active creature will not hesitate to descend some twenty or thirty 

 yards along the face of an almost perpendicular cliff, being sure to make good its footing 

 on the first broad ledge that may present itself. 



Although it is a very swift animal when upon level ground, and is unsurpassed in 

 traversing the precipitous Alpine passes of its native home, it makes but a poor progress 

 upon smooth ice, and in spite of its sharply-pointed hoofs, slips and slides about upon 

 the glassy surface as awkwardly as any ordinary animal. 



The Chamois is one of the most wary of Antelopes, and possesses the power of 

 scenting mankind at an almost incredible distance. Even the old and half-obliterated 

 footmarks which a man has made in the snow are sufficient to startle the sensitive 

 senses of this animal, which has been observed to stop in mid career down a mountain 

 side, and to bound away at right angles to its former course, merely because it had come 

 across the track which had been left by the steps of some mountain traveller. Like 

 all animals which live in herds, however small, they always depute one of their number 

 to act as sentinel. They are not, however, entirely dependent on the vigilance of their 

 picket, but are always on the alert to take alarm at the least suspicious scent, sight, or 

 sound, and to communicate their fears to their comrades by a peculiar warning whistle. As 

 soon as this sound is heard, the entire herd take to flight. It is worthy of notice, that the 

 sentinel must possess the power not only of announcing danger to its friends, but also of 

 indicating the direction from which it comes. Facts of this nature, of which there are 

 abundance on record, prove that although the sounds of animal voices appear to us to 

 be without definite signification, they yet possess the capability of communicating ideas 

 to others of the same species. 



When their attention is aroused by anything suspicious, they have a habit of gazing 

 fixedly in the direction of the object which has excited their alarm, and will remain 

 still, as if carved out of the very rock on which they stand, halting in one fixed attitude 

 for an almost incredible length of time. 



Their ears are as acute as their nostrils, so that there are few animals which are more 

 difficult of approach than the Chamois. Only those who have been trained to climb the 

 giddy heights of the Alpine mountains, to traverse the most fearful precipices with a 

 quiet pulse and steady head, to exist for days amid the terrible solitudes of ice, rock, and 

 snow, and to sustain almost every imaginable hardship in the pursuit of their game, 

 only these, or in very rare instances those who have a natural aptitude for the sport, 

 and are, in consequence, soon initiated into its requisite accomplishments, can hope even 

 to come within long rifle range of a Chamois when the animal is at large upon its native 



