:us 



CA.sM;i,L'S POPULAB NATUBAL HISTOKY. 



night. Wherever the chamois flies ho follows, whether it bo nlong narrow ledges of rock, by the 

 brink of yawning abysses, or up the ragged sides of precipices, whore a short leap or a wrong stop 

 would prove instantly fatal. 

 Often has ho to say 



". Even so, 



This iv;iy tlir duimois leapt ; her nimble feet 

 Have liaflled me." 



So, too, she docs, ill oilier ways. A liiiiilrr, l'(iv instance, had been lor some diiys endeavouring 

 to discover the haunt, of a chamois, ami at. length lie sa\v two young ones sporting round their mother, 

 in a niche on the top of a high r.irL, while she; was glancing warily down the valley, to watch lor any 

 hostile approach. To a\oid being seen, he made a great circuit, and BO readied a path which led to 

 the spot,. Exactly in front of the nielie the rocks descended perpendicularly t,o an immense deplli. 

 At the back \\as another steep descent j some fragments of rocks formed a kind of bridge between 



' 





t. rt" 



'X 



Tin: CHAMOie. 



tin' largo masses ; but. these were placed too high to be accessible to the little ones, and could onlv he 

 available to the mother. Kseape, therefore, seemed to be impossible. Yet, no sooner did she catch a 

 glimpse of the hunter, than sho sprang on him with all the fury with which maternal love can fire 

 the most timid creatures. As the hunter's hands were necessary to keep himself on the narrow path, 

 he warded off the blows of the chamois as well as he could with his feet, and kept still advancing 

 But now the anguish of the mother increased : she dashed back to her young, coursed round them 

 with wild cries, as if to warn them of danger, and then leaped up before the fragments of rocks, already 

 mentioned, from which the second but most dillieull egress from the niche was to be won. Again 

 and again did sho descend and make the leap, as if to show the young ones the way ; but they were 

 mutual to the task, and the hunter was nearer than before. About to make his last effort, the 

 mother, fixing her hind legs firmly on the rock behind, stretched her body to the utmost length, 

 planted her fore feet on tho rock above thus forming of her back a temporary bridge ; in a moment 

 the young passed over it, when the hunter sprang into tho niche, making sure of his game ; but all 

 three were off with tho speed of the wind, and the bullets he instantly discharged were expended 

 in vain, leaving him to exclaim 



