THE CHAMOIS. 
531 
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 travers- 
ing 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 communi- 
cating 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 cliffs. There are many familiar tales of 
the Alpine hunts, and of the terrible privations and hair-breadth escapes of the hunters, but 
as these histories relate rather to the man than to the beast, we can only give them a passing 
reference. 
The Chamois is, when captured young, capable of domestication, and is gifted with very 
amusing habits, and possessed of infinite curiosity, as is generally the case with all animals 
whose nervous system is peculiarly sensitive. The following account is taken from the pages 
of the “ Annals of Sporting,” and alludes to four of these Antelopes, a buck, a doe, and two 
kids, which were imported into England : 
“Originally, they were the property of Mr. Lowther, of Wolvesey, who, during his 
sejour among the Alps, was determined to try the experiment of domesticating some of these 
creatures, hitherto considered, by the natives, the most difficult to tame of all animals in that 
mountainous region. He may be said to have succeeded ; for they were gradually familiarized 
