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diff --git a/41593-0.txt b/41593-0.txt index 34ef461..b2c7448 100644 --- a/41593-0.txt +++ b/41593-0.txt @@ -1,27 +1,4 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Unexplored Spain, by Abel Chapman and Walter J. Buck - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Unexplored Spain - -Author: Abel Chapman - Walter J. Buck - -Illustrator: Joseph Crawhall - E. Caldwell - -Release Date: December 10, 2012 [EBook #41593] - -Language: English - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNEXPLORED SPAIN *** - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41593 *** Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was @@ -17195,365 +17172,4 @@ Préjavelsky, Russian explorer, 276=> Préjavalsky, Russian explorer, 276 End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Unexplored Spain, by Abel Chapman and Walter J. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Unexplored Spain - -Author: Abel Chapman - Walter J. Buck - -Illustrator: Joseph Crawhall - E. Caldwell - -Release Date: December 10, 2012 [EBook #41593] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNEXPLORED SPAIN *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -Every attempt has been made to replicate the original book as printed. -Some typographical errors have been corrected (a list follows the text). -No attempt has been made to correct or normalize the printed -accentuation or spelling of Spanish names or words. (etext transcriber's -note) - - - - -UNEXPLORED SPAIN - -ABEL CHAPMAN'S WORKS - -=BIRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS=. First Edition, 1889; ----- ----, Second Edition, 1907. - -=WILD SPAIN=. (WITH W. J. B.) 1893. - -=WILD NORWAY=. 1897. - -=ART OF WILDFOWLING=. 1896. - -=ON SAFARI= (IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA). 1908. - -=UNEXPLORED SPAIN.= (WITH W. J. B.) 1910. - -[Illustration: H.M. KING ALFONSO XIII SPEARING A BOAR.] - - - - -UNEXPLORED -SPAIN - -BY - -ABEL CHAPMAN - -AUTHOR OF 'WILD SPAIN,' 'WILD NORWAY,' 'ON SAFARI,' ETC. - -AND - -WALTER J. BUCK - -BRITISH VICE-CONSUL AT JEREZ -AUTHOR OF 'WILD SPAIN' - -WITH 209 ILLUSTRATIONS BY - -JOSEPH CRAWHALL, E. CALDWELL, AND ABEL CHAPMAN -AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS - -NEW YORK - -LONGMANS, GREEN & CO. -LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD - -1910 - -INSCRIBED - -BY GRACIOUS PERMISSION -TO THEIR MAJESTIES - -KING ALFONSO XIII. - -HIMSELF AN ACCOMPLISHED SPORTSMAN - -AND - -QUEEN VICTORIA EUGENIA OF SPAIN - -WITH DEEP RESPECT -BY THEIR MAJESTIES' GRATEFUL AND DEVOTED SERVANTS - -THE AUTHORS - - - - -Preface - - -The undertaking of a sequel to _Wild Spain_, we are warned, is -dangerous. The implication gratifies, but the forecast alarms not. -Admittedly, in the first instance, we occupied a virgin field, and -naturally the almost boyish enthusiasm that characterised the earlier -book--and probably assured its success--has in some degree abated. But -it's not all gone yet; and any such lack is compensated by longer -experience (an aggregate, between us, of eighty years) of a land we -love, and the sounder appreciation that arises therefrom. Our own -resources, moreover, have been supplemented and reinforced by friends in -Spain who represent the fountain-heads of special knowledge in that -country. - -No foreigners could have enjoyed greater opportunity, and we have done -our best to exploit the advantage--so far, at least, as steady plodding -work will avail; for we have spent more than two years in analysing, -checking and sorting, selecting and eliminating from voluminous notes -accumulated during forty years. The concentrated result represents, we -are convinced, an accurate--though not, of course, a -complete--exposition of the wild-life of one of the wildest of European -countries. - -No, for this book and its thoroughness neither doubt nor fear intrudes; -but we admit to being, in two respects, out of touch with modern -treatment of natural-history subjects. Possibly we are wrong in both; -but it has not yet been demonstrated, by Euclid or other, that a -minority even of two is necessarily so? Nature it is nowadays customary -to portray in somewhat lurid and sensational colours--presumably to -humour a "popular taste." Reflection might suggest that nothing in -Nature is, in fact, sensational, loud, or extravagant; but the lay -public possess no such technical training as would enable them to -discern the line where Nature stops and where fraud and "faking" begin. -At any rate we frequently read purring approval of what appears to us -meretricious imposture, and see writers lauded as constellations whom we -should condemn as charlatans. Beyond the Atlantic President Roosevelt -(as he then was) went bald-headed for the "Nature-fakers," and in -America the reader has been put upon his guard. If he still likes -"sensations"--well, that's what he likes. But he buys such fiction -forewarned. - -In the illustration of wild-life our views are also, in some degree, -divergent from current ideas. Animal-photography has developed with such -giant strides and has taught us such valuable lessons (for which none -are more grateful than the Authors), that there is danger of coming to -regard it, not as a means to an end but as the actual end itself. While -photography promises uses the value of which it would be difficult to -exaggerate, yet it has defects and limitations which should not be -ignored. First as regards animals in motion; the camera sees too -quick--so infinitely quicker than the human eye that attitudes and -effects are portrayed which we do not, and cannot see. Witness a -photograph of the finish for the Derby. Galloping horses do not figure -so on the human retina--with all four legs jammed beneath the body like -a dead beetle. No doubt the camera exhibits an unseen phase in the -actual action and so reveals its process; but that phase is not what -mortals see. Similarly with birds in flight, the human eye only catches -the form during the instantaneous arrest of the wing at the end of each -stroke--in many cases not even so much as that. But the camera snaps the -whirling pinion at mid-stroke or at any intermediate point. The result -is altogether admirable as an exposition of the mechanical processes of -flight; but it fails as an illustration, inasmuch as it illustrates a -pose which Nature has expressly concealed from our view. - -Secondly, in relation to still life. Here the camera is not only too -quick, but too faithful. A tiny ruffled plume, a feather caught up by -the breeze with the momentary shadow it casts, even an intrusive bough -or blade of grass--all are reproduced with such rigid faithfulness and -conspicuous effect that what are in fact merest minute details assume a -wholly false proportion, mislead the eye, and disguise the whole -picture. True, these things are actually there; but the human eye enjoys -a faculty (which the camera does not) of selecting its objective and -ignoring, or reducing to its correct relative value each extrinsic -detail; of looking, as it were, through obstacles and concentrating its -power upon the one main subject of study. - -The portrayal of wildfowl presents a peculiar difficulty. This group -differs in two essential characters from the rest of the bird-world. -Though clad in feathers, yet those feathers are not "feathery." Rather -may they be described as a steely water-tight encasement, as distinct -from the covering, say of game-birds as mackintosh differs from satin. -Each plume possesses a compactness of web and firmness of texture that -combine to produce a rigidity, and this, it so happens, both in form and -colour. For in this group the colours, too, or patterns of colour, are -clean-cut, the contrasts strong and sharply defined. The plumage of -wild-fowl, in short, is characterised by lack of subdued tints and -half-tones. That is its beauty and its glory; but the fact presents a -stumbling-block to treatment, especially in colour. - -The difficulty follows consequentially. Subjects of such character and -crude coloration defy accustomed methods. That is not the fault of the -artist; rather it reveals the limitations of Art. Just as in landscape -distance ever demands an "atmosphere" more or less obliterative of -distinctive detail afar (though such detail may be visible to -non-artistic eyesight miles away), so in birds of sharply contrasted -colouring the needed effect can only (it would appear) be attained by -processes of softening which are not, in fact, correct, and which ruin -the real picture as designed by Nature. - -No wild bird (and wildfowl least of all) can be portrayed from captive -specimens--still less from bedraggled corpses selected in Leadenhall -market. In the latter every essential feature has disappeared. The -ruffled remains resemble the beauty of their originals only as a -dish-clout may recall some previous existence as a damask serviette. -Living captives at least give form; but that is all. The loss of -freedom, with all its contingent perils, involves the loss of character, -the pride of life, and of independence. Once remove the first essential -element--the sense of instant danger, with all that the stress and -exigencies of wild-life import--and with these there vanish vigilance, -carriage, sprightliness, dignity, sometimes even self-respect. - -Not a man who has watched and studied wild beasts and wild birds in -their native haunts, glorified and ennobled by self-conscious aptitude -to prevail in the ceaseless "struggle for existence," but instantly -recognises with a pang the different demeanour of the same creatures in -captivity, albeit carefully tended in the best zoological gardens of the -world. - - * * * * * - -To Mr. Joseph Crawhall (cousin of one author) we and our readers are -indebted for a series of drawings that speak for themselves. - -Further, we desire most heartily to thank H.R.H. the Duke of Orleans for -notes and photographs illustrative both of Baetican scenery and of the -wild camels of the marisma; also the many Spanish and Anglo-Spanish -friends whose assistance is specifically acknowledged, _passim_, in the -text. - -Should some slight slip or repetition have escaped the final revision, -may we crave indulgence of critics? 'Tis not care that lacks, but sheer -mnemonics. In a work of (we are told) 150,000 words the mass of -manuscript appals, and to detect every single error may well prove -beyond our power. We have lost, moreover, that guiding eye and -pilot-like touch on the helm that helped to steer our earlier venture -through the shoals and seething whirlpools that ever beset voyages into -the unknown. - -A. C. - -W. J. B. - -BRITISH VICE-CONSULATE, JEREZ, _December 1910_. - - - - -Contents - - -CHAP. PAGE - - I. UNEXPLORED SPAIN: INTRODUCTORY 1 - - II. " " " (_Continued_) 17 - - III. THE COTO DOÑANA: OUR HISTORIC HUNTING-GROUND (A FOREWORD - BY SIR MAURICE DE BUNSEN, P.C., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., BRITISH - AMBASSADOR AT MADRID) 30 - - IV. THE COTO DOÑANA: NOTES ON ITS PHYSICAL FORMATION, FAUNA, - AND RED DEER 35 - - V. ANDALUCIA AND ITS BIG GAME: STILL-HUNTING 54 - - VI. " " " WILD-BOAR 70 - - VII. "OUR LADY OF THE DEW": THE PILGRIMAGE TO THE SHRINE OF - NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL ROCÍO 82 - - VIII. THE MARISMAS OF GUADALQUIVIR 88 - - IX. WILDFOWL-SHOOTING IN THE MARISMAS 105 - - X. WILD-GEESE IN SPAIN: THEIR SPECIES, HAUNTS, - AND HABITS 114 - - XI. WILD-GEESE ON THE SAND-HILLS 125 - - XII. SOME RECORDS IN SPANISH WILDFOWLING 133 - - XIII. THE SPANISH IBEX 139 - - XIV. SIERRA MORÉNA: IBEX 147 - - XV. " " RED DEER AND BOAR 158 - - XVI. PERNALES 174 - - XVII. LA MANCHA 183 - - XVIII. THE SPANISH BULL-FIGHT 192 - - XIX. THE SPANISH FIGHTING-BULL 200 - - XX. SIERRA DE GRÉDOS 208 - - XXI. " " : IBEX-HUNTING 216 - - XXII. AN ABANDONED PROVINCE: ESTREMADURA 225 - - XXIII. LAS HURDES (ESTREMADURA) AND THE SAVAGE TRIBES THAT - INHABIT THEM 234 - - XXIV. THE GREAT BUSTARD 242 - - XXV. " " (_Continued_) 256 - - XXVI. FLAMINGOES 265 - - XXVII. WILD CAMELS 275 - - XXVIII. AFTER CHAMOIS IN THE ASTURIAS 283 - - XXIX. HIGHLANDS OF ASTURIAS 294 - - XXX. THE SIERRA NEVÁDA 301 - - XXXI. " " (_Continued_) 311 - - XXXII. VALENCIA 321 - - XXXIII. SMALL-GAME SHOOTING IN SPAIN 328 - - XXXIV. ALIMAÑAS, OR THE MINOR BEASTS OF CHASE 337 - - XXXV. OUR "HOME-MOUNTAINS": THE SERRANÍA DE RONDA 347 - - XXXVI. " " " " (_Continued_) 360 - - XXXVII. A SPANISH SYSTEM OF WILDFOWLING: THE "CABRESTO" OR - STALKING-HORSE 371 - -XXXVIII. THE "CORROS," OR MASSING OF WILDFOWL IN SPRING FOR THEIR - NORTHERN MIGRATION 376 - - XXXIX. SPRING-TIME IN THE MARISMAS 381 - - XL. SKETCHES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE 392 - - APPENDIX 407 - - INDEX 413 - - - - -List of Plates - - -H.M. KING ALFONSO XIII. SPEARING A BOAR _Frontispiece_ - - FACING PAGE - -TYPICAL LANDSCAPE IN COTO DOÑANA 30 - -EGRET HERONRY AT SANTOLALLA, COTO DOÑANA 32 - -RED DEER IN DOÑANA. From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall 36 - -THREE VIEWS IN COTO DOÑANA: (1) SAHARAN SAND-DUNES; (2) TRANSPORT; - (3) A CORRAL, OR PINEWOOD ENCLOSED BY SAND 40 - -RED DEER. From Drawings by Joseph Crawhall 46 - -INSPIRING MOMENTS 51 - -GUNNING-PUNT IN THE MARISMA 90 - -WILD-GOOSE SHOOTING ON THE SAND-HILLS 90 - -VASQUEZ APPROACHING WILDFOWL WITH CABRESTO-PONY 90 - -STANCHEON-GUN IN THE MARISMA--DAWN 106 - -WILD-GEESE IN THE MARISMA 122 - -SPANISH IBEX IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS 140 - -HEADS OF SPANISH IBEX 152 - -RED-DEER HEADS, SIERRA MORÉNA 156 - -WOLF SHOT IN SIERRA MORÉNA, MARCH 1909 158 - -HUNTSMAN WITH CARACOLA, SIERRA MORÉNA 158 - -PACK OF PODENCOS, SIERRA MORÉNA 158 - -WILD-BOAR, WEIGHING 200 LBS. 162 - -THE RECORD HEAD (RED DEER), SIERRA MORÉNA 162 - -RED DEER. From Drawings by Joseph Crawhall 166 - -RED DEER. From Drawings by Joseph Crawhall 170 - -WILD-BOAR. From Drawings by Joseph Crawhall 170 - -RED-DEER HEADS, SIERRA MORÉNA 172 - -BULL-FIGHTING. From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall 194 - -BULL-FIGHTING. From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall 198 - -AFTER THE STROKE. From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall 202 - -SCENES IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS 212 - -"AT THE APEX OF ALL THE SPAINS" 216 - -TWO SPANISH IBEX SHOT IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS, JULY 1910 220 - -GREAT BUSTARD 250 - -SLENDER-BILLED CURLEW 250 - -GREAT BUSTARD "SHOWING OFF" 260 - -FLAMINGOES ON THEIR NESTS 272 - -WILD CAMELS 276 - -CAPTURING A WILD CAMEL IN THE MARISMA 280 - -THE HOME OF THE CHAMOIS 286 - -PEAKS OF SIERRA NEVÁDA 306 - -NEST OF GRIFFON 306 - -ROYAL SHOOTING AT THE PARDO, NEAR MADRID 334 - - -Illustrations in the Text - - - PAGE - -Lammergeyer (_Gypaëtus barbatus_) 3 - -Woodchat Shrike (_Lanius pomeranus_) 7 - -Griffon Vulture (_Gyps fulvus_) 9 - -Wooden Plough-share 12 - -Cetti's Warbler (_Sylvia cettii_) 14 - -Dartford Warbler (_Sylvia undata_) 16 - -Fantail Warbler (_Cisticola cursitans_) 17 - -Rock-Thrush (_Petrocincla saxatilis_) 18 - -A Village _Posada_ 20 - -Serin (_Serinus hortulanus_) 23 - -Bonelli's Eagle (_Aquila bonellii_) 26 - -Black Vulture (_Vultur monachus_) 27 - -White-Faced Duck (_Erismatura leucocephala_) 28 - -Spanish Imperial Eagle 31 - -Spanish Lynx 33 - -Greenshank (_Totanus canescens_) 34 - -Sketch-Map of Delta of Guadalquivir 35 - -Marsh-Harrier (_Circus aeruginosus_) 38 - -"Silent Songsters" 39 - -Blackstart (_Ruticilla titys_) 39 - -Great Spotted Cuckoo (_Oxylophus glandarius_) 41 - -"Globe-Spanners" 42 - -"Confidence" 43 - -Abnormal Cast Antler 44 - -Egret 45 - -"Suspicion" 49 - -Altabaca (_Scrofularia_) 51 - -Tomillo de Arena 51 - -"What's This?" 52 - -Antlers 56 - -Stag "taking the Wind" 57 - -_Sylvia melanocephala_ 60 - -Reed-Climbers 61 - -Great Grey Shrike (_Lanius meridionalis_) 62 - -Spanish Green Woodpecker (_Gecinus sharpei_) 63 - -Tarantula 64 - -Stag--as he fell 67 - -Hoopoes at Jerez, March 19, 1910 69 - -"Room for Two" 71 - -Wild-Boar--at bay 73 - -Wild-Boar--"Bolted past" 79 - -Wild-Boar 81 - -Praying Mantis 87 - -Avocet 88 - -Samphire 90 - -Greylag Geese 92 - -White-Eyed Pochard (_Fuligula nyroca_) 94 - -"Flamingoes over" 95 - -Pochard (_Fuligula ferina_) 96 - -Flight of Flamingoes 97 - -Wild-Geese alighting 98 - -Wildfowl in the Marisma 101 - -Flamingoes 102 - -Stilt 105 - -Godwits 113 - -Root of Spear-Grass 115 - -System of driving Wild-Geese 117 - -Shelters for driving Wild-Geese 118 - -Godwits 124 - -Wild-Geese alighting on Sand-Hills 129 - -Wild-Geese 133 - -Godwits 134 - -Sketch-Map of the _Nucléo Central_ of Grédos 141 - -Grey Shrike 162 - -Azure-Winged Magpie 163 - -Sardinian Warbler 164 - -Griffon Vulture 166 - -Pair of Antlers 167 - -Stag--"picking his way up a Rock-Staircase" 168 - -"The Hart bounced, full-broadside, over the Pass" 169 - -Pernales 175 - -Sparrow-Owls (Athene noctua) and Moths 182 - -Hoopoes 183 - -Woodchat Shrike and its "Shambles" 184 - -Desert-loving Wheatears 185 - -Red-crested Pochard (_Fuligula rufila_) 186 - -Red-crested Pochards 190 - -"Minor Game" 210 - -Southern Grey Shrike 212 - -Griffon Vulture and Nest 215 - -"The Way of an Eagle in the Air" (_Lammergeyer_) 218 - -Black Vulture (_Vultur monachus_) 222 - -Roller (_Coracias garrula_) 226 - -Trujillo 227 - -"Scavengers" 228 - -Wolf-proof Dog-Collar 231 - -Woodlark 232 - -Sketch-Map of Las Hurdes 234 - -White Wagtail 238 - -Wolf-proof Sheepfold 239 - -The Great Bustard 243 - -Well on Andalucian Plain 244 - -Calandra Lark 246 - -Spanish Thistle and Stonechat 248 - -Bustards--"Swerve aside" 252 - -Bustards passing full broadside 254 - -Imperial Eagle--"Hurtling through Space" 258 - -Draw-Well with Cross-Bar 259 - -"_Hechando la Rueda_" 260 - -Tail-Feathers of Great Bustard 261 - -Little Bustard 263 - -Stilts in the Marisma 265 - -Flamingoes 266 - -Stilts disturbed at Nesting-Place 268 - -Flamingoes and their Nests 269 - -Flight of Flamingoes 270-1 - -Head of Flamingo 273 - -Little Gull and Tern 274 - -Flamingoes 277 - -"The Camels a-coming" 281 - -Chamois 283 - -A Chamois Drive--Picos de Europa 288 - -Hoopoe 293 - -Lammergeyer (_Gypaëtus barbatus_) 303 - -"Unemployed": Bee-eaters on a Wet Morning 311 - -Woodlark (_Alauda arborea_) 313 - -Lammergeyer 314 - -Soaring Vulture 315 - -Golden Eagle Hunting 317 - -Rock-Thrush 318 - -Spanish Sparrow 320 - -Imperial Eagle Passing Overhead 342 - -Pinsápo Pine (_Abies pinsapo_) 347 - -Rock-Bunting (_Emberiza cia_) 348 - -Pinsápo Pines 350 - -Crossbill 351 - -Lammergeyer Overhead 353 - -Golden Eagle Hunting 354 - -Vultures 356 - -Lammergeyer entering Eyrie 358 - -Lammergeyer 361 - -Griffon Vultures 368 - -Reed-Bunting 378 - -Grey Plover 381 - -Head of Crested Coot 384 - -Avocets Feeding 385 - -White-Faced Duck (_Erismatura leucocephala_) 387 - -Purple Heron (_Ardea purpurea_) 389 - -Grey Plovers 390 - -Orphean Warbler 391 - -Savi's Warbler (_Sylvia savii_) 393 - -Unknown Insect 394 - -Bonelli's Eagles 395 - -Great Spotted Cuckoo (_Oxylophus glandarius_) 400 - -Crossbills (_Loxia curvirostra_) 402 - - - - -CHAPTER I - -UNEXPLORED SPAIN - -INTRODUCTORY - - -The Spain that we love and of which we write is not the Spain of tourist -or globe-trotter. These hold main routes, the highways from city to -city; few so much as venture upon the bye-ways. Our Spain begins where -bye-ways end. We write of her pathless solitudes, of desolate steppe and -prairie, of marsh and mountain-land--of her majestic sierras, some -well-nigh inaccessible, and, in many an instance, untrodden by British -foot save our own. Lonely scenes these, yet glorified by primeval beauty -and wealth of wild-life. As naturalists--that is, merely as born lovers -of all that is wild, and big, and pristine--we thank the guiding destiny -that early directed our steps towards a land that is probably the -wildest and certainly the least known of all in Europe--a land worthy of -better cicerones than ourselves. - -Do not let us appear to disparage the other Spain. The tourist enjoys -another land overflowing with historic and artistic interest--with -memorials of mediæval romance, and of stirring times when wave after -wave of successive conquest swept the Peninsula. Such subjects, however, -fall wholly outside the province of this book: nor do they lack -historians a thousand-fold better qualified to tell their tale. - - * * * * * - -The first cause that differentiates Spain from other European countries -of equal area is her high general elevation. This fact must jump to the -eye of every observant traveller who books his seat by the Sûd-express -to the Mediterranean. Better still, for our purpose, let him commence -his journey, say at the Tweed. From Berwick southwards through the heart -of England to London: from London to Paris, and right across France--all -the way he traverses low-lying levels; fat pastures, fertile and tilled -to the last acre. His aneroid tells him he has seldom risen above -sea-level by more than a few hundred feet; and never once has his train -passed through mountains--hardly even through hills; he can scarce be -said to have had a real mountain within the range of his vision in all -these 1200 miles. - -Now he crosses the Bidassoa ... the whole world changes! At once his -train plunges into interminable Pyrenees, and ere it clears these, he -has ascended to a permanent highland level--a tawny treeless steppe that -averages 2000-feet altitude, and sometimes approaches 3000, traversed by -range after range of rugged mountains that arise all around him to four, -five, or six thousand feet. Railways, moreover, avoid mountains (so far -as they can). Our traveller, therefore, must bear in mind that what he -actually sees is but the mildest and tamest version of Spanish sierras. -There are bits here and there that he may have thought anything but -tame--only tame by comparison with those grander scenes to which we -propose guiding him. - -For the next 500 miles he never quits that austere highland altitude nor -ever quite loses sight of jagged peaks that pierce the skies--peaks of -that hoary cinder-grey that shows up almost white against an azure -background. Never does he descend till, after leaving behind him three -kingdoms--Arragon, Navarre, and Castile--his train plunges through the -Sierra Moréna, down the gorges of Despeñaperros, and at length on the -third day enters upon the smiling lowlands of Andalucia. Here the -aneroid rises once more to rational readings, and fertile _vegas_ spread -away to the horizon. But our traveller is not even now quite clear of -mountains. Whether he be booked to Malaga or to Algeciras, he will -presently find himself enveloped once more amidst some fairly stupendous -rocks--the Gaëtánes or Serranía de Ronda respectively. - -Spain is, in fact, largely an elevated table-land, 400 miles square, and -traversed by four main mountain-ranges, all (like her great rivers) -running east and west. The only considerable areas of lowland are found -in Andalucia and Valencia. - -Naturally such physical features result in marked variations of climate -and scene, which in turn react upon their productions and denizens, -whether human or of savage breed. We take three examples. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -LAMMERGEYER (_Gypaëtus barbatus_) - -Whose home is in the wildest Sierras--a weird dragon-like bird-form; -expanse, 9 feet. - -[Formerly reputed to carry off _babies_ to its eyrie.]] - -The central table-lands, subject all summer to solar rays that burn, in -winter shelterless from biting blasts off snow-clad sierras, present -precisely that landscape of desperate desolation that always results -from a maximum of sunshine combined with a minimum of rainfall. A -desiccated downland, khaki-colour or calcareous by turn, but bare (save -for a few weeks in spring) of green thing, naked of bush or shrub, -innocent even of grass. Not a tree grows so far as eye can reach, not a -watercourse but is stone-dry and leaves the impress that it has been so -since time began. Oh, it is an unlovely landscape, that central plateau. -'Twere ungrateful, nevertheless (and unjust too), to forget that here we -are journeying in a glory of atmosphere, brilliant in aggressive -radiance that annihilates distance and revels in space. Though patches -of vine-growth be lost in the monotony of tawny expanse, mud-built -hamlet and village church indistinguishable amidst a universal khaki, -yet this is, in truth, a kingdom of the sun. The great bustard maintains -a foothold on these arid uplands, but the fauna is best exemplified by -the desert-loving sand-grouse (_Pterocles arenarius_). - -Precisely the reverse of all this is Cantabria--the Basque provinces of -the north, with Galicia and the Asturias. There, bordering on the -Biscayan Sea, you find a region absolutely Scandinavian in -type--pinnacled peaks, precipitous beyond all rivals even in Spain, with -deep-rifted valleys between, rushing salmon-rivers and mountain-torrents -abounding in trout. Here the fauna is alpine, if not subarctic, and -includes the brown bear and chamois, the ptarmigan, hazel-grouse, and -capercaillie. - -Cantabria is a region of rock, snow, and mist-wraith; of birch and -pine-forest--the very antithesis of the third region, that next concerns -us, the smiling plains of Andalucia and Valencia nestling on -Mediterranean shore. Here for eight months out of the twelve one lives -in a paradise; but the summer is African in its burden of heat and -discomfort. Every green thing outside the vineyard and irrigated garden -is burnt up by a fiery sun, a sun that changes not, but, day following -day, grips the land in a blistering embrace. Climatic conditions such as -these reacting on a race already infused with Arab blood naturally -conduce to Oriental modes of life. Yet even here we have examples of the -curious contradictions that characterise this _pays de l'imprévu_. Thus -within sight of one another, there flourish on the _vega_ below the -date-palm and sugar-cane, while the ice-defying edelweiss embellishes -the snows above--arctic and tropic in one. - - * * * * * - -Such extremes of climate react, as suggested, upon the character of the -human inhabitants of a land which includes within its boundaries nearly -all the physical conditions of Europe and North Africa. From the north, -as might be expected, comes the worker--the sturdy laborious Galician, -disdained and despised by his Andalucian brother, regarded as lacking in -dignity--the very name _Gallego_ is a term of reproach. But he is a -happy and contented hewer of wood and drawer of water, that Gallego: -throughout Spain he carries the baskets, bears the burdens, cleans the -floors; and finally returns, a rich man, to his barren hills of Galicia. - -The Andalucian will condescend to tend your cattle or garden, to drive -your horses or ponies: and such offices he will perform well; but -anything menial, or what he might regard as derogatory, he -prefers--instinctively, not offensively--to leave to the Galician. From -Castile and Navarre comes a different caste, stately and aristocratic by -nature, yet with fiery temperament concealed beneath subdued -exterior--honestly, we prefer both the preceding exemplars. The Catalan -comes next, pushing and effervescent, all for his own little corner, his -factories and his trade--impregnated, every man, with a sort of -cinematograph of advanced views on social and political questions of the -day--borrowed mostly from his up-to-date neighbours beyond the Pyrenees, -yet grafted on to old-world _fueros_, or franchises, that date back to -the times of the Counts of Barcelona.[1] Perhaps the most perfect -example of contemporary natural nobility is afforded by the -peasant-proprietor of pastoral León; then there is the Basque of Biscay, -Tartar-sprung or Turanian, Finnic, or surviving aboriginal--let -philologists decide. Among Spain's manifold human types, we suggest to -ethnologists (and suggested before, twenty years ago) the study of a -surviving remnant that still clings secreted, lonely as lepers, in the -far-away mountains of Northern Estremadura--the Hurdes. These wild -tribes of unknown origin (presumed to be Gothic) live apart from Spain, -four thousand of them, a root-grubbing race of _homo sylvestris_, -squatted in a land without written history or record, where all is -traditional even to the holding of the soil. Not a title-deed or other -document exists; yet this is a region of considerable extent--say fifty -miles by thirty. A recent pilgrimage to these forgotten glens enables us -to give, in another chapter, some contemporary facts about "Las Hurdes." - -Throughout Spain the people of the "lower orders"--the peasantry--strike -those who leave the beaten tracks by their independence and manly -bearing. North or south, east or west, an infinite variety of races -differing in habit and character, even in tongue, yet all agreeing in -their solid manliness, in straight-forward honesty, in what the Romans -entitled _virtus_--fine types save where contaminated by _empléomania_, -call that "officialdom" (one of the twin curses of Spain). Largely there -exists here ground-work for the rebuilding of Spanish greatness--such a -land awaits but the wand of a magician to recall its people to front -rank. Neither by despotic methods nor by the power that is only -demonstrated by violence will the change be brought about, but by the -enlightenment that has learnt to leave unimitated the follies of the -past, and unused the forces of coercion. - -Such a leader, we believe, to-day wields that wand. May he be spared to -restore the destinies of his country. - -It was in Spain, remember, that, more than 2000 years ago, the fate of -Carthage and, later, that of Rome was decided. To the latter Imperial -city Spain had given poets, philosophers, and emperors. It was in Spain -that there dawned the earlier glimmerings of popular liberties, as such -are now understood. Self-government with municipal rights were -recognised by the Cortes of León previous to our Magna Charta. -Individual guarantees, freedom of person and contract, and the -inviolability of the home were granted by the Cortes of Zaragoza in -1348--more than three centuries before our Habeas Corpus was signed in -1679. A land with such traditions and achievements, with its twenty -millions of inhabitants, cannot long be held back outside the trend of -liberal expansion. - -The pursuit of game, alike with other aspects of Spanish things, is not -exempt from startling surprises. A ramble through the cistus-scrub, with -no more exciting object than shooting a few redlegs, may result in -bagging a lynx; or a handful of snipe from some cane-brake be augmented -by the addition of a wild-boar. It is not that game abounds, but that -the country is wide and wild, abandoned to natural state and combining -conditions congenial to animal-life. Of the big-game that is obtained or -of its habitats, there is no approximate estimate, nor do precise -knowledge or records exist. Each village in the sierra or higher -mountain-region lives its own life apart. Communication with other -places is rare and difficult, nor is it sought. One must go oneself to -the spot to ascertain with any sort of accuracy what game has been, or -may be obtained thereat. This means finding out every fact at -first-hand, for no reliance can be placed on reports or hearsay -evidence. Nor does this remark apply to game alone: it applies -universally in wilder Spain. The Englishman straying in these lone -scenes finds himself amongst a kindly but independent people where -sympathy and a knowledge of the language carry him further than money. -Where all are _Caballeros_, neither titles nor wealth impress or subdue. -The wanderer is free to join his new-made friends in the chase, taking -equal chance with keen sportsmen and on terms of equality. He will find -his nationality a passport to their liking, and soon discover that Arab -hospitality has left an abiding impress in these wild regions; as, -indeed, Moorish domination has done on every Spanish thing. - -That last sentence sums up an ever-present and essential factor. In any -description of this country, however superficial, this Oriental heritage -must always be borne in mind as an influence of first importance. -Previous to the Arab inrush, Spain had enjoyed practically no organic -national existence. The Peninsula was occupied by a cluster of separate -kingdoms, not united nor even homogeneous, and usually one or another at -war with its neighbour. Neither Roman nor Goth had fused the Spanish -races into a concrete whole during their eight centuries of -overlordship. In A.D. 711 occurred a decisive day. Then, on Guadalete's -plain, below the walls of Jerez, that impetuous Arab chieftain Tarik -overthrew the Gothic King Roderick and with him the power of Spain. Like -an overwhelming flood, the Arabs swept across the land. Within two years -(by 713) the insignia of the Crescent floated above every castle and -tower, and Moslem rule was absolute throughout the country--excepting -only in the wild northern mountains of Asturias, whence the tenacity of -the mountaineers, guided by the genius of Pelayo, flung back the tide of -war. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -WOODCHAT SHRIKE (_Lanius pomeranus_)] - -Spanish history for the next seven centuries (711-1492) records "Moorish -domination." Now history, as such, lies outside our scope; but we become -concerned where Arab systems, and their methods of colonisation, have -altered the face of the earth and left enduring marks on wilder Spain. -And we may, beyond that, be allowed to interpolate a remark or two in -elucidation of what sometimes appear popular misconceptions on these and -subsequent events. Thus, during the period denominated "domination," the -Arab conquerors enjoyed no peaceful or undisputed possession. During all -those centuries there continued one long succession of wars--intermittent -attempts, successful and the reverse, at reconquest by the Christian -power. Here a patch of ground, a city, or a province was regained; -presently, perhaps, to be lost a second or a third time. Never for long -was there a final acceptance of the major force. But during the -interludes, the periods of rest between struggles, the two contending -races lived in more or less friendly intercourse, exchanging courtesies -and even maintaining a stout rivalry in those warlike forms of sport -which in mediæval times formed but a substitute for war. It was thence -that the custom of bull-fighting took its rise. If not fighting Arabs, -fight bulls, and so prepare for the more strenuous contest. Such -conditions could not but have tended towards greater coherence among the -various elements on the Christian side, except for the incessant -internecine rivalries between the Christians themselves. A Spanish -knight or kinglet would invoke the aid of his nation's foe to -consolidate or establish his own petty estate. Christians with Moslem -auxiliaries fought Moslems reinforced by Christian renegades. - -The Moorish invader had to fight for his possession--every yard of it. -Yet despite that, this energetic race found time to colonise, to develop -and enrich the subjugated region with a thoroughness the evidence of -which faces us to-day. We do not refer to their cities or to such -monuments in stone as the Mezquita or Alhambra, but to their -introduction into rural Spain of much of what to-day constitutes chief -sources of the country's wealth, and which might have been enormously -increased had Moorish methods been followed up. The Koran expressly -ordains and directs the introduction of all available fruits or plants -suitable to soil that came, or comes, under Moslem dominion. "The man -who plants or sows the seed of anything which, with the fruit thereof, -gives sustenance to man, bird or beast does an action as commendable as -charity"--so wrote one of their philosophers. "He who builds a house and -plants trees and who oppresses no one, nor lacks justice, will receive -abundant reward from the Almighty." There you have the religion both of -the good man and the good colonist. These precepts the Moors habitually -and energetically carried out to the letter. Arboriculture was -universal: the provinces of Valencia, Cordoba, and Toledo they filled -with trees--fruit-trees and timber. In the warm valleys of the coast and -in the sheltered glens of the mountains they acclimatised exotic fruits, -plants, and vegetables hitherto restricted to the more benign climes of -the East or to Afric's scorching strand. Sugar-cane flourished in such -luxuriance as to leave available a heavy margin for export. The fig-tree -and carob, quince and date-palm, the cotton-plant and orange, with other -aromatic and medicinal herbs, together with aloes and the -anachronous-looking prickly-pear (_Cactus_), its amorphous lobes -reminiscent of the Pleistocene, were all brought over for the use and -benefit, the delight and profit of Europe. Of these, the orange to-day -forms one of Spain's most valuable exports, representing some three -millions sterling per annum. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -GRIFFON VULTURE (_Gyps fulvus_) - -Abounds all over Spain: sketched while drying his wings after a -thunderstorm, in the Sierra de San Cristobal, Jerez.] - -Silk and its manufacture represented another immense source of wealth -and industry introduced into Spain--to-day extinct. The Moors covered -Andalucia with mulberry-groves: in Granada alone ran 5000 looms for the -weaving of the fibre, and the streets of the Zacatin and the Alcarcería -became world-markets, where every variety of costly stuffs were bought -and sold--tafetans, velvets, and richest textures that surpassed in -quality and brilliancy of tint even the far-famed products of Piza, -Florence, and the Levantine cities which since Roman days had -monopolised the silk-supply of the world. These now found their wares -displaced by Spanish silks; even the sumptuous "creations" of Persia and -China met with a dangerous rivalry. - -Such was the technical skill and success of the Moors in agriculture and -acclimatisation that, on the eventual conquest and final expulsion of -their race from Spain, overtures were made with a view of inducing a -certain proportion to remain, lest Spain might lose every expert she -possessed in these essential pursuits. Six families in every hundred -were promised amnesty on condition of remaining, but none accepted the -offer. Deep as was their love for Spain--so deep that the departing -Moors are related to have knelt and kissed its strand ere embarking, -broken-hearted, for Africa--yet not a man of them but refused to remain -as vassals where, for centuries, they had lived as lords. - -Such were the Moors--strong in war, yet equally strong in all the arts -and enterprises of peace, filled with energy, an industrious and a -practical race. It is safe to say that under their regime the resources -of this difficult land were being developed to their utmost capacity.[2] - -Of the final expulsion of the Moors (and that of the Jews was analogous) -'tis not for us to write. Yet, for Spain, both events proved momentous, -and, along with the antecedent practices of the Moriscos, provide -side-lights on history that are worth consideration.[3] - -The subjoined statistics give the state of Spanish agriculture at the -present day, the total acreage being taken as 50,451,688 hectares (2-1/2 -acres each):-- - - Hectares. - Cultivated 21,702,880 - - Uncultivated:-- - Pasture, scrub, and wood 24,055,547 - Unproductive 4,693,261 - ___________ - - Total 28,748,808 - __________ - Grand Total 50,451,688 - -These figures demonstrate precisely the extent of the authors' -condominium in Spain--well over one-half the country! With the area -under cultivation (say 43 per cent), we have but one concern--the Great -Bustard. The remaining 57 per cent pertain absolutely to our -province--Wilder Spain. The term scrub or brushwood (in Spanish -_monte_), though by a sort of courtesy it may be ranked as -"pasture"--and parts of it do support herds of sheep and goats--implies -as a rule the wildest of rough covert and jungle, rougher far than a -Scottish deer-forest; and this _monte_ clothes well-nigh one-half of -Spain. - -Such figures may appear to infer considerable apathy and lack of effort -as regards agriculture. 'Twere, nevertheless, a false assumption to -conclude that Spanish mountaineers are an idle race--quite the reverse, -as is repeatedly demonstrated in this book. In the hills every acre of -available soil is utilised, often at what appears excessive -labour--maybe it is a patch so tiny as hardly to seem worth the tilling, -or so terribly steep that none save a _serrano_ could keep a foothold, -much less plough, sow, and reap. - -The main explanation of the immense percentage of waste lies in the fact -first set forth--the high general elevation of Spain; and, secondly, in -her mountainous character. - -Whether these or any other extenuating circumstances apply to the -corn-lands, we are not sufficiently expert in such subjects as to -express a confident opinion. But we think not. So antiquated, wasteful, -and utterly inefficient have been Spanish methods of agriculture, that a -land which might be one of the granaries of Europe is actually to some -extent dependent on foreign grain, and that despite an import-duty! A -distinct movement is, nevertheless, perceptible in the direction of -employing modern agricultural machinery, chemical manures, and -such-like. Irrigation in a land whose head-waters can be tapped at 2000 -feet and upwards could be carried out on a larger scale and at cheaper -rates than in any other European country--yet it is practically -neglected; no considerable extension has been made to the two million -acres of irrigated lands that existed when we last wrote, twenty years -ago, although the ruined aqueducts of Roman, Goth, and Moor are ever -present to suggest the silent lesson of former foresight and prosperity. - -[Illustration: WOODEN PLOUGH-SHARE - -(As still commonly used.)] - -One incidental circumstance of rural Spain, the fatal effects of which -are all-penetrating (though it will never be altered), is absenteeism on -the part of landowners. Not even a tenant-farmer will live on his -holding. No, he must have his town-house, and employ an administrator or -agent to superintend the farm, only visiting it himself at rare -intervals. Oh! that hideous nightmare, the hireling, how his dead-weight -of apathy and dishonesty at secondhand crushes out every spark of -interest and enterprise, and breeds in their stead a rampant crop of all -the petty vices and frauds that prey on industry. But that evil can -hardly be eradicated. - -What we British understand by the expression "country life" totally -fails to commend itself to the more gregarious peoples of the south. -Rich and poor alike, from grandee to day-labourer, the Spanish ignore -and disdain the joys of the country. They call it the _campo_ and the -_campo_ they detest. Each nightfall must see every man of them, -irrespective of class, assembled within the walls of their beloved town -or city, irresistibly attracted to street-girt abode--be it humblest cot -or sumptuous palace (and one stands next door to the other). Even -suburban existence is eschewed. There are no outer fringes to a Spanish -town. No straggling "villa residences," no Laburnum Lodge or River-View -"ornament" the extramural solitude. Back at dusk all hie, crowding to -the _paséo_, to club or casino, to social gathering and games of chance -or (more rarely) of skill. That ubiquitous term "_animacion_," which may -be translated gossip, chatter, light-hearted intercourse, fulfils the -ideals of life. Its more serious side--reading, study, scientific -pursuit--have little place; seldom does one see a library in any Spanish -home, urban or rural. - -None can accuse the authors of desiring to use a comparison -(proverbially odious) to the detriment of our Spanish friends. The above -is merely a record of patent facts that must quickly become obvious to -the least observant. It is but a definition of divergent idiosyncrasies -as between different human genera. And remember that we in England have -recently been told that our rural system is fraught with unseen and -unsuspected evil. Into those wider questions we have no intention of -entering. But at least our impressions are based upon personal -experience of both lines of life, while much of the vituperation -recently poured upon rural England is derived from a view of but one, -and not a very clear view at that. - -Where the owner--big or little, but the more of them the better--lives -on the land, that land and the country at large benefit to a degree that -is demonstrated with singular clearness by seeing the converse system as -it is practised in Spain to-day. Here no one, owner or tenant--still -less the hireling--takes any living interest (to say nothing of pride) -in his possession or occupation beyond that very short-sighted -"interest" of squeezing the utmost out of it from day to day. Ancient -forests are cut down and burnt into charcoal, and rarely a tree -replanted or a thought given to the resulting effects on rainfall or -climate. As to beauty of landscape--what matter such æsthetic notions -when the owner lives a hundred miles away? The collateral fact that, to -a great extent, nature's beauty and nature's gifts are analogous and -interdependent is ignored. Such simple issues are too insignificant, -and too little understood, for frothy rhetoricians to reflect upon: the -latter, moreover, like Gallio (and Pontius Pilate) care for none of -these things. - -A characteristic that differentiates the Spaniard, north or south, from -other (more modern) nationalities, is a comparative indifference in -money matters. Now a Spaniard requires money for his daily needs as much -as the others; yet he never sinks to the level of total absorption in -his pursuit of the dollar. Put that down to apathy, if you will--or to -pride; at least there is dignity in the attribute. The leading Spanish -newspapers quote the various market fluctuations and changes in value -from day to day. Sometimes, possibly, the report may read _sin -operaciones_, but never will you see conspicuously protruded, as a main -item in the morning's news, the headline "Wall Street." There is (or -was) dignity in commerce, and there may yet be readers in England who -silently wish that such matters were relegated to their proper -position--the monetary columns. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -CETTI'S WARBLER (_Sylvia cettii_) - -A winter songster, abundant but rarely seen, skulking in densest -brakes.] - -The chief financial flutter that interests is the Government lottery -which is held every fortnight, and at which all classes lose their -money; but the National Treasury profits to the tune of three millions -sterling yearly. Spain is the home of "chance": that element appeals to -Spanish character. Thus in bull-fighting (the one popular pastime) the -name applied to each of its formulated exploits is _suerte_--chance. - - * * * * * - -SPAIN is frequently accused of being a land of _mañana_. Hardly can we -call to mind a book on the country in which some play on that word does -not figure. But procrastination is not confined to any one country, and -in this case the accusers are quite as likely to be guilty as the -accused. A characteristic that strikes us as more applicable is rather -the reverse--that of taking no thought for the morrow. Let us take an -example or two. It is not the custom to repair roads. When, from long -use, a road has gradually passed from bad to worse, till at length it -has virtually ceased to exist, then it is "reconstruction" that is the -remedy. Annual repairs, one may presume, would cost, say half the -amount, would preserve continuous utility, and avoid that slowly -aggravated destruction that ends finally in a hiatus. But that is not -the Spanish way. "Reconstruction" is preferred. The ruthless cutting -down of her forests without replanting a single tree has already been -quoted. Next take an example or two of the things that lie most directly -under the authors' special view, such as game. The ibex--a unique asset, -restricted to Spain, and of which any other country would be proud--has -been callously shot down without thought for to-morrow, extirpated for -ever in a dozen of its former habitats. The redleg--under the murderous -system of shooting, year in and year out, over decoy-birds--would be -exterminated within three or four years in any other country save this. -It is merely the incredible fecundity of the bird and the vast area of -waste lands that preserves the breed. Partridge in Spain are like -rabbits in Australia--indestructible. The trout affords another example. -Everywhere else on earth the trout is prized as one of nature's valued -gifts--hard to over-appreciate. Fully one-half of Spain is expressly -adapted to its requirements. Trout were intended by nature to abound -over the northern half of Spain--say down to the latitude of Madrid, and -even in the extreme south where conditions are favourable, as in the -Sierra Neváda. Trout might abound in Spain to the full as they abound in -Scotland or Norway, adding value to every river and a grace to country -life. But what is the treatment meted out to the trout in Spain? No -sooner is its presence detected than the whole stock--big and little -alike, even the spawn--is blown out of existence with dynamite, poisoned -by quicklime, or captured wholesale (regardless of season or condition) -in nets, cruives, funnel-traps, and every other abomination. Kill and -eat, big or little, breeding female or immature--it matters not; kill -all you can to-day and leave the morrow to itself. True, there are -game-laws and close-seasons, but none observe them.[4] - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -DARTFORD WARBLER (_Sylvia undata_) - -Resident. Frequents deep furze-coverts, seldom seen (as we are -constrained to represent it) in separate outline.] - -We have selected these examples because we know and can speak with -absolute authority. Presumption and analogy will naturally suggest that -the same intelligence, the same blind improvidence will apply equally in -other and far more important matters. Not one of our Spanish friends -with whom we have discussed these subjects time and again but agrees to -the letter with the above conclusions and most bitterly regrets them. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -UNEXPLORED SPAIN (_Continued_) - -ON TRAVEL AND OTHER THINGS - - -Travel in all the wilder regions of Spain implies the saddle. Our Spain -begins, as premised, where roads end. For us railways exist merely to -help us one degree nearer to the final plunge into the unknown; and not -railways only, but roads and bridges soon "petter out" into trackless -waste, and leave the explorer face to face with open -wilds--_despoblados_, that is, uninhabited regions--with a route-map in -his pocket that is quite unreliable, and a trusty local guide who is -just the reverse. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -FANTAIL WARBLER (_Cisticola cursitans_) - -Resident: builds a deep purse-like nest supported on long grass or -rushes.] - -Riding light, with the "irreducible minimum" stowed in the saddle-bags, -one may traverse Spain from end to end. But it is only a hasty and -superficial view that is thus obtainable, and except for those who love -roughing it for roughness' sake, even the freedom of the saddle presents -grave drawbacks in a land where none live in the country and none travel -off stated tracks. In the _campo_, nothing--neither food for man nor -beast--can be obtained, and no provision exists for travellers where -travellers never come. The little rural hostelry of northern lands has -no place; there is instead a _venta_ or _posada_ which may too often be -likened to a stable for beasts with an extra stall for their riders. It -is a characteristic of pastoral countries everywhere that their rude -inhabitants discriminate little between the needs of man and beast. - -But even towns of quite considerable size--when far removed from the -track--are totally devoid of inns in our sense. Inns are not needed. The -few Spanish travellers who, greatly daring, venture so far afield, -usually bespeak beforehand the hospitality of some local friend or -acquaintance. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -ROCK-THRUSH (_Petrocincla saxatilis_) - -A beautiful spring-migrant to the highest sierras. Colours of male: -opal, orange, and black, with a white "mirror" in centre of back. -Female, yellow-brown barred with black.] - -Incidentally it may be added that a visit to one of these -out-of-the-world cities--asleep most of them for the last few -centuries--is a pleasing and restful change amidst the racket of -exploration. One breathes a mediæval atmosphere and marvels at the -revelation, enjoying prehistoric peeps in lost cities replete for the -antiquary with historic memorial and long-forgotten lore. No one cares. - -Yet in those bygone days of Spain's world-power these somnolent spots -produced the right stuff,--a minority, no doubt, belonged to the type -satirised by Cervantes,--but many more strong in mind as in muscle, who -went forth, knights-errant, Paladins and Crusaders, to conquer and to -shape the course of history. Is the old spirit extinct? Our own -impression is that the material is there all right ready to spring to -life like the stones of Deucalion, so soon as Spain shall have shaken -off her incubus of lethargy and the tyranny that clogs the wheels of -progress. Nor need the interval be long. - - * * * * * - -That sound human material continues to exist in rural Spain we have had -recent evidence during the calling-out of levies of young troops ordered -abroad to serve their country in Morocco. None could witness the -entrainment at some remote station of a detachment of these fine lads -without being struck by their bearing, their set purpose, and above all -their patriotism. With such material, with a well cared-for, contented, -and loyal army and a broadening of view, wisely graduated but equally -resolute, Spain moves forward. Alfonso XIII. is a soldier first--No! -Above that he is a king by nature, but his care for his army and its -well-being has already borne fruits that are making and will make for -the honour, safety, and advancement of his country. - - * * * * * - -To resume our interrupted note on travel: whether you are riding across -bush-clad hills, over far-spread prairie, or through the defiles of the -sierra, as shadows lengthen the problem of a night's lodging obtrudes. -There is a variety of solutions. At a pinch--as when belated or -benighted--one may, in desperate resort, seek shelter in a _choza_. Now -a _choza_ is the reed-thatched hut which forms the rural peasant's -lonely home. Assuredly you will be made welcome, and that with a grace -and a courtesy--aye, a courtliness--that characterises even the humblest -in Spain. The best there is will be at your disposal; yet--if -permissible to say so in face of such splendid hospitality (and in the -hope that these good leather-clad friends of ours may not read this -book)--the open air is preferable. There exists in a _choza_ absolutely -no accommodation--not a separate room; a low settee running round the -interior, or a withy frame, forms the bed; those kindly folk live all -together, along with their domestic animals--and pigs are reckoned such -in Spain. Let us gratefully pay this due tribute to our peasant -friends--but let us sleep outside. - -At each village will usually be found a _posada_. These differ in -degree, mostly from bad downwards. The lowlier sort--little better than -the _choza_--is but a long, low, one-storeyed barn which you share with -fellow-wayfarers, and your own and their beasts, or any others that may -come in, barely separated by a thatched partition that is neither -noise-proof nor scent-proof. We can call instances to mind when even -that small luxury was lacking, and all, human and other, shared alike. -There are no windows--merely wooden hatches. If shut, both light and air -are excluded; if open, hens, dogs, and cats will enter with the -dawn--the former to finish what remains of supper. The cats will at -least disperse the regiment of rats which, during the night, have -scurried across your sleeping form. - -Here we relate, as a specific example, a night we spent this last spring -in northern Estremadura:-- - -[Illustration: A VILLAGE _POSADA_] - -Owing to a miscalculation of distance, it was an hour after sundown ere -we reached our destination, a lonely hamlet among the hills. Our good -little Galician ponies were dead-beat, for we had been in the saddle -since 5 A.M., and it was past eight ere we toiled up that last steep, -rock-terraced slope. We were a party of three, with a local guide and -our own Sancho Panza--faithful companion, friend, and servant of many -years' standing. At a dilapidated hovel, the last in the village and -perched on a crag, we drew rein, and after repeated knocks the door was -opened by a girl--she had set down a five-year-old child among the -donkeys while she drew the bolt, the ground-floor being (as usual) a -stable. To our inquiry as to food--and the hunger of the lost was upon -us--our hostess merely shrugged her shoulders, and with an expressive -gesture of open hands, answered "Nada"--nothing! Sancho, however, was -equal to the occasion. Within two minutes, while we yet stood -disconsolate, he returned with a cackling cockerel in his arms. "Stew -him quick before he crows," he adjured the girl, and turned to unload -the ponies. - -What an age a cockerel takes to cook! It was midnight ere he smoked on -the board and, hunger satisfied, we could turn in. In an upper den were -two alcoves with beds, or rather stone ledges, ordinarily used by the -family, and which were assigned to us, the luckless No. 3 by lot having -to make shift (in preference to sleeping on a filthy floor) with three -cranky tables of varying heights, and whose united lengths proved a foot -too short at either end! - -Oh, the joy of the morning's dawn and delicious freshness of the -mountain air, as we turned out at five o'clock for yet another -ten-league spell to our next destination. Two nights later we slept in -the gilded luxury of Madrid! But how we abused our previous neglect in -not having brought a camp-outfit. - -The above, however, presents the gloomier side of the picture, and there -is a reverse, even in _posadas_. We cannot better describe the latter -side than in our own words from _Wild Spain_:-- - - A NIGHT AT A _POSADA_ (ANDALUCIA) - - The wayfarer has been travelling all day across the scrub-clad - wastes, fragrant with rosemary and wild thyme, without perhaps - seeing a human being beyond a stray shepherd or a band of nomad - gypsies encamped amidst the green palmettos. Towards night he - reaches some small village where he seeks the rude _posada_. He - sees his horse provided with a good feed of barley and as much - broken straw as he can eat. He is himself regaled with one - dish--probably the _olla_ or a _guiso_ (stew) of kid, either of - them, as a rule, of a rich red-brick hue, from the colour of the - red pepper or capsicum in the _chorizo_ or sausage, which is an - important (and potent) component of most Spanish dishes. The - steaming _olla_ will presently be set on a table before the large - wood-fire, and with the best of crisp white bread and wine, the - traveller enjoys his meal in company with any other guest that may - have arrived at the time--be he muleteer or hidalgo. What a fund of - information may be picked up during that promiscuous supper! There - will be the housewife, the barber, and the padre of the village, - perhaps a goatherd come down from the mountains, a muleteer, and a - charcoal-burner or two, each ready to tell his own tale, or to - enter into friendly discussion with the "Ingles." Then, as you - light your _breva_, a note or two struck on the guitar falls on - ears predisposed to be pleased. - - How well one knows those first few opening notes: no occasion to - ask that it may go on: it will all come in time, and one knows - there is a merry evening in prospect. One by one the villagers drop - in, and an ever-widening circle is formed around the open hearth, - rows of children collect, even the dogs draw around to look on. The - player and the company gradually warm up till couplet after couplet - of pathetic _malagueñas_ follow in quick succession. These songs - are generally topical, and almost always extempore; and as most - Spaniards can--or rather are anxious to--sing, one enjoys many - verses that are very prettily as well as wittily conceived. - - But girls must dance, and find no difficulty in getting partners to - join them. The _malagueñas_ cease, and one or perhaps two couples - stand up, and a pretty sight they afford! Seldom does one see - girl-faces so full of fun and so supremely happy as they adjust the - castanets, and one damsel steps aside to whisper something sly to a - sister or friend. And now the dance begins; observe there is no - slurring or attempt to save themselves in any movement. Each step - and figure is carefully executed, but with easy, spontaneous grace - and precision both by the girl and her partner. - - Though two or more pairs may be dancing at once, each is quite - independent of the others, and only dance to themselves; nor do the - partners ever touch each other.[5] The steps are difficult and - somewhat intricate, and there is plenty of scope for individual - skill, though grace of movement and supple pliancy of limb and body - are almost universal, and are strong points in dancing both the - _fandango_ and _minuet_. Presently the climax of the dance - approaches. The notes of the guitar grow faster and faster; the - man--a stalwart shepherd-lad--leaps and bounds around his - pirouetting partner, and the steps, though still well ordered and - in time, grow so fast that one can hardly follow their movements. - - Now others rise and take the places of the first dancers, and so - the evening passes; perhaps a few glasses of _aguardiente_ are - handed round--certainly much tobacco is smoked--the older folks - keep time to the music with hand-clapping, and all is good nature - and merriment. - - What is it that makes the recollection of such evenings so - pleasant? Is it merely the fascinating simplicity and freedom of - the dance, or the spectacle of those weird, picturesque groups, - bronze-visaged men and dark-eyed maidens, all lit up by the blaze - of the great wood-fire on the hearth, and low-burning oil-lamps - suspended from the rafters? Perhaps it is only the remembrance of - many happy evenings spent among these people since our boyhood. - This we can truly say, that when at last you turn in to sleep you - feel happy and secure among a peasantry with whom politeness and - sympathy are the only passports required to secure to you both - friendship and protection if required. Nor is there a pleasanter - means of forming acquaintance with Spanish country life and customs - than a few evenings spent thus at a farm-house or village inn in - any retired district of laughter-loving Andalucia. - -For rough living we are of course prepared, and accept the necessity -without demur or second thought while travelling. But when more serious -objects are in hand--say big-game or the study of nature, objects which -demand more leisurely progress, or actually encamping for a week or more -at selected points--then we prefer to assure complete independence of -all local assistance and shelter. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -SERIN (_Serinus hortulanus_) - -A true European canary, but its song is harsh and hissing.] - -An expedition on this scale involves an amount of care and forethought -that only those who have experienced it would credit. For in Spain it is -an unknown undertaking, and to engineer something new is always -difficult. Quite an extensive camping-trip can be organised in Africa, -where the system is understood, with less than a hundredth part of the -care needed for a comparatively short trip in Spain where it is not. The -necessary bulk of camp-outfit and equipment requires a considerable -cavalcade, and this mule-transport (since no provender is obtainable in -the country) involves carrying along all the food for the animals--the -heaviest item of all. Naturally the cost of such expeditions works out -to nearly double that of simple riding. - -But, after all, it is worth it! Compare some of the miseries we have -above but lightly touched upon--the dirt and squalor, the nameless -horrors of _choza_ or _posada_--with the sense of joyous exhilaration -felt when encamped by the banks of some babbling trout-stream or in the -glorious freedom of the open hill. Casting back in mental reverie over a -lengthening vista of years, we certainly count as among the happiest -days of life those spent thus under canvas--whether on the sierras and -marismas of Spain, on high field or dark forest in Scandinavia, or on -Afric's blazing veld. - -Should some remarks (here or elsewhere in this book) appear -self-contradictory the reason will be found rather in our inadequate -expression than in any confusion of idea. We love Spain primarily -because she is wild and waste; but, loving her, are naturally desirous -that she should advance to that position among nations that is her due. -Such material development, nevertheless, need not--and will not--imply -the total destruction of her wild beauties. Development on those lines -would not consist with the peculiar genius of the Spanish race, and, -while we trust the development will come, we fear no such collateral -results. Take, for instance, the corn-lands. There the great bustard is -alike the index and the price of vast, unwieldy farms unfenced and but -half tilled, remote from rail, road, or market. That condition we -neither expect nor hope to see exchanged for smug fields with a network -of railways. For "three acres and a cow" is not the line of Spanish -regeneration; it is rather a claptrap catch-word of politicians--a -murrain on the lot of them! - -True, the plan seems to answer in Denmark, and if the Danes are -satisfied, well and good--that is no business of ours. But no such -mathematical and Procrustean restriction of vital energies and ambitions -will subserve our British race, nor the Spanish. In Spanish sierra may -the howl of the wolf at dawn never be replaced by blast from factory -siren, nor the curling blue smoke of the charcoal-burner in primeval -forest be abolished in favour of black clouds belching from bristling -chimneys that pierce a murky sky. Either in such circumstance would be -misplaced. - -Similarly, when the engineer shall have been turned loose in the Spanish -marismas, he can, beyond all doubt, destroy them for ever. His straight -lines and intersecting canals, hideous in utilitarian rectitude, would -right soon demolish that glory of lonely desolation--those leagues of -marshland, samphire, and glittering _lucio_. And all for nothing! Since -the desecration will not "pay" financially--the reason we give in detail -elsewhere--and you sacrifice for a shadow some of the grandest bits of -wild nature that yet survive--the finest length and breadth of utter -abandonment that still enrich a humdrum Europe. Should "progress" only -advance on these lines no scrap of that continent will be left to -wanderer in the wilds--no spot where clanging skeins of wild-geese serry -the skies, and the swish of ten thousand wigeon be heard overhead; or -that marvellous iridescence--as of triple flame--the passing of a flight -of flamingoes, be enjoyed.[6] - -That national progress and development may come, for Spain's sake, we -earnestly pray. But does there exist inherent reason why progress, in -itself, should always come to ruin natural and racial beauties? Progress -seems nowadays to be misunderstood as a synonym for uniformity--and -uniformity to a single type. Disciples of the cult of insensate haste, -of self-assertion and advertisement, have pretty well conquered the -civilised world; but in Spain they find no foothold, and we glory to -think they never will. Spain will never be "dragooned" into a servile -uniformity. There remain many, among whom we count our humble selves, -who bow no knee to the modern Baal, and who (while conceding to the -"hustling" crowd not one iota of their pretensions to fuller efficiency -in any shape or form) are proud to find fascination in simplicity, a -solace in honest purpose and in old-world styles of life--right down (if -you will) to its inertia. - -Yes, may progress come, yet leave unchanged the innate courtesy, the -dignity and independence of rural Spain--unspoilt her sierras and -glorious heaths aromatic of myrtle and mimosa, alternating with natural -woods of ilex and cork-oak--self-sown and park-like, carpeted between in -spring-time with wondrous wealth of wild flowers. There is nothing -incongruous in such aspiration. Incongruity rather comes in with -misappreciation of the fitness of things, as when a coal-mine is planked -down in the midst of sylvan beauties, to save some hypothetic -penny-a-ton (as per Prospectus); where pellucid streams are polluted -with chemical filth and vegetation blasted by noisome fumes; or where -God's fairest landscapes are ruined by forests of hideous smoke-stacks. - -If vandalisms such as these be progress then we prefer Spain as she is. - - -A NOTE ON THE SPANISH FAUNA - -After all, it is less with the human element that this book is concerned -than with the wild Fauna of Spain; a brief introductory notice thereof -cannot, therefore, be omitted. - -[Illustration: BONELLI'S EAGLE (_Aquila bonellii_) - -A pair disturbed at their eyrie.] - -As head of the list must stand the Spanish Ibex (_Capra hispánica_), a -game-animal of quite first rank, peculiar to the Iberian Peninsula, and -whose nearest relative--the Bharal (_Capra cylindricornis_)--lives 2500 -miles away in the far Caucasus. In Spain the ibex inhabits six great -mountain-ranges, each covering a vast area but all widely separated. -After a crisis that five years ago threatened extermination, this grand -species is now happily increasing under a measure of protection and the -ægis of King Alfonso. Next--a notable neighbour of the ibex (and -practically extinct in central Europe)--we place the lone and lordly -Lammergeyer. A memorable spectacle it is to watch the huge _Gypaëtus_ -sweeping through space o'er glens and corries of the sierra in striking -similitude to some weird flying dragon of Miocene age--a vision of -blood-red irides set on a cruel head with bristly black beard, of hoary -grey plumage and golden breast. Watch him for half an hour--for half a -day--yet never will you discern a sign of force exerted by those 3-yard -pinions. With slightly reflexed wings he sinks 1000 feet; then, shifting -course, rises 2000, 3000 feet till lost to sight over some appalling -skyline. You have seen the long cuneate tail deflected ever so -slightly--more gently than a well-handled helm--but the wide lavender -wings remain rigid, not an effort that indicates force have you -descried. Yet the power (so defined as "horse-power") required to raise -a deadweight of 20 lbs. through such altitudes can be calculated by -engineers to a nicety--how is it exerted? That the power is there is -conspicuous enough, and at least it serves to explain fabled traditions -of giant lammergeyers hurling ibex-hunter from perilous hand-hold on the -crag, to feast on the remains below; or, in idler moment, bearing off -untended babes to their eyries--alas! that the duty of nature-students -involves dissipating all such romance. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -BLACK VULTURE (_Vultur monachus_) - -Nests in the mountain-forests of Central Spain, and winters in -Andalucia. Sketched in Cote Doñana--"Getting under way."] - -Spain, as geologically designed, being, as to one-half of her -superficies, either a desert wilderness or a mountain solitude, -naturally lends congenial conditions of life to the predatory forms that -rely on hooked bill, on tooth and claw, fang and talon, to ravage their -more gentle neighbours. Savage raptores, furred and feathered, -characterise her wilder scenes. Wherever one may travel, a day's ride -will surely reveal huge vultures and eagles circling aloft, intent on -blood. Throughout the wooded plains the majestic Imperial Eagle is -overlord--you know him afar in sable uniform, offset by snow-white -epaulets. Among the sierras a like condominium is shared by the Golden -and Bonelli's Eagles--and they have half-a-dozen rivals, to say nothing -of lynxes and fierce wolves (we give a photo of one, the gape of whose -jaws exceeds by one-half that of an African hyaena). Then there patrol -the wastes a horde of savage night-rovers, denominated in Spanish -_Alimañas_, to which a special chapter is devoted. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -WHITE-FACED DUCK (_Erismatura leucocephala_) - -Bill much dilated, waxy-blue in colour. Wings extremely short; a sheeny -grebe-like plumage, and long stiff tail, often carried erect.] - -In Estremadura, where man is a negligible quantity, and along the wild -wooded valley of the Tagus, roams the Fallow-deer in aboriginal purity -of blood--whether any other European country can so claim it, the -authors have been unable to ascertain. In Cantabria and the Pyrenees the -Chamois abounds. - -Of the big game (the list includes red, roe, and fallow-deer, -wild-boar, ibex, chamois, brown bear, etc.), we treat in full detail -hereafter. - -As regards winged game, this south-western corner of Europe, is -singularly weak. There exists but a single resident species of true -game-bird--the redleg. Compare this with northern Europe, where, in a -Scandinavian elk-forest, we have shot five kinds of grouse within five -miles; while southwards, in Africa, francolins and guinea-fowl are -counted in dozens of species. True, there are ptarmigan in the Pyrenees, -capercaillie, hazel-grouse, and grey partridge in Cantabria, but all -these are confined to the Biscayan area. Nor are we overlooking the -grandest game-bird of all, the Great Bustard, chiefest ornament of -Spanish steppe, and there are others--the lesser bustard, quail, -sand-grouse, etc.--but these hardly fall within our definition. As for -the teeming hosts of wildfowl and waterfowl that throng the Spanish -marismas (some coming from Africa in spring, the bulk fleeing hither -from the Arctic winter), all these are so fully treated elsewhere as to -need no further notice here. - -Spain boasts several distinct species peculiar to her limits. Among such -(besides the ibex) are that curious amphibian, the Pyrenean musk-rat -(_Myogale pyrenaica_), not again to be met with nearer than the eastern -confines of Europe. Birds afford an even more striking instance. The -Spanish azure-winged magpie (_Cyanopica cooki_) abounds in Castile, -Estremadura, and the Sierra Moréna, but its like is seen nowhere else on -earth till you reach China and Japan! - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE COTO DOÑANA: OUR HISTORIC HUNTING-GROUND - - A Foreword by SIR MAURICE DE BUNSEN, G.C.M.G., British Ambassador - at Madrid. - - -Among my recollections of Spain none will be more vivid and delightful -than those of my visits to the Coto Doñana. From beginning to end, -climate, scenery, sport, and hospitable entertainment combine, in that -happy region, to make the hours all too short for the joys they bring. -Equipped with Paradox-gun or rifle, and some variety of ammunition, to -suit the shifting requirements of deer and boar, lynx, partridge, -wild-geese and ducks, snipe, rabbit and hare, nay, perhaps a chance shot -at flamingo, vulture, or eagle, the favoured visitor steps from the -Bonanza pier into the broad wherry waiting to carry him across the -Guadalquivir, a few miles only from its outflow into the Atlantic. In -its hold the first of many enticing _bocadillos_ is spread before him. -Table utensils are superfluous luxuries, but, armed with hunting blade -and a formidable appetite, he plays havoc with the red mullet, -_tortilla_, and _carne de membrillo_, washed down with a tumbler of -sherry which has ripened through many a year in a not far distant -_bodega_. - -In half an hour he is in the saddle. Distances and sandy soil prohibit -much walking in the Coto Doñana. - -[Illustration: SAND WASTE IN COTO DOÑANA.] - -[Illustration: LANDSCAPE IN COTO DOÑANA, WITH MARISMA IN BACKGROUND. - -FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY H.R.H. PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS.] - -[Illustration: SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE] - -Marshalled by our host, the soul of the party, the cavalcade canters -lightly up the sandy beach of the river. Thence it strikes to the left -into the pine-coverts, leading in five hours more to the friendly roof -of the "Palacio." A picturesque group it is with Vazquez, Caraballo, and -other well-known figures in the van, packhorses loaded with luggage and -implements of the chase, and lean, hungry _podencos_ hunting hither and -thither for a stray rabbit on the way. The views are not to be -forgotten, the distant Ronda mountains seen through a framework of -stone-pines, across seventy miles of sandy dunes, marismas, and -intervening plains. After a couple of hours we skirt the famous -sandhills, innocent of the slightest dash of green, which for some -inscrutable reason attract, morning after morning, at the first tinge of -dawn, countless greylag geese to their barren expanse and on which, _si -Dios quiere_, toll shall be levied ere long. The marismas and long -lagoons are covered here and there with black patches crawling with -myriads of waterfowl, to be described after supper by the careful -Vazquez as _muy pocos, un salpicon_--a mere sprinkling. Their names and -habits, are they not written, with the most competent of pens, in this -very volume? We stop, perhaps, for a first deer-drive on our line of -march. How thrilling that sudden rustle in the brushwood! Stag is it, or -hind, or grisly porker? As we approach the "Palacio" we see the -spreading oak on which perched, contemptuous and unsuspecting, the -imperial eagle, honoured this year by a bullet from King Alfonso's -unerring rifle. As we ride through the scrub the whirr of the -red-legged partridge sends an involuntary hand to the gun. They may -await another day. At dusk we ride into the whitewashed _patio_, just in -time to sally forth and get a flighting woodcock between gun and -lingering glow of the setting sun. - -For no precious hours are wasted in the Coto Doñana. Next day at early -dawn, maybe, if the lagoon be our destination, or at any rate after a -timely breakfast, off starts again the eager cavalcade, be it in quest -of red deer or less noble quarry. Then all day in the saddle, from drive -to drive, dismounting only to lie in wait for a stag, or trudge through -the sage-bushes after partridge, or flounder through the boggy _soto_, -beloved of snipe, with intervening oases for the unforgotten -_bocadillo_. - -If Vazquez be kind, he will take you one day to crouch with him behind -his well-trained stalking-horse, drawing craftily nearer and nearer to -where the duck sit thickest, till, straightening your aching back, you -have leave to put in your two barrels, as Vazquez lays low some twenty -couples with one booming shot from his four-bore, into the brown. - -[Illustration: EGRET-HERONRY AT SANTOLALLA, COTO DOÑANA. - -(THE FOREGROUND IS SAND.) - -FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY H. R. H. PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS.] - -But one morning surely a visit must be paid to the sandhills. Caraballo -will call you at 4 A.M., and soon after you will be jogging over the six -or eight miles which separate the "Palacio" from that morning -_rendezvous_ of the greylag. The stars still shine brightly as you -dismount at the foot of the long stretch of dunes. A few minutes' trudge -will deposit you in a round hole dug deep in the dazzling white expanse -the day before; for a hole too freshly dug will expose the damp brown -sand from below, staining the spotless surface with a warning blotch, -and causing the wary geese to swerve beyond the range of your No. 1 -shot. It is still dark as you drop into your hole. Gradually the sky -grows greyer and lighter, till the sun rises from the round yellow rim -of the blue morning sky. Who shall describe the magic thrill of the -first hoarse notes falling on your straining ear? The temptation to peep -out is strong, but crouching deep down, you wait till the mighty pinions -beat above you, and the first wedge of eight or ten sails grandly away -in the morning sun. You judge them out of shot. But surely this second -batch is lower down? Are they not close upon you? Why then no response -to your two barrels? Was the emotion too great, or have you misjudged -the speed of that easy flight or its distance through the crystal -air? All the keener is the joy when, with heavy thump, your first goose -is landed on the sand amid the tin decoys. When three or four lie there, -Vazquez will send his fleet two-legged "water-dog" to set them up with -twigs supporting their bills, to beguile more of their kind into line -with the barrels. If the day be propitious, the sky will be dotted at -times with geese in all directions. Now and again they will give you a -shot, the expert taking surely three or four to the tyro's one. It is -half-past eight, and you have sat in your hole close on two hours before -Vazquez comes to gather the slain, to which he will add two or three -more, marked down afar, and picked up as dead as the rest. Never have -two of your waking hours passed so quickly. What would you not give to -live them over again and undo some of those inexplicable misses? But one -goose alone would amply repay that early start. Even four or five are -all you can carry, and the twenty or thirty that our expert [who must be -nameless] would have shot, will live to stock the world afresh. - -[Illustration: SPANISH LYNX] - -Among the fauna of the Coto Doñana, a word must be given to the lynx. -Never can I forget sitting one afternoon, Paradox in hand, on the fringe -of a covert. I was waiting for stag, rather drowsily, for the beat was a -long one and the sun hot, when my eyes suddenly rested on a lynx -standing broadside among the bushes, beyond a bare belt of sand, some -fifty yards off. Fain would I have changed my bullet for slugs, but -those sharp ears would have detected the slightest click; so I loosed -my bullet for what it was worth. - -The lynx was gone. When the beat came at last to an end, I thought I -would just have a look at his tracks. He lay stone-dead behind a bush, -shot through the heart. - -The eventful days are all too soon over. But the recollection remains of -happy companionship and varying adventure, of easy intercourse between -Spaniard and Englishman, with the echo of many a sporting tale, mingled -with sage discourse from qualified lips on the habits of bird and beast. -Who can tell you more about them than that group of true sportsmen and -lovers of nature whose names, Garvey, Buck, Gonzalez, and Chapman, are -indissolubly linked with the more modern history of the famous Coto -Doñana? - -MAURICE DE BUNSEN. - -BRITISH EMBASSY, MADRID, - -_July 1910_. - -[Illustration: GREENSHANK (_Totanus canescens_)] - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE COTO DOÑANA - -NOTES ON ITS PHYSICAL FORMATION, FAUNA, AND RED DEER - - -The great river Guadalquivir, dividing in its oblique course seawards -into double channels and finally swerving, as though reluctant to lose -all identity in the infinite Atlantic, practically cuts off from the -Spanish mainland a triangular region, some forty miles of waste and -wilderness, an isolated desert, singular as it is beautiful, which we -now endeavour to describe. This, from our having for many years held the -rights of chase, we can at least undertake with knowledge and affection. - -[Illustration] - -Its precise geological formation 'twere beyond our power, unskilled in -that science, to diagnose. But even to untaught eye, the existence of -the whole area is obviously due to an age-long conflict waged between -two Powers--the great river from within, the greater ocean without. The -Guadalquivir, draining the distant mountains of Moréna and full 200 -miles of intervening plain, rolls down a tawny flood charged with yellow -mud till its colour resembles _café au lait_. Thus proceeds a ceaseless -deposit of sediment upon the sea-bed; but the external Power forcibly -opposes such infringement of its area. Here the elemental battle is -joined. The river has so far prevailed as to have grabbed from the sea -many hundred square miles of alluvial plain, that known as the marisma; -but at this precise epoch, the Sea-Power appears to have called -checkmate by interposing a vast barrier of sand along the whole -battle-front. The net result remains that to-day there is tacked on to -the southernmost confines of Europe a singular exotic patch of African -desert. - -This sand-barrier, known as the Coto Doñana, occupies, together with its -adjoining dunes on the west, upwards of forty miles of the Spanish -coast-line, its maximum breadth reaching in places to eight or ten -miles. The Coto Doñana is cut off from the mainland of Spain not only by -the great river, but by the marisma--a watery wilderness wide enough to -provide a home for wandering herds of wild camels. (See rough sketch-map -above.) - -Sand and sand alone constitutes the soil-substance of Doñana, overlying, -presumably, the buried alluvia beneath. Yet a wondrous beauty and -variety of landscape this desolate region affords. From the river's -mouth forests of stone-pine extend unbroken league beyond league, hill -and hollow glorious in deep-green foliage, while the forest-floor revels -in wealth of aromatic shrubbery all lit up by chequered rays of dappled -sunlight. Westward, beyond the pine-limit, stretch regions of Saharan -barrenness where miles of glistening sand-wastes devoid of any vestige -of vegetation dazzle one's sight--a glory of magnificent desolation, the -splendour of sterility. To home-naturalists the scene may recall St. -John's classic sandhills of Moray, but magnified out of recognition by -the vastly greater scale, as befits their respective creators--in the -one case the 100-league North Sea, here the 1000-league Atlantic. Rather -would we compare these marram-tufted, wind-sculptured sand-wastes with -the Red Sea litoral and the Egyptian Soudan, where Osman Digna led -British troops memorable dances in the 'nineties--alike both in their -physical aspect and in their climate, red-hot by day, yet apt to be -deadly chilly after sundown. Resonant with the weird cry of the -stone-curlew and the rhythmic roar of the Atlantic beyond, these seaward -dunes are everywhere traced with infinite spoor of wild beasts, and -dotted by the conical pitfalls dug by ant-lions (_Myrmeleon_). - -[Illustration: IN DOÑANA.] - -Between these extremes of deep forest and barren dune are interposed -intermediate regions partaking of the character of both. Here the -intrusive pine projects forest-strips, called _Corrales_, as it were -long oases of verdure, into the heart of the desert, hidden away between -impending dunes which rear themselves as a mural menace on either hand, -and towering above the summits of the tallest trees. Nor is the -menace wholly hypothetic; for not seldom has the unstable element -shifted bodily onwards to engulf in molecular ruin whole stretches of -these isolated and enclosed _corrales_. Noble pines, already half -submerged, struggle in death-grips with the treacherous foe; of others, -already dead, naught save the topmost summits, sere and shrunk, protrude -above that devouring smiling surface, beneath which, one assumes, there -lie the skeletons of buried forests of a bygone age. - -All along these lonely dunes there stand at regular intervals the grim -old watch-towers of the Moors, reminiscent of half-forgotten times and -of a vanished race. Arab telegraphy was neither wireless nor fireless -when beacon-lights blazing out from tower to tower spread instant alarm -from sea to sierra, seventy miles away. - -In contrast with the scenery of both these zones, shows up the landscape -of a third region, on the west--that of scrub. Here, one day later in -geological sense, the eye roams over endless horizons of rolling -grey-green brushwood, the chief component of which is cistus -(_Helianthemum_), but interspersed in its moister dells with denser -jungle of arbutus and lentisk, genista, tree-heath, and giant-heather, -with wondrous variety of other shrubs; the whole studded and ornamented -by groves of stately cork-oaks or single scattered trees. All these, -with the ilex, being evergreen, one misses those ever-changing autumnal -tints that glorify the "fall" in northern climes. Here only a sporadic -splash of sere or yellow relieves the uniform verdure. - -Obviously regions of such physical character can ill subserve any human -purpose. As designed by nature, they afford but a home for wild beasts, -fowls of the air, and other _ferae_ which abound in striking and -charming variety. For centuries the Coto Doñana formed, as the name -imports, the hunting-ground of its lords, the Dukes of Medina Sidonia, -and to not a few of the Spanish kings--from Phillip IV. in the early -part of the seventeenth century (as recorded by the contemporary -chronicler, Pedro Espinosa) to Alfonso XII. in 1882, and quite recently -to H.M. Don Alfonso XIII. For five-and-twenty years the authors have -been co-tenants, previously under the aforesaid ducal house; latterly -under our old friend, the present owner. - -The sparse population of Doñana includes a few herdsmen (_vaqueros_) -who tend the wild-bred cattle and horses that in semi-feral condition -wander both in the regions of scrub and out in the open marisma. Nomadic -charcoal-burners squat in the forests, shifting their reed-built wigwams -(_chozas_) as the exigencies of work require; while the gathering of -pine-cones yields a precarious living to a handful of _piñoneros_. -Lastly, but most important to us, there are the guardas or keepers, -keen-eyed, leather-clad, and sun-bronzed to the hue of Red Indians. -There are a dozen of these wild men distributed at salient points of the -Coto, most of them belonging to families which have held these posts, -sons succeeding fathers, for generations. Of three such cycles we have -ourselves already been witnesses. - -Briefly to summarise a rich and heterogeneous fauna is not easy; a -volume might be devoted to this region alone. Elsewhere in this book -some few subjects are treated in detail. Here we merely attempt an -outline sketch. - -[Illustration: MARSH-HARRIER (_Circus aeruginosus_)] - -Throughout the winter (excepting only the wildfowl) there exists no such -conspicuous ornithic display as appeals to casual eye or ear--those, -say, of the average traveller. Ride far and wide through these wild -landscapes in December or January, and you may wonder if their -oft-boasted wealth of bird-life be not exaggerated. You see, perhaps, -little beyond the ubiquitous birds-of-prey. These are ever the first -feature to strike a stranger. Great eagles, soaring in eccentric -circles, hunt the cistus-clad plain; the wild scream of the kite rings -out above the pines, and shapely buzzards adorn some dead tree. Over -rush-girt bogs soar weird marsh-harriers--three flaps and a drift as, -with piercing sight, they scan each tuft and miss not so much as a frog -or a wounded wigeon. All these and others of their race are naturally -conspicuous. But, though unseen, there lurk all around other forms of -equal beauty and interest, abundant enough, but secretive and apt to be -overlooked save by closest scrutiny. That, however, is a characteristic -of winter in all temperate lands. Birds at that season are apt to be -silent and elusive, but their absence is apparent rather than real. - -[Illustration: "SILENT SONGSTERS"] - -All around you, in fact, forest and jungle, scrub, sallow, and -bramble-brake abound with minor bird-forms--with our British summer -visitors, here settled down in their winter quarters; with charming -exotic warblers and silent songsters--all off work for the season. Where -nodding bulrush fringes quaking bog, or miles of tasselled cane-brakes -border the marsh, there is the home of infinite feathered amphibians, -crakes and rails, of reed-climbers and bush-skulkers, all for the nonce -silent, shy, reclusive. - -[Illustration: BLACKSTART (_Ruticilla titys_) - -Abundant in winter; retires to the sierra to nest.] - -Their portraits, roughly caught during hours of patient waiting, may be -found (some of them) scattered through these chapters. But the present -is not the place for detail. - -The land-birds in winter you hardly see, for they "take cover." - -Diametrically different--in cause and effect--is the case of wildfowl. -These, by the essence of their natures and by their economic -necessities, are always conspicuous, for they inhabit solely the open -spaces of earth--the "spaces" that no longer exist at home: shallows, -wastes, and tidal flats devoid of covert. Wildfowl, for that reason, -have long learnt to discard all attempt at concealment, to rely for -safety upon their own eyesight and incredible wildness. No illusory idea -that security may be sought in covert abuses their keen and receptive -instincts. Probably it never did. Nowadays, at any rate, they openly -defy the human race with all its brain-begotten devices. There, in -"waste places," wildfowl sit or fly--millions of them--conspicuous and -audible so far as human sense of sight and sound can reach, and there -bid defiance to us all. Much of these wastes are not (in the cant of a -hypocritical age) "undeveloped," but rather, as means exist, incapable -of development. Such spectacles of wild life as these Andalucian -marismas to-day present are probably unsurpassed elsewhere in Europe--or -possibly in the world. In foreground, background, and horizon both earth -and sky are filled with teeming, living multitudes; while the shimmering -grey monotony of the marisma, tessellated with its grey armies of the -_Anatidae_, is everywhere brightened and adorned by rosy battalions of -flamingoes. And out there, far beyond our visible horizon, there wander -in that watery wilderness the wild camels, to which we devote a separate -chapter. - -Flamingoes ignore the limits of continents, and shift their mobile -headquarters between Europe and Africa as the respective rainfall in -either happens to suit their requirements. Hence, whether by day or -night, the sight or sound of gabbling columns of flamingoes passing -through the upper air is a characteristic of these lonely regions, -irrespective of season. Cranes also in marshalled ranks, and storks, -continually pass to and fro. The African coast, of course, lies well -within their range of vision from the start. - -[Illustration: (1) SAHARAN SAND-DUNES.] - -[Illustration: (2) TRANSPORT.] - -[Illustration: (3) A CORRAL, OR PINE-WOOD ENCLOSED BY SAND. - -THREE VIEWS IN COTO DOÑANA.] - -Then as winter merges into spring--what time those clanging crowds of -wild-geese and myriad north-bound ducks depart--there pours into -Andalucia an inrush of African and subtropical bird-forms. The sunlit -woodland gleams with brilliant rollers and golden orioles, while -bee-eaters, rivalling the rainbow in gorgeous hues, poise and dart in -the sunshine, and their harsh "chack, chack," resounds on every side. -Woodchats, spotted cuckoos, hoopoes, and russet nightjars appear; lovely -wheatears in cream and black adorn the palm-clad plain. With them comes -the deluge--no epitomised summary is possible when, within brief limits, -the whole feathered population of southern Europe is metamorphosed. The -winter half has gone north; its place is filled by the tropical inrush -aforesaid. Warblers and waders, larks, finches, and fly-catchers, -herons, ibis, ducks, gulls, and terns--all orders and genera pour in -promiscuously, defying cursory analysis. - -[Illustration: GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO (_Oxylophus glandarius_)] - -A single class only will here be specifically mentioned, and that -because it throws light on climatic conditions. Among these vernal -arrivals come certain raptores in countless numbers--all those which are -dependent on reptile and insect food. For even in sunny Andalucia the -larger reptiles and insects hibernate; hence their persecutors -(including various eagles, buzzards, and harriers, with kites and -kestrels in thousands) are driven to seek winter-quarters in Africa. - -Another phenomenon deserves note. Weeks, nay months, after this great -vernal upturn in bird-life has completed its revolution, and when the -newcomers have already half finished the duties of incubation, then in -May suddenly occurs an utterly belated little migration quite -disconnected from all the rest. This is the passage, or rather -through-transit, of those far-flying cosmopolites of space that make the -whole world their home. They have been wintering in South Africa and -Madagascar, in Australia and New Zealand, and are now returning to -their summer breeding-grounds in farthest Siberia, beyond the Yenisei. -Thus some morning in early May one sees the marismas filled with godwits -and knots, curlew-sandpipers and grey plovers, all in their glorious -summer-plumage. But these only tarry here a few days. A short week -before they had thronged the shores of the southern hemisphere--far -beyond the zodiac of Capricorn. A week hence and they are at home in the -Arctic. - -Andalucia possesses a feathered census that approaches 400 species; but -of these hardly a score are permanently resident throughout the year. - -[Illustration: "GLOBE-SPANNERS" - -Rest twelve hours in Spain on the journey--Australia to Siberia.] - -Four-footed creatures are less difficult of diagnosis than are birds. By -nature less mobile, they are infinitely less numerous specifically. -Relatively the Spanish census is long, and includes, locally, quite a -number of interesting beasts that are "lumped together" as -_Alimañas_--to wit, lynxes, wild-cats, genets, mongoose, foxes, otters, -badgers, of which we treat separately. The two chief game-animals of the -Coto Doñana are the red deer and the wild-boar. These two we here -examine from the sportsman's point of view as much as from that of the -naturalist. - -The Spanish red deer are specifically identical with those of Scotland -and the rest of Europe, and are distributed over the whole southern half -of the Iberian Peninsula--say south of a line drawn through Madrid. -Their haunts, as a rule, are restricted to the -mountain-ranges--especially the Sierra Moréna, where they attain their -highest development. That red deer should be found inhabiting lowlands -such as the Coto Doñana is wholly exceptional. In Estremadura, it is -true, there are wild regions (in Badajoz and Cáceres) where deer are -spread far and wide over wooded and scrub-clad plains, all these, -however, being subjacent to neighbouring sierras, which refuges are -available for retreat in case of need. Nowhere else in Spain, save here -in the Coto Doñana only, are red deer restricted exclusively to -lowlands. - -[Illustration: CONFIDENCE] - -This South-Spanish race (the southernmost of all if we except the -distinct but limited breed that yet maintains a foothold in North -Africa, the Barbary stag, which is white-spotted) differs from Scotch -types in their longer faces and slim necks unadorned with the hairy -"ruff" of harsher climes. Beyond a doubt, when our species-splitting -friends arrive in Spain, they will differentiate her red deer (and ibex -also) in various species or subspecies, each with a Latin trinomial. -Such energies, however, may easily be superfluous, even where not -actually mischievous. For practical purposes there exists but one -European species, though it has, even within Spain, its local varieties; -while, further afield, geographical and climatic divergencies naturally -tend to increase.