36 
WILD GOAT. 
they quit the woods, where they shelter themselves 
in the night, and slowly ascend to the highest parts 
of the mountains, feeding as they proceed. In the 
evening they again descend towards the woods, and 
take up their usual residence for the night. 
In the months of August and September, the in- 
habitants who live amongst the mountains prepare 
to hunt the ibex ; for the chase of these animals re- 
quires so good a head to bear the tremendous heights 
to which the hunters must ascend, and so much 
strength, vigour, and activity, that none but those 
who are used to an alpine country will dare to at- 
tempt it. The hunters generally go two or three 
together, armed with rifle-barrelled guns, and fur- 
nished with a small bag of provision ; they erect a 
miserable hut of turf among the heights, where 
they frequently pass the night without fire or co- 
vering, and sometimes, on waking in the morning, 
find the entrance blocked up with snow three or 
four feet deep : when during the chase they are over- 
taken by darkness amid crags and precipices, they 
are obliged to pass the whole night standing, and 
clinging together, in order to support each other 
and prevent themselves from sleeping. This de- 
scription does not seem calculated to place the chase 
of these animals in a very enviable light ; yet Mr. 
Coxe, in his travels through Switzerland, had one of 
these people for a guide, who expatiated with great 
enthusiasm on the profession of a chasseur ! 
Another animal of similar habits, and living in 
the same places, though of a different species, is 
