American Big-Game Hunting 



one clean through from the shoulder — the 

 goat had faced me when I fired first — to the 

 ham, where the lead was flat against the bone. 

 This goat was the handsomest we had, smaller 

 than the other males, but with horns of a better 

 shape, and with hair and beard very rich and 

 white. Curiously enough, his lower jaw be- 

 tween the two front teeth had been broken 

 a long time ago, probably from some fall. 

 Yet this accident did not seem to have inter- 

 fered with his feeding, for he was in excellent 

 plump condition. 



This completely satisfied me, and I willingly 

 decided to molest no more goats. I set neither 

 value nor respect on numerical slaughter. 

 One cannot expect Englishmen to care 

 whether American big game is exterminated 

 or not; that Americans should not care is a 

 disgrace. The pervading spirit of the far 

 West as to game, as to timber, as to everything 

 that a true American should feel it his right 

 to use and his duty to preserve for those com- 

 ing after, is — "What do I care, so long as it 

 lasts my time ? " 



There remain a few observations to make, 

 and then I have said the little that I know about 



58 