[7] - -We cannot claim for our lowland deer of Doñana a high standard of -comparative quality; they are, in fact, the smallest race in Spain, -almost puny as compared with her mountain breed--smaller also than the -Barbary stag. Clean weights here rarely exceed 200 lbs., while a 30-in. -head must be accounted beyond the average. The general type, both of -horn and body, is illustrated by various photos and drawings in this -book. - -Deer-shooting in Spain takes place in the winter. The rutting season -commences at the end of August, terminating early in October, and stags -have recovered condition by the end of November. - -The habits of red deer being, here as elsewhere, strictly nocturnal, and -the country densely clad with bush, it follows that these animals are -seldom seen amove during daylight. Hence deer-stalking, properly so -called, is not available, nor is the method much esteemed in Spain. In -Scotland one may detect deer, though it be but a tip of an antler, when -couched in the tallest heather or fern. Here, where heather grows six or -eight feet in height with a bewildering jumble of other shrubbery of -like proportions, no such view is possible. Hence "driving" is in Spain -the usual method of deer-shooting, whether in mountain or lowland. - -[Illustration: ABNORMAL CAST ANTLER - -(Picked up in Doñana.)] - -[Illustration] - -There is, nevertheless, one opportunity of stalking which (though not -regarded with favour) has yet afforded us delightful mornings, and to -which a few lines of description are due. The plan is based upon -cutting-out the deer as they return from their nocturnal pasturages at -daybreak. As the last watch of night wears on towards the dawn, the -deer, withdrawing from their feeding-grounds on open strath or marsh, -slowly direct a course covertwards, lingering here and there to nibble a -tempting genista, or to snatch up a bunch of red bog-grass on their -course. We have reached a favourite glade, often used by deer. It is not -yet light--rather it might be described as nearly dark--when the -splashing of light hoofs through water puts us on the alert. A few -moments suffice to gain a bushy point beyond; whence presently six or -eight nebulous forms emerge from deceitful gloom. Of course there is not -a horn among them, bar a little yearling, for good stags never come thus -in troops, and with all due caution, so as to avoid alarming these, we -hurry away to try another likely spot. Time is of the essence of this -business, for light is now strengthening, and in another half-hour the -deer will all have gained their coverts and the chance will be past. -Again groups of hinds and small beasties meet our gaze; but some -distance beyond are a couple of stags. It is light enough now, by aid of -the glass, to count their points--only eight apiece, no use. While yet -we watch, a pack of graceful white egrets alight close around the nearer -deer--some dart actively between the grazing animals picking flies and -insects from their legs and stomachs; two actually perching, -cavalier-like, on their withers to search for ticks--magpies, on -occasion, we have observed similarly employed. The sun's rim now peers -from out the watery wastes in front; nothing worth a bullet has -appeared, and our morning's work looks as good as lost when my -companion, Pepe, detects two really good stags which, though already -within the shelter of fringing pines, yet linger in a lovely glade, -tempted for fatal minutes by a clump of flowering rosemary. The wind -demands a considerable detour; yet the pair still dally while we gain -the deadly range, and a second later the better of the two drops amidst -the ensnaring blue blossoms. Pepe's half-soliloquising comment precisely -interprets the Spanish estimate of stalking:--"The first stag I ever -saw shot with his head down!" Other countries, other standards; but -there is a ring of sterling chivalry in it too. The idea conveyed is -that the noble stag should meet his death, only when duly forewarned of -danger and bounding in wild career o'er bush and brake. - -Without unduly trespassing on our Spanish friends' susceptibilities, we -have nevertheless enjoyed such mornings as this. To begin with, that -hour of breaking day is ever delicious to spend afield. Therein one -observes to best advantage the wild beasts, undisturbed and following -their secret, solitary lives--one learns more in that hour than in all -the other twenty-three. One seems almost to associate with deer, so near -can the troops of hinds and small staggies be approached; and, moreover, -there may be afforded the advantage of selecting some splendid head -afar, and thus commencing a stalk which, believe me, does not always -prove easy. Yonder comes a fox, trotting straight in from his night's -hunting in the distant marisma. Let him come on within fifty yards, and -then give him a bit of a fright--it is a wild goose he drops as he turns -to fly! A single glint of something ruddy catches the eye; this the -glass shows to be a sunray playing on the pelt of a prowling lynx, -hateful of daylight and hurrying junglewards. Rarely are these -nocturnals seen thus, after sun-up, and not for many seconds will the -spectacle last; for no animal is more intensely habituated to -concealment, or hates so much to move even a few yards in the open. - -Following are two or three incidents selected as illustrative of this -matutinal work:-- - -...A really fine stag--already against the glory of the eastern light, I -have counted thirteen points and there may be more. Half an hour later -we have gained a position--not without infinite manoeuvres, including -a crawl absolutely flat across forty yards of bog and black mire--a -position that in five more minutes should secure to us that trophy. The -five hinds that, before it was fully light, had been in the Royal -company, have already, long ago, passed away in the scrub on our right, -and give us now no further concern. Never should hinds be thus lightly -regarded! The slowly approaching stag stops to nibble a golden broom. He -is already almost within shot--seconds must decide his fate--when a -triple bark, petulant and defiant, breaks the silence behind. Those five -hinds, sauntering round, have gone under our wind, and now ... the -landscape is vacant. - -[Illustration: APRIL.] - -[Illustration: JUNE.] - -"Hinds only bark at a _persona_," remarks Dominguez, as we turn -homewards, "never at any other _bicho_." The stag knew that too. But it -was a curious way of putting it. - -...We are too early; it is still pitch-dark; no sign of dawn beyond a -slight opalescence low on the eastern horizon. Moreover, an icy wind -rustles across the waste, and for dreary minutes we seek shelter, -squatting beneath some friendly gorse. Presently a strange sound--a -distinct champing, and close by--strikes our ears. "Un javato comiendo" -= "a boar feeding," whispers Dominguez, and creeping a few yards towards -an open strath, we dimly descry a dusky monster. At the moment his snout -is buried deep in the soil, up to the eyes, and the tremendous muscular -power exerted in uprooting bulbs of palmetto arrests attention even in -the quarter-light. Now he stands quiescent, head up, and the champing is -resumed--a rare scene. The distance is a bare fifteen yards, and all the -while my companion insists on hissing in my ear, "tiré-lo, tiré-lo" = -"shoot, shoot." Presently up goes the boar's muzzle; straight and -steadfastly he gazes in our direction, but his glance seemed to pass -high over our heads. I don't think he saw us; yet a consciousness of -danger had got home--in two bounds he wheeled and disappeared, headlong, -amid the bush beyond. - -...Far and wide the bosky glade is furrowed with sinuous trenches, and -infinite turrets stand erect as where children build sand-castles on the -beach. Last night a troop of wild-pig have sought here for -mole-crickets--small fry, one may think; yet even worms they don't -despise, for we have seen masses of these reptiles (some still alive) in -the stomach of a newly-shot boar. Follow the spoor onwards, and where it -enters a pine-grove, you notice splintered cones and scattered seed. -Thus wild-beasts are assisting to fulfil nature's plan, and if you care -to advance it another stage, turn some soil over those overlooked -pine-nuts, and some day forest-monarchs will result to reward another -generation. - - * * * * * - -Such matutinal forays are, however, but an incident. The main system of -dealing with the deer is by driving. For this purpose both the fragrant -solitudes of pine and far-stretched wilds of bending cistus are mentally -mapped out by the forest-guards into definite "beats," each of which -has its own name; though to a casual visitor (since guns are necessarily -placed differently day by day according to the wind) the actual -boundaries may appear indefinite enough. - -On lowlands such as the Coto Doñana, which is more or less level and -open, the use of far-ranging rifles is necessarily restricted by -considerations of safety. Obviously no shot, on any pretext whatever, -may be fired either into the beat or until the game has passed clear of -and well outside the line of guns. In every instance, as a gun is -placed, the keeper in charge indicates by lines drawn in the sand or -other unmistakable means the limits within which shooting is absolutely -prohibited. The result, it follows, not only increases the prospective -difficulty of the shot, but gives fuller scope to the instinctive -intelligence of the game. For deer, unlike some winged game, do not, -when driven, dash precipitately straight for illusory safety, but retire -slowly and with extreme circumspection; all old stags, in particular, -fully anticipate hidden dangers to lie on their line of flight, and -narrowly scrutinise any suspicious feature ahead before taking risks. -The gunner will therefore be wise to occupy the few minutes that remain -available in so arranging both himself and his post as to be -inconspicuous; and also in an accurate survey of his environment with -its probable chances, thereby minimising the danger of being taken by -surprise. The cunning displayed by an old stag when endeavouring to -evade a line of guns at times approaches the marvellous. Thus, on one -occasion, the writer was warned of the near approach of game by a single -"clink"--a noise which deer sometimes make, probably unintentionally, -with the fore-hoof--yet seconds elapsed, and neither sight nor sound -were vouchsafed. Then the slightest quiver of a bough beneath caught my -eye. A big stag with antlers laid flat aback, and crouching to half his -usual height, though going fairly fast, was slipping, silent and -invisible, through thick but low brushwood immediately beneath the -little hillock whereon I lay. On examining the spot, the spoor showed -that he had passed thus through openings barely exceeding two feet in -height, though he stood himself forty-six inches at the withers. The -feat appeared impossible.[8] - -[Illustration: SUSPICION] - -In thick forest or brushwood that limits the view it may be advisable to -sit with back towards the beat, relying on ears to indicate the approach -or movements of game. While sitting thus, it will occur that you become -aware of the arrival of an animal, or of several animals, immediately -behind you. The natural inclination to look round is strong; but 'twere -folly to do so--fatal to success. This is the critical moment, when a -few seconds of rigid stillness will be rewarded by a shot in the open. -But that stillness must be statuesque, as of a stone god. For piercing -eyes are instantly studying each bush and bough, and analysing at close -quarters the least symptom of danger ahead. - -Should a good stag break fairly near, it is advisable to allow it to -pass well away before moving a muscle. For should the game be -prematurely alarmed--say by your missing exactly upon the firing-line, -or otherwise by its detecting your movement of preparation--that stag -will instantly bounce back again into the beat. Then, assuming that the -sportsman is a tyro, or subject to "emotions" or buck-fever, there is -danger of his forgetting for one moment his precise permitted line of -fire; in which case a perilous shot must result. Once allowed to pass -_well outside_, the stag will usually continue on his course. - -In this, as in every form of sport, "soft chances" occasionally occur. -More often, the rifle will be directed at a galloping stag crashing -through bush that conceals him up to the withers; or, it may be, -bounding over inequalities of broken ground or brushwood, or among -timber, at any distance up to 100 yards, sometimes 150, while, should he -have touched a taint in the wind, his pace will be tremendous. - -Although to casual view a plain of level contours this country is -undulated to an extent that deceives a careless eye--the more -accentuated by the monotone of cistus-scrub that appears so uniform. In -reality there traverse the plain glens and gently graded hollows the -less apt to be noticed, inasmuch as the scrub in moister dell grows -higher. - -Far through the marish green and still the watercourses sleep. - -Inspiring moments are those when--before the beat has commenced--your -eye catches on some far-away skyline the broad antlers of a stag. This -animal has perhaps been on foot and alert, or maybe has taken the "wind" -from the group of beaters wending a way to their points far beyond. For -three seconds the antlers remain stationary, then vanish into some -intervening glen. A glance around shows your next neighbour still busy -completing his shelter--meritorious work if done in time--and you have -strong suspicion that the man beyond will just now be lighting a -cigarette! Such thoughts flash through one's mind; the dominant question -that fills it is: "Where will that great stag reappear?" But few seconds -are needed to solve it. Perhaps he dashes, harmless, upon the careless, -perhaps upon the slow--lucky for him should either such event befall! On -the other hand, those moments of glorious expectancy may resolve in a -crash of brushwood hard by, in a clinking of cloven hoofs, and a noble -hart with horns aback is bounding past your own ready post. What -proportion, we inwardly inquire, of the stags that are killed by -craftsmen has already, just before, offered first chance to the careless -or the slovenly? - -[Illustration: "INSPIRING MOMENTS." - -(NEITHER CAUGHT NAPPING.)] - -We may conclude this chapter with an independent impression. - - Lying hidden in one of these lonely _puestos_--writes J. C. - C.--ever induces in me a powerful and sedative sense of - contemplation and reflection, though fully alert all the time. - While thus waiting and watching, I can't but marvel, first at - nature's wondrous plan of waste--a scheme here without apparent - object or promise of fulfilment. Where I lie the prospect comprises - nothing but melancholy and unutterably silent solitudes of sand, - droughty wastes with but at rare intervals some starveling patch of - scant weird shrub destined either to shrivel in summer's sun or - shiver in winter's winds. But, lying in that environment, one - marvels yet more at the extreme caution displayed by wild animals; - one has exceptional opportunity of admiring the exquisitive gifts - bestowed by nature upon her _ferae_. Here is a young stag coming - straight along, down-wind, ere yet the beat has begun, and in a - desolate spot which to human sense could betray absolutely no - feature or taint of danger. Suddenly he becomes rigid, arrested in - mid-career--sniffing at a pure untainted air, yet conscious somehow - of something wrong somewhere! It is a miraculous gift, though one - cannot but feel grateful that we humans are devoid of senses that - ever keep nerves in highest tension. Here is a sketch of a - non-shootable stag thus suddenly statuetted thirty yards from me - snugly hidden well down-wind, and so intensely interested that - _something else_ (a very old pal) well-nigh escaped notice. - - [Illustration: ALTABACA (_Scrofularia_) - - The starveling shrub that grows in sand.] - - [Illustration: TOMILLO DE ARENA - - Another sand-plant (in spring has a lovely pink bloom like - sea-thrift).] - - That something was our good friend Reynard--_Zorro_ they style him - out here--whose proverbial cunning exceeds all other cunnings. He - has come down to my track and there stopped dead, expressing in - every detail the very essence of doubly-distilled subtlety and - craft. At those footprints he halts, sniffs the wind, curls his - brush dubiously--as a cat will do when pleased--but not sure yet of - his next move. One second's consideration decides him and it is - executed at once--he is off like a gust of wind. But a Paradox ball - at easy range in the open broke a hind-leg, and it was curious to - note his evolutions--he, poor fellow, not realising what had - occurred, flung himself round and round in rapid gyrations, the - while biting at his own hind-leg. Needless to say not an instant - passed ere a second ball terminated his sufferings. To observe the - beautiful traits in the habits of wild beasts is to me quite as - great a joy as adding them to my score and immensely augments the - enjoyment of a big-game drive. - -[Illustration: "WHAT'S THIS?"] - - -RED DEER HEADS--_COTO DOÑANA_. - -This list is neither comprehensive nor consecutive, but merely a record -of such good and typical heads as we happened to have within reach. - -_For Table of Heads of Mountain-Deer see Chapter on Sierra Moréna._ - - ---------------+---------------+--------------+--------+-------+-------------- - | | Widest. | | | - | Length. |--------------|Circum- |Points.| Remarks. - | (Inches.) |Tips. |Inside.|ference.| | - ---------------+---------------+------+-------+--------+-------+-------------- - W. I. B. |32-1/4 |30 |... | ... | 13 | - Do. |31 + 30-1/4 |32-5/8|... | ... | 10 |No bez. - P. Garvey | 31 |28 |... | 4-5/8 | 15 | - Col. Brymer |30-1/2 + 28 |27 |23 | 4-1/4 | 10 |No bez. - Col. Echagüe |30-1/8 + 28-1/2|20 |18 | 4-1/2 | 14 |4 on each top. - Villa-Marta, |29-3/4 + 29-1/2|31-1/4|... | 4-1/2 | 13 |4 on each top, - Marquis | | | | | | but 1 bez - | | | | | | wanting. - Segovia, | | | | | | - Gonzalo[9] |29-3/4 + 29-1/2|39-1/2|... | 5-1/4 | 10 |No bez. - Arión, Duke of |29 + 28 |30 |... | ... | 14 | - A. C. |29 + 28-1/4 |25 |... | 5 | 12 | - Do. |28-1/2 |26-1/2|... | 5-1/8 | 13 | - P. N. Gonzalez |28-1/2 |25 |22 | 5 | 12 | - Arión, Duke of |28-1/4 |23 |21-1/2 | 4-1/8 | 10 |No bez. - F. J. Mitchell |28 + 27 |30-1/2|... | ... | 14 |4 on each top. - A. C. |27 + 26-3/4 |24 |24 | 4-1/4 | 10 | - Do. |25-1/2 |28-1/4|24 | 4-1/5 | 11 |At British - | | | | | | Museum. - Williams, Alex.|25-1/2 |27-3/4|23-1/4 | 4-1/4 | 12 | - B. F. B. |25-3/4 + 24 |27-1/4|22-3/4 | 4-1/4 | 12 | - De Bunsen, | | | | | | - Sir M. |25-1/2 + 25 |27 |... | 4-1/2 | 11 | - B. F. B. |24-1/2 + 24-1/2|27-1/2|... | 4-1/2 | 12 | - J. C. C. | 23 |29-1/2|22-1/2 | 4-1/8 | 12 | - B. F. B. |22-1/2 |21-1/2|19 | 4-1/4 | 12 | - ---------------+---------------+------+-------+--------+-------+------------- - -Ordinary Royals (by which we mean full-grown stags in their first prime) -average 24 or 25 inches in length of horn. Heads of 26 to 28 inches -belong to rather older beasts which have continued to improve. Anything -beyond the latter measurement is quite exceptional, and is often due, -not so much to fair straight length of the main beam as to an abnormal -development of one of the top tines--usually directed backwards. There -are, however, included in our records two or three examples of long -straight heads which fairly exceed the 30-inch length. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -ANDALUCIA AND ITS BIG GAME - -STILL-HUNTING (RED DEER) - - -The line of least resistance represents twentieth-century -ideals--maximum results for the minimum of labour or technical skill. In -the field of sport, wherever available, universal "driving" supersedes -the arts of earlier venery--the pride of past generations. - -In Spain, more leisurely while no less dignified, there survive in -sport, as in other matters, practices more consonant with the dash and -chivalry popularly ascribed to her national character. Such, for -example, is the attack, single-handed, on bear or boar with cold -steel--_á arma blanca_, in Castilian phrase. Here we purpose describing -the system of "Still-hunting" (_Rastreando_) as practised in Andalucia -with a skill that equals the best of the American "Red Indian," and is -only surpassed, within our experience, by Somalis and Wandorobo savages -in East Africa. - -Before day-dawn we are away with our two trackers. Maybe it is a lucky -morning, and as the first streaks of light illumine the wastes, they -reveal to our gaze a first-rate stag. In that case the venture is vastly -simplified. It is merely necessary to allow time for the stag to reach -his lie-up, and the spoor can be followed at once. But barring such -exceptional fortune, it is necessary to find, or rather to select from -amidst infinity of tracks crossing and recrossing hither and thither in -bewildering profusion the trail of such a master-beast as clearly is -worthy the labour of a long day's pursuit. Twice and again we follow a -spoor for 100 yards or more over difficult ground before finally -deciding that its owner is not up to our standard of quality, and the -interrupted search is resumed. Once found, there is rarely room for -mistake with a really big spoor. The breadth of heel, the length and -deep-cut prints of the cloven toes attest both weight and quality. The -ground is open, soft, and easy. The big new track, with its spurts of -forward-projected sand, are visible yards ahead. We follow almost at a -run--how simple it seems! But not for long. Soon comes check No. 1. A -dozen other deer have followed on the same line, and the original trail -is obliterated. The troop leads on into a region of boundless bush, -shoulder-high, where the ground is harder and the trackers spread out to -right and left, backing each other with silent signals. Their skill and -patience fascinate; but it is to me, in the centre, that after a long -hour's scrutiny, falls the satisfaction of rediscovering that big track -where it diverges alone on the left. Half a mile beyond, our erratic -friend has passed through water. For a space a broken reed here or -displaced lilies there help us forward; then the deepening water, all -open, bears no trace. The opposite shore, moreover, is fringed by a -200-yard belt of bulrush and ten-foot canes, and beyond all that lies -heavy jungle. - -You give it up? Admittedly these are no lines of least resistance, but -we will cut the unpopular part as short as may be and merely add that it -was high noon ere, after three hours' work--puzzling out problems and -paradoxes, now following a false clue, anon recovering the true -one--that at last the big spoor on dry land once more rejoiced our -sight. More than that, it now bears evidence--to eyes that can -read--that our stag is approaching his selected stronghold. He goes -slowly. Here he has stopped to survey his rear--there he has lingered to -nibble a genista, and the spoor zigzags to and fro. Now it turns at -sharp angle, following a cheek-wind, and a suggestive grove of cork-oaks -embedded in heavy bush lies ahead. One hunter opines the stag lies up -here: the other doubts. No half-measures suffice. We turn down-wind, -detouring to reach the main outlet (_salida_) to leeward; here I remain -hidden, while my companions, separating on right and left, proceed to -encircle the _mancha_. Two hinds break hard by, and presently Juan -returns with word that the stag has passed through the covert--better -still, that a second big beast has joined the first, and that the double -spoor, moving dead-slow and three-quarters up wind, proceeds due north. -Another mile and then right ahead lies heavy covert, but long and -straggling, and the halting trail indicates this as a certain find. - -The strategic position is simple, but tactics, for a single gun, leave -endless scope for decision. Our first rule in all such cases is to get -_close in_, risk what it may. Hence, while my companions separated, as -before, to encircle the covert from right and left, the writer crept -forward yard by yard till a fairly broad and convenient open suggested -the final stand. - -Not ten minutes had elapsed, nor had a sound reached my ears, when as by -magic the figure of a majestic stag filled a glade on the left--what a -picture, as with head erect he daintily picked his unconscious way! -Clearly he suspected nothing _here_; but, having got sense, sight, or -scent of Juan far beyond, was astutely moving away, with intelligent -anticipation, to safer retreat. The shot was of the simplest, and merely -black antlers crowned with triple ivory tips marked the fatal point -among deep green rushes. - -Now when two big stags fraternise, as they frequently do, it usually -happens that, when pressed, both animals will finally seek the same -exit, even though a shot has already been fired there. I had accordingly -instructed the keepers that in the event of my firing, each should -discharge his gun in the air, at the same time loosing one dog. The -expected shots now rang out, presently followed by a crashing in the -brushwood. This proved to be caused by a handful of hinds with, alas! -the loose dog baying at their heels. The adverse odds had fallen to -zero, till Juan, divining what had occurred, fired again and slipt the -other dog. Anxious minutes slowly passed while my two biped -sleuth-hounds on the other side gradually, yard by yard, made good their -advance; for the wit and wiles, the practised cunning of an old stag -when thus cornered, need every scrap of our human skill to out-general, -and nothing to spare at that. But that skill was not at fault to-day, -and in the thick of the _mancha_, Manuel presently "jumped" the recusant -hart from almost beneath his feet, and his view-halloa reached expectant -ears. - -[Illustration] - -Then, within a few yards of the spot where No. 1 had silently appeared, -out bounced No. 2, but in widely different style. In huge bounds, with -head and neck horizontal and antlers laid flat aback, he covered the -open like a racer. The first shot got in too far back, but the second -went right, and the two friends lay not divided in death. Both were -_coronados_ (triple-crowned), indeed the second carried four-on-top in -double pairs as sketched--a not uncommon formation--but being very old, -lacked bez tines. - -Very nearly five hours had elapsed since we had first struck the spoor, -five hours of concentrated attention, crowned by the final assertion of -human "dominion." And during these moments of permissible expansion, -there was impressed on our minds the fact that such success involves -mastery of a difficult craft. - -[Illustration: "TAKING THE WIND" - -(A stag, on recognising human scent, will give a bound as though a knife -had been plunged into his heart.)] - -Illustrative of how astutely a cornered stag will exploit every device -and avenue of escape, an excellent instance is given in _Wild Spain_, p. -434. - -Skilled deer-driving is a different undertaking from the _force majeure_ -by which pheasants and such-like game may be pushed over a line of guns. -For deer do not act on timid impulse, but on practical instinct. Scent -is their first safeguard when danger threatens and their natural flight -is up-wind. But as it is obviously impossible to place guns to windward, -the operation resolves itself into moving the game--dead against its -instinct and set inclination--down-wind, or at least on a "half-wind." -The latter is easier as an operation, but less effective in result: -since the guns must be posted in echelon--otherwise each "gives the -wind" to his next neighbour below. Consequently the firing-zone of each -is greatly circumscribed. - -In practice, therefore, the game has to be moved or cajoled--it can -hardly be said to be "driven"--into going, at least so far, down-wind by -skilled handling of the driving-line and by intelligent co-operation on -the part of each individual driver. In the great mountain-drives of the -sierras (elsewhere described) packs of hounds, being carefully trained, -perform infinite service. Always under control of their huntsman, they -systematically search out thickets impenetrable to man and push all game -forward. In the Coto Doñana, our scratch-pack of _podencos_ and mongrels -of every degree, run riot unchecked at hind, hare, or rabbit, giving -tongue in all directions at once, and probably do as much harm as good. - -Our mounted keepers, however, expert in divining afar the yet unformed -designs of the game ahead, are quick to counter each move by a feint or -demonstration behind; and when desirable, to forestall attempted escape -by resolute riding. The Spanish are a nation of horsemen, and a fine -sight it is to see these wild guardas galloping helter-skelter through -scrub that reaches the saddle--especially the way they ride down a -wounded stag or boar with the _garrocha_--a long wooden lance. - -Despite it all, however, many stags break back. Riding with the beaters -it is instructive to watch the manoeuvres of an old stag as, sinking -from sight, he couches among quite low scrub on some hillock, or stands -statuesque with horns aback hiding behind a clump of tall -tree-heaths--alert all the while, stealthily to shift his position as -yapping _podencos_ on one side or the other may suggest--and watching -each opportunity to evade the encompassing danger. Now a stretch of -denser jungle obstructs the advancing line. The beaters are forced apart -to pass it, and a gap or two yawns in the attack. Instantly that -introspective wild beast realises his advantage--he springs to sight, -ignores Spanish expletives that scorch the scrub, and in giant bounds -breaks back in the very face of encircling foes. Within thirty seconds -he has regained security amid leagues of untrodden wilds. - -Some years ago we tried the plan of placing one (or two) guns with the -driving-line; but the experiment proved impracticable. Obviously only -the coolest and most reliable men could be trusted in an essay which -otherwise involved danger. Unfortunately--and it is but human -nature--every one considers himself equally cool and reliable. Hence the -breakdown and abandonment of the practice. For the long line of beaters, -struggling at different points through obstacles of varying difficulty, -necessarily loses precise formation; it becomes more or less broken and -scattered. Here and there a man may get "stuck" and left a hundred yards -behind the general advance. The risk in "firing back" is obvious. The -writer remembers being one of two guns with the beaters, when a pair of -stags, jumping up close ahead, bolted straight back, passing almost -within arm's length. As the second carried a fairly good head, I -dismounted and shot it, but was then horrified to discover that my -companion-gun had (contrary to all rules) gone back in that very -direction to shoot a _woodcock_! - - -DRIVING BIG GAME - -On "driving" as such we do not propose to enlarge. The system is simple -though the practice is subject to variation. On the gently undulated -levels of Doñana, for example, the latter (as already indicated) is -widely differentiated from the systems practised in mountainous -countries--whether in Scotland or the Spanish sierras--where shots can -safely be accepted at incoming or at passing game. Guns are there -protected from danger by intervening ridges, crags, and piled-up rocks -that flank each "pass." Here the game must be left to pass well through -and outside the line of guns before a shot is permissible. - -Our "drives," whether in forest or scrub, seldom exceed a couple of -miles in extent; but in wild regions where isolated patches of covert -are scattered, inset amid wastes of sand, the area may be extended to -half a day's ride. These long scrambling drives gain enhanced interest -to a naturalist in precisely inverse ratio with their probability of -success. - -In a big-game drive the first animals to come forward are, as a rule, -foxes and lynxes--creatures which move on impulse, and instantly quit a -zone where danger threatens. Both, however, will certainly pass unseen -should there be any scrub to conceal their retreat. The lynx especially -is adept at utilising cover, however slight. Should open patches or -sandy glades occur among the bush, foxes will be viewed bundling along, -to all appearance quite carelessly. Here in Spain foxes are merely -"vermin"; but it is a mistake to shoot them, owing to the risk of -thereby turning back better game. Neither lynx nor fox, by the way, are -accounted _caza mayor_ unless killed with a bullet. - -[Illustration: _SYLVIA MELANOCEPHALA_ - -(Sardinian warbler; conspicuous by its strong colour-contrasts.)] - -As elsewhere mentioned, there is always a considerable possibility at -the earlier period of a "drive" (and even _before_ the operation has -actually commenced) of some old and highly experienced stag attempting -to slip through the line in the calculated hope (which is often well -founded) that he will thereby take most of the guns by surprise and so -escape unshot at. Never be unready. - -Although in "driving," that element of ceaseless personal effort, -observation and self-reliance that characterise stalking, still-hunting, -or spooring, is necessarily reduced, yet it is by no means eliminated. -Nor are there lacking compensating charms in those hours of silent -expectancy spent in the solitude of jungle or amid the aromatic -fragrance of pine-forest. Every sense is held in tension to mark and -measure each sign or sound; 'tis but the fall of a pine-cone that has -caught your ear, but it might easily have been a single footfall of -game. The wild-life of the wilderness pursues its daily course around -unconscious of a concealed intruder in its midst. Overhead, busy -hawfinches wrestle with ripening cones, swinging in gymnastic attitude. -These are silent. You have first become aware of their presence by a -shower of scales gently fluttering down upon the shrubbery of genista -and rosemary alongside, amidst the depths of which lovely French-grey -warblers with jet-black skull-caps (_Sylvia melanocephala_) pursue -insect-prey with furious energy--dashing into the tangle of stems -reckless of damage to tender plumes. There are other bush-skulkers -infinitely more reclusive than these--some indeed whose mere existence -one could never hope to verify (in winter) save by patience and these -hours of silent watching. Such are the Fantail, Cetti's, and Dartford -warblers, while among sedge and cane-brake alert reed-climbers beguile -and delight these spells of waiting. Soldier-ants and horned beetles -with laborious gait, but obvious fixity of purpose, pursue their even -way, surmounting all obstruction--such as boot or cartridge-bag. Earth -and air alike are instinct with humble life. - -[Illustration: REED-CLIMBERS] - -To a northerner it is hard to believe that this is mid-winter, when -almost every tree remains leaf-clad, the brushwood green and -flower-spangled. Arbutus, rosemary, and tree-heath are already in bloom, -while bees buzz in shoulder-high heather and suck honey from its -tricoloured blossoms--purple, pink, and violet. Strange diptera and -winged creatures of many sorts and sizes, from gnat and midge to savage -dragon-flies, rustle and drone in one's ear or poise on iridescent wing -in the sunlight, and the hateful hiss of the mosquito mingles with the -insect-melody. Over each open flower of rock-rose or cistus hovers the -humming-bird hawk-moth with, more rarely, one of the larger sphinxes -(_S. convolvuli_), each with long proboscis inserted deep in tender -calyx. Not even the butterflies are entirely absent. We have noticed -gorgeous species at Christmas time, including clouded yellows, painted -lady and red admiral, southern wood-argus, Bath white, _Lycaena -telicanus_, _Thäis polyxena_, _Megaera_, and many more. On the warm sand -at midday bask pretty green and spotted lizards,[10] apparently asleep, -but alert to dart off on slightest alarm, disappearing like a thought in -some crevice of the cistus stems. - -[Illustration: GREAT GREY SHRIKE (_Lanius meridionalis_)] - -Hard by a winter-wandering hoopoe struts in an open glade, prodding the -earth with curved bill and crest laid back like a "claw-hammer"; from a -tall cistus-spray the southern grey shrike mumbles his harsh soliloquy, -and chattering magpies everywhere surmount the evergreen bush. Where the -warm sunshine induces untimely ripening of the tamarisk, some brightly -coloured birds flicker around pecking at the buds. They appear to be -chaffinches, but a glance through the glass identifies them as -bramblings--arctic migrants that we have shot here in midwinter with -full black heads--in "breeding-plumage" as some call it, though it is -merely the result of the wearing-away of the original grey fringe to -each feather, thus exposing the glossy violet-black bases. - -[Illustration: SPANISH GREEN WOODPECKER (_Gecinus sharpei_) - -(1) Alighting. -(2) Calling. -] - -Birds, as a broad rule, possess no "breeding-plumage." They only renew -their dress once a year, in the autumn, and breed the following spring -in the worn and ragged plumes. It's not poetic, but the fact.[11] This -is not the place to enumerate all the characteristic forms of bird-life, -and only one other shall be mentioned, chiefly because the incident -occurred the day we drafted this chapter. One hears behind the rustle of -strong wings, and there passes overhead in dipping, undulated flight a -green woodpecker of the Spanish species, _Gecinus sharpei_. With a -regular thud he alights on the rough bark of a cork-oak in front, clings -in rigid aplomb while surveying the spot for any sign of danger, then -projects upwards a snake-like neck and with vertical beak gives forth a -series of maniacal shrieks that resound through the silences.[12] By all -means watch and study every phase of wild-life around you--the habit -will leave green memories when the keener zest for bigger game shall -have dimmed--but never be caught napping, or let a silent stag pass by -while your whole attention is concentrated on a tarantula! - -[Illustration: A TARANTULA] - -By way of illustrating the practice of "driving," we annex three or four -typical instances:-- - -LAS ANGOSTURAS, _February 5, 1907_.--The writer's post was in a green -glade surrounded by pine-forest. A heavy rush behind was succeeded (as -anticipated) by the appearance of a big troop of hinds followed by two -small staggies. A considerable distance behind these came a single good -stag, and already the sights had covered his shoulder, when from the -corner of an eye a second, with far finer head, flashed into the -picture, going hard, and I decided to change beasts. It was, however, -too late. Half automatically, while eyes wandered, fingers had closed on -trigger. At the shot the better stag bounded off with great uneven -strides through the timber, offering but an uncertain mark. Both -animals, however, were recovered. The first, an eleven-pointer, lay dead -at the exact spot; the second was brought to bay within 300 yards, a -fine royal. - -LOS NOVARBOS, _January 9, 1903_.--My post was among a grove of -pine-saplings in a lovely open plain surrounded by forest. Two good -stags trotted past, full broadside, at 80 yards. The first dropped in a -heap, as though pole-axed, the second receiving a ball that clearly -indicated a kill. While reloading, noticed with surprise that No. 1 had -regained his legs and was off at speed. A third bullet struck behind; -but it was not till two hours later, after blood-spooring for half a -league, that we recovered our game. The first shot had struck a horn (at -junction of trez tine) cutting it clean in two. This had momentarily -stunned the animal, but the effect had passed off within ten seconds. -Both were ten-pointers, with strong black horns, ivory-tipped. During -that afternoon I got & big boar at Maë-Corra; and B., who had set out at -4 A.M., twenty-three geese at the Cardo-Inchal. - -FAR NORTH, _January 31, 1907_.--First beat by the "Eagles' Nest" (in the -biggest cork-oak we ever saw, the imperial bird soaring off as we rode -up). Brushwood everywhere tall and dense, giving no view. On placing me -the keeper remarked, "By this little glade (_canuto_) deer _must_ break, -but amidst such jungle will need _un tiro de merito_!" Four stags broke, -two were missed, but one secured--seven points on one horn, the other -broken. So dense is the bush here that a lynx ran almost over the -writer's post, yet had vanished from sight ere gun could be brought to -shoulder. In the next beat, La Querencia del Macho (again all dense -bush), B. shot two really grand companion stags, but again one of these -had a broken horn. This animal while at bay so injured the spine of one -of our dogs that it had to be killed two days later.[13] A third beat -added one more big stag, and the day's result--four stags with only two -"heads"--is so curious that we give the detail:-- - - +--------------------------------------------------------+ - | | Length. | Breadth. | Points. | - +--------------------------------------------------------+ - | W. E. B.[14] | 23-1/2" | (One horn) | 7 × 2 | - | W. J. B. (No. 1) | 28" | Do. | 6 × 2 | - | W. J. B. (No. 2) | 25" × 25" | 25" | 7 × 6 = 13 | - | A. C. | 26" × 24" | 20-1/2" | 6 × 5 = 11 | - +--------------------------------------------------------+ - -Amidst forest or in dense jungle (such as last described) where no -distant view is possible, it is usually advisable to watch -outwards--that is, with back towards the beat, relying on _ears_ to -give notice of the movements of game within. But in (more or less) open -country where a view, oneself unseen, can be obtained afar, the -situation is modified. The following is an example:-- - -CORRAL QUEMADO, _February 1, 1909_.--The authors occupied the two -outmost posts on a high sand-ridge which commanded an introspect far -away into the heart of the covert. Already before the distant signal had -announced that the converging lines of beaters had joined, suddenly an -apparition showed up. Some 300 yards away a low pine-clad ridge -traversed the forest horizon, and in that moment the shadows beneath -became, as by magic, illumined by an inspiring spectacle--the tracery of -great spreading antlers surmounting the sunlit grey face and neck of a -glorious stag. For twenty seconds the apparition (and we) remained -statuesque as cast in bronze. Then, with the suddenness and silence of a -shifting shadow, the deep shade was vacant once more. The stag had -retired. It boots not to recall those agonies of self-reproach that -gnawed one's very being. Suffice it, they were undeserved; for five or -six minutes later that stag reappeared, leisurely cantering forward. -Clearly no specific sign or suspicion of danger ahead had struck his -mind or dictated that retirement. But his course was now, by mere chance -and uncalculated cunning, 300 yards outside the sphere of your humble -servants, the authors. That stag was now about to offer a chance to gun -No. 3, instead of, as originally, to Nos. 1 and 2. Eagerly we both -watched his course, now halting on some ridge to reconnoitre, gaze -shifting, and ears deflecting hither and thither, anon making good -another stage towards the goal of escape. A long shallow _canuto_ -(hollow) concealed his bulk from view, but we now saw by the bunchy -"show" on top that this was a prize of no mean merit. Then came the -climax. Rising the slope which ended the _canuto_, in an instant the -stag stopped, petrified. Straight on in front of him, not 100 yards -ahead, lay No. 3 gun, and the fatal fact had been discovered. It may -have been an untimely movement, perhaps a glint of sunray on exposed -gun-barrel, or merely the outline of a cap three inches too high--anyway -the ambush had been detected, and now the stag swung at right angles and -sought in giant bounds to pass behind No. 2. It was a long shot, very -fast, and intercepted by intervening trees and bush--the second barrel -directed merely at a vanishing stern. Yet such was our confidence in the -aim--in both aims--that not even the subsequent sight of our antlered -friend jauntily cantering away down the long stretch of Los Tendidos -impaired by one iota its self-assurance. For a mile and more we followed -that bloodless spoor, far beyond the point whereat the keeper's solemn -verdict had been pronounced, "No lleva náda--that stag goes scot-free." -As usual, that verdict was correct. - -[Illustration] - -An incident worth note had occurred meanwhile. On the extreme left of -our line, a mile away, two stags out of four that broke across the -sand-wastes had been killed; and these, while we yet remained on the -scene (though a trifle delayed by fruitless spooring) had already been -attacked and torn open by a descending swarm of vultures. That, in -Africa, is a daily experience, but never, before or since, have we -witnessed such unseemly voracity in Europe. - -MAJADA REAL.--This is the one lowland covert where shots are permissible -at incoming game. Being flanked on the west by gigantic sand-dunes, the -guns (under certain conditions) may be lined out a couple of miles away, -along the outskirts of the next nearest covert--the idea being to take -the stags as they canter across the intervening dunes. The conditions -referred to are (1) a straight east wind, and (2) reliable guns. -Obviously the element of _danger_ under this plan is vastly increased, -and as the keepers are responsible for any accident, they are reluctant -to execute the drive thus save only when their confidence in the guns is -complete.[15] A careless man on a grouse-drive is dangerous enough; but -here, with rifle-bullets, a reckless shot may spell death. The -"in-drive," nevertheless, is both curious and interesting. A spectacle -one does not forget is afforded when the far-away skyline of dazzling -sand is suddenly surmounted by spreading antlers, and some great hart, -perhaps a dozen of them, come trotting all unconscious directly towards -the eager eyes watching and waiting. The effect of a shot under these -conditions is frequently to turn the game off at right angles. The deer -then hold a course parallel with the covert-side, thus running the -gauntlet of several guns, and the question of "first blood" may become a -moot point--easily determined, however, by reference to the spoor. Boar -naturally are averse to take such open ground; but when severely -pressed, we have on occasion seen them scurrying across these Saharan -sands, a singular sight under the midday sun. - -To introspective minds two points may have showed up in these rough -outline illustrations. First, that the best stags are ever the earliest -amove when danger threatens. These not seldom escape ere a slovenly -gunner is aware that the beat has begun. The moral is clear. Secondly, -as these bigger and older beasts exhibit fraternal tendencies, it -follows that a first chance (whether availed or bungled) need not -necessarily be the last. - -Besides deer, it is quite usual that wild-boar, as well as lynxes and -other minor animals, come forward on these "drives." The divergent -nature of pig, however, renders a more specialised system advisable -when wild-boar only are the objective. For whereas the aboriginal stag -seeking a "lie-up" wherein to pass the daylight hours was satisfied by -any sequestered spot that afforded shelter and shade from the sun, that -was never the case with the jungle-loving boar. To the stag strong -jungle and heavy brushwood were ever abhorrent, handicapping his light -build and branching antlers. Clumps of tall reed-grass or three-foot -rushes, a patch of cistus or rosemary, amply fulfilled his diurnal -ideals and requirements. Nowadays, it is true, the expanded sense of -danger, the increasing pressure of modern life--even cervine life--force -him to select strongholds which offer greater security though less -convenience. The wild-boar, on the reverse, with lower carriage and -pachydermatous hide, instinctively seeks the very heaviest jungle within -his radius--the more densely briar-matted and impenetrable the better he -loves it. - -Many such holts--some of them may be but a few yards in extent--are -necessarily passed untried both by dogs and men when engaged in -"driving" extended areas, sometimes miles of consecutive forest and -covert. The somnolent boar hears the passing tumult, lifts a grisly -head, grunts an angry soliloquy, and goes to sleep again, secure. -Another day you have returned expressly to pay specific attention to -him. In brief space he has diagnosed the difference in attack. Instantly -that boar is alert, ready to repel or scatter the enemy, come who may, -on two legs or four. - -[Illustration: HOOPOES - -On the lawn at Jerez, March 19, 1910.] - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -ANDALUCIA AND ITS BIG GAME (_Continued_) - -WILD-BOAR - - -From one's earliest days the wild-boar has been invested with a sort of -halo of romance, identified in youthful mind with grim courage and brute -strength. Perhaps his grisly front, the vicious bloodshot eyes, savage -snorts, and generally malignant demeanour, lend substance to such idea. -But even among adults there exists in the popular mind a strange mixture -of misconception as between big game and dangerous game--to hundreds the -terms are synonymous. Thus a lady, inspecting our trophies, exclaimed, -"Oh, Mr.----, aren't these beasts very treacherous?" which almost -provoked the reply, "You see, we are even more treacherous!" - -In sober truth, nevertheless, a big old boar when held up at bay, or -charging in headlong rushes upon the dogs, his wicked eyes flashing -fire, and foam flying from his jaws as tushes clash and champ, presents -as pretty a picture of brute-fury and pluck as even a world-hunter may -wish to enjoy. - -Yet among hundreds of boars that we have killed or seen killed (though -dogs are caught continually, and occasionally a horse), there has never -occurred a serious accident to the hunter, and only a few narrow -escapes. - -As an example of the latter: the keeper, while "placing" the writer -among bush-clad dunes outside the Mancha of Majada Real, mentioned that -a very big boar often frequented some heavy rush-beds on my front. -"Should the dogs give tongue to pig at that point, your Excellency will -at once run in to the function." Such were his instructions. - -[Illustration: ROOM FOR TWO] - -At the point indicated the dogs bayed unmistakably, and seizing a light -single carbine, ·303 (as there was a stretch of heavy sand to cover) I -ran in. Arriving at the covert and already close up to the music, -suddenly the "bay" broke, and I felt the bitter annoyance of being -twenty seconds too slow. I had entered by a narrow game-path, and was -still hurrying up this when I met the flying boar face to face. By -chance he had selected the same track for his retreat! As we both were -moving, and certainly not six yards apart, there was barely time to pull -off the carbine in the boar's face and throw myself back against the -wall of matted jungle on my left. Next moment the grizzly head and -curving ivories flashed past within six inches of my nose! The spring he -had given carried the boar a yard past me, and there he stopped, -stern-on, champing and grunting, both tushes visible--I could see them -in horrid projection, on either side of the snout! I had brought the -empty carbine to the "carry," so as to use it bayonet-wise, to ward the -brute off my legs; but he remained stolidly where he had stopped, and, -as may be imagined, I stood stolid too. As it proved, the bullet, -entering top of shoulder, had traversed the vitals--hence the cessation -of hostilities. A few moments later the arrival of the dogs terminated -an untoward interval. - -On another occasion at the Veta de las Conchas, amidst the lovely -_pinales_, just as the beat was concluded, there dashed from a small -thicket a troop of a dozen pig, making direct for the solitary pine -behind which the writer held guard. Passing full broadside, at thirty -yards the biggest dropped dead on the sand, and, just as the troop -disappeared in a donga, a second, it seemed, was knocked over. On the -beaters approaching I walked across to see, and there, in the hollow, -lay the second pig apparently dead enough. Having picked up my -field-glasses, cartridge-pouch, etc., I stood close by awaiting the -keeper's arrival. Three or four dogs, however, following on the spoor, -arrived first; and on their worrying the deceased, it at once sprang to -its feet, gazed for one instant, and charged direct. Never have I seen -an animal cover twenty yards more quickly! Dropping the handful of -_chismes_ aforesaid, I pulled off an unaimed cartridge in my assailant's -face and a lucky bullet struck rather below the eyes. This is not a dead -shot, but the shock at that short distance proved sufficient. - -An amusing incident, not dissimilar, occurred at Salavar. A youthful -sportsman was approaching a boar which had fallen and lay apparently -dead, when it, too, suddenly sprang up and charged. Our friend turned -and fled; but, tripping over a fallen branch, fell headlong amidst the -green rushes. There, face-downwards, he lay, preferring, as he explained -later, "to receive his wound behind rather than have his face messed -about by a boar!" Luckily the animal, on losing sight of its flying foe, -pulled up and stood, grunting surprise and disapproval. - -A similar experience befell King Alfonso XIII. in this Mancha of -Salavar, December 29, 1909. We need not tell English readers that His -Majesty proved equal to this, as to every occasion, and dropped his -adversary at arm's length. - -When one reads (as we do) descriptions of big-game hunting, a recurring -expression gives pause--that of "charging." A recent discussion in a -sporting paper turned on the question of "the best weapon for a charging -boar." Now such a thing as a "charging boar" has never, in a long -experience, occurred to the authors--that is, a boar charging -deliberately, and of its own initiative, upon human beings; and we do -not believe in the possibility of such an event. Of course should a boar -(or any other savage animal) be disabled, or in a corner, that is a -different matter--then a wild-boar will fight, and right gallantly too. - -The nearest approach to a "charge" (though it wasn't one really) -occurred at the Rincon de los Carrizos. Towards the end of the beat the -dogs ran a pig, and, seeing it was a big one, the writer followed, and -after a spin of 300 yards overtook the boar at bay in a deep water-hole. -The place was all overhung with heavy foliage and thick pines above, -giving very poor light. Though the boar's snout pointed straight towards -me about ten yards away, I imagined (wrongly) that his body stood at an -angle--about one-third broadside: hence the bullet (aimed past the ear), -splashed harmlessly in the water, and next moment the pig was coming -straight as a die, apparently meaning mischief. When within five yards, -however, he jinked sharply to right, passing full broadside, when I -killed him _á-boca-jarro_, as the phrase runs, "at the mouth of the -spout." - -[Illustration] - -That idea of "charging at large" is so splendidly romantic, and fits in -so appropriately with preconceived ideas, that we almost regret to -disturb its semi-fossilised acceptance. But, in mere fact, neither boars -nor any other wild beasts "charge" at sight--always and only excepting -elephant and rhinoceros, either of which _may_ (or may not) do so, -though previously unprovoked. It would, at least, be unwise entirely to -ignore the contingency of either of these two so acting. - -There exist, nevertheless, old and evil-tempered boars that are quite -formidable adversaries. We have many such in our Coto Doñana--boars -that, having once overmastered our hounds, practically defy us. Each of -these old solitary tuskers occupies some densely briared stronghold--it -may be but an isolated patch of jungle, scarce half an acre in extent, -or alternatively, a little sequence of similar thickets, each connected -by intervals of lighter bush. Such spots abound by the hundred, but once -the lair of our bristled friend is found, then there is work cut out for -man, horse, and hound. For long-drawn-out minutes the silence of the -wilderness re-echoes with doubly concentrated fury--frantic hound-music -mingled with lower accompaniment of sullen, savage snorts and grunts and -the champing of tusks; then a sharp crunch of breaking boughs ... and -the death-yell of a _podenco_ tells that _that_ blow has got home. But -the seat of war remains unchanged--the same rush and the same fatal -result are repeated. Presently some venturous hound may discover an -entry from behind. The enemy's flank is turned, and with a crash that -seems to shake the very earth, our boar retreats to a second stronghold -only twenty yards away. All this is occurring within arm's length; one -hears, can almost feel, the stress of mortal combat, but one sees -nothing inside the mural foliage, nor knows what moment the enemy may -sally forth. Such moments may even excite what are termed in Spanish -phrase "emotions." - -In his second "Plevna" our boar is secure, and he knows it. With rear -and flanks protected by a _revêtement_ of gnarled roots and a labyrinth -of stems, he fears nothing behind, while the furiously baying hounds on -his front he now utterly despises. Blank shots fired in the air alarm -him not, nor will Pepe Espinal--in a service of danger--succeed in -dislodging him with a _garrocha_, after a perilous climb along the -briar-matted roof. That boar is victor--master of a stricken field. - -One human resource remains, to go in _á arma blanca_--with the cold -steel. There are dashing spirits who will do this--in Spain we have seen -such. But to crawl thus, prostrate, into the dark and gloomy tunnels -that form a wild-boar's fortress, intercepted and obstructed on every -side, there to attack in single combat a savage beast, still unhurt and -in the flush of victory, pachydermatous, and whose fighting weight far -exceeds your own--well, _that_ we place in the category of pure -recklessness. Courage is a quality that all admire, though one may -wonder if it is not sometimes over-esteemed, when we find it possessed -in common, not only by very many wild-beasts, but even by savage races -of human kind--races which we regard as "lower," yet not inferior in -that cherished quality of "pluck." - -Before you crawl in there, stop to think of the annoyance the act may -cause not merely to our hunt, but possibly to a wife, otherwise to -sisters, friends, or hospital nurses, even, it may be, to an -undertaker--though he will not object. - -Once victorious over canine foes, it will be a remote chance indeed that -that boar, unless caught by mishap in some carelessly chosen lair, will -ever again show up as a mark for the fore-sight of a rifle. - -After one such rout, we remember finding our friend the Reverend Father, -who had sallied forth with us for a mild morning's shooting, perched -high up among the branches of a thorny _sabina_ (a kind of juniper), -whence we rescued him, cut and bleeding, and badly "shaken in nerve!" - -We add the following typical instances of boar-shooting:-- - -SALAVAR, _February 1, 1900_.--A lovely winter's morn, warm sun and dead -calm. The distant cries of the beaters (nigh three miles away) had just -reached my ears, when a nearer sound riveted attention--the soft patter -of hoofs upon sand. Then from the forest-slope behind appeared a -pig--big and grey--trotting through deep rushes some forty yards away. -Already the fore-sight was "touching on" its neck, when a lucky -suspicion of striped piglings following their mother arrested the ball. -Next came along a gentle hind with all her infinite grace of contour and -carriage. At twenty-five yards she faced full round, and for long -seconds we stared eye to eye. Curious it is that absolute quiescence -will puzzle the wildest of the wild! Hardly had she vanished 'midst -forest shades, than once again that muffled patter--this time an -unmistakable tusker. But, oh! what an abominable shot I made--too low, -too far back--and onwards he pursued his course. By our forest laws it -was my _deber_ (bounden duty) to follow the stricken game. All that -noontide, all the afternoon--through bush and brake, by dell and dusky -defile--patiently, persistently, did Juanillo Espinal and I follow every -twist and turn of that unending spoor. There was blood to help us at -first, none thereafter. Through the thickets of Sabinal, then back on -the left by Maë-Corra, forward through the Carrizal, thence crossing the -Corral Grande, and away into the great _pinales_ beyond--away to the -Rincon de los Carrizos, three solid leagues and a bit to spare! That was -the price of a bungled shot. - -Here at last we have tracked him to his lair. Within that sullen -fortress of the Rincon lies our wounded boar. How to get him out is a -different problem. Though wounded, he is in no way disabled, and is -ready, aye "spoiling," to put up a savage fight for his life. Having -precisely located him in a dense tangle of lentisk and briar, our single -dog, Careto, a tall, shaggy _podenco_, not unlike a deerhound, but on -smaller scale, is let go. Up a gloomy game-path he vanishes, and in a -moment fierce music startles the silent woods. The boar refused to move. -But one resource remained. We must go in to help Careto, crawling up a -briar-laced tunnel. It was horribly dark at first, and I began to think -of ... when, fortunately, the light improved, and a few yards farther in -a savage scene was enacting in quite a considerable open. Beneath its -brambled roof we could stand half upright. In its farthest corner stood -our boar at bay, a picture of sullen ferocity. Upon Juanillo's -appearance the scene changed as by magic--there was a rush and -resounding crash. Precisely what happened during the three succeeding -seconds deponent could not see, it being so gloomy, and Juanillo on my -front. Ere a cartridge could be shoved into the breech the great boar -was held up, Careto hanging on to his right ear, and Juanillo, springing -over the dog, had seized the grisly beast by both hind-legs--at the -hocks--and stepping backward, with one mighty heave flung the boar -sidelong on the earth. Next moment I had driven the knife through his -heart. - -Though the method described is regularly employed by Spanish hunters to -seize and capture a wounded or "bayed" boar--and we have seen it -executed dozens of times--yet seldom in such a spot as this, cramped in -space, handicapped by bad light and intercepting boughs and briars. It -was a dramatic scene, and a bold act that bespoke cool head and brawny -biceps. - -The head of this boar hangs on our walls to commemorate an event we are -not likely to forget. - -We remember following a wounded lynx into a similar spot--a deep -hollowed jungle. A pandemonium of savage snarling and spitting, barks -and yowls greeted our ears as we crawled in, while on reaching the -cavern the green eyes of the lynx flashed like electric lights from a -dark recess. Though one hind-leg had been broken and the other damaged -by a rifle-ball, yet she held easy mastery over five or six dogs. -Sitting bolt upright, she kept the lot at bay with sweeping half-arm -blows. Not a dog dared close, and the brave feline had to be finished -with the lance. - -MANCHA DEL MILAGRO, _February 4, 1908_.--The covert, we knew by spoor, -held a first-rate boar, and his most probable _salida_ (break-out) was -at the foot of a perpendicular sand-wall, within fifty yards of which -the writer held guard. Within brief minutes the music of the pack -corroborated what had been foretold by spoor. Twice the boar with -crashing course encircled the _mancha_ within, passing close inside my -post. Each moment I watched for his appearance at the expected point on -the right. Then, without notice or sound of broken bough, suddenly he -stood outside on the left--almost beneath the gun's muzzle--not eight -feet away. Luckily (as he stood within my firing-lines) the boar -steadfastly gazed in the opposite direction, nor did I seek by slightest -movement to attract attention to my presence. For some seconds we both -remained thus, rigid. Then with sudden decision the boar bounded off, -flying the gentle slope in front, and ere he had passed a yard clear of -the firing-line, fell dead with a bullet placed in the precise spot. - -Weight, 164 lbs. clean, and grey as a donkey. - - * * * * * - -A wounded boar should always be approached with caution. Remember he is -a powerful brute, very resolute, and furnished with quite formidable -armament, which, while life remains, he will use. One of the biggest, -after receiving a bullet slightly below and behind the heart, went -slowly on some fifty yards, when he subsided, back up, among some green -iris. Half an hour later the writer silently approached from directly -behind. At ten yards the heaving flanks showed that plenty of life -remained, and beautiful scimitar-like tushes were conspicuous enough on -either side. I therefore quietly withdrew. On a keeper presently riding -up, the boar at once dashed on a dog, flung him aside (laying open half -his ribs), and charged the horse. The latter was smartly handled and -cleared, when the boar instantly turned on me. The dash of that onset -was splendid to watch. Luckily he had a yard or two of soft bog to get -through, but it was necessary to stop him with another bullet. - -Impressive is the mental sensation aroused when any savage -wild-beast--normally the object of pursuit--suddenly turns the tables -and becomes the aggressor. The actual incident is necessarily but -momentary, yet its effect remains graven on the tablets of memory. Pity -'tis so rare. - -Again we conclude with an independent impression by J. C. C.:-- - - Never a visit to the Coto Doñana but brings some separate - experience--possibly more pleasurable in retrospect than reality! I - will instance my first interview with wild-boars. Now, of course, I - know more about them and can almost regard them with serenity; but - at that time, believe me, it was not so. That first encounter at - really close quarters occurred at the close of a long day's work. - My post was behind a twelve-inch pine on an otherwise bare hill, - the reverse slope of which dipped down to dense bamboo-thickets - just out of my sight, though close by. Within a few minutes - commenced and continued the hullabaloo of hounds. Close glued to my - pine-trunk I listened in tense excitement. Suddenly, ere I had - quite realised such possibility, there rushed into view on the - ridge, not twenty paces distant, a great shaggy grey boar. He had - dashed up the steep bank beyond and was now making direct for my - legs. This is not the confession of a nervous man, but it did occur - to me that truer safety lay in the _fork_ of my tree! but B. was - the next gun, only sixty or seventy yards away, and keenly - interested. In a moment I was myself again; but the interval had - been, to say the least, painfully enthralling. I had, of course, to - wait till the great "Havato" had crossed my "firing-lines." He - certainly saw _something_, for he paused momentarily, took rapid - counsel, and bolted past. Nerves were steady now, and once across - the line the boar had my right in the ribs, left in flank. I - actually saw blood spurt--hair fly--at each shot, yet the boar - followed on his course unmoved. Pachydermatous pig! I pondered - while reloading. Ten seconds later on my boar's sleuth follows - _Boca-Negra_, a veritable Beth Gelert. Utterly ignoring me, he - passes away into gloom and silence; but shortly I see him coming - back, blood-stained and satiated, and my self-respect returns. Ten - minutes later, a second tusker gallops along the hollow behind. Him - also my right caught fair in the ribs--only a few inches left of - the heart, yet again without visible result. The second bullet, - however, broke his spine as he ascended the sand-bank beyond, and - he fell stone dead. When the beat was over we followed No. 1. He - also lay still, 200 yards away--a pair of first-rate tuskers. - - I remember, during the gralloch, some dreadfully poor - charcoal-burners appearing on the scene to beg for food. This, of - course, was gladly conceded; but so famished were those poor - creatures that old women filled their aprons with reeking viscera, - while it was with difficulty that children could be prevented from - starting at once on raw flesh and liver. Truly it was a grievous - spectacle, and filled the homeward ride with sad reflections on the - awful hardships such poor folk are destined to endure. - -[Illustration: BOLTED PAST] - -In days of rapid change, when, in our own generation, sporting weapons -have been at least thrice utterly metamorphosed, it is unwise to be -dogmatic. Yet we may summarise our personal experience that the most -efficient weapon for all such purposes as here described is that known -as the "Paradox," or at least of the Paradox type. The old "Express -rifle" (the best in its day, less than a score of years ago, but now -mere "scrap") was also useful. But it always fell second to the Paradox, -as the latter (being really a shot-gun, equally available for small -game, snipe, duck, or geese) came up quicker to the eye for -snap-shooting with ball. - -The invention of the Paradox type of gun has practically introduced a -third style of shooting where there previously existed only two, to -wit:-- - -(1) Gun-shooting with _shot_ where any "aim" or even an apology for an -aim is fatal to modern maximum success. - -(2) Rifle-shooting proper, which must be mechanical and deliberate--the -more so, the more effective. - -(3) Thirdly, we have this new system intermediate between the -two--"gun-shooting with ball." - -Using the Paradox as a rifle, an alignment _must_ be taken; but it may -be taken as with a _gun_, and not necessarily the deliberate and -mechanical alignment essential with a rifle, properly so called. - -In short, with a Paradox, always glance along the sights. You will -nearly always find that some "refinement" of aim is required. More words -are useless. - -One word as to the "forward allowance" needed after the rough alignment -(as explained) has been effected. At short snapshot ranges none is -required. At a galloping stag at 50 yards, the sights should clear his -chest; at 100 yards, half-a-length ahead, and double that for 150 yards. -At these longer ranges one instinctively allows for "drop" by taking a -fuller sight. For standing shots, of course, the back-sights can be -used. - - -BOAR-HUNTING BY MOONLIGHT (ESTREMADURA) - -"_Caceria á la Ronda._" - -This picturesque and altogether break-neck style of hunting the boar--a -style perhaps more consonant than "driving" with popular notions of the -dash and chivalry of Spanish character--still survives in the wild -province of Estremadura. No species of sport in our experience will -compare with the _Ronda_ for danger and sheer recklessness unless it be -that of "riding lions" to a stand, as practised on British East African -plains.[16] - -Years ago we described this system of the _Ronda_ in the "Big-Game" -volumes of the Badminton Library, and here write a new account, -correcting some slight errors which had crept into the earlier article. - -This sport is practised by moonlight at that period of the autumn called -the _Montanera_, when acorns and chestnuts fall from the trees, and -when droves of domestic swine are turned loose into the woods to feed on -these wild fruits. At that date the wild-boars also are in the habit of -descending from the adjacent sierras, and wander far and wide over the -wooded plains in search of that favourite food. - -When the acorns fall thus and ripe chestnuts strew the ground in these -magnificent Estremenian forests, the young bloods of the district -assemble to await the arrival of the boars upon the lower ground. Two -kinds of dog are employed: the ordinary _podencos_, which run free; and -the _alanos_, a breed of rough-haired "seizers," crossed between -bull-dog and mastiff--these latter being held in leash. - -Sallying forth at midnight, so soon as the _podencos_ give tongue, the -_alanos_ are slipped in order to "hold-up" the flying boar till the -horsemen can reach the spot. - -Then for a while hound-music frightens the darkness and shocks the -silence of the sleeping woods; there is crashing among dry forest-scrub, -a breakneck scurry of mounted men among the timber, until the furious -baying of the hounds and the noisy rush of the hunters converge towards -one dark point among the shadows, and in the half-light a great grisly -tusker dies beneath the cold steel, but not before he has written a -lasting record on the hide of some luckless hound. - -A stiff neck and bold heart are essential to these dare-devil gallops, -where each horse and horseman vie in reckless rivalry, flying through -bush and brake, and under overhung boughs difficult to distinguish amid -moon-rays intercepted by foliage above. Accidents of course occur--an -odd collar-bone or two hardly count, but what does annoy is when by -mistake some wretched beast of domestic race is found held up by the -excited pack. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -"OUR LADY OF THE DEW" - -THE PILGRIMAGE TO THE SHRINE OF NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL ROCÍO - - -Pilgrimages by the pious to distant shrines are a well-known phase in -the faith both of the Moslem and of the Romish Church, and require no -definition by us; but one that is yearly performed to a tiny and -isolated shrine not a dozen miles from our shooting-lodge of Doñana -deserves description. - -First as to its origin. Twelve hundred years ago when Arab conquerors -overran Spain much treasure of the churches, with many sacred emblems, -relics, etc., were hurriedly concealed in places of safety. But not -unnaturally, since Moorish domination extended over 700 years, all trace -or record of such hiding-places had long been lost, and it was merely by -chance and one by one that, after the Reconquest, the hidden treasures -were rediscovered. - -The story of the recovery of our Lady of the Dew is related to have -occurred in this wise. A shepherd tending his flocks in the -neighbourhood of Almonte was induced by the strangely excited barking of -his dog to force a way into the dense thickets known as La Rocina de la -Madre (a wooded swamp, famous as a breeding-place of the smaller herons, -egrets, and ibises), in the midst of which the dog led him to an ancient -hollowed tree. Here, half-hidden in the cavernous trunk, the shepherd -espied the figure of "a Virgin of rare beauty and of exquisite carving," -clothed in a tunic of what had been white linen, but now stained dull -green through centuries of exposure to the weather and dew (_rocío_). - -Overjoyed, the shepherd, bearing the Virgin on his shoulders, set out -for Almonte, distant three leagues; but being overcome by fatigue and -the weight of his burden, he lay down to rest by the way and fell -asleep. On awakening he found the Virgin had gone--she had returned to -her hollow tree. Having ascertained this, and being now filled with -fear, he proceeded alone to Almonte, where he reported his discovery. At -once the Alcalde and clergy accompanied him to the spot, and finding the -image as related, a vow was then and there solemnised that a shrine, -dedicated to N. S. del Rocío, should be erected at the very spot. - -On its being discovered that this Virgin was able to perform miracles -and to grant petitions, her fame soon spread afar, and religious fervour -waxed strong. Thus during the plague of 1649-50, the Virgin having been -removed to Almonte as a safeguard, the inhabitants of that place were -immune from the pestilence, though every other hamlet was decimated. A -second miracle was attributed to the Virgin. Hard by the shrine at Rocío -was a spring of water, but of such poor supply that ordinarily a single -man could empty it within two hours: yet during the three days of the -pilgrimage thousands of men and their horses could all assuage their -thirst. - -Owing to these manifestations devout persons endowed the Virgin of Rocío -with considerable sums of money, with which a larger shrine was built, -while sumptuous garments, laces, and embroidery, with jewelry and -precious stones, were provided for her adornment. In addition to this, -Replicas of the original effigy were made and distributed around the -villages of the neighbourhood, particularly the following:-- - - Kilos. - Palma, distant 32 - Moguer " 30 - Umbrete " 45 - Huelva " 65 - Triana " 76 - Rota " 55 - San Lucar " 45 - Villamanrique " 18 - Pilas " 23 - Almonte " 17 - Coria " 44 - -At each of these and other places, "Brotherhoods" (_Hermandades_), -affiliated to the original at Rocío, were established to guard these -effigies; and it is from these points that every Whitsuntide the various -pilgrim-fraternities journey forth across the wastes towards Rocío, each -Brotherhood bringing its own carved replica to pay its annual homage to -its carved prototype. - - * * * * * - -In the spring of 1910 the authors attended the _Fiesta_. Already, the -night before, premonitory symptoms--the tuning-up of fife and drum--had -been audible, and during the twelve-mile ride next morning fresh -contingents winding through the scrub-clad plain were constantly -sighted, all converging upon Rocío. It was not, however, till reaching -that hamlet that the full extent of the pilgrimage became apparent, and -a striking and characteristic spectacle it formed. From every point of -the compass were descried long files of white-tilted -ox-waggons--hundreds of them--slowly advancing across the flower-starred -plain; the waggons all bedecked in gala style, crammed to the last seat -with guitar-touching girls, with smiling duennas and attendant squires; -the ox-teams gaily caparisoned, and escorted by prancing cavaliers, many -with wife or daughter mounted pillion-wise behind, while younger -pilgrims challenged impromptu trials of speed--a series of minor -steeplechases. There were four-in-hand brakes, mule-teams and -donkey-carts, pious pedestrians--a motley parade enveloped in clouds of -dust and noise, but all in perfect order. - -The following quaint description was written down for us by a Spanish -friend who accompanied us:-- - - It is at the entry of the various processions that the most - striking and picturesque effects are produced by the cavalcade. - Here one sees displayed the grace and ability of the Amazon--the - robust and comely Andalucian maiden, carried _á ancas_ - (pillion-wise) at the back of his saddle by gallant cavalier proud - of his gentle companion, and exhibiting to advantage his skill in - horsemanship. The noble steed, conscious of its onerous part, - carries the double burden with care and spirit, being trained to - curvet and rear in all the bravery of mediæval and Saracenic age. - -About 4 P.M., while the converging caravans were yet a mile or so -afield, all halted, each to organise its own procession, and each headed -by the waggon bearing its own Virgin bedecked in gorgeous apparels of -silk and silver braid. Then to the accompaniment of bands and -bell-ringing, hand-clapping and castanets, drum, tambourine, and guitar, -with flags flying and steeds curvetting, this singular combination of -religious rite with musical fantasia resumed its advance into the -village. - -Despite the dust and crush not a unit but held its assigned position, -and thus--one long procession succeeding another--the whole concourse -filed into the village, crossed its narrow green, and sought the shrine -where, within the open doors, the Virgin of Rocío, removed from the -altar, was placed to receive the homage of the Brotherhoods. As each -Replica reached the spot, its bearers halted and knelt, while expert -drivers even made their ox-teams kneel down in submission before the -"Queen of Heaven and Earth." There was but a moment's delay, nor did -castanets and song cease for an instant. Later in the evening came the -processions of the Rosario, when each of the visiting Brotherhoods make -a ceremonious call upon the Senior Brother--that is, the Hermit of -Rocío--after which each confraternity, with less ceremony but more -joviality, visited the camps of the others. This last was accompanied by -bands, massed choirs, and _fireworks_. Then the festival resolved -itself, so far as we could judge, into a purely secular -affair--feasting, merry-making, dancing, till far on in the night. - -Rain had set in at dusk and was now falling fast. Rocío is but a tiny -hamlet--say two score of humble cots--yet to-night 6000 people occupied -it, the womenfolk sleeping inside their canvas-tilted ox-waggons, the -men lying promiscuously on the ground beneath. - -Sunday is occupied with religious ceremonies, beginning with High Mass. -These we will not attempt to describe--nor could we if we would. The -Spanish friend who at our request jotted down some notes on the _Fiesta_ -uses the following expressions:-- - - The days of the Rocío are days of expansion, merry-making, - animation. Never, throughout the festival, ceases the laughter of - joyous voices, the clang of the castanets, the melody of guitar and - tambourine. Dances, song, and music, with jovial intercourse and - good fellowship, all unite to preserve unflagging the rejoicing - which is cultivated at that beautiful spot. At this festival many - traders assist with different installations, including jewellers in - the porch of the church, vendors of medallions, photographs, - coloured ribbons, and other articles dedicated to the patroness of - a festival which is well worthy a visit for its originality and - bewitchment. - -On the Monday morning, after joint attendance of all the Brotherhoods at -Mass, followed by a sermon, the image of the Virgin is formally replaced -upon the altar (the feet resting upon the same hollow trunk in which the -figure was first found), then the processions are reformed and the long -homeward journey to their respective destinations begins. - -Although many thousands of people yearly attend this festival, all -entirely uncontrolled by any authority, yet quarrels and disturbance are -unknown. The mere cry of "viva la Virgen" suffices at once to appease -incipient angers, should such arise. Thousands of horses and donkeys, -moreover, are allowed to roam about untended and unguarded, as there is -no danger of their being stolen. - - * * * * * - -The Virgin of the Rocío, it appears, specialises in accidents, and many -votive pictures hung within the shrine illustrate the nature of her -miracles. One man is depicted falling headlong from a fifth-storey -window, another from a lofty pine, a third drowning in a torrential -flood; a lady is thrown by a mule, another run over by a cart, a lad -caught by an infuriated bull; a beatific-looking person stands harmless -amidst fiery forked lightning--apparently enjoying it. From all these -and other appalling forms of death, the survivors, having been saved by -the Virgin's miraculous interposition, have piously contributed -pictorial evidence of the various occurrences. - -A somewhat gruesome relic records the incident that a mother having -vowed that should her daughter be restored to life, she should walk to -Rocío in her grave-clothes--and there the said clothes lie as evidence -of that miracle. - -The festival above described is celebrated each spring at Pentecost. -There is, however, a second yearly pilgrimage into Rocío which -originated in this wise. - -In 1810 when the French occupied this country, the village of Almonte -was held by two troops of cavalry who were engaged in impressing -recruits from among the neighbouring peasantry. These naturally objected -to serve the enemy, but many were terrorised into obedience. Bolder -spirits there were, however, and these, to the number of thirty-six, -resolved to strike a blow for freedom. Having assembled in the thick -woods outside Almonte, at two o'clock one afternoon they fell upon the -unsuspecting French and, ere these could defend themselves, many were -killed and others made prisoners. Finally the French commander was shot -dead on his own doorstep. "The villagers of Almonte were horrified at -what had occurred, for, although they had had no hand in the matter, -they felt sure they would have to bear the blame"--so runs a Spanish -account. - -The few French troopers who had escaped fled to Seville, reported the -affair, and (wrongly) incriminated the villagers of Almonte--precisely -as those worthies had foreseen. The General commanding at Seville -ordered that Almonte should be razed to the ground and its inhabitants -beheaded--that being the penalty decreed by Murat for any shedding of -French blood. A detachment of dragoons, despatched to Almonte, had -already taken prisoner the mayor, the priests, and all the chief -inhabitants preparatory to their execution. In this grave situation they -bethought themselves to pray to the Virgin of Rocío, promising that if -she would rescue them from their deadly peril, they would institute a -new pilgrimage to her shrine for thanksgiving. - -Already the detachment of French soldiers detailed to carry out the -executions had reached Pilas, a village within six leagues of Almonte, -when, by mere coincidence, a handful of Spanish troops flung themselves -against the French positions at Seville. The French, thinking that their -assailants must be the forerunners of a larger army, hurriedly recalled -all their outposts, including those commissioned to destroy Almonte! - -Thus the wretched Alcalde and his fellow-prisoners were saved; for, -their innocence of the "crime" being presently established, the town was -let off with a fine. Since then, in accordance with the promise made 100 -years ago, the whole of Almonte repairs every 7th of August to the -shrine of Nuestra Señora del Rocío. - -[Illustration: PRAYING MANTIS (_Mantis religiosa_)] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE MARISMAS OF GUADALQUIVÍR - -THE DELTA - - -From Seville to the Atlantic the great river Guadalquivír pursues its -course through seventy miles of alluvial mud-flats entirely of its own -construction. The whole of this viewless waste (in winter largely -submerged) is technically termed the marisma; but its upper regions, -slightly higher-lying, have proved amenable to a limited dominion of -man, and nowadays comprise (besides some rich corn-lands) broad -pasturages devoted to grazing, and which yield _Toros bravos_, that is, -fighting-bulls of breeds celebrated throughout Spain, as providing the -popular champions of the Plaza. - -[Illustration: AVOCET] - -It is not of these developed regions that we treat, but of the Lower -Delta, which still remains a wilderness, and must for centuries remain -so--a vast area of semi-tidal saline ooze and marsh, extending over some -forty or fifty miles in length, and spreading out laterally to untold -leagues on either side of the river. - -This Lower Delta, the marisma proper, while it varies here and there by -a few inches in elevation, is practically a uniform dead-level of -alluvial mud, only broken by _vetas_, or low grass-grown ridges seldom -rising more than a foot or two above the flat, and which vary in extent -from a few yards to hundreds of acres. The precise geological cause of -these _vetas_ we know not; but the calcareous matter of which they are -composed--the debris of myriad disintegrated sea-shells, mostly -bivalves--proves that the ocean at an earlier period held sway, till -gradually driven backwards by the torrents of alluvial matter carried -down by the river, and finally forced behind the vast sand-barrier now -known as the Coto Doñana--the buffer called into being whilst age-long -struggles raged between these two opposing forces. The fact is further -evidenced by the salt crust which yearly forms on the surface of the -lower marisma when the summer sun has evaporated its waters. - -In summer the marisma is practically a sun-scorched mud-flat; in winter -a shallow inland sea, with the _vetas_ standing out like islands. - -There are, as already stated, slight local variations in elevation. -Naturally the lower-lying areas are the first to retain moisture so soon -as the long torrid summer has passed away and autumn rains begin. -Speedily these become shallow lagoons, termed _lucios_--similar, we -imagine, to the _jheels_ of India--and a welcome haven they afford to -the advance-guard of immigrant wildfowl from the north. - -Plant-life in the marismas is regulated by the relative saltness of the -soil. In the deeper _lucios_ no vegetation can subsist; but where the -level rises, though but a few inches, and the ground is less saline, the -hardy samphire (in Spanish, _armajo_) appears, covering with its small -isolated bushes vast stretches of the lower marisma. - -The _armajo_, which is formed of a congeries of fleshy twigs, leafless, -and jointed more like the marine _algae_ than a land-plant, belongs to -three species as follows:-- - - (2) _Arthraenimum fruticosum_} - } in Spanish, _Armajo_. - (3) _Suaeda fruticosa_ } - -All three belong to the natural order _Chenopodiaceae_ (or "Goose-foot" -family). - -The _armajo_ is the typical plant of the marisma, flourishing even where -there is a considerable percentage of salt in the soil. This aquatic -shrub increases most in dry seasons, a series of wet winters having a -disastrous effect on its growth. The _Sapina_, above mentioned, has a -curious effect when eaten by mares (which is often the case when other -food is scarce) of inducing a form of intoxication from which many die. -Indeed, the deaths from _Ensapinadas_ represent a serious loss to -horse-breeders whose mares are sent to graze in the marismas. Cattle are -not affected. - -[Illustration: SAMPHIRE] - -Formerly the _Sapina_ possessed a commercial value, being used (owing to -its alkaline qualities) in the manufacture of soap. Nowadays it is -replaced by other chemicals. - -Here and there, owing to some imperceptible gradient, the marisma is -traversed by broad channels called _caños_, where, by reason of the -water having a definite flow, the soil has become less saline. The -_armajo_ at such spots becomes scarce or disappears altogether, its -place being taken by quite different plants, namely: Spear-grass -(_Cyperus_), _Candilejo_, _Bayunco_, the English names of which we do -not know. - -Efforts have been made from time to time to reclaim and utilise portions -of the marisma by draining the water to the river; but failure has -invariably resulted for the following reasons: - -(1) The intense saltness of the soil. - -(2) That the marisma lies largely on a lower level than the river banks. - -(3) The river being tidal, its water is salt or brackish. - -There are vast areas of far better land in Spain which might be -reclaimed with certainty and at infinitely less cost. - -The only human inhabitants of the marisma are a few herdsmen whose -reed-built huts are scattered on remote _vetas_. There are also the -professional wildfowlers with their _cabresto_-ponies; but this class is -disappearing as, bit by bit, the system of "preservation" extends over -the wastes. Though the climate is healthy enough except for a period -just preceding the autumn rains, yet our keepers and most of those who -live here permanently are terrible sufferers from malaria. Quinine, they -tell us, costs as much as bread in the family economy. - -We quote the following impression from _Wild Spain_, p. 78:-- - -[Illustration: GUNNING-PUNT IN THE MARISMA. - -(NOTE THE HALF-SUBMERGED SAMPHIRE-BUSHES.)] - -[Illustration: WILD-GOOSE SHOOTING ON THE SANDHILLS. - -(NOTE TIN DECOYS, ALSO SOME NATURAL GEESE.)] - - The utter loneliness and desolation of the middle marismas call - forth sensations one does not forget. Hour after hour one pushes - forward across a flooded plain only to bring within view more - and yet more vistas of watery waste and endless horizons of tawny - water. On a low islet at farthest distance stand a herd of - cattle--mere points in space; but these, too, partake of the - general wildness and splash off at a gallop while yet a mile away. - Even the wild-bred horses and ponies of the marisma revert to an - aboriginal anthropophobia, and become as shy and timid as the - _ferae naturae_ themselves. After long days in this monotony, - wearied eyes at length rejoice at a vision of trees--a dark-green - pine-grove casting grateful shade on scorching sands beneath. To - that oasis we direct our course, but it proves a fraud, one of - nature's cruel mockeries--a mirage. Not a tree grows on that spot, - or within leagues of it, nor has done for ages--perhaps since time - began. - -Such is the physical character of the marisma, so far as we can describe -it. The general landscape in winter is decidedly dreary and somewhat -deceptive, since the vast areas of brown _armajos_ lend an appearance of -dry land where none exists, since those plants are growing in, say, a -foot or two of water--"a floating forest paints the wave." The monotony -is broken at intervals by the reed-fringed _caños_, or sluggish -channels, and by the _lucios_, big and little--the latter partially -sprinkled with _armajo_-growth, the bigger sheets open water, save that, -as a rule, their surface is carpeted with wildfowl. - -Should our attempted description read vague, we may plead that there is -nothing tangible to describe in a wilderness devoid of salient feature. -Nor can we liken it with any other spot, for nowhere on earth have we -met with a region like this--nominally dry all summer and inundated all -winter, yet subject to such infinite variation according to varying -seasons. It is not, however, the marisma itself that during all these -years has absorbed our interest and energies--no, that dreary zone would -offer but little attraction were it not for its feathered inhabitants. -These, the winter wildfowl, challenge the world to afford such display -of winged and web-footed folk, and it is these we now endeavour to -describe. - -By mid-September, as a rule, the first signs of the approaching invasion -of north-bred wildfowl become apparent. But if, as often happens, the -long summer drought yet remains unbroken, these earlier arrivals, -finding the marisma untenable, are constrained to take to the river, or -to pass on into Africa. - -Should the dry weather extend into October, the only ducks to remain -permanently in any great numbers are the teal, the few big ducks then -shot being either immature or in poor condition, from which it may be -inferred that the main bodies of all species have passed on to more -congenial regions. - -About the 25th September the first greylag geese appear. These are not -affected by the scarcity of water in any such degree as ducks, since -they only need to drink twice a day, morning and evening, and make shift -to subsist by digging up the bulb-like roots of the spear-grass with -their powerful bills. - -[Illustration: GREYLAG GEESE] - -But so soon as autumn rains have fallen, and the whole marisma has -become supplied with "new water," it at once fills up with -wildfowl--ducks and geese--in such variety and prodigious quantities as -we endeavour to describe in the following sketches. - - -WILDFOWL--'TWIXT CUP AND LIP - -Wildfowl beyond all the rest of animated nature lend themselves to -spectacular display. For their enormous aggregations (due as much to -concentration within restricted haunts, as to gregarious instinct, and -to both these causes combined) are always openly visible and conspicuous -inasmuch as those haunts are, in all lands, confined to shallow water -and level marsh devoid of cover or concealment. - -Thus, wherever they congregate in their thousands and tens of thousands, -wildfowl are always in view--that is, to those who seek them out in -their solitudes. This last, however, is an important proviso. For the -haunts aforesaid are precisely those areas of the earth's surface which -are the most repugnant to man, and least suited to his existence. - -In crowded England there survive but few of those dreary estuaries -where miles of oozy mud-flats separate sea and land, treacherous of -foot-hold, exposed to tide-ways and to every gale that blows. Such only -are the haunts of British wildfowl, though how many men in a million -have ever seen them? To wilder Spain, with its 50 per cent of waste, and -its vast irreclaimed marismas, come the web-footed race in quantities -undreamt at home. - -We have before attempted to describe such scenes, though a fear that we -might be discredited oft half paralysed the pen. An American critic of -our former book remarked that it "left the gaping reader with a feeling -that he had not been told half." That lurking fear could not be better -explained. A dread of Munchausenism verily gives pause in writing even -of what one has seen again and again, raising doubts of one's own -eyesight and of the pencilled notes that, year after year, we had -scrupulously written down on the spot. - -The Baetican marisma has afforded many of those scenes of wild-life -that, for the reason stated, were before but half-described. With fuller -experience we return to the subject, though daring not entirely to -satisfy our trans-Atlantic friend. - -The winter of 1896 provided such an occasion. It was on the 26th of -November that, under summer conditions, we rode out, where in other -years we have sailed, across what should have been water, but was now a -calcined plain. - -November was nearly past; autumn had given place to winter, yet not a -drop of rain had fallen. Since the scorching days of July the fountains -of heaven had been stayed, and now the winter wildfowl from the north -had poured in only to find the marisma as hard and arid as the deserts -of Arabia Petraea. Instinct was at fault. True, each to their appointed -seasons, had come, the dark clouds of pintail, teal, and wigeon, the -long skeins of grey geese. Where in other years they had revelled in -shallows rich in aquatic vegetation, now the travellers find instead -nought but torrid plains devoid of all that is attractive to the tastes -of their tribe. For the parched soil, whose life-blood has been drained -by the heats of the summer solstice, whose plant-life is burnt up, has -remained panting all the autumn through for that precious moisture that -still comes not. The carcases of horses and cattle, that have died from -thirst and lack of pasturage, strew the plains; the winter-sown wheat is -dead ere germination is complete. - -In such years of drought many of the newly arrived wildfowl, especially -pintails, pass on southwards (into Africa), not to return till February. -The remainder crowd into the few places where the precious -element--water--still exists. Such are the rare pools that are fed from -quicksands (_nuclés_) or permanent land-springs (_ojos_) and a few of -the larger and deeper _lucios_ of the marisma. - -Riding through stretches of shrivelled samphire we frequently spring -deer, driven out here, miles from their forest-haunts, by the eager -search for water. - -[Illustration: WHITE-EYED POCHARD (_Fuligula nyroca_)] - -Approaching the first of the great _lucios_, or permanent pools, a -wondrous sight lay before our eyes. This water might extend for three or -four miles, but was literally concealed by the crowds of flamingoes that -covered its surface. For a moment it was difficult to believe that those -pink and white leagues would really be all composed of living creatures. -Their identity, however, became clear enough when, within 600 yards, we -could distinguish the scattered outposts gradually concentrating upon -the solid ranks beyond. Disbelieve it if you will, but four fairly sane -Englishmen estimated that crowd, when a rifle-shot set them on wing, to -exceed ten thousand units--by how much, we decline to guess. - -The nearer shores, with every creek and channel, were darkened by -masses of ducks, huddled together like dusky islets; while further away -several army-corps of geese were striving, with sonorous gabble, to tear -up tuberous roots of spear-grass (_castañuela_) from sun-baked mud. - -It was a rifle-shot at these last that finally set the whole host on -wing--an indescribable spectacle, hurrying hordes everywhere outflanked -by the glinting black and pink glamour of flamingoes. Then the -noise--the reverberating roar of wings, blending with a babel of croaks -and gabblings, whistles and querulous pipes, punctuated by shriller -bi-tones, ... we give that up. - -[Illustration: "FLAMINGOES OVER"] - -A long ride in prospect precluded serious operations to-night, but -towards dusk we lined out our four guns, and in half an hour loaded up -the panniers of the carrier-ponies with nearly three score ducks and -geese. - -An hour before the morning's dawn we were in position to await the -earliest geese. Experience had taught the chief flight-lines, and these, -over many miles of marsh, were commanded by lines of sunken tubs. These, -however, the exceptional conditions had rendered temporarily useless. -Our tubs lay miles from water; hence each man had to hide as best he -could, prostrate behind rush-tuft or twelve-inch samphire. - -This morning, however, the greylags flew wide and scattered, in strange -contrast with their customary regularity. We noticed the change, but -knew not the cause. The geese did. The barometer during the night -(unnoticed by us at 4 A.M.) had gone down half an inch, and already, as -we assembled for breakfast at ten o'clock, rain was beginning to -fall--the first rain since the spring! The wind, which for weeks had -remained "nailed to the North--_norte clavado_," in Spanish phrase--flew -to all airts, and a change was at hand. By eleven there burst what the -Spanish well name a _tormenta_; lightning flashed from a darkened sky, -while thunder rolled overhead, and rain drove horizontal on a living -hurricane. An hour later the heavens cleared, and the sun was shining as -before. That short and sudden storm, however, had marked an epoch. The -whole conditions of bird-life in the marisma had been revolutionised -within a couple of hours. - -[Illustration: POCHARD (_Fuligula ferina_)] - -In other years, under such conditions as this morning had promised, we -have records of sixty and eighty greylags brought to bag, and it was -with such anticipation that we had set out to-day. The result totalled -but a quarter of such numbers. - -Ducks came next in our programme, and the writer, being the last gun by -lot, had several miles to ride to his remote post at El Hondón. The -scenes in bird-life through which we rode amazed even accustomed eyes. -At intervals as we advanced across mud-flats clad in low growth of rush -and samphire, rose for a mile across our front such crowds of wigeon and -teal that the landscape ahead appeared a quivering horizon of wings that -shimmered like a heat-haze. - -Crouching behind a low breastwork, before me lay a five-acre pool which -no amount of firing ever kept quite clear of swimming forms, so fast did -thirsty duck, teal, and geese keep dropping in, since behind for twenty -leagues stretched waterless plain. - -Merely to make a bag under such conditions means taking every chance, -firing away till barrels grow too hot to hold. Here, however, that -nature-love that overrides even a fowler's keenness stepped in. With -half the wildfowl of Europe flashing, wheeling, and alighting within -view--many, one fondly imagined, likely to be of supreme interest--the -writer cannot personally go on taking single mallards, teal, or wigeon, -one after another in superb but almost monotonous rapidity. For the -moment, in fact, the naturalist supplants the gunner. True, this may be -sacrificing the mutton to the shadow, and this afternoon no special -prize rewarded self-denial in letting pass many a tempting chance. - -[Illustration] - -For gratifying indeed to fowler's pride it is to pull down in falling -heap the smart pintails and brilliant shovelers, to bring off a -right-and-left at geese, though, it may be, one had first to let a cloud -of wigeon pass the silent muzzle. Such is individual taste, nor will the -memory of that afternoon ever fade, although my score, when at 3.30 P.M. -I was recalled, only totalled up to seventy-four ducks and four greylag -geese. - -The recall was imperative, and I obeyed, though not without hesitation -and doubt. Could earth provide a better place? "Yes," replies Vasquez, -"in one hour the geese will be streaming in clouds up the Algaidilla and -Caño Juncero. Come! there's no time to lose." Within an hour we had -reached the spot. The water was four inches deep, with low cover of -rushes. The revolving stool stood too high, so I knelt in the shallow, -and within three minutes the first squad of geese came in quite -straight. One I took kneeling, but had to jump for the second. Just as -No. 2 collapsed, No. 1 caught me full amidships, knocking me sidelong -and, rebounding, upset the stool and the bag of cartridges thereon! A -nice mess, occurring at the very outset of one of those ambrosial -half-hours seldom realised outside of dreams. Quickly I dried the -cartridges as well as circumstances would admit, for pack after pack of -geese hurled themselves gaggling and honking right in my face, and -during the few brief minutes of the southern twilight, I reckoned I had -twenty-three down--seven right-and-lefts--though in the darkness only -seventeen could be gathered, the winged all necessarily escaping. - -[Illustration: WILD GEESE ALIGHTING AT FIFTEEN YARDS - -(Take the upper pair right-and-left, leaving the nearer geese for second -gun.)] - -Within thirty-six hours we had secured sixty-two geese and over two -hundred ducks. For four guns, under favouring conditions, this would -have been no very special result; but to-day the fowl were all alert and -restless at the prospect of a coming change. The keynote had already -been sounded that first day, when the _tormenta_ burst, and when the -long drought ended on the very morning we had selected to commence our -operations. Had the weather held for a single week ... but why dwell on -it? The point must be clear enough. No more geese were got that year. -Let us conclude with a few ornithological observations made during -succeeding days. On November 30, after three days of stormy weather, -with tremendous bursts of rainfall, there commenced one of the most -remarkable bird-migrations we have witnessed. From early morn till night -(and all the following day) cloud upon cloud of ducks kept streaming -overhead from the westward. Frequently a score of packs would be in view -at once--never were the heavens clear; and all coming from precisely the -same direction and travelling in parallel lines to the east. Their -course seemed to indicate that these migrants (avoiding the overland -route across Spain which would involve passing over her great -cordilleras, say 10,000 feet) had travelled south by the coast-line as -far as the latitude of Cape St. Vincent. Thence they "hauled their wind" -and bore up on an easterly course which brought them direct into the -great marismas of the Guadalquivir.