Chamois
3 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Chamois. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
sham'my, an animal occupying a position midway between the goat and the antelope. It is found in the Pyrenees, the Alps, and in the Caucasus Mountains, eastward to Persia. It is about as large as a well grown goat, but it is somewhat lighter and more graceful in structure. The general color is brown, with a pale yellowish head and a black tail. Two black horns, four or five inches in length, have straight shafts, and are recurved at the point until the tip points directly downward. The chamois is best known in the Alps, where, however, it has been hunted so persistently that the few remaining specimens are protected by law. It lives above the timber line in summer, but descends with its fawn into the upper forests for the winter. The chamois is a remarkably agile, surefooted animal, and can leap a wall twice the height of a man's head with the utmost ease, or spring across a chasm fifteen feet in width without apparent exertion. It can also rise out of a chasm or descend to the bottom of one by a peculiar series of leaps. It stands with its body parallel, that is, with its sides to the faces of the chasm, and, by a series of side bounds, plants its flinty hoofs, first against one face, then against the other face, of the rock back and forth, thus rising to the top or descending to the bottom of a deep cleft without the least inconvenience. Throughout the series of jumps the body is held easily rigid. All four hoofs are flung out first on one side, then on the other, against the opposing rock without the least appearance of effort or embarrassment. Should a ledge be encountered wide enough, the chamois pauses, feeds, and resumes its upward or downward trip. By this method of bounding from surface to surface, a chamois can scale the inner angle of a garden wall. See Goat ; Antelope
American Watchmaker and Jeweler (1892)
A soft leather used by watchmakers and jewelers, and so called because first prepared from the skin of a species of antelope known as chamois. Chamois, to Clean. A chamois leather should never be thrown away because it is dirty. It can easily be cleaned and is then better than a new one. Prepare a solution of warm water with a little soda in it. Wet the leather in this and rub it thoroughly with soap and leave it to soak for several hours, after which rub it vigorously until it is quite clean. Prepare a new solution of warm water, a little soda and some soap and rub the skin thoroughly in this to rinse out the dirt. A chamois skin must never be rinsed in water only, or it will come out harsh and dry. The soap in the water leaves the skin soft and pliable. Ivory soap will be found particularly desirable in this respect, as it is rich in fat and has but little rosin and no surplus of lye. After thoroughly rinsing, wrap the skin up in a towel and wring it until dry and then work it thoroughly in the hands until it is dry and pliable and you will have a leather which is superior to a new one.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
an antelope, formerly called Anti Rupicapra tragus, f lope Rupicapra. It is the only antelope found wild in Europe, and in physical character it is somewhat aberrant, ap- """ CHAMOIS proaching the sheep and goats. It is about 3 feet 3 inches high, with two parallel horns 6 or 7 inches long, and no beard. It is densely clothed with hair. It is found on high mountain ranges, especially on the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Carpathian mountains, and those of Greece.