RUMINANTS WITH HOLLOW HORNS.
These Ruminants have horns which are covered with an elastic sheath, something like agglutinated hair; they may be divided into two groups.
To the first group belong the Chamois, Gazelle, Saiga, Nyl-ghau, Gnu and Bubale. To the second group belong the Common Goat, the Mouflon or Wild Sheep, the Domestic Sheep and the Ox.
The most remarkable species belonging to the first division all come under the natural group formerly known by the name of Antelopes. It comprehends about a hundred species, which live, for the most part, in Africa. They are generally slender and lightly-made, fleet in running, of a gentle and timid disposition; they are gregarious, and are particularly distinguishable by the different shapes of their horns.
We shall glance at the most remarkable genera resulting from the division of the old general group of Antelopes.
THE CHAMOIS.
The chief characteristic of the Chamois is constituted by the smooth horns which are placed immediately above the orbits. These horns are almost upright, with a backward tendency, and curved like a hook at the end. The horns exist in both sexes, and are nearly the same size in each. The Chamois has a short tail, and no beard.
The European Chamois is about the size of a small Goat. It is covered with two sorts of hair—one woolly, very abundant, and of a brownish color; the other, silky, spare and brittle. Its coat is dark brown in winter and fawn-color in summer; its fine and intelligent head is of a pale yellow, with a brown stripe down the muzzle and round the eyes. Its horns are black, short, smooth, and not quite rounded.
This graceful Ruminant inhabits the Pyrenees and Alps, and also some of the highest points in Greece. But from constant persecution it has lately become so rare that few people can boast of having been successful in its pursuit.
The Chamois lives in small herds, in the midst of steep rocks on the highest mountain summits. With marvelous agility it leaps over ravines, scales with nimble and sure feet the steepest acclivities, bounds along the narrowest paths on the edge of the most perilous abysses, and jumping from rock to rock, will take its stand on the sharpest point, where there appears hardly room for its feet to rest; and all this is accomplished with an accuracy of sight, a muscular energy, an elegance and precision of movement, and a self-possession which are without equal. From these facts, it can easily be understood that hunting this nimble and daring animal is an amusement full of danger.
On the approach of winter the Chamois goes from the northern side of the mountains, to the southern, but it never descends into the plain.
THE GAZELLES.
GAZELLES.
The Gazelles are animals of graceful shape, rather smaller in size than the Chamois. The horns are twice bent, in the shape of a lyre, and without sharp edges; the nostrils are generally surrounded by hair.
The eyes of this animal are so beautiful and so soft in expression, its movements are so elegant and so light, that the Gazelle is used by the Arab poets as the type of all that is lovely and graceful.
Gazelles proper are the species of this genus which are generally to be seen in our parks and menageries. Such, for instance, as the Dorcas Gazelle, which inhabits the large plains and Saharian region of Northern Africa. It is the same size as a Roe, but its shape is lighter and more graceful.
THE GNU.
GNU.
The Gnu, sometimes called the Gnu Antelope, inhabits Southern Africa. It is about the size of a Donkey, and is curiously formed. Added to its muscular and thick-set body, it has the muzzle of an Ox, the legs of a Stag, and the neck, shoulders and rump of a small Horse. Its head is flattened, and its brown hair is short. On its neck it has a mane of white, grey and black hair, and under its chin hangs a thick brown beard. It also has horns, something like those of the Cape Buffalo, which first bend downwards and then curve in an upward direction. It is not surprising with such a queer combination, that strange stories were told of this animal in the past, as it has the appearance of being made up of various portions of several other animals.
These strangely constructed animals are found in the mountainous districts to the north of the Cape of Good Hope, and probably throughout a large portion of Africa. They are very wild, and are swift runners and may be seen skimming along in single file following one of their number as a guide.
THE GOATS.
These animals differ among themselves to a wonderful extent in their shape, their color and even in the texture of their fleece. The Goats of Angora in Cappadocia are provided with a soft and silky clothing. Those of Thibet have become celebrated for the delicacy of a kind of wool which grows among their hair, from which Cashmere shawls are manufactured. In Upper Egypt is a race remarkable for the roughness of their coat, while the Goats of Guinea and of Judea are distinguished by the smallness of their dimensions, and by their horns, which are pointed backwards. But whatever may be the cause of these peculiarities, the whole race seems to retain the characters derivable from a mountain origin; they are robust, capricious, and vagabond; they prefer dry hills and wild localities, where they can procure only the coarsest herbage, or browse upon the shrubs and bushes. They are likewise very injurious in forests, where they destroy the young trees by devouring the bark. Their flesh is strong and rank, so that they are seldom eaten; nevertheless, their milk is an article of diet, and the Kid, while young, is tender and nutritious.
THE COMMON GOAT.
The Common Goat inhabits wild and mountainous regions in a state of semi-wildness, seeming to have little regard either for the protection or the neglect of people resident in its vicinity; but although not cared for, like its not very distant relative, the Sheep, it is by no means without its value. The Goat affords milk in considerable abundance; its hair, though more harsh than wool, is useful in the manufacture of various kinds of stuffs, and its skin is more valuable than that of the sheep. The Goat has more intelligence than the Sheep, and soon becomes familiar and attached; it is light, active, and less timid than the Sheep; it is capricious and loves to wander, to climb steep mountains, sleeping frequently on the point of a rock or the edge of a precipice. It is robust, and will feed on almost any plant. It does not, like the Sheep, avoid the mid-day heat, but sleeps in the sunshine, and exposes itself willingly to its full glare. It is not alarmed by storms, but appears to suffer from a great degree of cold.
THE IBEX.