[17] - - -LAS NUEVAS - -We had acquired this waste of marsh and mud-flat and were keen to "go -and possess it." Initial difficulties arose to confront us. Though the -whole region now belonged to us (_i.e._ the rights of chase, and it -boasts but little other value) yet our possession was to be met by some -opposition. - -It was all very natural, delightfully human, and despite the annoyance, -captivated our sympathy. Local fowlers, accustomed from immemorial times -to earn a scant living by shooting for market the wildfowl of the -wilderness, resented this acquisition of exclusive rights. Our scattered -guards were overawed, our reed-built huts were burned, and threats -reached us--not to mention a casual bullet or two ricochetting in wild -bounds across the watery waste. That one quality, however, above -mentioned--sympathy--is the passport to Spanish hearts, and thereby, -together with courtesy and fair-dealing, the erstwhile insurgents in -brief time became the best of friends. - -For the moment, however, we found ourselves hutless, and constrained to -encamp two leagues away on the distant _terra firma_, this involving an -extra couple of hours' work in the small dark hours. - -As before 4 A.M. we rode, beneath a pouring rain, "path-finding," in -blind darkness across slimy ooze and shallow--not to mention deeper -channels that reached to the girths,--a nightjar circled round our -cavalcade--true, a very small event, but recorded because it is quite -against the rules for a nightjar to be here in December. Only three guns -braved this adventure, and by 5.45 we occupied each his allotted post. -These could not be called comfortable, since the positions in which we -had to spend the next six or eight hours were quite six inches deep in -water, and the only covert a circle of samphire-bush barely a foot above -water-level--that being the utmost height allowed by the keen sight of -flighting fowl. Each man had an armful of cut brushwood to kneel on, -besides another bundle on which cartridge-bags might be supported clear -of the water.[18] - -Rain descended in sheets. Before it was fully light--indeed the average -human being of diurnal habit would probably swear it was still quite -dark--the swish of wings overhead foretold the coming day. Then with a -roar the whole marisma bursts into life as though by clock-work. -Thrice-a-minute, and oftener, sped bunches of duck right in one's face, -at times a hurricane of wings. Not seeing them till quite close in, but -one barrel can be emptied each time, yet soon a score of beautiful -pintail and wigeon formed the basis of a pile. - -Behind, in the gloom to westward, a sense of movement has developed. At -first it might have been but the drift of night-clouds, but as light -broadens, form and colour evolve and the phenomenon shapes itself into -vast bodies of flamingoes, sprawling, as it were, on the face of heaven -in writhing, scintillating confusion. After infinite evolutions, the -amorphous mass resolves itself into order; files and marshalled -phalanxes serry the sky--those weird wildfowl, each with some six foot -of rigid extension, advancing direct upon our posts. Their armies have -spent the night on the broad _lucios_ of El Desierto, and now head away -towards feeding-grounds outside. Arrayed line beyond line in echelon, -ten thousand pinions beat, in unison--beat in short, sharp strokes from -the elbow. The fantasy of form amazes; the flash of contrasted colour as -the first sun-rays strike on black, white, and vermilion. One may have -witnessed this spectacle a score of times, yet never does it pall or -leave one without a sense that here nature has treated us to one of her -wildest creations. No rude sketch of ours--possibly not the best that -art can produce--will ever convey the effect of these quaint forms in -vast moving agglomeration. Long after they have vanished in space, one -remains entranced with the glamour of the scene. - -[Illustration: WILDFOWL IN THE MARISMA] - -The flamingoes have passed away, but the lightening skies are still -streaked and serried. Most numerous are the wigeon, millions of them in -hurrying phalanxes, white specks flanged with dark wings, too well known -to describe; pintails (this wet winter hardly less numerous), readily -distinguishable by their longer build and stately grace of flight; the -dark heads and snowy necks of the drakes conspicuous afar. The -arrow-like course of the shoveler, along with his vibrant wing-beats and -incessant call, "zook, zook, tsook, tsook," identify that species; while -gadwall, more sombre in tone than the mallards, "talk" in distinctive -style; and mob-like masses of teal and marbled ducks sweep along the -open channels. Then there are the diving-ducks with harsh corvine -croaks, pochards, ferruginous, and tufts, just as swift as the rest, -though of apparently more laboured flight; occasionally a string of -shelducks, conspicuous by size and contrasted colouring, and among them -all, swing along with leisurely wing-beats but equal speed, wedge-like -skeins of great grey-geese. A single morning's bag may include seven or -eight different species, sometimes a dozen. - -Now the rim of the sun shows over the distant sierra, and one begins to -see one's environment and to realise what Las Nuevas is like. Of Mother -Earth as one normally conceives it not a particle is in sight, beyond -such low reeds and miles of samphire-tops as break the watery surface, -and a vista of this extends to the horizon. - -[Illustration] - -Behind our positions stretched a _lucio_ of open water. Upon this, a -mile away, stood an army of flamingoes, whose croaks and gabblings -filled the still air. During a quiescent interval I examined these with -binoculars. Thereupon I discovered that the whole _lucio_ around them -and stretching away, say a league in length, was carpeted with legions -of duck, which had not been noticed with the naked eye. The discovery -explained also a resonant reverberation that, at recurring intervals, I -had noticed all the morning, and which I had attributed to the gallant -Cervera's squadron at quick-firing gun-practice away in Cádiz Bay. Now I -saw the cause; it was due to the duck-hawks and birds-of-prey! Twice -within ten minutes a swooping marsh-harrier aroused that host on -wing--or, say, half-a-mile of them--to fly in terror; but only to settle -a few hundred yards farther away. The harrier's hope was clearly to -find a wounded bird among the crowd--the massed multitude none dared to -tackle. - -It is nine o'clock, the pile of dead has mounted up, but the "flight" is -slackening. Already I see our mounted keepers (who have hitherto stood -grouped on an islet two miles away) separate and ride forth to set the -ducks once more in motion. At this precise moment one remembers two -things--both that wretched breakfast at 3 A.M., and the luxuries that -lie at hand, almost awash among the reeds. Ducks pass by unscathed for a -full half-hour, while such quiet reigns in "No. 1" that tawny -water-shrews climb confidingly up the reeds of my screen. - -Meanwhile the efforts of our drivers were becoming apparent in a renewal -of flighting ducks; but we would here emphasise the fact that these -second and artificially-produced flights are never so effective from a -fowler's point of view as the earlier, natural movements of the game. -For the ducks thus disturbed come, as the Spanish keepers put it, -_obligados_ and not of their own free-will. Hence they all pass -high--many far above gunshot--and not even the attraction that our fleet -of "decoys" (for we have now stuck up the whole of the morning's spoils -to deceive their fellows) will induce more than a limited proportion, -and those only the smaller bands, to descend from their aërial altitude. - -The "movement" of these masses nevertheless affords another of those -spectacular displays that we must at least try to describe. For though -none of their sky-high armies will pass within gunshot--or ten -gunshots--yet one cannot but be struck with amazement when the whole -vault of heaven above presents a quivering vision of wings--shaded, -seamed, streaked, and spotted from zenith to horizon. Then the -multiplied pulsation of wings is distinctly perceptible--a singular -sensation. One remembers it when, perhaps an hour later, you become -conscious of its recurrence. But now the heavens are clear! Not a single -flight crosses the sky--not one, that is, within sight. But up above, -beyond the limits of human vision, there pass unseen hosts, and _theirs_ -is that pulsation you feel. - -The passage of these sky-scrapers is actuated by no puny manoeuvre of -ours. They are travellers on through-routes. Perhaps the last land (or -water) they touched was Dutch or Danish; and they will next alight -(within an hour) in Africa. Already at their altitude they can see, -spread out, as it were, at their feet, the marshes and meres of Morocco. - -Although nominally describing that first day in Las Nuevas (and, so far -as facts go, adhering rigidly thereto), yet we are endeavouring to -concentrate in fewest words the actual lessons of many subsequent years -of practical experience. Thus the pick-up on that day (though it may -have numbered a couple of hundred ducks) we refrain from recording in -this attempt to convey the concrete while avoiding detail. - -Back again, splash, splosh, through mud and mire, two hours' ride to our -camp-fire--a picturesque scene with our marsh-bred friends gathered -round, their tawny faces lurid in the firelight as flames shoot upwards -and pine-cones crack like pistol-shots; and over the embers hang a score -of teal each impaled on a supple bough. Away beyond there loom like -spectres our horses tethered when silvery moonlight glances through -scattered pines. Things would have been pleasant indeed had the rain but -stopped occasionally. True we had our tents; but our men slept in the -open, each rolled in his cloak, beneath some sheltering bush. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -WILDFOWL-SHOOTING IN THE MARISMA - -ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE - - -Vast as their aggregations may be, yet wildfowl do not -necessarily--merely by virtue of numbers--afford any sort of certainty -to the modern fowler. Half-a-million may be in view day by day, but in -situations or under conditions where scarce half-a-score can be killed. -This elementary feature is never appreciated by the uninitiated, nor -probably ever will be since Hawker's terse and trenchant prologue failed -to fix it.[19] - -What "the Colonel" wrote a century ago stands equally good to-day; and -_mutatis mutandis_ will probably stand good a century hence. - -[Illustration] - -Long before the authors had appeared on the scene with -breech-loaders--even before the epoch of Hawker with his copper-caps and -detonators--the Spanish fowlers of the marisma had already devised means -of their own whereby the swarming wildfowl could be secured by -wholesale. As a market venture, their system of a stalking-horse (called -a _cabresto_) was deadly in the extreme and interesting to boot, -affording unique opportunity of closely approaching massed wildfowl -while still unconscious of danger. We have spent delightful days -crouching behind these shaggy ponies, and describe the method later. But -this is not a style that at all subserves the aspirations of the modern -gunner, and we here study the problem from his point of view. - -The essence of success lies in ascertaining precisely the exact areas -where fowl in quantity are "strongly haunted," by day and night, -together with their regular lines of flight thence and thereto. -Obviously such exact knowledge in these vast marismas, devoid of -landmarks, demands careful observation, and it must be remembered that -these things change with every change of weather and water. Having -located such well-frequented resorts or flight-lines, the degree of -success will yet depend on the _strength_ of the "haunt." It may happen -(despite all care) that the partiality of the fowl for that special spot -or route is merely superficial and evanescent. A dozen shots and they -have cleared out, or altered their course. In the reverse case, so -strong may be their "haunt" that no amount of disturbance entirely -drives them away, and even those that have already been scared by the -sound of shooting will yet return again and again. - - * * * * * - -By night ducks feed in the slobby shallows and oozes, but concealed by -the samphire-growth which flourishes in such places. Hence the use of -the stancheon-gun is not here available as in the case of bare, -plant-free, tidal flats at home and elsewhere. - -In the dusk the ducks have arrived at these feeding-grounds in quite -small trips or bunches. But as the stars pale towards the dawn, they -depart in larger detachments, often numbering hundreds in a pack. Still, -such are their enormous numbers that, even so, their shifting armies -form an almost continuous stream in the direction whither they take -their course. But where is that? That is the problem on the solution of -which the fowler's success depends. We will presume that you have so -solved it. In that case, you will have witnessed, between an hour before -sun-up and half-an-hour thereafter, as marvellous a procession as the -scheme of bird-life can afford. - -Let us follow the fowl throughout that matutinal flight. Away through -leagues of empty space they hold their course, now high in air where -vistas of brown samphire loom like land and might conceal a lurking foe, -anon lowering their flight where sporadic sheets or lanes of open water -break the tawny monotony. Beyond all this, stretching away in open -waters like an inland sea, lies a big _lucio_. That is their goal. One -by one, or in dozens and scores, the infinite detachments re-unite to -splash down upon that glassy surface. Within brief minutes the whole -expanse is darkened as with a carpet. - -[Illustration: THE STANCHEON-GUN IN THE MARISMA--DAWN.] - -Upon this _lucio_ the assembled ducks command a view for miles around. -Hardly could a water-rat approach unseen. If the fowl persisted in -passing the entire day thereon, no human power would avail to molest -them--they could bid defiance to fowlers of every race and breed. Two -circumstances, however, favour their human foes. The first is the -perpetual disturbance created among those floating hosts by -birds-of-prey. These--chiefly marsh-harriers, but including also the -great black-backed gulls--execute perpetual "feints" at the swimming -ducks, sections of which (often thousands strong) are compelled to rise -on wing by the menacing danger. The dominant idea actuating the raptores -(since they are unable to attack the main bodies) is to ascertain if one -or more wounded ducks remain afloat after their sound companions have -cleared--the cripples, of course, affording an easy prey. The disturbed -fowl will not fly far, perhaps half-a-mile, unless indeed they happen -during that flight to catch sight of an attractive fleet of "decoys" -moored in some quiet creek a mile or so away. - -The second favouring circumstance arises from a difference in habit -between ducks in Spain and their relatives (even con-specific) -inhabiting British waters. For whereas the latter, as a rule, will -remain quiescent in their selected resting-places the livelong day, in -Spain, on the contrary, by about 11 A.M., the force of hunger begins -visibly to operate--not in all, but in sections, which, rising in -detachments, separate themselves from the masses and commence -exploratory cruises among the smaller and shallower _lucios_ where food -may be found.[20] This intermittent flight slackens off for an hour or -so at midday, is renewed in the afternoon, and stops dead one hour -before sun-down. - -To exploit the advantage offered by these habits it is necessary to -ascertain to which of the innumerable minor _lucios_ these -"hunger-marchers" are resorting. Observation will have decided that -point, and our expert gunner now (at 11 A.M.) be concealed with -scrupulous care, and his fleet of, say, fifty decoys set out in lifelike -and (or) attractive attitudes, exactly in the centre of the particular -lagoon, whither, of recent days, the ducks have been observed to resort -in greatest abundance from noon onwards. - -The gunner lies expectant on the cut rushes which strew the -bottom-boards of his _cajon_--a box-shaped punt some 7 feet long by -2-1/2 broad, which is concealed by being thrust bodily in the midst of -the biggest samphire bush available. The craft nevertheless is still -afloat and, though flat-bottomed, is yet terribly crank, and any sudden -movement to port or starboard threatens to capsize the entire outfit. - -To allay the tense suspicion of flighting wildfowl, several of the -adjacent bushes for fifty yards around have been heightened by the -addition of a cut bough or two--the idea being to induce a theory among -passing ducks merely that this particular spot seems peculiarly -favourable to samphire-growth--that and nothing more. - -In setting up decoys, while many are posed in lifelike attitudes, it is -advisable to hang a few (especially white-plumaged species, such as -pintail, shoveler, and wigeon-drakes) in almost vertical positions, in -order to induce a belief among hungry incomers that these birds are -"turning-up" to feast on abundant subaquatic plants beneath. - -This intermittent flight is naturally irregular, hunger affecting -greater or less numbers on different days; but when it comes off in -force affords the cream of wildfowling from before noon till the sun -droops in the west. During the last hour before he dips not a wing -moves. - -Duck-shooting thus resolves itself into two main systems: (1) -intercepting the fowl on flight at dawn, and later (2) awaiting their -incoming at expected points. - -A good shoot may sometimes be engineered by cutting a broad "ride" -through the samphire along some flight-line, thereby forming an open -channel between two _lucios_. Ducks which have hitherto flown sky-high -in order to cross the danger-zone will now pass quite low along the new -waterway, and even prefer it to crossing the cover at hazard, however -high. - -A typical day's fowling in mid-marisma may be described. The night has -been spent in a reed-built hut charmingly situate on a mud-islet -half-an-acre in extent, and commanding unequalled views of flooded and -featureless marisma. At 4 A.M. we turn out and by the dim light of a -lantern embark in a _cajon_ (punt), serenaded by the croaks and gabbling -of flamingoes somewhere out in the dark waters. My wild companion, -Batata, kneeling in the bows and grasping a punt-pole in either hand, -bends to his work, and away we glide--into the unknown. - -A weird feeling it is squatting thus at water-level and watching the -wavelets dance by or dash over our two-inch free-board. We make but -three miles an hour, yet seem to fly past half-seen water-plants. A -myriad stars are reflected on the still surface ahead, and it is by a -single great _Lucero_ (planet) that our pilot is now steering his -course. - -Batata presently remarks that we have "arrived." One takes his word for -this. Still that verb does conditionally imply some place or spot of -arrival. Here there was none--none, at least, that could be -differentiated from any other point or spot in many circumambient -leagues. But this was not an hour for philological disquisition, so we -mentally decide that we have reached "nowhere." A few hours later when -daylight discovers our environment, that negation appears sufficiently -proved. There are visible certain objects on the distant horizon. -One--that behind us--proves to be the roof of the _choza_ wherein we had -spent the night--"hull-down" to the eastward. The others a lengthened -scrutiny with prism-binoculars shows to be a trio of wild camels feeding -knee-deep in water. Now where you see such signs you may conclude you -are nowhere. - -We skip a few hours, since we have no intention of inflicting on the -reader the details of a morning's flight-shooting. Suffice that at 9 -A.M. B. reappears poling up in his punt, the spoils are collected -(forty-nine in all, mostly wigeon and teal, with a few pintail and -shoveler and one couple of gadwall), and the plan for the day discussed. -To remain where we were (as this _lucio_ had yesterday attracted a -fairly continuous flight of ducks) had been our original idea. But a -shift of the wind had rendered a second _lucio_, distant two miles, a -more favourable resort for to-day, and thither accordingly we set out. -Here a new _puesto_ is promptly prepared and the forty-nine decoys -deftly set out, each supported by a supple wand stuck in the mud below. -Hardly had these preparations been completed, than the intermittent (or -secondary) flight had commenced, file after file of ducks heading up -from distant space, wheeling over or dashing past the seductive decoys. -At recurring moments during the next three or four hours (with blank -intervals between) I enjoyed to the full this most delightful form of -wildfowling, so totally different in practice to all others. - -Such is the speed of flighting fowl, such their keenness of vision and -instant perception of danger, that but a momentary point of time--say -the eighth of a second--is available fully to exploit each chance. -Should the gunner rise too quick, the ducks are beyond the most -effective range; yet within a space not to be measured by figures or -words, they will have detected the fraud, and in a flash have scattered, -shooting vertically upwards like a bunch of sky-rockets. - -Two features in the life-history of the duck-kind become apparent. The -first points to the probability that adults pair for life, and that the -mated couples keep together all winter even when forming component units -in a crowd. For when an adult female is shot from the midst of a pack, -the male will almost invariably accompany her in her fall to the very -surface of the water, and will afterwards circle around, piping -disconsolately, and even return again and again in search of his lost -partner. This applies chiefly to wigeon, but we have frequently observed -the same trait in pintail and occasionally in other species. It is only -the drakes that display this constancy; a bereaved female continues her -flight unheeding. - -The feature is most conspicuous when awaiting ducks at their -feeding-grounds (_comederos_), but it also occurs when shooting on their -flight-lines (_correderos_) between distant points. - -The second singular habit is the custom, particularly among wigeon, to -form what are termed in Spanish _magañonas_--little groups of four to a -dozen birds consisting of a single female with a bevy of males in -attendance, flying aimlessly hither and thither in a compact mass, the -drakes constantly calling and the one female twisting and turning in all -directions as though to avoid their attentions. The _magañonas_ appear -blind to all sense of danger, and will pass within easy range even -though a gunner be fully exposed. Not only this, but a first shot may -easily account for half-a-dozen, and should the hen be among the fallen, -the survivors will come round again and again in search of her. We have -known whole _magañonas_ to be secured within a few minutes. - -Other species also form _magañonas_, but more rarely and never in so -conspicuous a manner as the wigeon. The habit certainly springs from -what we have elsewhere termed a "pseudo-erotic" instinct (see _Bird-life -of the Borders_, 2nd ed., pp. 208, 234-5), and is probably the first -pairing of birds which have just then reached full maturity. - - * * * * * - -From mid-February to the end of March ducks are constantly departing -northwards whenever conditions favour, to wit, a south-west wind in the -afternoon, which wind is a feature of the season. Their vacant places -are at once filled by an equally constant succession of arrivals from -the south (Africa), easily recognised by rusty stains on their lower -plumage (denoting ferruginous water) which they lose here within a few -days. - -Ducks at this season can find food everywhere in the _manzanilla_, or -camomile, which now grows up from the bottom and in places covers the -shallows with its white, buttercup-like flowers. Having food everywhere -there is less necessity to fly in search of it. It is, however, a -curious feature of the season that, after the morning-flight (which is -shorter than in mid-winter), ducks practically suspend all movement -from, say, 8 A.M. till the daily sea-breeze (_Viento de la mar_) springs -up about 1 P.M. During these five hours not a wing moves, but no sooner -has the sea-breeze set in than constant streams of ducks fly in -successive detachments from the large open _lucios_ to the shallower -feeding-grounds. Thus we have known a late February "bag," which at 2 -P.M. had numbered but a miserable half-score, mount up before dusk to -little short of a hundred. - - * * * * * - -Wigeon arrive from the end of September onwards, the great influx -occurring during the first fortnight of November. They commence leaving -from mid-February, and by the end of March all (save a few belated -stragglers) are gone. - -The same remarks apply equally to pintail, shoveler, and teal, though, -as before remarked, pintail often appear exceptionally early--in -September,--and are again extremely conspicuous (after being scarce all -winter) on their return journey--_de vuelta paso_, as it is called--in -February. - -Gadwall, preferring deep waters, are not numerous in the shallow -marisma. A big bag therein, nevertheless, will always include a few -couples of this species. - -Shoveler are so numerous that we have known over eighty bagged by one -gun in a day. - -Garganey chiefly occur in early autumn and again _de vuelta paso_ in -March. They winter in Africa. - -Marbled duck breed here, and in September large bags may be made; but in -mid-winter (when they have retired to Africa) it is rare to secure more -than half-a-dozen or so in a day. They are very bad eating. - -Shelduck only occur in dry seasons. They fall easy victims to any sort -of "decoy" provided it is _white_. A local fowler told us he had killed -many by substituting (in default of natural decoys) the dry bones and -skulls of cattle! Ruddy shelduck do not frequent the marisma, preferring -the sweeter waters and shallows adjoining Doñana. - -Diving-ducks avoid the marisma except only in the wettest winters. - - * * * * * - -An hour before sun-down, as above stated, all bird-movement ceases. For -a brief space absolute tranquillity reigns over the illimitable marisma. -The dusky masses that cover the _lucios_ seem lulled to sleep and -silence. But the interlude is very temporary. Hardly has night thrown -her mantle across the wastes, than all that tremendous, eager, vital -energy is reawakened to fresh activities. A striking and a memorable -experience will be gained by awaiting that exact hour at some favourite -feeding-ground. Within a few minutes, as darkness deepens, the ambient -air fairly hisses and surges with the pulsation of thousand strong -pinions hurtling close by one's ear, and with the splash of heavy bodies -flung down by fifties and hundreds in the shallows almost within -arm's-length--the nearest approximation that occurs to us is a -bombardment of pompoms. Yet, for all that, night-flighting in the -marisma (having regard to the quantities concerned) produces but -insignificant results. The ducks come in so low and so direct--no -preliminary circling overhead--and at such velocity that this -flight-shooting may be likened to an attempt to hit cannon-balls in the -dark. Our expert shots score, say, eight or ten, but what is that? The -nocturnal disturbance, moreover, may be (and usually is) prejudicial to -the next day's operations, and it is clearly not worth the risk, for -half-a-dozen shots in the twilight, to discount a hundred at dawn. - -The fewer shots ducks hear, the better. Never disturb them unless you -have every reasonable prospect of exacting a proportionate toll. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER X - -WILD-GEESE IN SPAIN - -THEIR SPECIES, HAUNTS, AND HABITS - - -To Spain, as to other lands that remain unaltered and "unimproved," -resort the greylag geese in thousands to pass the winter. - -In our marismas of the Guadalquivir they appear during the last days of -September, but it is a month later ere their full numbers are made up, -and from that date until the end of February their defiant multitudes -and the splendid difficulties of their pursuit afford a unique form and -degree of wild sport perhaps unknown outside of Spain. - -Ride through the marisma in November; it is mostly dry, and autumn rains -have merely refreshed the sun-baked alluvia and formed sporadic -shallows, or _lucios_ as they are here termed. That _lucio_ straight -ahead is a mile across, yet it is literally tessellated with a sonorous -crowd. With binoculars one distinguishes similar scenes beyond; the -intervening space--and indeed the whole marisma--is crowded with geese -as thickly as it is on our immediate front. To right and left rise fresh -armies hitherto concealed among the _armajo_, till the very earth seems -in process of upheaval, while the air resounds with a volume of -voices--gabblings, croaks, and shrill bi-tones mingled with the rumble -of beating wings. - -Amid the islands of the Norwegian Skaargaard one can see geese in bulk, -but there their numbers are distributed over a thousand miles of coast. -Here we have them all--or a large proportion--concentrated in what is by -comparison but a narrow space. - -In their life-habits these geese are strictly diurnal, that is, they -feed by day--chiefly in the early morning and again towards afternoon, -with a mid-day interval of rest. The night they spend asleep on some -broad _lucio_ or other bare open space. That habit, however, is subject -to modification during the periods of full moon, when many geese avail -themselves of her brilliant light to feed in even greater security than -they can enjoy by day. Their food consists exclusively of vegetable -substances--at first of the remnants of the summer's herbage, such as -green ribbon-grass (_canaliza_), and other semi-aquatic plants; their -main sustenance in mid-winter consists of the tuber-bearing roots of -spear-grass (_Cyperus longus_ and _C. rotundus_) which they dig up from -the ground. - -[Illustration: ROOT OF SPEAR-GRASS] - -When autumn rains are long delayed, their voracious armies will already -have consumed every green thing that remains in the parched marismas -long before the "new water" from the heavens shall have furnished new -feeding-grounds. In such cases the geese are forced to depart, and do -so--so far as our observation goes--in the direction of Morocco; -returning thence (within a few hours) immediately after rain has fallen. -Their entry, on this second arrival, is invariably from the south and -south-west--that is, from the sea. - -There are three methods of shooting wild-geese in the Spanish marismas -which may here be specified, to wit:-- - -(1) Morning-flight, when the geese habitually come to "take sand" at the -dawn. See next chapter. - -(2) "Driving" during the day (available only in dry years). - -(3) Awaiting their arrival at dusk at their _dormideros_, or -sleeping-places, see pp. 97, 98. - -An all-important factor in their pursuit arises from an economic -necessity with wild-geese constantly to possess, and frequently to -renew, a store of sand or grit in their gizzards. To obtain this they -resort every morning to certain sandy spots in the marismas (hereinafter -described, and which are known as _vetas_); or failing that, when the -said _vetas_ are submerged, to the sand-dunes outside. Although great -numbers of geese resort each morning to these spots, yet those numbers -are but a small proportion of their entire aggregate, for no individual -goose needs to replenish his supply of sand or grit more often than -perhaps once a week, or even less frequently. Hence at each dawn it is a -fresh contingent of geese that comes in _para arenárse_ = to "sand -themselves," as our keepers put it. - -One other quality in the natural economy of wild-geese requires -mention--that is, their sense of scent. This defence wild-geese possess -in equal degree with wild-ducks and most other wild creatures; but each -class differ in their modes of utilising it. - -For whereas ducks on detecting human scent will take instant alarm and -depart afar on that indication alone; yet geese, on the other hand, -though their nostrils have fully advised them of the presence of danger, -will not at once take wing, but remain--with necks erect and all eyes -concentrated towards the suspect point--awaiting confirmation by sight -what they already know by scent. - -That such is the case we ascertained in the days (now long past) when we -ventured to stalk geese with no more covert than the low fringe of rush -that borders the marisma. "_Gatiando_" = cat-crouching, our keepers term -the method--laborious work, creeping flat for, it may be, 200 yards, -through sloppy mud with less than two-foot of cover. Should it become -necessary during the stalk to go directly to windward of the fowl, one's -presence (though quite unseen) would be instantly detected. The geese, -ceasing to feed or rest, all stood to attention, while low, rumbling -alarm-signals resounded along their lines. But they did not take wing. -Presently, however, one reached a gap in the thickly growing rushes--it -might not extend to a yard in width, yet no sooner was but a glimpse -available to the keen eyes beyond, than the whole pack rose in -simultaneous clatter of throats and wings. They had merely waited that -scintilla of ocular confirmation of a known danger. - - -"DRIVING" (IN A DRY SEASON) - -For four months no rain had fallen. The parched earth gaped with -cavernous cracks; vegetation was dried up; starving cattle stood about -listless, and every day one saw the assembled vultures devouring the -carcases of those already dead. - -From the turrets of our shooting-lodge one's eye surveyed--no longer an -inland sea, but a monotone of sun-baked mud; inspection through -binoculars revealed the fact that this whole space was dotted with -troops of ... well, a friend who was with us thought they were sheep; -but which, in fact, were bands of greylag geese. - -The fluctuations of Spanish seasons--varying from Noachian deluge to -Saharan drought--necessarily react upon the habits of wildfowl. These -changes are one of the charms of the country; at any rate, they "stretch -out" the fowler to devise some new thing. - -Those battalions of greylags posted out there on a vantage-ground where -a mouse might be a prominent object at 100 yards, how can they be -reduced to possession? Our friend aforesaid replies that the undertaking -appears humanly impossible. We have, nevertheless, elaborated a system -of driving, by which in dry years the greylag geese may be obtained with -some degree of certainty. - -This morning (the last of January) we rode forth, four guns and four -keepers, across that plain. Upon approaching the pack of geese selected, -one keeper rides to a position rather above the "half-wind" line, and -there halts as a "stop." The remaining seven ride on till, at a silent -signal, No. 1 gun, without checking his horse, passes the bridle forward -and rolls out of the saddle with gun and gear, lying at once flat as a -flounder on the bare dry mud. At intervals of eighty yards each -successive gun does the same, the four being now extended in a half-moon -that commands nearly a quarter-mile of space. The three keepers (leading -the other horses) continue riding forward in circular course till a -second "stop" is placed in the right flank corresponding with the one -already posted on the left. The last pair now complete the circuit by -riding round to windward of the game, separating by 200 yards as that -position is attained. (See diagram.) - -[Illustration] - -How are these four guns to conceal themselves on perfectly bare ground -from the telescopic sight of wild-geese? Occasionally, some small -natural advantage may be found--such as tufts of rushes--and these are -at once availed of. But this morning there is no such aid. Not a rush -nor a mole-hill breaks that dead-level monotone for miles; and in such -condition a human being, however flat he may lie, is bound to be -detected by the keen-eyed geese long ere they arrive within shot.[21] A -dozen twigs of tree-heath, dipped in wet mud and then allowed to dry, so -as to harmonise in colour with the surroundings, may be utilised; but -the annexed sketch shows better than words a portable screen we have -devised and which fulfils this purpose. It consists of four bamboo -sticks two feet long, sharpened at the point, and connected by four or -five strings with one-foot intervals. This when rolled up forms a bundle -no thicker than an umbrella. On reaching one's post the bundle unrolls -of itself, the sharpened points are stuck into the ground at an angle -sloping towards the prostrate gun, a few tufts of dead grass (carried in -one's pocket) are woven through the strings and the shelter is complete. -Needless to say, these preparations must be carried out with the minimum -of movement in face of such vigilant foes. Some assistance, however, -accrues from the geese continuing to watch the moving file of horsemen -while the prostrate gunner erects his screen. - -[Illustration: SHELTERS FOR DRIVING WILD-GEESE] - -Well, the circle being complete, all four drivers (distant now, say, -1000 yards) converge on the common centre. The watchful geese have -ceased grubbing up the spear-grass, and now stand alert with a forest -of necks erect, while an increasing volume of gabbling attests their -growing suspicion. Presently, with redoubled outcry, they rise on wing, -and now commences the real science of our Spanish fowlers. The guns, -after all, command but a small segment of the circle--anywhere else the -geese can break out scathless--and this mischance it is the object of -our drivers and flankers to avert. No sooner does the gaggling band -shift its course to port or starboard than the "stop" on that side is -seen to be urging his horse in full career to intercept their flight, -yet using such judgment as will neither deflect their course too much or -turn them back altogether. Sometimes both flankers and drivers are seen -to be engaged at once, and a pretty sight it is to the prostrate gunners -to watch the equestrian manoeuvres. - -Presently the whole band head away for what appears the only available -outlet, and should they then pass directly over one or other of the -guns, are seldom so high but that a pair should be secured -right-and-left. - -In strong gales of wind the geese, on being driven, are apt, instead of -taking a direct course, to circle around in revolving flight, gaining -altitude at each revolution; and in such case not only come in very high -but at incredible speed--_mas lejeros que zarcetas_--swifter than teal, -as Vasquez puts it. - -The first essential of success in driving wild-geese (and the same -applies to great bustard and all large winged game) is to instal the -firing-line as near as may be without disturbing the fowl. The more -remote the guns the greater the difficulty in forcing the game through -the crucial pass. - -To manoeuvre single bands of geese as above, three or four guns at -most, with the same number of drivers, are best. A great crowd of -horsemen (such being never seen in these wilds) unduly arouses -suspicions already acute enough. With any greater number of guns, it is -advisable to extend the field of operations to, say, two or three miles, -thereby enclosing several troops of geese--this requiring a large force -of drivers. It does not, however, follow that each of these enclosed -troops will "enter" to the guns; for should one pack come in advance, -the firing will turn back the others. This mischance--or rather -bungle--may be averted (or may not) by the leading driver firing a blank -shot behind so soon as the first geese are seen to have taken wing. -Needless to remark, once a shot has been fired ahead, it becomes -tenfold harder to force the remaining geese to the guns. - -Each gun should hold his fire till the main bodies of geese are well on -wing and seen to be heading in towards the shooting-line. The "best -possible" chances are thus secured, and not for one gun only, but quite -possibly for all, as several hundred geese pass down the line. A -premature shot, on the contrary, will ruin the best-planned drive, and -bring down merited abuse from the rest of the party with scathing -contempt from the drivers. - -Taking single troops at a time, as many as six or eight separate drives -may be worked into a long day. Our first drive to-day produced three -geese, the second was blank, while five greylags rewarded the third -attempt. In the last instance three of the guns received welcome aid -from a string of _ojos_, or land-springs, around which grew a fringe of -green rushes, affording excellent cover. - -By four o'clock we had secured, in five drives, eleven geese and a -wigeon. We then, on information received, changing our plan, rode off to -a point which the keeper of that district had noted was being used by -the geese as a _dormidero_, or sleeping-place; and here, as dusk fell, -an hour's "flighting" added six more greylags to that day's total. - -The above may be put down as a fair average day's results in a dry -season. From a dozen to a score of driven geese (and occasionally many -more) represent, with such game as greylags, a degree and a quality of -sport that is ill-represented by cold numerals. - -There are spots in the marisma where the configuration of the shore-line -enables the flight of the geese, when disturbed, to be foretold with -certainty. For geese will not cross dry land: their retreat is always to -the open waters. In such situations excellent results accrue from -placing the gun-line at a _right angle_ to the expected line of flight, -while all the "beaters," save one or two to flush the fowl, are -stationed as "stops" between the geese and their objective. On rising, -the birds thus find themselves confronted by a long line of horsemen who -intercept their natural retreat, and, in effect, force them back towards -the land. Should the operation be well executed, the landmost gun will -probably be the first to fire; while the geese thereafter pass down the -entire line of guns, possibly affording shots to each in turn. - -Two guns can then be effectively brought into action. Needless to add, -the second must be handled with the utmost rapidity. - -In wet winters, when the marisma is submerged, "driving" is not -available. Obviously you cannot place a line of guns, however keen, in -six inches of water, much less in half-a-yard. - - My first impression of wild-goose driving (writes J.) was one of - wonder that such intensely astute and wide-awake fowl would ever - fly near, much less over so obvious a danger as the little loose - semicircle of rosemary twigs behind which I lay prone on the barest - of bare mud. Peering through between their naked stalks, I could - plainly see the geese some half-mile away, and it seemed incredible - that I should not be equally visible to them. Possibly the brown - leaves on top of the twigs may have concealed me from the loftier - anserine point of view, and the equestrian manoeuvres beyond no - doubt greatly aided the object. Anyway, the whole pack--three or - four hundred, and proportionally noisy--_did_ come right over me, - and a wildly exciting moment it was, I can assure you! We had six - or seven drives that day, and bagged twenty-eight splendid great - grey geese, of which eight fell to my lot. - - I may perhaps be allowed to add (since such details are taken for - granted, or regarded as unworthy of note by regular gunners of the - _marisma_) that to-day we had no less than six times to cross and - recross a broad marsh-channel called the _Madre_--floundering, - splashing, slithering, and stumbling through 100 yards of mud and - water full three-foot deep. It may be nothing (if you're used to - it), yet twice I've seen horses go down, and their riders take a - cold bath, lucky if they didn't broach their barrels! To follow - Vasquez about the _marisma_ is a job that requires special - qualities that not all of us possess or (perchance fortunately?) - require to possess. - -The following instructions may be worth the attention of new -beginners:-- - -(1) Never fire till you are fairly certain to kill at least one. - -(2) Never rise or even move in your "hide" till the beat is entirely -finished. - -(3) Reload at once; when big lots are being moved, two, three, or more -chances may offer quite unexpectedly. - -(4) Wear suitably coloured clothes and head-gear, and never let the sun -glint on the gun-barrels. - -(5) After firing, watch the departing geese till nearly out of sight. -Though apparently unhurt, one of their company may turn over, -stone-dead, in the distance. - - -"FLIGHTING"--AN INCIDENT OF A DRY SEASON - -The day above described was selected, not only because it affords a -typical illustration of our theme, but also because there had occurred -during its course an extraneous incident which serves to amplify this -exposition of the pursuit of the greylag goose. - -Riding across the marisma, certain signs at once filled both our minds -with fresh ideas. All around the ground was littered with cast feathers -and other evidence proclaiming that this special spot was a regular -resort of geese. We were crossing one of those slightly raised ridges of -sand and grit which here and there intersect the otherwise universal -dead-level of alluvial mud, and which ridges are known locally as -_vetas_--tongues. - -Now the nutritive economy of wild-geese, as already explained, requires -a frequently replenished store of sand or grit. In wet seasons (the -marisma being then submerged) the geese resort to the adjoining -sand-dunes of Doñana to secure these supplies. But in dry winters they -are enabled to obtain the necessary sand from these _vetas_; and it was -to this particular spot that, to the number of many hundreds, the geese -were evidently resorting at this period. - -At once the measure of opportunity was gauged, and the arrangements -necessary for its exploitation were made. Within three minutes a -messenger was galloping homewards to summon a couple of men with spades -and buckets to prepare a hole wherein one of us might lie concealed at -daybreak. A pannier-mule to carry away the excavated material was also -requisitioned, since the least visible change in the earth's surface -would instantly be recognised by the geese as a danger-signal. Within a -few minutes we had resumed our course, to continue the day's sport. - -[Illustration: WILD-GEESE IN THE MARISMA.] - -Next morning half an hour before dawn the writer reached the spot. It -was pitch-dark and a dense fog prevailed. By what mental process my -guides directed an unerring course to that lonely hole in the midst of a -pathless and practically boundless waste passes understanding. Such -piloting (without aid of compass or even of the heavenly bodies--the -usual index on which marshmen rely) seems to indicate a point where -intellect and instinct touch; or perhaps rather a survival of the latter -quality which, in modern races, has become obsolete through disuse. -Among savage races that faculty of instinct is markedly prominent, -indeed the master-force; but there it has been acquired (or retained) at -the cost of intellect, which is not the case with our Spanish -friends--they possess both qualities. But place the best intellects of -Madrid, or Paris, or London in such conditions--in darkness, or fog, or -in viewless forest--and not one could hold a straight course for -half-a-mile. Within ten minutes each man would be lost, devoid of all -sense of direction. That is part of the price of the higher -civilisation--the loss of a faculty which need not clash with any other. -Of course where people live with a telephone at their ear, with electric -trams and "tubes" close at hand, where a whistle will summon an -attendant hansom and two a taxi-meter--or, as _Punch_ suggested, three -may bring down an airship--well, in such case, those modern "advantages" -may be held to outweigh the loss of a primitive natural faculty. - -Hardly had a tardy light begun to strengthen to the dawn than the soft, -soliloquising "Gagga, gagga, gagga," with alternatively the raucous -"Honk-honk," resounded afar through the gloom. From seven o'clock -onwards geese were flying close around--so near that the rustling of -strong wings sounded almost within arm's-length; but that opaque fog -held unbroken and nothing could be seen. Long before eight I resolved to -quit and leave the fowl undisturbed for another morning rather than open -fire at so late an hour. Having a compass, I steered a good line to the -point where the horses awaited me, a mile away. - -The following morning again broke foggy, though not quite so thick; -still I had only five geese at eight o'clock, when three packs coming -well in, in rapid succession, afforded three gratifying doubles. Total, -eleven geese. - -Leaving the geese a few mornings' peace, on February 5 the authors -together occupied that hole at dawn. It proved a brilliant morning with -a fine show of geese. As each pack came in, we took it in turns to give -the word whether to fire or not. In the negative case, our eyes sank -gently below the surface of the earth, and crouching down we heard the -rush of wind-splitting pinions pass over and behind--probably to offer -a fairer mark when they next wheeled round. Then two, and often three, -great geese came hurtling downwards, to fall with resounding thuds -behind. Few mistakes occurred this morning and scarce a chance was -missed. But never could we succeed in working-in the two doubles at -once! The cramped space forbade that. The hole, having been dug for one, -gave no freedom of action for two guns; its floor, moreover, had now -become a compound of sticky glutinous clay a foot deep, and that further -hampered movements. Only one gun could work the second barrel. - -After each shot, one of us jumped out and propped up the fallen geese as -decoys. To leave them lying about all-ends-up has a disastrous effect. - -Ere the "flight" ceased we had five-and-twenty greylags down around our -hide, besides several others that had fallen at some distance, duly -marked by the keepers who now galloped off to gather these--say two -mule-loads of geese. The discovery of that lonely "sanding-place" had -had a concrete reward. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -WILD-GEESE ON THE SAND-HILLS - - -Flanking the marisma and separating it from the dry lands of Doñana, -there rises rampart-like a swelling range of dunes--the biggest thing in -the sand line we have seen on earth. For miles extend these mountains of -sand, unbroken by vestige of vegetation or any object to relieve one's -eyesight, dazzled--aye, blinded--by that brilliantly scintillating -surface, set off in vivid contrast by the azure vault above. - -Should a stranger, on first seeing those buttressed dunes, be seriously -informed that their naked summits constitute a favourite resort of -wild-geese, he might reasonably suspect his informant's sanity, or at -least wonder whether his own credulity were not being tested. Yet such -is the fact--one of the surprises that befall in Spain, the _pays de -l'imprévu_. - -The paradox is explained by the stated necessity in wild-geese to -furnish their gizzards with store of grit or sand for digestive -purposes. - -This supply, so long as the marisma is dry, they are able to obtain from -those raised ridges of calcareous debris (already described, and known -locally as _vetas_) which here and there outcrop from the alluvial -wastes. But when winter rains and floods have submerged the whole region -and thus deprived the fowl of that local resource, they are forced to -rely upon the sand-dunes aforesaid and to substitute pure sea-sand for -their former specific of calcareous grit or disintegrated shells. To the -sand-dunes, therefore, in the cold bright mornings between October and -February, the skeins of greylag geese may be seen directing their course -in successive files, in order, as the Spanish put it, "to sand -themselves" (_arenárse_). - -A notable fact (and one favourable to the fowler) is that, though these -dunes extend for miles, yet the geese select certain limited areas--or, -to be precise, the summits of two particular hills--for alighting, and -this despite their being regularly shot thereat, year after year. - -With the first sign of dawn the earlier arrivals will be heard -approaching; but the bulk of the geese come in about sun-up and onwards -till 9 A.M. Geese arriving high (having come presumably from a distance) -will sometimes, after a preliminary wheel, suddenly collapse in mid-air, -diving and shooting earthwards in a score of curving lines--as teal do, -or tumbler-pigeons; but with these heavy fowl the manoeuvre is -executed with surprising grace and command of wing. Their numbers vary -on different mornings without any apparent cause; but it may be laid -down as a general rule that more will come on clear bright mornings than -when the dawn is overcast, while rain proves (as in all wildfowling) an -upsetting factor. Sometimes, even on favourable mornings, no geese -appear. Occasionally, in small numbers, they may visit the sand in -afternoon. - -To exploit the advantage afforded by this habit of the geese, it is -necessary that the fowler be concealed before dawn in a hole dug for the -purpose in the sand--care being taken to utilise any natural -concealment, such as a depression flanked by a steep sand-revetment; so -that, at least from one quarter, the geese may perceive no danger till -right over the gun. The hole (or holes, but _one_ is best) must be dug -at least twelve hours before, or the newly turned sand will show up -dark. Were it not for the risk of wind filling them up with driving sand -(a matter of an hour or two), the holes might well be prepared two or -even three days beforehand. The excavated material is piled up around -the periphery and flattened down smooth, thus forming a raised rampart -which screens the suspicious darkness of the interior. Needless to say, -the fewer human footprints around the spot, the better. - -Such is the inability exhibited by many sportsmen (not being -wildfowlers) to conceal their persons--or even to recognise the virtue -of concealment--that, for such, the holes are apt to be made too big, -and the geese swerve off at sight of those gaping pits. This indeed is a -form of sport that none save wildfowlers need essay--others merely -succeed in thwarting the whole enterprise. - -However carefully prepared and skilfully occupied, these holes (dug in -naked sand) must obviously be visible enough to the keen sight of -incoming greylags. One such hole (when backed up by well-placed decoys) -the geese may almost ignore; two they distrust; while three inspire -something approaching panic. Consequently a single craftsman who knows -his business and bides his time will shoot, under the most favourable -circumstances, at almost every successive band of geese that means -alighting. Two guns, in _full sympathy_ with each other, may effectually -combine by occupying holes dug at some fifty yards apart and with a -single set of decoys set midway between for mutual use. Thus there can -be secured fair, frequent, and almost simultaneous shots. - -It is essential to bear in mind the fact that the geese have come with -the intention (unless prematurely alarmed) of _alighting_. Hence, as -they often circle two or three times around before finally deciding, a -judicious refusal of all uncertain chances has a concrete reward when, a -few seconds later, the pack sweep overhead at half gunshot. The first -element of success lies in concealment; the second in ever allowing the -geese to come in to such close quarters as renders the shot a certainty. - -Greylag geese are, of course, huge birds, very strong, and impenetrable -as ironclads. But to tyros (and many others) in the early light they are -apt to appear much larger, and consequently much nearer, than is -actually the case. All this has, the night before, been impressed upon -our friend, the tyro, in solemn, even tragic tones. The urgency of the -thing seems to have been graven deep on the very tissues of his brain, -and he promises with earnest humility to bear the lesson in mind when -the vital moment shall arrive; to deny himself all but point-blank shots -well within thirty yards, whereby he will not only himself assist to -swell the score, but enable his companion to do likewise. - -Words fail to describe that companion's frame of mind at the dawn, when, -despite over-night exhortations and assurances, he sees to his horror -pack after pack of incoming geese (some of which he has himself let pass -within forty yards) "blazed at" at mad and reckless ranges by that -wretched scarecrow who never ruffles a feather and afterwards tries to -excuse his failure by enlarging on "the extreme height the geese came in -at!" - -These goose-hills, it may here appropriately be stated, lie midway -between our two shooting-lodges and distant between two and three hours' -ride from either. Thus every morning's goose-shooting presupposes some -fairly arduous work. It means being in the saddle by 4 A.M. with its -resultant discomforts and a long scrambling ride in the dark. Hence the -disgust is proportionate when all that work is thrown away in such -insane style. Never again for any tyro on earth, though he be our -clearest friend, never will the authors turn out at 3 A.M., abusing with -clattering hoof the silence and repose of midnight watch and the hours -designed for rest--never again, unless alone or with a known and -reliable companion. - -A word now as to the "decoys." These, in design, are American--first -observed and brought across from Chicago--cut out of block-tin, formed -and painted to resemble a grey-goose. Geese being gregarious by nature -are peculiarly susceptible to the attractions of decoys. Hence these tin -geese have a marvellous effect when silhouetted on the skyline of a -sand-ridge, being conspicuous for enormous distances and the only -"living" objects on miles of desert. They are _most_ deadly before -sunrise, after which they are apt to glint too much despite a coating of -dried mud. As daylight broadens, incoming geese are apt to be -disconcerted at losing sight of their supposed friends, which event must -occur as each decoy falls end-on--one can interpret the hurried queries -and expletives of the puzzled phalanx at that mysterious disappearance! -For these reasons it is desirable as soon as possible to supplement the -decoys with, and finally to substitute for them, the real article, that -is, the newly shot geese, set up in life-like attitudes by aid of twigs -brought for the purpose. Fallen birds must, in any case, be set up as -fast as gathered; if left spread-eagled as they fell, inevitably the -next comers are scared. The more numerous and life-like the decoys, the -more certain are the geese to come in with confidence and security. - -Naturally great care must be used in getting into and out of one's hide -to avoid breaking down its loose and crumbling substance. But it is of -first importance quickly to gather and prop up the dead. A winged goose -walking away should be stopped with a charge of No. 6 in the head. - -As illustrating the life-like effect produced by our tin decoys, on one -occasion a friend, after firing both barrels, was watching a wounded -goose, when a strange sound behind attracted his attention. On looking -round, a fox was seen to have sprung upon one of the tin geese! That a -fox, with his keen intuition and knowledge of things, should have -considered it worth his while to stalk wild-geese (even of flesh and -blood) on that naked expanse seems incredible. The fact remains that he -did it! - -Strange indeed are the sensations evoked by that silent watch before -day-dawn, in expectation of what truly appears incredible! Buried -virtually in a desert of sand the fowler has nothing in sight beyond the -dark dunes and a star-spangled sky overhead. For his hide is cunningly -hidden in a slight depression with a hanging buttress on two sides. - -[Illustration: WILD-GEESE ALIGHTING ON THE SAND-HILLS] - -Several hundred yards away, concealed under stunted pines, stand our -horses, while the men cower round a small fire, for we have had a biting -cold two-hours' ride, and freezing to boot. Half-a-mile away on the -other side--the east--begins the marisma, though hidden from view by the -waves of rolling sand that intervene. - -Now a faint glint of light gleams on the tin decoys and foretells the -coming dawn. Five more minutes elapse, and then ... that low deep-toned -anserine call-note, instinct with concentrated caution--"Gagga, gagga, -gagga, gagga"--sets pulses and nerves on fuller stretch. This pack -proves to be but an advance-guard; for this is one of those -thrice-blessed mornings for which we pray! The geese come in thick and -fast in successive bands of six or eight to a score, and all beautifully -timed, with exactly the correct interval between. The fowler is a -craftsman, a master of his art, and, moreover, he is all alone. Hence he -can to-day await the psychological moment with patience and absolute -confidence. Rarely in such circumstances is trigger touched in vain; not -seldom has the second gun been brought into action with good, thrice -with double effect. No simple achievement is this, when fowl vanish -swift and ghost-like into space; for, remember, guns must be exchanged -with due deliberateness else shifting sand in an instant fills the -breech and clogs the actions. Thrice has the double _carambola_ been -brought off, and now comes the prettiest shot of all--five geese swing -past, head up for the decoys, and pass full broadside at deadliest -range; they are barely twenty yards away. In all but simultaneous pairs -fall four of their company on the sand--all four stone dead; and but a -single survivor wings away to bear news of the catastrophe to his -fellows in the marisma! - -It is 8 A.M., and the tin decoys are now entirely replaced by geese of -flesh and feather, with the fatal result that each successive pack now -enters with fullest confidence, so that by doubles and trebles the score -mounts fast during the fleeting minutes that yet remain. - -Before nine o'clock the flight has ceased. It only remains to gather -those birds which have fallen afar--and which have been marked by the -keepers from their points of vantage--and to follow by their spoor on -the sand such winged geese as may have departed on foot. Some of these -will be overtaken, those that have concealed themselves in the nearest -rush-beds; but should any have passed on and gained the stronghold of -the marisma, they are lost. - -Such is an ideal morning's work, one of those rare rewards of patience -and skill that occur from time to time. Far differently may the event -fall out. There are mornings when scarce once will that weird -forewarning note, "Gagga, gagga," rejoice the expectant ear with harsh -music, when no chain-like skeins dot and serry the eastern skies, or -ever a greylag appears to remember his wonted haunts. We do not -complain, much less despair. Such are the underlying, fundamental -conditions of wildfowling in all lands. To a nature-lover the wildness -of the scene, with its unique conditions and environment are ever -sufficient reward. - -Roughly speaking, from a dozen to a score of geese may be reckoned as a -fair average morning's work for one gun. The following figures, selected -from our game-books, indicate the degree of success that rewards -exceptional skill. In each instance they apply to but one fowler, though -two guns (12-bores) may have been employed. - - 1903. Remarks. - - Dec. 4. 29 geese. Later in day, shot 46 ducks in the - _marisma_ close by. - Dec. 5. 51 geese. Later, shot 25 ducks, 16 snipe.--B. F. B. - - 1904. - - Nov. 27. 27 geese. (A second gunner shot but three.) - Nov. 30. 52 geese. - - 1903. - - Jan. 9. 23 geese. Westerly gale kept filling hole with sand; half my time - spent in new excavation.--W. J. B. - - 1908. - - Dec. 7. Three guns on sand-hills, 4 + 7 + 22 = 33 geese. - Dec. 10. 42 geese. Shots fired, 44. Later in day, shot 55 ducks, - 3 snipe = 100 head.--B. F. B. - - 1909. - - Jan. 8. 38 geese. - Jan. 19. 59 geese. The record.--(B. F. B.) - Dec. 29. H.M. King Alfonso XIII., 6 geese; Marq. de Viana, 5 = 11 - geese (an unfavourable morning). - - 1910. - - Jan. 7. Two guns (second at Caño - de la Casquera), 12 + 28 = 40 geese. - Jan. 8. 23 geese. - -Possibly the larger totals are unsurpassed in the world's records. By -way of contrast we append what may perchance be discovered in the -note-book of the veracious tyro:-- - -Went out three mornings at three, emptied three cartridge-bags at -ridiculous ranges, fluked three geese, and scared three thousand. - - -INSTRUCTIONS IN SHOOTING WILD-GEESE - -Where the main object is _close quarters_, ordinary 12-bore guns -suffice. But since geese are very strong and heavily clad, large shot is -a necessity, say No. 1. - -Thirty to thirty-five yards should be regarded as the outside range, -with forty yards as an extreme limit. The latter, however, should only -be attempted in exceptional cases, and never when shooting in company. - -Should two guns be employed, the case of the second is, of course, -different. It may be loaded with larger shot--say AAA--which is -effective up to fifty yards. - -The speed of geese (like that of bustards) is extremely deceptive--as -much so as their apparent nearness when really far out of shot. When in -full flight geese travel as fast as ducks or as driven grouse, though -their relatively slow wing-beats give a totally false impression -thereof. It is a safe rule for beginners to allow _double_ that forward -swing of the gun that may appear needful to inexpert eyes. - -Even when geese are slowing down to alight, the impetus of their flight -is still far greater than it appears. - -It is a mistake to suppose (as many urge) that geese cannot be killed -coming in, that the shot then "glances off their steely plumage," or -that you "must let them pass over and shoot from behind," etc., etc. The -cause of all these frequent misapprehensions is--the old, old -story--_too far back!_ Hold another foot ahead--or a yard, according to -circumstance--and this dictum will be handsomely proved. - -Never deliberately try to kill two at one shot; it results in killing -neither. But by shooting well ahead of _one_ goose that is seen to be -aligned with another beyond, _both_ may thus be secured. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -SOME RECORDS IN SPANISH WILDFOWLING - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - - -El Travierso, _February 9, 1901._--An hour before dawn we (five guns) -lay echeloned obliquely across a mile of water, the writer's position -being the second out. No. 1 squatted (in six inches of water) between me -and the shore; but, being dissatisfied, moved elsewhere shortly after -day-break, leaving with me two geese and about a dozen ducks. These, -with thirty-six of my own, I set out as decoys. Shortly thereafter I -heard the gaggle of geese, and two, coming from behind, were already so -near that there was only time to change _one_ cartridge to big shot. The -geese passed abeam, quite low and within thirty yards, but six feet -apart--impossible to get them both. Held on; upon seeing that the decoys -were a fraud, the geese spun up vertically, and that _one_ cartridge -secured both. The incident gives opportunity to introduce two rough -sketches pencilled down at the moment. During this day there were -recurrent periods when for ten or fifteen, minutes ducks flew extremely -fast and well--_revoluciones_, our keepers term these sporadic -intermittent movements; then for a full hour or more might follow a -spell of absolute silence and an empty sky. Almost the whole of these -successive flights concentrated on No. 2--such is fowler's luck,--so -that by dusk I had gathered 105 ducks, 3 geese, 3 flamingoes, and 4 -godwits; total, 115. The next gun (J. C. C.), though only 200 yards -away, in No. 3, had but 30 ducks; while the others had practically had -no shooting all day. Bertie, however, two miles away at the Desierto, -added 65--bringing the day's total to 268 ducks, 8 geese, etc. Three -guns left to-night. - -Next day at the Cañaliza, Bertie and I had 70 ducks by noon, when (by -reason of intense sun-glare at the point) I shifted back to my -yesterday's post--two hours' tramp through sticky mud and water, with a -load of cartridges, ducks, etc. Thereat in one hour (4 to 5 P.M.) I -secured 56 ducks, bringing my total for the two days--a record in my -humble way, but surpassed threefold, as will be seen on following -pages--to over 200 head, and for the party, to precisely 500 (491 ducks -and 9 geese), besides flamingoes, ruffs, grey-plover, etc. - -[Illustration: GODWITS] - - * * * * * - -A curious incident occurred on February 11 (1907). But few ducks--and -they all teal--had "flighted" early, and a strong west wind having -"blown" the water, my post was left near dry. Just as I prepared to move -300 yards eastward, a marvellous movement of teal commenced. On the far -horizon appeared three whirling clouds, each perhaps 100 yards in length -by 20 in depth, and all three waltzing and wheeling in marshalled -manoeuvres down channel towards me. To right and left in rhythmical -revolutions swept those masses, doubling again and again upon themselves -with a precision of movement that passes understanding. Each unit of -those thousands, actuated by simultaneous impulse, changed course while -moving at lightning speed; and with that changed course they changed -also their colour, flashing in an instant from dark to silvery white, -while the roar of wings resembled an earthquake. - -All three clouds had already passed along the deeper water beyond my -reach when there occurred this strange thing. A peregrine falcon had for -some time been hanging around studying with envious eye the dozen or two -dead ducks stuck up around my post; now he swept away, as it were, to -intercept that feathered avalanche on my right, with the result that the -third and last cloud, being cut off, doubled back in tumultuous -confusion right in my face--what a spectacle! The puny twelve-bore -brought down a perfect shower of teal--probably 30 or more fell all -around me. I gathered 18 as fast as the sticky mud allowed; others -fluttered here and there beyond reach; how many in all escaped to feed -marsh-harriers none can tell. - -Another incident with peregrine:--I had just taken post for -night-flighting at the Albacias, when, as dusk fell, a big bird appeared -in the gloom making, with laboured flight, directly towards me. Thinking -(though doubtfully) that it was a goose, I fired. The stranger proved to -be a beautiful adult peregrine, carrying in its claws a marbled duck, -and the pair are now set up in my collection. - - * * * * * - -Figures such as the following are apt to provoke two sentiments: (1) -that they are not true, or that (2), being true, such results must be -easy of attainment. The first we pass over. As regards the second, the -assumption ignores the nature and essential character of wildfowl. - -These, being cosmopolitans, remain precisely the same wherever on the -earth's surface they happen to be found. It is their sky they change, -not their natural disposition or their fixed habits, when wildfowl shift -their homes. The difficulty is that not half-a-dozen men in a thousand -understand wildfowl or the supreme difficulty which their pursuit -entails, whether in Spain, England, or elsewhere. - -In England, it is true, such results are out of the question, simply -because the country is highly drained, cultivated, and populous. Were it -desired to recover for England those immigrant hosts--the operation -would not be impossible--break down the Bedford Level and flood five -counties! Then you might enjoy in the Midlands such scenes as to-day we -see in Spain. - -As a matter of simple fact--and this we state without suspicion of -egotism, or careless should such uncharitably be imputed--the results -recorded below represent even for Spain something that approaches the -human maximum alike in wild-fowling skill, in endurance, and in deadly -earnest. - -That test of individual skill has, it may go without saying, been -demonstrated during all these years times without number. There are not, -within the authors' knowledge, a score of men who have fairly gathered -to their gun in one day 100 ducks in the open marisma. Again, while one -such gun, who is thoroughly efficient, will secure his century, others -(including excellent game-shots) will fail to bag one-tenth of that -number. There can be no question here of "luck" in that long run of -years. - -A feature, more valuable than the figures themselves, is the light they -throw upon the varying distribution of the _Anatidae_ (both specifically -and seasonably) in the south of Spain. - - 1897. _November 10._--ONE GUN (W. J. B.) - Dawn at El Puntal 6 geese - Forenoon at Santolalla 128 ducks - Afternoon " " 2 stags - - 1897. _November 25._--LAS NEUVAS (C. D. W. and B. F. B.) - 307 ducks, 53 geese - (Geese, all the afternoon, came well in to decoys) - - 1898. _January_ 29, 30, and 31.--TWO GUNS (W. D. M. and W. J. B.) - 437 ducks, 17 geese - -1903._January 18._--FLIGHT-SHOOTING WITH 12-BORE AT CAÑO DULCE (ONE GUN) - - 139 Wigeon - 32 Pintail - 20 Teal - 22 Shovelers - 10 Gadwall - 1 Mallard - 3 Greylag Geese - -Total, 224 ducks and 3 _geese_. About one-half shot on natural flight -before 11 A.M.; the rest later, over "decoys." Nice breeze all day. - - 1903. _February._--THREE CONSECUTIVE DAYS' FLIGHTING (ONE GUN) - - February 22. February 23. February 24. - - Pintaila 49 39 68 - Wigeon 17 18 5 - Shovelers 41 70 2 - Teal 10 17 2 - Gadwall 1 0 3 - Marbled Duck 1 0 0 - Garganey 1 1 0 - Mallard 0 0 1 - --- --- --- - 120 145 81 = 346 - -On the 24th a succession of pintails came in, all _in pairs_. Almost the -entire bag of that species was made in double shots. - -1903. _March 4._--BEYOND DESIERTO, FLIGHTING (ONE GUN) - - 124 Teal - 7 Pintail - 2 Mallard - 4 Shovelers - -Put away many thousands of teal early. These kept coming back in small -lots all day. But the wind held wrong all through, and the _Viento de la -mar_ (= sea-breeze) did not blow up till 5 P.M. Nine camels passed close -by. - -1904. _November 8._--LAGUNA DE SANTOLALLA (ONE GUN) - - 102 Teal - 14 Pochard - 3 Gadwall - 7 Mallard - 3 Shovelers - 6 Ferruginous Duck - 25 Marbled Duck - --- - Total 159 Ducks - -1905. _November 8._--(P. GARVEY, C. D. W., and B. F. B.) - -Santolalla 264 ducks - -1905. _December 3._--CAÑO DULCE (ONE GUN) - - 3 Greylag Geese - 121 Wigeon - 47 Teal - 3 Pintail - 3 Shovelers - 1 Flamingo - --- - Total 178 - -1905-6. TWO DAYS AT CAÑO DULCE (ONE GUN) - - Dec. 17, 1905. Feb. 17, 1906. - - Wigeon 235 47 - Shovelers 10 13 - Pintail 18 62 - Gadwall 6 0 - Teal 2 6 - Marbled Duck 1 0 - Geese 1 2 - ---- ---- - 273 130 - -The total on December 17 represents the "Record," and was made (as was -that with geese, see p. 131) by B. F. B. - -The whole of the above records refer to flight-shooting with a 12-bore -gun. - -Following is a list of the different ducks shot by one gun during two -consecutive seasons:-- - - 1902-3. 1903-4. - - Wigeon 277 230 - Pintail 267 28 - Mallard 9 42 - Gadwall 21 36 - Shovelers 195 32 - Teal 276 269 - Garganey 2 1 - Marbled Duck 4 51 - Pochard[22] 1 0 - Pochard, Crested 1 0 - Tufted Duck 0 1 - White-faced Duck 0 1 - Unenumerated 191 0 - ---- --- - 1244 726 - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE SPANISH IBEX - - -In the Spanish ibex Spain possesses not only a species peculiar to the -Peninsula, but a game-animal of the first rank. - -Fortunate it is that this sentence can be written in the present tense -instead of (as but a few years ago appeared probable) in the past. - -Since we first wrote on this subject in 1893 the Spanish ibex has passed -through a crisis that came perilously near extirpation. Up to the date -named, and for several years later, none of the great landowners of -Spain, within whose titles were included the vast sierras and -mountain-ranges that form its home, had cherished either pride or -interest in the Spanish wild-goat. Some were dimly conscious of its -existence on their distant domains: but that was all. Not a scintilla of -reproach is here inferred. For these mountain-ranges are so remote and -so elevated as often to be almost inaccessible--or accessible only by -organised expedition independent of local aid. Their sole human -inhabitants are a segregated race of goat-herds, every man of them a -born hunter, accustomed from time immemorial to kill whenever -opportunity offered--and that regardless of size, sex, or season. That -the ibex should have survived such persecution by hardy mountaineers -bespeaks their natural cunning. Their survival was due to two -causes--first, the antiquated weapons employed, but, more important, the -astuteness of the game and the "defence" it enjoyed in the stupendous -precipices and snow-fields of those sierras, great areas of which remain -inaccessible even to specialised goat-herds, save only for a limited -period in summer. - -But no wild animal, however astute or whatever its "defence," can -withstand for ever perpetual, skilled human persecution. During the -early years of the present century the Spanish ibex appeared doomed -beyond hope. Private efforts over such vast areas were obviously -difficult, if not impossible. - -We rejoice to add that at this eleventh hour a new era of existence has -been secured to _Capra hispánica_ at that precise psychological moment -when its scant survivors were struggling in their last throes. The -change is due to graceful action by the landowners in certain great -mountain-ranges; and if our own explorations and our writings on the -subject have also tended to assist, none surely will grudge the authors -this expression of pride in having helped, however humbly, to preserve -not only to Spain, but to the animal-world, one of its handsomest -species. - -This new era took different forms in different places. In certain -sierras--those of less boundless area--the owners have undertaken the -preservation of the ibex partly from their realising the tangible asset -this game-beast adds to the value of barren mountain-land, and partly in -view of the legitimate sport that an increase in stock may hereafter -afford. - -But the main factor which has assured success (and which in itself led -up to the private efforts just named) took origin in the great Sierra de -Grédos. This elevated region is the apex of the long cordillera of -central Spain, the Carpeto-Vetonico range, which extends from Moncayo, -east of Madrid, for some 300 miles through the Castiles and Estremadura, -forming the watershed of Tagus and Douro. It separates the two Castiles, -and passing the frontier of Portugal is there known as the Serra da -Estrella, which, with the Cintra hills, extends to the Atlantic -sea-board. Along all this extensive cordillera there is no more favoured -resort of ibex than its highest peak, the Plaza de Almanzór, of 2661 -metres altitude (= 8700 feet) above sea-level. - -In 1905, when the ibex were about at their last gasp, the proprietors of -the _Nucléo central_, which we may translate as the _Heart_ of Grédos, -of their own initiative, ceded to King Alfonso XIII. the sole -rights-of-chase therein, and His Majesty commissioned the Marquis of -Villaviciosa de Asturias to appoint an adequate force of guards. - -Six guards were selected from the self-same goat-herds who, up to that -date, had themselves been engaged in hunting to extermination the last -surviving ibex of the sierra, and whom we had ourselves employed during -various expeditions therein. - -[Illustration: ON THE RISCO DEL FRAILE. - -SPANISH IBEX IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS..] - -The ceded area comprised all the best game-country, defined as the -"Circo de Grédos"--including the gorge of the Laguna Grande, the Risco -del Fraile, Risco del Francés, and that of Ameál de Pablo, together with -the wild valley of Las Cinco Lagunas--as shown on rough sketch-plan -annexed. - -[Illustration: SKETCH-MAP OF THE _NUCLÉO CENTRAL_ OF GRÉDOS - -(A. _Alto del Casquerázo._ - -B. _Riscos del Fraile_, with the Hermanitos in front.)] - -In 1896 we estimated the stock of ibex at fifty head, and during the -following years it fell far below that--by 1905 almost to zero. In 1907, -after only two years of "sanctuary," it was computed by the guards that -the total exceeded 300 head. - -In July 1910 we inquired if it were possible to estimate the present -stock. In a letter (the composition of which would cost some anxiety) -the Guarda of the Madrigal de la Vera--one portion only of the -"sanctuary"--reports: "It is difficult to count the ibex. Sometimes we -see more, sometimes less. Yesterday on the Cabeza Neváda we counted 39 -rams and 22 females together. On the other side we counted 29 in one -troop, 19 in another, 12 in another, besides smaller lots. We probably -saw 160 or 170, and we could not see all. Some of the old rams are very -big, and it would be advisable that some be shot." Another report (at -same date) from the "Hoyos del Espino," estimates the ibex there to -exceed 200 head. The two reports go to show that the continuity of the -race is fairly secured. - -[A similar cession of sole hunting-rights to the King was simultaneously -made by the owners of the "Central Group" of the Picos de Europa in -Asturias. There are no ibex in that Cantabrian range; the graceful act -was there inspired by a desire to preserve the chamois, animals with -which we deal in another chapter.] - -The Spanish ibex is found at six separate points in the Peninsula, each -colony divided from its fellows as effectually as though broad oceans -rolled between. The six localities are:-- - -(1) The Pyrenees--which we have not visited. - -(2) Sierra de Grédos, as above defined, and as described in greater -detail hereafter. - -(3) Sierra Moréna, a single isolated colony near Fuen-Caliente, now -preserved (see next chapter). - -(4) Sierra Neváda and the Alpuxarras (cf. _infra_). - -(5) The mountains along the Mediterranean, which are properly western -outliers of Neváda, but which are usually grouped as the "Serrania de -Ronda," some lying within sight of Gibraltar. Several of the most -important ranges are now preserved by their owners (cf. _infra_). - -(6) Valencia, Sierra Martés. This forms a new habitat hitherto -unrecorded, and of which we only became aware through the kindness of -Mr. P. Burgoyne of Valencia, who has favoured us with the annexed photo -of an ibex head killed (along with a smaller example) at Cuevas Altas in -the mountain-region known as Peñas Pardas in that province, February 22, -1909. The dimensions read as follows:-- - - Length along front curves 21-3/4 inches - Circumference at base 7-7/8 " - Widest span 16-3/8 " - Tip to tip 17 " - -Our informant has reason to believe that ibex also exist (or existed -within recent years) in the rugged mountains of Tortosa, farther east in -Catalonia. - -In the form of its horns the Spanish ibex differs essentially from the -typical ibex of the Alps--now, alas, exterminated save only in the King -of Italy's preserved ranges around the Val d'Aosta. In the true ibex the -horns bend regularly backwards and downwards in a uniform, scimitar-like -curve. In the Spanish species, after first diverging laterally, the -horns are recurved both inward and finally upward. That is, in the first -case they follow a simple semicircular bend, while in the Spanish goats -they form almost a spiral. - -A minor point of difference lies in the annular rings or notches which -in the true ibex are rectangular, encircling the horn in front like -steps in a ladder, while in _Capra hispánica_ they rather run obliquely -in semi-spiral ascent. These annulations indicate the age of the -animal--one notch to each year--but the count must stop where the spiral -ends. Beyond that is the lightly grooved tip, which does not alter. - -The horns of old rams (which are often broken or worn down at the tips) -average 26 to 28 inches, specially fine examples reaching 29 inches or -more. The females likewise carry horns, but short and slender, only -measuring 6 or 7 inches. - -The six isolated colonies of ibex, separated from each other during -ages, live under totally different natural conditions. For while some, -as stated, exist at 8000, 10,000, or 12,000 feet altitude, others occupy -hills of much more moderate elevations--say 4000 to 6000 feet, some of -which are bush-clad to their summits. Under such circumstances there -have naturally developed divergencies not only in habits, but in form -and size. Particularly does this apply to the horns, and for that reason -we give a series of photos of typical examples from various points. - -The ibex of the Pyrenees is certainly the largest race, and has been -entitled by scientists _Capra pyrenaica_; those of the centre and south -of Spain being differentiated as _C. hispánica_. We attach less -importance to specific distinctions, but leave the illustrations of -specimens to speak for themselves. It may, however, be remarked that -examples from the two outside extremes (Pyrenees and Neváda) most -closely assimilate in their flattened and compressed form of horn. - -Neither in Grédos nor Neváda are the rock-formations so precipitous as -in the Picos de Europa in Asturias--described later in this book. They -present, nevertheless, difficulties possibly insuperable to mere hunters -unskilled in the technique of climbing. Rock-climbing forms a recognised -branch of "mountaineering," but of that science the authors (with sorrow -be it confessed) have never been enamoured. To us, mountains, merely as -such, have not appealed. But they form the home of alpine creatures, the -study and acquisition of which were objects that no terrestrial obstacle -could entirely forbid, and we enjoy retrospective pride in having so far -surmounted those antecedent terrors as to have secured a few specimens -of this, the most "impossible" of European trophies--the Spanish ibex. - -An awkward situation is a subrounded wall of rough granulated granite -blocking our course and traversed obliquely by an up-trending fissure -barely the breadth of hempen soles, its inclination outward, and the -"tread" carpeted with slippery wet moss still half frozen. It is seldom -what one can _see_ that gives pause, but the fear of the unseen. Here we -hesitate by reason of the uncertainty of what may confront beyond that -grim curve. The fissure might cease; to turn back would clearly be -impossible. Impatient of delay our crag-born guide--a _homo rupestris_, -prehensile of foot--seized the gun, and with a muttered ejaculation that -might have included scorn, in three strides had skipt around the dreaded -corner--of course we followed. - -Snow-slopes tipped at steep angles never inspire confidence in the -unaxed climber, especially when the surface is half melted, revealing -green ice beneath, and when the disappearing curve conceals from view -what dangers may lurk below. Again a suddenly interrupted ledge--say -where some great block has become disintegrated from the hanging -face--necessitates a sort of nervy jump quite calculated to shorten -one's days, even if it does not precipitately terminate them. - -The ibex is always nocturnal. On the great cordilleras it spends its day -asleep on some rock-ledge isolated amidst snow-fields, its security -doubly assured by sentinels, whenever such are deemed necessary: or, -lower down, in the caves of a sheer precipice. Only after sun-down do -the ibex descend, and never, even then, so far as timber-line. On these -loftier sierras their home by day is confined to rock and snow; by night -to that zone of moss, heath, and alpine vegetation that intervenes -between the snow-line and topmost levels of scrub and conifer. - - * * * * * - -Such are the ibex of the loftier ranges--Grédos and Neváda. But in the -south, wild-goats are found on mountains of inferior elevation, 4000 to -6000 feet, many of which are jungled--some even forested--to their -summits, and there they cannot disdain the shelter of the scrub. We have -hunted them (within sight of the Mediterranean) in ground that appeared -more suitable to roe-deer, and have seen the "rootings" of wild-pig -within the ibex-holding area. - -In such situations the wild-goats take quite kindly to the scrub, -forming regular "lairs" wherein they lie-up as close as hares or roe. -Amidst the brushwood that clothes the highland--heaths and broom, -genista, rhododendron, lentiscus, and a hundred other shrubs--they rest -by day and browse by night without having to descend or shift their -quarters at all. On these lower hills the ibex owe their safety, and -survival, to the vast area of covert, and, in less degree, to their -comparatively small numbers. So few are they and so big their home, they -are considered "not worth hunting." - -During summer the ibex feed on the mountain-grasses, rush, and flowering -shrubs which at that season adorn the alpine solitudes; later, on the -berries and wild-fruits of the hill. By autumn they attain their highest -condition--the beards of the rams fully developed and their brown pelts -glossy and almost uniform in colour. At this period (September to -October) the rutting season occurs and fighting takes place--the -champions rearing on hind-legs for a charge, and the crash of opposing -horns resounds across the corries of the sierra. Even in spring memories -of the combative instinct survive, for we have watched, in April, a pair -of veterans sparring at each other for half an hour. - -The young are born in April and soon follow their dams--graceful -creatures with unduly large hind-legs, like brown lambs. One is the -usual number, though two are not infrequent. The kid remains with its -dam upwards of a year--that is, till after a second family has been -born. - -At that season (April to May) the ibex are changing their coats. The -males lose the flowing beard and assume a hoary piebald colour, -contrasting with the dark of legs and quarters. The muzzle is warm cream -colour and the lower leg (below knee) prettily marked with black and -white. On the knee is a callosity, or round patch of bare hardened skin. -The horns of yearling males are thicker and heavier than those of adult -females. - -Though the hill-shepherds in summer drive out their herds of goats to -pasture on the higher sierra, where they may come in contact with their -wild congeners, yet no interbreeding has ever been known; nor can the -wild ibex be domesticated. Wild kids that are captured invariably die -before attaining maturity. The horns of the herdsmen's goats differ in -type from those of the ibex, which can never have been the progenitor of -the race of goats now domesticated in Spain. - -Though the personal aroma of an ibex-ram is strong--rather more -offensive than that of a vulture--yet no trace of this remains after -cooking. The flesh is brown and tough, but devoid of any special flavour -or individuality--that is, when subjected to the rude cookery of the -camp. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -SIERRA MORÉNA - -IBEX - - -The tourist speeding along the Andalucian railways and surveying from -his carriage-window the olive-clad and altogether mild-looking slopes of -the Sierra Moréna, will form no adequate, much less a romantic, -conception of that great mountain-system of which he sees but the -southern fringe. Yet, in fact, the train hurries him past within a few -leagues of perhaps the finest big-game country in Spain--of -mountain-solitudes and a thousand jungled corries, wherein lurk fierce -wolves and giant boars, together with one of the grandest races of red -deer yet extant in Europe. - -True, the Sierra Moréna lacks both the altitudes and the stupendous -rock-ridges that characterise all other Spanish sierras--from Neváda and -Grédos to the Pyrenees. It consists rather of a congeries of jumbled -mountain-ranges of no great elevations, but of infinite ramification, -and lacking (save at two points only) those bolder features that most -appeal to the eye. Were the Spanish ranges all of the contour of Moréna, -the name "Sierra" would not have applied. It is, moreover, a unilateral -range--a buttress, banked up on its northern side by the high-lands of -La Mancha, resembling in that respect the well-known Drakensberg of the -Transvaal. - -The Sierra Moréna, typical yet apart, divides for upwards of 300 miles -the sunny lowlands of Andalucia from the bare, bleak uplands of La -Mancha on the north. And in vertical depth (if we may include the -contiguous Montes de Toledo) the range extends but little short of 150 -miles. - -As a homogeneous mountain-system, Moréna thus covers a space equal to -the whole of England south of the Thames, with a central northern -projection which would embrace all the Midland Counties as far as -Nottingham! - -[In any survey of the Sierra Moréna, it is appropriate to include the -adjoining Montes de Toledo. They, as just stated, form a north-trending -pyramidal apex based on the main chain and presenting identical -characteristics, both physical and faunal, though of lower general -elevation. The Montes de Toledo, in short, are an intricate complication -of low subrounded hills--rather than mountains--tacked on to the north -of Moréna, all scrub-clad and inhabited by the same wild beasts. Toledan -stags exhibit the same magnificent cornual development, and there is -evidence of seasonal intermigration as between two adjacent regions only -divided by the valley of the Guadiana--a shortage in one area being -sometimes found to be compensated by a corresponding increase in the -other. Roe-deer are more abundant in the lower range; but the sole -clean-cut faunal distinction lies in the presence of wild fallow-deer in -the Montes de Toledo--these animals being quite unknown in Moréna.