Madison Grant

“ It may be well to remark here that while O. kennedyi is a valid species, founded on abundant material, no living specimens have been seen by a white man so far as is known, nor have we any information concerning the limits of its distribution. O. m. columbianus is by far the largest and handsomest member of the genus, unless O. kennedyi proves on further investigation, to excel in these respects. It is, therefore, surprising that the great differences in size and other characteristics, which distinguish this type from the goat in the United States have not been previously recognized. ”

“ In the interest of game protection in British Columbia, it is greatly to be regretted that the enforcement of stringent laws cannot be extended to the Indians. Curiously enough, many persons, who would ordinarily be friendly to game protection, have become so interested in the natives, that they advocate hunting privileges for Indians which they deny to the white man, under the mistaken impression that the Indian kills only what he needs. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The goat travels so slowly that, aside from the danger of venturing far from the rocks, long daily journeys to and from a feeding ground are quite impossible.
As to food supply, we are apt to think of the mountain tops as barren in comparison with the valleys; but in a very mountainous region, such as British Columbia, the reverse is often true. On the higher mountain slopes and ridges are to be found the best pasturage and the most sunny resting places. ”

“ Statements by certain writers regarding the existence of the goat in Wyoming, Colorado, California, and even New Mexico, are extremely misleading. It is positively known that no goat have ever existed on Mt. Shasta, although this mountain has been a favorite locality for stories about mountain goat and the mythical ibex. The origin of these fables is easily traced to the former existence on Mt. Shasta of mountain sheep, the horns and bones of which are still occasionally found there. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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, Montana. ”

“ In southern British Columbia, the Indians, who are not amenable to the laws governing the white man, but are protected by treaty rights secured by the Dominion government, kill right and left with impunity. In Canada, even more than in the United States, solicitude for the noble red man works great injury to all our game animals. ”

“ The proper place for the exhibition and breeding of mountain goat is in the Canadian National Park at Banff, Alberta, where there is an unsurpassed opportunity to secure and breed not only goat, but also mountain sheep, bison and even moose in their native environment. ”

“ The mountain goat has probably a better chance of survival in a wild state than any other American game animal, except possibly the Virginia deer. It is protected even from man by the extreme ruggedness of its mountain habitat and although it will probably be exterminated in certain localities, if given a moderate amount of protection it can hold its own throughout most of its range. ”

“ The distribution of the genus is limited by the character of the mountain ranges, rather than any other consideration, and too much emphasis cannot be placed on the fact, that of all our North American animals the white goat is the only one absolutely confined to precipitous peaks and ridges, which even the mountain sheep seldom approach. ”

“ Only those sound of wind and limb can venture after Oreamnos. The first rule in goat hunting is to go to the highest point that can be found and this point is apt to be very high.
HABITS.
The sight of a man does not seriously disturb a goat and it seems to be of indifferent power of vision. Sounds affect it even less. The constant falling of rocks and stones and the rumble and breaking up of the glaciers, close to which it finds its home, has led the goat to distrust the warning of its ears. Shouting at a goat only arouses a slight curiosity and the report of a rifle has scarcely more effect. ”

“ White sheep are found all through these mountains, up to the very coast of the Arctic Ocean and westward through the Romanzoff Mountains in northern Alaska. These sheep are certainly not better equipped to resist arctic cold than are the goat, so we must seek for some cause other than climatic or topographical conditions. There must be some unknown and unfavorable condition of food supply which prevents Oreamnos from reaching the extreme north. This is perhaps the most interesting and difficult of the problems affecting the distribution of the genus. ”

“ Goat are marvelously tough and can carry more lead even than a grizzly. It sometimes seems almost impossible to kill them and in some cases when hopelessly wounded, they show a tendency to throw themselves from a cliff. That this is a deliberate act on their part is generally believed by goat hunters, but it is doubtful whether it is more than a last desperate effort to get out of harm's way. ”

“ The center of the greatest abundance of goat appears to be in the coast ranges in British Columbia and southern Alaska and it is here that they are found low down the mountain sides and often close to salt water.
COMPARISON WITH SHEEP.
It is due to ignorance of the character of the country inhabited by mountain goat that so much has been written about an alleged antipathy between Oreamnos and the mountain sheep. It is singular that writers should go so far afield as to conjure up an imaginary mutual hatred to account for the undoubted fact that sheep and goat seldom live together. ”

