Jan. 17, 1914. 
FOREST AND STREAM 
93 
After Goats In The Canadian Rockies 
By W. R. GILBERT 
In most ways it was an ideal day. The 
right had been frosty and clear, and the sun 
had already passed above the surrounding 
mountains into a cloudless sky. It was not 
altogether ideal because in the rarified air of 
the Rockies such a day is apt to become un¬ 
pleasantly hot if there is any energetic work to 
be done. I and my guide, Joe, rode out of our 
camp at the junction of the two branches of the 
Rocky River soon after seven o’clock break¬ 
fast. We left our mounts about a mile up the 
west branch, and proceeded to explore, all the 
morning, in a large valley in which flowed a con¬ 
siderable tributary stream. After about three 
hours walking however, we concluded, that as 
far as sheep and goats were concerned, this valley 
was absolutely uninhabited, and returned to lunch 
where we had left the horses. In the afternoon 
v/e determined to hunt the valley that ran into 
the West Rocky River immediately opposite us, so 
v/e crossed the river, tied up our horses, and set 
off through the forest that covered the slope be¬ 
low the basin we wished to reach. It was pretty 
stiff work climbing among the young timber, 
with one’s feet sinking deep into the moss car¬ 
pet at every step, while the still, sleepy atmos¬ 
phere invited one to sleep and give up all hunting 
for the day. Few signs of life were apparent in 
the forests; an occasional willow grouse flutter¬ 
ing noisily away, alone disturbed the heavy 
silence. Presently we emerged into an open 
patch of grass, which formed the bottom of the 
basin, and took the opportunity to lie down and 
spy the surrounding slopes which rose on all sides 
above us, richly tinted by the first frosts of 
autumn, right up to the snow line. Seeing no 
traces of any game, we consulted as to whether 
we should go on to a knoll that rose in the 
center of the basin, the result no doubt of a cooling 
volcano, when these mountains were first made. 
Luckily we decided to go on, and on reaching 
the top of this Knoll, or rather ridge, which 
divided the basin in half, we had a view of one 
of the most beautiful little lakes that exist any¬ 
where. Not more than a mile round, it was of 
the richest green I have ever seen, varying in 
shade as the water deepened toward the center, 
the white mountain tops making a wonderful 
setting for this emerald jewel. I had, however 
all too little leisure to take in the scene, for an 
excited whisper from Joe caused me to turn 
round, and at once my eye caught the pure white 
shaggy form of a Rocky Mountain goat, walking 
parallel with us to the head of the basin. A 
glance through my glass showed a fair sized 
“billy” and I saw that our only chance would be 
to run for it, and try to reach the end of the 
basin before our quarry. The latter, however, 
was in no hurry, and after going about a quarter 
of a mile lay down on a prominent rock. By 
dint of great exertion, we reached the spot 
where we had hoped to be near enough to get 
a shot, and were disgusted to see our goat 
calmly gazing in our direction about 500 yards 
away. Joe was for risking a shot, but luckily 
I resisted, as I was particularly keen to get 
what appeared to be a nice pair of horns. I 
was also adverse to breaking my general rule 
of not shooting at more than 250 yards. After 
watching for about half an hour, I determined 
to try and work round the basin, and with the 
help of some bushes to get into a position di¬ 
rectly above the goat, for these animals rarely 
trouble to look uphill, all their enemies living 
below them. 
We therefore started on our crawl, and after 
about half an hour reached the spot we had 
been making for, but in the meantime the goat 
had been tempted from his look-out post, by a 
succulent patch of grass, and was feeding 
only about 100 yards below, quite concealed by 
the dwarf pines and willow bushes. Joe thought 
the “billy” must have heard us, and made off, 
but I was convinced he was somewhere just 
below us, and after an anxious five minutes, 
my guide, spotted the white back of the quarry 
feeding, all unconscious of our presence, within 
easy shot. I stood up, as the low, thick bush 
made any other position impossible, and looked 
down, my sights! but the hard stalk, the hot 
sun, and the high altitude had made me a bit 
unsteady, and I determined to take no risks, and 
telling Joe to wait, I crawled cautiously down. 
After getting about forty yards I found that 
I would have to shoot standing, however near 
I approached, and so decided on shooting before 
the animal spotted me. I was still just as un¬ 
steady, and the result was my bullet went too 
far back, but broke the spine. 
The gallant old goat, with his hind quarters 
quite paralyzed, threatened a most determined 
resistance, and neither of us cared to risk a stab 
from the bright, wicked looking black horns. 
But by occupying his attention while Joe cut 
his throat, he was soon out of trouble. He was 
a well grown male with horns 8 1-2 inches long, 
quite smooth, and very symmetrical; his coat 
was still short, but very thick and soft. We 
soon had him skinned, and packed down to the 
horses, reforded the river, and got to camp about 
6 p. m. 
These mountain goats which belong to the 
same family as the chamois, are fine big animals, 
weighing as much as 300 lbs. The chief diffi¬ 
culties in hunting them are the inaccessibility of 
their haunts, and the danger of losing one’s 
trophy by its falling over a precipice. Their 
eyesight is keen, but their powers of scent and 
thin hearing are not nearly so acute as that 
of the bighorn sheep. They are often in prox¬ 
imity to sheep, but practically never in company 
with them, for the goats prefer the rocks, and 
the sheep like the grassy slopes. The goat is 
a marvellous climber, and when frightened will 
always climb to the topmost summit of his 
mountain range. Sometimes it is quite easy to 
approach him in these positions, for there is 
usually only one way of getting on and off these 
bluffs, and the goat will wait till his pursuer 
is quite close and then make a frantic dash past 
with lowered horns and bristling hair. • A goat 
unlike a sheep, will never lose his head and dash 
over a precipice. The females as a rule grow 
longer horns than the males, but the horns of 
the former are never symmetrical and smooth, 
and are usually turned over at the tips like those 
of a chamois. My guide who used, at one time, 
to make considerable money by shooting goats 
and selling the heads, believes them to be the 
toughest animals to kill he had ever known. 
They frequently go a long way when shot 
through the heart, and I found that even the 
tremendous shock of a .280 high velocity Ross 
was not by any means instantaneously effective. 
Fishing Conditions in Eagle Lake 
(Continued from page 82 .) 
official in said division, had given these Ticon- 
deroga men repeated directions in writing to 
build a new dam on the site owned by them, and 
that too long before the old one was torn down. 
Evidently, there is a difference of opinion 
between the Department of Fisheries and the 
engineers office in the Division of Inland Waters. 
Mr. Sherman’s letter makes no reference to 
what our association asked the commission for: 
protection to and maintenance of the peoples’ 
game fishes in Eagle Lake. Neither does he 
state that any hearing has been afforded to the 
property owners at our lake regarding this mat¬ 
ter. He refers to no written authority being 
given by the commission to these men authoriz¬ 
ing their action. 
It is to be hoped in the interest of good 
sportsmanship that the owners will turn in and 
erect a dam on their property along the lines 
suggested by the commission last summer and 
since insisted upon by the commissioner afore¬ 
said. Unless this is done, the members of our 
association will of necessity be compelled to 
take immediate steps at law for a restoration 
of our former healthful conditions at Eagle 
Lake and for any damages to riparian property 
caused by the lowering of these waters. 
PETER FLINT, 
Chairman, Committee of Fisheries and Game. 
Eagle Lake Property Owners Association. 
Turnbull & Asser 
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“PADDYWHACK,” LONDON. Fifth Edition 