[23]] - -May we digress on a cognate subject? The Sierra Neváda, though so near -(at one point the two ranges are merely separated by a narrow gap yclept -Los Llanos de Jaén), yet presents totally divergent natural phenomena. - -There are points in Moréna--say from the heights above -Despeñaperros--whence the two systems can be surveyed at once. Behind -you, on the north, roll away, ridge beyond ridge, the endless rounded -skylines of Moréna--colossal yet never abrupt. In front, to the -south--apparently within stone's-throw--rise the stupendous snow-peaks -of Neváda--jagged pinnacles piercing the heavens to nigh 12,000 feet. - -These peaks may appear within stone's-throw, or say an easy day's ride, -though that is an optical illusion. But narrow as it is, that gap of -Jaén divides two mountain-regions utterly dissimilar in every attribute, -whether as to the manner of their birth in remote ages and the -landscapes they present to-day. - -Faunal distinctions are also conspicuous. In Neváda there are found -neither deer of any kind (whether red, roe, or fallow) nor wild-boar, -whereas it forms the selected home of ibex and lammergeyer, both of -which are conspicuous by their absence from Moréna, save for a single -segregated colony of wild-goats near Fuen-Caliente. - - * * * * * - -Although the Sierra Moréna partakes rather of massive than of abrupt -character, yet there occur at a couple of points outcrops of naked rock -of real grandeur. Such, for example, is Despeñaperros, through whose -gorges the Andalucian railway threads a semi-subterranean course. The -very name Despeñaperros signifies in that wondrously adaptive Spanish -tongue nothing less than that its living rocks threaten to hurl to death -and destruction even dogs that venture thereon. - -Another interpretation suggests that in olden days, such were the -pleasantries of the Moors, it was not dogs, but Christians (since to a -Moor the terms were synonymous) that were hurled to their death from the -_riscos_ of Despeñaperros. - -These rock-formations are superbly abrupt. Great detached crags, massive -and moss-marbled, jut perpendicular from ragged steeps, or vast -monoliths protrude, each in rectilineal outline so exact that one -wonders if these are truly of nature's handiwork, and not some fabled -fortalice of old-time Goth or Moor. Despite its striking contour, -however, its crags and precipices are too scattered and detached (with -traversable intervals between) to attract such a rock-lover as the ibex, -and no wild-goat has ever occupied the gorges of Despeñaperros. - -A similar rock-region, but more extensive and continuous, is found near -Fuen-Caliente--by name the Sierra Quintána. This range, though its -elevations barely exceed 7000 feet, forms the only spot in the Sierra -Moréna at which the Spanish ibex retains a foothold. - -Thereat the writer in 1901 endured one of those evil experiences which -from time to time befall those who seek hunting-grounds in the wilder -corners of the earth. It was in mid-February that, forced by bitter -extremity of weather, we fain sought refuge in the hamlet of -Fuen-Caliente clinging at 5700 feet on the steep of the sierra, as -crag-martins fix their clay-built nests on some rock-face. Fuen-Caliente -dates back to Roman days. Warm springs, as its name implies, here burst -from riven rock, and stone baths, built by no modern hand, attest a -bygone enterprise. To this day, we are told, the baths of Fuen-Caliente -attract summer-visitors; we trust their health benefits thereby. Surely -some counter-irritation is needed to balance the perils of a sojourn -within that unsavoury eyrie. We write feelingly, even after all these -years, and after suffering assorted tribulations in many a rough -spot--Fuen-Caliente is bad to beat. - -Having tents and full camp-outfit, we had thought to live independent of -the village _posada_. One night, however, as we climbed the rising -ground that leads to the higher sierra there burst in our faces an -easterly gale (_levante_), with driving snow-storms that even a mule -could not withstand. Nothing remained but to seek shelter in the village -below. - -Here my bedroom measured twelve feet by four, with a door at each end. -The door proper was reached by a vertical ladder; the second might -perhaps be differentiated as a window, but could only be distinguished -as such by its smaller size--both being made of solid wood. Thus, were -the window open, snow swirled through as freely as on the open sierra; -if shut, we lived in darkness dimly relieved by the flicker of a -_mariposa_, that is, a cotton-wick reposing in a saucer of olive-oil. -Under such conditions, with other nameless horrors, we passed three days -and nights while gales blew and snow swirled by incessant. - -On the fourth morning the wind fell, and snow had given place to fine -rain. These _levantes_ usually last either three or nine days; so, -thinking this one had blown itself out, we packed the kit and set out in -renewed search of ibex, Caraballo, with accustomed forethought, buying a -bunch of live chickens, which hung by their legs from the after-pannier -of the mule. On the limited area of Quintána, ibex offer the best chance -of stalking. - -Mules are marvellous mountaineers. The places that animal surmounted -to-day passed belief. Two donkeys that belonged to the local hunters, -Abad and Brijido, who accompanied us, soon got stuck, and had to be left -below. - -By three o'clock we, mule and all, had reached the highest ridge of -Quintána, and encamped within a few hundred feet of its top-most -_riscos_. - -To set up a tent among rocks is never easy; even specially made iron -tent-pegs find no hold, and guy-ropes have to be made fast, as securely -as may be, to any projecting point. - -Hardly had the sun gone down, than the easterly gale blew up again with -redoubled force. All night it howled through our narrow gorge and around -its pinnacled rock-minarets, with the result that at 11 P.M. the -ill-secured guys gave way, and down came our tent with a crash. Two -hours were spent (in drenching rain) remedying this; and when day broke, -an icy _neblina_ (fog) enveloped the sierra, shutting out all view -beyond a few yards. The cold was intense, and a little dam we had -engineered the night before was frozen thick. The fog held all that day -and the next. Nothing could be done, though we persisted in going out -each day, as in duty bound, for a few hours' turn among the crags--how -we prayed for _one_ hour's clear interval that might have given that -glorious sight we sought! At dusk the second night snow fell heavily, -and later on a thunderstorm added to our joys. Frequent and vivid -flashes of lightning lit up the darkness, and caused the surviving -chickens (which in common charity we had had tethered inside the tent) -to crow so incessantly that sleep was impossible. Presently we noticed a -sharp fall in temperature--the men had brought in a cube of ice, the -solidified contents of one of our camp-buckets, which they proposed to -melt at a little fire kept burning in the tent! But this was too much, -even though it meant "no coffee for breakfast." - -The frost and fog continuing, on the third morning the men proposed we -should move lower down the hill, to some _cortijo_ they knew of, thereat -to await milder weather. - -By this time, however, the cold had penetrated deep into throat and -chest, which felt raw and inflamed, leaving the writer almost -speechless. We therefore decided to abandon the whole venture, and -struck camp, still wrapt in that opaque shroud of driving sleet. - -Crossing over the highest ridge of the sierra, between crags of which -only the bases were visible, we descended on the south side; here we -organised a "drive" amid the jungles that clothe the lower slopes. Two -lynxes and three pigs were reported as seen by the beaters. Only one of -the latter, however, came to the gun, and proved to be a sow, bigger by -half than any wild-pig we had then seen in Spain. We regretted having no -means of weighing this beast, which we estimated at well over 200 lbs. -clean. A remarkable cast antler picked up at this spot carried four -points on the main beam, as well as four on top--length 34-1/8 inches, -by 5-3/4 inches basal circumference. - -The "defences" of the ibex in the Sierra Quintána lie among some fairly -big crags forming the eastern and southern faces of the range. The -shooting at that time was free; hence the goats were never left in peace -by the mountaineers, who all carried guns, and used them whenever a -chance presented itself. The result was that the few surviving goats had -become severely nocturnal in habit, spending the entire day in caves and -crevices in the faces of sheer and naked precipices. - -Some of their eyries appeared absolutely inaccessible to any creature -unendowed with wings. One cave, though it had no visible approach, was -situate only some eight or ten feet above a ledge in the perpendicular -rock-face. One morning at dawn two ibex having been seen to enter this -cave, at once a couple of the wiry goat-herds thought to reach them from -the ledge below, one lad actually climbing on to the other's shoulders -as he stood on that narrow shelf. In its rush to escape, however, the -leading ibex upset the precarious balance, and the poor lad was -precipitated among the tumbled rocks in the abyss below. - -Riding homewards through inhospitable brush-clad hills towards the -railway (forty miles away), we put up one night at a village named, with -unconscious irony, Cardeña Real. In the small hours broke out another -terrific disturbance--shrieks, squeals, barking--all the dogs gone mad. -The night was pitch-dark with rain falling in torrents; but next morning -we ascertained that a pack of wolves had carried off the landlord's pigs -from their stye, not fifteen yards away--indeed, three mangled porkers -lay piled up against the wall of our hovel. - -The contingency of pigs being worse off than ourselves had not -previously occurred to us. Thus ended, in a cycle of catastrophe, our -first wrestle with _Capra hispánica_ in Moréna; but initial failure only -served to stimulate further efforts later on. Winter, moreover, is no -season for camping in these high sierras; May is more favourable, but -the early autumn is best of all. - -At this period (1901) the surviving ibex had fallen to a mere handful. -Fortunately here, as elsewhere in Spain, there was aroused, within the -next five years, the tardy interest of Spanish landowners to save them. - -[Illustration: HEADS OF SPANISH IBEX. - -(A) SIERRA DE GRÉDOS--MADRIGAL DE LA VERA. - -Length 26-1/2 in. Circum. 10-1/8 in. Tips, 22-1/8 in. - -(B) SIERRA NEVADA. - -Length 29-3/4 in. Circum. 8-1/8 in. Tips, 20-7/8 in. - -(C) SIERRA DE GRÉDOS, BOHOYO. 29-1/8 in. - -(D) VALENCIA, SIERRA MARTES. 21-3/4 in.] - -The owner of the sierras above mentioned (the Marquis del Mérito) has -favoured us with latest details respecting both the ibex and other wild -beasts therein. - - The wild-goat (he writes) is the most difficult of all game to - shoot, proof of which is afforded by the fact that in the lands - which I hold in the Sierra Quintána (although until recent years - these were unpreserved and in the neighbourhood of a village where - every man was a hunter) yet the local shooters had not succeeded in - exterminating the species. Its means of defence, over and above its - keen sight and scent, consist chiefly in the inaccessible natural - caves of those mountains, in which the wild-goats invariably seek - refuge the moment they find themselves pursued. In these caves the - goats were accustomed to pass the entire day, never coming out to - feed except during the night. - - To-day (since free shooting has ceased) they begin to show up a - little during daylight, and in other ways demonstrate a returning - confidence. Nevertheless they display not the slightest inclination - to abandon their old tendency to betake themselves, immediately on - the appearance of danger, to the vast crags and precipices which - lie towards the east of the sierra, and which crags afford them - almost complete security. The most effective method of securing a - specimen to-day is, as you know, by stalking (_resécho_). For this - animal, when it finds itself suddenly surprised by a human being, - is less startled than deer, or other game, and usually allows - sufficient time for careful aim to be taken--indeed, it seems to be - the more alarmed when it has lost sight of the intruder. - - The rutting season occurs in November and December, and the kids, - usually one or two in number, are born in May, the same as domestic - goats. These kids have a terrible enemy in the golden eagles, since - their birth coincides with the period when these rapacious birds - have their own broods to feed, and when they become more savage - than ever. To reduce the damage thus done, I am now paying to the - guards a reward for every eagle destroyed, and this last spring - took myself a nest containing one eaglet, shooting both its - parents. - - The dimensions of horns I am unable to put down with precision, but - there was killed here an ibex (which was mounted by Barrasóna at - Córdoba) measuring 85 centimetres in length (= 33-1/2 inches). Of - the last, which was killed by Lord Hindlip, as shown in photo I - send, the length of horns was 68 centimetres (= 26-3/4 inches). - -The dimensions of the best ibex head obtained by us in this sierra were: -Length, 28 inches; basal circumference, 8-1/4 inches. - - -WOLVES - -These animals, which perpetrate incredible destruction to game, are very -abundant in Moréna, yet rarely shot in the _monterías_ (mountain-drives). -This is not due to any special astuteness of the wolf, but simply -because, while waiting for deer, sportsmen naturally lie very low, thus -giving opportunity to wolves to pass unseen; while, on the other hand, -when boars only are expected, and sportsmen therefore remain less -concealed, the wolf is apt to detect the danger before arriving within -shot. - -In May and June the she-wolves produce their young; but it is difficult -to discover these broods, since at that period they betake themselves to -remote regions far away from the haunts frequented in normal times. - -There is, however, one method of discovering them which is known to the -mountaineers as the _otéo_, or watching for them over-night, thus noting -precisely where each she-wolf gives tongue. If on the following morning -the howl is repeated at the same spot, it is a practical certainty that -that wolf will have her brood in that immediate neighbourhood. - -Thereupon at daybreak the hunters proceed to examine every bush and -brake in the marked spot, which invariably consists either of strong -brushwood or broken rocks. All around the actual lair for a hundred -yards the ground is traced with footprints and scratchings, which -usually lead to its discovery; but should it not be found that day, it -is completely useless to seek for it on the following, since the moment -that a she-wolf perceives that her whelps are being sought, she at once -removes them far away. To exterminate wolves, strychnine is extensively -used, giving positive results.[24] At the same time it is always better -to supplement its use by searching out with practical men the broods of -wolf-cubs at their proper season. - -The photo facing p. 158 shows a magnificent old dog-wolf, scaling 93 -lbs. dead-weight, which we obtained in the Sierra Moréna, near Córdoba, -in March 1909. - - -LYNX, OR _GATO CERVAL_ - -This animal breeds in April and May, and the number of young is -generally two. If captured, the majority of the young lynxes die at the -period when they change from a milk diet to solid food, and one may -imagine that the same thing happens in the case of the wild lynxes, -since otherwise it is difficult to explain why an animal, whose only -enemy is mankind, should remain so scarce. Their food consists of -partridges, rabbits, and other small game. - - -RED DEER - -With the red deer of these mountains, as elsewhere in Spain, the rut -(_celo_) depends upon the autumn, which season may be earlier or later; -but the _celo_ always takes place between mid-September and mid-October. -The calves are born at end of May or early in June, and suckled by their -mothers till the following autumn. - -The casting of the horns, together with the change of hair, varies in -date, depending on the state of health in each individual. It generally -occurs in May, but in very robust animals we have seen cases in April, -and in the _barétos_, or stags of one year, in March. The development of -the new horn is complete by the end of July, and in August occurs the -shedding of the velvet. The horn at first is of a white bone-colour, but -gradually darkens, the final colour depending on the nature of the bush -frequented, the blackest being found in those stags which inhabit the -gum-cistus (_jarales_). - -Although it is currently believed among country folk that the age of a -stag can be determined by the number of his points, this is incorrect, -the horn development depending solely on the robustness of the animal. -It frequently happens that a stag carries fewer points than he did the -year before. - -When the hinds are about to bring forth, they isolate themselves, -seeking spots where the brushwood is less dense, and leaving the calf -concealed in some bush. The habits of a hind when giving her offspring -its first lessons in the arts of concealment and caution are interesting -to watch. Shortly after daybreak the mother suddenly performs a series -of wild, convulsive bounds, leaping away over the bush as though in -presence of visible peril, thus alarming the youngster and teaching it -to seek cover for itself. This performance is repeated at intervals -until the calf has learnt to lie-up, when the hind will do the same, but -at some distance, although in view. She only allows her progeny to -accompany her when it has acquired sufficient strength and agility to -follow, which is the case some twenty or thirty days after birth. - -Having noted the spoor of a single hind at the breeding-time, one may -follow to the spot where she is suckling her young. But so soon as one -observes the prints of these spasmodic jumps with which the mother -instils into her offspring a sense of caution (as above described), one -may then begin leisurely to examine every bush round about. In one of -these the calf will be found lying curled up without a bed and with its -nose resting on its hip.[25] It will at first offer some slight -resistance, but once captured, may be set free with the certainty that -it will not make any attempt to escape. - -The only enemies the full-grown stag has to fear are mankind and the -wolf, but chiefly the latter, since not only do single wolves destroy in -this sierra large numbers of the newly born calves, but, worse still, -when a troop of wolves have once tasted venison they commence habitually -to hunt both hinds and even the younger stags, which they persistently -follow day after day till the deer are absolutely worn out. They then -pull them down, the final scene usually occurring in some deep ravine or -mountain burn. - -The calves of red deer, as happens with ibex kids, are also preyed upon -by golden eagles. - - -DEER-SHOOTING - -As regards sport, the best results are only attainable by _monterías_, -or extended drives, assuming that the district is thickly jungled, and -generally of elevated situation. There is also a system of shooting at -the "roaring-time," but that is uncertain owing to the rapidity of the -stag's movements, the thick bush, and the risk of his getting the wind. -Practised trackers are in the habit of hunting _á la greña_, which -consists in observing the deer at daybreak, selecting a good stag, and -afterwards following his spoor at midday (at which hour deer, while -enjoying their siesta, are quite apt to lie close) and shooting as he -springs from his lair (_al arrancár_). - -[Illustration: RED DEER HEADS, SIERRA MORÉNA. - -ZAMUJAK, JAËN. - -Points 16. Length 38-3/4 in. - -VALDELAGRANA. - -Points 16. Length 40-5/8 in.] - -SIERRA QUINTANA. - -Points 15. Length 37-1/2 in. - -RISQUILLO. - -Points 14. Length 36-3/4 in.] - -A really big stag is nearly always found alone, or should he have a -companion, the second will also be an animal of large size. Such stags -are never seen with hinds, excepting in the autumn (_celo_). - -The system of the _montería_, or mountain-drive, is described in detail -in the following chapter. - - TABLE OF SPANISH IBEX HEADS - - Measured by the Authors, or other stated Authority. - - +------------+---------+-------------------+----------+----------------+ - | | | Width. | | | - | Locality. | Length. +---------+---------+ Circum- | Authority. | - | | | Tips. | Inside. | ference. | | - +------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+----------------+ - | | ins. | ins. | ins. | ins. | | - | Moréna | 33-1/2 | ... | ... | ... | Marq. Mérito | - | | | | | | (p. 158).| - | Pyrenees | 31 | 26-1/2 | ... | 8-3/4 | Sir V. Brooke. | - | Neváda | 29-3/4 | 22-1/4 | 20-7/8 | 8-1/4 | At Madrid. | - | Grédos[26] | 29-1/4 | 23-1/4 | ... | 9-1/2 | Authors. | - | Do. | 29-1/8 | 23-1/8 | 21 | 9-7/8 | M. Amezúa. | - | Do. | 29 | 22-1/2 | ... | 9-1/4 | Authors. | - | Pyrenees | 29 | 23 | ... | 10 | Sir V. Brooke. | - | Neváda[26] | 29 | 23 | 18-3/4 | 9 | Authors. | - | Do. | 28-1/4 | 24-1/2 | 22 | 9-1/16 | Do. | - | Moréna | 28-1/2 | ... | ... | 8-1/4 | Do. | - | Bermeja | 28 | 19 | ... | 8-1/4 | Do. | - | Moréna | 26-3/4 | ... | ... | ... | Lord Hindlip. | - | Grédos | 26-1/2 | ... | 22-1/8 | 10-1/8 | At Madrid. | - | Pyrenees | 26 | 21 | ... | 10 | Sir V. Brooke. | - | Sa. Blanca | 26 | ... | ... | 8-3/4 | P. Larios. | - | Grédos | 24-1/8 | ... | ... | 8-1/4 | Authors. | - | Pyrenees | 22-3/4 | 18-3/4 | ... | 9-1/2 | E. N. Buxton. | - | Sa. Blanca | 22 | ... | 14 | 7-3/4 | P. Larios. | - | Valencia | 21-3/4 | 16-3/8 | 17 | 7-7/8 | P. Burgoyne. | - +------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+----------------+ - - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -SIERRA MORÉNA (_Continued_) - -RED DEER AND BOAR - - -The mountain deer of the Sierra Moréna are the grandest of their kind in -Spain, and will compare favourably with any truly wild deer in -Europe.[27] The drawings, photographs, and measurements given in this -chapter prove so much, but no mere numerals convey an adequate -conception of these magnificent harts, as seen in the full glory of life -bounding in unequal leaps over some rocky pass, or picking more -deliberate course up a stone stairway. - -Massive as they are in body (weighing, say, 300 lbs. clean), yet even so -the giant antlers appear almost disproportionate in length and -superstructure. - -The whole Sierra Moréna being clad with brushwood and jungle, thicker in -places, but nowhere clear, shooting is practically confined to "driving" -on that extensive scale termed, in Spanish phrase, _montería_. - -Before describing two or three typical experiences of our own in this -sierra, we attempt a sketch of the system of the _montería_ as practised -throughout Spain. - -[Illustration: WOLF SHOT SIERRA MORÉNA. - -March, 1909--weight 93 lb.] - -[Illustration: HUNTSMAN WITH CARACOLA, SIERRA MORÉNA.] - -[Illustration: PACK OF PODENCOS, SIERRA MORÉNA. (COUPLED IN PAIRS.)] - -The area of operations being immense and clad with almost continuous -thicket, it is customary to employ two or three separate packs (termed -_reháles_, or _recóbas_), counting in all as many as seventy or eighty -hounds. The extra packs--beyond that belonging to the host--are brought -by shooting guests, and each pack has its own huntsman (_perréro_), whom -alone his own hounds[28] will follow or recognise. The huntsmen -(though not the beaters) are mounted, and each carries a musket and a -_caracóla_, or hunting-horn formed of a big sea-shell. The forelegs of -the horses, where necessary--especially in Estremadura--are enveloped in -leather sheaths (_fundas de cuero_) to protect them from the terrible -thorns and the spikes of burnt cistus which pierce and cut like knives. -The best dogs are _podencos_ of the bigger breeds, also crosses between -_podencos_ and mastiffs, and between mastiffs and _alanos_, the latter a -race of rough-haired bull-dogs largely used in Estremadura for -"holding-up" the boar. - -The huntsmen with their packs, and the beaters, usually start with the -dawn, sometimes long before, dependent on the distance to be traversed -to their points, which may be ten or twelve miles. Till reaching the -cast-off, hounds are coupled up in pairs: a collar fitted with a bell -(_cencerro_) is then substituted, and the alignment being -completed--each pack at its appointed spot--at a given hour the beat -begins. - -On every occasion when a game-beast is raised a blank shot is fired to -encourage the hounds, and the who-hoops of the huntsmen behind resound -for miles around. Should the animal hold a forward course (as desired), -the hounds are shortly recalled by the _caracólas_, or hunting-horns -aforesaid, and the beat is then reformed and resumed. - -Meanwhile--far away at remote posts prearranged--the firing-line -(_armáda_) has already occupied its allotted positions; the guns most -often disposed along the crests of some commanding ridge, sometimes -defiled in a narrow pass of the valley far below. - -Should the number of guns be insufficient to command the whole front, -the expedient of placing a second firing-line (termed the _travérsa_), -projected into the beat, and at a right angle from the centre of the -first line, is sometimes effective. - -It may occur to those accustomed to deal with mountain-game on a large -scale that the chance of moving animals with any sort of accuracy -towards a scant line of guns scattered over vast areas must be remote. -True, the number of guns--even ten or twelve--is necessarily -insufficient, but here local knowledge and the skill of Spanish -mountaineers (by nature among the best _guerrilleros_ on earth) comes -effectively into play. In practice it is seldom that the best "passes" -are not commanded. - -In the higher ranges skylines are frequently pierced by nicks or -"passes" (termed _portillas_) sufficiently marked as to suggest, even to -a stranger possessed of an eye for such things, the probable lines of -retreat for moving game. But "passes" are not always conspicuous, nor -are all skylines of broken contour. On the contrary, there frequently -present themselves long summits that to casual glance appear wholly -uniform. Here comes to aid that local intuition referred to, nor will it -be found lacking. Many a long hill-ridge apparently featureless may (and -often does) include several well-frequented passes. Some slight sense of -disappointment may easily lurk in one's breast in surveying one's -allotted post to perceive not a single sign of "advantage" within its -radius--or "jurisdiction," as Spanish keepers quaintly put it. Yet it -may be after all--and probably is--the apex of a congeries of converging -watercourses, glens, or other accustomed _salidas_ (outlets), all of -which are invisible in the unseen depths on one's front; but which -salient points in cynegetic geography are perfectly appreciated by our -guide. - -The brushwood of Moréna consists over vast areas--many hundreds of -square miles--of the gum-cistus, a sticky-leaved shrub that grows -shoulder-high on the stoniest ground. Wherever a slightly more generous -soil permits, the cistus is interspersed and thickened with -rhododendron, brooms, myrtle, and a hundred cognate plants. On the -richer slopes and dells there crowd together a matted jungle of lentisk -and arbutus, white buck-thorn and holly, all intertwined with vicious -prehensile briar and woodbine, together with heaths, genista, giant -ferns, and gorse of a score of species. Watercourses are overarched by -oleanders, and the chief trees are cork-oak and ilex, wild-olive, -juniper, and alder, besides others of which we only know the Spanish -names, quejigos, algarrobas, agracejis, etc. - -Naturally, in such rugged broken ground as the sierras, where the guns -are protected by intervening heights, shooting is permissible in any -direction, whether in front or behind, and even sometimes along the line -itself. A survival of savage days, when beaters didn't count, is -suggested by a refrain of the sierra:-- - - Más vale matár un Cristiano - Que no dejár ir una res-- - - (Rather should a Christian die - Than let a head of game pass by.) - -A word here as to the game and its habits. The lairs of wild-boar are -invariably in the densest jangle and on the shaded slope where no sun -ever penetrates. There is always at hand, moreover, a ready _salida_, or -exit, along some deep watercourse or by a rocky ravine or gully--rarely -do these animals show up in the open, or even in ground of scanty -covert. It is usually the strongest arbutus-thickets (_madronales_) that -they select for their quarters. - -It is seldom that wild-boar are "held-up" by the dogs during a beat--the -old tuskers never. - -Deer, on the contrary, avoid the denser jungle, lying-up in more open -brushwood and invariably on the sunny slope. Though their "beds" -(_camas_) may be on the lower ground, they invariably seek the heights -when disturbed, and then select a course through the lighter -cistus-scrub or across open screes, knowing instinctively that thus they -can travel fastest and best throw off the pursuing pack. - -Owing to the wide areas of each beat, a _montería_ in the sierras is -confined to a single drive each day, the guns usually reaching their -posts about eleven o'clock, and remaining therein till late in the -afternoon. In the lowlands, as already described, four, five, and even -six _batidas_ (drives) are sometimes possible during the day. - - -A _MONTERÍA_ AT MEZQUITILLAS (PROVINCE OF CÓRDOBA) - -A glorious ride amid splendid mountain scenery all lit up with southern -sunshine--the narrow bridle-track now forms a mere tunnel hewn out of -impending foliage; anon it descends abrupt rock-faces, in zigzags like a -corkscrew, apt to make nerves creep, when one false step would -precipitate horse and rider into a half-seen torrent hundreds of feet -below. Some eight miles of this, and by eleven o'clock we have reached -our positions at Los Llanos del Peco. - -These positions extend for over a league in length (there are twelve -guns), occupying the crests and "passes" of a lofty ridge whence one -enjoys a bird's-eye view of a world of wild mountain-land. - -My own post commanded a panorama of almost the whole day's operation, -excepting only that on my immediate front there yawned a deep ravine -(_cañada_) into the full depth of which I could not see. - -Already within a few minutes one had become aware, by a far-distant -shot, and by the echoing note of the bugle faintly borne on a gentle -northerly breeze, that the beat had begun. At dawn that morning the four -huntsmen, each with his pack, had left the lodge, and are now encircling -some seven or eight miles of covert on our front, two-thirds of which -lay beneath my gaze. - -For five hours I occupied that _puesto_ sitting between convenient -rocks, and hardly a measurable spell of the five hours but I was held -alert, either by the actual sight of game afoot--far distant, it is -true--or by the shots and bugle-calls of the hunters and the music of -their packs--all signs of game on the move. - -[Illustration] - -It is instructive, though rarely possible, watch wild game thus, when -danger threatens, and to observe the wiles by which they seek -escape--doubling back on their own tracks till nearly face to face with -the baying _podencos_, and then, by a smart flank-movement, skirting -round behind the pack, till actually between the latter and the -following huntsmen; then lying flat, awaiting till perchance the latter -has gone by! That is our stag's plan--bold and comprehensive--yet it -fails when that huntsman, biding his time, perceives that his pack have -overrun the scent and recalls them to make quite sure of that -intervening bit of bush--poor staggie! Rarely indeed, even in -mountain-lands, do such chances of watching the whole play (and -bye-play) occur as those we enjoyed to-day on the Llanos del Peco. Shots -are apt to be quite difficult, as all bushes and many trees are in full -leaf (January) and the _rayas_, or rides cut out along the -shooting-line, barely twenty yards broad. To-day, moreover, the wind -shifting from north to east operated greatly to our -disadvantage--practically, in effect, ruined the plan. - -[Illustration: WILD-BOAR--WEIGHT 200 LBS., CLEAN.] - -[Illustration: THE RECORD HEAD--43 INCHES--LUGAR NUEVO, NOV. 14, 1909. - -SIERRA MORÉNA.] - -The first stag that came my way had already touched the tainted breeze -ere I saw him--being slightly deaf (the effects of quinine) I had not -heard his approach. Instantly he crossed the _raya_, 100 yards away, -in two enormous bounds. There was just time to see glorious antlers with -many-forked tops ere he dived from sight, plunging into ten-foot scrub. - -I had fired both barrels, necessarily with but an apology for an aim and -the second purely "at a venture." Three minutes later resounded the -tinkling _cencerros_ (bells) of the _podencos_, and when two of these -hounds had followed the spoor ahead, all _mute_, then I knew that both -bullets had spent their force on useless scrub. - -[Illustration: AZURE-WINGED MAGPIE] - -Fortune favoured. Half an hour afterwards, a second stag followed. This -time a gentle rustle in the bush, and one clink of a hoof on rock had -caught my faulty ear. Then coroneted antlers showed up from the depths -below, and so soon as the great brown body came in view, a bullet on the -shoulder at short range dropped him dead. This was an average stag, -weighing 255 lbs. clean, but although "royal," carried a smaller head -than that first seen. Later, two other big stags descended together into -the unseen depths on my front, but whither they subsequently took their -course--_quien sabe?_ I saw them no more. - -The only other animal that crossed my line during the day was a -mongoose, but objects of interest never lacked. Close behind my post, a -huge stick-built nest filled a small ilex. This was the ancestral abode -of a pair of griffons, and its owners were already busy renewing their -home, though my presence sadly disconcerted them. Hereabouts these -vultures breed regularly _on trees_, a most unusual habit, due -presumably to the lack of suitable crags which elsewhere form their -invariable nesting-site. Cushats and robins lent an air of familiarity -to the scene, while azure-winged magpies--a species peculiarly -Spanish--hopped and chattered hard by, curiosity overcoming fear. There -were also pretty Sardinian warblers, with long tails and a white nuchal -spot like a coal-tit. Other birds seen in this sierra include merlin and -kestrel, green woodpecker, jay, blackbird, thrush, redwing, woodlark, -and chaffinch; and on off-days we shot a few red-legged partridges. - -The two packs employed to-day numbered forty--twenty-four big and -sixteen small _podencos_, all yellow and white, the larger having a -cross of mastiff. That evening two of the best in the pack were -missing--"Capitan," killed by a boar in the _mancha_; the other returned -during the night, fearfully wounded, one foreleg almost severed. - -[Illustration: SARDINIAN WARBLER] - -The head-keeper told us that these _podencos_ fear the he-wolf. They -will run keenly on his scent, but never dare to close with him as they -do with boar. Yet curiously they have been known to fraternise with the -she-wolf, and in no case will they attack, but rather incline to caress -her. - -It was estimated by the drivers that eighty head of big-game (_reses_) -were viewed to-day. Thirty-two shots were fired, but only my one stag -was killed. Had the wind held steady, much better results were -probable.[29] Included among the guests at Mezquitillas--and they -represented rank and learning, arms, State, and Church--was a genial and -imposing personality in the poet laureate of Spain, Sr. D. Antonio -Cavestany, who celebrated this delightful if somewhat unlucky day in a -series of graceful couplets. We are wholly unequal to translate, but -copy two or three which readers who understand Spanish will -appreciate:-- - - Del Poeta al arma no dieron - Las Musas mucha virtud: - Cuatro ciervos le salieron ... - Y los cuatro se le fueron - Rebosantes de salud! - - Suya fue la culpa toda: - Con la escopeta homicida - Á apuntar no se acomoda ... - Si les dispara una oda - No escapa ni uno con vida! - - Sin duda no plugo á Dios - Que del ganado cervuno - Fueran las Parcas en pos - Total; tiros, treinta y dos - Yvenados muertos, uno!!! - - ¿Quien realizó tal hazaña? - Verguenza de humillacion, - Mi frente al decirlo baña. - Fue el Ingles ... la rubia Albion - Quedó esta vez sobre España!! - - Resumen: luz, embeleso, - Panoramas, maravillas, - Bosques, arroyos, cantuéso ... - Lo dice junto todo eso - Solo al decir "Mezquitillas." - - Y bondad, afecto, agrado, - Gracia que ingenio revela, - Hospitalidad, cuidado ... - Todo eso esta compendiado - Condecir "Juan y Carmela." - -The next day's operations precisely reversed those of to-day, the guns -being placed along the depths of a valley, while the beaters brought -down the whole mountain-slopes above. Thus each post, though it -commanded a "pass," gave no such wonderful view beyond as had been the -feature of yesterday's _montería_. It will, in fact, be obvious that in -a big mountain-land no two beats are ever alike nor the conditions -equal. Every day presents fresh problems. That is one of the charms. - -To-day, several stags and a pig were killed, besides one roe-deer and an -enormous wild-cat that scaled 7-3/4 kilos (over 17 lbs.). - -[Illustration: GRIFFON VULTURE] - -Towards noon, the sun-heat in the gorge being intense, I had cautiously -shifted my post to the banks of a mountain-burnlet that, embowered in -oleanders,[30] gurgled hard by. In those glancing streams, while I sat -motionless, a pair of water-shrews were also busied with their -lunch--dipping and diving, turning over pebbles, and searching each nook -and cranny of the crystal pool. Lovely little creatures they -were--velvety black with snow-white undersides, which showed -conspicuously on either flank; but the curious feature was the silver -sheen caused by infinite air-bubbles that still adhered to the fur while -they swam beneath the surface. They recalled a similar scene in an -elk-forest of distant Norway; but never in Spanish sierras have we -noticed water-shrews except on this occasion. While yet watching the -water-fairies, another movement caught the corner of one eye; with slow -sedate steps, a grey wild-cat was descending the opposite slope. She saw -nothing, yet the foresight of the ·303 carbine was recusant, it declined -to get down into the nick, and a miss resulted. But what a bound the -feline gave as an expanding bullet (at 2000 feet a second velocity) -shattered the sierra half an inch above her back! - -[Illustration: ROARING SEPTEMBER.] - -[Illustration: "HABET."] - -An incident occurred near this point (though in another year) with a -stag. Two shots had been fired on the left, when the slightest sound -behind and above inspired a prepared glance in that direction--and only -just in time, for three seconds later a glorious pair of antlers showed -up on the nearest bush-clad height, and the easiest of shots yielded a -35-inch trophy. - -[Illustration] - -The annexed drawing shows a 14-pointer, which was killed here the -following year by our host, Sr. Don Juan Calvo de León of Mezquitillas. -In mere inches the measurements may be surpassed by others, but no head -that we have seen excels this in extraordinary boldness of curve and -symmetry of form. This stag was shot on the Puntales del Peco, January -17, 1908, and in the same beat Sr. Juan Calvo, Junr., secured another -fine 14-pointer, as below:-- - - +-----+-------+-------+------------+--------------+----------------+ - | |Points.|Length.|Widest Tips.|Widest Inside.|Circ. above Bez.| - +-----+-------+-------+------------+--------------+----------------+ - |No. 1| 14 |38-3/4"| 39-1/4" | 33-1/4" | 6-1/4" | - |No. 2| 14 |36-1/4"| ... | 25-3/4" | ... | - +-----+-------+-------+------------+--------------+----------------+ - -Less rosy on that occasion was the writer's own luck. My post in Los -Puntales was in a narrow neck or "pass" in the knife-edged ridge of a -mountain-spur, the rock-strewn ground, overgrown with cistus -shoulder-high, falling sharply away both before and behind. In front I -looked into a chasm probably 1500 feet in depth, the hither slope being -invisible, so sharp was the drop; the opposite side, however (probably -2000 feet high), lay spread out as it were a perpendicular map. From -leagues away beyond its apex the beaters were now approaching. From -early in the day great fleecy cloud-masses had rolled by, and these -gradually grew denser till the whole sierra was enveloped in viewless -fog. Hark! some animal is escalading my fortress; one cannot see fifteen -yards--tantalizing indeed. Yet so well has the _puesto_ been chosen that -presently the intruder gallops almost over my toes--a yearling pig or -_lechon_, not worth a bullet. - -[Illustration: PICKING HIS WAY UP A ROCK STAIRCASE - -(A 40-inch head.)] - -[Illustration] - -Later, during a clearer interval, I descried a stag picking a slow and -deliberate course down the opposite escarpment. In the abyss below he -was long lost to sight but presently reappeared, coming fairly straight -in. Seldom have I felt greater confidence in the alignment than when I -then fired. Yet the result was a clean miss. While pressing trigger, -another shot rang out half-a-mile beyond and the stag swerved sharply; -still I had another barrel, and the second bullet "told" loudly enough -as the hart bounced, full-broadside, over the pass. Then he swerved to -take the rising ground beyond and, crossing the skyline, displayed the -grandest pair of antlers I have seen alive--the great yard-long horns -with their branching tops seemed too big even for that massive body. - -On examination blood was found at once, and on both sides--that is, the -bullet had passed right through. - -In the fog I had under-estimated the distance and the hit was low and -too far back. With two trackers I followed the spoor while daylight -served and through places that any words of mine must fail to describe; -but from the first the head-keeper had foretold the result: "Eso no se -cobra--va léjos"--"that stag you will not recover; he goes far, but -wherever he stops, he dies. See here! the dogs have run his spoor all -along, but have not yet brought him to bay." - -The indications left by the stag on brushwood and rock conveyed to the -trackers' practised eyes, as clear as words, the precise position of the -wound; and, as foretold, those coveted antlers were lost, to perish -uselessly. - -The pack of Mezquitillas was on this occasion reinforced by those of the -Duke of Medinaceli and of the Marquis of Viana--bringing the total up to -seventy hounds. Thus, in Spain, do the Grandees of a big land, when -guests at a _montería_, bring with them their huntsmen, kennelmen, and -their packs of hounds--a system that breathes a comforting sense of -space. - -Next day being hopelessly wet, I took opportunity of measuring three of -the trophies which adorn the hall at Mezquitillas:-- - - +-------+-------+---------+------------+------------+-------------+ - | |Points.| Length. |Widest Tips.|Circ. above | Circ. below | - | | | | | Bez. | Corona. | - +-------+-------+---------+------------+------------+-------------+ - |A | 15 | 38-1/4" | 38-3/4" | 6-1/2" | ... | - |B | 14 | 38" | 29-1/2" | 6-1/4" | 7-1/2" | - |C | 14 | 37-3/4" | 33-1/2" | ... | ... | - |Roebuck| ... | 8-1/2" | 3-1/4" | | | - +-------+-------+---------+------------+------------+-------------+ - -It will be observed that the stag shot a day or two before, and -illustrated above (p. 167), tops the best of these by half an inch. The -somewhat abnormal curve, however, partly explains this. - -[Illustration: JULY.] - -[Illustration] - -We must record yet one more memorable day on this estate of -Mezquitillas. This _montería_ (in January 1910) covered the region known -as the Leoncillo. Upwards of twenty big stags passed the firing-line, -and every gun enjoyed his chance--several more than one. In the result, -six stags were killed--three by our host, one by his son. Though -carrying 12, 11, 10, and 10 points respectively, none of these four were -of exceptional merit, and the best, a 14-pointer, fell to the Duke of -Medinaceli. - -The clean weight of these, the largest stags, is usually between 11-1/2 -and 12 arrobas, or 287 to 300 lbs. English. One exceptionally heavy stag -killed by our host's son, Juan Calvo, Junr., and which had received some -injury in the _testes_, resulting in a malformation of the horn, weighed -no less than 16-1/2 arrobas, or 412 lbs. English. - -Full-grown wild-boars at Mezquitillas average about 7 arrobas, or 175 -lbs., clean--one specially big boar reached 8 arrobas, or 200 lbs. -Wolves, though abundant, are but rarely shot in _monterías_ for the -reasons already given. During the period covered by these notes only two -were killed in _monterías_--one by Sr. Calvo, Junr., the other by -Colonel Barrera. Wild-pigs breed as a rule in March, and to some extent -_gregatim_, or in little colonies, which is supposed to be as a -protection against the wolves; the lair _(cama)_ being a regular nest -made among thick scrub, and roofed over by the foliage. Lynxes, like -wolves, are rarely seen. This year, four (a female, with three -full-grown cubs) were held-up by the dogs, and all killed in one -thicket. - -Mongoose and genets are numerous on these brush-clad hills, and martens -_(Mustela foina)_ breed in the crags. - -Stags roar from mid-September, chiefly by night. Their summer coat is -darker rather than redder than that of winter. - -Farther east in Moréna, near Fuen-Caliente, already mentioned, very fine -heads are also obtained. The same systems prevail, and the following -measurements have been given us by the Marquéz del Mérito, taken from -two stags shot at Risquillo in his forests of the Sierra Quintána, -season 1906-7. - - +-----+---------+---------+----------+-------------+--------------+ - | | Length. | Widest | Circ. at | Circ. above | Brow-Antler. | - | | | Inside. | Burr. | Bez. | | - +-----+---------+---------+----------+-------------+--------------+ - |No. 1| 36-3/4" | 35" | 8-3/4" | 5-1/2" | 12" | - |No. 2| 40-1/4" | ... | 8-3/4" | 6" | 12" | - +-----+---------+---------+----------+-------------+--------------+ - -No. 1 carried 7 + 7 = 14 points, and weighed 224 lbs. clean. - -No. 2 carried 8 + 7 = 15 points, besides several knobs. - -Both are shown in photos annexed. - -In the extreme east of the Sierra Moréna another culminating point of -excellence appears to be attained--at Valdelagrana and Zamujar in the -neighbourhood of Jäen--at least it is from that region that two of the -largest examples came that we have yet seen in Spain. Both the -magnificent heads below described were carefully measured by -ourselves:-- - - +-----+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+-----------+-----------+ - | |Points.|Length.| Widest| Widest |Circ. at|Circ. above|Circ. below| - | | | | Tips. | Inside.| Base. | Bez. | Corona. | - +-----+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+-----------+-----------+ - |No. 1| 16 |40-5/8"|40-1/2"| 31-1/2"| 7-1/2" | 5-5/8" | 7-1/4" | - |No. 2| 16 |38-3/4"|33-1/2"| 28-1/2"| ... | 5-3/4" | 7-1/8" | - +-----+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+-----------+-----------+ - -No. 1 was shot at Valdelagrana, Jäen, by Sr. D. Enrique Parladé, has -five on each top, all strong points, brow-antler 14-1/4 inches. Both -horns precisely equal, 40-5/8 inches. - -No. 2 shot at El Zamujar, Jäen, by the Marquéz de Alvéntos, the whole -head massive and rugged, and all the sixteen points well developed. - -The only Spanish stag within our knowledge which exceeds these -dimensions was shot at Ballasteros in the Montes de Toledo by Sr. D. I. -L. de Ybarra, the measurements of which, though not taken by ourselves, -we accept without reserve as follows:--Length, 41 inches; breadth, -36-1/2 inches; circumference below corona, 8-1/4 inches. (See photo.) - -Since writing the foregoing, a head much exceeding the above records has -been obtained at Lugar Nuevo, near Andujar, in the eastern sierra, and -which measures no less than 43 inches. Photographs, with measurements -taken by Messrs. Rowland Ward (both of this and another good head -secured at Fontanarejo), have been sent us by the fortune-favoured -sportsman, Mr. J. M. Power of Linares, and will be found subjoined. For -convenience of reference we put the whole record in tabular form. - -[Illustration: RED DEER HEADS, SIERRA MORÉNA. - -RISQUILLO. - -Points 15, plus knobs. Length 40-1/4 in. - -MARMOLEJOS. - -A Twenty-four Pointer. - -FONTANAREJO. - -Points 16. Length 32-1/2 in. - -MONTES DE TOLEDO. - -Points 14. Length 41.] - - RECORD OF RED DEER HEADS--SIERRA MORÉNA - - +----------------+-------+---------------+--------+-------+---------------+ - | | | |Circum- | | | - | |Length | Widest. |ference | | | - | |outside+------+--------+ above |Points.| Locality. | - | |Curve. | Tips.| Inside.| Bez. | | | - +----------------+-------+------+--------+--------+-------+---------------+ - | | in. | in. | in. | in. | | | - |J. M. Power |43 |35 | 33-1/2 | 5-1/2 | 6 + 6 |Lugar Nuevo. | - |I. L. de Ybarra |41 |36-1/2| ... | ... | ... |Ballasteros, | - | | | | | | | Montes | - | | | | | | |de Toledo. | - |E. Parladé |40-5/8 |40-1/2| 31-1/2 | 5-5/8 | 8 + 8 |Valdelagrana. | - |Marq. Mérito |40-1/4 |... | ... | 6 | 7 + 7 |Risquillos. | - |Authors |40 |36-1/2| 32 | 5-1/4 | 9 + 8 |(_Wild Spain_.)| - |Marq. Alvéntos |38-3/4 |33-1/2| 28-1/2 | 5-3/4 | 8 + 8 |Zamujar, Jäen. | - |J. Calvo de León|38-3/4 |39-1/4| 33-1/4 | 6-1/4 | 7 + 7 |Mezquitillas. | - | Do. |38-1/4 |38-3/4| ... | 6-1/2 | 8 + 7 | Do. | - | Do. |38 |29-1/2| ... | 6-1/4 | 7 + 7 | Do. | - | Do. |38 |33-1/2| ... | ... | 7 + 7 | Do. | - |Authors ... |37-1/2 |34-1/2| 29-1/4 | 5 | 8 + 7 |(_Wild Spain_.)| - |Marq. Mérito |36-3/4 |... | 35 | 5-1/2 | 8 + 7 |Risquillos. | - |J. Calvo, hijo |36-1/4 |... | 25-3/4 | ... | 7 + 7 |Mezquitillas. | - |Authors |35 |32-1/2| 28 | 5-3/4 | 6 + 6 | Do. | - | Do. |34-1/8 | (cast antler) | 5-3/4 | 8 + 0 |Sa. Quintána. | - |J. M. Power |32 1/2 |... | ... | 5-1/2 | 8 + 8 |Fontanarejo. | - +----------------+-------+------+--------+--------+-------+---------------+ - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -PERNÁLES - - -A country better adapted by nature for the success of the enterprising -bandit cannot be conceived. The vast _despoblados_ = uninhabited wastes, -with scant villages far isolated and lonely mountain-tracts where a -single desperado commands the way and can hold-up a score of passers-by, -all lend themselves admirably to this peculiar form of industry. And up -to quite recent years these natural advantages were exploited to the -full. Riding through the sierras, one notes rude crosses and epitaphs -inscribed on rocks recording the death of this or that wayfarer. Now -travellers, as a rule, do not die natural deaths by the wayside; and an -inspection of these silent memorials indicates that each occupies a site -eminently adapted for a quiet murder. Fortunately, during the last year -or two, the extension of the telegraph and linking-up of remote hamlets -has aided authority practically to extinguish brigandage on the grander -scale. Spain to-day can no longer claim a single artist of the Jack -Sheppard or Dick Turpin type; not one heroic murderer such as José Maria -(whose safe-conduct was more effective than that of his king), Vizco el -Borje, Agua-Dulce, and other _ladrones en grande_ whose life-histories -will be found outlined in _Wild Spain_. - -The two first-named represent a type of manhood one cannot but -admire--admire despite oneself and despite its inconvenience to -civilisation. These were men ignorant of fear, who, though themselves -gentle, were yet able, by sheer force of iron will, to command and -control cut-throat gangs which set authority at defiance, and who -subjected whole districts to their anarchical aims and orders. The -outlaw-overlords ever acted on similar lines. Respecting human life as, -in itself, valueless, they commandeered real value by an adroit -combination of liberally subsidising the peasantry while yet terrorising -all by the certainty of swift and merciless retribution should the -least shade of treachery befall--or rather what to the brigand-crew -represented treachery. Human life was otherwise safe. Two points in this -connection demand mention. Besides direct robberies, the brigands -battened upon a tribute exacted from landowners and paid as a ransom to -shield themselves and their tenants from molestation. Secondly, their -safety and continued immunity from capture was largely due to that -secret influence--quite undefinable, yet potent to this day--known as -"Caciquismo." That influence was exerted on behalf of the outlaws as -part of the ransom arrangement aforesaid. - -Neither for robber-chieftains of the first water, such as these, nor for -brigandage as a scientific business, is there any longer opportunity in -modern Spain, any more than for a Robin Hood at home. Lesser lights of -the road, footpads and casual _sequestradores_, will survive for a -further space in the wilder region; but the real romance of the industry -ceased with the new century. - -[Illustration: PERNALES] - -Its first decade has nevertheless produced a brace of first-rate -ruffians who, though in no sense to be compared with the old-time -aristocracy of the craft, at least succeeded in setting at naught the -civil power, and in pillaging and harassing rural Andalucia during more -than two years. - -The original pair were known as Pernáles and El Vivillo, the latter a -man of superior instincts and education, who, under former conditions, -would doubtless have developed into the noble bandit. Vivillo on -principle avoided bloodshed; not a single assassination is laid to his -charge during a long career of crime. Pernales, on the contrary, -revelled in revolting cruelties, and rated human life no higher than -that of a rabbit. At first this repulsive ruffian, as hateful of aspect -as of character,[31] acted as a sort of lieutenant to Vivillo, but the -partnership was soon renounced by the latter consequent on a cowardly -crime perpetrated by Pernales in the Sierra of Algamita. At a lonely -farm lived an elderly couple, the husband an industrious, thrifty man, -who had the reputation of being rich among his fellows. Their worldly -possessions in actual fact consisted of some 2000 reales = £20. Pernales -was not likely to overlook a hoard so ill-protected, and one night in -November 1906 insisted, at the muzzle of his gun, on the savings being -handed over to him. A lad of fourteen, however, had witnessed the -transaction, and on perceiving him (and fearing he might thus be -denounced) Pernales plunged his knife in the boy's breast, killing him -on the spot. Vivillo, on hearing of this insensate murder by his second, -insisted on the restitution of their money to the aged pair, expelled -Pernales from his gang, and threatened him with death should he dare -again to cross his path. - -Pernales now formed a fresh partnership with a desperado of similar -calibre to himself, a soulless brute, known as the Niño de Arahál, whose -acquaintance he had made at a village of that name. This pair, along -with a gang of ruffians who acclaimed them as chiefs, were destined to -achieve some of the worst deeds of violence in the whole annals of -Spanish _Bandolerismo_. For two years they held half Andalucia in awe, -terrorised by the ferocity of their methods and merciless disregard of -life. None dared denounce them or impart to authority a word of -information as to their whereabouts, even though it were known for -certain--such was the dread of vengeance. - -Innumerable were the skirmishes between the forces of the law and its -outragers. An illustrative incident occurred in March 1907. A pair of -Civil Guards, riding up the Rio de los Almendros, district of Pruna, -suddenly and by mere chance found themselves face to face with the men -they "wanted." A challenge to halt and surrender was answered by instant -fire, and the outlaws, wheeling about, clapped spurs to their horses and -fled. Now for the Civil Guards as brave men and dutiful we have the -utmost respect; but their marksmanship on this occasion proved utterly -rotten, and an easy right-and-left was clean missed twice and thrice -over! The fugitives, moreover, outrode pursuit, and the fact illustrates -their cool, calculating nonchalance, that so soon as they reckoned on -having gained a forty-five minutes' advantage, the pair paid a quiet -social call on a well-to-do farmer of Morón, enjoyed a glass of wine -with their trembling host, and then (having some fifteen minutes in -hand) rode forward. Now comes a point. On arrival of the pursuers, that -farmer (though not a word had been said) denied all knowledge of his -new-gone guests. Pursuit was abandoned. - -For eight days the bandits lay low. Then Pernales presented himself at a -farm in Ecija with a demand for £40, or in default the destruction of -the live-stock. The bailiff (no farmer lives on his farm) despatched a -messenger on his fleetest horse to bring in the ransom. As by the -stipulated hour he had not returned, Pernales shot eight valuable mules! -Riding thence to La Coronela, a farm belonging to Antonio Fuentes, the -bull-fighter, a similar message was despatched. Pending its reply our -outlaws feasted on the best; but instead of bank-notes, a force of Civil -Guards appeared on the scene. That made no difference. The terrified -farm-hands swore that the bandits had ridden off in a given direction, -and while the misled police hurried away on a wild-goose chase, our -heroes finished their feast, and late at night (having loaded up -everything portable of value) departed for their lair in the sierra. - -During the next two months (May and June 1907) only minor outrages and -robberies were committed, but that quiescence was enlivened by two feats -that set out in relief the coolness and unflinching courage of these -desperados. In May they moved to the neighbourhood of Córdoba, and among -other raids pulled off a good haul in bank-notes, cash, and other -valuables at Lucena, an estate of D. Antonio Moscoso, following this up -by a report in their "Inspired Press" that the brigands had at last fled -north-wards with the view of embarking for abroad at Santander! A few -days later, however (May 31), they had the effrontery to appear in -Córdoba itself at the opening of the Fair, but, being early recognised, -promptly rode off into the impending Sierra Moréna. On their heels -followed the Civil Guard. Finding themselves overtaken, our friends -faced round and opened fire, but the result was a defeat of the bandit -gang. One, "El Niño de la Gloria," fell dead pierced by three bullets; -two other scoundrels--Reverte and Pepino--were captured wounded, while -in the mêlée the robbers abandoned four horses, a rifle, and a quantity -of jewelry--the product of recent raids. Pernales himself and the rest -of his crew escaped, and found shelter in the fastnesses of the Sierra -Moréna--thence returning to their favourite hunting-grounds nearer -Seville. - -Riding along the bye-ways of Marchena, disguised as rustic travellers, -on June 2 they demanded at a remote farm a night's food and lodging. -Half-concealed knives and revolvers proved strong arguments in favour of -obedience, and, despite suspicion and dislike, the bailiff acceded. This -time the Civil Guard were on the track. At midnight they silently -surrounded the house, communicated with the watchful bailiff, and -ordered all doors to be locked. The turning of a heavy key, however, -reached Pernales' ear. In a moment the miscreants were on the alert. -While one saddled-up the horses, the other unloosed a young farm mule, -boldly led him across the courtyard to the one open doorway, and, -administering some hearty lashes to the animal's ribs, set him off in -full gallop into the outer darkness. The police, seeing what they -concluded was an attempted escape, first opened fire, then started -helter-skelter in pursuit of a riderless mule! The robbers meanwhile -rode away at leisure. - -Five days later, on June 7, both bandits attacked a _venta_, or country -inn, near Los Santos, in Villafranca de los Barrios, carrying off £200 -in cash, six mules, with other valuables, and leaving the owner for -dead. This particular crime, for some reason or other, was more noised -abroad than dozens of others equally atrocious, and orders were now -issued jointly both by the _Ministro de Gobernacion_, the -Captain-General of the district, and the Colonels commanding the Civil -Guard throughout the whole of the harassed regions, that at all hazards -the murderous pair must be taken at once, dead or alive. This peremptory -mandate evolved unusual activities; the whole of the western sierra was -reported blockaded. Pernales, nevertheless, receiving warning through -innumerable spies of the police plans, succeeded in escaping from the -province of Seville into that of Córdoba, where the pair pursued their -career of crime, though now under conditions of increased hazard and -difficulty. Sometimes for days together they lay low or contented -themselves with petty felonies. - -Then suddenly in a new district--that of Puente-Genil--burst out a fresh -series of the most audacious outrages. Big sums of money, with -alternative of instant death, were extorted from farmers and -landowners. These exploits, together with an odd murder or two, spread -consternation throughout the new area, and in all Puente-Genil, Pernales -and the Niño de Arahal became a standing nightmare. So soon as checked -here by the police, the robbers once more moved west, again "inspiring" -the press with reports of a foreign destination--this time viâ Cádiz. A -few days later, Málaga was named as their intended exit. Yet on July 16 -they were to the north of Seville, and had another rifle-duel with the -Guards, again escaping scatheless at a gallop. - -Persecution was now so keen that the wilds of the Sierra Moréna afforded -their only possible hope, and by holding the highest passes the outlaws -reached this refuge, being next reported at Venta de Cardeñas, 160 miles -north of Córdoba. A cordon of police was now drawn along the whole -fringe of the sierra from Vizco del Marquéz to Despeñaperros. The -position of the hunted couple became daily more precarious, their scope -of activity more restricted, and robberies reduced to insignificant -proportions. Nevertheless, on July 22, with consummate audacity and -dash, they raided the farm of Recena belonging to D. Tomas Herrera, -carrying off a sum of £160, with which they remained content till August -18, when they attacked the two farms of Vencesla and Los Villares, but, -being repulsed, fled northwards towards Ciudad Real. On September 1 they -entered the province of La Mancha, apparently seeking shelter in the -deep defiles of the Sierra de Alcaráz, for that morning a Manchegan -woodcutter was accosted by two mounted wayfarers who inquired the best -track to Alcaráz. The woodman innocently gave directions which, if -exactly followed, would much shorten the route. While thanking his -informant, Pernales--apparently out of sheer bravado--revealed his -identity, introducing himself to the astonished woodcutter as the Fury -who was keeping all authority on the jump and the country-side ablaze. -Straightway the man of the axe made for the nearest guard-station, and a -captain with six mounted police, reinforced by peasants, followed the -trail. As dusk fell the pursuers perceived two horses tethered in a -densely wooded dell, while hard by their owners sat eating and -drinking--the latter imprudence perhaps explaining why the brigands were -at last caught napping. To the challenge "Alto á la Guardia Civil!" came -the usual prompt response--the vibrant whistle of rifle-balls. Pernales -managed to empty the magazine of his repeater, killing one guard -outright and wounding two more. Though himself hit, he yet stood erect, -and was busy recharging his weapon when further shots brought him to -earth. On seeing his chief go down the Niño de Arahal sprang to the -saddle, but the opposing rifles were this time too many and too near. -The bandit, fatally wounded, was pitched to earth in death-throes, while -the poor beast stumbled and fell in its stride a few paces beyond. An -examination of the bodies showed that Pernales had been pierced by -twenty-two balls, his companion by ten. - - -CACIQUISMO - -Doubtless the thought may have occurred to readers that some -interpretation is necessary to explain how such events as these -(extending over a series of years) are still possible in Spain--in a -country fully equipped not only with elaborate legal codes bristling -with stringent penalties both for crime and its abettors, but also with -magistrates, judges, telegraphs, and an ample armed force, competent, -loyal, and keen to enforce those laws. Without assistants and -accomplices (call their aiders and abettors what you will) the Pernales -and Vivillos of to-day could not survive for a week. The explanation -lies in the existence of that inexplicable and apparently ineradicable -power called Caciquismo--fortunately, we believe, on the decline, but -still a force sufficient to paralyse the arm of the law and arrest the -exercise of justice. Ranging from the lowest rungs of society, -Caciquismo penetrates to the main-springs of political power. A secret -understanding with combined action amongst the affiliated, it secures -protection even to criminals with their hidden accomplices, provided -that each and all yield blind obedience to their ruling Cacique, social -and political. The Cacique stands above law; he is a law unto himself; -he does or leaves undone, pays or leaves unpaid as may suit his -convenience--conscience he has none. At his own sweet will he will -charge personal expenses--say his gamekeepers' wages or the cost of a -private roadway--to the neighbouring municipality. None dare object. -Caciquismo is no fault of the Spanish people; it is the disgrace of the -Caciques, who, as men of education, should be ashamed of mean and -underhand practices that recall, on a petty scale, those of the Tyrants -of Syracuse. Should any of these sleek-faces read our book, they may be -gratified to learn that no other civilised country produces parasites -such as they. - -Not a foreign student of the problems of social life in Spain with its -conditions but has been brought to a full stop in the effort to diagnose -or describe the secret sinister influence of Caciquismo. Our Spanish -friends--detesting and despising the thing equally with ourselves--tell -us that no foreigner has yet realised either its nature or its scope. -Certainly we make no such pretension, nor attempt to describe the thing -itself--a thing scarce intelligible to Saxon lines of thought, a baneful -influence devised to retard the advance of modern ideas of freedom and -justice, to benumb all moral yearnings for truth and honesty in public -affairs and civil government. Caciquismo may roughly be defined as the -negation and antithesis of patriotism; it sets the personal influence of -one before the interest of all, sacrificing whole districts to the -caprice of some soul-warped tyrant with no eyes to see. - - * * * * * - -A word in conclusion on Vivillo. Neither ignorance nor necessity -impelled Joaquin Camargo, nicknamed El Vivillo (the Lively One), to -embark, at the age of twenty-five, on a career of crime. Rather it was -that spirit of knight-errantry, of reckless adventure, that centuries -before had swept the Spanish Main, and that nowadays, in baser sort, -thrives and is fostered by a false romance--as Diego Corrientes, the -bandit, was reputed to be "run" by a duchess, as the "Seven Lads of -Ecija" terrorised under the ægis of exalted patronage, and José Maria, -the murderer of the Sierra Moréna, was extolled as a melodramatic hero -by novelists all over Spain. On such lines young Camargo thought to -gather fresh glories for himself. He early gained notoriety by a smart -exploit in holding-up the diligence from Las Cabezas for Villa Martin -just when the September Fair was proceeding at the latter place. The -passengers, mostly cattle-dealers, were relieved of bursting purses--no -cheques pass current at Villa Martin--to the tune of £8000. After that, -for several years, Vivillo ruled rural Andalucia, and his desperate -deeds supplied the papers with startling head-lines. When pursuit became -troublesome he embarked for Argentina, and soon his name was forgotten. -His retreat, however, was discovered, and Vivillo was brought back, -landing at Cádiz February 19, 1908. Since that date he has lived in -Seville prison--a man of high intelligence, of reputed wealth, and the -father of two pretty daughters. For reasons unexplained (and into which -we do not inquire) his trial never comes on. Vivillo keeps a stiff lip -and enjoys ... nearly all he wants. - -[Illustration: A SUMMER EVENING--SPARROW-OWLS (_Athene noctua_) AND -MOTHS] - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -LA MANCHA - -THE LAGOONS OF DAIMIEL - - -Immediately to the north of our "Home-Province" of Andalucia, but -separated therefrom by the Sierra Moréna, stretch away the uplands of La -Mancha--the country of Don Quixote. The north-bound traveller, ascending -through the rock-gorges of Despeñaperros, thereat quits the mountains -and enters on the Manchegan plateau. A more dreary waste, ugly and -desolate, can scarce be imagined. Were testimony wanting to the -compelling genius of Cervantes, in very truth La Mancha itself would -yield it. - -[Illustration] - -Yet it is wrong to describe La Mancha as barren. Rather its central -highlands present a monotony of endless uninteresting cultivation. -League-long furrows traverse the landscape, running in parallel lines to -utmost horizon, or weary the eye by radiating from the focal point as -spokes in a wheel. But never a break or a bush relieves one's sight, -never a hedge or a hill, not a pool, stream, or tree in a long day's -journey. Oh, it is distressing, wherever seen--in Old World or New--that -everlasting cultivation on the flat. True, it produces the necessary -fruits of the earth--here (to wit) corn and wine. - -Farther north, where the Toledan mountains loom blue over the western -horizon, La Mancha refuses to produce anything. - -The unsympathetic earth, for 100 miles a sterile hungry crust, stony and -sun-scorched, obtrudes an almost hideous nakedness, its dry bones -declining to be clad, save in flints or fragments of lava and splintered -granite. Wherever nature is a trifle less austere, a low growth of dwarf -broom and helianthemum at least serves to vary the dreariness of dry -prairie-grass. There, beneath the foothills of the wild Montes de -Toledo, stretch whole regions where thorn-scrub and broken belts of open -wood vividly recall the scenery of equatorial Africa--we might be -traversing the "Athi Plains" instead of European lands. Evergreen oak -and wild-olive replace mimosa and thorny acacia--one almost expects to -see the towering heads of giraffes projecting above the grey-green bush. -In both cases there is driven home that living sense of arid sterility, -the same sense of desolation--nay, here even more so--since there is -lacking that wondrous wild fauna of the other. No troops of graceful -gazelles bound aside before one's approach; no herds of zebra or -antelope adorn the farther veld; no galloping files of shaggy gnus spurn -the plain. A chance covey of redlegs, a hoopoe or two, the desert-loving -wheatears--birds whose presence ever attests sterility--a company of -azure-winged magpies chattering among the stunted ilex, or a -woodchat--that is all one may see in a long day's ride. - -[Illustration: WOODCHAT SHRIKE AND ITS "SHAMBLES" (Sketched in La -Mancha)] - -Another feature common to both lands--and one abhorrent to northern -eye--is the absence of water, stagnant or current. Never the glint of -lake or lagoon, far less the joyous murmur of rippling burn, rejoice eye -or ear in La Mancha. - -Alas, that to us is denied the synthetic sense! In vain we scan -Manchegan thicket for compensating beauties, for the Naiads and Dryads -with which Cervantes' creative spirit peopled the wilderness; no vision -of lovely Dorotheas laving ivory limbs of exquisite mould in sylvan -fountain rewards our searching (but too prosaic) gaze--that may perhaps -be explained by the contemporary absence of any such fountains. Nor have -other lost or love-lorn maidens, Lucindas or Altisidoras from enchanted -castle, aided us to add one element of romance to purely faunal studies. -Castles, it is true, adorn the heights or crown a distant skyline; nor -are Dulcineas of Toboso extinct or even in the _posada_ at Daimiel, -while excellent specimens graced the twilight _paséo_ of Ciudad Real or -reclined beneath the orange-groves of its _alameda_. - -[Illustration: DESERT-LOVING WHEATEARS] - -We have animadverted upon the absence of water in La Mancha. Yet there -is no rule but has its exception, and it is, in fact, to the existence -of a series of most singular Manchegan lagoons, abounding in bird-life, -that this venturesome literary excursion owes its genesis. - -In the midst of tawny table-lands, well-nigh 200 miles from the sea and -upwards of 2000 feet above its level, nestle the sequestered Lagunas de -Daimiel extending to many miles of mere and marsh-land. These lakes are, -in fact, the birthplace of the great river Guadiana, the head-waters -being formed by the junction of its nascent streams with its lesser -tributary the Ciguela. - -In the confluence of the two rivers mentioned it is the Guadiana that -chiefly lends its serpentine course to the formation of a vast series of -lagoons, with islands and islets, cane-brakes and shallows overgrown by -reeds, sedge, and marsh-plants, all traversed in every direction by open -channels (called _trochas_), the whole constituting a complication so -extensive that none save experienced boatmen can thread a way through -its labyrinths. - -Isolated thus, a mere speck of water in the midst of the arid -table-lands of central Spain, yet these lagoons of Daimiel constitute -not only one of the chief wildfowl resorts of Spain, but possibly of all -Europe. Upon these waters there occur from time to time every species of -aquatic game that is known in this Peninsula, while in autumn the -duck-tribe in countless hosts congregate in nearly all their European -varieties. Those which are found in the greatest numbers include the -mallard, pintail, shoveler, wigeon, gargany, common and marbled teal, -ferruginous duck, tufted duck, pochard, and (in great abundance) the -red-crested pochard or _Pato colorado_. Coots also frequent the lagoons, -but in smaller numbers. There also appear at frequent intervals -flamingoes and black geese (_Ganzos negros_), whose species we have not -been able to identify, sand-grouse of both kinds, sea-gulls, duck-hawks, -grebes, and occasionally some wandering cormorants. Herons and egrets in -their different varieties haunt the shores and the shallows. - -[Illustration: RED-CRESTED POCHARD (_Fuligula rufila_)] - -Lest any far-venturing fowler be induced by this chapter to pack his -12-bore and seek the nearest Cook's office, it should at once be stated -that the rights-of-chase (as are all worth having, alike in Spain, -Scotland, or England) are in private hands--those of the Sociedad de las -Lagunas de Daimiel, a society which at present numbers five members, all -of ducal rank, and to one of whom we are indebted for excellent -descriptive notes. The lakes are guarded by keepers who have held their -posts for generations--the family of the Escudéros. - -To claim for these far-inland lagoons a premier place among the great -wildfowl resorts of Europe may seem extravagant--albeit confirmed by -facts and figures that follow. But the lakes, be it remembered, are -surrounded by that cultivation afore described--100 mile stubbles and so -on. Another fact that well-nigh struck dumb the authors (long accustomed -to study and preach the incredible mobility of bird-life) was that ducks -shot at dawn at Daimiel are found to be cropful of _rice_. Now the -nearest rice-grounds are at Valencia, distant 180 miles; hence these -ducks, not as a migratory effort, but merely as incidental to each -night's food-supply, have sped at least 360 miles between dusk and dawn. - - As autumn approaches (we quote from notes kindly given us by the - Duke of Arión), so soon as the keepers note the arrival of incoming - migrants, their first business consists in observing the points - which these select for their assemblage. Then with infinite - patience, tact, and skill, the utmost advantage is seized of those - earlier groups which have chosen haunts nearest to points where - guns may be placed most effectively. These favoured groups are left - rigorously alone to act as decoys, while by gentleness and least - provocative methods, the keepers induce other bands which have - settled in less appropriate positions to unite their forces with - the elect. Thus within a few days vast multitudes, scattered over - wide areas, have been unconsciously concentrated within that - "sphere of influence" where four or five guns may act most - efficaciously. - - The supreme test of the keepers' efficiency is demonstrated when - this concentration is limited to some particular area designated - for a single day's shooting. - - The night preceding the day fixed for shooting, so soon as the - ducks have already quitted the lagoons and spread themselves afar - over the surrounding cornlands on their accustomed nocturnal - excursions in search of food, the posts of the various gunners are - prepared. This work involves cutting a channel through some - islanded patch of reeds situate in the centre of open water. The - channel is merely wide enough to admit the entrance of the punt - from which the gunner shoots, the cut reeds being left to remask - the opening so soon as the punt has entered. - - Somewhere between three and four o'clock in the morning the - sportsmen sally forth from the shooting-lodge (situate on the Isla - de los Asnos), each in his punt directing a course to the position - he has drawn by lot. In the boat, besides guns, cartridges, and - loader (should one be taken), are carried thirty or forty - decoy-ducks fashioned of wood or cork and painted to resemble in - form and colour the various species of duck expected at that - particular season. - - Each of these decoys is furnished with a string and leaden weight - to act as an anchor. A fixed plummet directly beneath the floating - decoy prevents its being blown over or upset. - - Generally speaking, the sportsman awaits the dawn in the same boat - in which he has reached his position, but should shallow water - prevent this, either a lighter punt, capable of being carried by - hand, or some wooden boards are substituted as a seat. Having set - out his decoys, and arranged his ammunition, each gunner awaits in - glorious expectancy the moment when the first light of dawn shall - set the aquatic world amove. - - Singly they may come, or in bands and battalions--soon the whole - arc of heaven is serried with moving masses. Should the day prove - favourable, firing continues practically incessant till towards ten - o'clock. From that hour onwards it slackens perceptibly, ducks - flying fewer and fewer and at increasing intervals up to noon or - thereby, when spoils are collected and the day's sport is over. - - There are at most but four or five _puestos_, or gun-posts, at - Daimiel, and that only when ducks are in their fullest numbers. - - Under such conditions, and when all incidental conditions are - favourable, a bag of over 1000 ducks in the day has not - infrequently been registered. On such occasions it follows that - individual guns must gather from 200 to 300 ducks apiece. - - Almost incredible as are the results occasionally obtained under - favouring conditions, yet the duck-shooting at Daimiel is - nevertheless subject to considerable variation in accordance with - the sequence of the season. The biggest totals are usually recorded - during the months of September, October, and November in dry years. - The bags secured at such periods are apt to run into extraordinary - numbers, but with this proviso, that quality is then sometimes - inferior to quantity. For the chief item at these earlier shoots - consists of teal, with only a sprinkling of mallard, wigeon, and - shoveler, and, in some years, a few coots. But at the later - _tiradas_ (shootings), although game is usually rather less - abundant, it is then entirely composed of the bigger ducks--beyond - all in numbers being the mallard, pintail, wigeon, and red-crested - pochard, while an almost equal number of shovelers and common - pochards are also bagged. - - At these earlier _tiradas_ a good gun should be able, with ease, to - bring down, say, 400 ducks, although this number dwindles sadly in - the pick-up, since but few of those birds will be recovered that - fall outside the narrow space of open water around each "hide." One - may say roughly that at least one-fourth are lost. For, although - each post be surrounded by open water, yet many ducks must fall - within the encircling canes, while even those that fall in the - open, if winged and beyond the reach of a second barrel, will - inevitably gain the shelter of the covert, and all these are - irrecoverable. Others, again, carrying on a few yards, may fall - dead in open water, but at a distance the precise position of which - is difficult to fix by reason of intervening cane-brakes. Thus - between those that are lost in the above ways and others that may - be carried away by the wind or the current (besides many that are - devoured by hawks and eagles under the fowler's eye but beyond the - range of his piece) it is no exaggerated estimate that barely - three-fourths of the fallen are ever recovered. - -To the above description another Spanish friend, Don Isidoro Urzáiz, -adds the following:-- - - In the year 1892 I fired at ducks in a single morning at Daimiel - one thousand and ten cartridges. This was between 6.30 and 10.30 - A.M. I gathered rather over two hundred, losing upwards of a - hundred more. I shot badly; it being my first experience with duck, - I had not learnt to let them come well in, and often fired too - soon. - - In subsequent _tiradas_ I have never enjoyed quite so much luck, - although never firing less than 400 to 500 cartridges. In spite of - the difficulty of recovering dead game, I have always on these - occasions gathered from one hundred upwards--the precise numbers I - have not recorded. Some of the _puestos_ have a very small extent - of open water around them, and in these a greater proportion of the - game is necessarily lost. For example, in a single quite small - clump of reeds I remember marking not less than thirty ducks fall - dead, yet of these I recovered not one. The sharp-edged leaves of - the sedge (_masiega_) cut like a knife, and the boatman who entered - the reeds to collect the game returned a few minutes later without - a bird, but with hands, arms, and legs bleeding from innumerable - cuts and scratches, which obliged him to desist from further - search. This is but one example of the difficulty of recovering - fallen game. - -As examples of the totals secured individually in a day may be quoted -the following. At the first shooting in 1908 the Duke of Arión gathered -251 ducks, and at the second shoot, 245, the Duke of Prim, 197. The -record bag was made some ten or twelve years ago by a Valencian -sportsman, Don Juan Cistel, who brought in no less than 393 ducks in -one day! His late Majesty, King Alfonso XII., comes second with 381 -ducks shot in three hours and a half. On his second visit, on hearing -that he had secured his century, His Majesty stopped shooting, being -more interested to watch the fowl passing overhead. His total was 127. -King Alfonso XIII. had an unlucky day here--rain and storm--hence he -only totalled ninety odd. Many years ago, our late friend, Santiago -Udaëta, was credited with 270 ducks to his own gun in one day. - -These bags are truly enormous, for, big as it is, Daimiel is not a patch -in size as compared with our own marismas of the Guadalquivir. There is -here, on the other hand, abundant cover to conceal the guns, which is -not the case with us. - -[Illustration: RED-CRESTED POCHARD--AN IMPRESSION AT DAIMIEL] - -It was at Daimiel that we first made acquaintance with the red-crested -pochard--a handsome and truly striking species, smart in build, colour, -action, and every attribute. A bushy red head outstretched on a very -long neck contrasts with the jet-black breast, while the white -"speculum" on the wings shows up conspicuous as a transparency, -especially when a band passes over-head in the azure vault, or splashes -down on reed-girt shallow--one actually seems to see through the gauzy -texture of their quills. These ducks breed in numbers at Daimiel, as do -also mallards, garganey, and ferruginous ducks, together with stilts, -grebes, and herons of all denominations. Greatly do we regret that our -experience at Daimiel does not include the spring-season with all its -unknown ornithological possibilities. An unfortunate accident prevented -our spending a week or two at Daimiel in May of the present year. - -Ospreys visit the lakes in autumn, preying on the abundant carp and -tench; and wild-boars, some of great size, coming from the bush-clad -Sierra de Villarubia on the south, frequent the cane-brakes. Shelducks -of either species appear unknown; but grey geese (as well as flamingoes) -make passing calls at intervals, a small dark-coloured goose (possibly -the bernicle) is recorded to have been shot on two or three occasions, -and wild swans once. - -The little country-town of Daimiel, situate six or eight miles from the -lakes, was recently the scene of an extraordinary tragedy. We copy the -account from the Madrid newspaper, _El Liberal_, February 20, 1908:-- - - Telegraphing from Daimiel, it is announced that yesterday a gang of - masked men forced their entrance into the Council-Chamber while the - Council were holding a meeting under the presidency of the Mayor. - - The masked men, who numbered six or eight, came fully armed with - guns and rifles which they discharged in the very face of the - Mayor, who fell dead, riddled with bullets. - - The assembled Councillors, seized with panic, fled. - - The murdered Mayor was a Conservative, and the only member of that - party who held a seat in the Corporation. It is believed that the - assassination was perpetrated in obedience to political motives. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE SPANISH BULL-FIGHT - -ITS ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT - - -Perhaps no other contemporary spectacle has been oftener and more -minutely described by writers who--censors and enthusiasts -alike--possess neither personal nor technical qualification, for the -work. Impressions, once the Pyrenees are passed, grow spontaneously -deeper and stronger in inverse ratio with experiences. And the majority -of descriptions confessedly prejudge the scene in adverse sense--the -writer (sometimes a lady) going into wild hysterics after half-seeing a -single bull killed. - -We have not the slightest intention of entering that arena of ravelled -preconceptions and misconceptions, nor are we concerned either to uphold -or to condemn. A greater mind has satirised the human tendency to -"condone the sins we are inclined to, by damning those we have no mind -to," and we are content to leave it at that. - -In this chapter we purpose to glance at the subject from three points of -view. - -(1) The origin of bull-fighting, 500 years ago, and its subsequent -development. - -(2) The modern system of breeding and training the fighting bull. - -(3) The "Miura question"--an incident of to-day. - -As a Spanish institution, bull-fighting dates back to the Reconquest or -shortly thereafter. When that abounding vigour and virility that had -animated and sustained Spanish explorers and warriors--the sailors and -adventurers who, following in the wake of the caravels of Columbus, -opened up a new world to Spain and carried the purple banner of Castile -to the ends of the earth--when that vigour had spent its fiery force and -grown anæmic, there still remained (as always) a residue of bold -spirits who, scorning decadent circumstance, turned intuitively to that -virile and dangerous exercise left them as a heritage by the vanished -Moors. - -For it was the Arab conquerors, the so-called Moors, who first practised -this form of vicarious warfare. It was, however, in no sense as a -sport--far less as a popular pastime--that the fierce Arab had risked -equal chances with the fiercest wild beast of the Spanish plain. No, it -was strictly as a substitute and a preparation for the sterner realities -of war that, during the intervals of peace, the Moors "kept their hands -in" by fighting bulls. - -The object was to keep themselves and their chargers fit, their eyesight -true, and muscles toughened for the further struggles that all knew must -follow. But during those intervals of peace, the rival knights, -Christian and Moslem, met in keen competition with lance and sword on -the enclosed arena of the bull-ring. The conclusion of a truce was -frequently celebrated by holding a joint _fiesta de toros_. - -No trace, however, exists in Arab writings to show that these people -possessed any innate love of bull-fighting as a sport, or ever practised -it save only as an accessory to the art of war. - -No other people of ancient race have had exhibitions of this kind--that -is, where the skill of man was invoked to incite a beast to attack in -certain desired modes; while the performer escaped the onset, and -finally slew his adversary, by preconceived forms of defence governed by -set rules--a spectacle wherein the assembled crowd could, each according -to his light, estimate both the skill of the man and the fighting -quality of the beast. That the blood of many a gladiator dyed the Roman -arena at the horns of bulls is certain: but no artistic embellishments -of attack or defence added to the joy of the Roman holiday. The mere -mechanical instinct of self-preservation may inadvertently have -suggested to individual combatants certain combinations in the conflict -that in later days have been utilised by modern matadors; but it seems -hardly possible to suppose that Roman gladiators saved themselves by -methods of prescribed art. Contemporary records, together with the -scenes depicted on coinage, represent rather a mere massacre of men by -brute force; and such cannot bear any relation to the conditions that -govern the national _fiesta_ of Spain to-day. - -The actual origin in Spain of the _Corrida de Toros_ must thus be traced -to the Spanish Arabs, who, to exercise themselves and their steeds -during intermittent periods of peace, adopted this dangerous pastime -with the view of fortifying and invigorating personal valour, so -necessary in times of constant strife. - -The Arab's spear and charger were opposed to the wild bull of the -Spanish plain under conditions many of which are analogous to these in -vogue to-day. - -In those earlier ages it was permitted to an unhorsed cavalier to accept -protection from the horns of his enemy at the hands of his personal -retainers, who not infrequently sacrificed their own lives in devotion -to their chief. - -At this period (during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries) the -knight who, lance in hand, had been hurled from the saddle might draw -his sword and kill the bull, his vassals being allowed to assist in -placing the animal (by deft display of coloured cloaks) in a position to -facilitate the death-stroke. Here, doubtless, originated the art of -"playing" the bull, and incidentally sprang the professional -bull-fighter. - -For as these servants became experts, and by reason of their prowess -gained extra wages, so proportionately such skill became of pecuniary -value. Mercenaries of this sort were, nevertheless, despised--to risk -their lives in return for money was regarded as an infamous thing. But -at least they had inaugurated the regime of the highly paid matador of -to-day. - -During the first century after the Reconquest bull-fighting was opposed -by several powerful influences, but each in turn it survived and set at -naught. Isabel la Católica, horrified by the sight of bloodshed at a -bull-fight which she personally attended, decided to prohibit all -_corridas_; but that, she found, lay beyond even her great influence. -Next, in 1567, the power of the Papacy was invoked in vain. - -Pope Pius V., by a _bula_ of November 20, forbade the spectacle under -pain of excommunication, the denial of Christian burial, and similar -ecclesiastical penalties; but he and his _bula_ had likewise to go under -in face of the national sentiment of Spain. - -A noble bull fell to the lance of Isabel's grandson, H.M. the Emperor -Charles V., in the Plaza Mayor of Valladolid amidst acclamation of -countless admirers. This occurred during the festivals held to -celebrate the birth of his eldest son, afterwards Phillip II. - -[Illustration: BULL-FIGHTING. From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall] - -In 1612 bull-fighting first assumed a financial aspect. Phillip III. -conceded to one Arcania Manduno the emoluments accruing during the term -of three lives from the _corridas de toros_ in the city of Valencia. -Charities and asylums benefited under this fund, but the bulk went in -payment for professional services in the Plaza. - -During the reign of Phillip IV.--that king being skilled in the use of -lance and javelin (_rejón_), and frequently himself taking a public -part--the _fiesta_ advanced enormously in national estimation. English -readers may recall the sumptuous _corrida_ which marked the arrival of -Charles I., with the Duke of Buckingham, at Madrid. - -Later, during the reigns of the House of Austria, to face a bull with -bravery and skill and to use a dexterous lance was the pride of every -Spanish noble. - -Phillip V., however, would have none of the spectacle, and then the -nobility held aloof from the _corridas_; but their example proved no -deterrent. For the hold of the national pastime on the Moro-hispanic -race was too firm-set to be swept aside by alien influence, however -strong; and when thus abandoned by the patricians, the hidalgos and -grandees of Spain, the sport of bull-fighting (hitherto confined -exclusively to the aristocracy) was taken up by the Spanish people. A -further impulse was generated later on under Ferdinand VII., who -obtained a reversal of the anathema of the Church on condition that some -of the pecuniary profits of the _corridas_ should swell the funds of the -hospitals. - -It was, however, during the first half of the eighteenth century that -bull-fighting on a popular basis, as understood and practised at the -present day, took its start. Then there stepped upon the enclosed arena -the first professional _Toréro_ amidst thrilling plaudits from tier -above tier of encircling humanity. Never before had the bull been taken -on by a single man on foot armed only with his good sword and scarlet -flag--with these to pit his strength and skill against the weight and -ferocity of a _toro bravo_--alone and unaided to despatch him. Such a -man was Francisco Romero, erewhiles a shoemaker at Ronda--A.D. -1726--first professional _lidiador_. On his death at an advanced age, he -left five sons, all craftsmen of repute, who, in honour of their sire, -formed a bull-fighting guild still known as the Rondénean -School--distinguished from the later Sevillian cult by its more serious -and dignified attack as compared with the prettiness and "swagger" of -the Sevillano. - -In that generation Francisco's son, Pedro Romero, appeared in rivalry -with PEPE-ILLO, the new-risen star in the Sevillian firmament. It was, -by the way, the master-mind of the latter which completed and perfected -the reorganisation on popular lines of the national _fiesta_ after -Bourbon influence had alienated the aristocracy from their ancient -diversion. The rivalry between these competing exponents of the two -styles commenced in 1771, the pair representing each a supreme mastery -of their respective schools, and only terminated with the death of -Pepe-Illo in the Plaza of Madrid, May 11, 1801. The Sevillian style has -since attained pre-eminence, appealing more to the masses by its -nonchalance and apparent disregard of danger. When the best features of -both schools are combined--as has been exemplified in more than one -brilliant exponent of the art--then the letters of his name are writ -large on the _cartels_. - -One other famous name of that epoch demands notice--that of Costillares, -who introduced the flying stroke distinguished as the _suerte de -volapié_. Hitherto all _lidiadors_ had received the onset of the bull -standing--the _suerte de recibir_. In the _volapié_ the charging bull is -met half-way, an exploit demanding unswerving accuracy, strength of arm, -and exact judgment of distance, since the spot permissible for the sword -to enter, the target on the bull's neck, is no bigger than an orange. - -The normal difficulty of sheathing the blade at that exact point on a -charging bull is great enough; but is vastly increased in the _volapié_, -or flying stroke, and the effect produced on the spectators emotional in -the last degree. - -Costillares also formalised the costumes of the different classes of -bull-fighters. He flourished in 1760, and died of a broken heart owing -to his right arm being injured, which incapacitated him from further -triumphs. About that period Martinho introduced the perilous pole-jump, -and José Candido stood out prominent for skill and extraordinary -resource. - -Intermediate episodes of minor importance we must briefly note. Thus -Godoy in 1805 stopped bull-fights, but Joseph Bonaparte in 1808 -re-established the spectacle, in vain hope--a sop to Cerberus--of -attaching sympathy to his dynasty. - -On the return of Fernando VII. in 1814, he also prohibited the shows, -only to re-authorise them the following year, while in 1830 he founded a -school of Toromaquia in Seville. One famous _toréro_, matriculating -thereat, inaugurated a new epoch. Francisco Montes carried popular -enthusiasm to its highest apex. Joy bordering on madness possessed the -Madrilenean ring when Montes handled the _muleta_. Yet as a matador he -had serious defects. - -In 1840 Cuchares appeared on the scene, and two years later the great -disciple of Montes, José Redondo. The rivalry of these notable -contemporaries lifted the _toréo_ once more to a level of absorbing -national interest. It will have been seen that whenever two brilliant -constellations flash forth simultaneously, their very rivalry commands -the sympathy and supreme interest of the Spanish people. - -From 1852 El Tato stood out as a type of elegance and valour, the idol -of the masses, till on June 7, 1859, a treacherous bull left him -mutilated in the arena. Antonio Carmóna (El Gordito), commenced his -career in 1857, alternating in the ring with El Tato and later with -Lagartijo, the latter a brilliant _toréro_ (or player of bulls) as -distinguished from a matador. Consummate in every feint and artifice, -Lagartijo could befool the animals to the top of his bent, yet as a -matador, the final and supreme executor, he failed. - -For twenty years (1867-87) the Spanish public were divided in their keen -appreciation of contemporaneous masters, Lagartijo and Frascuelo. The -latter, whose iron will and courage made amends for certain personal -defects in the lighter role, had marvellous security in the final -stroke. - -Lagartijo and Frascuelo accentuate an era well remembered by enthusiasts -in the Classic School of the _Toréo_. In their day all Spaniards were -devoted, aye, passionate adherents of one or the other: all Spain was -divided into two camps, that of Lagartijo and that of Frascuelo. The -actual supporters of the ring were probably no more numerous then than -to-day; but toreadors breathed that old-fashioned atmosphere in which a -love of the profession was supreme--an heroic unselfishness, personal -skill, and valour were the ruling motives. Pecuniary interest was a -thing apart. - -The career of the bull-fighter to-day is absolutely wanting in such -virtue. Lagartijo and Frascuelo staked their lives each afternoon, -through a love of their art, by the impress of honest nature, perhaps by -inspiration of a woman's eyes. Into their calculations, ideas of lucre -did not enter, money had no value. - -Then came on the scene (1887) that bright particular star, Rafael Guerra -(Guerrita) celebrated and admired--and with justice. But his coming -destroyed for ever the legend of the disinterested _toréro_. The lover -of the art for its own sake was no more, Guerrita was a mercenary of the -first water. Admittedly first of modern bull-fighters, the aspiration of -his soul was the possession of bank-notes, to be the clipper of many -coupons! Neither passion, nor blood, nor favour of the fair inspired his -sordid soul. At the supreme moment of danger, money, only money, was the -motive which actuated him. In his desire for wealth, he succeeded. His -unexpected retirement from the arena in the very apogee of his glory, -and carrying away the accumulation of his thrift, was a shock to this -warm-hearted people. Every vestige of the romantic halo with which -personal prowess and graceful presence had surrounded him was destroyed. -Guerrita as a player of bulls (_toréro_) was the first in all the -history of the ring. As a "matador" also he was the most complete and -certain. Unlike the majority of his compeers, he was reserved in his -habits, and lived apart from the bizarre and tempestuous life of the -ordinary bull-fighter, with its feminine intrigues and excitements. For -that reason he had many enemies amongst his set; but of his claim to be -in the very first rank there has never been a question. To see Guerrita -wind the silken sash around his ribs of steel, as he attired himself for -the arena, was a sight his patrons considered worth going many a mile to -witness.[32] - -Since his retirement, the show has fallen greatly, in the quality of the -bull-fighter. - -Luis Mazzantini created a temporary revolution in the annals of -toromaquia (1885), lighting up anew the enthusiasm for the _fiesta_. He -came not of the usual low, half-gipsy caste, but of the class which -entitled him to the _Don_ of gentle birth. Don Luis Mazzantini, the only -professional bearing such a prefix, acquired at an unusually late period -of life sufficient technical knowledge of bull-fighting to embolden him -to enter the lists in competition with professionals. He was thirty -years of age when the heavy pay of the matador induced him to risk his -life in the arena. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -Whatever may be said of his failing as an artistic exponent of the art -of Cucháres, he killed his bulls in a resolute manner, and re-animated -the interest in the _corrida_, but his example was a bad one. Several -men emulating his career have endeavoured to become improvised -_toréros_, and, like him, to avoid the step-by-step climb to matador's -rank. All have been failures. They wanted to begin where the -bull-fighter of old left off. - -Mazzantini has retired, unscathed, from his twenty years of perilous -experience in the arena, and is now a civic light in the local -government of the city of Madrid. - -Since Guerrita, not a single matador of leading light has arisen. -Reverte (1891), Antonio Fuentes (1893), and Bombita (1894) all attracted -a numerous public; and after them we arrive at the lesser lights of the -present day, Bombita II. and Machaquito. - -Notwithstanding its present decadence in all the most essential -qualities, yet the _fiesta de toros_ is still, if not the very -heartthrob of the nation, at least the single all-embracing symbol of -the people's taste as distinguished from that of other lands. Racing has -been tried and failed; there are no teeming crowds at football, nor -silent watchers on the cricket-field. _La Corrida_ alone makes the -Spanish holiday. