This paper was written probably in the mid 1930's by R.J. Goode.

About twelve years ago, after having seen some of the so called "epileptic", "fainting", "nervous", or "stiff legged" goats owned by Dr. C. A. Cary, state veterinarian, Auburn, Alabama, I secured one pair of goats from Dr. Cary. At the present time I have a few of these goats which are kept in a small pasture immediately back of my dwelling in Gastonburg.

In appearance these goats seem to be exactly alike any other ordinary goat, having about the usual size and varied color markings. They have so far only produced kids once a year and are, therefore, not so prolific as the ordinary goat.

The interesting and peculiar thing about them is the fact that on being suddenly startled in any manner they fall to the ground with their entire bodies becoming perfectly rigid and stiff, giving the appearance of an epileptic fit or of an animal suffering from convulsions. This condition lasts about ten or fifteen seconds after which the animal arises walks off, showing a decided stiffness especially in the posterior limbs for some distance, after which time the animal walks and acts just like any other goat. These "fits" or "fainting" spells can be produced or brought on by any sudden excitement, which will startle them. A sudden loud noise, a sudden appearance, or a combination of the two will always produce the reaction. On the other hand, if one should walk slowly in plain view toward the goats they will not fall to the ground but will merely show a stiffness in their hind legs when they begin to move away. Another peculiar characteristic is that the goats cannot jump a fence even as low as three feet from the ground, they cannot jump into feed troughs, nor can they jump a ditch of more than two or three feet width. The attempt to either jump a fence or a ditch brings on a stiffness of muscles and, in some cases, causes them to fall to the ground in a "faint".

This strange phenomenon is seen in all of the offspring of the pure bred goats without exception. The very young kids often fail to show any indication of being so affected but as they acquire a little age the characteristic becomes more and more marked, so that before the animal is one year of age the characteristic is fully developed.

After coming into possession of these goats practically twelve years ago I have made numerous efforts to acquire information concerning them. I have heard of a number of flocks in several states, especially in Tennessee, the northern part of Alabama and in Kentucky. Wherever I have heard of such flocks, I have made inquiries and have without exception traced them back to the original four goats, which were brought into Marshall County, Tennessee shortly after 1880. The following is a quotation from Dr. H. H. Mayberry, of Marshall County, Tennessee, who secured the original goats of this breed and who has furnished me the following information, which I give in his own words.

"There was an old man by the name of John Tinsley who dropped in at J. M. Porter's who resided near Caney Spring in Marshall County, Tennessee. The above mentioned visit was made in the early eighties, however I do not recall the exact date. This stranger had with him one sacred cow, three nannie goats and one billie goat. These goats were found to be fainting goats. No one knew from whence this stranger came. However, it was thought that he came from Nova Scotia. He came as a stranger and he left as a stranger. I offered to buy the goats. However, he at first refused to consider selling them. He promised to let me know if he ever wanted concluded to sell them, so late in the Fall of that year he brought the goats to me. My offer to him was $36.00, which was accepted, and I came into possession of the goats. After the purchase this stranger worked on the farm for me for about three weeks, but would never eat at my table. He always took his meals in the barn where the sacred cow was kept. He then left my home and went to Lick Creek, which is in Maury County, Tennessee, and married an old lady by the name of Barnhill. On her farm he made an excellent corn crop, and one night after the crop was in he, without warning to his wife, left home with his sacred cow and has never been heard of since. From these three goats I raised a number of others and sold them in different parts of Kentucky and Tennessee. From the three goats purchased by me from the stranger it appears that the breed started, at least in this section of the country".

Since receiving the above information from Dr. Mayberry and, especially in view of the fact that the stranger had with him what was called a sacred cow, I have gone on the theory that the goats may have been imported at the same time as the "sacred" cow and the goats may have been of Asiatic origin. However, I have been unable to hear of any place in the world where there are any goats showing these peculiar Characteristics. I have written to the Bureaus of Animal Industry and Departments of Agriculture of the United States and of other countries. I have also been in touch with the Biological Departments of most universities as well as nature societies, geographic societies, naturalists, explorers, and what not. Nowhere have I been able to get any more information than that which I have already have, which as above stated, always carries back to the original goats brought by a stranger into Marshall County, Tennessee.

At a meeting of the Veterinary Medical Society of the University of Pennsylvania in January 1904 a paper was read on these goats by Mark White Jr. giving the characteristics of the goats about as given by me above. I have understood that in the meeting there was a German scientist and that Dr. George R. White, state veterinarian of Tennessee, sent some specimens to a German university on their request. However, no information as to what was found by them except that no further information as to origin of the goats was forthcoming. There was an article about 1908 or a little later in the Berlin Tierartzliche Wachenchrift but I was never able to obtain a copy of this article. The Berlin Veterinary Weekly of December 31, 1908 carried an article on these goats but there was no new information contained in it.

I would like very much to get somebody interested who has the time and facilities to find out whether or not there are any of the breed of goats anywhere else in the world. It seems very strange to me that animals, which have such a definite and distinguishingly peculiar characteristic, should be merely the produce of freaks. Since it seems to be true that one characteristic is a hereditary condition rather than pathological in origin there seems to be more reason to believe that there has been, or now is, such a breed of goats somewhere else. The question has intrigued me to considerable extent but I have not had the necessary time or opportunity to carry out as full investigation as I would have liked.

All of the above may sound foolish and it is nearly always the case that whenever the story of these goats is told that practically everyone thinks there is some "catch" in it. However, they are here right back at my house and I can guarantee to make them "act" at any time. There are, of course, other flocks, which have the same characteristics also.

On account of the many inquiries concerning these goats which have been received during the past few years, the above statement has been prepared to briefly explain about them. All sorts of letters have been received. Some have thought that the entire matter is a hoax; others have wondered what was the use in having such goats anyway; others have carefully explained how it would be possible to prevent the reoccurrence of the characteristic either by special methods of feeding or of breeding; a number of persons have been particularly interested because they or their friends are affected with epilepsy and think they may get some information from the goats that would be of benefit in their particular cases; and, in fact, there is hardly any end to the variety of inquiries and advice which have been received. Quite a number of letters have been received from scientists, mostly medical men, who have been interested in the behavior of the goats thinking that certain details of their behavior might throw some light on human ailments such as epilepsy, cataplexy, etc. To any scientists who desire any further definite information, I would always be glad to tell them as nearly as I can what they might wish to know.

The thing which has interested me most has been that there should be a breed of goats which have a characteristic so different from the ordinary goat but otherwise indistinguishable in appearance, why they should have developed this characteristic, when and where.