120 Supplement to the History

# ON GOATS

Among cloven-hoofed animals, the varieties of exotic goats are truly marvelous. Among these is a type inhabiting Ethiopia, where the males reach the size of a calf. Their long hair sweeps the ground—not thin hair, but rather like the mane of a horse—and is held in great value.

Nor should we omit mention of those goats from whose hair that cloth known as "cymatile" or "waved" is woven. Their hair is extremely fine and glossy, hanging all the way to the ground, and in beauty it rivals even silk. The goatherds do not shear this hair but comb it out. These goats are frequently washed in rivers and graze on the sparse, dry grass of those plains, which is known to contribute greatly to the fineness of the wool. Indeed, it is clearly established that if these goats are moved elsewhere, they do not produce the same wool; instead, the quality changes along with their fodder, and the goats degenerate so much they are hardly recognizable.

In Peru, there are very swift animals called Vicuñas, which are quite similar to wild goats—and perhaps belong to that genus—though they lack horns. They thrive in mountainous regions and thus love the cold and the wilderness, appearing to be refreshed by frost and snow. They delight in the company of the herd. They are captured in famous hunts: the locals gather in groups as large as three thousand to surround a mountain, gradually driving more than three hundred of these wild beasts into a single spot, releasing the females to care for their young. They are also caught in another way: when hunters get within a suitable distance, they hurl ropes with lead weights attached to the ends at their feet, which entangles the animals and hinders their flight. These goats are shorn for blankets, and their wool is used to stuff mattresses, which is said to soothe inflammation of the kidneys and gout. Furthermore, a Bezoar stone is formed within their entrails, which ranks second only to the Oriental variety. Anyone wishing to know more about this stone should consult the *History of Cloven-Hoofed Animals* in the chapter on the Bezoar Goat.

Before we move on to another account, we present for inspection an image of a goat’s skeleton, followed by a small goat with a feathery head and two horns, shown with Cretan Dittany, known thereafter as the *Dorcidion*. It should be noted that the two horns of this animal hang from a crest. This little goat was raised in Swabia by an innkeeper; so we were told by a certain physician from Augsburg, who testified to having seen the living animal himself and asserted that the protrusion on its forehead consisted of a substance midway between feathers and hair.

Additionally, we include an image of an animal that has the face of a donkey but the hair and feet of a goat; it is depicted alongside the third *Onopyxos* of Dalechamps.