Man with Stick Duels Ibex

Interesting magazine article from Victorian times. The
ibexes are wild goats. This one, I presume, is an Alpine ibex or steinbock. The
locale is in Switzerland. 




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I send you an account of an attack by an ibex on a
gentleman, which is so opposed to the generally shy habits of the animal that I
think it will be interesting to the readers of your paper. A gentleman from
Schaffhausen, who had been visiting his wife and child, started to go over the
Strelapass to Chur, and was accompanied for a part of the way by his wife and
child. Between the Schatzalp and the Strelapass a large ibex suddenly joined
the party and went with them some distance to the top of the pass. At last it
became bold and came within one or two paces of them. The gentleman attempted
to make friends with it by offering it a piece of bread on the point of his
stick. The ibex, however, took this for a challenge, reared on its hind legs
and attacked its opponent so violently with its horns that he was thrown to the
ground. After a long struggle the animal took to flight, but on the gentleman
throwing stones after it it turned again. The wife ran as fast as possible to
the Schatzalp for help, but meanwhile the battle recommenced, and lasted, with
short intervals, for more than an hour. At last a shepherd came to the
assistance of the wearied gentleman, who was also slightly injured, and giving
the ibex some blows with his knife, put it finally to flight. Shortly
afterwards several persons from Davos Platz, whom a message from the Schatzalp
had called to help, came up and tried to catch the ibex. They succeeded in
frightening it on to a rock, from which, as they supposed, it would not be able
to descend. The next day they again attempted the capture. The ibex was quietly
grazing on the slopes near the pass, but all efforts to secure it were in vain.
Now small and large parties go to the Strelapass every day to see the ibex.
Sometimes they have the pleasure of coming rather near to it, but no one seems
quite to like the look of it, nor would any one care to meet it alone. We shall
have to petition some sportsman to come and shoot it, as it is certainly master
of the situation at present. No doubt it has lost its mate, and is at war with
the rest of the world.




--from Littell's Living Age magazine, 1881




Thanks to Croconut for sharing this.