“ In the isolated volcanic peaks along the coast the goat is too easily reached to be allowed to survive, and it is probable that before many years the interesting animal will be entirely exterminated in the United States except in the main Rockies. ”

“ The strength of the goat is enormous and while its weight is far greater than one would at first suppose, it is a matter about which we have little definite information. An average specimen from the Cascade Mountains appears to weigh about 150 pounds. A six-year-old goat killed near Skagway, Alaska, showed an actual weight of 329 pounds. A much smaller animal killed at the same time and probably a female, weighed 250 pounds. Large goat from the main Rockies, in British Columbia and Schesley Mountains, have been estimated to weigh as high as 350 and 400 pounds. ”

“ Goat, like moose, are inclined to be solitary, but are often found in small family groups. They occasionally assemble in larger numbers in some favorite feeding ground, as many as twenty-seven having been seen together. ”

“ Efforts, to introduce European game, instead of protecting the native American animals, are constantly cropping out. Why anyone should prefer a chamois to the far finer native animal is somewhat of a mystery. Nature has provided for every portion of our country, mammals, birds and fish well adapted to the needs of the locality, and the introduction of foreign animals simply means, in case they survive, the crowding out of some native form. ”

“ The hunting of the Stoney Indians has been somewhat discouraged by a wise law recently enacted in the Northwest Provinces, prohibiting the sale of game heads. This law is especially beneficial to sheep, since the demand for heads of large rams has been steadily increasing. Oreamnos has not suffered greatly from head hunting, as its horns do not offer much of a trophy except « 34 » when needed to complete a collection of American game animals. The marketing of game heads cannot be too strongly condemned by genuine hunters and by those interested in the protection of wild animal life. ”

“ Along these coast ranges goat are much more numerous than in the main Rockies, owing probably to the presence of forests high up in the mountains and in close contact with the cliffs where the goat lives, together with a copious supply of water. At all events the conditions are certainly favorable. North of Skagway goat do not extend inland much beyond the summit of the coast range, and do not again occur until the main Rockies are reached, hundreds of miles to the east. ”

“ The horns of the female are slightly longer and much more slender than those of the male. A little over eleven inches appears to be the extreme limit of horns for the male. The longest horns known are from British Columbia, attaining a length of something over ten inches up to an extreme measurement of eleven and one-half, which appears to be the record. The horns from the Bitter Root Mountains average at least an inch shorter, as do those from the coast ranges in the United States. ”

“ Any horn measuring over nine inches is to be considered of good size and anything over ten inches is very exceptional. All measurements of horns and antlers are subject to considerable variation, owing to the material of the tape and zeal of the man holding it and this must be taken into consideration in the measurements of record horns. In the measurement of the basal girth of sheep horns a variation of as much as an inch has been found to occur in the recorded size of the same horn taken by different persons, all quite conscientious in their efforts to be accurate. ”

“ The first specimens of the mountain goat to be described, came from the Cascade Mountains on the Columbia River in Oregon and of course now stand as the type of Oreamnos montanus, having been first described by Rafinesque in 1817. This subspecies is intermediate in size between the eastern form of American goat, O. m. missoulæ, and the large Canadian O. m. columbianus, and, is characterized by a short but broad skull. The true Oreamnos montanus extends from about the Canadian boundary, south through Washington into Oregon. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Along the Pacific coast of the United States the mountains are not sufficiently precipitous to attract the goat, and consequently that animal is found only at some distance inland, but in northwestern British Columbia and southern Alaska, the Rockies approach the coast in stupendous chains, which swing westward through the Mt. ”

“ Mr. Baillie-Grohman publishes an account of a full grown male goat captured near Deerlodge, Montana, which was weighed after its capture and “was found to turn the scales at 480 pounds!” This, however, must be an error.
The size of the goat is emphasized by the long and shaggy coat, which at the shoulders rises in a hump. This, taken in connection with the low-carried head, gives the animal the appearance of a pigmy bison. Careful measurements of goat are hard to obtain, but authentic figures which were taken by Mr. ”