The young men are of a lively and untameable disposition, extremely proud and as ready to fight as two stags. The well-known black-cock feather is as significant of the Tyrol as the plaid is of the Highlands, and sometimes when the young man wearing it is in a pugnacious mood he tips it over contrary to the usual way round, thus indicating that he is seeking trouble. It is often not long before he gets it! Even in their dancing a rough exuberance of spirits and strength, sometimes almost frightening to those accustomed to more civilised methods, is shown. The men career and caper and kick up their heavy boots and even raise themselves, resting with their hands on the shoulders of some strapping lass, and dance with their feet on the ceiling! The chamois plays no less notable a part in identifying a Tyrolese to a tourist than the black-cock’s feather. It would not be Tyrol without some reminder of the chamois, and innkeepers have been known to prop up a stuffed animal of this species on an almost inaccessible height for the edification of their customers! The marvellous agility of the animal has long passed into a proverb, also his wonderful power of balance which enables him to leap on to a tiny pinnacle of rock and stand there with all four hoofs bunched together. He is generally about three feet long and two feet high at the shoulders, and his long tapering horns run to about eight inches and are black and polished. The hair is dark brown and longer on the back than elsewhere; this is called the “beard” and is the coveted trophy of the hunter. The hoofs are higher at the edges than on the soles and thus give the animal its grip on slippery ground. Its sight is remarkably keen, and its powers of running and leaping incredible. It is altogether wonderfully equipped by nature for its habitat, and the sport which seeks its life is fair because the animal has a good chance of outwitting its pursuer. The chamois live in herds and are usually guarded by a sentinel who gives the alarm at the faintest disturbance; they feed in summer on flowers and herbs, and in winter on the young shoots of the pines and firs. There are large preserves in the Tyrol kept by wealthy men for their own hunting. [Illustration: CORTINA AND MTE. CRISTALLO] After the black-cock’s tail and the chamois, wood-carving comes next as a subject of admiration for the visitor to the country, and truly the skill of the people in this art is surprising; during the long dark winter nights, when there is but little to do, many a delicately-carved work has been turned out that would do credit to the greatest artist. These works can be bought in Innsbruck and most of the towns, and though the prices are “put up” for the stranger, yet, after all, it is work of a skilled kind and the sale is not either certain or large. CHAPTER XIV THE DOLOMITES