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE SPANISH FIGHTING-BULL - -HIS BREEDING AND TRAINING - - -The normal British idea of a bull naturally derives colour from those -stolid animals one sees at home, some with a ring through the nose, and -which are only kept for stud purposes, but occasionally evince a latent -ferocity by goring to death some hapless herdsman. - -Between such and the Spanish _Toro de Plaza_ there exists no sort of -analogy. The Spanish fighting-bull is bred to fight, and the keen -experience of centuries is brought to bear on the selection of the -fittest--that, moreover, not only as regards the bulls, for the cows -also are tested both for pluck and stamina before admission to the -herd-register. The result, in effect, assures that an animal as fierce -and formidable as the wildest African buffalo shall finally face the -matador. - -The breeding of the fighting-bull forms in Spain a rural industry as -deeply studied and as keenly competitive as that of prize-cattle or -Derby winners in England. - -At the age of one year preliminary tests are made, and promising -youngsters branded with the insignia of the herd. But it is the -completion of the second year that marks their critical period; for then -take place the trials for pluck and mettle. The brave are set aside for -the Plaza, the docile destroyed or gelded; while from the chosen lot a -further selection is made of the sires for future years. - -At these two-year-old trials, or _Tentaderos_, it is customary for the -owner and his friends to assemble at the sequestered _rancho_--the event -indeed becomes a rural fête, a bright and picturesque scene, typical of -untrodden Spain and of the buoyant exuberance and dare-devil spirit of -her people. - -Nowhere can the exciting scenes of the _Tentadero_ be witnessed to -greater advantage than on those wide level pasturages that extend from -Seville to the Bay of Cádiz. Here, far out on spreading _vega_ ablaze -with wild flowers, where the canicular sun flashes yet more light and -fire into the fiery veins of the Andaluz--here is enacted the first -scene in the drama of the _Toréo_. For ages these flower-strewn plains -have formed the scene of countless _tentaderos_, where the young bloods -of Andalucia, generation after generation, rival each other in feats of -derring-do, of skill, and horsemanship. - -The remote _estancia_ presents a scene of unwonted revelry. All night -long its rude walls resound with boisterous hilarity--good-humour, -gaiety, and a spice of practical joking pass away the dark hours and by -daylight all are in the saddle. The young bulls have previously been -herded upon that part of the estate which affords the best level ground -for smart manoeuvre and fast riding, and the task of holding the -impetuous beasts together is allotted to skilled herdsmen armed with -long _garrochas_--four-yard lances, with blunt steel tip. All being -ready, a single bull is allowed to escape across the plain. Two horsemen -awaiting the moment, spear in hand, give chase, one on either flank. The -rider on the bull's left assists his companion by holding the animal to -a straight course. Presently the right-hand man, rising erect in his -stirrups, plants his lance on the bull's _off-flank_, near the tail, and -by one tremendous thrust, delivered at full speed, overthrows him--a -feat that bespeaks a good eye, a firm seat, and a strong arm. Some young -bulls will take two or more falls; others, on rising, will elect to -charge. The infuriated youngster finds himself faced by a second foe--a -horseman armed with a more pointed lance and who has been riding close -behind. This man is termed _el Tentador_. Straightway the bull charges, -receiving on his withers the _garrocha_ point; thrown back thus and -smarting under this first check to his hitherto unthwarted will, he -returns to the charge with redoubled fury, but only to find the horse -protected as before. The pluckier spirits will essay a third or a fourth -attack, but those that freely charge _twice_ are passed as fit for the -ring. - -Should a young bull _twice_ decline to charge the _Tentador_, submitting -to his overthrow and only desiring to escape, he is condemned--doomed to -death, or at best to a life of agricultural toil. - -Not seldom a bull singled out from the _rodéo_ declines to escape, as -expected; but, instead, charges the nearest person, on foot or mounted, -whom he may chance to espy. Then there is a flutter in the dovecotes! -Danger can only be averted by skilled riding or a cool head, since there -is no shelter. Spanish herdsmen, however (and amateurs besides), are -adepts in the art of giving "passes" to the bull--a smart fellow, when -caught thus in the open, can keep a bull off him (using his jacket only) -for several moments, giving time for horsemen to come up to his rescue. -Even then it is no uncommon occurrence to see horseman, horse, and bull -all rolling on the turf in a common ruin. Seldom does it happen that one -of these trial-days passes without broken bones or accidents of one kind -or another. - -For four to five more years, the selected bulls roam at large over the -richest pasturages of the wide unfrequented prairies. Should pasture -fail through drought or deluge, the bulls are fed on tares, vetch, or -maize, even with wheat, for their début in public must be made in the -highest possible condition. The bulls should then be not less than five, -nor more than seven years old. - -The _tentadero_ at the present day brings together aristocratic -gatherings that recall the tauromachian tournaments of old. Skill in -handling the _garrocha_ and the ability to turn-over a running bull are -accomplishments held in high esteem among Spanish youth. Even the -Infantas of Spain have entered into the spirit of the sport, and have -been known themselves to wield a dexterous lance. - -At length, however, the years spent in luxurious idleness on the silent -plain must come to an end. One summer morning the brave herd find -grazing in their midst sundry strangers which make themselves extremely -agreeable to the lordly champions, now in the zenith of magnificent -strength and beauty. These strangers are the _cabrestos_ (or -_cabestros_, in correct Castilian), decoy-oxen sent out to fraternise -for a few days with the fighting race preparatory to the _Encierro_, or -operation of convoying the latter to the city whereat the _corrida_ is -to take place. Each _cabresto_ has a cattle-bell suspended round its -neck in order to accustom the wild herd to follow the lead of these base -betrayers of the brave. Thus the noble bulls are lured from their native -plains through country tracks and bye-ways to the entrance of the fatal -_toril_. - -[Illustration: AFTER THE STROKE.] - -An animated spectacle it is on the eve of the _corrida_ when, amidst -clouds of dust and clang of bells, the tame oxen and wild bulls are -driven forward by galloping horsemen and levelled _garrochas_. The -excited populace, already intoxicated with bull-fever and the -anticipation of the coming _corridas_, line the way to the Plaza, -careless if in the enthusiasm for the morrow they risk some awkward rips -to-day. - -Once inside the lofty walls of the _toril_ it is easy to withdraw the -treacherous _cabestros_, and one by one to tempt the bulls each into a -small separate cell, the _chiquero_, the door of which will to-morrow -fall before his eyes. Then, rushing upon the arena, he finds himself -confronted and encircled by surging tiers of yelling humanity, while the -crash of trumpets and glare of moving colours madden his brain. Then the -gaudy horsemen, with menacing lances, recall his day of trial on the -distant plain--horsemen now doubly hateful in their brilliant glittering -tinsel. - -What a spectacle is presented by the Plaza at this moment!--one without -parallel in the modern world. The vast amphitheatre, crowded to the last -seat in every row and tier, is held for some seconds in breathless -suspense; above, the glorious azure canopy of an Andalucian summer sky; -below, on the yellow arena, rushes forth the bull, fresh from his -distant prairie, amazed yet undaunted by the unwonted sight and -bewildering blaze of colour which surrounds him. For one brief moment -the vast mass of excited humanity sits spell-bound; the clamour of -myriads is stilled. Then the pent-up cry bursts forth in frantic volume, -for the gleaning horns have done their work, and _Buen toro! buen toro!_ -rings from twice ten thousand throats. - -We have traced in brief outline the life-history of our gallant bull; we -have brought him face to face with the matador and his Toledan -blade--there we must leave him.[33] In concluding this chapter, may we -beg the generous reader, should he ever enter the historic precincts of -the Plaza, to go there with an open mind, to form his own opinion -without prejudice or bias. Let him remember that to untrained eyes there -must ever fall unseen many of the finer "passes," much of the skilled -technique and science of tauromachian art. The casual spectator -necessarily loses that; he perceives no more difficulty in the perilous -_suerte de vol-á-pié_ than in the simpler but more attractive _suerte de -recibir_, and a hundred similar details. Finally, before crystallising a -judgment, critics should endeavour to see a few second-or third-rate -_corridas_. It is at these that the relative values of the forces -opposed--brute strength and human skill--are displayed in truer and more -speaking contrast. At set bull-fights of the first-class, the latter -quality is often so marked as partly to obscure the difficulties and -dangers it surmounts. Watch _toréros_ of finished skill and the game -seems easy--as when some phenomenal batsman, well set, knocks the best -bowling in England all over the field. Yet that bowling, the expert -knows, is not easy. Nor are the bulls. At second-rate fights the forces -placed face to face are more evenly balanced; and there it is often the -bull that scores. - - -THE MIURA QUESTION - -A raging controversy, illuminative of Tauromachia, has recently split -into two camps the bull-fighting world and agitated one-half of Spain. -The breeding of the fighting-bull is in this country a semi-æsthetic -pursuit, analogous to that of short-horns or racehorses in England, and -the possession of a notable herd the ambition of many of the grandees -and big landowners of Spain. - -Among the various crack herds that of Don Eduardo Miura of Sevilla had -always occupied a prominent rank; while during recent years the power -and dashing prowess of the _Miureno_ bulls had raised that breed almost -to a level apart, invested with a halo of semi-mysterious quality. -Captures occurred at every _corrida_; man after man had gone down before -these redoubted champions, and the minds of surviving -matadors--saturated one and all with gipsy-sprung superstition--began to -attribute secret or supernatural powers to the dreaded herd. Not a -swordsman but felt unwonted qualm when meeting a _Miureno_ on the sanded -arena. Showy players with the _capa_ and the banderillos proved capable -of giving attractive exhibitions, but it was another matter when the -matador stood alone, face to face with his foe. Even second-class -_toréros_ can, with almost any bull, show off their accomplishments in -these lighter séances; but in the supreme rôle--that of killing the -bull as art demands--there is no room for half-measures or deceptions. -To valour, ability must be united. When those two qualities are not both -coupled and balanced, then one of two things happens: Either the scene -becomes a dull one, a mixture of funk and feebleness made patent all -round; or disaster is at hand. This one hears forecast in the strange -cries of this meridional people--from all sides come the shouts of -"_Hule! Hule!_" Now _Hule_ is the name of the material with which the -stretchers for the killed and wounded are covered! - -At this period (summer of 1908) a combination of the bull-fighting craft -attempted a boycott of the Miura herd, or at least double pay for -killing them. This was done secretly at first, since neither would open -confession redound to the credit of the "pig-tail," nor did it promise -favourable reception by the public. - -At this conjuncture a notable _corrida_ occurred at Seville--six -_Miurenos_ being listed for the fight. Ricardo Torres (Bombita II.) -despatched his first with all serenity and valour; with his second, a -magnificent animal worthy of a royal pageant, he would doubtless have -comported himself with equal skill but for an extraneous incident. Upon -rushing into the arena this bull had at once impaled a foolhardy amateur -named Pepín Rodriguez who (quite against all recognised rule) had madly -sprung into the ring. The poor fellow was borne out only in time to -receive the last religious rite. - -At the precise moment when Ricardo stepped forth to meet his foe, the -murmur reached his ear--Pepín was dead, and his superstitious soul sank -down to zero at that whisper from without. When the critical moment -arrived--the popular matador stood pale, nerveless, incapable. Then the -scorn of the mighty crowd burst forth in monstrous yells. Ricardo Torres -had fallen from the pinnacle of fame to the level of a clumsy beginner. -In a moment he was disgraced, his increasing reputation ruined for ever -under the eyes of all the world--and that by a _Miureno_ bull. From that -moment the fallen star organised his colleagues in open rebellion -against the victorious breed. - -The line of action adopted was to abuse and libel the incriminated herd. -It was urged that the bulls lacked the true qualities of dash and valour -and only scored by treachery; and especially insinuated that the young -bulls were expressly taught at their _tentaderos_, or trials on the open -plains, to discriminate between shadow and substance--in other words, -to seek the man and disdain the lure--this naturally making the rôle of -matador more dangerous, and double pay was demanded. To outsiders it -would appear that on the day when bulls learn this, bull-fighting must -cease. - -A storm burst that raged all winter--all classes taking part. Spain was -rent in twain; press and people, high and low, joined issue in this -unseemly wrangle. We cannot here enter into detail of the various -schemes, fair and unfair, whereby the bull-fighters' guild sought to -justify their action and their demands and to prejudice the terrible -_Miurenos_ in the public eye. They were seconded by most professionals -of renown, and soon all but seven had joined the league. But the -squabble with its resultant lawsuits and sordid financial aspect finally -disgusted the public. - -Needless to add, a counter-association of bull-breeders had been forced -into existence, which eventually, despite varied and particular personal -interests unworthy of definition, united the opposition. Oh! it was a -pretty quarrel and one in its essence peculiar to Spain. But it held the -whole country engaged all winter in the throes of a semi-civil war! - -At the first _corrida_ of the following season--held at Alicante January -18, 1909, and graced by the presence of King Alfonso XIII. in -person--the public delivered their verdict, filling the Plaza to -overflowing, although the whole of the six champions were of the -condemned Miura breed and the matadors, Quinito and Rerre, belonged to -the recalcitrant Seven. The bull-fighters' guild had received a fatal -blow. - -Such was the situation, the mental equilibrium between the fiercely -contending factions, as the crucial period approached--the Easter -_corridas_ at Seville. The _impresarios_ of that function, having full -grip of the circumstance, engaged matadors of minor repute--Pepete, -Moréno de Alcalá, and Martin Vasquez. All three, although but of second -rank, were popular and regarded as coming men. - -Flaming posters announced that six champions of the Miura breed would -face the swordsmen. - -The occasion was unique, and D. Eduardo Miura rose to meet it, -presenting six bulls of incomparable beauty, magnificent in fine lines, -in dash, brute-strength, and valour, yet utterly devoid (as the event -proved) of guile or lurking treachery. Such animals as these six -demanded a Romero, a Montes, or a Guerrita as equals; instead, these -young _Toréros_ who faced them, courageous though they were, lacked -calibre for such an undertaking. This _corrida_ marked an epoch, but it -acquired the proportions of a catastrophe. The bye-word that "where -there are bulls there are no matadors" became that afternoon an axiom. - -A _gettatura_, or atmosphere of superstition, surrounded the bulls and -unnerved or confounded their opponents. Pepete was caught by the first -bull, Moréno de Alcalá by the fourth, while Martin Vasquez (already -thrice caught) succumbed to the fifth. - -The sixth bull thus remained unopposed champion of the Plaza--not a -matador survived to face him, and it became necessary to entice an -unfought bull (by means of trained oxen) to quit the arena--an event -unprecedented in the age-long annals of Tauromachy! - -A typical incident, trivial by comparison, intervened. A youthful -spectator, frenzied to madness by the scene, had seized a sword, leapt -into the ring, and ... promptly met his death. - - * * * * * - -Every contention of the bull-fighters' guild had been falsified, and the -association collapsed. A Sevillian paper summed up the event thus:-- - - The six bulls were each worthy to figure in toromaquian annals for - their beautiful stamp, their lines, weight, bravery, and caste. We - witnessed a tragedy when, on the death of the fifth bull, not a - matador remained. But had that tragedy been caused by malice, - wickedness, or treachery on the part of the bulls, surely a - declaration of martial law in this city would have been demanded by - not a few! But that was not so; each of the six competed in the - qualities of bravery, nobility, and adaptability--such bulls are - worthy of better swordsmen. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -SIERRA DE GRÉDOS - - -We met, our trio, on the platform of Charing Cross--not classic but -perhaps historic ground, since so many notable expeditions have started -therefrom, with others of less importance. - -The heat in Madrid towards the end of August (1896) was not -excessive--less than we had feared. We enjoyed, that Sunday, quite an -excellent bull-fight, although the bulls themselves had been advertised -as of "only one horn" apiece (_de un cuerno_). There was no sign, -however, of any cornual deficiency as each magnificent animal dashed -into the arena, although with binoculars one could detect a slight -splintering of one horn-point, a defect which had caused the rejection -of that animal from the herd-list. For these bulls were, in fact, of -notable blood--that of Ybarra of Sevillian _vegas_--and none bearing -that name appear in first-class _corridas_ save absolutely perfect and -unblemished. - -The point illustrates the keen appreciation of quality in the -fighting-bull, which in Spain goes without saying, yet may well deceive -the casual stranger. Thus an American party who breakfasted with us -(always keen to get the best, but not always knowing where to find it) -despised the "Unicorns" and reserved themselves instead for the opera. -We enjoyed an excellent fight with dashing bulls--two clearing the -barrier and causing a fine stampede among the military, the police, and -crowds of itinerant fruit-and water-sellers who occupy the -_Entre-barreras_. - -These "Unicorns" proved really better bulls than at many of the formal -_corridas_. Three young and rising matadors despatched the animals--two -each. They were Galindo, Gavira, and Parrao--both the latter excellent. -Gavira looked as if he might take first rank in his order, while Parrao -displayed a coolness in the _lidia_ such as we had seldom before -seen--even to stroking the bull's nose--while in the final scene he -went in to such close quarters, "passing" the animal at half -arm's-length, that the whole 10,000 in the Plaza held their breath. -Parrao will become a first-flighter, unless he is caught, which -certainly seems the more natural event. - -That evening we were hospitably entertained at the British Embassy, -where our host, the Chargé d'Affaires, regretted that the short -fourteen-days' Ortolan season had just that morning expired. Thus, quite -unconsciously, was an ornithological fact elucidated. - -Next morning we were away by an early train, and after five hours' -journey joined our staff, as prearranged. But here we committed the -mistake of quartering in a country-town on the banks of the Tagus, -instead of encamping in the open country outside. Bitterly did we regret -having allowed ourselves to be thus persuaded. Long summer heats and -parching drought had destroyed what primitive system of natural drainage -may have existed in Talavera de la Reina and produced conditions that we -revolt from describing. Oh! those foul effluvia amidst which men live, -and feed, and sleep! - -With intense delight, but splitting headaches, we left the plague-spot -at earliest dawn and set out for the mountain-land. For thirty odd miles -our route traversed a highland plateau; a group of five great bustard, -gasping in the noon-day heat, lay asleep so near the track that we tried -a shot with ball. Farther north, near Medina del Campo, we had also -observed these grand game-birds feeding on the ripening grapes in the -vineyards. Packs of sand-grouse (_Pterocles arenarius_) with musical -croak flew close around. Spanish azure magpies abounded wherever our -route passed through wooded stretches, and we also observed doves, -bee-eaters, stonechats, crested and calandra larks, ravens, and over -some cork-oaks wheeled a serpent-eagle showing very white below. - -Towards evening the track began to ascend through the lower defiles of -the great cordillera that now pierced the heavens ahead. Presently we -entered pinewoods, resonant at dusk with the raucous voices of millions -of wingless grasshoppers or locusts (we know not their precise name) -that live high up in pines. Never before had we heard such strident -voice in an insect. - -At 4000 feet we encamped beneath the pines by a lovely trout-stream. -This was the rendezvous whereat by arrangement we met with our old -friends the ibex-hunters of Almanzór--savage perhaps to the eye, yet -beyond all doubt radiantly glad to welcome back the foreigners after a -lapse of years. No mere greed of dollars inspired that enthusiasm, but -solely the bond of a common passion that bound us all--that of the -hunter. It was, however, but sorry hearing to listen to the reports they -told us around the camp-fire. Everywhere the ibex were yearly growing -scarcer, dwindling to an inevitable vanishing-point, former haunts -already abandoned--or, we should rather say, swept clean. Where but a -score of years before, 150 ibex had been counted in a single _montería_, -our friends reckoned that exactly a dozen survived. One remark -especially struck us. "There remained," with glee our friends assured -us, "one magnificent old goat, a ram of twelve years, out there on the -crags of Almanzór." _ONE!_ To _one_ sole big head had it dwindled? - -[Illustration: "MINOR GAME"] - -The valley of the Tagus divides two geological periods, and perhaps at -one time divided Europe from a retiring Africa. Marked differences -distinguish the fauna on either side of the river, and that of the north -(with its 10,000 feet altitude) promised reward worthy the labours of -investigation. Not a yard of that great mountain-land of Grédos has been -trodden by British foot (save our own) since the days of Wellington. -Hence it was an object with us to secure, not only ibex heads, but -specimens of the smaller mammalia that dwell in those heights. Our -mountain friends assembled round the camp-fire--twenty-five in all--each -promised to take up this unaccustomed quest and to regard as game every -hitherto unconsidered _bicho_ of the hills, whether feathered, furred, -or scaled. If ibex failed us, at least a harvest in such minor game we -meant to assure.[34] - -Three o'clock saw us astir, bathing in the dark burn while moonlight -still streamed through sombre pines. Camp meanwhile was broken up; -tents and gear packed on ponies and mules, breakfast finished--we were -off, heavenwards. Then, just as the laden pack-animals filed through the -burn, there rode up a man--he had ridden all night--and bore a message -that changed our exuberant joy to grief--bad news from home. - -There could be no doubt--the writer must return at once. Within five -minutes I had decided to make for a point on the northern railway beyond -the hills and distant some sixty miles as the crow flies. Baggage and -battery were abandoned; a handbag with a satchel of provisions and a -wine-skin formed my luggage, and, leaving my companions in this wild -spot, I set forth in the grey dawn on a barebacked mule devoid of -saddle, bridle, or stirrups, and accompanied by two of our hill-bred -lads, one riding pillion behind or running alongside in turn. - -Where the grey ramparts of the Risco del Fraile and the Casquerázo frown -on a rugged earth below I parted with my old pals, they to continue the -ibex-hunt, I on my mournful homeward way. - -Bee-eaters poised and chattered, brilliant butterflies (whose names I -forgot to note), abounded as we rode along those fearful edges and -boulder-studded steeps. Six hours of this brought us to a rock-poised -hamlet of the sierra. The landlord of the _posada_ was also the -_Alcalde_ (mayor) of the district, and even then presiding over a -meeting of the council (_ayuntamiento_). Amidst dogs, children, fleas, -and dirt, along with my two goat-herd friends, we made breakfast. - -Thence over the main pass of Navasomera--no road, not the vestige of a -track, and a tremendous ravine stopped us for hours, and for a time -threatened to prove impassable. By patience and recklessness we lowered -mule and ourselves down scrub-choked screes, and after some of the -roughest work of my life gained a goat-herd's track which led upwards to -the pass. After clearing the reverse slope we traversed for twenty miles -a dreary upland (6000 feet) till we struck the head-waters of the -Albirche river, where my lads tickled half-a-dozen trout and a _frog_! -Kites beat along the stony hills, where wheatears and stonechats -fluttered incessant, with dippers and sandpipers on the burn below. - -We halted at a lonely _venta_ (wayside wine-shop), where assembled -goat-herds courteously made room, and passed me their wine-skin. -Presently one of them asked whither I went, remarking, "Your Excellency -is clearly not of this province." Three or four skinny rabbits hung on -the wall, and the landlord, after inquiring what his Excellency would -eat, assured me he had plenty of everything, was yet so strong in his -commendation of _rabbit_ that I knew those wretched beasties were the -only food in the place. Presently with my two lads, and surrounded by -mules, cats, dogs, poultry, wasps, and fleas, we sat down to dine on -trout, rabbits-_á-pimiento_, and _chorizo_ (forty horse-power sausage). -I believe my boys also ate the frog! - -Two hours after dark we were still dragging along the upland, while the -outlines of the jagged cordillera behind had faded in gathering night. I -could scarce have sat much longer on that bony saddleless mule when a -light was descried far below, and, on learning that we were still twenty -miles from our destination, I decided to put up for the night at that -little _venta_ of Almenge, sleeping on bare earth alongside my boys, and -close by the heels of our own and sundry other mules. - -[Illustration] - -At breakfast there sat down, besides ourselves and hostess, sundry -muleteers, all sympathetic and commiserate since my mission had become -known. I was hurrying homewards to distant Inglaterra--so Juanito had -explained--because my brother was _poco bueno_--not very well. The -hostess looked hard, and said, "Señor, it must be _muy grave_ (very -serious), or they would not have telegraphed for the _caballero_ to -return." - -Many more hours of tedious mule-riding followed ere at last from -lowering spurs we could see the end of the hills and the white track -winding away till lost to view across the plain below. - -Here in the highest growth of trees were grey shrikes (_Lanius -meridionalis_), adults and young, besides missel-thrushes, turtle-doves, -etc. On the level corn-lands below, which we now traversed for miles, we -observed bustards (these, we were told, retired to lower levels in -September)--nothing else beyond the usual larks and kestrels common to -all Spain. - -[Illustration: SCENES IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS. - -MOREZÓN. CUCHILLAR DE NAVÁJAS. ALMANZÓR. - -THE CIRCO DE GRÉDOS. - -LAGUNA DE GRÉDOS. - -A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW--SHOWS THE AMEÁL AND CUCHILLAR DEL GUETRE.] - -LOOKING SOUTH ACROSS LAGUNA. - -HERMANITOS-- - -CASQUERÁZO.] - -It was past noon ere the long ride was completed, and we entered the -ancient city that boasts bygone glories, splendid temples, and memories -of mediæval magnificence, but which is now ... well, Avila. But one -feature of Avila demands passing note--its massive walls, withstanding -the centuries, full forty feet in height by fifteen feet broad. An hour -later the Sûd-express dashed up whistling into the station, to the -genuine alarm of my leather-clad mountain-lads, who recoiled in fear -from an unwonted sight. They, noticing that the officials of the train -also spoke a foreign tongue (French), asked me if such things (_i.e._ -railway trains) were "only for your Excellencies"--meaning for -foreigners, _vos-otros_. - -At Paris a reassuring telegram filled me with joy indescribable, but in -London and at York further messages intensified anxiety. On August 29 I -reached home, and on the evening of September 3 doubts were resolved, -and the silver cord was loosed. - - * * * * * - -The Plaza de Almanzór, with its immediate environment, presents a -panorama of mountain-scenery unrivalled, not only in the whole -cordillera of Grédos, but probably in all Spain--it may be questioned if -the world itself contains a more striking landscape than that known as -the "Circo de Grédos." Briefly put, a vast central amphitheatre of -rock--really four-square (though known as the "Circo") in the depths of -which nestle an alpine lake--is enclosed by stupendous rock-walls and -precipices of granite; some of these smooth and sheer, others rugged and -disintegrated or broken up by snow-filled gorges of intricacies that -defy the power of pen to describe. Three of these vast mural ramparts -stand almost rectangular, the fourth shoots out obliquely, traversing -the abysmal _enclave_ and all but closing the fourth side of its -quadrilateral. The rough sketch-map at p. 141 shows the configuration -better than written words, while the photos convey, so far as such can, -some idea of the scenery.[35] - -The actual peak of Almanzór which dominates the whole "Circo," as viewed -from the north, culminates in a flattened cone, the summit being split -into two huge rock-needles or pinnacles separated by an unfathomed -fissure between. Only one of these needles--and that the lower--has yet -been scaled. The loftier of the pair, though it only surpasses its -fellow by a few yards in height, is so sheer, its surface so devoid of -crevice or hand-hold, that the ascent (without ropes and other -appliances) appears quite impracticable. - -Will the reader seat himself in imagination at the spot marked (*) on -the map. Surveying the scene from this point, the whole opposite horizon -is filled by the Altos de Morezón--a jagged and turreted escarpment -pierces the sky, while its frowning walls dip down, down in endless -precipices to the inky-black waters of the Laguna far below. - -Towards the left one's view is interrupted by an extraordinary mass of -upstanding granite, disintegrated and blackened by the ages, known as -the Ameál de Pablo--in itself a virgin mountain, as yet untrodden by -human foot. This colossus, glittering with snow-striæ, surmounts the -oblique ridge aforesaid, that of the Cuchillar del Guetre, which -traverses two-thirds of the "Circo," leaving but a narrow gap between -its own extremity and the opposite heights of Morezón. - -Continuing towards the right, there rises to yet loftier altitudes the -black contour of the Risco del Fraile, beloved of ibex; while adjacent -on the north-west, but on slightly lower level, uprear from the -snow-flecked skyline three more unscaled masses--rectangular monoliths -like giant landmarks. This trio is distinguished as Los Hermanitos de -Grédos, their abruptness of outline almost appalling as set off by an -azure background. - -Farther to the right (in the angle of the square) two more -mountain-masses--knife-edged, jagged, and embattled along the -crests--frown upon one another across a gorge rent through their very -bowels. These two are the Alto del Casquerázo and the Cuchillar de las -Navájas, while the interposed abyss--the Portilla de los Machos--cuts -clean through the great cordillera, forming a natural gateway between -its northern and its southern faces. As the name implies, this gorge is -the main route of the ibex from their much-loved Riscos del Fraile to -their second chief resort, the Riscos del Francés, which occupy the -southern face of the sierra whose snowfields defy even the heats of -August. - -From our present standpoint the southern wall of the Circo--the -Cuchillar de las Navájas--is not visible. This section of the -quadrilateral is equally abrupt and intricate, dropping in massive -bastions towards the level of the lake. Just beyond the Plaza de -Almanzór a second deep gorge or "pass"--the Portilla Bermeja--unites the -northern and the southern faces. - -Behind where we sit lies yet another panorama of terrible wildness, -again dominated by rock-walls of fantastic contour--the valley of Las -Cinco Lagunas. But right here our rock-descriptive powers give out--we -can only refer to the map. - -[Illustration: GRIFFON VULTURE AND NEST] - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -SIERRA DE GRÉDOS (_Continued_) - -IBEX-HUNTING - - -Why try to describe the distress of that morning or the efforts it cost, -during fourteen hours, to gain the summits of Grédos? Again and again -what we had taken for our destination proved to be some intervening -ridge with another desperate gorge beyond. Suffice it that it was an -hour after dark ere we finally lifted the cargoes from the dead-beat -beasts. Presently the moon arose, and against her pale effulgence -towered the gnarled and pinnacled peaks of Almanzór, piercing the very -skies--a lovely but to me an appalling scene. Their altitude is 8800 -feet. - -Our whole plan and ambitions in this expedition were to find and stalk -the ibex--the very undertaking which had proved beyond our powers during -two strenuous efforts in former years as readers of _Wild Spain_ already -know. - -Now in all stalking it must be obvious even to non-technical readers -that the first essential is to bring under survey of the binoculars a -very considerable extent of game-country every day; but here, in the -chaotic jumble of perpendicular or impending precipice or smooth -rock-faces inclined at angles that we dare not traverse, any such -extensive survey is a sheer impossibility. Alpine climbers or others in -the fullest enjoyment of youth and activity might get forward at a -reasonable speed. To us, already past that stage, the feat was -impossible, _i.e._ by our own sole exertions. That we, of course, knew -in advance; but our plan was to supplement our own powers by availing -the splendid rock-climbing abilities of our friends, the goat-herds of -Almanzór, on whom we relied for at least finding the game in the first -instance. - -[Illustration: "AT THE APEX OFF ALL THE SPAINS." - -(IBEX ON THE PLAZA DE ALMANZÓR.)] - -Ramón and Isidóro were away by the first glint of dawn, disappearing -in opposite directions so as to encompass both the surrounding -rock-ranges and to mark ibex in stalkable positions. We awaited their -return in camp, not only with anxiety, but with some impatience, since -the temperature had fallen so low that no wraps or blankets served to -keep us warm while inactive. - -After a fruitless search of four hours, the scouts returned; no better -results attended a second morning and a third--nor our impatience. -Clearly the second resource, that of "driving," must now be tried. It -was only ten o'clock that third morning, and already the drivers, who -had left at dawn so as to reach agreed positions in case of the failure -of resource No. 1, would be approaching the fixed points four miles away -on the encircling heights, whereat, by signal, they would know whether -to proceed with the "drive" or to return by the circuitous route they -had gone. Meanwhile we have ourselves to reach the "passes" in the -heights above, and the scramble and struggle which that ascent involved -we must leave readers to imagine. Bertram gets through such work fairly -well, but the writer, a generation older, is fain to choose a lower -place, reputed a likely "pass." Here, after waiting an hour, we descried -the drivers showing-up at different points of those encircling Riscos de -Morezón, climbing like flies down perpendicular faces, disappearing in -gorges, and doing all that specialised hunters can. But not an ibex came -our way. When we reassembled, it proved that three goats had been seen, -one a ram. Thus ended that day--cruel work amidst lovely though terrible -scenery--and never a wild-goat within our sight. - -On the morrow our selected positions were to be yet nearer the heavens -above than those of yesterday--along the highest skylines of Grédos, -between the Plaza de Almanzór and the Ameál. From our camp my own post -was pointed out, a niche in that far-away impossible ridge. How long, I -asked Ramón, do you imagine it will take me to reach it? Our friends, -who, lean and lythe of frame, a specialised race of mountaineers, mock -mountain-heights and appreciate too little (though they recognise) our -relative weakness, reply, "Two hours." But at that precise moment, while -I yet scanned with binoculars the scene of this supreme effort, -examining in a species of horror that infinity of piled rock-masses, -their details cruelly developed in a blazing sunlight, just then, across -the field of the glass soared a single lammergeyer. Now I know that -these giant birds-of-prey span some ten feet from wing to wing, and the -tiny speck that this one, reduced by distance, appeared on the -object-glass helped me to gauge what lay before us. - -A black point that from camp I had mentally noted as a landmark proved -to be a mass of dolomite seamed with interjected striæ of glistening -felspar, big as a village church! - -[Illustration: "THE WAY OF AN EAGLE IN THE AIR" - -(LAMMERGEYER--_Gypaëtus barbatus_)] - -I had demanded four hours, and precisely within that period reached my -celestial pinnacle. Bertram was beyond and higher still--where, I could -not see. But my own post seemed to me as sublime as even an ibex-hunter -could desire, at the culminating apex of the Spains and the centre of -dispersal of four giant gorges each bristling with bewildering chaos of -crags and rock-ruin, while above, to right and left, towered yet loftier -_riscos_. - -At these serene altitudes life appeared non-existent. The last signs of -a cryptogamic vegetation we had left below, and I could now see eagles -or vultures soaring almost perpendicularly beneath and reduced by -distance to moving specks. - -Yet shortly before reaching our posts, along one of those awesome -shelves with a 500-feet drop below, a touch from Ramón drew my attention -to a truly magnificent old ibex-ram in full view, quietly skipping from -crag to crag some 300 yards above. So slow and deliberate were his -movements, with frequent halts to gaze, that time was allowed to gain a -rational position and to enjoy for several minutes a glorious view -through binoculars. Twice he halted in front of small snow-slopes, -against which those curving horns were set off in perfect detail. Then -with measured movements, making good each foot-hold, alternated by -marvellous bounds to some rock-point above, the grand wild-goat vanished -from view. His course led into a rock-region that already our drivers -were encompassing, hence we had strong hopes that we might not have seen -the last of him. - -Two herds of ibex, it transpired, were enclosed in this beat; one -comprising nine females and small beasts, the second two with a -two-year-old ram; but our big friend was seen no more. - -I had, however, enjoyed a scene that went far to compensate for the -tribulations it had cost. - -Late that night the two lads who had accompanied A. returned to camp. -After riding fifteen hours on Wednesday, he could do no more, slept at a -_venta_, and reached Avila (which he considers twenty leagues from -Ornillos, the spot where he left us) at noon on Thursday, where he -caught the Sûd-express, and to-night will be in Paris. He sent us a few -pencilled words, urging us to utmost endeavours with the wild-goats, as -this will be in all probability our _last chance_. I agree, for the -natives kill off male and female alike, only a few wily old rams remain, -a mere fraction of the stock which formerly existed. The shepherds who -come to these high tops to pasture their herds for a few weeks each -summer have chances to kill the ibex which they do not neglect. When Don -Manuel Silvela, the statesman, was here twenty years ago, some 150 ibex -were driven past his post above the Laguna de Grédos. Not a quarter of -that number now survive in all the range. - -_August 26._--Everything outside the tents was frozen solid last night, -but with sunrise the temperature goes up with a bound. We had trout for -breakfast, caught by hand from the burn below. To-day the work was -easier, for the two beats were both small and more or less on the same -level as our camp. The first lasted five hours, but gave no result. We -then moved to the west, always rising till we found ourselves on the -summit of another ridge looking down into a mighty gorge and upon the -mysterious rock-cradled Cinco Lagunas de Grédos. The plains of Castile -lay beneath us like a map, towns and villages distinguishable through -the glass though not without. Bertram was placed in a "pass," about 100 -yards wide, piercing the topmost peaks, myself in a similar _portilla_ -rather lower down. An hour later Dionýsio, who had climbed the crag -above me, whence he could see into the abyss beneath, signalled as he -hung over the edge of his eyrie that something was coming. Then he slid -down to my side to tell me that three goats were moving slowly up the -gorge. Dionýsio returned to his ledge, and for half an hour I enjoyed -that state of breathless suspense when one expects each moment to be -face to face with a coveted trophy. The three goats, I perceived, must -pass through this _portilla_ on one side or the other of the rock behind -which I lay expectant. At last there caught my ear the gentle patter of -horned hoofs on rocks, but oh!... it was succeeded by the bang of a gun. -Dionýsio had fired from his ledge twenty yards above me. The three ibex -had come on to within ten yards of where I lay, looking, as it were, -down a tunnel. The wind had been right enough, but it appeared an -erratic puff had elected to blow straight from us to them. They caught -it, and in a flash disappeared down the ravine, Dionýsio, as he hung -from the ledge, giving them a parting shot. That was friend Dionýsio's -version of the event. What actually occurred, all who are experienced in -this wild-hunting will divine without our telling. I ran from my post -along the lip of the abyss--luckily there was a bit of fairly good -going--hoping to get a chance as the game turned upwards again; for at -once, on hearing a shot, the beaters far below joined in a chorus of -wild yells to push them upwards. This they succeeded in doing, but the -goats passed beyond my range. I now saw there were four in all--three -females and a handsome ram. Dionýsio made a further effort to turn them, -which so far succeeded that the ram separated and bounded up the rocks -towards the higher pass, where he ran the gauntlet of Bertram within -thirty yards. Now the whole stress and burden of a laborious expedition -fell upon the youngest shoulders, for B. was barely out of his teens, -and more skilled with shot-gun than with ball. The responsibility proved -almost too great--almost, but not quite; for one bullet had taken -effect, and the rocks beyond the little "pass" were sprinkled with -blood. The late hour, 4 P.M., and the long scramble campwards forbade -our following the spoor that night, but the ram was recovered some two -miles beyond the point where we had last seen him--horn measurements -24-1/8 inches, by 8-1/4 inches basal circumference. - -[Illustration: TWO SPANISH IBEX SHOT IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS, JULY, 1910. - -MARQUÉS DE VILLAVICIOSA DE ASTEREAS. - -MARQUÉS DE VIANA. - -TWO SPANISH IBEX SHOT IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS, JULY, 1910.] - -The beaters reported having seen several ibex during this drive, two -small rams, females, and kids--thirteen in all. We devoted a couple more -days to this section of the sierra, but both proved unsuccessful so far -as regards the one grand ibex-ram which we had seen. Here, on the Riscos -del Fraile, and later on at Villarejo, we each spared small beasts; but -at last were fain to be content with a three-year-old goat, whose head -adorns our walls. - -Before daylight we were aroused by the breaking-up of camp, and by seven -o'clock had taken a downward course from that lofty eyrie which we had -occupied for ten days. It was a lovely ride with bright sunlight -lighting up every detail of the mountain scenery, while every mile -brought evidence of the lowering altitude--first, in green herbage, then -in brushwood and stunted trees, till at mid-day we reached the region of -pines in the cool valley of the river Tormes. Here we halted, and while -lunch was being prepared, enjoyed a swim in those crystal torrents. That -afternoon was devoted to trout, but with meagre results. The stream -gleamed like polished steel, everything that moved in the waters could -be seen, and doubtless its denizens enjoyed a similar advantage as -regards things in the other element. At any rate, none save the smaller -trout would look at a fly; so we continued our journey, following the -river-side in the direction of the mountains of Villarejo. - -Dionýsio and Caraballo had gone to a hamlet lower down for bread and -wine. There was no bread, and having to wait till it was baked, delayed -the march. Meanwhile, we wandered on through pine-woods with the -beautiful stream fretting and foaming, and collecting a few -bird-specimens, though none of much interest. We did, however, come -across two gigantic nests of the black vulture, flat platforms of -sticks, each superimposed on the summit of a lofty pine. Even in these -uplands the black vulture nests in March, when the whole land is yet -enveloped in snow, and while frequent snowstorms sweep down the valleys. -So closely does the parent vulture incubate, that she allows herself to -be completely buried on her nest beneath the drifting snow. On these -hanging steeps the eyries are overlooked from above, yet not a vestige -of the sitting vulture can be seen until she is disturbed by a blow from -an axe on the trunk, or by a shot fired--then off she goes, dislodging a -cloud of snow from her three-yard wings as she launches into space. - -[Illustration: BLACK VULTURE (_Vultur monachus_)] - -The black vulture lays but one huge egg, often boldly marked and -suffused with dark-brown and rusty blotches and splashes, in contrast -with the eggs of the griffon vulture, which are usually colourless or, -at most, but faintly shaded. - -The latter, so abundant in Andalucia, is remarkably scarce in Grédos, -where we saw rather more eagles than vultures. The chief bird-forms of -the high sierra were ravens and choughs, ring-ouzels, rock-thrush and -black-chat (_Dromolaea leucura_). The alpine accentor (_Accentor -collaris_) and alpine pipit (_Anthus spipoletta_) also reach to the -highest summits; the blue thrush lower down. - -In the valley of the Tormes and among the pines many British species -were at home, such as blackbirds and thrushes, redstarts, nuthatches, -and Dartford warblers; besides the two southern wheatears, since found -to be but _one_ dimorphic form! - - -THE RISCOS DE VILLAREJO - -Three hours later the mule-train overtook us, and we pursued the track -upwards towards the Riscos de Villarejo till darkness obliged us to -encamp. The jagged outline ahead, marking our destination, looked far -away; we could go no nearer to-night, and outspanned on a tiny lawn on -the mountain-slope. Once more we had left tree and shrub far below, but -the dry _piorno_-scrub made fire enough to cook a frugal supper. The -hunters, with their stew-pots balanced on stones, sat round us in a -circle. - -Next morning we were alert, as usual, before the dawn--called at 4 -A.M.--and off again on another terrible climb towards the summits. It is -no mild trudge through turnips this 1st of September, but one more -effort to interview in his haunts the Spanish mountain-ram. - -At 6000 feet we reached a point beyond which no domestic beast can go. -Here, leaving our own men to encamp, the upward climb with the hunters -begins. This day and each of the two following were devoted solely to -stalking, each of us separately with his guide taking a diverging course -along two of the lower ridges of the sierra. Two female ibex were -descried in a position which might without difficulty have been stalked. -These, however, we left in peace; though, as it proved, they were the -only animals seen before we regained camp, an hour after dark, tired out -and empty-handed once more. On the fourth day we drove this same -rock-region, but without success, only two goats, both small males, -being seen. The entire failure of this venture was a disappointment, as -ibex were known to frequent these reefs. An explanation was suggested -that a herd of domestic goats had approached too near their exclusive -wild congeners, which had fled to a neighbouring mountain. That -mountain, we arranged, should be explored at daylight on the morrow by -two of our hunters. The cold at night in camp was intense, and our -Andalucian retainers complained bitterly, although they kept an enormous -fire going; yet during the day the heat had been excessive, and the sun -burns terribly at these altitudes. - -The following morning we tried a comprehensive drive encompassing two -gorges composed of sublimely grand rocks. As I look over the edge of the -black pinnacle that forms my post the sheer drop below is appalling, and -above me tower similar masses in rugged and frowning splendour. But not -a goat was seen till quite late in the afternoon, when two females -slowly approaching were descried. For a mile we watched them, so -deliberate was their progress, till they disappeared through the very -"pass" where A. had shot his some five years before. - -_September 6._--Our scouts returned last night, having failed to locate -ibex on the opposite mountain; so we made a final effort on the Riscos -of Villarejo--again blank. Well! we have done our best for six days on -those terrible rocks, on which we must now turn our backs for the -present. - -At the village of Arénas de San Pedro we bade good-bye to all our -people; even their wives (clad in the same short skirts of greens and -other brilliant hues we had noticed in '91, for fashions change slowly -in the sierra) came down from Guisando to say farewell to the Ingléses. -Here Ramón brought in the head of Bertie's ibex shot the week before; -Ramón presented me with his powder-horn and bullet-pouch as a keepsake, -and Juanito with a mountain-staff. Our visit had marked an epoch in the -simple annals of the sierra and of its honest and primitive inhabitants. - - * * * * * - -To-day we rejoice to add that, as already fully set forth at pp. -141-142, wild-goats may be counted in troops on the erewhiles -ibex-denuded crags of Almanzór. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -AN ABANDONED PROVINCE - -(ESTREMADURA) - - -Can this really be Europe--crowded Europe? For four long days we have -traversed Estremenian wilds, and during that time have scarce met a -score of folk, nor seen serious evidence of effective human occupation. -At first our northward way led through rolling undulations, the western -foothills of the long Sierra Moréna, clad with the everlasting -gum-cistus, with euonymus, a few stunted trees, and the usual aromatic -brushwood of the south. Only at long intervals--say a league or two -apart--would some tiny cot, of woodcutter perhaps, or goat-herd, gleam -white amidst the rolling green monotone. Here and there wild-thyme -(_cantuéso_) empurpled the slopes as it were August heather, but the -chief beauty-spot was the rose-like flower of the cistus, now (May) in -fullest bloom--waxy white, with orange centre and a splash like black -velvet on each petal. Next, for a whole day we ride through open forest -of evergreen oak and wild-olive, the floor carpeted with tasselled -grasses, tufty broom, and fennel. We encamp where we list and cut -firewood, none saying us nay or inquiring by what authority we do these -things. - -One evening while we investigated an azure magpie's nest in an ilex hard -by the tents, four donkey-borne peasants appeared. Though they rode -close by, yet they showed no sign, passing silent and incurious. The few -natives we met hereabouts all seemed listless, apathetic, -uncommunicative, in striking contrast with their sprightly southern -neighbours beyond the hills in Andalucia. We read that Estremadura is a -"paludic" province and unhealthy; possibly the malarial microbe has -sapped energy. - -To forest, next day succeeded more rolling hills with ten-foot bush and -scattered trees. From a crag-crowned ridge, the culminating point of -these, there fell within view three human habitations--_three_, in a -vista of thirty miles--two tall castles perched in strong places, the -third apparently a considerable farm. The landscape is often lovely -enough, park-like, with infinite sites for country halls; yet all, all -seems abandoned by man and beast. The few wild creatures observed -included common and azure magpies, hoopoes, and bee-eaters, rollers, -doves, kestrels, with a sprinkling of partridge and an occasional hare. - -A landowner in this province (Badajoz) endeavoured to preserve the game -on his estate. At first all went well. As their enemies decreased, -partridge rapidly multiplied. But thereupon occurred an influx of -extraneous vermin (foxes and wild-cats) from adjacent wilds, and Nature -restored her former exiguous balance of life. - -[Illustration: ROLLER (_Coracias garrula_)] - -The scene changes. For the next twenty miles there is not a tree or a -bush, hardly a living thing on those dreary levels save larks and -bustards. The hungry earth shows brown and naked through its scanty -herbage, stript by devouring locusts. - -Travelling by rail the abandonment seems yet more striking, since thus -we cover more ground. True, along the line cluster some slight attempts -at cultivation elsewhere absent; but these amount to nothing--a few -patches of starveling oats, six to eighteen inches high, with scarce a -score of blades to the yard! Two men are reaping with sickles. Each has -his donkey tethered hard by, and at nightfall will ride to his distant -village, a league away maybe, hidden in some unnoticed hollow. Scarce a -village have we seen. - -The monotony wearies. The abject barrenness of Estremadura, its -lifelessness, is actually worse, more pronounced and depressing, than we -had anticipated. Now the far horizon on the north bristles with -battlements, towers, and spires--that is Trujillo, an old-world fortress -of the Caesars, crowning a granite koppie in yon everlasting plain. The -ten leagues that yet intervene recall, in colour and contour, a -mid-Northumbrian moor, wild and bleak--here the home of bustards, -stone-curlew, sand-grouse, ... and of locusts. - -From the topmost turrets of Trujillo let us take one more survey of this -Estremenian wilderness ere yet we pronounce a final judgment. - -[Illustration: TRUJILLO] - -Ascend the belfry of Santa Maria la Mayor and you command an unrivalled -view. Spread out beneath your gaze stretch away tawny expanses of waste -and veld to a radius averaging forty miles, and everywhere girt-in by -encircling mountains. To the north Grédos' snowy peaks pierce the -clouds, 100 kilometres away, with the Sierra de Gata on their left, -Bejar on the right. To the eastward the Sierra de Guadalupe,[36] -far-famed for its shrine to Our Lady of that ilk, closes that horizon; -while to westward the ranges of Sta. Cruz and Montánches shut in the -frontier of Portugal. What a panorama--a circle eighty miles across! - -Yet in all that expanse you can detect no more evidence of human -presence than you would see in equatorial Africa--surveying, let us say, -the well-known Athi Plains from the adjoining heights of Lukénia. - -We are aware that already, in describing La Mancha, we have employed an -African simile; but here, in Estremadura, the comparison is yet more -apposite and forceful than in the wildest of Don Quixote's country. We -will vary it by likening Estremadura rather to the highlands of -Transvaal--the land of the back-veld Boer--than to Equatoria. Here, as -there, rocky koppies stud the wastes, and (differing from La Mancha) -water-courses traverse them, with intermittent pools surviving even in -June, stagnant and pestilent. Such in Africa would be -jungle-fringed--worth trying for a lion! Here their naked banks scarce -provide covert for a hare. - -[Illustration: "SCAVENGERS"] - -An index of the poverty-stricken condition of Estremadura is afforded by -the comparative absence of the birds-of-prey. Never do the soaring -vultures--elsewhere so characteristic of Spanish skies--catch one's eye, -and very rarely an eagle or buzzard. A province that cannot support -scavengers promises ill for mankind. - -In his mirror-like "Notes from Spain," Richard Ford suggested that the -vast unknown wildernesses of Estremadura would, if explored, yield store -of wealth to the naturalist, and each succeeding naturalist (ourselves -included) followed that clue. Therein, however, lurked that old human -error, _ignotum pro mirabili_. Deserted by man, the region is equally -avoided by bird and beast. We write generally and in full sense of local -exceptions--that wild fallow-deer, for example, find here one, possibly -their only European home;[37] that red deer of superb dimensions, roe, -wolves, and wild-boars abound on Estremenian sierra and _vega_. Then, -too, there may well be isolated spots of interest in 20,000 square -miles, but which escaped our survey. Yet what we write represents the -essential fact--Estremadura is a barren lifeless wilderness and offers -no more attraction to naturalist than to agriculturist. - -The cause of all this involves questions not easily answered. In earlier -days the case may have been different. Obviously the Romans thought -highly of Estremadura and meant to run it for all it was worth. The -Caesars were no visionaries, and such colossal works as their reservoirs -and aqueducts at Merida, the massive amphitheatre and circus at the same -city (a half-completed bull-ring stands alongside in pitiful contrast), -besides their construction of a first-class fortress at Trujillo, all -attest a matured judgment. After the Romans came the Goths, and they, -too, have left evidence of appreciation (though less conspicuous) alike -in city and country. Four hundred years later the Arabs overthrew the -Goths on Guadalete (A.D. 711), and within two years had overrun -two-thirds of Spain. But the Moor (so far as we can see) despised these -barren uplands, or perhaps assessed them at a truer value--a single -strong outpost (Trujillo) in an otherwise worthless region. - -Much or little, however, each of those successive conquerors found -_some_ use for Estremadura. A totally different era opened with the fall -of Moslem dominion. After the _Reconquista_ and subsequent extermination -of the Moors (seventeenth century), Estremadura was utterly abandoned, -by Cross and Crescent alike, till the highland shepherds of the Castiles -and of León, looking down from its northern frontier, saw in these -lower-lying wastes a useful winter-grazing. Then commenced seasonal -nomadic incursions thereto, pastoral tribes driving down each autumn -their flocks and herds, much as the Patriarchs did in Biblical days--or -the Masai in East Africa till yesterday. - -Though the land itself was ownerless, shadowy prescriptive rights -gradually evolved, and under the title of _Mestas_ continued to be -recognised by the pastoral nomads till abolished by Royal Decree in the -sixteenth century. From that date commenced the subdivision of -Estremadura into the present large private estates--again recalling the -back-veld Boers, who hate to live one within sight of another, except -that here owners are non-resident. - -All this may explain superficially the existing desolation. The -essential causes, however, are, we believe, (1) barrenness of soil; and -(2) an enervating climate, fever-infected by stagnant waters, dead -pools, and ubiquitous shallow swamps that poison the air and produce -mosquitoes in millions. - -Gazing in reflective mood upon those magnificent memorials of Roman rule -at Merida, one is tempted to wonder whether, after all, the silent ruins -(with a stork's nest on each parapet) do not yet point the true way to -Estremenian prosperity--IRRIGATION (plus energy--a quality one misses in -Estremadura). - - -TRUJILLO - -Founded 2000 years back (by Augustus Caesar), this out-of-the-world city -has a knack of periodically dropping out of history--skipping a few -centuries at a time--meanwhile presumably dragging on its own dreamy -unrecorded existence, "by the world forgot," till some fresh incident -forces it on the stage once more. There were stirring times here while, -for near a thousand years, the upland vegas were swept and ravaged by -three successive waves of foreign invasion. Then Trujillo relapsed into -trance, skipped the middle ages, and awoke to find at its gates another -foreign foe--this time the French. - -And the city reflects these vicissitudes. The Roman fortress, -magnificent in extent and military strength, completely covers the -rugged granite heights, imposing still in crumbling ruin. Forty-foot -ramparts with inner and outer defences, bastions and flanking towers, -machicolated and pierced for arrow fire, crown the whole circuit of the -koppie. Signs of ancient grandeur everywhere meet one's eye; but -contrasts pain at every turn. For filthy swine to-day defile palaces; -donkeys are stalled in sculptured _patios_ whence armoured knight on -Arab steed once rode forth to clatter along the stone-paved ravelins -that led to the point of danger. From mullioned embrasures above, whence -the Euterpes and Lalagés of old waved tender adieux, now peer slatternly -peasants; crumbling battlements form homes for white owls and bats, -kestrels, hoopoes, and a multitude of storks such as can nowhere else be -seen congregated in a single city. The sense of desolation is -accentuated by finding such feathered recluses as blue rock-thrush and -blackchat actually nesting in the very citadel itself. - -The citadel marks the era of war. The Goths followed and despised -fortifications. Their ornate palaces, enriched with escutcheons and -sculptured device, lie below, outside the Roman walls. - -After the Goths and after the Moors, Trujillo enjoyed a transient -awakening when Pizarro, son of an Estremenian swine-herd, with Cortez -(also born hard by), swept the New World from Mexico to the Andes, and -the glory of her sons, with the gold of the Incas, poured into the city. -Thereafter destiny altered. Instead of consolidating new-won dominions -by fostering commerce, exploiting their resources by establishing forts -and factories, plantations, harbours, and the like, Spain directed her -energies to missionising. Instead of commercial companies with fleets of -merchantmen, she sent out sacred Brotherhoods, friars of religious -orders, and studded the New World with empty names, all acts right -enough and laudable in their own proper time and place. - - * * * * * - -Trujillo boasts an industry in the manufacture of a rough red-brown -earthenware, chiefly tall water-jars, amphora-shaped, which damsels -carry upright on their heads with marvellous balance; and iron-spiked -dog-collars as here represented. These are not suitable for lap-dogs, -but for the huge mastiffs employed in guarding sheep and which, without -such protection, would be devoured by wolves! - -[Illustration: WOLF-PROOF DOG-COLLAR - -(Six-inch diameter.)] - -Hitherto our journeys have led us chiefly through the Estremenian plain, -but after passing Plasencia the country changes. We enter the outliers -of those great sierras that shut out Estremadura from León and Castile, -from Portugal--and the world! Here one quickly perceives signs of -greater prosperity, due in part to the heavier rainfall from the hills, -to a slightly richer soil, but mainly to the superior energy of -hill-folk. Wherever the soil warrants it, cultivation is pushed right up -amidst the jungled slopes of the hills. - -In the folds of the sierra grow magnificent woods of Spanish chestnut -with some walnut trees, and among these we observed many fresh species -of birds, including:--nuthatch (not seen elsewhere in Spain), green -woodpecker, common (but no azure) magpies, golden orioles, pied and -spotted fly-catchers, grey and white wagtails (breeding), whitethroats -and nightingales, longtailed tits, woodlarks, corn-buntings, -rock-sparrows, and quite a number of warblers (spectacled, rufous, and -subalpine, Bonelli's and melodious willow-warblers), besides the usual -common species--serins, chaffinches, robins, wrens, and so on. On the -sterile upland plateaux, both here and in Castile, the black-bellied -sand-grouse breeds, as well as stone-curlew, bustard, and the usual -larks and chats. - -[Illustration] - - -GRANADILLA - -At the extreme northern verge of the plain one encounters a singular -survival of long-past and forgotten ages, the "fenced city" of -Granadilla, so absolutely unspoilt and unchanged by time that one -breathes for a spell a pure mediæval air. Granadilla is mentioned in no -book that we possess; but it stands there, nevertheless, perched on a -rocky bluff above the rushing Alagón, and entirely encompassed by a -thirty-foot wall. Not a single house, not a hut, shows up outside that -rampart, and its single gate is guarded by a massive stone-built tower. - -This tower, we were told by a local friend, was erected after the -"Reconquest" (which here occurred about 1300), but the bridge which -spans the Alagón, immediately below, is attributed to the Romans--more -than a thousand years earlier! and the town itself to the Moors--a -pretty tangle which some wandering archaeologist may some day -unravel.[38] That the Moors established a settlement here, or hard by, -we are confident owing to the existence of extensive _huertas_ -(plantations) a few miles up the banks of Alagón. This is just one of -those _enclaves_ of rich soil for which the Arabs always had a keen eye; -and ancient boundary-walls, with evidence of extreme care in irrigation -and cultivation, all bespeak Moorish handiwork. These _huertas_ are -planted with fig, pomegranate, cherry, and various exotic fruit-trees, -besides cork-oak and olive; every tree displaying signs of extreme old -age--though that strikes one in most parts of Spain. Never have we seen -more luxuriant crops of every sort than in those ancient _huertas_. Yet -they are inset amid encircling wastes! - -Granadilla (its name surely suggests cherished memories in its founders -of the famous Andalucian _vega_) lies at the gate of that strange wild -mountain-region called Las Hurdes. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -LAS HURDES (ESTREMADURA) AND THE SAVAGE TRIBES THAT INHABIT THEM - - -Isolated amidst the congeries of mountain-ranges that converge upon -León, Castile, and Estremadura, lies a lost region that bears this name. -The Hurdes occupy no small space; they represent no insignificant nook, -but a fair-sized province--say fifty miles long by thirty broad--severed -from the outer world; cut off from Portugal on the one side, from Spain -on the other; while its miserable inhabitants are ignored and despised -by both its neighbours. - -[Illustration: SKETCH-MAP OF LAS HURDES] - -Who and what are these wild tribes (numbering 4000 souls) that, in a -squalor and savagery incredible in modern Europe, cling, in solitary -tenacity, to these inhospitable fastnesses? - -Possibly they are the remnants of Gothish fugitives who, 1200 years ago, -sought shelter in these hills from Arab scimitars; other theories trace -their origin back to an earlier era. But whether Goths or Visigoths, -Vandals or other, these pale-faced Hurdanos are surely none of swarthy -Arab or Saracenic blood; and equally certainly they are none of Spanish -race. The Spanish leave them severely alone--none dwell in Las Hurdes. -Being neither ethnologists nor antiquaries, nor even sensational -writers, the authors confine themselves to their personal experience, -stiffened by a study of what the few Spanish authorities have collated -on the subject. - -Whatever their origin may have been, the Hurdanos of to-day are a -depraved and degenerate race, to all intents and purposes savages, lost -to all sense of self-respect or shame, of honesty or manliness. Too -listless to take thought of the most elementary necessities of life, -they are content to lead a semi-bestial existence, dependent for -subsistence on their undersized goats and swine, on an exiguous and -precarious cultivation, eked out by roots and wild fruits such as -acorns, chestnuts, etc., and on begging outside their own region. - -First, as to their country. Picture a maze of mountains all utterly -monotonous in uniform configuration--long straight slopes, each skyline -practically parallel with that beyond, bare of trees, but clad in -shoulder-high scrub. On approaching from the south, the hills are lower -and display delightful variety of heaths (including common heather); but -as one penetrates northwards, the bush is reduced to the everlasting -gum-cistus, and elevations become loftier and more precipitous till they -culminate in the sheer rock-walls of the Sierra de Gata. Here, in remote -glens, one chances on groves of ilex and cork-oak, whose gnarled boles -attest the absence of woodcutters, while huge trunks lie prostrate, -decaying from sheer old age. Here and there one sees an ilex enveloped -to its summit in parasitic growths of creepers and wild-vine, whose -broad, pale-green leaves contrast pleasingly with the dusky foliage and -small leaf of its host. - -In the deep gorges or canyons of these mountains are situate the -settlements, called _Alquerías_, of the wild tribes, most of them -inaccessible on horseback. That of Romano de Arriba, for example, is -plunged in such an abyss that from November to March no ray of sunshine -ever reaches it. A similar case is that of Casa Hurdes, which, as seen -from the bridle-track leading over the Sierra de Portéros into Castile, -appears buried in the bottom of a crevasse. Others, in the reverse, are -perched on high, amidst crags that can only be surmounted by a severe -scramble up broken rock-stairways. - -These _alquerías_--warrens we may translate the word--consist of -den-like hovels straggling without order or huddled together according -as the rock-formation may dictate--some half-piled one on another, -others separate. Many are mere holes in the earth--lairs, shapeless as -nature left their walls, but roofed over with branches and grass held in -place by schistose slabs that serve for slates. Hardly, in some cases, -can one distinguish human dwellings from surrounding bush, earth, or -rock. As our companion, a civil guard, remarked of one set of eyries -that adhered to a cliff-face, they rather resembled "the nests of -crag-martins" (_nidos de vencéjos_) than abodes of mankind. - -Within are two tiny compartments, the first occupied by goats or swine, -the second littered with bracken on which the whole family sleep, -irrespective of age or sex. There is no light nor furniture of any -description; no utensils for washing, hardly even for cooking. True, -there is in some of the lairs a hollowed trunk which may serve as a bed, -but its original design (as the name _batane_ imports) was for pressing -the grapes and olives in autumn. No refuse is ever thrown out; even the -filthy ferns are retained for use as manure for the orchards--in a word, -these poor creatures habitually sleep on a manure-heap. Even wild -beasts, the wolves and boars, are infinitely more attentive to domestic -cleanliness and purity. - -Another _alquería_ visited by the authors, that of Rubiáco, consisted of -a massed cluster of sties embedded on the slopes of a low ridge bordered -on either side by crystal-bright mountain streams. So timid and shy are -the natives that several were descried actually taking to the hill on -our appearance. A distribution of tobacco, with coloured handkerchiefs -for the women, restored a measure of confidence, and we succeeded in -collecting a group or two for the camera. The day, however, was dull and -overcast, and rain, unluckily, fell at that precise moment. - -These people, clad in patch-work of rags, leather and untanned skins, -were undersized, pallid of complexion, plain (though we would scarce say -repulsive) in appearance, with dull incurious eyes that were instantly -averted when our glances met. The men, otherwise stolid and -undemonstrative, affected a vacuous grin or giggle, but utterly devoid -of any spark of joy or gladness. Many (though by no means all) displayed -distinctly flattened noses, somewhat of the Mongolian type; and not even -among the younger girls could a trace of good looks be detected. All -went bare-foot, indeed bare-legged to the knee. - -On opening the door of a den--an old packing-case lid, three feet high, -secured by a thong of goatskin--two pigs dashed forth squealing, and at -the first step inside the writer's foot splashed in fetid moisture -hidden beneath a litter of green fern. It being dark within, and too low -to stand upright, I struck a match and presently became aware of a -living object almost underfoot. It proved to be a baby, no bigger than a -rabbit, and with tiny black bead-like eyes that gleamed with a wild -light--never before have we seen such glance on human face. While -examining this phenomenon, a sound from the inner darkness revealed a -second inmate. We crept into this lair, scrambling up two steps in the -natural rock, and from the fern-litter arose a female. She stood about -three feet high, had the same wild eyes, unkempt hair, encrusted brown -with dirt, hanging loose over her naked shoulders--a merciful darkness -concealed the rest. She appeared to be about ten years old, and dwarfed -and undersized at that; yet she told us she was fourteen, and the mother -of the rabbit-child, also that its father had deserted her a month -ago--ten days before its birth. The lair contained absolutely no -furniture, unless dead fern be so styled. Can human misery further go? - -The next hovel did contain a _batane_, or hollowed tree, in which lay -some scanty rags like fragments of discarded horse-cloths. So lacking -are these poor savages in any sufficient clothing, whether for day or -night, that the children, we were assured, were habitually laid to sleep -among the swine, in order to share the natural warmth of those beasts. -In one abode only did we discover such convenience as a wooden chest. It -contained a handful of potatoes, some chestnuts, and a broken iron -cooking-pot. We examined another den or two--practically all were alike. -If anything was there that escaped our attention we had an excuse--the -aroma (personal, porcine, and putrid) was more than the strongest could -endure for many minutes on end. - -We turned away. Mingled feelings of loathing, of pity, and of despair at -the utter hopelessness of it all filled our minds. There, not a hundred -yards away, a contrasted sight met our eyes, one of humbler nature's -most perfect scenes: a fledgeling brood of white wagtails tripped gaily -along the burnside--types of pure spotless beauty, overflowing with high -spirits and the joy of life. A few minutes later, and a pair of -ring-plovers (_Aegialitis curonica_) on the river accentuated the same -pitiful contrast. - -Such small cultivation as exists in the Hurdes is carried on under -supreme difficulty. The hills themselves are uncultivable, and the only -opportunities that present themselves are either chance open spaces -amidst interminable rock, or such rare and narrow strips of soil as can -exist between precipitous slopes and the banks of the streams. Here -little garden-patches, thirty or forty feet long by a dozen in width, -are reclaimed; but the very earth is liable to be swept away by -winter-floods pouring down the mountain-sides, and has to be replaced by -fresh soil carried--it may be long distances--on men's shoulders. Here a -few potatoes may be raised and in the broader valleys scant crops of -rye. The few fruit trees are neglected, and therefore give short yield, -though what little is produced is of exquisite flavour, comprising figs, -cherries, a sort of peach (_pavia_), olives, and vines. All crops are -subject to the ravages of wild-boars, which roam in bands of a dozen to -a score, fearless of man and molested by none; while wolves take toll of -the flocks. - -[Illustration: WHITE WAGTAIL] - -Red deer also wander freely and unpreserved over these ownerless -hills--possibly the only place in Europe where such is the case. We -inquired whether many were shot, but were told that such an event -occurred rarely, though the Hurdano gunner might often approach within -close range. "We are not _enseñados_ [instructed] in the arts of chase," -explained our informant. A few partridges and hares are found, with -trout in the upper waters. - -Despite their degradation, the Hurdanos, we were assured, display no -criminal taint such as is inherent among Gipsies. - -As regards the habits and customs of these people, we here roughly -transcribe from the work of Pascual Madoz[39] some selected extracts -that appear to be as accurate to-day as when they were written some -sixty years ago. - - The food of the Hurdanos is as noxious as it is scanty. The potato - is the general stand-by, either boiled or cooked with crude goat's - suet; sometimes beans fried in the same grease, and lastly the - leaves of trees, boiled; with roots, the stalks of certain wild - grasses, chestnuts, and acorns. Bread is practically unknown--all - they ever have is made of coarse rye and such crusts as they obtain - by begging outside their district. Only when at the point of death - is wheaten bread provided. - - Their clothing consists of a shapeless garment reaching from the - hip to the knee, a shirt without collar, fastening with one button, - and a sack carried over the shoulder. They have no warm clothing - and all go bare-foot. The women are even less tidy and dirtier than - the men. Never have they a vestige of anything new--nothing but - discarded garments obtained by begging, or in exchange for - chestnuts, at the distant towns. Their usual "fashion" is never to - take off, to mend, or to wash any rag they have once put on--it is - worn till it falls off through sheer old age and dirt. They never - wash nor brush their hair, and go bare-legged like the men. - - [Illustration: A WOLF-PROOF SHEEPFOLD ON THE ALAGÓN, NORTH - ESTREMADURA - - Walls 10 feet high: note the shepherd's dwelling alongside. Within - are sheep.] - - These, moreover, are the richest; the majority being clad in - goatskins (untanned) that they kill or that die. These skins the - men fix round their necks, girt at waist and round the knees with - straps; the women merely an apron from the waist downward. - - Men and women alike are dwarfed in stature and repugnant in - appearance, augmented by their pallor and starveling look. On the - other hand, they are active and expert in climbing their native - mountains. There is no outward difference in the sexes as regards - their lives and means of subsistence. - - All their environment tends to make them untractable and savage - (_sylvaticos_), shunning contact with their kind, even fleeing at - sight and refusing to speak. They have no doctors nor surgeons, - relying on certain herbs for medicines; yet they live long lives. - They only recognise the passing seasons by the state of vegetation - and of the atmosphere. They sow and reap according to the phases of - the moon, of which they preserve an accurate observation. Religion - and schools alike are unknown. They glory in their freedom from all - moral suasion, and rejoice in the most brutal immorality and - crime--including parricide and polygamy. There are _alquerías_ - wherein no priest has set foot, nor do they possess the faintest - sense of Christian duties. - - It seems incredible that in the midst of two provinces both wealthy - and well reputed there should exist a plague-spot such as we have - painted, unknown as the remotest kraals of Central Africa. - -Thus Pascual Madoz in 1845, and but little external change has become -apparent in sixty-five subsequent years.[40] Churches, it is true, have -been erected, priests and schoolmasters appointed. Amelioration, -however, by such means can only come very slowly--if at all. The -physical and domestic status of these poor savages must first be raised -before they are mentally capable of assimilating the mysteries of -religion. Spain, however, owes them something. They are heavily -taxed--beyond their power to pay in cash. Thus they are cast into the -power of usurers. In each _alquería_, we were told, is usually found one -man more astute than the rest, and he, in combination with some sordid -scoundrel outside, exploits the misery of his fellows. A species of -semi-slavery is thus established--in some ways analogous to the baneful -system of _Caciquismo_ outside. - -The Hurdanos are also subject to the conscription and furnish forty to -fifty recruits yearly to the Spanish army. Curiously, time-expired men -all elect to return to their wretched lot in the mountains. On our -asking one of these (he had served at Melilla), "Why?" his reply was, -"for liberty."[41] - -There is a villainous custom in vogue that hurls these poor wretches yet -farther down the bottomless pit. This abomination rages to-day as it did -a hundred years ago: we therefore again leave old Pascual Madoz to tell -the tale in his own words:-- - - Many women make a miserable livelihood--it is indeed their only - industry--by rearing foundling infants from the hospitals of Ciudad - Rodrigo and Placencia. So keen are they of the money thus obtained - that one woman, aided by a goat, will undertake to rear three or - four babes--all necessarily so ill-tended and ill-fed as rather to - resemble living spectres than human beings. Cast down on beds of - filthy ferns and lacking all maternal care, the majority perish - from hunger, cold, and neglect. The few that reach childhood are - weaklings for life, feeble and infirm. - -This repulsive "industry" continues to-day, a sum of three dollars a -month being paid by the authorities of the cities named to rid -themselves of each undesired infant. The effect--direct and -incidental--upon morals and sexual relationship in the _alquerías_ of -the Hurdes may (in degree) be deduced--it cannot be set down in words. -Thus the single point of contact with civilisation serves but to -accentuate the degradation. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE GREAT BUSTARD - - -Over the vast expanse of those silent solitudes, the corn-growing -steppes of Spain--all but abandoned by human denizens--this grandest and -most majestic of European game-birds forms the chief ornament. When the -sprouting grain grows green in spring, stretching from horizon to -horizon, you may form his acquaintance to best advantage. And among the -things of sport are few more attractive scenes than a band of great -bustards at rest. Bring your field-glass to bear on the gathering which -you see yonder, basking in the sunshine in full enjoyment of their -mid-day siesta. There are five-and-twenty of them, and immense they look -against the green background of corn that covers the landscape--well may -a stranger mistake the birds for deer or goats. Many sit turkey-fashion, -with heads half sunk among back-feathers; others stand in drowsy yet -ever-suspicious attitudes, their broad backs resplendent with those -mottled hues of true game-colour, their lavender necks and well-poised -heads contrasting with the snowy whiteness of the lower plumage.[42] The -bustard are dotted in groups over an acre or two of gently sloping -ground, the highest part of which is occupied by a single big -_Barbudo_--a bearded veteran, the sentinel of the pack. From that -elevated position he estimates what degree of danger each living thing -that moves on the open region around may threaten to his company and to -himself. Mounted men cause him less concern than those on foot. A -horseman slowly directing a circuitous course may even approach to -within a couple of hundred yards ere he takes alarm. It was the head and -neck of this sentry that first appeared to our distant view and -disclosed the whereabouts of the game. He, too, has seen us, and is -even now considering whether there be sufficient cause for setting his -convoy in motion. If we disappear below the level of his range, he will -settle the point negatively, setting us down as merely some of those -agricultural nuisances which so often cause him alarm but which his -experience has shown to be generally harmless--for attempts on his life -are few and far between. - -[Illustration: THE GREAT BUSTARD] - -Another charming spectacle it is in the summer-time to watch a pack of -bustard about sunset, all busy with their evening feed among the -grasshoppers on a thistle-clad plain. They are working against time, for -it will soon be too dark to catch such lively prey. With quick darting -step they run to and fro, picking up one grasshopper after another with -unerring aim, and so intent on pursuit that the best chance of the day -is then offered to a gunner, when greed for a moment supplants caution -and vigilance is relaxed. But even now a man on foot stands no chance of -coming anywhere near them. His approach is observed from afar, all heads -are up above the thistles, every eye intent on the intruder; a moment or -two of doubt, two quick steps and a spring, and the broad wings of every -bird in the pack flap in slowly rising motion. The tardiness and -apparent difficulty in rising from the ground which bustards exhibit is -well expressed in their Spanish name _Avetarda_[43] and recognised in -the scientific cognomen of _Otis tarda_. Once on the wing the whole -band is off with wide swinging flight to the highest ground in the -neighbourhood. - -The chase of the great bustard presents characteristics and attractions -peculiar to itself and differing from that of all other winged game. -Rather it resembles the scientific pursuit of big game; for this is a -sport in which the actual shot becomes of secondary importance, merely a -culminating incident--the consummation of previous forethought, -fieldcraft, and generalship. Success in bustard-shooting--alike with -success in stalking--is usually attributable to the leader, who has -planned the operation and directed the strategy, rather than to the man -who may have actually killed the game. We here refer exclusively to what -we may be permitted to call the scientific aspect of this chase, as -practised by ourselves and as distinguished from other (and far more -deadly) methods in vogue among the Spanish herdsmen and peasantry. -Before describing the former system, let us glance at native methods of -securing the great bustard. - -During the greater part of the year bustard are far too wary to be -obtained by the farm-hands and shepherds who see them every day--so -accustomed are the peasantry to the sight of these noble birds that -little or no notice is taken of them and their pursuit regarded as -impracticable. There is, however, one period of the year when the great -bustard falls an easy prey to the clumsiest of gunners. - -[Illustration] - -During the long Andalucian summer a torrid sun has drunk up every brook -and stream that crosses the cultivated lands; the chinky, cracked mud, -which in winter formed the bed of shallow lakes and lagoons, now yields -no drop of moisture for bird or beast. The larger rivers still carry -their waters from sierra to sea, but an adaptive genius is required to -utilise these for purposes of irrigation. All water required for the -cattle is drawn up from wells; the old-world lever with its bucket at -one end and counterpoise at the other has to provide for the needs of -all. These wells are distributed all over the plains. As the herdsmen -put the primitive contrivance into operation and swing up bucketful -after bucketful of cool water, the cattle crowd around, impatient to -receive it as it rushes down the stone troughing. The thirsty animals -drink their fill, splashing and wasting as much as they consume, so that -a puddle is always formed about these _bebideros_. The moisture only -extends a few yards, gradually diminishing, till the trickling streamlet -is lost in the famishing soil. - -These moist places are a fatal trap to the bustard. Before dawn one of -the farm-people will conceal himself so as to command at short range all -points of the miniature swamp. A slight hollow is dug for the purpose, -having clods arranged around, between which the gun can be levelled with -murderous accuracy. As day begins to dawn, the bustard will take a -flight in the direction of the well, alighting at a point some few -hundred yards distant. They satisfy themselves that no enemy is about, -and then, with cautious, stately step, make for their morning draught. -One big bird steps on ahead of the rest; and as he cautiously draws -near, he stops now and again to assure himself that all is right and -that his companions are coming too--these are not in a compact body, but -following at intervals of a few yards. The leader has reached the spot -where he drank yesterday; now he finds he must go a little nearer to the -well, as the streamlet has been diverted; another bird follows close; -both lower their heads to drink; the gunner has them in line--at twenty -paces there is no escape; the trigger is pressed, and two magnificent -bustards are done to death. Should the man be provided with a second -barrel (which is not usual), a third victim may be added to his -morning's spoils. - -Comparatively large numbers of bustard are destroyed thus every summer. -It is deadly work and certain. Luckily, however, the plan enjoys but a -single success, since bands, once shot at, never return. - -A second primitive method of capturing the great bustard is practised in -winter. The increased value of game during the colder months induces the -bird-catchers, who then supply the markets with myriads of ground-larks, -linnets, buntings, etc., occasionally to direct their skill towards the -capture of bustard by the same means as prove efficacious with the small -fry--that is, the _cencerro_, or cattle-bell, combined with a dark -lantern. - -As most cattle carry the cencerro around their necks, the sound of the -bell at close quarters by night causes no alarm to ground-birds. The -bird-catcher, with his bright lantern gleaming before its reflector and -the cattle-bell jingling at his wrist, prowls nightly around the -stubbles and wastes in search of roosting birds. Any number of -bewildered victims can thus be gathered, for larks and such-like birds -fall into a helpless state of panic when once focussed in the rays of -the lantern. - -When the bustard is the object of pursuit, two men are required, one of -whom carries a gun. The pack of bustard will be carefully watched during -the afternoon, and not lost sight of when night comes until their -sleeping-quarters are ascertained. When quite dark, the tinkling of the -_cencerro_ will be heard, and a ray of light will surround the devoted -bustards, charming or frightening them--whichever it may be--into still -life. As the familiar sound of the cattle-bell becomes louder and -nearer, the ray of light brighter and brighter, and the surrounding -darkness more intense, the bustards are too charmed or too dazed to fly. -Then comes the report, and a charge of heavy shot works havoc among -them. As bands of bustards are numerous, this poaching plan might be -carried out night after night; but luckily the bustards will not stand -the same experience twice. On a second attempt being made, they are off -as soon as they see the light approaching. - -[Illustration: CALANDRA LARK - -A large and handsome species characteristic of the corn-lands.] - -The third (and by far the most murderous) means of destruction is due, -not so much to rural peasantry as to _cazadores_--shooters from -adjoining towns--men who should know better, and whom, in other -respects, we might rank as good sportsmen; but who, alas! can see no -shame in shooting the hen-bustards with their half-fledged broods in the -standing corn during June and July--albeit the deed is done in direct -contravention of the game-laws! Dogs, especially pointers, are employed -upon this quest when the mother-bustards, being reluctant to leave their -young, lie as close as September partridges in a root-crop; while the -broods, either too terrified or too immature to fly, are frequently -caught by the dogs. We regret that there are those who actually descant -with pride upon having slaughtered a dozen or more of these helpless -creatures in a day; while others are only restrained from a like crime -by the scorching solar heats of that season. - -More bustards are killed thus than by all the other methods combined--a -hundred times more than by our scientific and sportsmanlike system of -driving presently to be described. - -Except for this unworthy massacre of mothers with their broods in -summer, and the two clumsy artifices before mentioned, the bustards are -left practically unmolested--their wildness and the open nature of their -haunts defy all the strategy of native fowlers. The hen-bustard deposits -her eggs--usually three, but on very rare occasions four--among the -green April corn; incubation and the rearing of the young take place in -the security of vast silent stretches of waving wheat. The young -bustards grow with that wheat, and, ere it is reaped (unless prematurely -massacred), are able to take care of themselves. A somewhat more -legitimate method of outwitting the great bustard is practised at this -season. During harvest, while the country is being cleared of crops, the -birds become accustomed to see bullock-carts daily passing with creaking -wheel to carry away the sheaves from the stubble to the _era_, or -levelled threshing-ground, where the grain is trodden out, Spanish -fashion, by teams of mares. The loan of a _carro_ with its pair of oxen -and their driver having been obtained, the cart is rigged up with -_estéras_--that is, esparto-matting stretched round the uprights which -serve to hold the load of sheaves in position. A few sacks of straw -thrown on the floor of the cart save one, in some small degree, from the -merciless jolting of this primitive conveyance on rough ground. Two or -three guns can find room therein, while the driver, lying forward, -directs the team with a goad. - -This moving battery fairly resembles a load of sheaves, and well do we -remember the terrible, suffocating heat we have endured, shut up for -hours in this thing during the blazing days of July and August. The -result, nevertheless, repays all suffering. We refer to no mere -cynegetic pride but to the enduring joy of observing, at close quarters -and still unsuspicious, these glorious game-birds at home on their -private plains. The local idea is to fire through a slit previously made -in the _estéras_; but somehow, when the cart stops and the game -instantly rises, you find (despite care and practice) that the birds -always fly in a direction you cannot command or where the narrow slit -forbids your covering them. Hence we adopted the plan of sliding off -behind as the cart pulled up, thus firing the two barrels with perfect -freedom. We have succeeded by this means in bringing to bag many pairs -of bustard during a day's manoeuvring. - -[Illustration: SPANISH THISTLE AND STONECHAT] - -We now come to the system of bustard-driving, which we regard as -practically the only really legitimate method of dealing with this grand -game. From the end of August onwards the young bustards are perfectly -capable of taking care of themselves. The country is then cleared of -crops, and while this precludes the birds being "done to death" as in -the weeks immediately preceding, yet the ubiquitous thistles (often of -gigantic size, ten or twelve feet in height), charlock, and _viznagas_ -provide welcome covert for concealing the guns, while the heat still -renders the game somewhat more susceptible to the artifices of the -fowler. This is the easiest period. - -As the season advances the hunter's difficulties increase. The brown -earth becomes daily more and more naked, while files of slow-moving -ox-teams everywhere traverse the stubble, ploughing league-long furrows -twenty abreast. These factors combine to aid the game and stretch to its -utmost limit the venatic instincts of the fowler. - -Let us now attempt to describe a day's bustard-driving on scientific -lines. The district having being selected, it is advisable to send out -the night before a trustworthy scout who will sleep at the _cortijo_ and -be abroad with the dawn in order to locate precisely the various -_bandadas_, or troops of bustard, in the neighbourhood. The -shooting-party (three or four guns for choice, but in no case to exceed -six[44]) follow in the morning--riding, as a rule, to the rendezvous; -though should there be a high-road available it is sometimes convenient -to drive (or nowadays even to motor), having in that case sent the -saddle-horses forward, along with the scout, on the previous day. - -Arrived at the _cortijo_, the scout brings in his report, and at once -guns and drivers, all mounted, proceed towards the nearest of the marked -_bandadas_. Not only are the distances to be covered so great as to -render riding a necessity, but the use of horses has this further -advantage that bustard evince less fear of mounted men and thus permit -of nearer approach. The drivers should number three--the centre to flush -the birds, two flankers to gallop at top speed in any direction should -the game diverge from the required course or attempt to break out -laterally. - -Ten minutes' ride and we are within view of our first _bandada_ still a -mile away. They may be feeding on some broad slope, resting on the crest -of a ridge, or dawdling on a level plain; but wherever the game may -be--whatever the strategic value of their position--at least the -decision of our own tactics must be clinched at once. No long lingering -with futile discussion, no hesitation, or continued spying with the -glass is permissible. Such follies instil instant suspicion into the -astute brains on yonder hill, and the honours of the first round pass to -the enemy. - -For this reason it is imperative to appoint one leader vested with -supreme authority, and whose directions all must obey instantly and -implicitly. - -Needless to say, that leader must possess a thorough knowledge both of -the habits of bustard and the lie of a country--along with the rather -rare faculty of diagnosing at a glance its "advantages," its dangers, -and its salient points over some half-league of space. None too common -an attribute that, where all the wide prospect is grey or green, varying -according to ever-changing lights, and the downlands so gently graded as -occasionally to deceive the very elect. Much of the bustard-country -appears all but flat, so slight are its folds and undulations; while -even the more favouring regions are rarely so boldly contoured as -Salisbury Plain. The leader must combine some of the qualities of a -field-marshal with the skill of a deer-stalker, and a bit of red-Indian -sleuth thrown in. Luckily, such masters of the craft are not entirely -lacking to us. - -The thoughts revolving in the leader's mind during his brief survey -follow these general lines: First, which is (_a_) the favourite and -(_b_) the most favourable line of flight of those bustards when -disturbed; secondly, where can guns best be placed athwart that line; -thirdly, how can the guns reach these points unseen? A condition -precedent to success is that the firing-line shall be drawn around the -bustards fairly close up, yet without their knowledge. Now with -wild-game in open country devoid of fences, hollows, or covert of any -description that problem presents initial difficulties that may well -appear insuperable. But they are rarely quite so. It is here that the -fieldcraft of the leader comes in. He has detected some slight fold that -will shelter horsemen up to a given point, and beyond that, screen a -crouching figure to within 300 yards of the unconscious _bandada_. -Rarely do watercourses or valleys of sufficient depth lend a welcome -aid; recourse must usually be had to the reverse slope of the hill -whereon the bustards happen to be. Without a halt, the party ride round -till out of sight. At the farthest safe advance, the guns dismount and -proceed to spread themselves out--so far as possible in a -semicircle--around the focal point.