, 1888-10-31
HUNTING IN TIE ALPS.
The Dangers of Chamois staIking-shoot-
ing the


The Dangers of Channels Sta1king-Shoot
ing the A~uerhahn.
In reality Alpine sport is considerably
tanner than the passing tourist usually
supposes. Chamois stalking, though the
few who practice it declare it to be the
most exciting of all pastimes, is for the
most part, at least in Austria, left en-
tirely to the poachers. The physical ex-
ertion it requires, the dangers it involves
and the rarity, or rather the entire want
of, stanch and well trained hounds, ac-
count for this. Both the channels and
the roe are driven, but in a way suited
to the character of the country and i'm
possible on an English estate.
Long before dawn the guests who are
invited to take part in a chamois hunt
assemble at an appointed place. Then
the steep climb into the valley which is
to be the scene of operations begins.
When the proper positions are reached,
the head forester assigns to each of the
guests a place near one of the passes the
chamois are likely to take. All these
ambushes are hidden from the heights
above by rocks or bushes, and they are
always from three to four hundred, usu-
ally more than a thousand, feet apart.
When once a sportsman has been placed
he is expected to remain where he is as
silently as he can. He must not leave
his post ON any account, as this might
not only disturb the drive, but endanger
his own life. At about the same time
as the hunting party leave their
rendezvous a party of drivers accom-
panied by dogs start from the other sid
of the mountain range. The noise they
make frightens the channels over the
crest and, if the parties nave been properly
organized, into the valley, where a
warm welcome has been prepared for
them. Except in very rare cases, those
who are posted above are expected to let
the herd pass before shooting, in order
not to spoil the sport of their friends
below. The huntsmen must, of course,
always be placed so that the wind blows
toward and not from them. Roe are for
the most part shot in a similar way,
though roe stalking is by no means I'M
usual.
Auerhahn stalking is a far more excit-
ing and peculiarly Alpine form of sport,
and it is the f~avorite recreation of the
emperor of Austria. 1t is only in the
mating season, roughly speaking in April
and May, that it is permitted. The cock
is generally the most timid and cautious
of birds; but at this season he becomes a
victim of passion, and loses his head-at
least at intervals. AT dawn he flies to a
spot which he knows to be f%requented by
the hens, perches upon an exposed bough,
so that all the charms of his plumage
may be seen, and begins his nuptial song.
1t consists of three distinct parts, with a
short pause between each; and, while
piping it, the cock extends his feathers
and beats upon the bough with his
wings. AT such times he seems utterly
unconscious of everything that goes
on around him. This is the sportsman's
opportunity; he has taken his place be-
fore dawn near a spot which he knows to
be fr~equented and concealed himself in
the best cover he can find. AS soon as
the bird begins its call, which is techni-
cally known as its BALI, he springs for
ward to some nearer cover in which he
can lie silently in wait during the first
pause; while the second strain is in pro-
gress he must reach a point near enough
to take good aim. An Alpine sportsman
would no more think of shooting an
Auerhahn in any other way than an
English squire would think of shooting a
fox. In the greater part of the country
the hen are legally protected during the
whole of the year; they nave a peculiar
cry, which some foresters successfully
initiate for the purpose of Turing their
mates. Saturday Review.