country was at all rough, as in the Black Hills and in the Bad Lands of the upper Missouri.

The sheep is furthermore, a grass-eating animal, while the goat is a browser, finding his food mainly on the buds and twigs of the forests that grow to the very foot of the goat rocks. All through the goat country occur patches of forest and it is there that the goat is found, between timber-line and the snow fields. So far as we know the only grazing done by the goat, beyond nibbling at small plants, is on the slides when the grass first appears and it is probable that to this habit the greatest mortality of this animal is due, as many are killed each spring by the avalanches on these snow slides.

TWO GOAT KIDS AND MOUNTAIN SHEEP LAMB, BORN IN THE SPRING OF 1904

CAPTURED NEAR FORT STEELE, BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Now living and on exhibition in the New York Zoological Park.

The sheep is an active, wary and fleet-footed animal, fully as well equipped as the deer to escape by agility from its enemies and is not dependent for safety on a refuge beyond the reach of other animals. The goat on the other hand, is heavy, powerful, clumsy, slow moving and somewhat stupid and does not dare to venture very far from its inaccessible rocks. It thrives among precipitous cliffs, which are everywhere known among hunters as “goat rocks” and are recognizable as such at a glance.

LOCAL DISTRIBUTION.

In a mountainous country it is perfectly easy to say where goat are to be found, if there are any in the neighborhood. They descend, of course, into the upper limits of the forests, but always keep near to cliffs to which they can retire when attacked. Sometimes swim rivers and have been killed while crossing the Stickine far into the forests. Salt-licks have been found in the hillsides, where great holes have been eaten out by these animals. The trails which lead to some of the licks in British Columbia are worn so deeply as to resemble buffalo trails. Goat pass through the forests and lower slopes of the mountains in moving from one locality to another, but this of course, is exceptional. They sometimes swim rivers and have been killed while crossing the Stickine River in British Columbia, a wide and rapid stream.

So complete is the protection the goat finds in broken rocks and precipices, that they are practically out of danger from any animal approaching from below, except bear, which frequently lie in wait for them and occasionally capture an unwary individual. The eagles take a very heavy toll from the young goat in the spring.

The difficulty of reaching the mountain tops is, of course, a protection against man, but the conspicuous color and the slow movements of the animal make it a comparatively easy victim when once reached by hard climbing.

WATER SUPPLY.

The question of water supply on the mountains inhabited by goat has a most important bearing on the distribution of the animal. In a large portion of the southern range of the goat, little or no water is found from August to October, except what is furnished by such snow fields as persist throughout the year. All other animals can, during the dry season, venture down to the valleys and cañons for water, but the goat seldom leaves the rocks, even for water, relying on the snow of the mountain tops.

This fact alone, I believe, is sufficient to account for the absence of the goat, so often commented on by hunters, in many portions of its range, where other conditions appear to be entirely suitable. In southern British Columbia the great river valleys, such as those of the Kootenay, the Columbia and the Beaver, run almost north and south, and prevent communication from east to west between the goat inhabiting the adjacent mountains, while these same valleys offer no difficulties to the crossing of sheep and other large animals. Farther north in the Stickine country wide valleys are sometimes crossed.

The presence or absence of water on the higher ridges, taken together with the fact that the goat is not a very restless or migratory animal, accounts for many of the anomalies that are observed in its distribution. It is probable that in the course of its life the goat ranges over a smaller territory than any other of our game animals and unless seriously disturbed does not venture far from its native haunts as long as the food supply lasts. They can usually be found day after day on the same spot and goat have been watched, through glasses, which apparently scarcely moved for days at a time. Of course, in such a spot, food and water must be plentiful, and no danger threatening.

Along the Columbia River goat have been sometimes observed to get into positions on the face of the cliffs, from which they apparently could not escape. In spite of their great strength and climbing ability, their home must be an exceptionally dangerous one and it is probable that many lose their lives through accidents.

In British Columbia, during the early summer, the streams from the melting snow on the mountain tops are found in every draw and gulch. During this season small bands of females and kids, or solitary males, are scattered everywhere in favorable localities, from the upper timber to the summits of the mountains. As the season advances however and the snow-fed streams dry up, the only water available is found in the larger basins where the snow has accumulated in large quantities. These basins become the feeding ground of the goat and the rest of the mountain side is deserted, except for an occasional individual traveling along the summit from one such feeding ground to another, or during the autumn rutting season, when both sexes are almost constantly on the move. Connecting two favorite feeding grounds in the Palliser Rockies was found, in 1903, a well beaten path along the summit-ridge, passing close to the snow fields and showing constant usage.

FRONT VIEW OF MOUNTED HEAD OF GOAT SHOWN ON PAGE 14

PROPERTY OF MADISON GRANT.

On exhibition in the American Museum of Natural History

SIDE VIEW OF HEAD SHOWN ON THE OPPOSITE PAGE.

WINTER RANGES.

In winter the goat suffers from the severity of the storms on the mountain tops and the limit of its increase is, in the long run, dependent on the food supply available during this season. This is also true of most of our large animals and the elimination of the weak takes place during the terrible blizzards of winter and early spring.

In much of the southern range of the goat the use of the larger valleys for farming has undoubtedly interfered seriously with their lower feeding grounds. While the loss of these winter ranges is more serious for other game, even the goat feels the approach of civilization. The high valleys, however, still remain untouched and a certain number of hardy individuals will winter successfully in close proximity to settlements if not too much hunted. This is notably the case in the Bitter Root Valley, where goat are often found within sight of the town of Hamilton,