[45] At 80 yards apart, each lies -prone on earth, utilising such shelter (if any) as may exist on the -naked decline--say skeleton thistles, a tuft of wild asparagus, or on -rare occasion some natural bank or tiny rain-scoop. - -[Illustration: GREAT BUSTARD--YOUNG. - -(1) AS HATCHED. - -(2) AT TWENTY DAYS OLD. - -(3) AT ONE MONTH.] - -[Illustration: SLENDER-BILLED CURLEW (NUMENIUS TENUIROSTRIS). - -[See Chapter on "Bird-life," _infra._]] - -Having now succeeded in placing his guns unseen and within a fatal -radius, the leader may congratulate himself that his main object has -been achieved. On the nearness of the line to the game, and on his -correct diagnosis of the bustards' flight depends the issue. - -[It may be added that bustard are occasionally found in situations that -offer no reasonable hope of a successful drive. It may then (should no -others be known within the radius of action) become advisable gently to -"move" the inexpugnable troop; remembering that once these birds realise -that they are being "driven," the likelihood of subsequently putting -them over the guns has enormously decreased. There accrues an incidental -advantage in this operation, for after "moving" them to more favouring -ground, it will not be necessary to line-up the guns quite so near as is -usually essential to success. For bustards possess so strong an -attachment to their _querencias_, or individual haunts, that they may be -relied upon, on being disturbed a second time, to wing a course more or -less in the direction of their original position. We give a specific -instance of this later. - -Each pack of bustard has its own _querencia_, and will be found at -certain hours to frequent certain places. This local knowledge, if -obtainable, saves infinite time and vast distances traversed in search -of game whose approximate positions, after all, may thus be ascertained -beforehand.] - - * * * * * - -Now we have placed our guns in line and within that short distance of -the unsuspecting game that all but assures a certain shot. We cannot, -let us confess, recall many moments in life of more tense excitement -than those spent thus, lying prone on the gentle slope listening with -every sense on stretch for the cries of the galloping beaters as in wild -career they urge the huge birds towards a fatal course. Before us rises -the curving ridge, its summit sharply defined against an azure -sky--azure but empty. Now the light air wafts to our ear the tumultuous -pulsations of giant wings, and five seconds later that erst empty ether -is crowded with two score huge forms. What a scene--and what commotion -as, realising the danger, each great bird with strong and laboured -wing-stroke swerves aside. One enormous _barbon_ directly overhead -receives first attention; a second, full broadside, presents no more -difficulty, and ere the double thuds behind have attested the result, we -realise that a third, shying off from our neighbour, is also "our meat." -This has proved one of our luckier drives, for the _bandada_, splitting -up on the centre, offered chances to both flanks of the blockading -line--chances which are not always fully exploited. - -[Illustration: SWERVE ASIDE TO RIGHT AND LEFT] - -We have stated, earlier in this chapter, that among the various -component factors in a bustard-drive the actual shot is of minor -importance. That is so; yet truly remarkable is the frequency with which -good shots constantly miss the easiest of chances at these great birds. -Precisely similar failures occur with wild-geese, with swans--indeed -with all big birds whose wing-action is deliberate and slow. Tardy -strokes deceive the eye, and the great bulk of the bustard accentuates -the deception--it seems impossible to miss them, a fatal error. As the -Spanish drivers put it: "Se les llenaron el ojo de carne," literally, -"the bustards had filled your eye with meat"--the hapless marksmen saw -everything bustard! Yet geese with their 40 strokes fly past ducks at -120, and the bustard's apparently leisured movement carries him in full -career as fast as whirring grouse with 200 revolutions to the minute. To -kill bustard treat them on the same basis as the smaller game that -appears faster but is not. - -Bustards being soft-plumaged are not hard to kill. As compared with such -ironclads as wild-geese, they are singularly easily killed, and with -AAA shot may be dropped stone-dead at 80 and even at 100 yards. A pair -of guns may thus profitably be brought into action. - -Bustards seldom run, but they walk very fast, especially when alarmed. -Between the inception of a drive and the moment of flushing we have -known them to cover half a mile, and many drives fail owing to game -having completely altered its original position. Instances have occurred -of bustards walking over the dividing ridge, to the amazement of the -prostrate sportsmen on the hither slope. Strange to say, when winged -they do not make off, but remain where they have fallen, and an old male -will usually show fight. Of course if left alone and out of sight a -winged bustard will travel far. - -In weight cock-bustard vary from, say, 20 to 22 lbs. in autumn, up to 28 -to 30 lbs. in April. The biggest old males in spring reach 33 and 34 -lbs., and one we presented to the National Collection at South -Kensington scaled 37 lbs. The breast-bone of these big birds is usually -quite bare, a horny callosity, owing to friction with the ground while -squatting, and the heads and necks of old males usually exhibit gaps in -their gorgeous spring-plumage--indicative of severe encounters among -themselves. Hen-bustard seldom exceed 15 lbs. at any season. - -Bustard are usually found in troops varying from half-a-dozen birds to -as many as 50 or 60, and in September we have seen 200 together. - -Bustard-shooting--by which we mean legitimate driving during the winter -months, September to April--is necessarily uncertain in results. Some -days birds may not even be seen, though this is unusual, while on others -many big bands may be met with. Hence it is difficult to put down an -average, though we roughly estimate a bird a gun as an excellent day's -work. A not unusual bag for six guns will be about eight head; but we -have a note of two days' shooting in April (in two consecutive years) -when a party of eight guns, all well-known shots, secured 21 and 22 -bustard respectively, together with a single lesser bustard on each day. -This was on lands between Alcantarillas and Las Cabezas, but it is fair -to add that the ground had been carefully preserved by the owner and the -operation organised regardless of expense. - -A minor difficulty inherent to this pursuit is to select the precise -psychological moment to spring up to shooting-position. This indeed is a -feature common to most forms of wild-shooting--such as duck-flighting, -driving geese or even snipe; in fact there is hardly a really wild -creature that can be dealt with from a comfortable position erect on -one's legs. Imagine partridge-shooters at home, instead of standing -comfortably protected by hedge or butt, being told to hide themselves on -a wet plough or bare stubble. Here, in Spain, it may also be necessary -to conceal the gun under one's right side (to avoid sun-glints), and -that also loses a moment. - -[Illustration: BUSTARDS PASSING FULL BROADSIDE] - -All one's care and elaborate strategy is ofttimes nullified through the -blunders of a novice. Some men have no more sense of concealment than -that fabled ostrich which is said to hide its head in the sand (which it -doesn't); others can't keep still. These are for ever poking their heads -up and down or--worse still--trying to see what is occurring in front. -We may conclude this chapter with a hint or two to new hands. - -Never move from your prone position till the bustard are in shot, and -after that, not till you are sure the whole operation is complete. There -may yet be other birds enclosed though you do not know it. - -Never claim to have wounded a bustard merely because it passed so near -and offered so easy a shot that you can't believe you missed it. You did -miss it or it would be lying dead behind. - -All the same keep one eye on any bird you have fired at so long as it -remains in view. Bustards shot through the lungs will sometimes fly half -a mile and then drop dead. - -Wear clothes suited, more or less, to environment--_greenish_, we -suggest, for choice--but remember that immobility is tenfold more -important than colour. A pure white object that is quiescent is -overlooked, where a clod of turf that _moves_ attracts instant -attention. - -In spring, when bustards gorge on green food, gralloch your victims at -once, otherwise the half-digested mass in the crop quickly decomposes -and destroys the meat. - - * * * * * - -Here is an example of an error in judgment that practically amounted to -a blunder. Before our well-concealed line stood a grand pack, between -thirty and forty bustard beautifully "horseshoed," and quite unconscious -thereof. Momentarily we expected their entry--right in our faces! At -that critical moment there appeared, wide on the right flank and -actually behind us, three huge old _barbones_ directing a course that -would bring them along close in rear of our line. No. 4 gun, on extreme -right, properly allowed this trio to pass; not so No. 3. But the -culprit, on rising to fire, had the chagrin to realise (too late) his -error. The whole superb army-corps in front were at that very moment -sweeping forward direct on the centre of our line! In an instant they -took it in, swerved majestically to the left, and escaped scot-free. -That No. 3 had secured a right-and-left at the adventitious trio in no -sort of way exculpated his mistake. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -THE GREAT BUSTARD (_Continued_) - - -The following illustrates in outline a day's bustard-shooting and -incidentally shows how strongly haunted these birds are, each pack to -its own particular locality. - -On reaching our point (a seventeen-kilometres' drive), the scouts sent -out the day before reported three bands numbering roughly forty, forty, -and sixteen--in all nearly a hundred birds. The nearest lot was to the -west. These we found easily, and B. F. B. got a brace, right-and-left, -without incident. - -Riding back eastwards, the second pack had moved, but we shortly -descried the third, in two divisions, a mile away. It being noon, the -bustards were mostly lying down or standing drowsily, and we halted for -lunch before commencing the operation. - -During the afternoon we drove this pack three times, securing a brace on -first and third drives, while on the second the birds broke out to the -side. - -Now bustards are, in Spanish phrase, _muy querenciosos_, _i.e._ attached -to their own particular terrain; and as in these three drives we had -pushed them far beyond their much-loved limit, they were now restless -and anxious to return. - -Already before our guns had reached their posts for a fourth drive, -seven great bustards were seen on the wing, and a few minutes later the -remaining thirty took flight, voluntarily, the whole phalanx shaping -their course directly towards us. The outmost gun was still moving -forward to his post under the crest of the hill, and the pack, seeing -him, swerved across our line below, and (these guns luckily having seen -what was passing and taken cover) thus lost another brace of their -number. - -The bustards shot to-day (January 16), though all full-grown males, only -weighed from 25-1/2 to 26-1/2 lbs. apiece. Two months later they would -have averaged over 30 lbs., the increased weight being largely due to -the abundant feed in spring, but possibly more to the solid distention -of the neck.[46] - -This wet season (1908) the grass on the _manchones_, or fallows, was -rank and luxuriant, nearly knee-deep in close vegetation--more like -April than January. Already these bustards were showing signs of the -chestnut neck, and all had acquired their whiskers. The following winter -(1909) was dry and not a scrap of vegetation on the fallows. Even in -February they were absolutely naked and the cattle being fed on broken -straw in the byres. - -The quill-feathers are pale-grey or ash-colour, only deepening into a -darker shade towards the tips, and that only on the first two or three -feathers. The shafts are white, secondaries black, and bastard-wing -lavender-white, slightly tipped with a darker shade. - -In _Wild Spain_ will be found described two methods by which the great -bustard may be secured: (A) by a single gun riding quite alone; and (B) -by two guns working jointly, one taking the chance of a drive, the other -outmanoeuvring the game as in plan (A). We here add a third plan which -has occasionally stood us (when alone) in good stead. - -On finding bustard on a suitable hill, leave your man to ride slowly to -and fro attracting the attention of the game till you have had time, by -hard running, to gain the reverse slope. The attendant then rides -forward, the whole operation being so punctually timed that you reach -the crest of the ridge at the same moment as the walking bustards have -arrived within shot thereof. Needless to add, this involves, besides -hard work, a considerable degree of luck, yet on several occasions we -have secured as many as four birds a day by this means. - - * * * * * - -[Illustration: "HURTLING THROUGH SPACE"] - -The great bustard, one imagines, has few enemies except man, but the -following incident shows they are not entirely exempt from extraneous -dangers. In October, some years ago, the writer purposed spending a -couple of nights at a distant marsh in order to see whether any snipe -had yet come in. Our course led us through good bustard-country, and by -an early start I had hoped to exploit this in passing. Hardly had we -entered upon the corn-lands than we espied fifteen bustard, a -quarter-mile away on the right. The rough bridle-track being worn -slightly hollow and no better cover appearing, I decided to "flatten" on -the spot, sending my two men to ride round beyond the game, which, being -in a dip, was now below my range of sight. In due course the bustards -appeared, winging directly towards me, but alighting in front when -already almost in shot. Feeling practically certain of them now, since I -could hear the shouts of the beaters beyond, I raised myself slightly, -only to see, to my utter chagrin, the bustards flying off in -diametrically the opposite direction while simultaneously a hissing -sound from behind and overhead caused me to glance upwards. A black -object hurtling earthward through space, shot diagonally past me--this I -mistook as merely a peregrine pursuing some hare that had been disturbed -by the beaters. But on hastening forward over the ridge, I perceived one -of the beaters riding up with a dead bustard across his saddle--a -female, with a great gaping gash in her side. The beaters reported that -just as they flushed the bustard a second time an eagle had swept down -upon them, knocked down this one, and sent the rest, scattered in wild -disorder, over their heads. Paco had then galloped up to within a few -yards before the eagle reluctantly abandoned its prize and sailed aloft. -Continuing our interrupted journey, half a mile ahead another pack of -bustard was descried, and while rapidly surveying the situation, yet -another lot appeared on wing, flying from the right. These last, we -instantly concluded both from their direction and also by the curiously -unsettled style of their flight, were a part of the band which had -recently been attacked by the eagle. Under such circumstances I realised -that (though I was mounted and in full view) they might yet pass within -shot, so, jumping from the horse, I fired at the nearest old -cock-bustard and distinctly saw blood spirt from his snow-white breast. -He flew slowly away with ever lowering flight, finally disappearing over -a crest close by the scene of our first drive. Confident of gathering -him, we rode back, and on gaining the ridge witnessed this amazing -spectacle. In the hollow, 300 yards away, was a well with the usual -cross-bar and pulley for drawing water, and on the cross-bar sat an -eagle. Below on the ground stood the wounded bustard, facing-up to a -second great eagle, which kept flapping around him, apparently reluctant -to attack so huge a bird on the ground and in its then aggressive -attitude, and endeavouring to force it to fly. - -So absorbed were both eagles on their quarry that I rode up unnoticed to -within 100 yards, and was making ready to fire when the two great birds -rose, that from the cross-bar flying away, while the other, not content -to resign his prize, circled overhead. In hope that he might descend I -concealed myself behind the well, always keeping one eye on the wounded -bustard, but presently the eagle had become a mere speck in the heavens. -The bustard all this time had remained standing close by, but on my -approach it rose quite strongly on wing, and had I not been loaded, -might yet have escaped. - -[Illustration: DRAW-WELL WITH CROSS-BAR] - -The aggressors were imperial eagles, and in their second attack had no -doubt realised that the quarry was already wounded. The first victim had -been knocked down, stone-dead, when absolutely sound and strong. - -During summer these birds practically subsist on grasshoppers, -especially those in the heavy wingless stage known as _Cigarras -panzonas_. These disappear after July, being replaced by smaller and -more active varieties, which are equally relished. Once the females -commence laying among the spring corn (in April), the cock-bustards -assemble in widower packs (_toradas_) on the fallows, and especially on -_marismas_ adjacent to corn-land. By September both sexes, with the -young, reunite on the stubbles, where we have seen as many as 200 -together. - -It is in April that the old _barbones_ attain their full glory and -pride of sexual estate--resplendent in fierce whiskers and gorgeous -chestnut ruffs all distended with the seasonal condition. Courtship -begins in March, when the weird eccentric performances of the males, -flashing alternately white and rich orange against their green -environment, lend a characteristic touch to the vernal _vegas_--white -specks that appear and disappear as the lovelorn monsters revolve and -display, somewhat in the frenzied style of the blackcock on our own -northern moorlands. _Hechando la rueda_ the Spanish call it, as an old -_barbon_ majestically struts around turning himself, as it were, inside -out before an assembled harem that, to all appearance, takes no manner -of interest in his fantastic performance--perhaps the gentler sex -dissemble their depth of feeling? Then occur ferocious duels between -rival paladins. Long sustained are these and conspicuous afar, albeit -not very deadly. No life-blood may flow, but feathers fly ere the point -of honour is settled and the victor left in proud possession. - -[Illustration: "HECHANDO LA RUEDA"] - -These combats occur chiefly at break of day while tall herbage yet -remains soaked by nocturnal dews, and it occasionally happens that some -luckless champion, damaged and bedraggled, and with plumage saturated -through and through, when thus encountered, is found unable to fly and -so captured. Several such instances came under our notice years ago -and--rare though they may be--misled us in _Wild Spain_ to conclude that -the incapacity arose from a spring-moult--similar to that of wild-geese -and of some ducks. That, however, was an error. The loss of flight-power -arises, as stated, from the damaged and dew-saturated state of the -primaries, as is concisely set forth in a letter from our friend D. José -Pan Elberto as follows:-- - - Many persons undoubtedly believe (owing to bustards being captured - in spring unable to fly) that these birds moult all their quills at - once. That is not the case; but since in spring, when the - male-bustards engage in continuous fighting, the corn-growth is - already quite tall, and in the early mornings all vegetation is - saturated with night-dews, it occasionally happens that a bustard - may be met with incapable by this cause of taking wing--that is, - that some of the flight-feathers are lost or broken and all - dew-soaked (_rociadas_). The bustard moults gradually and never - loses the power of flight. - -[Illustration: Great Bustard "SHEWING-OFF"--FROM LIFE. - -FIRST ATTITUDE. - -SECOND ATTITUDE. - -THE SAME, BUT LOOKING UP AT A PASSING BIRD. - -FINAL POSITION.] - -[Illustration: TAIL-FEATHERS OF GREAT BUSTARD] - -While never attaining the size of wild birds, yet bustards thrive well -in captivity--always assuming that they have been caught young. Old -birds brought home wounded never survive twenty-four hours, dying not -from the wound (which may be insignificant) but from _barinchin_, which -may be translated chagrin or a broken heart. Young bustards reared thus -become extremely tame, coming to call and feeding from the hand, though -when old the males are apt to grow vicious in spring, attacking savagely -children, dogs, and even women, especially those whom they see to be -afraid.[47] Tame as they are, they are always subject to strange alarms, -seemingly causeless. Suddenly they raise their wings, draw in their -heads, and dance around, jumping in air, and ever intently regarding the -heavens--sometimes dashing off under cover of bushes. One may connect -this exhibition with some speck in the sky, some passing eagle, more -often no motive is discernible. Bustard-chicks emit a plaintive whistle -so precisely similar to that of the kites that (when hatched out under a -domestic hen) the foster-mother has been so terrified as to desert her -brood. When adult, bustards are usually quite silent, save for a -grunting noise in spring--that is, in captivity. But on a hot day we -have heard the old males, when passing on a drive, utter panting -sounds, and (as already mentioned) a winged _barbon_ will turn to attack -with a sort of gruff bark--wuff, wuff--as his captor approaches. - -So retentive is their memory that each year as May comes round our tame -bustards keep constantly on the look-out for the first cart-load of -green cut grass brought into the stable-yard for the horses. They even -follow it right into the loose-box where it is stored, in order to feast -on the grasshoppers it conceals, climbing all over the mountain of -grass, but never scratching as hens or pheasants would do. - - -THE LITTLE BUSTARD (_OTIS TETRAX_--SPANISH, _SISÓN_) - -The little bustard may fairly claim the proud distinction that it alone -of all the game-birds on earth can utterly scorn and set at naught every -artifice of the fowler--modern methods and up-to-date appliances all -included. Here in Spain, though the bird itself is abundant enough (and -its flesh delicate and delicious), it so entirely defies every set -system of pursuit that no one nowadays attempts its capture. Practically -none are killed save merely by some chance or accidental encounter. - -True, during the fiery noontides of July and August even the little -bustard enjoys a siesta and may then be shot. It will, in fact, "lie -close" before pointers and cackle like a cock-grouse as it rises from -those desolate _dehesas_ which form its home--vast stretches of rolling -veld where asphodel, palmetto, and giant thistles grow rampant as far as -eye can reach. But that scarce comes within our category of sport, since -a solar heat that can (even temporarily) tame a _sisón_ is quite likely -to finish off a Briton for good and all. And with the advent of autumn -and a relatively endurable temperature, in a moment the _sisón_ becomes -impossibly wild. Any idea of direct approach is simply out of the -question, but beyond that, this astute fowl has elaborated a -scheme--indeed a series of schemes--that nullifies even that one -remaining resource of baffled humanity, "driving." You may surround his -company, "horse-shoe" them with hidden guns--do what you will, not a -single _sisón_ will come in to the firing-line. You cannot diagnose -beforehand his probable line of flight, for he has none, nor can you -influence its subsequent direction. For the little bustard shuts off all -negotiation at its initiation by springing vertically in air, soaring -far above gunshot, and there indulging in fantastic aerial evolutions -more in the style of wigeon or other wildfowl than of a true game-bird -as he is. Thus from that celestial altitude he spies out the country and -all terrestrial dangers, finally disappearing afar amidst the wastes of -atmospheric space. Frequently we have noticed the high-flying band, -after, say, twenty minutes of such display of wing-power, descend -directly to their original position at a safe interval after the drivers -had passed forward thereof! Thus do they scorn our efforts and add -insult to injury. - -[Illustration: LITTLE BUSTARD - -Summer plumage.] - -In practice no _sisónes_ whatever are killed in set drives, and for -twenty years we have abandoned the attempt as impossible. They -nevertheless--alike with every other fowl of the air--must, by -occasional mischance, fly into danger, and at such times, owing to their -habit of flying in massed formation, a heavy toll may be levied at a -single shot by a gunner who is alert to exploit the happy event. We have -ourselves, in this casual way, dropped from five to eight _sisónes_ with -the double charge. - -Though frequenting the same open terrain as their big cousins, the -_sisónes_ distinctly prefer the rough stretches of palmetto, thistles, -and other rank herbage to corn-land proper--in short, they prefer to sit -where they can never be seen on the ground. Conspicuous as their white -plumage and resonant wing-rattle makes them in air, we can hardly recall -a dozen instances of having detected a pack of little bustard at -rest--and then merely in quite accidental and exceptional -circumstances. And even then (as indicated) the knowledge of their -precise position has seldom availed to their undoing. - -By April the males have assumed a splendidly handsome breeding-dress. -The neck, swollen out like a jargonelle pear, is clad in rich -velvet-black, the long plumes behind glossy and hackle-like, and adorned -with a double gorget of white. All this finery is lost by August. -Thenceforward the sexes are alike save for the larger size and brighter -orange of the males, the females being smaller and yellower. They are -strictly monogamous, yet the males "show-off" in the same fantastic way -as great bustard and blackcock. About mid-May the female lays four -(rarely five) glossy olive-green eggs in the thick covert of thistles or -palmettos. - -In summer the food of the little bustard consists of snails and small -grasshoppers, and on the table they are excellent, the breast being -large and prominent and displaying both dark and white flesh--the -latter, however, being confined to the legs. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -FLAMINGOES - -THE QUEST FOR THEIR "INCUNABULA" - -[Illustration: A TYPICAL SIGHT IN THE MARISMA] - - -The flamingo stands in a class apart. Allied to no other -bird-form--hardly so much as related--it may be regarded almost as a -separate act of creation. Its nesting habits, and the method by which a -bird of such abnormal build could incubate its eggs, formed for -generations a "vexed question" in bird-life. The story of the efforts -made by British naturalists to solve the problem ranks among the -classics of ornithology. The marismas of Guadalquivir were early known -to be one of the few European _incunabula_ of the flamingo; but their -vast extent--"as big as our eastern counties," Howard Saunders -wrote--and the irregularity of the seasons (since flamingoes only remain -to nest in the wettest years) combined to frustrate exploration. First -in the field was Lord Lilford--as early as 1856; and both during that -and the two succeeding decades he and Saunders (who appeared on the -scene in 1864) undertook repeated journeys--all in vain. The record of -these makes splendid reading, and will be found as follows:-- - -Lord Lilford, "On the Breeding of the Flamingo in Spain," _Proceedings -Zoological Society of London_, 1880, pp. 446-50; Howard Saunders, -_ibid._, 1869, and the same authority in the _Ibis_, 1871, pp. 394 _et -seq._ - -The late Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria, who visited Spain in May 1879, -likewise failed to reach the nesting spot--apparently through the usual -cause, not going far enough--though a few eggs were found scattered on -the wet mud of the marisma. (Recorded by Lord Lilford as above.) - -Thus the question remained unsettled till 1883, when a favouring season -enabled the present authors to succeed where greater ornithologists had -striven in vain. - -[Illustration] - -A venerable apologue attaches to the nesting habit of the flamingo. -Owing to the length of its legs, it was assumed that the bird could not -incubate in the ordinary manner of birds, and that, therefore, it stood -astraddle on a nest built up to the requisite height--a combination of -unproved assumption with inconsequential deduction. 'Twere ungracious to -be wise after the event, yet, in fact, this fable passed current as -"Natural History" for precisely two centuries--from 1683, when Dampier -so described the nesting of flamingoes on the Cape de Verde Islands,[48] -till 1883, when the present authors had opportunity of observing a -flamingo-colony in southern Spain. - -Flamingoes do not nest every year in the Spanish marismas. Their doing -so depends on the season, and only in very wet years is the attempt -made. Rarely, even then, are young hatched off, so persistently are the -wastes raided by egg-lifters, who sweep up by wholesale every edible -thing, and to whom a "Flamingo City," with its hundreds of big eggs all -massed together--a boat-load for the gathering--represents an El Dorado. -As early as 1872 eggs were brought to us--taken by our own marshmen on -May 24--but it was not till 1883 that we enjoyed seeing an occupied -nest-colony ourselves. - -More than a quarter-century has sped since then, yet we cannot do better -than substantially transcribe the narrative as recorded in _Wild Spain_. - -During the month of April we searched the marismas systematically for -the nesting-places of flamingoes, but, though exploring large -areas--riding many leagues in all directions through mud and water -varying from a few inches to full three feet in depth--yet no sign of -nests was then encountered. Flamingoes there were in thousands, together -with a wealth of aquatic bird-life that we will not stop here to -describe. But the water was still too deep, the mud-flats and new-born -islets not yet sufficiently dried for purposes of nidification. The only -species that actually commenced to lay in April were the coots, purple -herons, peewits, Kentish plovers, stilts, redshanks, and a few more. - -April was clearly too early, and the writer lost nearly a week through -an attack of ague, brought on by constant splashing about in -comparatively cold water while a fierce sun always beat down on one's -head. In May the luck improved. Far away to the eastward flamingoes had -always been most numerous, and once or twice we observed (early in May) -signs that resembled the first rude beginnings of architecture, and -encouraged us to persevere in what had begun to appear an almost -hopeless quest. - -_May 9_ (1883).--The effects of dawn over the vast desolations of the -marisma were specially lovely this morning. Before sunrise the distant -peaks of the Serranía de Ronda (seventy miles away) lay flooded in a -blood-red light, and appearing quite twice their usual height. Half an -hour later the mountains sank back in a golden glow, and long before -noon had utterly vanished in quivering heat-haze and the atmospheric -fantasies of infinite space. Amidst chaotic confusion of mirage effects -we rode out across the wilderness: at first over dry mud-flats sparsely -carpeted with dwarf scrub of marsh plants, or in places bare and naked, -the sun-scorched surface cracked into rhomboids and parallelograms, and -honeycombed with yawning cattle-tracks made long ago when the mud was -moist and plastic; then through shallow marsh and stagnant waters -gradually deepening. Here from a patch of rush hard by sprang three -hinds with their fawns and splashed away through the shallows, their -russet pelts gleaming in the early sunlight. Gradually the water -deepened; "mucha agua, mucho fango!" groaned our companion, Felipe; but -this morning we meant to reach the very heart of the marisma, and before -ten o'clock were cooking our breakfast on a far-away islet whereon never -British foot had trod before, and which was literally strewn with -avocets' eggs, while nests of stilts, redshanks, pratincoles, and many -more lay scattered around. - -[Illustration: STILTS DISTURBED AT THEIR NESTING-PLACE] - -During this day we discovered two nests of the slender-billed gull -(_Larus gelastes_), not previously known to breed in Spain; also, we -then believed, those of the Mediterranean black-headed gull (_L. -melanocephalus_), though the latter were afterwards ascribed by -oological experts (perhaps correctly) to the gull-billed tern (_Sterna -anglica_), a species whose eggs we also found by the dozen. - -The immense aggregations of flamingoes which, in wet seasons, throng the -middle marismas can scarce be described. Our bird-islets lay so remote -from the low-lying shores that no land whatever was in sight; but the -desolate horizon that surrounded them was adorned by an almost unbroken -line of pink and white that separated sea and sky over the greater part -of the circle. On examining the different herds narrowly through -binoculars, an obvious dissimilarity was discovered in the appearance of -certain groups. One or two in particular seemed so much denser than the -others; the narrow white line looked three times as thick, and in the -centre gave the idea that the birds were literally piled upon each -other. Felipe suggested that these flamingoes must be at their -_pajeréra_, or breeding-place, and after a long wet ride we found that -this was the case. The water was very deep, the bottom clinging mud; at -intervals the laboured plunging of the mule was exchanged for an easier, -gliding motion--he was swimming. The change was a welcome relief to man -and beast; but the labours undergone during these aquatic rides -eventuated in the loss of one fine mule, a powerful beast worth £60. - -[Illustration: FLAMINGOES AND THEIR NESTS] - -On approach, the cause of the peculiar appearance of the flamingo city -from a distance became clearly discernible. Hundreds of birds were -sitting down on a low mud-island, hundreds more were standing erect -thereon, while others stood in the water alongside. Thus the different -elevations of their bodies formed what had appeared a triple or -quadruple line. - -On reaching the spot, we found a perfect mass of nests. The low, flat -mud-plateau was crowded with them as thickly as its space permitted. The -nests had little or no height above the dead-level mud--some were raised -an inch or two, a few might reach four or five inches in height, but the -majority were merely circular bulwarks of mud barely raised above the -general level, and bearing the impression of the bird's legs distinctly -marked upon the periphery. The general aspect of the plateau might be -likened to a large table covered with plates. In the centre was a deep -hole full of muddy water, which, from the gouged appearance of its -sides, had probably supplied the birds with building material. - -[Illustration] - -Scattered round the main colony were many single nests, rising out of -the water and evidently built up from the bottom. Here and there two or -three of these were joined together--"semi-detached," so to speak. These -isolated nests stood some eight inches above water-level, and as the -depth exceeded a foot, their total height would be two feet or -thereabouts, and their width across the hollowed top, some fifteen -inches. None of the nests as yet contained eggs, and though we returned -to the _pajeréra_ on the latest day we were in its neighbourhood (May -11), they still remained empty. On both occasions many hundreds of -flamingoes were sitting on the nests, and on the 11th we enjoyed -excellent views at close quarters. Linked arm-in-arm with Felipe, and -crouching low on the water to look as little human as possible, we had -approached within seventy yards before the sentries first showed signs -of alarm; and at that distance, with binoculars, observed the sitting -flamingoes as distinctly as one need wish. The long red legs doubled -under their bodies, the knees projecting slightly beyond the tail, and -the graceful necks neatly curled away among their back feathers like a -sitting swan, some heads resting on the breasts--all these points were -unmistakable. Indeed, as regards the disposition of the legs in an -incubating flamingo, no other attitude was possible since, in the great -majority of cases, the nests were barely raised above the level of the -mud-plateau. To sit _astride_ on a _flat_ surface is out of the -question. - -Inexplicable it seems that the flamingo, a bird that spends its life -half knee-deep in water, should so long delay the period of incubation. -For long ere eggs could be hatched, and young reared, the full summer -heats of June and July would already have set in, water would have -utterly disappeared, and the flamingoes be left stranded in a scorching -desert of sun-baked mud. - -[Illustration] - -Being unable ourselves to return to the marisma, we sent Felipe back on -May 26, when he obtained eggs--long, white, and chalky, some specimens -extremely rugged. Two is the number laid in each nest. In 1872 we had -obtained six eggs taken on May 24, which may therefore, probably, be -taken as the average date of laying. There remains, nevertheless, the -bare possibility that eggs had been laid before our visit on May 9, but -swept up meanwhile by egg-raiders. - -The flamingo city "in being" above described was the first seen by -ornithologists, and the observations we were enabled to make settled at -last the position and mode of incubation of the flamingo.[49] - -Science is impersonal, the impulsion of a naturalist springs from -devotion to his subject, and from no extrinsic motive--such as personal -kudos. Nevertheless, we make this categoric claim for ourselves simply -because the credit, _quantum valeat_, has since been (not claimed -straight away, but rather) insinuated on behalf of others who didn't -earn it--analogous with the case of Dr. Cook and the North Pole. - -Where do these thousands of Spanish flamingoes breed, and how do they -maintain their numbers, when Spain, three years out of five, is _too -dry_ for nesting purposes? The only obvious answer is, Africa. And, -though incapable yet of direct proof, that answer is clearly correct. -For flamingoes are essentially denizens of the tropic zone. The few that -ever overlap into southern Europe are but a fraction of their swarming -millions farther south. During our own expeditions into British East -Africa, we found flamingoes in vast abundance on all the equatorial -lakes we visited--Baringo, Nakuru, Elmenteita, Naivasha, and, -especially, Lake Hannington, where, during past ages, they have so -polluted the foreshores as to preclude human occupation. These were the -same flamingoes, a few of which "slop over" into Europe; we shot two -specimens with the rifle in Nakuru to prove that.[50] - -Flamingoes are not migratory in an ordinary sense--birds born on the -equator seldom are. Their movements have no seasonal character, but -depend on the rainfall and the varying condition of the lagoons at -different points within their range. Here, in Spain, we see them coming -and going, to and fro, at all seasons according to the state of the -marisma--and a striking colour-study they present when pink battalions -contrast with dark-green pine beneath and set off by deepest azure -above. - -In 1907 flamingoes attempted to establish a nesting-colony at a spot -called Las Albacias in the marisma of Hinojos. A mass of nests was -already half built, then suddenly abandoned. "If the shadow of a cloud -passes over them, they forsake," say the herdsmen of the wilderness. - -[Illustration: FLAMINGOES ON THEIR NESTS.] - -Quantities of drift grass and weed are always found floating where a -herd has been feeding, which at first led us to suppose that their food -consisted of water-plants (as with geese), but that is not the case. -The floating grasses are only incidentally uprooted by the birds while -delving in the mud. The Spanish marshmen say flamingoes "live on mud," -and truly an examination of their crops appears to confirm this. But the -mud is only taken in because of the masses of minute creatures -(_animalculae_) which it contains, and which form the food of the -flamingo. What precisely these living atoms are would require both a -microscopical examination and a knowledge of zoophites to determine. The -tongue of a flamingo is a thick, fleshy organ filling the whole cavity -of the mandibles, and furnished with a series of flexible bony spikes, -or hooks, nearly half an inch long and curving inwards. Flamingoes' -tongues are said to have formed, an epicurean dish in Roman days. -However that may be, we found them, on trial, quite uneatable--tough as -india-rubber; even our dogs refused the "delicacy." This bird's flesh is -dark-red and rank, quite uneatable. - -In the New World the mystery of the nesting habits of the flamingo -(_Phoenicopterus ruber_) was solved just three years later, and in a -precisely similar sense. - -[Illustration: HEAD OF FLAMINGO - -Showing the spikes on tongue and lamellae on mandibles. - -[The beak had to be forced open.]] - -We will close this chapter with a reference to a recent and most -complete demonstration of our subject--that of our namesake, Mr. Frank -M. Chapman, of the American Museum, New York, in his _Camps and Cruises -of an Ornithologist_. Therein is set forth, in Chapter IV., the last -word on this topic. In America, as in Spain, the final solution of the -problem was only attained after years of patient effort and many -disappointments. With the thoroughness of thought and honesty of purpose -that marks our transatlantic progeny while treating of natural -phenomena, this book sets forth the life-history and domestic economy of -the flamingo, from egg to maturity, illustrated by a series of -photographs that are absolutely unique.[51] We conclude by quoting our -bird-friend's opening sentence: "There are larger birds than the -flamingo, and birds with more brilliant plumage, but no other large -bird is so brightly coloured, and no other brightly coloured bird is so -large. In brief, size and beauty of plume united reach their maximum -development in this remarkable bird, while the open nature of its haunts -and its gregarious habit seem specially designed to display its marked -characteristics of form and colour to the most striking advantage. When -to these superficial attractions is added the fact that little or -nothing has hitherto been known of its nesting habits, one may realise -the intense longing of a naturalist, not only to behold a flamingo -city--itself the most remarkable sight in the bird-world--but to lift -the veil through which the flamingo's home-life has been but dimly -seen." - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -WILD CAMELS - - -It was during these aquatic rides in search of the nesting-places of the -flamingo that we first fell in with wild camels. - -Vague yarns, more or less circumstantial, that such animals wandered -over the farther marismas, we remember as early as 1872. The thing, -however, had appeared too incredible for consideration--at any rate, we -gave it none. But in that spring of 1883 we one day found ourselves face -to face with two unmistakable camels. They stood gazing intently about -half a mile away--a huge, shaggy, hump-backed beast, accompanied by a -second not half its size. The pair wheeled and made off ere we had -approached within 400 yards, and something "game-like" in their style -prompted our first and last attempt at pursuit. The camels simply ran -away from us, splashing through slippery mud and water, two feet deep, -at double our horses' speed, and raising in their flight a tearing trail -of foam as of twin torpedo-boats. - -Since then we have fallen in with camels on very many occasions, singly, -in twos and threes, or in herds of a dozen to twenty and upwards, old -and young together. It is, in fact, only necessary to ride far enough -into the marisma to make sure of seeing some of these extraordinary -monsters startling the desolate horizon, and silhouetted in incongruous -juxtaposition with ranks of rosy flamingoes and flotillas of swimming -waterfowl. - -The whole story of these wild camels and their origin has been narrated -in _Wild Spain_. Briefly summarised, the animals were introduced to -Spain in 1829 by the Marquis de Villafranca (House of Medina-Sidonia) -with the object of employing them in transport and agriculture, as they -are so commonly used on the opposite shores of Africa. But local -difficulties ensued--chiefly arising from the intense fear and -repugnance of horses towards camels, which resulted in numerous -accidents--and eventually the bactrians were set free in the marisma, -wherein they have since lived at large and bred under wholly wild -conditions for well-nigh a century. - -We admit that a statement of the existence of wild camels in these -watery wildernesses of Spain--flooded during great part of the year--is -difficult to accept. The camel is inseparably associated with the most -arid deserts of earth, with sun-scorched Sahara, Arabia Petraea, and -waterless tropical regions. Its physical economy is expressly adapted -for such habitats--the huge padded feet and seven-chambered stomach that -will sustain it for days without drinking. Yet the reader was asked to -believe that this specialised desert-dweller had calmly accepted a -condition of life diametrically reversed, and not only lives, but breeds -and flourishes amidst knee-deep swamp. - -At the period of which we write the camel was not known to exist on -earth in a wild state, and physical disabilities were alleged which -would have precluded such a possibility. During historic times it had -never been described save only as a beast of burden, the slave of -man--and a savage, intractable slave at that. A little later, however, -the Russian explorer, Préjevalsky, met with wild camels roaming over the -Kumtagh deserts of Turkestan, and in Tibet Sven Hedin has since shown -the two-humped camel to be one of the normal wild beasts of the Central -Asian table-lands. - -Wild camels in Europe represented a considerable draft upon the -credulity of readers; and a chorus of ridicule was poured upon the -statement. Men who had "lived in Spain for years"--a foreign consul at -Seville, engineers employed in reclaiming marismas (somewhere else)--all -rushed into print to attest the absurdity of the idea. Limited -experience was mistaken for complete knowledge! Similar treatment was -accorded to our observation of pelicans in Denmark. Ornithologists of -Copenhagen insinuated we did not know pelicans from seagulls; yet the -Danish pelicans are as well known to the Jutlander fisher-folk as are -the Spanish camels to the herdsmen and fowlers of the marisma. Knowledge -is no monopoly of high places. - -[Illustration: WILD CAMELS.] - -The Spanish camels spend their lives exclusively in the open marisma, -pasturing on the _vetas_, or higher-lying areas, and passing from islet -to islet, though the intervening water be three feet deep. We have -watched them grazing on subaquatic herbage in the midst of what -appeared miles of open water; and, in fact, during wet winters there is -no dry land to be seen. Yet they never approach the adjacent dunes of -Doñana, though these would appear so tempting. By night, however, the -camels sometimes pass so near to our shooting-lodge that their scent, -when borne down-wind, has created panic among the horses, though the -stables are situate within an enclosed courtyard. - -[Illustration] - -Antonio Trujillo, formerly head-keeper of the Coto Doñana, some years -ago chanced on a camel that was "bogged" in a quicksand (_nuclé_). These -places are dangerous, and it was not till six days later that he was -enabled, by bringing planks and ropes, to drag the poor beast to firm -land. All round the spot where the camel had laid he found every root, -and even the very earth, eaten away. Yet the animal when set free -appeared none the worse, for it strolled away quite unconcerned, and -shortly commenced to browse while still close by. - -Young camels are born early in the year, about February, though whether -that is the exclusive period we have no means of knowing. - -A curious incident occurred one winter day when we had ridden out into -the marisma expressly in search of camels. It was an intensely cold and -dry season, almost unprecedented for the severity of the frost. When -several leagues from anywhere, a keen eye detected in the far distance a -roving fox. All dismounted, and letting the horses graze, hid behind -them and awaited his approach. Then with only a single _podenco_, or -hunting-dog, _Frascuelo_ by name, after a straight-away run of five or -six miles over the sun-dried plain, we fairly rode bold Reynard down and -killed him. - -Six months after the publication of _Wild Spain_ we received the -following letter from H.R.H. the late Phillippe, Comte de Paris, the -owner of the adjoining Coto del Rey:-- - - _June 17, 1893._ - - Having read with the greatest pleasure and interest your - description of the wild camels, it struck me that you may - appreciate a photograph taken from nature of one of these - independent inhabitants of the shores of Guadalquivir. I found that - one could only look at them from a distance, and therefore the - enclosed photographs may be of interest. They were taken three - months ago by my nephew, Prince Henry of Orleans. My keepers had in - the early morning separated this single animal from the herd, but - it escaped from them about Marilopez at noon, and when we met with - him near the Laguna de la Madre, and about a mile from the Coto del - Rey, we had only to give him a last gallop to catch him. These - camels spend great part of the year on ground of which I am either - the owner or the tenant, and I do my best to protect them from the - terrible poachers coming from Trebujena. In order to be able to do - this more effectually, I bought yesterday from the heirs of the - landowners who turned them out some seventy years ago, I think, all - the claims they can have on these animals. - -We have recently been favoured by the present Comte de Paris with the -latest details respecting the camels. In a note dated August 1910, -H.R.H. writes:-- - - For some time their numbers have been decreasing, and we no longer - see great troops of them as we used to do eighteen years ago. The - cause of their diminution is certainly the bitter war waged against - them by poachers. The parts of the marisma frequented by the wild - camels lie between the Coto del Rey on the north, the Coto Doñana - on the west, and the Guadalquivir on the south-east. The long deep - channels of La Madre, however, interfere with their reaching the - Coto Doñana, and they chiefly graze in the marismas of Hinojos and - Almonte. The plan pursued by the poachers is as follows:--Coming - down from some of the little villages, they cross the river in - small flat-bottomed boats in which they can creep along the shores - to points where they have seen either the spoor or the animals - themselves during the day. Then drawing near to the camels, under - cover of the waning light, they are able to kill one or sometimes - two, which they skin and disembowel on the spot. The flesh is cut - up into pieces, sewn up in the skin, and, on returning to the - riverbank, secreted beneath the flat bottom-boards of the boat, - thereby evading detection by Civil Guards and douaniers. The men - then sail down the river and sell the meat at San Lucar as venison. - - When in the marisma in 1892 I met one day a troop of forty - animals--some old males, their huge bodies covered with thick hair - like blankets; there were also females followed by their - young--fantastic of appearance, owing to the disproportionate - length of their legs, but galloping and frisking around their - mothers as they had done since birth. - - Next day my companion and I took lassoes; we encountered a huge old - male, singly, which trotted and galloped round our horses, - terrifying the poor beasts to such an extent that we could not come - near the camel. At length after a fifty-minutes' chase, in crossing - a part where the mud was soft and the surface much broken up by - cattle coming to drink, we overtook him. Thanks to my horse having - less fear than the other, I was presently able to throw a lasso - around the camel, my companion hauling taut the rope to hold the - prisoner fast. The great brute proved very active, defending - himself with his immense flat feet, which he used as clubs, and, - moreover, he bit, and the bite of a camel is venomous. Ultimately I - succeeded in getting a second rope around him and dragging him to - the ground, where he lay like the domestic camel. The photographs - illustrate this episode. - - Old males frequently have the hair very ragged and scant, - especially on hind-quarters, and on their knees are great - callosities. The truly wild camels of the marisma are fast - disappearing. A friend has furnished me with the approximate number - now remaining absolutely wild, viz. fifteen or sixteen near La - Macha fronting the Palace of Tisana, besides five enclosed in the - Cerrado de Matas Gordas, near the Palacio del Rey, and belonging to - Madame La Condesa de Paris. - - It was owing to the rapid decrease in their numbers, and in order - to save them from extinction, that the Condesa had these - enclosures, known as Matas Gordas, prepared. They contain excellent - pasturage, besides some extent of brushwood; yet the enclosed - camels do not flourish, nor have they ever bred. Big as the - enclosures are, yet the area may be too restricted for them; or it - may be the disturbance due to the presence of cattle and herdsmen - (since the cerrados are let for grazing) that explains this - failure; or possibly the camels resent being enclosed at all. At - any rate the spectacle of troops of camels rushing wildly forward - in all directions is passing away all too quickly, and soon nothing - but the legend will remain. - - Truly it is melancholy that the wild camels should be allowed - utterly to disappear, representing, as they do, so extraordinary a - fact in zoological science. - -Our friend Mr. William Garvey tells us that in the summer of 1907, while -returning from Villamanrique, crossing the dry marisma in his -automobile, he saw three camels. He drove towards them, and when at 500 -or 600 yards, they turned and fled, he put on full speed (sixty miles an -hour), and within some ten minutes had all three camels completely -beaten, tongues hanging out, unable to go another yard! - -This will be the first occasion when wild camels have been run down, in -an open desert, by a motor-car! - - _February 9, 1903._--This morning, shortly after daybreak, a big - single bull camel passed my "hide" in the Lucio de las Nuevas - within easy ball-shot. He was splashing through water about two - feet deep overgrown with samphire bushes, and "roared" at - intervals--a curious sort of ventriloquial "gurgle," followed by a - bellow which I could still distinguish when he had passed quite two - miles away. With the binoculars I distinguished at vast distance - five other camels in the direction the single bull was taking. - -Here we insert a note received from the co-author's brother, J. Crawhall -Chapman:-- - - Oh, yes! I remember that camel-day--it's never likely to die out of - my memory, for never did I endure a worse experience nor a harder - in all my sporting life. It promised to be a great duck-shoot on - the famous "Laguna Grande"; but for me, at any rate, it began, - continued, and ended in misery! At 3.30 A.M., on opening my eyes, I - saw Bertie already silently astir--probably seeking quinine or - other febrifuge, for we were "housed" (save the mark) in Clarita's - _choza_, a lethal mud-and reed-thatched hut many a mile out in the - marisma. Nothing whatever lies within sight--nothing bar desolation - of mud and stagnant waters, reeds, samphire, and BIRDS, relieved at - intervals by the occasional and far-away view of a steamer's - funnel, navigating the Guadalquivír Sevillewards. - - Well, we arose, looked at what was intended for breakfast, and - groped for our steeds. I was to ride an old polo-pony named - _Bufalo_, an evil-tempered veteran with a long-spoilt "mouth" that - ever resented the Spanish curb. Cold and empty we rode for two long - hours in the dark, always following the leader since otherwise - inevitable loss must ensue--splosh, splosh, through deep mud and - deeper water, never stopping, always stumbling, slipping, - slithering onwards. I feared it would never end; and, in fact, it - never did--that is, the bog. For when I was finally told "Abajo" - (which I understood to mean "get down"), and to squat in a miry - place so much like the rest of the swamp that it didn't seem to - matter much where it really was--well, it was then only 6 A.M. and - horribly cold and desolate. - - [Illustration: WILD CAMELS OF THE MARISMA. - - PHOTOS BY H.R.H. PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS. - - CAPTURING A WILD CAMEL. - - THE CAPTIVE.] - - An hour later the sun began to rise. I had not fired a shot--nor - had any of us. As a duck-shoot it was a dismal failure. By eight - o'clock the sun was quite hot, so I tried to find a stomach--for - breakfast. Failed again; but drank some sherry, and then lay down - till noon in decomposing and malodorous reed-mush and mud. Never a - duck came near, so shifted my stye to an old dry ridge--apparently - an antediluvian division between two equally noisome swamps. Here I - tried to sleep, but that was no good, for a headache had set - in--possibly the effects of sun and sherry combined! I felt the - sweeping wind of a marsh-harrier who had found me too suddenly and - was half a mile away ere I could get up to shoot. - - At four o'clock I signalled for _Bufalo_ to take me back to our - hut, distant eight miles, the only guide being that morning's - outward tracks. - - It was on this ride that there occurred the incident of the - day--thrilling indeed had it not been for the headache that left me - cheaper than cheap. Having traversed some three miles of mud and - water, suddenly I saw ahead the "camels a-coming!"--eleven of them - in line, the last a calf, and what a splash they made! Knowing how - horses hate the smell and sight of camels, and _Bufalo_ being a - rearing and uncomfortable beast at best, I felt perhaps unduly - nervous. The camels were marching directly across my line of route - and up-wind thereof. If only I could pass that intersecting point - well before them, _Bufalo_, I hoped, might not catch the - unwholesome scent. I tried all I could, but the mud was too sticky. - The camel-corps came on, splashing, snorting, and striding at high - speed. _Bufalo_ saw them quick enough, I can tell you--he stopped - dead, gazed and snorted in terror, spun round pirouetting - half-a-dozen times, reared, and would certainly have bolted but - that he stood well over his fetlocks in mud and nigh up to the - girths in water. I could not induce him to face them anyhow; but - remember, please, that I was handicapped by the mass of - accoutrements and luggage slung around both me and my mount, to - wit:--Several empty bottles and bags, remains of lunch, some 500 - cartridges, three dozen ducks, a Paradox gun, waders, and brogues! - - [Illustration] - - Meantime the camels passed my front within 100 yards and then - "rounded up." Having loaded both barrels with ball, I felt safer, - and pushed _Bufalo_ forwards--to fifty yards. Then the thought - occurred to me, "Do camels charge?" _Bufalo_ reared, twisted, and - splashed about in sheer horror, and then--thank goodness--the - corps, with a parting roar, or rather a chorus of vicious gurgling - grunts, in clear resentment at my presence on the face of the - water at all, turned and bolted out west at full speed. I was left - alone, and much relieved. - - The adult camels were of the most disreputable, not to say - dissolute appearance, great ugly tangled mats of loose hair hanging - from their shoulders, ribs, and flanks, their small ears laid - viciously aback, and with utterly disagreeable countenances. I half - wish now that I had shot that leading bull--he would never have - been missed! I don't suppose that any one has been nearer to these - strange beasts than I was that day; certainly I trust never to see - them so near again--never in this world! - - * * * * * - -While preparing these pages for press we are grieved to hear of the -death of our friend Mr. William Garvey, whose adventure with the camels -is narrated above (p. 279). Mr. Garvey, who was in his eightieth year, -was a _Gentil Hombre de la Camara_ to King Alfonso and had on various -occasions, with his nephew, Mr. Patrick Garvey, entertained the monarch -on his splendid domain. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -AFTER CHAMOIS IN THE ASTURIAS - -PICOS DE EUROPA - - -At the château of Nuévos, hidden away amidst Cantabrian hills, hard by -where the "Picos de Europa" form the most prominent feature of that -100-mile range, we were welcomed by the Conde de la Vega de Sella, whom -we had met the previous year in Norway, and his friend Bernaldo de -Quirós. Our host was a bachelor and the menage curiously mixed; there -was a wild Mexican-Indian servant, but more alarming still, a tame wolf -prowled free about the house--none too tame either, as testified by a -half-healed wound on his master's arm. The bedrooms in the corridor -which we occupied had no doors, merely curtains hanging across the -doorway, and all night long that wolf pattered up and down the passage -outside. My own feelings will not be described--there was an ominous -mien in that wolf's eye and in those immense jaws. - -[Illustration] - -Beyond patches of maize and other minute crops grown in infinitesimal -fields divided by stone walls and surrounded by woods of chestnut and -hazel, the whole landscape surrounding the château was composed of -towering grey mountains. It was from this point that with our kind host -we had projected an expedition to form acquaintance with chamois, and to -see the system of a _montería_ as practised in the Biscayan mountains. -The month was September. - -The first stage--on wheels--brought us to the village of Arénas de -Cabrales, where a gipsy fair or _Romería_ was raging, affording striking -display of local customs and fashion. The girls, handsome though -somewhat stalwart, wearing on their heads bright-coloured kerchiefs -(instead of, as in Andalucia, flowers in the hair), danced strange steps -to the music of a drum and a sort of bagpipe called the _Gaita_. Cider -here replaced wine as a beverage, and wooden sabots are worn instead of -the hempen sandals of the south. - -Maize is the chief crop, and women work hard, doing, except the -ploughing, most of the field labour. - -The hill-country around belonged chiefly to our host, who was received -with a sort of feudal respect. Ancient rights included (this we were -told, but did not see enforced) the privilege of kissing all pretty -daughters of the estate. The region is primitive enough even for the -survival of so agreeable a custom. Such detail in a serious work must -appear frivolous by comparison, yet it reflects the _genius loci_. - -This was the point at which we had to take the hill. - -Our outfit was packed on ponies, and being joined by three of the -chamois-hunters, we set out, following the course of the river Cares. -This gorge of the Cares, along with its sister-valley the Desfiladero de -la Deva, form two of the most magnificent canyons in all the Asturias, -and perhaps have few equals in the wider world outside. The bridle-track -led along rock-shelves on the hanging mountain-side, presently falling -again till we rode close by the torrent of the Cares, here swirling in -foaming rapids with alternations of deep pools of such crystalline water -that trout could be discerned swimming twenty feet below the surface. -The water varied between a diamond-white and an emerald-green, according -as the stream flowed over the white limestone or rocks of darker shade. - -Approaching Bulnes, the track became absolutely appalling, zigzagging to -right and left up an almost perpendicular mountain. Riding was here out -of the question. It was giddy work enough on foot, rounding corners -where the outer rim overhung a sheer drop of hundreds of feet to the -torrent below, and with no protection to save horse or man in the event -of a slip or false step. Not without mental tremors we surmounted it and -reached Bulnes, a dozen stone, windowless houses clustered on an -escarpment. This is facetiously called the "Upper Town," and we -presumed that another group of hovels hidden somewhere beneath our sight -formed Lower Bulnes. - -We entered the best looking of these stone-age abodes, and discovered -that it formed the presbytery of the Cura of Bulnes, a strange mixture -of alpine hut with Gothic hermitage. Slabs of rough stone projecting -from unhewn walls served as tables, while rudely carved oak-chests did -double duty as seats or wardrobes in turn. The Cura's bed occupied one -corner, and from the walls hung gun and rifle, together with -accoutrements of the chase--satchels, belts, and pouches, all made of -chamois-skin. At first sight indeed the whole presbytery reeked rather -of hunting than of holiness--it is scarce too strong to say it smelt of -game. An inner apartment, windowless and lit by the feeble flicker of a -_mariposa_, that recalled the reed-lights of mediaeval history (and to -which, by the way, access was only gained past other cells which -appeared to be the abode of cows and of the cook respectively), was -assigned to us. - -The Padre himself was away on the cliffs above cutting hay, for he -combines agriculture with the care of souls, owns many cows, and makes -the celebrated cheese known as "Cabrales." Presently he joined us in his -stone chamber, and at once showed himself to be, by his frank and -genuine manner, what later experience proved him, a true sportsman and a -most unselfish companion. His Reverence at once set about the details of -organising our hunt, sent his nephew to round-up the mountain lads, some -being sent off at once to spend that night, how, we know not, in crags -of the Peña Vieja, while others were instructed to join us there in the -morning. - -While we dined on smoked chamois and rough red wine he busied himself -arranging weapons, ammunition, and mocassins for a few days' work on the -crags. Our arrival having been prearranged, we were soon on our upward -way, by sinous tracks which lead to the summits of the Picos de Europa, -some altitudes of which are as follows: Peña Vieja, 10,046 feet; Picos -de Hierro, 9610 feet; Pico de San Benigno, 9329 feet. All heavy baggage -was left below; there only remained the tent, rugs, guns, and -cartridges, and these were got up, heaven knows how, to about half the -required height on the backs of two donkeys. For provisions we relied on -the milk and bread of the cheese-makers who live up there, much in the -style of the Norwegian peasants at their _saeters_, or summer sheilings -on the fjeld. Hard by the _cabaña_, or cabin, of these honest folks, our -tent was pitched--altitude, 5800 feet. - -With the first of the daylight, after a drink of milk, we started -upwards, our host, the Cura, Bertie, and ourselves. - -With us were ten goat-herds who had to flank the drive; the others would -already be occupying allotted positions, we knew not where. Three hours' -climbing--the usual struggle, only worse--took us to the first line of -"passes," far above the last signs of vegetation and amidst what little -snow remains here in summer. This "drive" had been reckoned a certainty, -and four animals were reported seen in the mist, but no chamois came in -to the guns, and yet another two-hours' climb had to be faced ere the -second set of posts was reached. - -This bit, however, definitely stopped for the moment my career as a -chamois-hunter, such was the slippery, perpendicular, and utterly -dangerous nature of the rocks. A fortnight before I had climbed the -Plaza de Almanzór in the Sierra de Grédos, but these pinnacles of the -Picos proved beyond my powers. The admission, beyond any words of mine, -bespeaks the character of these Cantabrian peaks. Here on a dizzy ledge -at 8000 feet I remained behind, while the rest of the party, filing up a -rock-stair, were lost to sight within fifteen yards. - -Before me stretched away peak beyond peak in emulating altitudes the -whole vast cordillera of Cantabria--a glory of mountain-forms. - - ...the things which tower, which shine, - Whose smile makes glad, whose frown is terrible. - -In majestic array, pinnacles and crannied summits, flecked and streaked -with glistening snows, enthral and subdue. The giants Peña Vieja, -Urriales, Garnizo, lift their heads above the rest, piercing the blue -ether--fancied spires in some celestial shrine. - -This smiling noontide an all-pervading spirit of peace reigns; the -sublimity of solitude generates reverence and awe, the voice of the -Creator seems audible amidst encompassing silence. - -Far away below, as in another world, lie outspread champaigns; sunlit -stubbles, newly stripped of autumnal crops, form chequers of contrasted -colour that set off with golden background the dark Asturian woods, -while fresh green pastures blend in harmony with the riant foliage of -the vine. - -Presently, following my companion, a goat-herd, who had been left with -me, by slow degrees we reached the spot appointed to await our party's -return. - -[Illustration: THE HOME OF THE CHAMOIS. - -CHAMOIS FROM LIFE ON LA LLOROSA, PEÑA VIEJA. - -EL CORROBLE, PICOS DE EUROPA, ASTURIAS.] - -Hours went by and six o'clock came before, on the skyline above, they -appeared, five of the _monteros_ each bearing a chamois on his shoulder. -Then, in the 2000-feet ravine towards the north, a third drive was -attempted for my special benefit; but the day was far spent, and during -the crucial half-hour snow-clouds skurrying along the crests shut out -all chance of seeing game. The beaters reported enclosing quite forty -chamois, some of which broke downwards through the flankers, the rest -passing a trifle wide of the guns. This beat is termed "El Arbol." - -Long and weary was the descent, and fiendish places we had to pass ere -the welcome camp-fires loomed up through gathering darkness. Those who -wish to shoot chamois should commence the undertaking before they have -passed the half-century. - -The successful drive that was thus missed by No. 1 is hereunder -described by No. 2. We give the narrative in detail, inasmuch as this -day's operation was typical of the system of chamois-shooting as -practised in the Asturian mountains. - -After leaving No. 1 as mentioned, and while proceeding to our next -position, a number of chamois were viewed scattered in three groups on -the hanging screes of a second gorge, a mile beyond that which we had -intended to beat. After consultation held, it was decided to alter the -plan and to send the guns completely round the outer periphery of -encircling heights so as to command the passes immediately above the -game. This involved two hours' climbing and incidentally three detours, -scrambling each time down the precipitous moraine to avoid showing in -sight of the chamois. - -Upon reaching the reverse point, the Conde and I were assigned the most -likely posts; and these being also the highest, a final heart-breaking -climb up a thousand feet of loose rocks succeeded. Chamois, like ibex, -when disturbed instinctively make for the highest ground, hence our -occupation of the topmost passes. Cheered on by the Conde, himself as -hard as steel, the effort was accomplished, and I sank down, breathless, -parched, and exhausted, behind a big rock that was indicated as my -position. The lower passes had meanwhile been occupied by the Padre and -by sundry shepherds armed with primitive-looking guns. - -On recovering some degree of breath and strength, I surveyed my -surroundings. We were both stationed on the topmost arête, in a nick -that broke for 80 or 100 yards the rim of a knife-edged ridge that -separated two stupendous gorges. On my right, while facing the beat, and -not 30 yards away, the nick was terminated by a rock-mass perpendicular -and four-square as a cathedral tower, that uprose some 100 feet sheer. -On the left also rose cliffs though not quite so abrupt. The position -was such that any game attempting to pass the nick must appear within 50 -or 60 yards--so, in our simplicity, we thought. - -[Illustration: A CHAMOIS DRIVE--PICOS DE EUROPA - -Diagram illustrative of text. Our positions on arête marked (1) and (2); -"Cathedral" on right. Valley beyond full of driving mist (passing our -power to depict).] - -Behind us dipped away the long moraine of loose rocks by which we had -ascended; while in front, by stepping but a few paces across the narrow -neck, we could look down into the depths of the gorge whence the quarry -was to approach, as we feebly attempt to show in diagram annexed. - -The panorama from these altitudes was superb beyond words. We were here -far above the stratum of mist which enshrouded our camp and the sierra -for some distance above it. We looked down upon a billowy sea of white -clouds pierced here and there by the summits and ridges of outstanding -crags like islands on a surf-swept coast. - -Of bird-life there was no sign beyond choughs and a soaring eagle that -our guides called aguila pintada (_Aquila bonellii_, immature). There -are wild-boar in the forests far below, with occasional wolves and yet -more occasional bear. - -Hark! the distant cries of beaters break the solemn silence and announce -that operations have begun. Almost instantly thereafter the rattle of -loose stones dislodged by the feet of moving chamois came up from -beneath our eyrie. So near was the sound that expectation waxed tense -and eyes scanned each possible exit. - -Then from the heights on the left, and already above us, sprang into -view a band of five chamois lightly skipping from ledge to ledge with an -agility that cannot be conveyed in words. The Conde and I fired -simultaneously. The beast I had selected pulled himself convulsively -together, sprang in air, and then fell backwards down the abyss whence -he had just emerged. So abrupt was the skyline that no second barrel was -possible; but while we yet gazed into space the rattle of falling stones -right _behind_ attracted attention in that direction, and a chamois was -bounding across that loose moraine (or "canal" as it is here called) by -which we had ascended. He flew those jumbled rocks as though they were a -ballroom floor, offering at best but a snapshot, and the bullet found -the beast already protected by a rock. Hardly, however, had cartridges -been replaced than three more _Rebecos_ followed along precisely the -same track, and this time each gun secured one buck. - -Note that all these last four animals had come in from our _right_, that -is, they had escaladed the "cathedral"; though by what earthly means -they could surmount sheer rock-walls devoid of visible crack or crevice -passes human comprehension. For myself, having regarded the cathedral -as impassable, I had kept no watch on that side. - -For the next half-hour all was quiet. Then we heard again the rattle of -hoofs somewhere down under, and on the sound ceasing, had gently raised -ourselves to peer over into the eerie abyss in front, when a chamois -suddenly poked his head over the rocks within fifteen yards, only to -vanish like a flash. - -From this advanced position, in the far distance we could now -distinguish the beaters, looking like flies as they descended the -opposite circle of crests, and could hear their cries and the -reverberation of the rocks they dislodged to start the game. An extra -burst of clamour denoted game afoot, and a few seconds later another -chamois (having once more mocked the cathedral barrier) darted across -the moraine behind and fell within a score of yards of the previous -pair, though all three were finally recovered several hundred feet -below, having rolled down these precipitous screes. The first chamois I -had shot had fallen even farther--at one point over a sheer drop that -could not be less than 100 feet. His body was smashed into pulp, every -bone broken, but curiously the horns had escaped intact. We were much -struck by the clear emerald-green light in the eyes of newly killed -chamois. - -The beaters being now close at hand, we scrambled down to rejoin the -Padre who had occupied the _puesto_ next below ours. We found that -worthy man very happy as he had succeeded in putting two slugs into a -chamois-buck, to which the _coup de grâce_ had been given by Don Serafin -lower down. - -A curious incident occurred as we made our way to the next beat where -"No. 1" was to rejoin us. Suddenly the rugged stones that surrounded us -were vivified by a herd of bouncing chamois--they had presumably been -disturbed elsewhere and several came our way. A buck fell to a long shot -of our host; while another suddenly sprang into view right under the -Padre's feet. This, he averred, he would certainly have killed had he -been loaded with slugs (_postas_) instead of ball. - -The six chamois brought into camp to-night included four bucks and two -does. We had not ourselves found it possible to distinguish the sexes in -life, though long practice enabled the Conde to do so when within -moderate distance. All six were of a foxy-red colour, and the horns -measured from seven to eight inches over the bend. - -Chamois are certainly very much easier to obtain than ibex. Not only are -they tenfold more abundant, but, owing to their diurnal habits, they are -easily seen while feeding in broad daylight (often in large herds) on -the open hillsides. They never enter caves or crevices of the rocks as -ibex habitually do. - -Chamois might undoubtedly be obtained by stalking, though that art is -not practised in Spain. The excessively rugged nature of the ground is -rather against it; for one's view being often so restricted, there is -danger while stalking chamois, which have been espied from a distance, -of "jumping" others previously unseen though much nearer. Driving, as -above described, is the method usually adopted. Few beaters -comparatively are required; the positions of flankers and stops are -often clearly indicated by the natural configuration of the crests. - -Dogs are occasionally employed. The game, in their terror of canine -pursuers, will push forward into precipices whence there is no exit; and -then, rather than attempt to turn, will spring down to certain death. - -The best foot-gear is the Spanish _alpargata_, or hemp-soled sandal. -They will withstand two or three days' wear on the roughest of rocks and -only cost some eighteenpence a pair. Nailed boots are useless and -dangerous. - -Similar days followed, some more successful, others less, but all -laborious in the last degree. Both limbs and lungs had well-nigh given -out ere the time arrived to strike camp and abandon our eyrie. - -During the descent to Bulnes we noticed a goat which, in feeding along -the crags, had reached a spot whence it could neither retreat nor -escape, and by bleating cries distinctly displayed its fear. Now that -goat was only worth one dollar, yet its owner spent a solid hour, -risking his own life, in crawling along ledges and shelves of a fearful -rock-wall (_pared_) to save the wretched animal. We looked on -speechless, fascinated with horror--at times pulses well-nigh stood -still; even our hunters recognised that this was a rash performance. Yet -that goat was reached, a lasso attached to its neck, and it was drawn -upwards to safety. - -This incident occurred on the Naranjo de Bulnes, a dolomite mountain -which stands out like a perpendicular and four-square tower, in the -central group or _massif_ of the Picos--that known as Urriales. The -actual height of the Naranjo is given as 9424 feet, which is exceeded by -those of either of the other two groups to east and west respectively. -But its abrupt configuration gives the Naranjo by far the most imposing, -indeed appalling appearance, far surpassing all its rivals, while its -lateral walls of sheer rock, some of which reach 1500 to 2000 feet -vertically, long lent this peak the reputation of being absolutely -unscalable. That feat has, however (after countless failures), been -accomplished, in the first instance by Don Pedro Pidal, Marquis de -Villaviciosa de Asturias, who was accompanied in the ascent by Gregorio -Perez, a famous chamois-hunter of Caïn. - -At Arénas de Cabrales we bade farewell to our kind host, despatched -Caraballo with the baggage to Santandér, thence to find his way to Jerez -as best he might, by sea; and ourselves drove off through the hills -forty miles to the railway at Cabezón de la Sal, there to entrain for -Bilbao, Paris, and London. - - * * * * * - -On August 19, 1881, at a royal _montería_ above Aliva and Andara H.M. -Don Alfonso XII. recovered the same evening (lying dead around his post) -no less than twenty-one chamois. Thirteen more, which had fallen into -the abyss beneath, were brought in next morning, and nine others later, -making a total of forty-three chamois actually recovered, besides those -that had lodged in such inaccessible spots that their bodies could not -be reached. - -At another royal shoot held 1st and 2nd September 1905 H.M. King Alfonso -XIII. killed five chamois, the total bag on that occasion being -twenty-three. - - -THE PICOS DE EUROPA DECLARED A ROYAL PRESERVE - -In 1905 the freeholders of those villages in the three provinces of -Santandér, León, and Asturias, which lie encircling the Picos de Europa, -offered to H.M. King Alfonso XIII. the exclusive rights of hunting the -chamois throughout the whole "Central Group." His Majesty was pleased to -accept the offer, and in the following year commissioned the Marquis of -Villaviciosa de Asturias (the intrepid conqueror of the Naranjo) to -appoint guards to preserve the game. - -Five such guards were appointed in 1906, their chief being the -aforementioned Gregorio Perez, representing the region of Caïn, the -other four representing those of Bulnes, Sotres, Espiñama, and Valdeón. - -The chamois in the four regions named can be counted in thousands. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -HOOPOE (_Upupa epops_) - -The crest normally folds flat, backwards (as shown at p. 69), but at -intervals flashes upright like a halo.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX - -HIGHLANDS OF ASTURIAS - -(1) THE TROUT IN SPAIN - - -The Asturian Highlands--a maze of mist-wreathed mountains forested with -birch and pine, the home of brown bear and capercaillie, and on whose -towering peaks roam herds of chamois by hundreds--form a region distinct -from the rest of Spain. - -Rushing rivers and mountain-torrents coursing down each rent in those -rock-ramparts attracted our earliest angling ambitions. Some of those -efforts--with rod and gun--are recorded in _Wild Spain_, and we purpose -attempting no more--whether with pen or fly-rod. For the Spanish trout -is given no sort of sporting chance, and lovely streams--a very epitome -of trouting-water--that might make the world a pleasanter planet (and -enrich their owners too) are abandoned to the assassin with dynamite and -quicklime, or to villainous nets, cruives, and other engines of -wholesale destruction with which we have no concern. - -Never since the date of _Wild Spain_ have we cast line on Spanish -waters, nor ever again will we attempt it. Spain which, from her French -frontier in the Pyrenees right across to that of Portugal on the west, -might rival any European country in this respect stands well-nigh at the -foot of the list. Not in the most harassed streams of Norway, nor in her -hardest-"ottered" lakes, have the trout so damnable a fate dealt out to -them as in northern Spain, and for twenty years we have abandoned it as -an angling potentiality--or, to put it mildly, there are countries -infinitely more attractive to the wandering fisherman. - -The case of the Spanish trout as it stands to-day is summed up in the -following letter, dated April 1910, from our friend Capt. F. J. -Mitchell:-- - - I have tried a great many of the best rivers in northern Spain, - and have come to the conclusion that for angling purposes they - have been hopelessly ruined--by dynamite, cloruro, lime, coca, and - various other things. There may be deep pools here and there where - fish have escaped, but they are very few. If your book is not - finished you can put this in, as it is accurate, and may save many - a disappointment to the free fisherman. - -Farther south, in León and northern Estremadura, are also rivers of -first-rate character. The Alagón, for example, with its tributaries, is -well adapted for trout--dashing streams with alternate stretches of pool -and rapid. These still hold trout in their head-waters among the -mountains; but lower down the speckled beauties are well-nigh -extirpated. - -In this region one frequently observes, not without surprise, evidence -of the introduction and acclimatisation of exotic products by old-time -Moors--often in most outlandish nooks, wherever their keen eyes had -spotted some fertile patch: probably, ere this, that energetic race -would have preserved and cultivated the trout! The success of such -enterprise in New Zealand and South Africa (it is even promising to -succeed under the Equator in B.E. Africa), and indeed in Spain itself -(at Algeciras), attests how easily these Iberian waters might be endowed -with a new interest and a new value. - -Such, however, is existent apathy that, although the local natives (N. -Estremadura) were aware of the presence of fish in their rivers, and -told us that some ran to 10 or 12 lbs. in weight (these were barbel), -yet they knew no distinctive names for the various species. All fish, -big or little, were merely _pesces--Muy buenas pesces_. None could -describe them, whether as to appearance or habit, nor did they know -whether some species were migratory or otherwise. - -The only angling we have seen practised in this province was at -Trujillo, where in some lakes adjoining that old-world city _Tencas_ (we -presume tench) up to 5 or 6 lbs. are taken with bait. - - -(2) SALMON - -To such an extent used these to abound in Asturian streams that -maid-servants stipulated on entering domestic service that they should -not be given salmon more than twice a week. At the present day the -pollution of rivers by coal-mining and other impurities has in some -cases banished the salmon entirely, in others greatly reduced their -numbers. There yet remain, nevertheless, rivers in Asturias (such as the -Deva and Cares) where salmon abound, and where numbers are still -caught--chiefly by net, though rod-fishing is gradually extending its -popularity, "owing to the glorious emotions it excites." - -A local method deserves a word of description. In the crystal-clear -waters of N. Spain salmon are regularly captured by expert divers. Its -exact position having been marked, the diver, swimming warily up from -behind, slips a running noose over the salmon's head. The noose draws -tight as the fish begins to run; an attached line is then hauled upon by -a second fisherman on the bank. - -The Marquis de Villaviciosa de Asturias writes us:-- - - It is a common practice with the fishermen to dive and capture - salmon in their arms (_á brazo_). My grandfather, the Marquis de - Camposagrado, caught twelve thus in a single morning in the river - Nalon in Asturias. - - -(3) BEAR-HUNTING IN ASTURIAS - -To the same nobleman (one of the first sportsmen of Spain) we are -indebted for the following note:-- - - As regards the chase of the bear in Asturias, where I have killed - four, I may say that it commences in September, at which period the - bears are in the habit of descending nightly from the higher - mountain-forests to the lower ground in order to raid the - maize-fields in the valleys. Expert trackers, sent out at daybreak, - spoor the bear right up to whichever covert he may have entered, - and from which no further tracks emerge beyond. - - The locality at which the animal has laid up being thus - ascertained, a _montería_ (mountain-drive) is organised--the - beaters being provided with crackers, empty tins, hunting-horns, - and every sort of ear-splitting engine--even the services of the - bagpiper[52] are requisitioned! - - Three or four guns are usually required, and are posted along the - line where the bear is most likely to break--such as where the - forest runs out to a point; or where it is narrowed by some - projecting spur of precipitous rocks; or a deep valley where the - covert is flanked by a mountain-torrent that restricts and defines - the probable line of escape. - - The bear (which is in the habit of attacking and destroying much - cattle) comes crashing through the brushwood, breaking down all - obstacles, and giving ample notice by the noise of his advance. If - wounded he will attack the aggressor; but otherwise bears only - become dangerous when they have young or are hurt in some way. The - picturesque nature of these mountain-forests lends a further - fascination to the chase of the bear in Asturias. From twenty to - thirty bears are killed here every year. - -The following quaint paragraphs we extract from Spanish newspapers:-- - - FIGHT WITH A BEAR.--In the mountains of the Province of Lerida - (Catalonia) a bear last week attacked and overpowered a muleteer, - intending to devour him. A shepherd who happened to be in the - neighbourhood, though at some little distance, witnessed the - occurrence. Hastening with his utmost speed to the spot, he threw - himself between the bear and its victim; and after a prolonged and - strenuous combat (_lucha larga y esforzada_), the shepherd - succeeded with his lance (_garrocha_) in killing the savage beast - (_fiera_). - - In his gratitude, the muleteer desired to present the shepherd with - the best horse of his cavalcade, but this the latter - declined.--_November 24, 1907._ - - INCURSION OF A BEAR.--In the outskirts of the village of Parámo in - the Province of Oviedo (Asturias) there has within the last few - days made its presence felt an immense bear which continued to - execute terrible destruction among the cattle belonging to the - villagers. Fortunately the parish-priest, who is an expert shot, - succeeded in killing the depredator. It weighed 140 kilograms (= - 300 lbs.).--_April 25, 1908._ [Two others are recorded to weigh 400 - and 440 lbs.] - - CHASE OF A SHE-BEAR--SANTANDÉR, _February 1909_. From Molledo an - assemblage of the local peasantry, mustered for the purpose, and - bearing every kind of weapon, sallied forth, to give battle to a - bear which for some weeks had been working havoc among their flocks - and herds. After traversing the mountains in all directions without - result, they were already returning, dead-beat and disappointed, - towards their village, when they suddenly descried the bear - standing in the entrance to a cave. On observing the presence of - hunters, the animal disappeared within. A shepherd named Melchor - Martinez at once followed, penetrating the interior of the cavern - which extends far into the mountain-side. Presently on indistinctly - perceiving (_divisando_) the beast, Melchor gave it a shot--flying - out himself with hair all standing on end (_encrespados_) at the - roaring of the wild beast (_fiera_). Melchor, nevertheless, at once - entered the den again and fired a second shot--jumping out - immediately thereafter. After a short interval, the roars of the - _fiera_ within having ceased, the hunters in a body entered the - cavern and found an enormous she-bear lying dead, together with - four young, alive, which they carried away. - -(Bravo, Melchor Martinez!) - - -(4) GAME-BIRDS OF CANTABRIA - -Alike in its game-denizens with other physical features, Cantabria is -differentiated from the rest of Spain, approximating rather to a -north-European similitude. Thus the capercaillie is spread along the -whole Biscayan range though nowhere numerous, and in appearance less so -than in fact, owing to the density of these mountain-forests. - -During our long but fruitless rambles after bear we raised but four; -that, however, was in spring when these birds are apt to lie close. - -In the Pyrenees (where the capercaillie is known as _Gallo de Bosque_) a -certain number are shot every winter along with roebuck and pig in -mountain-drives (_monterías_); but in the Asturias the pursuit of the -_Gallo de Monte_ is effected (as in Austria and northern Europe) during -its courting-season in May. The system is well known. The opportunity -occurs at dusk and dawn, the stalker advancing while the lovelorn male -sings a frenzied epithalamium, halting instantly when the bird becomes -silent. - -Ptarmigan are found in the Pyrenees, but seem to extend no farther west -than the Province of Navarre, which area also coincides roughly with the -southern distribution of the hazel-grouse (_Tetrao bonasia_) though we -had some suspicion (not since confirmed) that the latter may extend into -Asturias. - -Our common grey partridge, unknown in S. Spain, occurs all along the -Cantabrian highlands up to, but not beyond, the Cordillera de León. Here -it descends to the foothills in winter, but is never found on the -plains. - -A bird peculiar to this region, though not game, deserves remark, the -great black woodpecker, a subarctic species which we have observed in -the Picos de Europa. - - -ANGLING IN RIVER AND SEA[53] - -Nearly all the Spanish rivers when they leave the sierras and dawdle -through the plains degenerate into sluggish mud-charged streams; but -most of them are well stocked with barbel, which may be caught by -methods similar to those in vogue on the Thames, _i.e._ by float-fishing -or ledgering with fine but strong tackle, as the first rush of a barbel -is worthy of a trout. These fish average about one pound in weight, but -in favourable spots, such as mill-tails, run up to 10 lbs. and upwards. - -The Spanish barbel has developed one trait in advance of its English -cousins, for it will rise to a fly, or at least to a grasshopper. Owing -to the abundance of these insects and of crickets along the river-banks -in summer, the barbel have acquired a taste for such delicacies, and a -hot June afternoon in Andalucia may be worse spent than in "dapping" -beneath the trees that fringe the banks of Guadalete and similar rivers. - -The _Boga_, a little fish of the roach or dace family, seldom exceeding -a quarter pound, will afford amusement in all the smaller trout-streams -of Spain and Portugal when trout are recusant. The _boga_ is lured with -a worm-tail (on finest gut and smallest hook) from each little run or -cascade, whence five or six dozens may be extracted in an afternoon. - -The Grey Mullet (Spanish, _Lisa_) is a good sporting fish ranging from -half a pound up to four pounds weight, and caught readily in tidal -rivers as it comes up from sea on the flood. Native anglers are often -very successful, using long roach-poles and gear similar to that of the -roach-fisher at home. The bait is either lugworm or paste, and on -favouring days as many as two dozen mullet are landed during the run of -the flood-tide. - -The Shad (Spanish, _Sabalo_), though not only the handsomest but also -the best-eating of all tidal-river fish, is of no concern to the angler, -since it refuses to look at lure of any kind. - -The Tunny (Spanish, _Atun_) frequents the south-Spanish coasts and comes -in millions to the mouths of the big rivers (especially the -Guadalquivír) to spawn. The usual method of capture is by a huge fixed -net called the _almadrava_, extending three miles out to sea, and placed -at such an angle to the coast-line that the fish, on striking it, follow -along to the inshore end, where they enter a _corral_ or enclosed space -about an acre in extent. Here the fishing-boats lie waiting, and when as -many as 500 huge tunnies (they average 300 lbs. apiece) are enclosed at -once, a scene of wild excitement and bloodshed ensues, the great fish -darting and splashing around their prison, sending spray flying -mast-high, while the fishermen yell and gaff and harpoon by turns. - -The most successful _almadrava_ is situate at Rota, some seven miles -south of the mouth of Guadalquivír, the average catch for the season -(May 1 till August 1) being about 20,000 tunnies. A canning factory -stands on the shore hard by, where the fish are boiled, potted, and -shipped to Italy, whence (the tins being labelled "Italian Tunny") they -are exported to all parts of the world! The flesh resembles veal, and is -much appreciated in South America. - - -ROD-FISHING FOR TUNNY - -At this period, when the tunny go to spawn (exclusively larger fish), -they travel, as the Spaniards say, with their mouths shut, and nothing -will induce them to look at a bait. There occurs, however, in winter -(November to February) another "run" of smaller fish averaging 50 to 150 -lbs. apiece, and these are amenable to temptation. Tarifa, in the -Straits of Gibraltar, is a favourable point from which to attempt this -sport. The system is to cruise about in a falucho, or sailing-boat, -carrying a plentiful supply of sardines, mackerel, and other small fish -to serve as bait. These, on arrival at likely waters, are thrown -overboard one by one till at length they attract a roving tunny. The -operation is repeated till the quarry is enticed close up to the vessel. -A similar fish, impaled on a two-inch hook, is then offered him, -dangling on the surface, and will probably be seized. The tunny on -finding himself held, makes off in a bee-line at a mile a minute. -Needless to say, the strongest tackle must be used, together with some -hundreds of yards of line, and the fight will be severe and prolonged, -for the tunny is one of the swiftest and most active of fish, and he -weighs as much as an average man. Few amateurs have hitherto attempted -this sport; but as large numbers of tunny are caught thus by -professional fishermen with extremely coarse hand-lines, there seems to -be no reason why "big-game fishing" in Spain, if scientifically pursued, -might not rival that of California. - -The Bonito is another fine game-fish which may be caught at sunrise at -nearly any point on the Andalucian sea-board by trolling with a white -fly. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX - -THE SIERRA NEVÁDA - - -The Sierra Neváda with its striking skylines, crisp and clean-cut -against an azure background, is yearly surveyed by thousands of tourists -in southern Spain. The majority content themselves with the distant view -from the battlements of Alhambra or from the summer-palace of -Generalife. Few penetrate the alpine solitude or scale peaks that look -so near yet cost some toil to gain. - -We are not ashamed to admit that these glorious sierras have in -themselves possessed for us attractions that transcend in interest the -accumulated art-treasures, the store of historic and legendary lore that -illumine the shattered relics of Moslem rule--of an Empire City where -during seven centuries the power and faith of the Crescent dominated -south-western Europe and the focal point of mediaeval culture and -chivalry. None, nevertheless, can long sojourn in Granada wholly -uninfluenced by its stirring past, by the pathetic story of the fall of -Moorish dominion, and the words graven on countless stones till they -seem to represent the very spirit of this land, the words of the -founder, King Alhama: LA GALIB ILLA ALLAH = Only God is Victor. - -Abler pens have portrayed these things, and we will only pause to touch -on one dramatic episode--since its scene lies on our course to the "high -tops"--when Boabdil, last of the Caliphs, paused in his flight across -the _vega_ to cast back a final glance at the scene of his former -greatness and lost empire. "You do well," snarled Axia, his mother, "to -weep over your kingdom like a woman since you could not defend it like a -man." That the maternal reproach was undeserved was proved by Boabdil's -heroic death in battle, thirty years later, near Fez.[54] - -From this spot--still poetically called El Ultimo Suspiro del Moro--the -Sierra Neváda stretches away some forty miles to the eastward with an -average depth of ten miles, and includes within that area the four -loftiest altitudes in all this mountain-spangled Peninsula of Spain. The -chief points in the Pyrenees, nevertheless, run them fairly close, as -shown in the following table:-- - - -GREATEST ALTITUDES IN FEET - - _Sierra Neváda._ - - Mulahacen 11,781 - Picacho de la Veleta 11,597 - Alcazába 11,356 - Cerro de los Machos 11,205 - Col de la Veleta 10,826 - - _Pyrenees._ - - Pico de Nethou 11,168 - Monte de Posets 11,046 - Monte Perdido 10,994 - -By way of comparison it may be added that the next greatest elevations -in Spain are:-- - - Picos de Europa (described in Chap. XXVIII.) 