_Capra aegagrus_, the Persian Wild Goat, ranges from the Caucasus to Sind. It is this animal which produces the true "bezoar stone." The substance in question is a secretion apparently found in the stomach. It is still, according to Mr. Blanford, regarded as an antidote to poison in Persia. Buffon called this Goat the "Pasan," which is evidently a corruption of the word bezoar. When the substance was in repute as a medicine of the "alexipharmic" kind, the supply naturally came up to the demand. Thus the bezoar stones of the Lama in South America gained repute, and there were "Oriental bezoar, cow {326} bezoar, hog bezoar, and monkey bezoar"! As concretions of one kind or another are not uncommon objects in the alimentary tract of mammals it was easy enough to obtain a fair amount of some substance which was sure to sell well. It is said that a stone weighing four ounces was once sold in this country (or at any rate in Europe) for L200. "There can be no doubt," observes Mr. Blanford, "that _C. aegagrus_ is one of the species, and probably the principal, from which tame goats are derived." [Illustration] FIG. 176.--Japanese Goat Antelope. _Nemorrhaedus crispus._ x 1/12. (From _Nature_.) The Chamois (_Rupricapra_) and the Goral (_Nemorrhaedus_) are best described as Goat-like Antelopes; but, as already said, it is difficult to split up the Bovidae satisfactorily. The Rocky Mountain Goat, _Haploceros montanus_, is a large Goat-like creature, {327} which has the peculiarity of having the shortest cannon bones of any Ruminant. Its name denotes its range. [Illustration] FIG. 177.--Goral. _Nemorrhaedus goral._ x 1/12. (From _Nature_.) The Musk Ox, _Ovibos moschatus_, has been thought to be on the borderland between the Sheep and Oxen, as indeed expressed in its scientific name. It is a purely Arctic creature, now confined to the Nearctic region; but it formerly existed in the Arctic regions of Europe. The anatomy of the "soft parts" of this genus has lately been investigated by Dr. Loennberg.[218] The animal has no foot glands such as occur in _Ovis_. Its kidneys, however, are non-lobate, and it has orbital glands. The cotyledons of the placenta are unusually large, and the cow has the "primary four" teats. It cannot, in fact, be definitely referred to either the Caprine or the Bovine section of the Cavicornia, and while possibly most allied to _Budorcas_, it may be regarded, at least for the present, as entitled to form a separate sub-family of its own. The muzzle {328} has a slight naked strip above the nostrils, as in the Sheep, but there is no fissure of the upper lip. EXTINCT FAMILIES OF ARTIODACTYLA. The origin of the Artiodactyla is placed by Cope in the family PANTOLESTIDAE,[219] allied to the genus _Protogonodon_ of the Condylarthra. As, however, this family is represented by but a few back teeth and a fragment of the hind-foot, it seems premature to regard it as the necessary starting-point of the Bunodont and Ruminant groups.