CHAMOIS 
LTHOUGH so small an animal, the chamois is one of the 
/ % most important beasts of the chase in Europe, and its 
/ % agility and natural intelligence, and the high and dif- 
/ ficult mountains in which it lives, render it one of the 
i ^k finest quarries of the true hunter. Chamois are to be 
pL found in most of the high ranges of Central and Southern 
Europe. Their range extends from the Pyrenees to the Caucasus and from 
the Southern Carpathians to Albania. But it is in the Alps that chamois are 
most abundant; there, out of some 1 1 ,000 killed annually in these mountains 
8,000 are shot in Austria. The aristocracy of the dual monarchy have always 
been devoted to chamois hunting; so that it is not surprising to find that 
these animals are, on the whole, on the increase in Austria, whilst in the 
neighbouring Republic of Switzerland they are decreasing. Several of the 
Swiss Cantons have, however, been aroused to the fact that an animal 
which invests the mountains with so much of interest and romance will 
shortly become extinct unless prompt measures are taken, and have done 
all in their power to pass laws for its protection. 
Those who desire to shoot this fine sporting animal will do well not to 
waste time in its pursuit in the Pyrenees or Albania, where the chances of 
success are by no means certain. Sport certainly is cheap in these places, 
but the cheapest way is not often the best. Yet a young man of the right 
sort who can climb and shoot might do worse than explore the untrodden 
ways of the Caucasus, where, if he is lucky, persevering and a good lin- 
guist, he might have exceptional sport amongst the chamois at a small 
cost, as well as having the chance of adding such desirable beasts to his bag 
as ibex and stag. 
There are, unfortunately, but few young men nowadays who are original 
and have the necessary gifts of a hunter, so it is unusual to find one who 
will break away from the beaten track. Yet we have only to see what 
Mr St George Littledale did in 1887, when, going Into comparatively 
unknown ground in the Caucasus, he killed in one season eleven chamois, 
seven stags and seven ibex. This is a better all-round bag than could be 
obtained anywhere in Europe on the highest -priced and most carefully 
preserved territory. 
The average hunter will always follow on the heels of the last man who 
has been successful, and so those who wish to ensure success and are able 
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