10,046 feet - Sierra de Grédos (already described) 8,700 " - -Curiously all the loftiest elevations occur outside the great central -table-lands of Spain, the highest point of which latter is the -last-quoted Sierra de Grédos. - -Adjoining the Sierra Neváda on the south, and practically filling the -entire space between it and the Mediterranean, lie the Alpuxarras, -covering some fourteen miles by ten. The Alpuxarras are of no great -elevation (4000 to 5000 feet), and are separated from their giant -neighbours by the Valle de Lecrin, the entrance to which bears the -poetic name of El Ultimo Suspiro del Moro, as just described. - -Here is a Spanish appreciation of Neváda:-- - - Compare this with northern mountains--Alps or Pyrenees: the tone, - the colours, the ambient air differentiate this southern range. - Snow, it is true, surmounts all alike, but here the very sky - flashes radiant (_rutilante_) in its azure intensity contrasted - with the cold blue of glacier-ice. Here, in lower latitude, the - rocks appear rather scorched by a torrid sun than lashed by winter - rain and hibernal furies. The valleys present a semi-tropical - aspect, resulting from the industry of old-time Moors, who, ever - faithful to the precepts of the Koran, introduced every such - species of exotic fruit or herb as was calculated to flourish and - enrich the land.[55] - -The main chain of the Sierra Neváda constitutes one of the strongholds -of the Spanish ibex; and, curiously, the ibex is the solitary example of -big game that these mountains can boast. Differing in geological -formation from other mountain-systems of southern Spain, the Sierra -Neváda shelters neither deer of any kind--red, fallow, or roe--nor -wild-boar. The ibex, on the other hand, must be counted as no mean -asset, and though totally unprotected, they yet hold their own--a fair -average stock survives along the line of the Veleta, Alcazába, and -Mulahacen. This survival is due to the vast area and rugged regions over -which (in relatively small numbers) the wild-goats are scattered; but -even more so to the antiquated muzzle-loading smooth-bores hitherto -employed against them. That moment when cheap, repeating cordite rifles -shall have fallen into the hands of the mountain-peasantry will sound -the death-knell of the ibex. - -[Illustration: LAMMERGEYER (_Gypallus barbatus_) - -A glorious denizen of Sierra Neváda.] - -While writing the above we hear (from two sources) that the "Mauser" has -at last got into the hands of at least one local goat-herd, who last -summer killed four out of a band of five ibex--all sexes and sizes. -There is no mistaking the import of this. It signifies that the end is -in view unless prompt measures are taken to save the ibex of Neváda from -extirpation. - -So long as local hunters were restricted to their old ball-guns, the -contest was fairly equal and the game could hold its own. But neither -ibex nor any other wild beast on earth can withstand _FREE_ shooting -(unlicensed and unlimited) with 1000-yard "repeaters." Personally the -writer regards the use of repeating-rifles on game as sheer barbarism. -These are military weapons, and should be excluded from every field of -sport. - -A precisely analogous case is afforded by Norway and her reindeer. The -Mauser first appeared there in 1894. Three years later we pointed out, -both to the Norwegian Government and also in _Wild Norway_, that unless -steps were taken to regulate and limit the resultant massacre, the wild -reindeer would be extinct within five years. Our warnings passed -unheeded; but the prediction erred only on the side of moderation. For -only four years later (in 1901) the Norsk Government was forced to -_prohibit absolutely_ all shooting for a period of seven years, and to -impose, on the expiry of that time, both licence-duties and limits, -alike on native as well as on foreign sportsmen. - -Free shooting, unregulated and unlimited, means with modern weapons -instant extermination--a matter of a few years. Then, after some -creature has perished off the face of the earth, we read a gush of -maudlin regret and vain disgust. It is too late; why do not these good -folk bestir themselves while there is time to safeguard creatures that -yet survive, though menaced with deadly danger? Warnings such as ours -pass unnoticed, and platonic tears are bottled-up for posthumous -exhibition. - - * * * * * - -In winter the ibex are driven downwards by the snow. They first descend -southwards to the Trevenque--one of those abruptly peaked mountains that -"stretch out" even skilled climbers to conquer. A long knife-edged ridge -is Trevenque, culminating in a sheer pyramidal aiguille, its flanks -scarred by ravines with complication of scarp and counter-scarp, -upstanding crags and steep shale-shoots that defy definition by pen or -pencil. - -A main winter resort is supplied by the Alpuxarras, and, beyond the -dividing Valle de Lecrin, ibex are distributed along the whole series of -mountain-ranges that lie along the Mediterranean as far as the Sierras -Bermeja and Ronda. - -Among those subsidiary ranges, the following may here be specified as -ibex-frequented, to wit: the Sierras de Nerja and Lujar near Motril, -Sierra Tejáda lying south of the Vega de Granada (especially the part -called Cásulas, which, with most of the range, is private property and -preserved), Sierras de Competa and Alhama, and, nearer the sea, the -Sierra Frigiliana belonging to the late Duke of Fernan Nunez, who -secured trophies thereon exceeding thirty inches in length. - -Westward, in the Province of Malaga, lie the Sierra de Ojen, Sierra -Blanca, and Palmitera (a great area of these being now preserved by Mr. -Pablo Larios), and last the Sierra Bermeja, described in _Wild Spain_. -Several of these ranges are of bare rock, while others are covered to -their summits with gorse and other brushwood. - - * * * * * - -The most enjoyable season for ibex-shooting (and on preserved ground the -most favourable) is during August and September, when the snow has -practically disappeared, except the permanent glaciers and stray patches -in some northern ravines. Camp-life is then delightful and exhilarating -and, given sound lungs and limbs, the game may be fairly stalked and -shot. The photo shows a typical trophy--a grand ibex ram shot years ago -on the Alcazába, horns 28-1/4 inches--another specimen measuring 29 -inches is figured in _Wild Spain_. Our own experiences with ibex, -however, are now rather remote and might appear out-of-date. We -therefore content ourselves with the following extract from our work -quoted. - -On a bitterly cold March morning we found ourselves, as day slowly -broke, traversing the outspurs of the sierra--on the scene of the great -earthquake of 1884, evidences of which were plentiful enough among the -scattered hill-villages. Already many mule-teams, heavily laden with -merchandise from the coast town of Motril, were wending their laborious -way inland. It is worth noting that in front of five or six laden mules -it is customary to harness a single donkey. This animal does little -work; but always passes approaching teams on the proper side, and, -moreover, picks out the best parts of the road. This enables the driver -to go to sleep, and the plan, we were told, is a good one. - -At Lanjarón (2284 feet) we breakfasted at the ancient _fonda_ of San -Rafael, where the bright and beautifully polished brass and copper -cooking utensils hanging on the walls were a sight to make a careful -housewife envious. We watched our breakfast cooked over the -charcoal-fire, and learned a good deal thereby. We were delayed here a -whole day by snow-storms. There is stabling under the _fonda_ for 500 -pack-animals, for Lanjarón in its "season" is an important place, -frequented by invalids from far and near. Its mineral springs are -reputed efficacious; but the drainage arrangements are villainous in the -extreme, and altogether it seemed a village to be avoided. Sad traces of -the cholera were everywhere visible, many doors and lintels bearing the -ominous sign: it was curious that in so few cases had it been erased. - -We left before daybreak, and a few leagues farther on the ascent became -very steep and abrupt, the hill-crests whither we were bound within view -but wreathed in mist. Only one traveller did we meet in the long climb -from Orjiva to Capileira, and he bringing two mule-loads of dead and -dying sheep, worried by wolves just outside Capileira the night before. -Expecting that the wolves would certainly return, we prepared to wait up -that night for them; but were dissuaded, the argument being "that is -exactly what they will expect! No, those wolves will probably not come -back this winter." But return they did, both that night and several -following. The night before we left Capileira on the return journey (a -fortnight later) they came in greater numbers than ever and killed over -twenty sheep. - -Capileira is the highest hamlet in the sierra and is celebrated for its -hams, which are cured in the snow. Here we put up for the night, -sleeping as best we could amidst fowls and fleas, after an amusing -evening spent around the fire, when one pot cooked for forty people -besides ourselves. The cold was intense, streams of fine snow whirling -in at pleasure through the crazy shutters, so we were glad to go to -bed--indeed I was chased thither by a hungry sow on the prowl, seeking -something to eat, apparently in my portmanteau. - -[Illustration: THE PEAKS OF SIERRA NEVADA. - -ALCAZÁBA. MULAHACEN. -] - -[Illustration: NEST OF GRIFFON.] - -Heavy snow-falls that night and all next day prevented our advance; but -at an early hour on the following morning we were under way--six of -us--on mules, though I would have preferred to walk, the snow being so -deep one could not see where the edges of the precipices were. No sooner -had I mounted than the mule fell down while crossing a hill-torrent, and -I was glad to find the water no deeper. - -After climbing steadily upward all the morning, the last two hours on -foot, the snow knee-deep, we at length sighted the cairn on the height -to which we were bound. Before nightfall we had reached the point, but -few of the mules accomplished the last few hundred yards. After bravely -trying again and again, the poor beasts sank exhausted in the snow, and -we had to carry up the impedimenta ourselves in repeated journeys. The -deep snow, the tremendous ascent, and impossibility of seeing a foothold -made this porterage most laborious, but we had all safely stowed in our -cave before sundown. - -The overhanging rock, which for the next ten or twelve days was to serve -as our abode, we found a mass of icicles. These we proceeded to clear -away, and then by a good fire to melt our ice-enamelled ceiling, -fancying that the constant drip on our noses all night might be -unpleasant. The altitude of our ledge above sea-level was about 8500 -feet, and our plateau of rest--our home, so to speak--measured just -seven yards by two. - -Early next morning we proceeded to erect snow-screens at favourable -"passes," wherein to await the wild-goats as they moved up or down the -mountain-side at dawn and dusk respectively, their favourite food being -the rye-grass which the peasants from the villages below contrive to -grow in tiny patches--two or three square yards scattered here and there -amidst the crags. It is only by rare industry that even so paltry a crop -can be snatched at such altitudes, and during the short period when the -snow is absent from the southern aspects. At present it enveloped -everything--not a blade of vegetation nor a mouthful for a wild-goat -could be seen. - -Although during the day the snow was generally soft--the sun being very -hot--yet after dark we found the way dangerous, traversing a sloping, -slippery ice-surface like a huge glacier, where a slip or false step -would send one down half a mile with nothing to clutch at, or to save -oneself. Such a slide meant death, for it could only terminate in a -precipice or in one of those horrible holes with a raging torrent to -receive one in its dark abyss, and convey the fragments beneath the -snow--where to appear next? Each step had to be cut with a hatchet, or -hollowed--the butt of a rifle is not intended for such work, but has had -to perform it. - -Every day we saw ibex on the snow-fields and towering rocks above our -cave. They were now of a light fawn-colour, very shaggy in appearance, -some males carrying magnificent horns. One old ram seemed to be always -on the watch, kneeling down on the very verge of a crag 500 or 600 yards -above us, and which commanded a view for miles--though _miles_ read but -paltry words! From where that goat was he could survey half a dozen -provinces. - -These ibex proved quite inaccessible, and nearly a week had passed away -ere a wild-goat gave us a chance. One night shortly after quitting my -post, little better than a human icicle, and not without fear of -scrambling caveward in absolute darkness along the ice-slope, a little -herd of goats passed--mere shadows--within easy shot of where, five -minutes before, I had been lying in wait. On another morning at dawn the -tracks of a big male showed that he, too, must have passed at some hour -of the night within five-and-twenty yards of the snow-screen. - -But it was not till a week had elapsed that we had the ibex really in -our power. Just as day broke a herd of eight--two males and six -females--stood not forty yards from our cave-dwelling. The fact was -ascertained by one Estéban, a Spanish sportsman whom we had taken with -us. Silently he stole back to the cave, and without a word, or -disturbing the dreams of his still sleeping employers, picked up an -"Express" and went forth. Then the loud double report at our very -doors--that is, had there been a door--aroused us, only to find ... the -spoor of that enormous ram, the spot where he had halted, listening, -above the cave, and the splash of the lead on the rock beyond--_eighteen -inches_ too low! an impossible miss for one used to the "Express." Oh, -Estéban, Estéban! what were our feelings towards you on that fateful -morn! - -Life in a mountain-cave high above snow-level--six men huddled together, -two English and four Spaniards--has its weird and picturesque, but it -has also its harder side. Yet those days and nights, passed amidst -majestic scenes and strange wild beasts, have left nothing but pleasant -memories, nor have their hardships deterred us from repeating the -experiment. These initial campaigns were too early in the season (March -and April). - -The only birds seen were choughs and ravens; ring-ouzels lower down. -There were plenty of trout, though small, in the hill-burns. On one -occasion a circular rainbow across a deep gorge perfectly reflected in -the centre our own figures on passing a given point. The ice-going -abilities of the mountaineers were marvellous--incredible save to an -eye-witness. Across even a north-drift, hard and "slape" as steel and -hundreds of yards in extent, these men would steer a sliding, slithering -course at top speed, directed towards some single projecting rock. To -miss that refuge might mean death; but they did not miss it, ever, in -their perilous course, making good a certain amount of forward movement. -At that rock they would settle in their minds the next point to be -reached, quietly smoking a cigarette meanwhile. How such performances -diminish one's self-esteem! How weak are our efforts! Even on the softer -southern drifts, what balancing, what scrambling and crawling on hands -and knees are necessary, and what a "cropper" one would have come but -for the friendly arm of Enrique, who, as he arrests one's perilous -slide, merely mutters, "Ave Maria purissima!" - - * * * * * - -Now we have left the ice and snow and the ibex to wander in peace over -their lonely domains. To-night we have dined at a _table_; there is a -cheery fire in the rude _posada_ and merry voices, contrasting with the -silence of our cave, where no one spoke above a whisper, and where no -fire was permissible save once a day to heat the _olla_. Now all we need -is a song from the Murillo-faced little girl who is fanning the charcoal -embers. "Sing us a couplet, Dolóres, to welcome us back from the snows -of Alpuxarras!" - -_Dolóres._ "With the greatest pleasure, _Caballero_, if José will play -the guitar. No one plays like José, but he is tired, having travelled -all day with his mules from Lanjarón." - -_José._ "No, señor, not tired, but I have no soul to-night to play. This -morning they asked me to bring medicine from the town for Carmen, but -when I reached the house she was dead. I find myself very sad." - -_Dolóres._ "Pero, si ya tiene su palma y su corona?" ... = but as she -already has her palm and her crown? - -_José._ "That is true! Bring the guitar and I will see if it will quit -me of this _tristeza_!" - -Next morning the snow prevented our leaving; and the day after, while -riding away, we met some of the villagers carrying poor Carmen to the -burial-ground on the mountain-side. The body, plainly robed in white, -was borne on an open bier, the hands crossed and head supported on -pillows, thus allowing the long unfettered hair to hang down loose -below. It was an impressive and a picturesque scene, and as I rode on, -the rejoinder of Dolóres came to my mind, "Ya tiene su palma y su -corona." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI - -IN THE SIERRA NEVÁDA (_Continued_) - -ITS BIRD-LIFE IN SPRING-TIME - - -The long snow-lines of the sierra had vanished behind whirling -cloud-masses, black and menacing. The green avenues of the Alhambra -seemed gloomier than ever under a heavy downpour, while troops of -rain-soaked tourists belied the glories of an Andalucian springtide. - -[Illustration: "UNEMPLOYED" - -Bee-eaters on a wet morning.] - -Serins sang in the elms, and wrynecks noisily courted, as we set forth -with a donkey-team for the sierra. On former occasions we had explored -northwards up the Darro towards Jaën, another year up the Genil, this -spring we had selected the valley of the Monachil. Hardly had we entered -the mountains than thunder crackled overhead, and then a rain-burst -drove us to shelter in a cave. Next day broke ominous enough, but we -rode on up the wild gorge of the Monachil, and after seven hours' -hill-climbing reached the alpine farm of San Gerónimo, to the guarda of -which we had a recommendation. The house nestles beneath the serrated -ridge of the Dornájo, 6970 feet. - -With some dismay we found assembled at this outlandish spot quite a -small crowd of men, women, and children who, with dogs, pigs, hens, and -an occasional donkey, all appeared to inhabit a single smoke-filled -room. We were bidden to take seats amidst this company, and watched the -attempt to boil an enormous pan of potatoes over a green brushwood -fire, while domestic animals (including cattle) passed freely through to -the byres beyond. These being on higher ground had created in front a -sort of quagmire, which was crossed by a plank-bridge. Rain was falling -smartly, and the writer's spirits, be it confessed, sank to zero at the -prospect of a week or two in such quarters. Worse situations, however, -have had to be faced, and usually yield to resolute treatment. Thus when -a separate room--albeit but a dirty potato store--had been assigned to -us, trestle-beds and a table set up, the quality of comfort advanced in -quite disproportionate degree. - -Now the Sierra Neváda with its league-long lines of unbroken snow, -accentuated by the mystery of the towering Veleta, massive Mulahacen, -and the rest, presents an alpine panorama that is absolutely unrivalled -in all the Peninsula. But immediately below those transcendent -altitudes, in its middle regions the Sierra Neváda is lacking in many of -those attributes that charm our eyes--naturalists' eyes. Over vast areas -and on broad shoulders of the hills the winter-snows linger so long that -plant-life, where not actually extinct, is scant and starved; while -these dreary inchoate stretches are strewn broadcast with a debris of -shale and schist that resembles nothing so much as one of nature's giant -rubbish tips. True, there exists a sporadic brushwood, exiguous, -dwarfed, and intermittent; there are scattered trees, ilex and pinaster -(_Pinus pinaster_), up to about 7000 feet. But all seems barren by -comparison. One's eye hungers for the deep jungles of Moréna, for the -dark-green _pinsapos_ of San Cristobal, or the stately granite walls of -Grédos. Here all is on a big scale, the biggest in Spain; but size alone -does not itself constitute beauty, and the adornments of beauty are -lacking. We write of course not as mountaineers, but as naturalists. - -It boots not to tell of days when rain fell in sheets and an icy -_neblina_ swept the hills, shrouding their summits from view. A single -ornithological remembrance shall be recorded--the abundance of certain -northern-breeding species on the middle heights, especially common -wheatears and skylarks. After watching these carefully, we were -convinced by their actions (their song, courting, and fluttering flight) -that both intended to nest here at 7000 feet, and dissection confirmed -that view. Time alone prevented our settling the point; but a month -later (say early in June) an ornithologist could easily verify the fact. - -May the 1st broke bright and clear, not a cloud in the azure firmament. -The songs of hoopoes, serins, and a cuckoo resounded hard by, and from -our paneless window we watched three glorious rock-thrushes "displaying" -before their sober mates--as sketched at p. 18. Within sight among the -tumbled boulders were also a pair of blue thrushes, with a woodlark or -two, several black-starts, and rock-buntings. - -[Illustration: WOODLARK (_Alauda arborea_) - -Nests in Neváda up to 5000 feet, and in the pine-forests of Doñana at -sea-level.] - -We bathed in an ice-cold burn with temperature little above freezing--at -dawn, indeed, the backwaters were ice-bound. Then, mounted on a donkey, -the writer alternately scrambled up the stony steeps or dragged the -sure-footed beastie behind. The gentler slopes were fairly clad with -yellow daffodil or narcissus, now just coming into bloom, and above 7000 -feet we entered a zone of dwarf-arbutus and ilex-scrub. The warm -sunshine brought out numerous butterflies--it seemed strange to see -these frail creatures fluttering across open snows! Most of those -recognised were tortoise-shells, rather paler than our own. - -Alas, before noon the icy mists once more swept up. In a crevice among -some rocks where we sought shelter at 8000 feet the skeleton of a -wheatear attested the cruel conditions of bird-life--death by -starvation. Here we separated, the writer going for a snow-scramble, -following the dwindling Monachil to its source, where the nascent river -trickles in triple streamlets down black rock-walls mantled by impending -snow-fields. Here snow lay in scattered patches dotted with the -resurgent unkillable "pincushion" gorse (_Buphaurum spinosum_) and a -spiny broom that later develops a purple blossom, and separated by -intervals where the melting mantle had left Mother Earth viscous and -inchoate, heart-broken at the indignity of eight months in the arctic. -Higher up the snow became continuous, but seamed by innumerable rills, -each laughing and dancing as in delight at a new-found existence, or -converging to join streams in buoyant exuberance. Some leapt forward -through fringing margins of emerald moss; others ploughed sullen ways -beneath an overhung snow-brae. But no chirp or sound of bird-life broke -the silence, the only living creatures were ants and a bronze-green -beetle! (_Pterostichus rutilans_, Dej.)--not a sign of those alpine -forms we had specially come to seek. - -[Illustration] - -From 8500 feet the snow stretched upwards unbroken (save where some -sheer escarpment protruded), covering in purest white the vast shoulder -of the Veleta. The Picácho itself was to-day hidden amidst swirling -clouds, and only once did we enjoy a momentary glimpse of its great -scarped outline. Yet in three short weeks, say by May 20, all these -leagues of solid snow will have vanished. - -Facing this gorge of the Monachil, the opposite slope is crowned by the -conspicuous turreted crags known as the Peñones de San Francisco, 8460 -feet. To these L. had climbed, and though we both failed in finding the -chief of our special objects (the snow-finch) yet L. had enjoyed a -glimpse of another alpine species, new to us, and we decided to revisit -the spot on the morrow. - -That morning again broke fine, the precursor of a glorious day. Hardly -had we left our quarters than a lammergeyer soared overhead, then, -gently closing his giant wings, plunged into a cavern above. Five -minutes later he reappeared and, after several aerial evolutions, -suddenly checked and, with indrawn pinions, swept downwards to earth. -Ere we could surmount an intervening ridge, the great dragon-like -_Gypaëtus_ swept into view, his golden breast gleaming in the early -sunlight, and bearing in his talons a long bone with which he sailed -across the valley towards Trevenque; we watched to see the result, but, -so far as prism-glasses could reach, that bone was never dropped. -Probably he had some special spot habitually used for bone-breaking. -Later a griffon-vulture (a species rarely seen in Neváda) passed -overhead, and then a second lammergeyer sailed up the gorge of Monachil. - -[Illustration: SOARING VULTURE] - -'Tis a long up-grade grind to the Peñones, but repaid by magnificent -views of the Picácho de la Veleta--its scarped outline gloriously offset -against the deepest azure and its 1000-foot sheer drop vanishing to -unseen depths in the mysterious "corral" beneath--an inspiring scene. - -Beyond to the eastward towered the mountain-mass, -Mulahacen--perpetuating the name of that Moslem chief whose remains, so -tradition records, yet lie in some unknown glacial niche in this the -loftiest spot of all the Spains. There they were laid to rest by the -fond hands of Zoraya, at the dying request of her husband the -penultimate Moorish king, Muley-Hacen. - -Our upward course led through beds of dwarf-juniper, thick strong stems -all flattened down horizontally by the weight of winters' snows, -precisely as one sees them on the high fjelds of Norway. Here, both -to-day and yesterday, we observed ring-ouzels, doubtless nesting amid -the dense covert. - -We soon picked up our friends of yesterday--small hedge-sparrow-like -birds with blue-grey throat, striated back, and red patches on either -flank, the alpine accentor. At first they were fairly tame, allowing us -to watch and sketch them perched on lowly shrub or rock, warbling a -sweet little carol (louder, but otherwise resembling that of our -hedge-sparrow), or darting to pick up a straying ant. After a while that -confidence, though wholly unabused, vanished; they became wild and -cautious, refusing to allow us a single specimen! These birds were -evidently paired, but showed no signs of nesting. Alas, that a drawing -by Commander Lynes depicting the scene with the Picácho de la Veleta in -the background refuses to "reproduce"! - -These were the only accentors we saw, nor did we see to-day or any other -day a single snow-finch. - - * * * * * - -_An Alpine Farm._--The lands of San Gerónimo (where we were quartered) -extend up the Monachil to either watershed--a length of 4-1/2 leagues, -while the breadth cannot average less than two. The acreage we leave to -be calculated by those who care for such detail. At this date (early -May) certainly one-half lay under snow, which still encumbered the -higher patches of cultivation--to-day we saw men unearthing last -autumn's crop of potatoes well above the snow-line. At lower levels some -corn already stood six inches high, but many "fields" were necessarily, -as yet, unploughed. Fields, by the way, were separated not, as at home, -by hedges, but sometimes by a sheer drop of 500 or 1000 feet, elsewhere -by perpendicular rock-faces or by shale-shoots. But the laborious -cultivation missed not one level patch--nor unlevel either, since we saw -ox-teams ploughing where one wondered if even a cat could maintain a -footing. - -This is the highest farm in Neváda, possibly in all Spain. The house -stands at 6000 feet and the lands extend to the Veleta, 11,597 feet. It -provides grazing for goats and sheep, as well as a small herd of cattle, -and thus affords permanent employment to several herdsmen. But at -seed-time and harvest it employs as many as twenty or thirty men who, -with their dependents, live in rude esparto-thatched huts scattered over -the whole fifteen miles, and it was the numbers of these (assembled for -pay-day) that had caused us some consternation on our first arrival! -The value of the farm, we were told, is put at £8000 Spanish, -representing some £400 as yearly rental. - -Two years before, wolves had become such a pest to the flocks that -strychnine was universally resorted to, with the result that to-day not -a wolf is to be seen in the whole sierra. Foxes also perished, and the -guarda, Manuel Gallegos, told us that he had thus obtained several -wild-cats (_Gatos montéses_) whose skins fetched 20 pesetas apiece as -ladies' furs. The following day we chanced on a dead marten-cat, -evidently killed by poison; and on showing it to Manuel with the remark -that that was _not_ a _gato montés_, he replied: "No, señor, that is a -_garduño; pero lo mismo da_" = "it's all the same!" Accuracy in -definition is not a strong point with Manuel, nor indeed is it with any -of our Spanish friends. - -Martens are the commoner animal in Neváda; there may, nevertheless, be a -few true wild-cats, and there certainly are some lynxes. The four-footed -fauna of Neváda is sadly limited. There are neither deer of any -kind--red, roe, or fallow--nor wild-boar. Bare rocks afford no covert -for these: there is, of course, one compensating equivalent in the ibex. -Small game is equally conspicuous by its absence. Local _cazadores_ -(each of whom, of course, possesses a decoy-bird--_reclamo_) enlarge on -the abundance of partridge and hares, yet we saw hardly any game whether -here on the Monachil, on the Genil, Darro, or at any of the points -whereon we have explored the Sierra Neváda. There must, however, be a -sprinkling to maintain the golden eagles and peregrines, both of which -birds-of-prey we observed. - -[Illustration: GOLDEN EAGLE HUNTING] - -There were small trout in the Monachil; but in Genil and Dilar (which -latter springs from the alpine Laguna de las Yeguas just under the -Picácho de la Veleta) trout ran up to a quarter-pound or thereby: the -method of capture is dynamite. - -Ibex at this season (May) frequent the southern slopes of the main -chain--looking down upon the Alpuxarras--a favourite resort being the -wild rocks of Alcazába, east of Mulahacen; but in summer they are -distributed along the whole of the "high tops" and are still maintaining -their numbers as usual. - -We had cherished the hope of meeting with ptarmigan and other alpine -forms in these high sierras, especially during our earlier expeditions -after ibex. We are satisfied that ptarmigan at least do not exist, -having seen no trace of them at any point; but we never saw the -snow-finch either, and it is reported to exist in numbers. - -Oh! the wearying monotony of that long down-grade ride--the infinity of -vast subrounded mountains, all alike, all ugly, all sprinkled rather -than clad with low gorse and spiky broom, like millions of pincushions -with all points outwards. Then the shale--the very earth seemed -disintegrated. Red shale and blue, cinder-grey and lemon-yellow; some -schistose and sparkling, the bulk dull and dead. Here and there, amid -oceans of friable detritus, stand out great rocks of more durable -substance--solitary pinnacles, towers and turrets of fantastic form. Six -hours of this ere we reach the _Vega_ of Granada. - - -ORNITHOLOGY - -For ornithologists the following notes on birds observed and not already -mentioned may here be inserted:-- - -[Illustration: ROCK-THRUSH] - - _Blue_ and _Rock-thrushes_.--Neither abundant, but the former most - so in the rock-gorges of lower Monachil, nesting in "pot-holes" and - horizontal crevices of the crags. The rock-thrush is more alpine - and confined (here as elsewhere) exclusively to the higher sierra. - - _Missel-thrushes_ among ilex-trees at 7000 feet, apparently - nesting: a few _woodchats_ observed at same points. - - _Blackstart._--Plentiful, though less so than on San Cristobal in - Sierra de Jerez (5000 feet). A nest in the crag over-hanging our - bathing-place in the burn at San Gerónimo contained five eggs on - April 28. We found others on Monachil, and _grey wagtails_ were - also breeding at both places. - - _Bonelli's Warbler._--Arrived, and preparing to nest, end of April: - a few _white-throats_ and _rufous warblers_ early in May. Robins - and wrens nesting, and _nightingales_ abundant in lower - river-valley. - - _Eared_ and _Black-throated Wheatear_.--Ubiquitous but not - abundant. In both these forms (as well as in the Common Wheatear) - the males displayed a dual stage of plumage; some being completely - adult, while others retained an immature state somewhat resembling - their first dress (May). - - _Stonechat._--Four eggs, April 29. - - _Blackchat_ and _Crag-martin_.--Both conspicuous by their absence. - - [This applies to the higher sierra--both were observed in the lower - Monachil--say 4000 feet.] - - _Ortolans_ (apparently just arriving during early days of May), - with _cirl_ and _rock-buntings_, were frequent up to the limits of - scrub-growth, say 7500 feet. - - _Rock-sparrow._--Breeding in crags on lower slopes. - - _Woodlark._--Lower hills: young on wing, end April. - - _Short-toed Lark._--Lower hills: about to nest here. - - _Crested Lark._--Lower hills: common. - - _Tawny Pipit._--Plentiful, scattered in pairs over the arid hills: - males singing tree-pipit fashion, soaring downwards with tail - spread overhead. - - _Great_, _Blue_, and _Cole-tits_.--Common, the latter only among - the open woods of pine (_Pinus pinaster_). - - _Raven_ and _Chough_.--A few. - - _Hoopoe_, _Kestrel_, and _Little Owl_.--A few. - - _Partridge_ (redleg).--Scarce: a pair and a single bird observed at - 8000 feet among snow-patches and junipers. - - _Chaffinches_ and _Serins_.--First broods on wing, end April; nests - for second broods building early in May. - - _Linnets._--Common up to scrub-limit. - - _Dippers._--Observed on Genil, Darro, Monachil, and all the rivers - visited. - - _Pied Flycatcher._--A male observed on migration, April 30. - - In the stupendous rock-gorges which enclose the lower course and - outlet of Monachil (3500-5000 feet) are situate the breeding-places - of the few griffon-vultures which inhabit this sierra. With them - nest some Neophrons, and there is a "Choughery" at 4000 feet, while - crag-martins and blackchats (not observed elsewhere), with many - blue thrushes, find a congenial home among these giant crags. - -While lunching, our goat-herd guide was pointing out rock-crannies where -wolves, from lack of brushwood, used to lie up by day, and complaining -that he could not keep poultry by reason of the marten-cats. Suddenly he -broke out in shrill and altered tones: "Tell me, Caballero," he -exclaimed, "tell me _why_ you come here from lands afar to suffer -discomfort and hardship and to undergo all these labours--why do you do -this?" We endeavoured to explain. "You see, Gregorio, that God created -all manner of animals different one from another. So also He created -mankind in many different races--all brothers, yet differing as brothers -do. You Spanish belong to the Latin race. You have many fine qualities, -some of which we lack. But you rather concern yourselves with material -things and disregard platonic study. We of British race are imbued with -desire to learn all that can be traced of Nature and her ways. Some -examine the earth itself, its formations and transformations; others the -birds or the beasts. There are those who devote their lives to studying -the beetles and ants, even the mosquitoes. Now in Spain you find none -who are interested in such matters." - -Gregorio sat silent and seemed impressed; but Caraballo interjected: -"Why waste time? These people are not concerned (_entrometidos_) in such -matters." True; but Gregorio had appeared interested and intelligent? -"Si! but when folk spent lonely lives among the mountains and never see -but a petty hill-village once or twice a year, then intelligence goes to -sleep (_se pone dormido_)." Certainly five minutes later they were both -hammering away again at the customary small-talk of the by-ways. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -SPANISH SPARROW (_Passer hispaniolensis_ [_sic_], Temm.) - -A bird of the wild woods, never seen in towns; builds in foundations of -kites' and eagles' nests. Note that Temminck's Latin seems a bit -"rocky." The specific name might be _hispanicus_, or perhaps -_hispaniensis_, but _hispaniolensis_ never. That adjective must date -from a newer era and from a world then unknown.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII - -VALENCIA - -TWO NOTABLE WILDFOWL RESORTS - - -(1) THE ALBUFERA - -For centuries this marine lagoon--the largest sheet of water in -Spain--has, along with the forests and wastes that formerly adjoined it, -been a stronghold of wild animal-life. As early as the thirteenth -century King James I., after wresting the Kingdom of Valencia from the -Moors, and dividing its castles and estates among his nobles and -generals, selected, with shrewd appreciation, the Albufera for his -personal share of the spoils of war. For not only did the great lake -with its wild appanages form a truly regal hunting-domain, but the broad -lands intervening between the Grao of Valencia, Cullera, and the -lake-shores possessed a fabled fertility. - -For six centuries the lands and waters of Albufera belonged to the -Spanish Crown. Though by edict in A.D. 1250 James I. granted free public -rights of fishing (reserving, however, one-fifth of the catch for royal -use), yet both he and succeeding monarchs ever continued to extend and -improve the amenities of the Crown Patrimony. - -In State-papers of James I.'s time, where reference is made to the game, -there are expressly specified: "Deer, wild-boar, ibex, francolins, -partridges, hares, rabbits, otters, and wildfowl, besides the wealth of -fish" in the lake itself. Again, more than four centuries later, an -edict of October 31, 1671, expressly specified among resident game, -"deer, boar, ibex, and francolin." Now the francolin, although to-day -extinct in Spain, is known to have existed on the Mediterranean till -quite within modern times, and the other animals named might well have -abounded in the wild forests of those days. But the specific mention of -ibex (_twice_, with an interval of 400 years) appeared inexplicable; for -it was inconceivable that a wild-goat should ever have occupied the -low-lying _dehesas_ of Albufera. The discovery of the actual existence -of ibex in the sierras of Valencia, however (as recorded above, p. 142), -explains the paradox and also throws light on the breadth of mediæval -ideas in hunting-boundaries; since the Sierra Martés lies some forty -miles inland of Albufera. - -Lying about seven miles south-east of Valencia, the lake has a -water-area some fourteen miles long by six or seven wide, its -circumference being over nine leagues. On the south, it is shut off from -the Mediterranean by a strip of pine-clad dunes--the deep green foliage -broken in pleasing contrast by intervals of bare sand, forming splashes -of gold amidst dark verdure. On all other sides the limits of the lake -are marked by yellow reeds which fringe its shores. - -Its waters, dotted with the white sails of _faluchos_, present the -appearance of a small sea, a resemblance which is accentuated in stormy -weather by the height of the waves. - -The lake connects by canals with various adjacent villages; while two -canals (Perillo and Perillonet) communicate with the sea, though their -mouths are blocked by locks. These locks are closed each year from -November 1 till January 1--thereby retaining the whole of the -river-waters from inland, in order to raise the interior water-level and -so flood the surrounding rice-fields. - -This artificial inundation--by disseminating alluvial matter brought -down by autumnal rains over the adjacent lands--has greatly extended the -area of rice-cultivation, and, of course, equally reduced the original -water-surface. The result has been, nevertheless, immensely to augment -the enormous numbers of wildfowl which had always made the Albufera -their winter home; for no food is so attractive to ducks as rice, while, -despite its reduction, the water-area is yet ample. - -During the direct tenure of the Crown, all taking of fish or fowl was -carried on subject to the regulations of successive kings and their -administrators. Ancient methods of fowling, however quaint, do not -concern us as natural historians; but two methods described in -multitudinous records throw light on altered conditions and sharpened -instincts. The first was to "push" the fowl by a line of boats towards -sportsmen in concealed posts among reeds, the ducks either swimming -complacently forward or breaking back over the encircling flotilla, -when, in each case, large numbers were killed with crossbows. To -celebrate the nuptials of Phillip III., no less than 300 boats were thus -employed. The second plan involved persuading hosts of quietly paddling -ducks to swim forward into reed-beds through which winding channels had -been cut, and over which nets were spread. - -Needless to add, neither method would nowadays serve to outwit -twentieth-century wildfowl. - -By the beginning of last century (about 1830), owing to the destruction -of forests and reclamation of land for grazing or rice-cultivation, the -bigger game had already disappeared; but the flights of winter wildfowl -actually increased in proportion to the extended area of rice. - -The Albufera continued to be the property of the Crown of Spain from -1250 till May 12, 1865, when the Cortes decreed, and Queen Isabella II. -confirmed, its transference to the State. - -At the present day the shooting on Albufera is conducted on purely -commercial and up-to-date principles. The whole area is mapped out into -sections like a chessboard, and each considerable gun-post (or -_replaza_, as it is called) is sold by auction. - -These specially selected _replazas_ number thirty, and are sold for the -entire season, the prices varying from £150 for No. 1 down to about £6 -for No. 30. - -These thirty "reserved stalls" having been disposed of in public -competition, the remaining mid-water positions (for which the charge is -a dollar or two per day) are then apportioned by drawing lots. Finally, -licences are issued at a few pesetas to shoot from the foreshores or -from small launches stationed among the reeds at specified spots, but -which the licensee must not quit during the shooting. - -The sum that finally filtered through to the State during forty years -varied between 7500 and 23,000 pesetas (say £300 to £900), a record -price being obtained in 1868, namely, 40,000 pesetas. The municipality -of Valencia is seeking to obtain the cession of the Albufera from the -State. - -The gun-posts used are either flat-bottomed boats which can be thrust -into a sheltering reed-bed; or, should no cover be available, sunken -tubs masked by reeds or rice-stalks. The posts are fixed nominally at a -rifle-shot (_tiro de bala_) apart--say 200 yards. - -Regular fixed shoots take place every Saturday throughout the season, -with, however, certain small exceptions, aimed partly at securing to the -fowl a period of rest and quiet on their first arrival, and partly due -to the festivals of St. Martin and St. Catherine being public days and -free to all. - -The species of ducks obtained on Albufera do not differ from those at -Daimiel. On these deeper waters pochards and the various diving-ducks -are more conspicuous than on the shallower rice-swamps of the -Calderería. - - -(2) THE CALDEREÍA - -In contrast with the Albufera (and with Daimiel) the Calderería is not a -natural lagoon, but simply the artificial inundation of rice-grounds -(_arrozales_), such inundation being necessary for the cultivation of -that grain. - -The rice-grounds of the Calderería belong to the three adjacent communes -of Sueca, Cullera, and Sollana--held in a joint peasant-proprietorship. -The flooding of the _arrozales_ was commenced in 1850, the original -object being the cultivation of rice, combined with the taking of -wildfowl in nets (_paranses_). It was, however, early seen that the -enormous quantities of wild-ducks attracted to the spot were of almost -equal value with the grain-crop, and the fame of the Calderería -attracted troops of sportsmen from all parts of Spain. This influx, for -some years, the local authorities endeavoured to check, with a view to -securing the sport for local residents--who, by the way, wanted to enjoy -this good thing at the price of a dollar a year! In 1880 it was decided -to put up to auction the different shooting-posts, or _replazas_, -without any restriction. - -The whole of the _arrozales_ are accordingly divided into defined -sections called _replazas_, each perhaps 500 or 600 yards square, -forming roughly, as it were, a gigantic chessboard, though the various -_replazas_ are quite irregular in shape and size. These are sold by -public auction at a fixed date. The best positions realise as much as, -say, £80 to £100. A large rental is thus obtained yearly, some villages -receiving as much as 6000 dollars. - -Since the whole shooting area is their common property, every peasant -and villager is personally interested in the value and success of the -shooting, and each thus becomes virtually a game-keeper. Hence trespass -is impossible. During autumn and up to the first shoot never a human -form intrudes upon the deserted rice-grounds; and the enormous -assemblages of wildfowl which at that season congregate thereon enjoy -uninterrupted peace and security up to mid-November. More favourable -conditions it is impossible to conceive--on the Albufera, for example, -the fowl are liable to constant disturbance by passing boats, etc. - -The first shoot of the year takes place about the date just named, -November 15, and is repeated every eighth day thereafter up to the -middle of January, when the rice-grounds are run dry. - -Upon the completion of the auction sales there is announced a definite -day and hour at which (and at which _only_) the lessor is permitted to -enter the rice-grounds, in order to prepare his shelter. Should he omit -or neglect this opportunity, he is not afterwards allowed to touch it -until the actual morning of the shooting. - -Since there grows on rice-grounds no natural cover whatever, it is -essential to prepare some form of screen or shelter, and the reeds or -sedges required for the purpose must be brought from elsewhere. - -Across each _replaza_, or conceded space, is erected a double line of -screens, two yards apart and carefully masked by a fringe of reeds or -rice-stalks. In the intervening "lane" are fixed two or more sunken tubs -wherein the shooters can sit concealed. - -Hardly has midnight struck on that eventful morn than the world is -amove. Highways and byways, on land and water, are crowded by mobilising -forces; across the dark waters move forth whole squadrons of boats, -punts and launches, each one steering a course towards some far-away -_replaza_. Absolute silence reigns. No lights are allowed and no sound -shocks the mystery of night save the creaking of punt-pole or lapping of -wave--no human sound, that is, for "the night is filled with music"; the -pall overhead, the unseen wastes on every side are vocal with wildfowl -cries. Continuously the still air is rent and cleft by the rush of -myriad pinions. From right and left, before and behind, pass hurrying -hosts, their violent flight resonant as the wash of an angry sea. But -never a shot is fired. That is against the rules. - -Shortly before sunrise the note of a bugle announces to hundreds of -impatient ears the signal "Open fire," and in that instant the fusillade -from far and near rages like a battle. For a solid hour, nay, for two -and sometimes three, fire continues incessant. First to become silent -are the distant guns along the shores; the minor _replazas_ slacken down -next, and by noon all save two or three of the best posts are reduced to -a desultory and dropping fire. - -Then a second signal indicates that the "pick-up" may begin--up to that -moment not a gunner is permitted to leave his place. This gathering of -the game, stopping cripples, etc., induces a short renewal of the -fusillade; but soon all is silent once more, and at three o'clock a -third signal rings out, and at once every sportsman must quit the -shooting-ground. - -Besides the lessees of the auction-sold _puestos_ (many of whom come -from Madrid and distant parts of Spain), there foregather on these -occasions all the local gunners; and far away beyond those sacred areas -secured by purchase there form up league-long lines of fowlers by the -distant shore; so that, between the private and privileged _puestos_ and -the free public lines outside, there may assemble in all some 3000 -gunners. Hence these _tiradas_ partake of the character of a popular -festival. Yet in spite of such numbers there is not the slightest -confusion or danger, so perfect are the rules and so scrupulously are -they observed. - -With so many guns scattered over wide areas no precise record of the -exact numbers secured are possible; but, according to the estimates of -those best calculated to judge, as many as 22,000 to 23,000 head (ducks -and coots) are obtained in a single morning. - -The records of individual guns in the best _replazas_ run from 100 to -200 ducks gathered, and occasionally exceed those figures. - -At the first shoot of the year fully 25 per cent of the spoil are coots; -but at the later shoots ducks are obtained in greater proportion, as -coots then quit the rice-grounds. These later shoots do not produce -quite such stupendous totals; but still immense numbers are bagged--ten -or twelve thousand in a morning. - -As the majority of purchasers come from a distance and usually only -remain for one, or perhaps two, of the fixed shooting days, such prices -as £80 to £100 represent a fairly stiff rent. - -Few mallards are obtained at the first shoot, but their numbers increase -as the winter advances. The chief species are pintail, wigeon, teal, -and shoveller, together with a few shelducks and many common and -red-crested pochards. Flamingoes and spoon-bills frequent the shallows -in small numbers. - -As individual instances; from a _replaza_ that cost 900 pesetas (say -£40), and which was the _ninth_ in point of price that year, one gun -fired 700 cartridges in a single morning. - -The best _replaza_--at least the most expensive (it cost 1500 -pesetas)--was tenanted last winter by friends from whose experiences, -not too encouraging, we gather: At the first shoot (November 13) the -post was occupied by a single gun, who, after firing 400 shots, was -compelled to desist owing to injury to his shoulder. "I believe," he -writes, "I might have fired 1500 cartridges had I continued all day, but -was obliged to leave early. The boatmen had then gathered ninety--sixty -ducks, thirty coot--and expected to recover more." - -On November 28 the post was occupied by three guns: "No day for duck, a -blazing sun so hot that the reflection from the water blistered our -faces. The ducks mounted up high in air and mostly cleared early in the -proceedings, though some were attracted by our 100 decoys. We killed -ninety-six, mostly wigeon and pochard, a few mallard and teal, besides -twenty snipe. The desideratum is a really rough day, but that at -Valencia is past praying for." - -The _arrozales_ are run dry (and of course the shooting stopped) by the -middle of January. The water, in fact, is only kept up so long solely -for the sake of the shooting. So soon as its level has fallen a couple -of inches the fowl all leave directly. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII - -ON SMALL-GAME SHOOTING IN SPAIN - - -Hardly will one enter a village _posada_ or a peasant's lonely cot -without observing one inevitable sign. Among the simple adornments of -the whitewashed wall and as an integral item thereof hangs a caged -redleg. And from the rafters above will be slung an antediluvian -fowling-piece, probably a converted "flinter," bearing upon its rusty -single barrel some such inscription--inset in gold characters--as, -"Antequera, 1843." These two articles, along with a cork-stoppered -powder-horn and battered leathern shot-belt, constitute the -stock-in-trade and most cherished treasures of our rustic friend, the -Spanish cazador. Possibly he also possesses a _pachón_, or heavily built -native pointer; but the dog is chiefly used to find ground-game or -quail, since the redleg, ever alert and swift of foot, defies all -pottering pursuit. Hence the _reclamo_, or call-bird, is almost -universally preferred for that purpose. - -Red-legged partridges abound throughout the length and breadth of wilder -Spain--not, as at home, on the open corn-lands, but amidst the -interminable scrub and brushwood of the hills and dales, on the moory -wastes, and palmetto-clad prairie. On the latter hares, quail, and -lesser bustard vary the game. - -Thither have ever resorted sportsmen of every degree--the lord of the -land and the peasant, the farmer, the Padre Cura of the parish, or the -local medico--all free to shoot, and each carrying the traitor _reclamo_ -in its narrow cage. The central idea is, of course, that the _reclamo_, -by its siren song, shall call up to the gun any partridge within -hearing, when its owner, concealed in the bush hard by, has every -opportunity of potting the unconscious game as it runs towards the -decoy--two at a shot preferred, or more if possible. 'Twere unjust to -reproach the peasant-gunner for the deed; flying shots with his old -"flinter" would merely mean wasted ammunition and an empty -pot--misfortunes both in his _res angustae domi_. We have ourselves, on -African veld, where dinner depends on the gun, meted out similar measure -to strings of cackling guinea-fowl without compunction; but in Spain we -have never tried the _reclamo_, nor wish to. - -That the race of redlegs should have survived it all--year in and year -out--bespeaks a wondrous fecundity, and has inspired new-born ideas of -"preservation," which have been initiated in Spain with marked success. -To this subject we refer later. - -Though we have ourselves (maybe from "insular prejudice") systematically -refused to see the _reclamo_ work his treacherous rôle, yet many Spanish -sportsmen are enthusiastic over the system, which they describe as _una -faena muy interesante_, and are as proud of their call-birds as we of -our setters. The _reclamos_ may be of either sex. The cock-partridges -become past-masters of the art of calling up their wild rivals from -afar; and by a softer note the wild hen is also lured to her doom--for -the dual influences of love and war are both called into play. The male -hears the defiant challenge of battle and, all aflame, hurries by -alternative flights and runs to seek the unseen challenger. As distance -lessens the fire of each taunt increases, and, blind with passion, the -luckless champion dashes on to that fatal opening where he is aligned by -barrels peeping from the thicket. The female, with more tender purpose, -also draws near--the seductive love-note entices; but, oh! the wooing -o't--a few pellets of lead end that idyll. It is then--when either rival -or lover, it matters not which, lies low in death alongside his -cage--that the well-constituted _reclamo_ shows his fibre. So overcome -with savage joy, the narrow cage will scarce contain him as he bursts -into exultant pæons of victory. On the other hand, sullen disappointment -is exhibited by the decoy when his exploit has only resulted in a missed -shot. - -In the spring the female call-note is more effective than that of the -male. - -Well-trained _reclamos_ may be worth anything from £2 up to £10. -Recently a yearly licence of ten shillings per bird has been levied. -This has either reduced their numbers, or perhaps caused them to be kept -more secretly. Formerly a _cicada_ in a tiny cage and a _reclamo_ in its -conical prison were contiguous objects in almost every doorway. - -Ground-game is the special favourite of the Spanish cazador. He will -search hundreds of acres for a problematical hare, and a long day's hunt -with his trusty _pachón_ is amply rewarded by a couple or two of -diminutive rabbits about half the weight of ours, but whose speed verily -stands in inverse ratio. For the life of the Spanish rabbit is passed in -the midst of alarms; supremely conscious of soaring eagles and hawks -overhead, he never willingly shows in the open by daylight, or if forced -to it, then terror lends wings to his feet. The death of a hare, -however, represents to the cazador the climax of terrestrial triumph. In -those ecstatic moments the animal (average weight 4-1/2 lbs.) is held -aloft by the hind-legs, a subject for admiration and self-gratulation; -mentally it is weighed again and again to a chorus of soliloquising -ejaculations, "Grande como un chivo" = as big as a kid! - -The quail, though extremely abundant at its passage-seasons (when in -September the Levante, or S.E. wind, blows for days together, blocking -their transit to Africa, Andalucia is crammed with accumulated quails), -yet represents but a small morsel in a culinary sense, and is swift of -wing to boot. Neither of these attributes commend its pursuit to our -friend with the rusty single-barrel; and similar reasons bear, with -increased force, on the case of snipe. These game-birds are left -severely alone--that is, with the gun. - - Bags of twenty brace of quail (and in former years of forty or - fifty brace) may then be made where, on the wind changing next day, - never a quail will be found. - - In spring, again, great numbers pass northward, but many remain to - nest on the fertile _vegas_ of Guadalquivir and on the plains of - Castile. At that season quail are chiefly taken by nets; but on - systems so cunning and elaborate that we regret having no space for - descriptive detail. Put briefly, in Andalucia the fowler spreads a - gossamer-woven fabric loosely over the growing corn; then, lying - alongside, by means of a _pito_ (an instrument that exactly - reproduces the dactylic call-note of the quarry) induces every - combative male within earshot either to run beneath or to alight - precisely upon the outspread snare. So perfect is the imitation - that quail will even run over the fowler's prostrate form in their - search for the adversary. In Valencia living call-birds (hung in - cages on poles) are substituted for the _pito_, and the net is more - of a fixture--small patches of the previous autumn's crop being - left uncut expressly to attract quail to definite points. - - The Andalucian quail frequents palmetto-scrub and is very - local--rarely can more than two or three couple be killed in a day, - and that only in September. Some appear then to retire to Africa, - along with the turtle-doves--the latter a bird that surely deserves - passing note, since few are smarter on wing or afford quicker - snap-shooting while passing by millions through this country every - autumn. - -The conditions above indicated prevail over a vast proportion of rural -Spain, which thus presents small attraction to wandering gunner, however -humble his ideals. - -There are other regions where the landowners, though in no sense -"preserving," yet prohibit free entry on their properties owing to -damage done--such as disturbing stock, stampeding cattle on to -cultivation in a land where no fences exist, and so on. Naturally such -ground carries more game, and subject to permission being received, fair -and sometimes excellent sport is attainable. Thus, on one such property -the tangled woods of wild olive abound with woodcock, though -difficulties are presented by the impenetrable character of the -briar-bound thickets. Were "rides" cut and clearings enlarged quite -large bags of woodcock might be secured. The rough scrubby hills -adjoining carry a fair stock of partridge, and we have often killed -forty or fifty snipe in the marshy valleys that intervene. The following -will serve as an example of three consecutive days' shooting on such -unpreserved ground (two guns--S. D. and B. F. B.):-- - - +--------------------------------------------------------------+ - | | Nov. 13. | Nov. 14. | Nov. 15. | Total. | - +-------------------+----------+----------+----------+---------+ - | Snipe | 101 | 32 | 155 | 288 | - | Ducks and Teal | 2 | 9 | 3 | 14 | - | Wild-Geese | 3 | ... | ... | 3 | - | Sundries | ... | ... | 4 | 4 | - | +----------+----------+----------+---------+ - | | 105 | 41 | 162 | 309 | - +--------------------------------------------------------------+ - -Three days in February on similar ground, but in an unfavourable season, -yielded 79 snipe, 5 woodcock, 19 golden plovers, 3 lesser bustard, a -hare, and a few sundries. - -LEBRIJA, _December_ 1897.--TWO GUNS, C. D. W. AND B. F. B. (HALF-DAY) -117 snipe (mostly driven) - -LEBRIJA, _November_ 16, 1904.--SAME TWO GUNS -112 snipe, 2 mallard, 1 curlew - -CASAS VIEJAS, _November_ 19, 1906.--THREE GUNS (S. D., C. D. W., AND B. F. B.) -123 snipe, 1 mallard, 5 teal - - -PARTRIDGE-SHOOTING - -Passing from the use of the _reclamo_, of which we have no personal -experience, we turn to the system practised in the Coto Doñana. Here we -always have the marisma bordering, as an inland sea, our northern -frontage. Upon that fact the system known as "_averando_" is based. - -A line of six or eight guns, with sufficient beaters between, and -mounted keepers on either flank (the whole extending over, say, -half-a-mile of front), is formed up at a distance of a mile or two -inland from the marisma. On advancing, with the wings thrown forward, -and mounted men skirmishing ahead, a space comprising hundreds of acres -of scrub is thus enclosed. The partridge, running forward among the -cistus or rising far beyond gunshot, are gradually pushed down towards -the water; then, as the advancing line approaches the marisma, with the -belts of rush and sedge that border it, the work begins. The game, -unwilling to face the water, perforce come swinging back over the -shooting-line. Naturally on seeing encompassing danger in full view -behind and barring their retreat, the partridge spin up -heavenwards--higher and yet higher, till they finally pass over the guns -at a height and speed and with a pronounced curve that ensures the -maximum of difficulty in every shot offered. - -In this final stage of the operation grow cork-oaks whose bulk and -evergreen foliage add further complexity for the gunner. - -It illustrates the exertions made by the partridges to attain an -altitude and a speed sufficient to carry them safely over the -clearly-seen danger below, that should a bird which has succeeded in -thus running the gauntlet happen to be found after the beat is over, it -will often be too exhausted to rise again. Such tired birds are often -caught by the dogs. - -As many as six or eight _averos_, as they are termed, may be carried out -during a winter's day. The walking in places is apt to be rough, through -jungle and bush--chiefly cistus and rosemary, but intermixed with -tree-heaths, brooms, and gorse--intercepted with stretches of water -which must be waded without wincing, for it is essential that each man -(gun or beater) maintains correctly his allotted position in the -advance. - -Naturally in a sandy waste, devoid of corn or tillage of any kind, -partridge cannot be numerous. They are, moreover, subject to terrible -enemies in the eagles, kites, and hawks of every description; while -lynxes, wild-cats, foxes, and other beasts-of-prey take daily and -nightly toll; then in spring their eggs are devoured by the big lizards, -by harriers, mongoose, and magpies in thousands. We have recently -endeavoured to increase their numbers by grubbing up 300 acres of scrub -and cultivating wheat. But here again Nature opposes us. Deer break down -the fences, ignore our guards armed with lanterns and blank cartridge, -trample down more than they eat, and the rabbits finish the rest! -Moreover, in wet seasons the ground is flooded, the crops destroyed; -while, if too dry, the seed will not germinate, and all the time the -unkillable brushwood comes and comes again. - -Forty or fifty brace represent average days; though it is fair to add -that they are but few who fully avail the fleeting opportunities at -those back-swerving dots in the sky. - - -RABBITS - -The cistus plains abound with rabbits. One sees them by scores moving -ahead, but just beyond gunshot range, which they calculate to a nicety. -Others dart from underfoot to disappear in an instant in the cover. Few -are shot while walking; but some pretty sport is obtainable by short -drives, say a quarter-mile. The line of keepers and beaters ride round -to windward, encircling some well-stocked bush; then slowly and noisily, -with frequent halts, advance down-wind--the rabbit is as susceptible of -scent as a deer. Meanwhile the dogs are having a rare time of it -hustling the bunnies forward. The guns are placed each to command some -clear spot, for where scrub grows thick nothing can be seen. A momentary -glimpse is all one gets, and snap-shooting essential. The most -favourable spots are where a strip of open ground lies immediately -behind the guns. The rabbits fairly fly this, a dozen at a time, and at -speed that suggests some one having set fire to their tails. - -In days of phenomenal bags, our Spanish totals read humble enough. We -frequently kill a hundred or more rabbits in two or three short drives, -besides such partridge as may also have been enclosed. Were a whole day -devoted to rabbits alone, much greater numbers would of course result. -But having such variety of resource at disposal (to say nothing of -difficulty in disposing of large quantities), the _conejete_ rarely -receives more than an hour or two's attention. - -Hares (_Lepus mediterraneus_), common all over Spain, are rather more -numerous in the marisma than on the drier grounds. They have indeed -developed semi-aquatic habits, in times of flood swimming freely from -island to island and making arboreal "forms" in the half-submerged -samphire-bush. Should the whole become submerged, the hares betake -themselves to the main shore, and on such occasions, with two guns, we -have shot a dozen or so on a drive. These small Spanish hares are -marvellously fleet of foot, especially when an almost equally -fleet-footed _podenco_ is in full chase over ground as flat and bare as -a bowling-green. - -In these hares the females are larger and greyer in colour than the -males. Their irides are yellow, with a small pupil, whereas in the male -the eye is hazel and the pupil large. The fur of the latter is bright -chestnut in hue, especially on hind-quarters and legs, which frequently -show irregular splashes of white. The lower parts are purest white, and -along the clean-cut line of demarcation the colour contrasts are the -strongest. Long film-like hairs grow far beyond the ordinary fur on -their bodies, and the tails are longer and carried higher than in our -British species. - - WEIGHTS OF TEN SPANISH HARES, KILLED JANUARY 30, 1908 - - Males 4-1/2 4-1/2 4-1/2 4-1/2 4-1/2 lbs., deadweight - Females 4-3/4 5 5-1/2 5-1/2 5-1/2 lbs., deadweight - - WEIGHTS OF SPANISH RABBITS (IN COUPLES) - - Ten couples 3 3 3 3-1/4 3-1/4 3-1/4 3-1/4 3-1/2 3-1/2 3-3/4 lbs., clean - -These rabbits differ from the home-breed not only in their smaller size, -but in the colder grey of their fur and large transparent ears. - -[Illustration: READY TO CAST OFF. THE PACK OF PODENCOS IN COUPLES.] - -[Illustration: THE DAY'S RESULTS. - -ROYAL SHOOTING AT THE PARDO, NEAR MADRID.] - -Hitherto shooting over great areas of rural Spain has been practised -under conditions absolutely natural--almost pristine. The game on -mountain, moor, or marsh is not only free to any hunter who possesses -the skill to capture it, but it is left to fight unaided its struggle -for existence against hosts of enemies, feathered, furred, and scaled, -the like of which has no equivalent in our crowded isles; and which work -terrible havoc, each in its own way, among the milder members of -creation. The presence of so many fierce raptorials, however (though it -ruin the "bag"), adds for a naturalist an incomparable charm to days -spent in Spanish wilds. Alas! that even here those pristine conditions -should already appear to be doomed, that every savage spirit must be -quenched, till nothing save the utilitarian survive! The following notes -on game-preservation in Spain indicate the beginning of the change. - - -ON SOME GREAT SPORTING ESTATES OF SPAIN - -Game-preservation, in the stricter sense in which it is practised in -England, was unknown in Spain till within our own earlier days. But now -many great estates yield bags of partridge that may challenge comparison -with results obtained elsewhere. - -Whether those results equal the best of the crack partridge-manors in -England or not we do not inquire. It is immaterial and irrelevant. No -comparison is either desirable or possible where natural conditions and -difficulties differ fundamentally. But the result at least throws a ray -of reflected light upon the energy and capacity of the Spanish -gamekeeper, who, under extraordinary difficulties, has aided and enabled -his employers to produce conditions which only a few years ago would -have appeared impossible. It should be added that these estates which -now realise surprising results have, in most instances, belonged to the -same owners during generations, though not till towards the end of last -century was any special care bestowed upon the game. - - * * * * * - -The estate of Mudéla, in La Mancha, the property of the Marquis de -Mudéla, Count of Valdelagrana, stands unrivalled in a sporting sense. -Its extent is approximately 80,000 acres, and the whole abounds with -red-legged partridge, rabbits, and hares. A dozen consecutive -driving-days can be enjoyed, each on fresh ground, and 1000 partridges -are often here secured by seven guns, driving, in a day. - -There is here quite a small proportion of corn-land or tillage, the -greater portion consisting of the rough pasturage, interspersed with -patches of scattered brush and palmetto, which is characteristic of -southern Spain. - -The great results achieved (for 1000 partridges a day, all wild-bred -birds, can only so be described) are due to systematic preservation, -including the trapping of noxious animals, furred or feathered, and the -payment of rewards to the peasantry for each nest hatched-off--in short, -by efficient protection of the game, with the destruction of its -enemies. In hot dry summers it is necessary to provide both water and -food to the game. - -Next to Mudéla, the most celebrated sporting properties include those of -Lachár and Tajarja, both in the province of Granada, and belonging to -the Duke of San Pedro de Galatino; Trasmulas in the same province -belonging to the Conde de Agrela, and Ventosilla, the property of the -Duke of Santona in the province of Toledo. There should also be named -Daranézas in the last-named province, the Marquis de la Torrecilla; and -Daramezán (Toledo), the Marquis de Alcanices. - -At Malpica in Toledo, the estate of the Duke of Arión, there were -killed, on the occasion of a visit of King Alfonso XIII., a total in one -day of 1655 head (partridges, hares, and rabbits), of which His Majesty -was credited with 600. - -We extract the following from the Madrid newspaper _La Epoca_, January -22, 1908:-- - - At El Rincon, Navalcarnero, near Madrid, the King, with thirteen - other guns, were the guests of the Marquesa de Manzanedo on January - 20. Eight drives were completed, 350 beaters being employed. The - total recovered numbered 1400 head, of which 241 fell to the King's - gun. His Majesty continued shooting with astonishing brilliancy - even while darkness was already setting in, and wound up with four - consecutive right-and-lefts when one could scarce see even a few - yards away. King Alfonso killed 97 partridge, 31 hares, 98 rabbits, - and 15 various--double the number that fell to the next highest - score. - -Most of the places named are capable of yielding from 500 to 800 and -even 1000 partridge in a day's driving, besides other game. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV - -ALIMAÑAS - -THE MINOR BEASTS OF CHASE - - -We have no British equivalent for this generic term, applied in Spain to -a group of creatures, chiefly belonging to the canine, feline, and -viverrine families, that deserve a chapter to themselves. The Spanish -word _Alimañas_ includes the lynxes and wild-cats, foxes, mongoose, -genets, badgers, otters, and such like. It might therefore be rendered -as "vermin," but surely only in the benevolent sense--as it were, a term -of endearment. We have preferred the expression "minor beasts of chase," -though it may be objected that such are not, in fact, beasts of chase. -We reply that hardly any wild animals are harder to secure in fair -contest or more capable of testing the venatic resource of the hunter. - -For these animals are beasts-of-prey, and that fact alone implies -nothing less than that in their very nature and life-habits they must be -more cunning, more astute, than those other creatures (mostly game) on -which they are ordained to subsist. Moreover, being nocturnals, their -senses of sight, scent, and hearing all far exceed our own, and they -possess the enormous advantage that they see equally well in the dark. - -Wild Spain, with her 56 per cent of desert or sparsely peopled regions, -is a paradise for predatory creatures--alike the furred and the -feathered--and _alimañas_ abound whether in the bush and scrub of her -torrid plains, or amid the heavier jungle of her mountain-ranges. - -Numerous as they are, yet these night-rovers rarely come in evidence -unless one goes expressly in search of them. In regular shooting, with -organised parties, they are more or less ignored, or rather they pass -unseen through the lines, moving so silently and stealthily and always -choosing the thickest covert. With guns from 100 to 200 yards apart and -upwards, each intent on the larger game, the secretive _alimañas_ easily -get through--indeed, wolves and even big boars, though the crash of -brushwood may be heard, often pass unseen. - -Many unconventional days have the authors enjoyed in express pursuit of -these keen-eyed creatures--call them vermin if you will. There are four -methods which we have found effective: - -1. Short drives of individual jungles where sufficient open spaces occur -to leeward to enable the game to be seen. - -2. Long drives of extensive jungles, converging on guns placed at points -that either command the probable lines of retreat, or cover some other -favourite resort wherein the quarry is likely to seek refuge. - -3. Calling--in Spanish, _chillando_. - -4. Watching at dawn or dusk, either with or without a "drag." - - * * * * * - -1. The first plan is, of course, the simplest; but it must be borne in -mind that this is essentially close-quarters' work--hence the utmost -silence is necessary. Horses must be picketed at least a mile back, for -the clank of hoof on rock or the clashing of the bucket-like Spanish -stirrups in bush will awaken even a dormouse. All proceed on foot; and -the whole plan having been arranged beforehand, not a word need now be -spoken, each gun taking his allotted place in silence. Guns may be as -far as 100 yards apart (since mould-shot is effective up to nearly that -range) and each man should station himself looking into the beat, so as -to command the intervening "opens," while himself absolutely concealed -and still as a stone god, since he is now competing with some of the -keenest eyes on earth. All the cats, moreover, come on so stealthily, -making good their advance yard by yard, that quite possibly a great -tawny lynx may be coolly surveying your position ere your eye has caught -the slightest movement ahead. - -Nothing emphasises the amazing stealth of these silent creatures more -than such incidents: when suddenly you find, within twenty yards, a wild -beast, standing nearly two feet at shoulder, slowly approaching through -quite thin bush; how, in wonder's name, did it get so near unseen? -Foxes, as a rule, come bundling along with far less precaution and no -such vigilant look-out ahead, though they will instantly detect the -least _movement_ in front. A fox will often appear so deep in thought -as to be absolutely thunderstruck when he finds himself face to face -with a gun at six yards distance. In direst consternation he fairly -bounds around, describing a complete circle of fur; whereas a cat in -like circumstance merely deflects her course with coolest deliberation -and never a sign of alarm or increase of speed. But within six more -yards she will have vanished from view--covert or none. Adepts all are -the cats, alike in appearing one knows not whence, and in disappearing -one knows not how. - -Yonder goes a fox, slowly trotting along below the crest, in his -self-sufficient, nonchalant style. His upstanding fur, long bushy brush, -and swollen neck appear to double his bulk and lend him quite an -imposing figure. But let a rifle-ball sing past his ears or dash up a -cloud of the sand below--what a transformation! One hardly now -recognises the long lean streak that whips up and over the ridge. - -A handsome trophy is the Spanish lynx, especially those more brightly -coloured examples sparsely spotted with big black splotches arranged, -more or less, in interrupted lines. The ear-tufts--indeed in adults the -extreme tips of the ears themselves--point inwards and backwards; and -the narrow irides are pale yellow (between lemon and hazel), the pupil -being full, round, and black, nearly filling the circle. In the wild-cat -the pupil is a thin upright, set in a cruel pale-green iris. - -We have tried FIRE as a means of securing the smaller _alimañas_, such -as mongoose, but it is seldom a thicket or _mancha_ can be so completely -isolated as to leave no line of escape. The animals, moreover, are -astute enough to retire under cover of the clouds of smoke that roll -away to leeward. - -2. LONG DRIVES, extending over, say, a couple of miles of brush-wood -(which may contain half-a-dozen patches of thicker jungle, all -separate), give wide scope for skilled fieldcraft and demand no small -local knowledge. The first essential is "an eye for a country." There -are men to whom this faculty is denied; some seem incapable of acquiring -it. Others, again, appear correctly to diagnose even a difficult -country, with its chances, almost at a first experience. The favoured -haunts of game, together with their accustomed lines of retreat when -disturbed, must be studied. Each day, though engaged on other pursuit, -one's eye should be reading those lessons that are written in "spoor," -and noting each commanding point and salient angle or other local -"advantage" in the terrain. - -Such drives necessarily occupy more time; moreover, the precise lines of -entry along which game may approach are less restricted--hence follows -an even greater demand on that vigilance already emphasised. But to the -hunter the mental gratification, the sense of dominion achieved, is -ample reward when his deep-laid plans succeed and when along one or more -of his ambushed lines the cunning carnivorae pursue an unsuspecting -course. - -Nature herself may assist by signs which set the expectant hunter yet -more instantly alert. A distant kite suddenly swerving or checking its -flight has seen _something_. The chattering of a band of magpies may -only mean that they have struck a "find," say a dead rabbit--_tacitus -pasci si posset corvus_, etc. But it may easily indicate a moving -nocturnal, and such signs should never be ignored. Similarly a covey of -partridges springing with continued cackling is a certain token of the -presence of an enemy; while a terrified-looking rabbit, with staring eye -and ears laid back, means that an interview is then instantly impending. - -It may be necessary (as where a desert-stretch flanks the beat) to place -"stops" far outside. These are as important as in a grouse-drive, but -quite tenfold more difficult to array. - -In these more extensive operations the lynx, in evading the guns, is -sometimes intercepted by the advancing pack behind. Then, if by luck the -cat can be forced into the open, she goes off at fine speed in great -bounds, as a leopard covers the veld, and (the horses in this case being -picketed close by) may sometimes be "tree'd" or run to bay in some -distant thicket. In that case the assistance of the hunters is needed, -for a lynx at bay will hold-up a whole pack of _podencos_, sitting erect -on her haunches with her back to the bush and dealing half-arm blows -with lightning speed. These _podencos_, it should be explained, are not -intended to close, since all high-couraged dogs, we find, meet a speedy -death from the tusks of wild-boars. - -When pressed in the open, we have seen a lynx deliberately pass through -deep water that lay in her line of flight. - -3. CALLING.--The coney was ever a puny folk, yet in Tarshish he thrives -and multiplies amidst numberless foes aloft and alow. From the heavens -above fierce eyes directing hooked beaks and clenched talons survey his -every movement; on the earth lynxes, cats, and foxes subsist chiefly on -him; while below ground foumart and mongoose penetrate his farthest -retreats year in and year out. He seems to possess absolutely no -protection, yet he endures all this, supports his enemies, and -increases, ever, to appearance, gaily unconscious of the perils that -beset him. Once, however, let misfortune overtake the rabbit, and his -cry of distress brings instant response--from scrub and sky, from -thicket and lurking lair, assemble the fiercer folk, each intent on his -flesh. - -It is upon this fact that the system of calling, or, in Spanish, -_chillando_, is based. The instrument is simple. A crab's claw, or the -green bark of a two-inch twig slipped off its stalk, will, in the lips -of an adept, produce just such a cry of cunicular distress. Armed with -this, and observing the wind, one takes post concealed by bush but -commanding some open glade in front. The most favourable time is dawn -and dusk--the latter for choice, since then predatory animals are waking -up hungry. The first "call" by our Spanish companion almost startles by -its lifelike verisimilitude. At short intervals these ringing -distress-signals resound through the silent bush; if no response -follows, we try another spot. First, a distant kite or buzzard, hearing -the call, comes wheeling this way, but naturally the birds-of-prey from -their lofty point of view detect the human presence and pursue their -quest elsewhere. The rabbits themselves, from some inexplicable cause, -are among the first to respond. - -Within that opposite wall of jungle you detect a furtive movement; -presently with jerky, spasmodic gait a rabbit darts out; it sits -trembling with staring eyes and ears laid aback; another rolls over on -its side and performs strange antics as though under hypnotic influence. -In two minutes you have a _séance_ of mesmerised rabbits. - -My companion touches me on the arm; away beyond, and half behind him -(almost on the wind), stands a fox intently gazing. Before the gun can -be brought to bear it is necessary to step round the keeper's front, and -one expects that that first movement will mean the instant disappearance -of the vulpine. Not so! There he stands, statuesque, while the -manoeuvre is executed. Is he, too, hypnotised? On one occasion the -authors, standing shoulder to shoulder with the keeper behind them, were -only concealed by a single bush in front. At the third or fourth call a -wild-cat sprang from the thicket beyond, fairly flew the intervening -thirty yards at a bound, and landed in the single bush at our feet -(precisely where the "rabbit" should have been) before a gun could be -raised. What a marvellous exhibition of wild hunting! - -In this case, too, we had had notice in advance by the noisy rising of a -pair of partridges sixty yards away in the bush. That cat scaled 12-1/2 -lbs. dead-weight. - - * * * * * - -All the beasts-of-prey can be secured in this manner. February is their -pairing-season; but the best time for "calling" is a month or so -later--in March and April--when young rabbits appear and when the -_alimañas_ themselves have their litters to feed. - -[Illustration: IMPERIAL EAGLE PASSING OVERHEAD - -(The spectator is presumed to be lying on his back!)] - -Feathered raptores, such as eagles, kites, and buzzards, can also be -obtained by "calling," but, as above indicated, their loftier position -enables them to see the guns, and it is necessary in their case to -prepare a covered shelter in which one can stand, concealed from above. - -4. WATCHING.--The fourth and last system brings one face to face with -wild nature in her nocturnal aspects. Such aspects (to the majority of -mankind) are unknown; but night-work, whether at home, in Africa, or in -Spain, has always strongly appealed to the writers. Wild creatures do -not go to bed at night like lazy men; on the contrary, night is the -period of fullest activity for a large proportion of God's creation, -whether of fur or feather. To form an intimate personal acquaintance -(however imperfect) with these, the comfort of the blankets must be -sacrificed. - -Where stretches of open country border or intersect jungle, or lie -between the nocturnal hunting-grounds of carnivorae and the thickets -where they lie-up by day, there one may enjoy hours of intense interest -in watching what passes under the moon. In the Coto Doñana we have many -such spots, some within an hour or two's ride of our shooting-lodges. -Here, when the moon shines full, and the soft south wind blows towards -the dark leagues of cistus and tree-heath behind us, we line-out three -or four guns, each looking outwards across glittering sand-wastes on his -front. There, on smooth expanse, one may detect every moving thing. -Those shadowy forms that seem to skim the surface without touching it -are stone-curlews, and beyond them is a less mobile object, whose -identity none would guess by sight. That is a _tortuga_, or -land-tortoise, tracing its singular double trail. Across the sand passes -a bigger shadow--rabbits and the rest all vanish. What was that shadow? -A strange growl overhead, and you see it is an eagle-owl that has -scattered the ghost-like groups. Now there is something on the far -skyline ahead--something that moves and puzzles--four mobile objects -that were not there five seconds ago. These prove to be the ears of two -hinds; presently the spiky horns of a stag appear behind them, and the -trio move slowly across our front, stopping to nibble some tuft of bent. - -None of these are what we seek, but as dawn approaches you may (or may -not) detect the form of some beast-of-prey making for its lair in the -jungle behind you. Foxes, as their habit is, trot straight in; the lynx -comes with infinite caution. Should some starveling bush survive a -hundred yards out, she may stop, squatting on her haunches, half-hidden -in its shade. You can see there is something there, but the distance is -just beyond a sure range, and seldom indeed will that cat come nearer. -However low and still you have laid the while, she will, by some subtle -feline intuition, have gleaned (perhaps half unconsciously even to -herself) a sense of danger. When day has dawned, you will find the -retiring spoor winding backwards behind some gentle swell that leads to -an unseen hollow beyond--and to safety. Truly you agree when the keeper -says, "Lynxes see _best_ in the dark." - - * * * * * - -In a wide country it is of course purely fortuitous should any of these -animals approach within shot. To assure that result with greater -certainty we have adopted the plan of a "drag." Two or three hours -before taking our positions (that is, shortly after midnight), a keeper -rides along far outside on the sand, trailing behind his horse a bunch -of split-open rabbits. Upon arriving outside the intended position of -each gun, he directs his course inwards, thus dragging the bait close up -to the post. Then taking a fresh bunch of rabbits, he repeats the -operation to each post in turn. Thus every incoming beast must strike -the scented trail at one point or another. Occasionally one will follow -the drag right into the expectant gun, more often (the animals being -full at that hour) it will leave the trail after following it for a -greater or less distance. Some ignore it altogether. This applies to all -sorts. The sand, as day dawns, forms a regular lexicon of spoor. One can -trace each movement of the night. There go the plantigrade tracks of a -badger, and hard by the light-footed prints of mongoose, mice, and an -infinity of minor creatures. - - * * * * * - -Foxes most frequently capture their prey in fair chase, running them -down, as shown by the double spoor ending in blood. Lynxes never chase; -they kill by stalking, and a crouching spoor ends in a spring. Both -these habitually carry away or bury all they do not devour on the spot. - -From the end of January onwards (that being the pairing-season) foxes -may often be seen abroad by daylight in couples, and in such case, -provided _they_ are _seen first_, are easily brought-up by "calling." -Lynxes never show-up so by daylight, but an hour or two before dawn -their weird wailing cries may be heard in the bush from mid-February -onwards. - - * * * * * - -The mongoose is perhaps the least easily secured, being absolutely -nocturnal and running so low (like a giant weasel) as to be almost -invisible, however slight the covert. It is, moreover, an adept at -concealment, and will scarcely be detected even at thirty yards if -stationary. The best way to secure specimens of badger and mongoose is -by digging-out their breeding-earths or warrens. An initial difficulty -is to find the earths amid leagues of scrub or rugged mountain-sides; -and even when located it may be necessary to burn off half an acre of -brushwood before the spade can be brought into action. From one set of -earths we have succeeded in digging out five big mongoose alive. That -night, though confined in strong wooden cases, they gnawed their way -out, and were never seen more, albeit their prison was on board a yacht -anchored in mid-stream and half-a-mile from shore. - - * * * * * - -A few such days and nights as these teach that wild Spain cherishes -other animals besides the game, to the full as interesting and even more -difficult to secure. - -If we are asked (as we often have been before) why we molest creatures -which have no value when killed, we reply that almost without exception -our Spanish specimens have gone to enrich one collection or another, -public or private, and that during the year in which we write this the -authors spent a fortnight in obtaining a series of these animals for our -National Museum at South Kensington, with the following results:--[56] - - Four lynxes--two males, 30-1/4 and 31 lbs.; two females, 18-1/2 and - 23 lbs.--representing both types, namely, (1) that with many small - spots, and (2) the handsomer form with fewer large and conspicuous - blotches. - - One wild-cat (an exceptional specimen)--a male of 15 lbs., with - yellow irides instead of the usual cold, cruel, pale-green eyes - like an unripe gooseberry. This cat was what the Spanish keepers - describe as _rayado_ = banded, _i.e._ the spots are arrayed in - regular series or interrupted bands rather than scattered - promiscuously. This race is distinguished as _gato clavo_, the - ordinary wild-cat being known as _gato romano_. - - Several other wild-cats (_Gatos romanos_)--males weighing from - 10-3/4 to 12-1/2 lbs.; females weighing from 7-1/2 to 8-1/4 lbs. - - In the sierras wild-cats run heavier than this, for we have killed - in Moréna a wild-cat that scaled 7-3/4 kilos, or upwards of 17 lbs. - - Two badgers--male, 17-1/2 lbs.; female, 14-1/2 lbs. These Spanish - badgers are blacker in the legs than British examples, and their - fore-claws are more powerfully developed, possibly in this case - through living in sand. Really big males weigh nearly double the - above. - - Ten foxes (_Vulpes melanogaster_)--six males weighing 13-3/4, 14, - 15 16-1/2, 16-1/2, 17 lbs.; four females weighing 11, 11-3/4, - 13-1/2, 14 lbs. - - Besides "small deer," such as rats and mice, voles, moles, and - dormice, to say nothing of a whole red-stag and a whole wild-boar! - - -[POSTSCRIPT] - -_March 2, 1907._--_Chillando_ this evening at the Oyillos del Tio Juan -Roque, a big grey sow with numerous progeny came trotting up to within -a few yards--whether to devour the supposed rabbit or merely from -curiosity was not apparent. On realising the situation, she turned and -dashed off with an indignant snort, followed by her striped brood, but -did not go far before stopping (like Lot's wife) to listen and look -back. - -Later, at the Sabinal, just upon dusk, a fox appeared about 120 yards -away, down-wind. Though quite aware of our presence, both by scent and -sight, he deliberately sat down on his haunches to watch; but no charm -of the _chillar_ would induce a nearer approach, and a rifle-ball -whistling within an inch or two of his ears broke the spell. - -On May 16, 1910, a mongoose responded with unusual alacrity to the first -"call," running up within twenty yards. This was an adult male and -weighed 8-1/2 lbs. - - * * * * * - -We have endeavoured to rear some of these animals in captivity. The -young wild-cats are by far the most intractable--perfect fiends of -savage fury, quite unamenable to civilisation. The lynx at least affects -a measure of subjection, but remains always unreliable and treacherous -in spirit. The story of how one of our tame lynxes attacked and nearly -killed a poor _lavandera_ is told in _Wild Spain_, p. 447. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV - -OUR "HOME-MOUNTAINS" - -THE SERRANÍA DE RONDA - - -I. SAN CRISTOBAL AND THE _PINSÁPO_ REGION - -This mountain-system may be regarded as an outlying eastern extension of -the Sierra Neváda. Except at the "Ultimo Suspiro del Moro" there is no -actual break, and both in physical features and in fauna the two ranges -coincide, while differing essentially from the Sierra Moréna, their -immediate neighbour on the north. The Serranía de Ronda, nevertheless, -displays distinctive characters which entitle it to a place in this -book; it forms, moreover, our "Home-mountains," lying within a -thirty-mile ride eastward of Jerez. - -[Illustration: PINSÁPO PINE] - -The outstanding feature is the _massif_--or, in Spanish, _Nucléo -Central_--of San Cristobal, which rises to 5800 feet, and stands head -and shoulders above its surrounding satellites, an imposing pile of cold -grey rock and perpendicular precipice.[57] - -Nestling beneath its western bastions lies the Moorish hamlet of -Benamahoma, whence, housed in friendly quarters, we have oft explored -this hill. The route to the summit (which may almost be reached on -donkey-back) is by the southern face; for summits, however, merely as -such, we have no sort of affection, and never expend one ounce of energy -in gaining them, unless they chance to aid a main objective. As to -"views," we are sure to enjoy these from other points quite as -effective. - -New-fallen snow powdered the ground and mantled the surrounding peaks as -we rode out of Benamahoma on March 20. But the sun shone bright, and -from a poplar softly warbled a rock-bunting--with pearl-grey head, -triple banded. Serins and kitty-wrens sang from the wooded slopes, and -we observed long-tailed tits, with cirl-buntings and woodlarks. A grey -wagtail by the burnside was already acquiring the black throat of -spring. - -[Illustration: ROCK-BUNTING (_Emberiza cia_)] - -The tortuous track writhes upwards through sporadic cultivation--the -angles at which these hill-men can work a plough amaze, beans and -_garbanzos_ grow on slopes where no ordinary biped could maintain a -foothold. The industry of mountaineers (here as elsewhere in Spain) is -remarkable. Each tillable patch, however small or abrupt, is reduced to -service, its million stones removed and utilised to form the foundation -for a tiny era, or threshing-floor (like a shelf on the hillside), -whereon the hard-won crop is threshed with flails. Higher out on the -hills rude stone sheilings are erected to serve as shelters during -seed-time and harvest. Not even the hardy Norseman puts up a tougher -tussle with nature to wrest her fruits from the earth. - -Presently one enters forests of oak and ilex with strange misshapen -trunks, stunted and hollow, but decorated with prehensile convolvulus -and mistletoe--many three-fourths dead, mere shells with cavernous -interior, sheltering tufts of ferns. Here, instead of destroying the -whole tree, charcoal-burners pollard and lop; huge lateral limbs are -amputated as they grow, and the result, during centuries, produces these -monstrosities, rarely exceeding twenty feet in height and surmounted by -a delicate superstructure of branches totally disproportionate. No more -fantastic forms can be conceived than these bloated boles, wrestling, as -it were, with death, yet still able to transmit life to the -superstruction above. They recall the Baobab trees of Central Africa. In -neither case is the effect absolutely displeasing, albeit grotesque. -Both may be described as deformed rather than disfigured. - -On rounding the northern shoulder of the mountain, suddenly the whole -scene changes. Instead of limb-lopped trunks, one is faced by the dark -foliage of the pinsápo pine--a forest monarch whose stately growth -strikes one's eye as something conspicuously new. And new indeed it is. -For the range of this great Spanish pine (_Abies pinsapo_) is limited -not merely to Spain, but actually to this one mountain-range, the -Serranía de Ronda--there may exist more remarkable examples of a -restricted distribution, but none certainly that we have come across. -The pinsápo, moreover, affects even here but three spots: first, San -Cristobal itself; secondly, the Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain plainly -visible some thirty miles to the eastward (all its northern corries -darkened by pinsápos); and, lastly, the Sierra Bermeja on the -Mediterranean, distant thirty to thirty-five miles S.S.E. On each of the -three the pinsápo grows in forests; on adjacent hills we have observed -one or two scattered groups--otherwise this pine is found nowhere else -on earth. - -A curious character of the pinsápo is that it only grows on the northern -faces of the hills. - -The tree possesses remarkable personality. Though one sees a chance -specimen grow up straight as a spruce, yet its normal tendency is to -"flatten out" on top, whence three, four, even a dozen independent -"leaders" spring away, each with equal vigour, and finally form as many -distinct vertical trunks, say six or eight separate pines all arising -from a common base. - -To see the pinsápo in its pristine majesty and massiveness, one must -ascend beyond the range of charcoal-burners; up there flourish gigantic -specimens, some of which we measured (by rough pacing) to encompass ten -to fifteen yards of base. These trees grow from screes of broken -rock--great blocks of white dolomite; but the deep-searching tap-roots -penetrate to black alluvia beneath. Other huge pines found roothold in -walls of living rock. The three sketches, made from individual trees -(presumed for the purpose to be divested of foliage), illustrate the -singular multiple growth described. - -The foliage of the pinsápo differs from ordinary pine-needles, being -rather a series of stiff outstanding spines analogous to those of the -Araucaria. They display a crimson efflorescence in March, developing -into clusters of red cones by April, and ripening in August to -September.[58] - -[Illustration: PINSÁPO PINES (_Abies pinsapo_) - -Diagram to show trunk-plan, divested of foliage. Girth at base 30 to 45 -feet.] - -The pinsápo-forests are subject to terrible destruction alike by hatchet -and fire, tempest and avalanche. Forest-fires sweep whole glens; while -rock-slides overwhelm and uproot even the biggest trees by scores. Few -scenes that we have witnessed are more eloquent of nature's violence -than these traces of an avalanche. Mammoth skeletons, weird and -weather-blanched, protrude by the hundred from chaotic rock-ruin--some -still upright, others overthrown or half submerged in debris, yet -stretching great white arms heavenward, as though in agonised appeal. -The distant roar of an avalanche is a not infrequent sound throughout -the mountain-land. - -The pinsápo-forests of San Cristobal present one of the most striking -mountain-landscapes in Andalucia. For some three miles they cover in a -semicircle the whole scooped-out amphitheatre of the mountain-side. -Their dark-green masses, contrasted against the white rocks on which -they grow--and in winter with yet whiter snow--cluster upwards, tier -above tier, from below the 3000-feet level away to the extreme summit of -the knife-edged ridge above, say 5500 feet. Would that we could depict -the beauty of the scene. - -[Illustration: CROSSBILL - -Wrestling with pine-cone.] - -Through these dark forests a track winds, and here again the evident -industry of the mountaineers surprised. At intervals along this pathway -lay great baulks of pine-timber (sleepers, planks, and poles), dressed -and piled ready for transport. That such loads could be carried hence on -donkey-back, or, were such possible, that the labour could be repaid, -appeared incredible--so distant are markets and so heavy the cargo.