THE GOAT. 201 



rived from an ancestry inferior to most of the 

 modern species still living in a state of free- 

 dom ; and that the degeneration which appar- 

 ently sets in as soon as such creatures are re- 

 moved from their mountain homes represents 

 a reversion to a more primitive lowland type. 

 Although in drawing such inferences one is ob- 

 liged to depend to a certain extent upon guess- 

 work, there are various grounds for adopting 

 this view. Every natural mountaineer, as I 

 explained in a previous chapter, first sought 

 refuge among inaccessible heights because it 

 was persecuted by the Carnivora in its original 

 dwelling-place. We still find many herbivorous 

 animals living where beasts of prey are most 

 plentiful ; but they are usually either extremely 

 swift and vigilant like the antelopes, or well 

 armed and powerful like the buffalo. Naturally 

 the fugitives which sought safety among barren 

 and storm-swept mountains would be those un- 

 able to hold their own elsewhere. Thus it 

 seems probable that the weakest and least swift 

 of the ancient Herbivora fled to the hills and 

 became adapted for a highland life. If so, 

 such robustness as they now possess is strictly 

 of mountain origin, and hence when they are 



