Part 4

There is no reason whatever to believe that the limits of the distribution of the white goat were ever much different from what they are now, except in outlying localities along their southern limits. 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 some places, however, notably the Schesley Mountains, sheep and goat can be found on the same mountain side. Sheep belong to the rugged hills and lower slopes and at one time ranged far eastward into the plains wherever the character of the 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.

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.

PROPERTY OF MADISON GRANT.

On exhibition in the American Museum of Natural History]

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, Montana.

In winter the question of water supply is, of course, eliminated and at this season many ranges are well stocked with goat which, in summer, are deserted on account of lack of water. 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. The valleys receive the sun for a much shorter portion of the day than do the higher ridges and while the mountain tops are above the fogs, mists and clouds often darken the low country. It is noticeable that domestic cattle, sheep and horses in a mountainous country, are very partial to the high lands, seldom remaining voluntarily in the valleys and river bottoms. In such a country the first impulse of a grazing animal is to climb high. Anyone who has tried to hunt horses which have strayed from camp, is apt to be familiar with this habit.

It is the inaccessible character of the country inhabited by the goat and not his wariness or agility, which has made goat hunting a test of sportsmanship. 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. The hunter may sometimes stand for an hour in plain view of a goat without disturbing it, but its sense of smell is highly developed and the slightest trace of human scent will alarm it.

These characters, together with confidence in the inaccessible nature of its habitat, born of long experience with animals other than man, have all combined to give the goat its reputation for stupidity. It probably is stupid, but less so than would appear to those accustomed to the nervousness of other game animals. The goat, like the skunk, has a serene reliance in its ability to protect itself and is accustomed to gaze with indifference at enemies who threaten it from below. The large males are not lacking in bravery and will savagely fight off a dog when attacked. Stories are told of wounded goat attacking man when cornered, but most of the danger to the hunter lies in missing a foothold, or in the stones rolled down from above by a fleeing animal.