The Ibex combines with the characters of the Goat the agility and fleetness of the Antelopes. “All readers of natural history,” says Col. Markham, “are familiar with the wonderful climbing and saltatory powers of the Ibex; and although they cannot (as has been described in print) make a spring and hang on by the horns until they gain a footing, yet in reality for such heavy animals they get over the most inaccessible-looking places in an almost miraculous manner. Nothing seems to stop them nor to impede their progress in the least. To see a flock, after being fired at, take a distant line across country, which they often do over all sorts of seemingly impassable ground, now along the naked surface of an almost perpendicular rock, then across a formidable landslip or an inclined plane of loose stones or sand, which the slightest touch sets in motion both above and below, dividing into chasms to which there seems no possible outlet, but instantly reappearing on the opposite side, never deviating in the slightest from their course, and at the same time getting over the ground at the rate of something like fifteen miles an hour, is a sight not to be easily forgotten.”
The Ibex inhabits the most inaccessible summits of the loftiest mountains of Europe, Asia and Africa, and may frequently be seen bounding from rock to rock among the highest peaks of their snow-clad grandeur, climbing cliffs with the activity of a Bird, and disporting itself in regions unapproachable by any other quadruped.
THE BEZOARGOAT.
Goat Defending His Family from a Lynx.
There is a striking resemblance in form, the habit of living and character of the Bezoargoat, (extensively raised in mountainous regions of Asia Minor, Persia and various islands of Greece) and the Stonebuck of the Alps. The body of the Bezoargoat is narrow and the limbs high. The long, strong horns form a uniformly curved arch, and both sexes have strong beards. The skin is colored reddish gray along the sides of the neck, growing lighter towards the body. The thigh is white both underneath and outside. The breast, chin and ridge of the nose is blackish brown. Their nourishment consists of dry grasses, cedar needles, leaves and fruits.
The Bezoargoats are very shy and experts in racing and climbing, venturing the most dangerous leaps with the utmost courage and dexterity. They are able to brave the greatest dangers. There is, nevertheless, a source of danger threatening their young from the Eagle, the Bearded Vulture and the Pardellynx. The Birds of Prey swoop rapidly and unexpectedly from the heights and carry off the young Kid; but the Pardellynx steals slyly upon the herd at pasture. This beautiful, slender, crafty beast of prey, about the size of the Lynx, which is also abundantly found in the Spanish mountains, eagerly hunts the Bezoargoat. Through his exceptionally keen sense of sight and hearing, the crafty, noiseless, sneaking Pardellynx frequently succeeds in stealing upon the herd and despite their watchfulness attempts to overpower one of the flock. The illustration on page 105 carries us into the mountain regions of Taurus. A Pardellynx has crept unnoticed upon a family of grazing Bezoargoats and has suddenly sprung upon the back of the old Goat, burying his fangs into the neck of his prize.
THE SHEEP.
MOUNTAIN SHEEP.
The members of this family have horns which, at first directed backwards, wind spirally forwards; their forehead is generally convex, and they are without any beard. In other respects they are closely allied to the Goats.
The Common Sheep, like other animals placed at the disposal of mankind, presents innumerable varieties in accordance with the breed or climate to which it may belong. Thus we find in Europe flocks with coarse or fine wool, of large or of small size, with long horns or with short horns—some in which the horns are wanting in the females; others in which they are deficient in both sexes.
The Spanish varieties are distinguished by their fine curly wool and large spiral horns, which exist in the males only; while the English breeds are celebrated on account of the length of their fleece and the delicacy of their mutton.
The Sheep of Southern Russia are remarkable on account of the length of their tails; while those of India and some parts of Africa are distinguished by the length of their legs, pendent ears, coarse wool, and total want of horns in either sex. In Persia, Tartary, and China the tail of the Sheep appears to be entirely transformed into a double globe of fat; and those of Syria and Barbary, notwithstanding the length of their tails, have them loaded with fat, while their wool is intermixed with coarse hair. Everywhere, however, the Sheep is invaluable to the human race, and the care of their flocks one of the earliest occupations of civilized nations.
“This species,” says Buffon, “appears to be preserved only by the assistance and care of Man; it seems unable to subsist by itself. The reclaimed Sheep is absolutely without resource and without defence. The Ram is but weakly armed; its courage is only petulance. The females are still more timid than the males. It is fear that causes them so often to assemble in flocks; the slightest noise makes them throw themselves down headlong or crowd one against the other; and this fear is accompanied with the greatest stupidity, for they know not how to avoid danger.”
They appear not even to feel the inconveniences of their situation; they remain obstinately where they are exposed to the rain or snow. In order to oblige them to change their situation and take a certain road, a leader is necessary, whose movements they follow at every step. This leader would himself remain motionless with the rest of the flock, if he were not driven by the Shepherd or excited by the Sheep-dog, which knows well how to defend, direct, separate, reassemble them, and communicate to them all necessary movements.
They are, of all animals, the most stupid and devoid of resources. Goats, which resemble them in so many other respects, have much more sense. They know how to guide themselves, they avoid danger, and easily familiarize themselves with new objects; while the Sheep neither retreats nor advances, and although it stands in need of assistance, does not approach Man so willingly as the Goat, besides—a quality which, in animals, appears to indicate the last degree of timidity or of want of feeling—it allows its Lamb to be taken away without defending it, without anger or resistance, or even signifying its grief by a cry differing from its usual bleat.
Nevertheless, this creature, so helpless and so apathetic, is to mankind the most valuable of all animals, and of the most immediate and extensive use. Alone it suffices for his most pressing wants, furnishing both food and clothing, besides the various uses of the fat, milk, skin, entrails and bones. Nature has not bestowed anything upon the Sheep that does not serve for the advantage of the human race.