[59] - -We had hoped to find in these forests a home of the Spanish crossbill, -but not a sign of it rewarded our search. To avail the ripe fruit, the -crossbill would need to nest in autumn, and that (wide as is the -latitude of its breeding-season) is too much even for the _Pico-tuerto_. -An interesting species found here in March was the cole-tit (_Parus -pinsapinensis?_), which climbed around us, swinging from twigs within a -yard as we sat at lunch. Blackstarts abounded, also firecrests. The -latter have a pretty habit of engaging in aërial struggle--whether for -love or war--both falling locked together to earth, as blue-tits do. On -one such occasion a male, ere taking wing, spread out his flaming crown -fanlike, as it were a halo. - -Beyond the pinsápo-forests succeeds a region of wiry esparto-grass, up -which we climbed to yet more sterile zones above. Here cruel rocks are -adorned with a dwarf sword-broom, steel-tipped, a thorny berberis, and -vicious pin-cushion gorse that protects its newer growths (not that -there is anything tender about it at any stage) by a delicate grey -tracery that deceives a careless eye. For that subtle tracery is, in -fact, the indurated malice of last year's spikey armour. No handhold -does nature here vouchsafe. - -Curiously, we noticed woodlarks up here, while blackstarts abounded as -titlarks on a Northumbrian moor. In an ivy-clad gorge at 4200 feet we -found two nearly completed nests in rock crevices: one occupied a -vertical fissure that needed quite twelve inches of packed moss to -provide a foundation, the cup-shaped nest being superimposed. But it was -not till a month later (April 24) that these birds were laying in -earnest. - -At 5000 feet the "Piorno" (_Spartius scorpius_) began to grow, a -red-stemmed shrub, known locally as _Leche-interna_, and on breaking it, -the twigs are found to be filled with a milky fluid that justifies the -name. The piorno we have never found growing except on the high tops of -Grédos and other lofty sierras, where it forms a chief food of the -Spanish ibex, its presence being, in fact, always associated with that -of the wild-goat. Alas! that here, on San Cristobal, that association -has been severed--another instance of the heedless improvidence that -marks the Spanish race. Fifteen years ago they destroyed the last ibex; -fifteen years hence they will have destroyed the last pinsápo! - -Once for brief moments a broad-horned head, peering over the topmost -crags, lent joyous hope that after all an ibex or two might yet survive. -But the intruder proved to be one of the dark-brown rams of _Ovis -bidens_ that, in semi-feral state, roam these peaks. - -San Cristobal itself now holds no big game; though ibex are found but a -few leagues to the eastward, and, we rejoice to add (on certain sierras -where protection is afforded them), begin to increase. The Serranía de -Ronda, like Neváda, of which it is an extension, has never held either -boar or deer; both are too rocky and precipitous to shelter those -animals, though both boar and roe are found in the lower hills towards -Jerez. - - * * * * * - -Just below the highest peak, the Cumbre de San Cristobal, lies a curious -little alpine meadow. It is only forty yards square, and while we -rested, lunching, on unaccustomed level a golden eagle swept overhead, -chased and hustled by a mob of choughs that colonise these crags. Ten -minutes later a lammergeyer afforded a second glorious spectacle, -speeding through space on pinions rigidly motionless, but strongly -reflexed, as is usual on a descending gradient. Only once, as far as eye -could follow, was one great wing gently deflected, and that merely from -the "wrist." - -[Illustration: LAMMERGEYER OVERHEAD - -Gliding high on down-grade with rigid reflexed wings, outer primaries -in-drawn, fan-wise.] - -On reaching a crest above, two lammergeyers appeared, the first carrying -a long stick or thin bone athwart his beak; the second held a course -direct to where L. sat on the ridge, coming so near that the rustle of -huge wings sounded menacingly and the white head, golden breast, and -hoary shoulders showed clear as in a picture. We expected to find the -eyrie somewhere hard by, but in this we were mistaken--once more. It was -not on that hill, nor the next; but on a third![60] - -We discovered the nest of our friends, the golden eagles. It was situate -quite two miles away, in a vertical pulpit-shaped rock-stack, that -stood forth in a terribly steep scree. From a cavern in the face of this -(prettily overhung by a clump of red-berried mistletoe) flew the male -eagle. From below, the eyrie was accessible to within a dozen feet; but -that interval proved impassable. In the evening we returned with the -rope, and having made this fast above, L. was about to ascend from -below, when the man left in charge at the top (probably misunderstanding -his instructions) let all go, and down came the rope clattering at our -feet! It was too late to rectify the blunder that night, and a month -elapsed ere we would revisit the spot. Then this curious result ensued. -The eagles, we found, had so bitterly resented the indignity of a rope -having been (even momentarily) stretched athwart their portals that they -had abandoned their stronghold, leaving two handsome eggs, partly -incubated. Their eyrie was eight feet deep, its entrance partly -overgrown with ivy and (as above mentioned) overhung by red-berried -mistletoe growing on a wild-cherry--the nest built of sticks, lined with -esparto, and adorned with green ivy-leaves and twigs of pinsápo. - -[Illustration: GOLDEN EAGLE HUNTING - -(1) The "stoop"--quite vertical. (2) "Got him." -] - -The golden eagle is still common, ornamenting with majestic flight every -sierra in Spain. For eagles are notoriously difficult to kill, and, when -killed, cannot be eaten; so the goat-herd, with characteristic apathy -and Arab fatalism, suffers the ravages on his kids and contents himself -with an oath. Only once have we found a nest in a tree; it was a giant -oak, impending a ravine so precipitous that from the eyrie you could -drop a pebble into a torrent 200 feet below. Usually their nests are in -the crags, vast accumulations of sticks conspicuously projecting, and -generally in pairs, perhaps 100 yards apart, and which are occupied in -alternate years. Eggs are laid by mid-March, but the young hardly fly -before June. It was in this sierra that we made the sketches of golden -eagles from life, here and at p. 317. - -Bonelli's eagle is another beautiful mountain-haunting species, but of -it we treat elsewhere. - - * * * * * - -From the knife-edged ridge above our eagle's eyrie (height 5500 feet) we -enjoyed a memorable view. Due south, 50 miles away, beyond the jumbled -Spanish sierras, lay Gibraltar, recognisable by its broken back, but -looking puny and inconsiderable amidst vaster heights. Beyond it--beyond -Tetuan, in fact--rose Mount Anna, an 8000-feet African mountain; to the -right, Gebel-Musa and all the Moorish coast to Cape Spartel, the straits -between showing dim and insignificant. To the eastward, beyond the -Sierra de las Nieves aforesaid, stands out boldly the long white -snow-line of Neváda, its majesty undimmed by distance and 140 miles of -intervening atmosphere. To the west we distinguish Jerez, 40 miles away, -and beyond it the shining Atlantic. - -From one point there lies almost perpendicularly below, the curious -mediæval village of Grazalema, jammed in between two vast cinder-grey -rock-faces--its narrow streets, white houses, and india-red roofs -resembling nothing so much as a toy town. No space for "back-streets," -each house faces both ways; yet Grazalema is one of the cleanest spots -we have struck--how they manage that, we know not. - -Immediately beneath Grazalema is a bird-crag that contains a regular -"choughery," hundreds of these red-billed corvines nesting in its caves -and crevices. As neighbours they had lesser kestrels and rock-sparrows -(_Petronia stulta_), while the roofs of the caverns were plastered with -the mud nests of crag-martins. We also noticed here alpine swifts, and a -great frilled lizard escaped us amid broken rocks. - -Within the limits of a chapter even the more notable spots of a great -serranía cannot all find place; but the rock-gorge known as the Yna de -la Garganta will not be overpassed, though no words of ours can convey -the stupendous nature of this place, a chasm riven right through the -earth's crust till its depths are invisible from above; and overshadowed -by encircling walls of sheer red crags, broken horizontally at -intervals, thus forming, as it were, tier above tier, and flanked by a -series of bastions and flying buttresses apparently provided to support -the vast superstructure above. - -[Illustration] - -By climbing along the rugged central tier, one overlooks from its apex, -as from the reserved seats of a dress-circle, the whole domestic economy -of a vulture city in being. Every ledge in that abyss was crowded; many -vultures sat brooding, their heads laid flat on the rock or tucked under -the point of a wing. Elsewhere a single grey-white chick, or a huge -white egg, lay in full view on the open ledge, nestled, apparently, on -bare earth; and behind these each niche or cavern had its tenant. The -rocks around a nest were often stained blood-red, and one vulture -arrived carrying a mass of what appeared carrion in its claws. Another -brought a wisp of dry esparto-grass athwart her beak and deposited it in -her nest.[61] - -While we watched this scene a smart thunderstorm passed over, with the -result that shortly afterwards the vultures spread their huge wings to -dry, displaying attitudes some of which we endeavour to sketch--see also -p. 9. - -[Illustration: "WING-DRYING"] - -The descent into the unseen depths beneath was rewarded, despite a -terrible scramble--part of the way on a rope--by discovering a fairy -grotto filled with pink, azure, and opalescent stalactites and -stalagmites. The bed of the canyon, which from above had appeared to be -paved with sand, now proved to consist of boulders ten feet high. After -threading a devious course through these for half-a-mile we reached the -mouth of the grotto. Its width would be nearly 200 feet and height about -half that, the form roughly resembling the quarter of a cocoa-nut. The -dome, in delicate colouring, passes description--the apex bright -salmon-pink, changing, as it passed inwards, first into clear emerald, -then to dark green, and finally to indigo; while the reflected sunlight -filtering down between the rock-walls of the canyon caused -phantasmagoric effects such as, one thought, existed only in fairyland. -The cavern was backed by pillars of stalactites resembling the pipes of -a mighty organ, and of so soft and feathery a texture that it was -surprising, on touching them, to find hard rock. The floor also was -composed of great smooth stalagmites, deep brown in colour. - -From outside, one saw the sky as through a narrow rift between the -perpendicular walls which towered up 300 feet; and above that level -there again uprose the vultures' cliffs already described. - - * * * * * - -One evening we detected afar a cavern which showed signs of being the -present abode of a lammergeyer. Ere reaching it, however, a keen eye -descried one of these birds in the heavens at an altitude that dwarfed -the great _Gypaëtus_ to the size of a humble kestrel. Presently, after -many descending sweeps, the lammergeyer entered another cavern 2000 feet -higher up--in fact, close under the sky-line, among some scanty -pinsápos. The hour was 4 P.M., and after a long day's scramble, the -writer shied at a fresh ascent. Not so my companion, L., who set off at -a run, and within an hour had reached the eyrie. It proved empty, though -the leg of a freshly killed kid lay half across the nest. This was -presumably the alternative site, used, this year, merely as a larder; -but time did not that night admit of further search. - -The writer beguiled the two-hours interval in interviewing a wild -gipsy-eyed girl of twelve, whose name was Joséfa Aguilár, and whose -vocation in life to attend a herd of swine. Throughout Spain, whether on -mountain or plain, one sees this thing--a small boy or girl spending the -livelong day in solitary charge of dumb beasts, goats or pigs, even -turkeys--and the sight ever causes me a pang of regret. Probably I am -quite wrong, but such hardly seems a human vocation--certainly it leads -nowhere. In intervals of pelting her recalcitrant charges with stones, -Joséfa told me she lived in a reed-hut which was close by, but so small -that I had overlooked its existence; that she never went to school or -had been farther from home than Zahara, a village some few miles away. -She asked if I was from Grazalema, and on being told from England, she -repeated the word "Inglaterra" again and again, while her bright black -eyes became almost sessile with wonderment. Joséfa's frock was hanging -in tatters, torn to bits by the thorny scrub. I gave her some coppers to -buy a new one, and with a little joyous scream Joséfa vanished among the -bush. - -[Illustration: LAMMERGEYER ENTERING EYRIE] - -Darkness was closing in ere L. returned; then great thunder-clouds -rolled up, obscuring the moon, and oh! what we suffered those next three -hours, scrambling over rock and ridge, through forest and thicket--all -in inky darkness and under a deluge of rain. - -On returning to this remote ridge (having ascended from the opposite -face), we soon renewed our friendship with the lammergeyer--when first -seen, it was being mobbed by an impudent chough. Then it sailed up the -deep gorge below us, passing close in front, and after clearing an angle -of the hill, wheeled inwards and with gently closing wings plunged into -a cavern in the crag. We felt we had our object assured; yet on -examining these mighty piles of rocks--a couple of hours' stiff -climbing--it was evident we were mistaken, for no nest, past or present, -did they reveal. It was on yet a third stupendous crag, quite a mile -from the alternative site first discovered, that this year these -lammergeyers had fixed their home. The nest was in quite a small cave in -the rock-face; more often (as described in _Wild Spain_) the lammergeyer -prefers a huge cavern in the centre of which is piled an immense mass of -sticks, heather-stalks, and other rubbish--the accumulation of -years--and lined with esparto-grass and wool. The eggs always number two -and are richly coloured, whereas the griffon lays but one, and that -white. Although laying takes place as early as January, yet the young -are unable to fly before June. Our principal object this year was to -sketch the lammergeyer in life, and in this several rough portraits -serve to show that we succeeded--so far as in us lies. - - * * * * * - -There remain notes of later vernal developments in these beautiful -sierras; but alas! this chapter is already too long, so over the -taffrail they go. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI - -SERRANÍA DE RONDA (_Continued_) - - -II. THE SIERRA BERMEJA - -The Sierra Bermeja, standing on Mediterranean shore, demands a page or -two if only because it affords a home to three of Spain's peculiar and -rarer guests--the pinsápo, the ibex, and the lammergeyer. - -Our earlier experience in Bermeja, our efforts to study its ibex--and to -secure a specimen or two--are told in _Wild Spain_. Suffice it here to -say that the characteristic of these Mediterranean mountains is that -here the ibex habitually live, and even lie-up (as hares do), among the -scrubby brushwood of the hills--a remarkable deviation from their -observed habits elsewhere, whether in Spain, the Caucasus and Himalayas, -or wherever ibex are found. But since brushwood clothes Bermeja and -other Mediterranean hills to their topmost heights, the local wild-goats -have literally no choice in the matter. Still, such a habitat must -strike a hunter's eye as abnormal, and is, in fact, a curious instance -of "adaptation to environment."[62] - -During December 1907 we spent some days in Bermeja in an attempt to -stalk the ibex--a difficult undertaking when game is always three-parts -hidden by scrub. On former occasions we had secured a specimen or two by -stalking (here called _raspagéo_) and "driving"; but whatever chance -there might have been was this time annihilated by incessant mists -enshrouding the heights in opaque screen. Thus another carefully -organised expedition and unstinted labour were once more thrown away! - -[Illustration: LAMMERGEYER - -[Drawn from life in Sierra Bermeja, March 1891.]] - -On December 19 we drove the "Pinsapal." This, commencing near the -highest tops, 5000 feet, extends down a tremendous conch-shaped ravine, -merging at the base into pine-forests--chiefly, we believe, _Pinus -pinaster_. This "drive" lasted two hours, mist sometimes densely thick, -at others clearing a little; but only allowing a view varying from -twenty to eighty yards. This, coupled with constant drip from the -gigantic pinsápos and a bitter wind blowing through clothes already -soaked, was ... well, comfortless and pretty hopeless to boot. Twice the -dogs gave tongue--and it could be nothing but ibex here; while D., who -was posted on the left, heard the rattling of hoofs as a herd passed -within, as he reckoned, 200 yards. A second lot, followed by dogs, was -heard though not seen on the extreme right. The pinsápos at this season, -and in such weather, form a favourite resort, for we saw more sign -hereabouts than on the high tops. A _levante_ wind in winter always -means mist--and failure. - -The ibex in winter hold the high ground unless driven down by snow. In -spring and summer they come lower--even to cork-oak levels--presumably -to avoid contact with tame goats, then pasturing on the tops. - -The east wind and fog continuing a whole week, though we tried all we -knew, every effort was frustrated by atmospheric obstruction. To drive -ibex successfully, the skilled training of the dogs is essential. -Formerly there were goat-herds who possessed clever dogs of great local -repute. But these days of "free-shooting" have passed away, and the ibex -of Bermeja with those of other Spanish sierras have recently fallen -under the beneficent ægis of "protection." - -Bird-life in winter is scarce. We noticed a few redwings feeding on -berries; jays, partridges, and many wood-pigeons picking up acorns. -Vultures rarely appear here, but both golden and Bonelli's eagles were -observed, and in one mountain-gorge a pair of lammergeyers have their -stronghold, where in 1891 we examined both their eyries, one containing -a young _Gypaëtus_ as big as a turkey. That was in March, at which -season hawfinches abounded in the pines, and at dawn the melody of the -blue thrush recalled Scandinavian springs and the redwing's song. -Another small bird caused recurrent annoyance while ibex-driving. With a -loud "Rat, tat, tat," resembling the patter of horny hoofs on rock, its -song commences; then follows a hissing note as of a heavy body passing -through brushwood--for an instant one expects the coveted game to -appear. No, confound that bird! it's only a blackstart. - -We extract the following scene from _Wild Spain_:-- - - On the lifting of a cloud-bank which rested on the mountain-side, I - descried four ibex standing on a projecting rock in bold relief - about 400 yards away. The intervening ground was rugged--rocks and - brush-wood with scattered pines--and except the first 50 yards, the - stalk offered no difficulty. I had passed the dangerous bit, and - was already within 200 yards, when in a moment the wet mist settled - down again and I saw the game no more. Curiously, on the fog first - lifting, an eagle sat all bedraggled and woe-begone on a rock-point - hard by, his feathers fluffed out and a great yellow talon - protruding, as it seemed, from the centre of his chest. Then a - faint sun-ray played on his bronzed plumage: he shook himself and - launched forth in air, sweeping downwards--luckily without moving - the ibex, though they took note of the circumstance. - -In the lower forests here are some pig and roe-deer. A far greater -stronghold, however, for both these game-animals is at Almoraima, -belonging to the Duke of Medinaceli, some six or eight leagues to the -westward. Almoraima covers a vast extent of wild mountainous land of no -great elevations generally, but all wooded and jungle-clad. On the lower -levels grow immense cork-forests. Here, during a series of _monterías_ -in February 1910, in which the writer, to his lasting regret, was -prevented from taking part, a total of 19 roe-deer and 52 boars was -secured. The two best roebuck heads measured as follows:-- - - Length - (outside curve). Circumference. Tip to Tip. - No. 1 9-1/2" 3-1/2" 3-5/8" - No. 2 9-1/4" 4-3/8" 3" - - -III. SIERRA DE JEREZ - -These mountains (being within sight of our home) formed the scene of our -earliest sporting ventures in Spain. It is forty years ago now, yet do -we not forget that first day and its anxieties, as we rode by crevices -that serve for bridle-paths, along with a too jovial hill-farmer, Barréa -by name, who persisted in carrying a loaded gun swinging haphazard and -full-cock in the saddle-slings--that it was loaded we saw by the shiny -copper cap on each nipple! Our objects that day were boar and roe-deer; -but presently a partridge was descried sprinting up the rugged screes -above. Out came the ready gun, and next moment all that remained of that -partridge was a cloud of feathers and scattered anatomy. The ball had -gone true. Barréa casually shouted to a lad to pick up the pieces, -himself riding on as though such practice was an everyday affair. My own -experience of ball-shooting being then limited, I reflected that if -such were Spanish marksmanship, I might be left behind! On assembling -for lunch, however, some vultures were wheeling high overhead, and it -occurred to me to try my luck. By precisely a similar fluke, one huge -griffon collapsed to the shot, and swirling round and round like a -parachute, occupied (it seemed) five minutes in reaching the -ground--1000 feet below us. - -That afternoon the antics of two strange beasties attracted my attention -and again my ball went straight. The victim was a mongoose, and with -some pride I had the specimen carefully stowed in the -mule-panniers--never to see it more! The mongoose, we now know, owing to -its habit of eating snakes, has acquired a personal aroma surpassing in -pungency that of any other beast of the field, and our men, so soon as -my back was turned, had discreetly thrown out the malodorous trophy. - -A boar-shooting trip to the Sierra de Jerez formed the first sporting -venture in which the authors were jointly engaged; for which reason -(though the memory dates back to March 1872) we may be forgiven for -extracting a brief summary from _Wild Spain_:-- - - Our quarters were a little white rancho perched amid deep bush and - oak-woods on the slope of the Sierra del Valle. A mile farther up - the valley was closed by the dark transverse mass of the Sierra de - las Cabras, the two ranges being separated by an abrupt chasm - called the Boca de la Foz, which was to be the scene of this day's - operations. - - A pitiable episode occurred. While preparing to mount, there - resounded from behind a peal of strange inhuman laughter, followed - by incoherent words; and through an iron-barred window we discerned - the emaciated figure of a man, wild and unkempt, whose eagle-like - claws grasped the barriers of his cell--a poor lunatic. No - connected replies could we get, nothing beyond vacuous laughter and - gibbering chatter. Now he was at the theatre and quoted magic - jargon; anon supplicating the mercy of a judge; then singing a - stanza of some old song, to break off abruptly into fierce - denunciation of one of us as the cause of his troubles. Poor - wretch! he had once been a successful advocate; but signs of - madness having developed, which increased with years, the once - popular lawyer was reduced to the durance of this iron-girt cell, - his only share and view of God's earth just so much of sombre - everlasting sierra as the narrow opening allowed. We were warned - that any effort to ameliorate his lot was hopeless, his case being - desperate. What hidden wrongs may exist in a land where no judicial - intervention is obligatory between the "rights of families" and - their insane relations (or those whom they may consider such) are - easy to conceive. - - The first covert tried was a strong jungle flanking the main gorge, - but this and a second beat proved blank, though two roebuck broke - back. The third drive comprised the main _manchas_, or thickets, of - the Boca de la Foz, and to this we ascended on foot, leaving the - horses picketed behind. Our four guns occupied the rim of a natural - amphitheatre which dipped sharply away some 1500 feet beneath us, - the centre choked with brushwood--lentisk, arbutus, and thorn--20 - feet deep. On our left towered a perpendicular block of limestone - cliffs, the right flank of the jungle being bordered by a series of - up-tilted rock-strata, white as marble and resembling a ruined - street. - - Ten minutes of profound silence, not a sound save the distant - tinkle of a goat-bell, or the song of that feathered recluse, the - blue rock-thrush (in Spanish, _Solitario_), then the distant cries - of the beaters in the depths below told us the fray had begun. - - Another ten minutes' suspense. Then a crash of hound-music - proclaimed that the quarry was at home. This boar proved to be one - of certain grizzly monsters of which we were specially in search, - his lair a jumble of boulders islanded amid thickest jungle. Here - he held his ground, declining to recognise in canine aggressors a - superior force. Two boar-hounds reinforced the skirmishers of the - pack, yet the old tusker stood firm. For minutes that seemed like - hours the conflict raged stationary: the sonorous baying of the - boar-hounds, the "yapping" of the smaller dogs, and shouts of - mountaineers blended with the howl of an incautious _podenco_ as he - received a death-rip--all formed a chorus of sounds that carried - their exciting story to the sentinel guns above. - - The seat of war being near half-a-mile away, no immediate issue was - expected. Then there occurred one crash of bush, and a second boar - dashed straight for the pass where the writer barred the way. The - suddenness of the encounter disconcerted, and the first shot - missed--the bullet splashing on a grey rock just above--time barely - remained to jump aside and avoid collision. The left barrel got - home: a stumble and a savage grunt as an ounce of lead penetrated - his vitals, and the boar plunged headlong, his life-blood dyeing - the weather-blanched rocks and green palmetto. For a moment he lay, - but ere cold steel could administer a quietus, he had regained his - feet and dashed back. Whether revenge prompted that move or it was - merely an effort to regain the covert he had just left, we know - not--a third bullet laid him lifeless. - - During this interlude (though it only occupied five seconds) the - main combat below reached its climax. The old boar had left his - stronghold, and after sundry sullen stands and promiscuous - skirmishes (during which a second _podenco_ died), he made for the - heights. Showing first on the centre, he was covered for a moment - by a ·450 Express; but, not breaking covert, no shot could be - fired, and when next viewed the boar was trotting up a stone-slide - on the extreme left. Here a rifle-shot broke a foreleg, and the - disabled beast, unable to face the hill, retreated to the thicket - below, scattering dogs and beaters in headlong flight. And now - commenced the hue and cry--the real hard work for those who meant - to see the end and earn the spoils of war. Presently _Moro's_ deep - voice told us of the boar at bay, far away down in the depths of - the defile. What followed in that hurly-burly--that mad scramble - through brake and thicket, down crag and scree--cannot be written. - Each man only knows what he did himself, or did not do. We can - answer for three. One of these seated himself on a rock and lit a - cigarette. The others, ten minutes later, arrived on the final - scene, one minus his nether garments and sundry patches of skin, - but in time to take part in the death of as grand a boar as roams - the Spanish sierras. - -This last spring (1910), after thirty-eight years, we revisited the Boca -de la Foz, partly to reassure ourselves that the above description was -not overdrawn. No! 'Tis a terrible wild gorge, the Foz, but the days -when we can follow a wounded boar through obstacles such as those have -passed away. The boars, we were told, are still there, and so are the -vultures in those magnificent crags. We climbed along the ledges and -there were the great stick-built nests, each in its ancestral site. In -March each contains a single egg; now (April) that is replaced by a -leaden-hued chick. These cliffs are also tenanted by ravens and a single -pair of choughs. Neophrons occupied the same cavern whence I shot a -female in 1872, and crag-martins held their old abodes, plastered on to -the roofs of the caves. - -As April advances a new and striking bird-form arrives to adorn the -higher sierras--the least observant can scarce miss this, the -rock-thrush (_Monticola saxatilis_), conspicuous alike in plumage and -actions; with clear blue head and chestnut breast, its colour-scheme -includes a broad patch of white set in the centre of a dark back. The -contrast is most effective, and, so far as we know, this "fashion" of a -white back is unique among birds, unless indeed it be shared by -Bonelli's eagle. The rock-thrush is also endowed with a lovely wild -song, quite low and simple, but replete with a fine "high-tops" quality. -By April 20 he yields to vernal impulses, and his courting is pretty to -see; wheeling around on transparent pinions, he soars and sings the -livelong day; at intervals, with collapsed wing, he drops like a stone -to join his sober-hued mate among the rocks; a few picturesque poses, -displaying all those flashing tints of orange and opal, and off he goes -again to soar and sing once more. His cousin, the blue-thrush, has also -a sweet song and a similar hovering flight, ending in a "drop act"; but -the ascent is more vertical, while frequently he varies the descent and -comes fluttering down in tree-pipit or butterfly-like style. Even the -sober little blackchat now "shows off," perched on some boulder with -quivering wings and tail spread fan-like over his back. Both these two -last, being resident, nest much earlier than the migratory rock-thrush: -the latter was building (in crevices of the rocks) by mid-April, but -hardly lays before May. - -These sierras being only 3000 to 4000 feet, one misses here some of the -alpine forms observed at higher altitudes. The tawny pipit, for example, -a sandy-hued bird with dark eye-stripe and active wagtail-like gait, -which was common on San Cristobal at 4500 feet in April, never showed up -here at all; nor did any of the following species, all so characteristic -of the higher ground: Blackstarts, woodlarks, rock-buntings, cole-and -longtail-tits, and tree-creepers. The choughs, spotted woodpeckers, -rock-thrushes, crag-martins, and wood-pigeons, though observed, were -here very much scarcer. The lammergeyer, too, rarely descends here, and -then only while in his smoke-black uniform of immaturity. - - -THE PUERTA DE PALOMAS - -In May 1883, while returning from Ubrique, our horses fell lame owing to -loss of shoes, and for four days and nights we were encamped in the pass -known as the Puerta de Palomas. There is a tiny _ventorillo_, or wayside -wine-shop, at the foot of the pass; but nights are warm in May, and we -preferred the freedom of the open hill, where the strange growls made by -the griffons at dawn, together with the awakening carol of the -rock-thrush, formed our reveille each morning in that roofless bedroom -amidst the boulders. - -The opposite side of the pass is dominated by the picturesque pile -called the Picacho del Aljibe, a conical peak that towers in tiers of -crags above the adjoining sierras not unlike a gigantic Arthur's Seat -over the Salisbury Crags. Our own side was rather a chaotic jumble of -detached monoliths than cliffs proper, and by clambering over these we -reached in one morning sixteen vultures' nests, the easiest of access we -ever struck. They were mostly very slight affairs, bare rock often -protruding through the scanty structure; though, where necessary, a -broad platform of sticks was provided--as sketched. The poults (only one -in each nest) were now as big as guinea-fowls, with brown feathers -sprouting through the white down. These eyries, albeit slightly -malodorous, are always strictly clean, since vultures feed their young -by disgorging half-digested food from their own crops, and we watched -this not-pleasing operation being performed within some eighty yards' -distance; hence there is no carrion or putrefying matter lying about, as -is the case with the neophron and lammergeyer. - -[Illustration: GRIFFON VULTURE FEEDING YOUNG--PUERTA DE PALOMAS, APRIL -10, 1910.] - -These eyries were situate on three great outstanding stacks of rock, and -during the scramble we came face to face with a pair of eagle-owls -solemnly dreaming away the hours in the recesses of a cavern, though no -sign of a nest was discovered. The caves were shared by crag-martins, -whose swallow-like nests were fixed under the roof, usually just beyond -reach. Their eggs are white, flecked with grey. On May 18 we obtained -here a nest of the rock-thrush with five beautiful greenish-blue eggs. -It was built in a cranny of the crags. - -This year (1910) found us once more in the Puerta de Palomas, the date -April 8. On rounding the Sierra de las Cabras, as L. was already far up -the hillside, I rode forward intending to ascend at the north end and -work back, thus meeting in centre. A succession of mischances, however, -upset that plan. A small clump of ilex clung to the steep above the -point whereat I had left the horses, and in traversing this, I walked -right into a calf concealed beneath a lentiscus. Knowing that this might -involve trouble should its half-wild mother be within hearing, I gently -retreated, but, hard by, stumbled on a second calf, even smaller, in -another bush. No. 1 meanwhile had gained its legs and bleated softly. -There followed a crash among the bush above, and as fierce-looking a -wild beast as ever I saw (and I have seen some) came hurtling down those -rugged rocks at amazing speed. On seeing me (luckily some little -distance from her own offspring) the infuriated mother pulled up, -full-face--a pretty picture, but rather menacing, especially as she kept -up a muttered bellowing, horribly eloquent. I had sidled alongside a -tree; but Paco, who carried my gun, with the reckless spirit begotten of -the bull-fight, boldly addressed the enemy in opprobrious terms. The -only result was that she came still nearer, and I swung to a lower -branch. Paco, nothing daunted, now tried stones (in addition to -expletives), and it was, to me at least, a relief when that cow at -length retired. The half-wild savage may easily be more dangerous than -the truly wild. The former have lost some of their pristine respect for -man, and of course one has less means of defence. - -This incident over, we commenced the climb. The rock-stack rose -vertically above us, but we diverged to the right as affording an easier -route. On reaching the desired level, however, I found it impossible to -make good that interval on our left--a smooth rock-face devoid of -handhold, and too upright to traverse, forbade all lateral movement. Up -we went another twenty yards, then another; but always to find that -slithery rock-face mocking our efforts to outflank it. We were now well -above the rock-stack overlooking the eyries, and I could see two -griffons brooding, another feeding a poult close by. But between us was -a great gulf fixed, and that gulf stopped us. The obvious alternative -was to descend and try again from a fresh point. But here a new -difficulty faced us: we could not descend. We had come up by following a -series of vertical fissures, or "chimnies," none too easy, since every -crevice sheltered some vicious vegetation, each more spikey and thorny -than the last. Still from _below_ one can always select a handhold -somewhere, and then defy the thorn; whereas on looking _backwards_, -nothing is visible but a vanishing outline of rock and gorse, porcupine -broom, or palmetto--beyond is vacant space, and a sheer drop at that. In -a word, we could neither descend nor move laterally. It was -humiliating--even more so than the antecedent incident with a _COW_! - -One resource remained--to climb on to the top; and even in that -direction a single bad rock might cut off escape. No such crowning -catastrophe befell, but it was tooth-and-claw work, every yard of it, -and the vertical height could not have been less than 1000 feet. - -While thus "clawing up" I recollect passing a perfect glory in -orchids--great twin purple blooms, golden-tipped and quite amorphous in -outline. They grew just beyond my reach. Curious recumbent ferns clung -to the rocks; anemones and violet-like bouquets peered from each cranny. - -Meanwhile L., approaching from the other side, had examined the -rock-stacks and succeeded in attaining one main objective--the nest of -the eagle-owl. This was in a rock-cavern, close by that of '83, easy of -access--indeed the great owl flew out in his face as he passed below. -The cave (four feet high by two wide) was at the foot of a vertical -limestone cliff, its floor level with a goat-track that skirted the -crag, and fully exposed to view; there was no nest nor any debris. Two -young owls in white down, with one egg actually "chipping," lay on the -bare earth. - - * * * * * - -One of the griffon's nests still contained (on April 8) a fresh egg, -which is now in the writer's collection as a memorial of that day. We -had secured all we had expected in the Puerta de Palomas--and something -more besides. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII - -A SPANISH SYSTEM OF FOWLING - -THE "CABRESTO" OR STALKING-HORSE - - -Spain is a land of flocks and herds, of breeders and graziers. At the -head of the scale stands the fighting-bull, monarch of the richest -_vegas_; at the opposite extreme come the shaggy little ponies and -brood-mares that eke out a feral and precarious subsistence in the -wildest regions. Throughout the marismas hardy beasts with wild-bred -progeny on which no human hand has ever laid, abound, grazing knee-deep -in watery wildernesses where tasteless reed or wiry spear-grass afford a -bare subsistence. - -There they live, splashing in the shadows, heads half-immersed as they -pull up subaquatic herbage; on the back of one rides perched a -snow-white egret, on another a couple of magpies, preying on ticks or -warbles, while all around swim wildfowl that scarce deign to move aside. - -No fowler could view such a scene without perceiving that approach to -the wildfowl might be effected under cover of these unsuspected ponies. -The earliest aucipial mind probably realised the advantage offered, and -the system has been practised in Spain from time immemorial. - -The method is simple. The ponies (termed, when trained, _cabrestos_, or -"decoys") seem by intuition to realise what is required. By a cord -attached to the headstall, the fowler, crouching behind the shoulder, -directs his pony's course towards the unconscious fowl. At intervals, -still further to disarm suspicion, feigned halts are made as though to -simulate grazing. Before closing in, the nose-cord is made fast to the -near fore-knee, thus holding the pony's head well down. Presently the -ducks are within half gunshot, and we amateurs (whose doubled backs ache -excruciatingly from a constrained position maintained for half an hour) -pray each moment for relief and the signal to fire. No! Our -fowler-friends shoot for a livelihood, and continue, with marvellous -skill and patience, so to manoeuvre their beasts that the utmost -possible target shall finally be presented to the broadside. There is no -hurry--nor time nor aching vertebræ with them count one centimo. (See -photo at p. 90.) - -Should it be necessary to change course, that operation is effected by -wheeling the pony stern-on to the fowl, the fowler meanwhile crouching -low under his muzzle: critical moments ensue during which the expert has -no cover but the pony's breadth--instead of his length--to shield him -from detection by hundreds of the keenest eyes on earth. But it is -remarkable how little notice is taken of what is necessarily in full -view provided that the exposed objects are _beneath_ the covering -animal. Once let a human head or a gun-barrel appear _above_ its outline -and the spell is broken. But otherwise--say during those interludes of -feigned "grazing"--the suffering fowlers can straighten their backs by -squatting down (in the water!) and thus enjoy at closest quarters a -spectacle of wild creatures that is impossible to attain by any other -means yet discovered. Though the fowlers are now fully visible, framed, -as it were, beneath the _cabresto's_ belly and between his legs, no -notice will be taken or any alarm created so long as the pony's skylines -remain unadorned with human appendages. There, within a score of yards, -you sit face to face with ducks by the hundred, feeding, splashing, -preening--all utterly unconcerned! Those of our readers who are most -familiar with wildfowl will best realise how incredible such a statement -must read. Ordinarily, the slightest visible movement--the mere glint of -a gun-barrel though half masked by cover--suffices to shift every duck -at one hundred yards and more. Here they ignore objects practically -exposed and close at hand. Apparently the habitual companionship day by -day of water-bred ponies has annihilated in their minds all sense of -danger arising from such a quarter. - -The Spanish professionals (using large but antiquated muzzle-loaders) -work singly, each man behind his own pony; or should two or more join -forces for a broadside, there still remains but one man behind each -animal. These men are reputed to have made extraordinary shots; and -having viewed their infinite patience, we can well believe such records. -To place two guns behind one _cabresto_-pony, that is, an amateur as -well as the professional, is a distinct handicap. We have done it -ourselves, and accepted the handicap merely to see the system in -operation; yet by using more powerful weapons have probably killed as -many fowl at one shot as even the fabled totals of our friends. - -Obviously no comparison can be, or is, suggested as between two totally -different performances. It has been solely for the purpose of learning -the system, and also of enjoying unequalled views of wildfowl close at -hand, that we have occasionally put in a day with the _cabresto_-ponies, -and here annex a few records of shots made by this means, taken at -random from our diaries. - - _January 1, 1898._--Fired three broadsides with two guns, a double - 8-and a single 4-bore; in the second case the fowl had just been - badly scared by a kite. Results:-- - - (1) 59 wigeon, 3 teal 62 - (2) 30 " 3 " 33 - (3) 60 " 1 " 4 pintail, 4 shoveler 69 - ___ - Total 164 - - _January 31, 1905._--In three shots at wigeon, the first being half - spoilt by a big black-backed gull, the authors (two guns) - gathered:-- - - 27 + 51 + 48 = 126 wigeon. - - _December 29, 1893._--Santolalla (2 guns), 78 teal, besides some - coots, at a single shot. - - _January 1894._--Laguna Dulce; three _cabrestos_ with Spanish - fowlers, and two amateurs with big breech-loaders (a broadside of 5 - barrels):-- - - 198 teal (including about a dozen wigeon). - -A shot made in January 1894 seems worth recording merely in respect of -the numbers killed by only some _seven ounces_ of lead. An islet -actually _carpeted_ with teal was our target, and two 12-bores, aided by -an ancient Spanish muzzle-loader (about 10-bore), realised fifty head, -to wit, forty-nine teal and one mallard-drake. - -Geese will rarely admit of approach to the close quarters necessary for -effective work; yet just on those rare exceptional occasions we have -secured (using heavy shoulder-guns) from six to a dozen greylags in a -day, once or twice more than this--five at a shot being the maximum. - - -THE STANCHION-GUN IN SPAIN - -In contrast with the success of the _cabresto_ system, the stancheon-gun -proved a failure. So admirably adapted for punt-gunning appeared those -great shallow marismas, that in 1888 we sent out the entire outfit and -artillery for wildfowling afloat--a 22-foot double-handed gunning-punt -and an 80-lb. gun to throw 16 oz. of shot. - -The little craft reached the Guadalquivir in September, but unforeseen -difficulties arose. The Spanish custom-house took alarm. True, the smart -little gun-boat was an entire novelty--even in the Millwall docks she -had created surprise; here she was incomprehensible. No such vessel had -ever floated on Spanish waters, and the official mind needed time to -consider. That oracle, after weeks of cogitation, ordered the removal of -the suspicious craft from the obscure port of Bonanza to the fuller -light that plays on the custom-house at Seville. There, after more weeks -of delay, it was decided that the white-painted six-foot barrel was "an -arm of war," that "the combination of boat and gun savoured of the -mechanism of war," and, finally, that "the boat could not be permitted -to pass the customs until it had been registered at the Admiralty." Thus -our _Boadicea_ joined the Imperial Navy of Spain. - -Seven months elapsed whilst these difficulties were in process of -solution, and ere they were smoothed away (as difficulties in Spain, or -elsewhere, do dissolve under prudent treatment), and the _Boadicea_ set -free to navigate the marismas, the season had passed and the migrant -fowl had returned to the north. - -The following autumn, however, it at once became apparent that the -venture was a failure. No wildfowl would tolerate her presence within -half-a-mile. No sooner had her low snake-like form crept clear of -fringing covert than the broad _lucio_ in front was in seething tumult, -every duck within sight had sprung on wing. Naturally we tried every -known plan, but all in vain. A system that is effective on the harassed -and hard-shot estuaries of England utterly broke down on the desolate -marismas of Spain. The apparent explanation is that whereas fowl at home -are accustomed to see passing craft of many kinds, and perhaps mistake -the low-lying gunboat for a larger vessel far away; here no craft of any -sort navigate the marisma, or should the box-shape _cajones_ of native -gunners be so classed, they are at once recognised as wholly and solely -hostile.[63] - -One plan remained by which the big gun might be brought to bear upon the -larger bodies of fowl: concealing the boat among sedges at some point -where ducks had been observed to assemble _within reach_ of such covert. -That, however, to begin with, was most uncertain--the only certainty was -that enormous drafts on patience would be required; and, after all, it -forms no part of the system of wildfowling afloat and lacks the joys and -glories of that pursuit. - - -WILD SWANS IN SPAIN - -Since meeting with four hoopers in February 1891, as recorded in _Wild -Spain_, we had neither seen nor heard of wild swans in Southern Spain -till February of the present year, 1910, when H.R.H. the Duke of Orleans -kindly informed us that he had succeeded in shooting one of a pair met -with in his marismas of Villamanrique. It proved to be an adult male of -Bewick's swan--the first occurrence of that species that has been -recorded in Spain. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII - -THE "CORROS," OR MASSING OF WILDFOWL IN SPRING FOR THEIR NORTHERN -MIGRATION - - -The withdrawal of the wildfowl at the vernal equinox affords an -unequalled scenic display. It forms, moreover, one of those rare -revelations of her inner working that Nature but seldom allows to man. -Her operations, as a rule, are essentially secretive. A little may be -revealed, the bulk must be inferred. Here, for once, a vast revolution -is performed in open daylight, _coram populo_--that is, if the authors -and a handful of Spanish fowlers be accepted as representative, since no -other witness is present at these scenes enacted in remote watery -wilderness. - -Up to mid-February the daily life of the marisma continues as already -described. From that date a new movement becomes perceptible--the -seasonal redistribution. Daily there withdraw northward bands and -detachments counting into thousands apiece. But no vacancy occurs since -their places are simultaneously filled by corresponding arrivals from -beyond the Mediterranean. - -It is at this precise epoch that there occurs the phenomenon of which we -have spoken. - -Towards the close of February, dependent on the moon, a marked climatic -change takes place. A period of sudden heat usually sets in--a sequence -of warm sunny days, breathless, and at noontide almost suffocating. But -each afternoon with flowing tide there arises from the sea a S. W. -breeze, gentle at first and uncertain but gaining strength with the -rising flood. - -Already, shortly before this change, the duck-tribes had partially -relaxed their full mid-winter activities--owing to abundant spring -growths of food-plants, had become more sedentary; if not sluggish, at -least reluctant to move. After the brief morning-flight not a wing -stirred. But now, scan the mirror-like surface of some great _lucio_ -and you will recognise a new movement distinct and dissimilar from -regular hibernal habit. There float within sight (and the same is -happening at a score of places beyond sight) not only the usual loose -flotillas, but three, four, or five concrete assemblages of densely -massed fowl whose appearance the slightest scrutiny will differentiate -from the others. These are not sitting quiescent. The binoculars -disclose a scene of perpetual motion, well-nigh of riot--one might be -regarding a feathered faction-fight. Hundreds of units fight, splash, -and chase, or throw up water with beating wings till surf and spray half -conceals the seething crowd. That flicker of pinions and flying foam -are, moreover, accompanied by a chorus of myriad notes--a babel of -twirling sound blended in rising and falling cadences, comparable only -to the distant roar of some mighty city. A more singular spectacle we -have not encountered. - -Inquiry from one's companion elicits the reply that these assemblages -are _hechando corros para irse_ (literally, "forming choruses -preparatory to departure")--an expression which conveyed no more -significance to us than it can to the reader.[64] We decided to return -at daybreak to see this thing through, and after watching the phenomenon -a score of times can now explain it. - -During the morning hours there are established focal points whereat -assemble those units already affected by the emigrant furor. These (at -first, perhaps, but a score or two) rapidly increase in numbers till -each focus becomes the nucleus of a corro. The seasonal infection -spreads, and as its influence impregnates the surrounding masses, these, -singly or in scores or hundreds as the passion seizes them, hasten to -join one or other of the mobilising army-corps. Within an hour or two -the insignificant original nucleus has developed into a vast host all in -a ferment of agitation, and being constantly reinforced by buzzing -swarms of recruits from without. - -All this procedure, remember, has been taking place during the blazing -noontide heat. Now the hour is 2 P.M., and the first gentle breath of -the daily sea-breeze--the _viento de la mar_--is becoming perceptible. -This breeze springs from the S. W., and let us here admit that, being -fowlers as well as naturalists, our observance of the phenomenon has -usually been carried out upon a _lucio_ which happens to terminate -towards the N. E. in a long narrow bight fringed by tall reeds and -bulrush, where, concealed in friendly covert, we can continue the -observation while glancing along the barrel of a punt-gun. That -secondary fact is merely incidental and, it so happens, facilitates the -main object. - -A mile to windward three such armies are mobilising separately within -the scope of our view; and now the gentle force of that sea-breeze -begins to impel those unconscious hosts, too preoccupied with -all-absorbing passion to notice detail, directly towards the point -whereat we lie concealed. - -[Illustration: REED-BUNTING - -A winter visitor to the marismas.] - -By this time the sun has three or four hours of declension and the thin -dark line representing thousands of surging atoms has drifted down to -within 200 yards. We can study at short range an amazing phenomenon. In -weird exuberance they fight and flirt, chase, cherish, and flap till -churned water flies in foam and a discordant roar of sibilant sound -fills to the zenith the voids of space. The volume of voices defies -description since these assembling multitudes belong to no single -species, but include a promiscuous agglomeration of all that care to -enlist, and each adds its own distinctive element to the general -uproar.[65] Around the floating host new-comers buzz like swarming bees, -each seeking some spot to wedge itself into the crowd. - -To-night the main _corro_ that we had been awaiting drifted past our -front a trifle beyond effective range. The two that followed both "took -the ground" and remained stationary, away to the right. The chance of -making a great shot had failed; but we were content to watch the -phenomenon to its finish. - -Now the sun dips. The western sky is filled with golden glory; in twenty -short minutes darkness will have enveloped the earth. Then in a moment, -as by word of command, silence, sudden and impressive, reigns where just -before that torrential babel had raged. Such, now, is the stilly silence -that by comparison the pipe of a passing redshank sounds well-nigh -scandalous! A few seconds pass. Then, dominated by a single impulse, the -concentrated mass on our front rises simultaneously on wing. The spell -of silence is broken; the roar of pinions reverberates far and wide. -They're off--bound for Siberia! - - Yet unperplexed as though one spirit swayed - Their indefatigable flight. - -Holding the same massed formation, the fowl in three or four broadening -circles quickly attain a considerable altitude--say 100 yards--and then -head away on their course, _ALWAYS_ (so far as they remain visible) to -the _SOUTH-EAST_--diametrically opposite to the direction one would -expect. As in deepening darkness we set forth on our homeward voyage, -the heaven above pulsates at intervals with the beating of wings as yet -more north-bound _corros_ pass overhead. - -Certain notable facts are observable in this vernal exodus. For upwards -of twelve hours prior to departure the outgoing fowl take no food. That -period is devoted exclusively to preparation and overhaul, _and_ to -pairing. Plumage is preened and dressed till each unit is spick and -span, speckless, and not a feather misplaced. All, moreover, are -absolutely empty--in best and lightest travelling trim. - -When ducks are _acorrados_--that is, formed into _corros_ (the term is -used thus in verb-form)--their normal watchfulness is relaxed. All -thought and energy are concentrated on the impending event. Hence, at -these periods they are apt to fall an easier prey to the fowler and on -wholesale lines. The native gunners with their trained _cabresto_-ponies -sometimes unite and enormous totals are secured as the result of a -single joint broadside. The fowl thus obtained afford proof of the facts -just stated, being all absolutely empty; besides which many different -species will be killed at the one shot.[66] These men also state that -the ducks start already paired and flying side by side; this, they say, -explains the ferment and commotion of the previous hours--courting and -sorting. Adult ducks, as previously indicated (p. 110), apparently pair -for life; but since some species (such as wigeon) take at least two -years to gain maturity, it is probable that the sexual phenomena which -are so conspicuous in the _corros_ represent the first pairing of the -newly adult two-year-olds. - -The most favourable time for the assembling of corros is on those days -when great heat and calm at midday is succeeded towards evening by an -extra strong sea-breeze. On such occasions very large numbers will leave -between sundown and dark. Northerly winds will almost absolutely arrest -the exodus. - -For the season of 1900-1901 our game-books showed a total of 4849 -wildfowl (4674 ducks and 175 geese)--a record for which we were -good-humouredly taken to task by our venerable friend the late Canon -Tristram, who thought it looked excessive. The figures certainly are -big, but the next entry in the book reads:-- - - _March 15._--This evening between fifty and seventy _corros_ left - within half an hour--say 50,000 to 70,000 ducks. Next morning the - marisma appeared as full as ever. - -Our toll of 5000 seemed by comparison but as a drop in the bucket! - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX - -SPRING-TIME IN THE MARISMAS - -BIRD-LIFE IN A DRY SEASON - - -Bird-life in the Spanish marisma--in spring no less than in -winter--presents spectacles of such abounding variety as can nowhere in -Europe be surpassed. In the Arctic are vaster aggregations, but these, -comprising, say, only half-a-dozen species, are less attractive. It is -the infinite kaleidoscopic succession of graceful and dissimilar forms -that hour by hour flash on one's sight--in a word, it is variety that -lends abiding charm to our Spanish bird-world. - -[Illustration: GREY PLOVER (MAY)] - -These scenes have already been described--we have ourselves described -them in detail, and do not propose to recapitulate, alluring though the -subject be. - -Here we purpose depicting bird-life under undescribed conditions--in a -spring when, by reason of exceptional drought, the myriad marsh-dwellers -find themselves entirely at fault. Winging their seasonal way from -Africa, to seek the seclusion of reed-girt pools and their accustomed -league-long swamps and shallows, they found instead a calcined plain, no -drop of water remaining, plant-life either prematurely parched or -pulverised beneath a fiery sun. Watching the arrival of the -advance-guard in early spring, one wondered what the bewildered hosts -would do next, how they would face this fresh freak of nature. - -The marismas, it should be explained, normally dry every summer, however -wet the previous winter may have been. Though the great _lucios_ stood -five feet deep in February, yet the deepest will be stone-dry by -midsummer or, at latest, by St. Jago (July 24). Cattle and the wild-game -can then only drink at the narrowed pools where permanent water, however -exiguous, oozes forth--or the cattle from wells. In normal years, -however, the marsh-birds have already reared their broods before these -dates. - -But in years of drought--what resource have they, where can they find a -substitute for their sun-destroyed and desolate _incunabula_? Many (the -waders in particular) instinctively prognosticate a drought; few, -comparatively, either come or remain--those that come pass on. Even such -birds as breed on permanent deep-water lakes (such, for example, as the -smaller herons, egrets, and ibises) perceive in advance that, although -they may have water assured, there will neither be sufficient covert, -later on, to conceal their nurseries nor food for the rearing of their -young. The erewhiles teeming heronries are abandoned. - -Never within forty years has there occurred a drier season than this -last, 1909-10. Incidentally we may remark that most of the previous -spring-tides that we had expressly devoted to the marisma had been years -of excessive rainfall, years when flamingoes nested abundantly--an -unfailing index. Such was 1872, for example, 1879, and 1883; again, in -April 1891, we remember our gunning-punt, caught in a squall, sinking -beneath us in quite three feet of water though barely a mile from shore. -These are the seasons when (as described in _Wild Spain_) one sees the -waterfowl in their fullest abundance. On the present occasion (1910) we -were to witness converse conditions. Throughout the preceding winter the -fountains of heaven had been stayed, nor did the advent of spring bring -one hour of rain. By mid-March the marisma was practically waterless--a -fortnight later, sunbaked hard as bricks. Where now were the -marsh-birds? In April or May you could ride a long day over arid -mud-flats and never see a wing, bar, in the latter month, a few Kentish -plovers and fluttering pratincoles[67]--add a band or two of croaking -sand-grouse (_Pterocles alchata_) passing in the high heavens. Where had -the exiled myriads gone? No man can answer. - -We are not so foolish as attempt to say; but we do venture to express -the opinion that in years when even wildest Spain refuses asylum to wild -creatures such as these, the result to them can only represent an -overwhelming catastrophe. For there lies before them no alternative -refuge; their races must perish by wholesale. - -At those rare points where permanent waters remained one might look for -great concentrations of bird-life, yet such was not the case. As -indicated, the bulk had foreseen the event and abandoned this country. - -One phenomenon struck us as inexplicable. Of the birds that did remain -none displayed the slightest symptom of yielding to the vernal impulse, -of pairing, or of desiring to nest. - -Flamingoes, for example (what few there were), continued massed in solid -herds up to mid-May. A band of 300 that we examined closely on the 12th -at the Caño de la Junquera (though fully 90 per cent were adults in -perfect pink feather) contained not a single paired couple. Hard by the -flamingoes some forty or fifty spoonbills were feeding. These, last -year, nested at this spot, building upon or among the low -samphire-scrub--a dangerously open situation for such big and -conspicuous birds. This spring, though many remained in the marisma, not -a spoonbill nested in the district at all. Flamingoes, by the way, had -exhibited extreme restlessness throughout the spring. On February 22, -for example, while steaming up the Straits of Gibraltar, we detected -them in quite incredible numbers but at an altitude almost beyond the -range even of prism-glasses--it was a dim similitude to drifting _cirri_ -that first caught our eye. So vast was their aërial elevation that it -was only after prolonged examination we at length recognised those -revolving grey specks as being birds at all; presently a nearer band, -directly overhead, revealed their characteristic identity. The bulk of -these held a southerly tendency, towards Africa; others drifted -undecided; while several bands, halting between two opinions, when lost -to sight were wheeling beyond the Spanish hills. - -Ducks also in mid-May serried the skies in utterly anachronous -skeins--reminiscent of winter. These were largely marbled ducks, all -unpaired; but there were also very large aggregations of mallards. One -such pack on May 10 certainly counted 500--a number we never remember to -have seen massed together in Spain before, not even in winter. This was -at the Hondon. A similar phenomenon was observed with the white-faced -ducks. These curious creatures also remained in packs, and without sign -of pairing, on the open waters of Santolalla--open only because aquatic -plants had forborne to grow. In normal seasons these lakes are studded -with great cane-brakes and islanded reed-jungles, within whose recesses -these amphibians build their floating homes. This spring not a reed had -grown--partly owing to cattle having destroyed the earlier shoots which -are usually protected by deep water. There was literally no covert -within which these ducks (and the swarming coots and grebes) could -breed, even were they so minded--which they were not! - -The only ducks that had paired in earnest were gadwall, garganey, common -and white-eyed pochard (of which the first three nest here in very -limited numbers), together with normal quantities of mallard. - -[Illustration: HEAD OF CRESTED COOT - -The frontal plate is concave, whereas in the common coot it is convex.] - -A collateral result of the shortage of water wrought yet further havoc -among the birds which had elected to remain, and accentuated the -prescience of those that had departed. Nesting-places, ordinarily -islanded in mid-water, were now left stranded on dry land and thus open -to the ravages of the whole fraternity of four-footed egg-devouring -vermin. Many species, we know, foresee such risks and invariably avoid -them; others, less prudent, make the attempt and lose their labour. The -white-eyed pochards, for example, which are accustomed to nest in -islanded clumps of rush and dense aquatic grasses, this year simply -provided free breakfasts to rats and ichneumons! We happened to require -two or three settings of these ducks to hatch-off under hens, but no -sooner did a marked nest contain three or four eggs than all were -devoured! As to the coots, of which both the common and crested species -breed in the marisma in myriads, they simply gave it up as a bad -business. They did not depart, but resigned themselves to the necessity -of skipping a season. - -Gulls, great and small, with graceful marsh-terns, floated -spectre-like, surveying in solitude and silence arid wastes where before -they had found aquatic Edens. Once or twice we also noticed the small -white herons (buff-backed and egret) flying disconsolately over their -lost homes. A similar remark would apply to most of the other -marsh-breeders--we need not recapitulate them all. Stilts, for example, -and avocets remained perforce in single blessedness--the latter in noisy -querulous bands, quite wild and showing no tendency to assume spring -notes or habits. We _did_ chance on a single avocet's nest, where, in -other years, we have found hundreds. The same with the stilts--they also -retained winter ways. Curiously on May 17--one wet day--two male stilts -had a regular set-to over an irresponsive female; the only symptom of -their love-making we noticed all that spring! - -[Illustration: AVOCETS FEEDING - -Though long-legged, these are half-webfooted and swim freely.] - -Here, in the very height of what ought to have been the breeding-season, -we had all these birds (and many others), instead of hovering overhead -and shrieking in one's ear, flying wild in great packs at 100 yards. - -How came it to pass that the normal vernal impulse was neglected for a -whole season, unfelt and unrecognised--what was the precise -psychological reason? It reads ridiculous to assume that any feathered -husband should deliberately remark: "Now, Angelina, don't you agree that -it would be imprudent our attempting to raise a family this -drought-struck season?" Nor could the neglect arise from physical -weakness, since the birds were strong and wild. Such specimens as we -shot proved plump and well favoured, though the generative organs -disclosed a hybernal obsolescence. One explanation--indeed a -rough-and-ready diagnosis that seemed to cover the ground--was given by -Vasquez. Now Vasquez is our Guarda of the marisma; he is not scientific, -but has been in charge of the wilderness and its wildfowl these thirty -years and, more than all, he is observant. This rough keeper perhaps -understands the inner lives of wildfowl, with the causes that actuate -their movements and habits, better than our best scientists, and Vasquez -told us in February: "This year no birds will breed here; the conditions -necessary to _calientár los ovários_ [literally, to warm up the ovaries] -are wanting." The subsequent course of events, corroborated by the -evidence of dissection, proved the correctness of his forecast. - - * * * * * - -For a moment we return to the white-faced ducks--no European bird-form -less known, or more extravagant. With heavy, swollen beaks, quite -disproportionate in size and pale waxy-blue in colour, with white heads, -black necks, and rich chestnut bodies, their tiny wings (as well as the -sheeny silken plumage) recall those of grebes, but they have long stiff -tails like cormorants, and are more tenacious of the water than either -of those. To push them on wing is well-nigh impossible. They seek safety -in the middle waters and there abide, ignoring threats. To-day, however -(May 16), we needed specimens, and by hustling their company between -three guns, two mounted keepers, and an old boat that leaked like a -sieve we eventually forced them to fly and secured three. They flew -entirely in packs (not pairs), rarely many feet above the surface, but -with a speed little inferior to pochard or other diving-ducks. -Dissection showed that in a female the ovaries had not begun to develop, -there were no ripe ova, nor had the oviduct been used. The _testes_ in -both the males proved also that here these birds were not yet breeding, -or thinking of doing so. - -A week earlier, however, at another lake of quite different formation -and different plant-growth (thirty miles away), we had found these -singular waterfowl already nesting, and append a note of that day:-- - -[Illustration: WHITE-FACED DUCK (_Erísmatura leucocephala_). See also p. -28.] - -LAGUNA DE LAS TERAJES, _May 8._--A lonely lagoon hidden away in a -saucer-shaped basin amidst sequestered downs; almost the entire extent -(twenty acres) choked with dense cane-brakes and thick green reeds which -stood six or eight feet above water. We had driven hither, nine miles, -across sandy heaths and pine-wood; and while breakfasting on the shore -our two canoes (carted here yesterday) were got afloat. Meanwhile, on a -patch of open water we had observed several white-faced ducks swimming, -deeply immersed, and with their long stiff tails cocked upright at -intervals, together with some eared grebes; while marsh-harriers slowly -quartered the brakes and the reed-beds rang with the harsh nasal notes -of the great sedge-warbler. On pushing out into the aquatic jungle -ahead--no light labour with five feet of water encumbered with densely -matted canes and the dead tangle of former growths--we soon fell in with -nests of all the species above mentioned and several more. Those of the -white-faced ducks consisted, first, of a big floating platform of broken -canes, upon which was piled a mass of fine dried "duck-weed"--the coots' -nests being formed of flags and reeds alone. None of the ducks' nests -contained eggs; probably the season was too early (in other years we -have found their great white eggs, rough-grained, about the third week -in May), but possibly the harriers had forestalled us, as we found one -egg floating alongside. The grebes were just beginning to lay; their -nests, composed of rotten floatage, all awash and malodorous, containing -one to three eggs. Next we found two nests of marsh-harriers, immense -masses of dead flags, two feet high, supported on floating canes and -lined with sticks, heather-stalks, and palmetto. One had four eggs, -hard-sat; the other, two eggs, chipping, and two small young in white -down, with savage black eyes. The harriers' eggs are usually dull white; -in one nest found this year, however, the eggs were spotted with pale -red--apparently blood-stains. Hard by were two nests of the purple -water-hen, both of which had obviously been recently robbed by the -harriers next door. - -These curious birds climb the tall green reeds parrot-wise, grasping -four or five at once in their long, supple, heavily clawed toes; then -with their powerful red beaks neatly cut down the reeds a yard or more -above water, in order to feed on the tender pith. Here and there float -masses of these cut-down reeds, split and emptied--_comederos_, the -natives call such spots. But the birds are silly enough to cut down the -very reeds that surround their nests--thus exposing the huge piled-up -structures to the gaze of their truculent neighbour, the egg-loving -marsh-harrier. Instinct badly at fault here. - -With a degree more intelligence, the purple water-hens might at least -retaliate, by watching their opportunity and mopping-up the harriers' -young. They are amply equipped for such work, having great pincer-like -beaks fit to cut barbed wire! - -On the other hand, the great purple water-hens habitually do a bit -robbery and murder on their own account, plundering the nests both of -ducks and coots and devouring eggs or young alike. We shot one whose -beak was smeared all over with yolk from a plundered duck's nest hard -by, and alongside the nest of a _Porphyrio_ with five eggs (found May 1) -lay floating the head-less corpses of two young coots. We have also -observed similar phenomena alongside the nests of the coots -themselves--doubtless attributable to the same cause. The eggs of the -purple water-hen are lovely objects, ruddier and much more richly -coloured than those of any of its congeners. These birds remain in the -marismas all winter. - -In the densest brake bred purple herons, but this part proved quite -impenetrable to canoes. A few days later, however, at the Retuerta, we -reached a little colony of three nests. A beautiful sight they -presented, broad platforms of criss-crossed canes, cleverly supported on -tall bamboos, and lined with the flowering tops of _carrizos_ (canes). -These three nests were close together (another or two hard by), were -about five feet above water-level, and contained three, three, and four -pale-blue eggs. While circling around their nests, the old herons showed -a conspicuous projection beneath their curved necks. We therefore shot -one and found the effect was caused by a curious "kink" or bony process -on the front of the upper neck--as sketched. - -Of other birds observed at this Laguna de Terajes may be noted a few -mallard and marbled ducks, a pair of squacco herons (not breeding), -common sandpipers (on May 8), and a party of whiskered terns which -arrived while we were there. - -The day we had spent among the marsh-birds at this sequestered lagoon -happened to be the day of the general election and the usual excitement -prevailed. Yet, as we journeyed down by the early train, we had read in -the morning's paper this paragraph: "An understanding" -[_Inteligencia_]--"Yesterday an understanding was arrived at in Madrid -between Maura and Cañalejas, by which the former is to hold 225 seats." -Why, after that, bother further with an election? 'Twill serve as an -object-lesson at home. - -[Illustration: PURPLE HERON (_Ardea purpurea_)] - -Another phenomenon of the Spanish marismas is the through-transit in May -of that little group of world-wanderers that make a winter-home in the -southern hemisphere--in South Africa and Madagascar, Australia, New -Zealand, some even in Patagonia--and yet return each spring to summer in -Arctic regions. These comprise, notably, but four species, and not one -of these four, in our view, is excelled for perfect beauty of bright, -chaste, and contrasted coloration by any other bird-form on earth. This -quartette is composed of the grey plover, knot, curlew-sandpiper, and -bartailed godwit--all four of which appear here in thousands every May, -and all in summer dress. - -Note, first, that these do not arrive in Spain (having come 6000 or 8000 -miles but being still 2000 or 3000 miles short of their final -destination) until long after all other birds--including several -congeneric and closely related species--have already laid their eggs and -many hatched their young. Also, secondly, that some of them begin to -assume their spring breeding-plumage under autumnal conditions _before_ -quitting Australia in April--that is, the Australian autumn--and while -yet some 10,000 miles distant from the points at which that -breeding-dress is designed to be worn. - -To the four named might properly be added other two species--the -sanderling and the little stint. Our only reason for confining our -remarks to the original quartette is that, in Spain, the transit of the -other two is less pronounced and noticeable. - -Last spring (1910), dry as the marismas were, we had these -globe-spanners in thousands. They were extremely wild, and it was only -by elaborate "drives" that we secured a few specimens.[68] We also -observed in mid-May hundreds of _black_-tailed godwits, a species which -usually disappears from southern Spain at end of March and which we have -found nesting in Jutland _before_ the above date, viz. the first week in -May. - -[Illustration: GREY PLOVERS - -In summer plumage, on route for Siberia--Marisma, May 12.] - -Whimbrels had been extremely abundant early in May, together with a few -greenshanks, ring-dotterel, and green sandpiper. On May 13 we observed -several of the Mediterranean black-headed gull (_Larus melanocephalus_) -on Santolalla. - - [NOTE.--Referring to the last sentence, our companion, Commander H. - Lynes, R. N., writes:--"All the gulls I saw on Santolalla I am - positive were _L. ridibundus_, and I looked most carefully. The - wing-pattern of _melanocephalus_ is very distinct. With the latter - I became quite familiar in the Mediterranean in winter, and also - saw them in late summer at Smyrna." We, nevertheless, leave our own - record as above, being confident that such gulls as happened to - come within our own view were _exclusively_ of the southern - species, with its darker and deeper hood. But the occurrence of our - British Black-headed Gull so far south in mid-May is also - remarkable. That species, though abundant all winter, has - disappeared, as a rule, by the end of March. Our own last note of - observing it during the spring in question was on April 1. We may - add a further note of having observed _both_ species (swimming - alongside) on Guadalquivir, March 12, 1909. The distinction, alike - in the depth and darker shade of the "hood" in _L. melanocephalus_, - was unmistakable, even to naked eye.] - -This dry spring not a spoonbill nested in Andalucia. The teeming -_pajaréras_, or heronries, at the Rocina de la Madre and in Doñana were -left lifeless and abandoned. In normal years these are tenanted (as -shown in photo at p. 32) by countless multitudes of buff-backed, -squacco, and night-herons, glossy ibis, some purple herons, and a few -pairs of spoonbills, whose massed nests fairly weigh down the marsh-girt -tamarisks. - -[Illustration: ORPHEAN WARBLER (_Sylvia orphea_) - -Arrives end of April; hardly so brilliant a songster as its specific -title would import.] - - - - -CHAPTER XL - -SKETCHES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - - -Spain is a land where one can enjoy seeing in their everyday life those -"rare" British birds that at home can only be seen in books or museums. -So far as it can be done in half-a-dozen brief sketches, we will -endeavour to illustrate this. - - -I. AN EVENING'S STROLL FROM JEREZ. - -Spanish towns and villages are self-contained like the "fenced cities" -of Biblical days. The _pueblecitos_ of the sierra show up as a concrete -splash of white on the brown hillside. Once outside the gates you are in -the _campo_ = the country. Even Jerez with its 60,000 inhabitants boasts -no suburban zone. Within half an hour's walk one may witness scenes in -wild bird-life for the like of which home-staying naturalists sigh in -vain. We are at our "home-marsh," a mile or two away: it is -mid-February. Within fifteen yards a dozen stilts stalk in the shallows; -hard by is a group of godwits, some probing the ooze, the rest preening -in eccentric outstretched poses. Beyond, the drier shore is adorned by -snow-white egrets (_Ardea bubulcus_), some perched on our cattle, -relieving their tick-tormented hides. - -Thus, within less than fifty yards, we have in view three of the rarest -and most exquisite of British birds. And the list can be prolonged. A -marsh-harrier in menacing flight, his broad wings brushing the -bulrushes, sweeps across the bog, startling a mallard and snipes; there -are storks and whimbrels in sight (the latter possibly slender-billed -curlew), and a pack of lesser bustard crouch within 500 yards in the -palmettos. From a marsh-drain springs a green sandpiper; and as we take -our homeward way, serenaded by bull-frogs and mole-crickets, there -resounds overhead the clarion-note of cranes cleaving their way due -north. - - -II. AN ISOLATED CRAG IN ANDALUCIA - -Within an easy half-day's ride from X. lie the cliffs of Chipipi, rising -in crenellated tiers from the winding river at their base. It is a -lovely May morning. Doves in dozens dash away as we ride through groves -of white poplars, and the soft air is filled with their murmurous -chorus; the bush-clad banks are vocal with the song of orioles and -nightingales, cuckoos, and a score of warblers--Cetti's and orphean, -Sardinian, polyglotta, Bonelli's. The handsome rufous warbler, though -not much of a songster, is everywhere conspicuous, flirting a -boldly-barred, fan-shaped tail that catches one's eye. There are -woodchats, serins, hoopoes; azure-blue rollers squawk, and brilliant -bee-eaters poise and chatter overhead--their nest-burrows perforate the -river-bank like a sand-martins' colony. On willow-clad eyots nest lesser -ring-dotterels and otters bask; while in the shaded depths beneath the -fringing osiers lurk barbel intent to dash at belated grasshopper or -cricket. - -[Illustration: SAVI'S WARBLER (_Sylcia savii_) - -A spring-migrant, common but very local. Has eggs by mid-April.] - -In a thick lentiscos is the nest of a great grey shrike, and while we -watch, its owner flies up carrying a lizard in her beak. Half an hour -later we see a second shrike, with falcon-like dash, capture another -lizard basking in a sunny cranny among the rocks--no mean performance -that. There are snakes here also; one we killed, a coluber, on March 31, -was 5-1/2 feet long and contained two rabbits swallowed whole and head -first--one partly digested. Another snake, quite small, struck us as -being something new; him we bottled in spirit and despatched to the -British Museum. Presently came the reply, thanking us for a "Lizard, -_Blanus cinereus_." Lizard? Well, we learnt a lesson. There are limbless -lizards, and this was one--the subterranean amphisbaena; our British -blindworm (_Anguis fragilis_) is another, and that also we did not know -before. There are curious reptiles here in Spain--the chameleon, for -example. The lobe-footed gecko, _Salamanquésa_ in Spanish, haunts sunny -rocks where insects abound. But he carries war into the enemy's camp, -invading (not singly, but in force) the wild-bees' nests. A Spanish -bee-keeper gravely assured us that the cold-blooded gecko does this -thing expressly to enjoy the sensation of being stung in twenty places -at once! Here in a shady glade lie strewn broadcast the wings of -butterflies--examine very closely the bush above, and presently an -iris-less eye, expressionless as a grey pearl, will meet your own. That -is a praying mantis (or _Santa Teresa_ in Spanish), a practical insect -but no aesthete, since he devours the ugly body and casts aside the -beauteous wings!--see his portrait at p. 87. Among butterflies we -counted here the scarce swallowtail, _Thaïs polyxena_ (hatching out on -April 3), _Vanessa polychloros_, a big fritillary with blood-red -under-surface to its fore-wings (_Argynnis maia_, Cramer), -_Euchloëbelia_ (March) and the curious insect figured alongside, we know -not what it is.[69] - -[Illustration] - -For more than thirty years within our knowledge (and probably for -centuries before) these cliffs have formed a home of Bonelli's eagle. -Two huge stick-built nests stand out in visible projection from crevices -in the crag, some forty yards apart. To-day (April 3) the occupied eyrie -contained a down-clad eaglet, four partridges, and half a rabbit, -besides a partridge's egg, intact, and sundry scraps of flesh, all quite -fresh. The nest was lined with green olive-twigs; swarms of -carrion-flies buzzed around, and a great tortoiseshell butterfly alit on -its edge while we were yet inside. The parent eagles soared overhead, -the female carrying a half rabbit, which, in her impatience, she -presently commenced to devour, the pair perching on a dead ilex, and -affording us this sketch and another inserted at p. 26. Her white -breast shone in the sun with a satin-like sheen. - -Within sight (though fifteen miles away) is another eyrie of this -species--the alternative nests not ten feet apart, merely a projecting -buttress of rock separating the two vertical fissures in which they -rest. This site is in a rock-stack standing out from the wooded slope of -the sierra. The two eggs, slightly blotched with red, were laid in -February. - -The rough bush-clad hills above our cliff are preserved, and presently -meeting the gamekeeper, we tried--(that daily toll of four partridges -plus sundry rabbits had got on our consciences!)--to put in a word for -our eagle-friends, assuring him they did him service by destroying -snakes and big lizards (which they don't). "Si, señor," he agreed, -adding, "y los insectos!" - -[Illustration: BONELLI'S EAGLES SOARING AROUND EYRIE - -Note white patch in centre of back, between the wings.] - -Farther along the cliff we found two nests of neophron, each containing -two very handsome eggs. This bird makes a comfortable home, the -foundation being of sticks, but with a warmly lined central saucer, -bedecked with old bones, snakes' vertebrae, rabbit-skulls, and similar -ornaments. The nests were on overhung shelves of the vertical crag, and -(like those of the eagles) only accessible by rope. There lay a rat in -one--and rather "high." - -Remaining denizens of these crags we can but briefly name. A pair of -eagle-owls had three young (fully fledged by June 10) in a deep -rock-fissure; there were also ravens, many lesser kestrels, and a colony -of genets. - - -III. OAK-WOOD AND SCRUB - -Cistus and tree-heath, genista and purple heather that brushes your -shoulder as you ride, studded with groves of cork-oak--such was our -hunting-field. The reader's patience shall not be abused by a catalogue -of ornithological fact. True, we were studying bird-problems, and at the -moment the writer was endeavouring, amidst ten-foot scrub, to locate by -its song, a nest of Polyglotta--or was it _Bonellii_?--when in the -depths of osmunda fern was descried something _hairy_--it was a -wild-boar!... Three horsemen armed with _garrochas_ come galloping -through the bush--herdsmen rounding-up cattle? But this morning it is a -_bull_ they are rounding-up; and a bull that had grown so savage and -intractable that his life was forfeit. A crash in the brushwood and we -stand face to face. Three minutes later that bull fell dead with two -balls in his body; but two others, less well aimed, had whistled past -our ears. Those three minutes had been momentous--the choice, it had -seemed, lay between horn and bullet. Bird-nesting in Spanish wilds has -its serious side. - -The afternoon was less eventful. Almost each islanded grove had yielded -spoil. We need not specify spectacled, subalpine, and orphean warblers, -woodpeckers, woodchats and grey shrikes, nightjars, owls, kestrels, and -kites--some prizes demanding patient watching, others a strenuous climb. -The last hour had resulted in discovering a nest of booted eagle, two of -black, and one of red kites, each with two eggs (the next tree held a -nest of the latter containing a youngster near full grown). We had -turned to ride homewards when, over a centenarian cork-oak on the -horizon, we recognised (by their buoyant flight and white undersides) a -pair of serpent-eagles. The grotesque old tree was half overthrown, and -on its topmost limb was established the snake-eaters' eyrie, containing -the usual single big white egg--this specimen, however, distinctly -splashed with reddish brown. In the same tree were also breeding cushats -and doves, a woodpecker with four eggs, and a swarm of bees who made -things lively for the climber. One of to-day's climbs, by the way, had -resulted incidentally in the capture of a family of dormice, _Lirones -avellanos_ in Spanish, handsome creatures with immense whiskers and -arrayed in contrasts of rich brown, black and white. - -Half an hour later we descried the unmistakable eyrie of an imperial -eagle--a platform of sticks that crowned the summit of a huge cork-oak, -the more conspicuous since any projecting twigs that might interrupt the -view are always broken off. The eagle, entirely black with white -shoulders, only soared aloft when L. was already half-way up. The two -handsome eggs we left, though they have since, presumably, added two -more "detrimentals" to prey on our partridges. Eagles, so soon as adult, -pair for life; but that condition may require several years for full -attainment, and in the imperial eagle the adolescent period is passed in -a distinctive uniform of rich chestnut. So long ago as 1883, however, we -discovered the singular fact that this species breeds while yet -(apparently) "immature." That is, we have frequently found one of a -nesting pair in the paler plumage described, while its mate gloried in -the rich sable-black of maturity, as sketched on p. 31. This year (1910) -we had come across such a couple--they had two eggs on March 15--the -male being black, while his partner was parti-coloured. A curious -incident had occurred at that nest; at dawn next morning a griffon -vulture was discovered asleep close alongside the sitting eagle. But on -the arrival of the husband a furious scene ensued! The intruder (whom we -acquit of dishonourable intent) was set upon, hustled, and violently -ejected from the tree--hurriedly and dishevelled he departed. But -conjugal peace was soon restored, and presently the royal pair set out -in company for a morning's hunting. - -These resident birds-of-prey breed early. We have found the eagles' eggs -by February 28, buzzards' on March 12, and red kites' on March 14. - -This spring was remarkable for the numbers of hobbies that passed north -during May, sometimes in regular flocks. They often roosted in old -kites' nests, and when disturbed therefrom misled us into a futile -climb. - - * * * * * - -WHITE-TAILED OR SEA-EAGLE (_Haliaëtos albicilla_).--This does not -properly belong to the Spanish zone. We cannot find recorded a single -authentic instance of its occurrence in that country, but can supply one -ourselves. - -In the early days of February 1898 we watched on several occasions an -eagle (which at the time we took to be Bonelli's) wildly chasing the -geese that are wont to assemble in front of our shooting-lodge. Splendid -spectacles these aerial hunts afforded. The selected goose, skilfully -separated from his company, made a grand defence. Fast he flew and far, -now low on water, now soaring upwards in widening circle; but all the -time gaggling and protesting against the outrage in strident tones that -we could hear a mile away. Never, so far as eyesight could reach, did -the assailant make good his hold. - -Months afterwards--it was before daybreak on December 28 (1898)--the -authors lay awaiting the "early flight" of geese at the Puntal, hard by, -when an eagle (whether the same or not) appeared from out the gloom, -made a feint at No. 1's decoy-geese (made of wood), passed on and fairly -"stooped" at those of No. 2. A moment later the great bird-of-prey fell -with resounding splash, and proved to be (so far as we know) the only -sea-eagle ever shot in Spain--a female, weight 12-1/2 lbs., expanse just -under 8 feet. - - * * * * * - -This is not the only instance in our experience of eagles hunting before -the dawn. We recall several others. Apparently, if pressed by hunger, -eagles start business early--almost as early as we do ourselves. - -SPOTTED EAGLE (_Aquila naevia_).--This also, like the last, is scarcely -a Spanish species; but a beautiful example, heavily spotted, was shot in -September in the Pinar de San Fernando by our friend Mr. Osborne of -Puerto Sta. Maria. It was one of a pair. - -PEREGRINE AND PARTRIDGE.--CORRAL QUEMADO, _Jan. 27, 1909_. While posted -on a mesembrianthemum-clad knoll during a big-game drive, troops of -partridges kept streaming out from the covert behind. Their demeanour -struck both me and the next gun posted on a knoll 200 yards away. Across -the intervening glade, almost bare sand but for a stray tuft of rush or -marram-grass, the partridge ran to and fro in a dazed sort of way, -crouching flat as though terror-stricken, or standing upright, gazing -stupidly in turn. None dared to fly, though some were so near they could -not have failed to detect me. The mystery was solved when a peregrine -swept close overhead and made feint after feint: yet not a partridge -would rise. Well they knew that the falcon would not strike _on the -ground_; but what a "soft job" it would have been for a goshawk or -marsh-harrier! Presumably partridge discriminate between their winged -enemies and in each case adapt defence to fit attack. - -An interesting scene was terminated by a lynx trotting out by my -neighbour, Sir Maurice de Bunsen, who might thus have been taken -unawares; only ambassadors are never believed to be so, and on this -occasion the spotted diplomat certainly got the ball quite right, behind -the shoulder. - -MARSH-HARRIER (_Circus aeruginosus_).--Over dark wastes resound -"duck-guns sullenly booming." Thereat from reed-bed and cane-brake -awaken roosting harriers, quick to realise the import. It is long before -their normal "hours of business," but these miss no chances, and soon -the hidden gunner descries spectral forms drifting in the gloom--all -intent to share his spoils. Watch the robbers' methods. In the deep a -winged teal is making away, almost swash. The raptor feints again and -again, following the cripple's subaquatic course; but he never attempts -to strike till incessant diving has worn the victim out. Then--so soon -as the luckless teal is compelled to tarry five seconds above -water--instantly those terrible talons close like a rat-trap. Next comes -a lively wigeon, merely wing-tipped; but the water here is shoal and the -hawk dare not close. For the volume of mud and spray thrown up by those -whirling pinions would drench his own plumage. The wigeon realises his -advantage and sticks to the shallow--the raptor ever trying to force him -to the deep. The end comes all the same, though the process of -tiring-out occupies longer--sooner or later, down drop the yellow -legs--there is a moment of strenuous struggle and the duck is lifted and -borne ashore. Should no land be near, the branches of a submerged -samphire will serve for a dining-table. Within five minutes nought is -left but empty skin and clean-picked bones. - -Obviously any attempt to seek dead at a distance or to recover cripples -is labour lost--once they drift, or swim, or dive, to the danger-radius -instantly the chattel passes to the rival "sphere of influence." - -As early as February (and sometimes even in January) the abounding coots -begin to lay. The marsh-harrier notes the date and becomes a determined -oologist. Over the everlasting samphire-swamp resounds the reverberating -cry of the crested coot, _Hoo, hoo, Hoo, hoo_, so strikingly human that -one looks round to see who is signalling. Presently you hear the same -cry, but wailing in different tone and temper. That is a coot defending -hearth and home against the despoiler; and bravely is that defence -maintained. With a glass, one sees the coot throw herself on her back -and hold the hawk at bay, striking out right and left, for she has -powerful claws and can scratch like a cat. Often the assailant is fairly -beaten off; or should the fight end without visible issue, probably the -coveted eggs have been hustled overboard in the tussle. Then it amuses -to watch the harrier's frantic efforts to recover the sunken prizes from -the shallows. - -[Illustration] - -GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO (_Oxylophus glandarius_).--A striking rakish form, -this stranger from unknown Africa silently appears in Spain during the -closing days of February or early in March. On the fifth evening of the -latter month, while rambling in the bush on the watch for "some new -thing," a hawk-like figure swept by and perched on the outer branches of -a thorny acacia. When shot, the bird dropped a yard or so, then -clutching a bough with prehensile zygodactylic claws, hung suspended -with so desperate a hold that it was with difficulty released. Waiting a -few minutes, a harsh resonant scream--_cheer-oh_, thrice -repeated--announced the arrival of the male, which fell winged on a -patch of bog beyond. Ere we could reach the spot the bird had run back, -regained the outer trees, and was climbing a willow-trunk more in the -style of parrot than cuckoo. The beak was used for steadying, and so -fast did it climb that we had to ascend after it. - -The beak in this species opens far back, giving a very wide gape--colour -inside pink, deepening to dark carmine. We sketched and preserved both -specimens, see p. 41 and above. - - * * * * * - -As a rule this cuckoo disappears in early autumn, but we have an -exceptional record of its occurrence in winter. One was shot at San -Lucar de Barraméda, December 19, 1909. - -This cuckoo, like all its old-world congeners,[70] is parasitic in its -domestic _ménage_--that is, it adopts a system of reproduction by -proxy--relying, as Canon Tristram long ago put it, on finding a -"foundling hospital" for its young. But even the keen intellect quoted -was at first at fault. For the great spotted cuckoo differs in one -essential point from that "wandering voice" with which we are familiar -at home. The latter deposits a single egg in casual nest of titlark, -hedge-sparrow, wagtail--in short, of any small bird, regardless of the -fact that its own egg may differ conspicuously from those of its -selected foster-parent. The spotted cuckoo is more circumspect. -Everywhere it restricts the delegated duty to some member of the -_Corvidae_,[71] and in Spain exclusively to the magpies. Moreover, -whether by accident or evolution, the cuckoo has so admirably adapted -the coloration of its own egg to resemble that of its victim, as to -deceive even so cute a bird as the magpie. Earlier ornithologists (as -above suggested) failed for a moment to distinguish the difference--it -was, in fact, the zygodactylic foot of an unhatched embryo that first -betrayed the secret (Tristram, _Ibis_, 1859). On close examination the -cuckoo's eggs differ in their more elliptic form and granular surface; -but, unless previously fore-warned and specially alert, no one would -suspect that these were not magpies' eggs, any more than does the magpie -itself. - -The spotted cuckoo deposits two, three, and even four eggs in the _same_ -magpie's nest, sometimes leaving the lawful owner's eggs undisturbed, in -other cases removing all or part of them--we have noticed spilt yoke at -the entrance. It would appear difficult, in these domed nests, for the -young cuckoos to eject their pseudo-brothers and sisters; but this -detail of their life-history remains, as yet, unsolved. - -CROSSBILLS.--Nature delights in presenting phenomena which no tangible -cause appears to warrant. Such were the thrice-repeated invasions of -Europe by "Tartar hordes"--they were only sand-grouse--that occurred -during the past century (in 1863, 1872, and 1888); and in 1909 an -analogous problem, though on minor scale, was offered by crossbills. -From north to extreme south of our Continent these small forest-dwellers -precipitated themselves bodily westwards. This was in July. All the -west-European countries, from Norway to Spain, recorded an unwonted -irruption. In Andalucia (at Jerez) crossbills were first noticed about -mid-July, and their appearance so impressed country-folk little -accustomed to discriminate small birds, as to suggest to them the idea -that the strangers must have fled from Morocco to avoid the fighting -then raging around Melilla! But in Spain a further and anomalous -complexity followed. For the Spanish specimens we sent home, on being -submitted to Dr. Ernst Hartert, proved to belong to a purely Spanish -subspecies--a race distinguishable by its weaker mandibles and other -minor variations. Hence the movement in Spain had been purely internal, -and it became difficult to suppose that (although simultaneous) it could -have been predisposed and actuated by precisely the same motives as -those which compelled a more extensive exodus farther north. Thus -results the curious issue--that presumably different causes, operating -over a wide geographical area, produced similar and simultaneous -effects. These immigrant crossbills disappeared from Andalucia at the -end of August. - -[Illustration: CROSSBILLS, ADULT AND YOUNG (_Loxia curvirostra_.) - -JEREZ, July 1910.] - -Crossbills we used to observe in winter in our pine-forests of Doñana; -but owing to local causes they have now missed several years. Their -migrations within Spain are rather on the vertical than the horizontal -plane--that is, merely seasonal movements between the higher lands and -the lower. In Spain, denuded of natural forest, the habitat of such -birds is narrowly restricted. Hence their sudden appearance in new -areas (such as this, at forestless Jerez) is at once conspicuous. - -GLOSSY IBIS (_Plegadis falcinellus_).--Birds, as a rule, are strict -geographists. They recognise fixed range-boundaries and abide thereby. -But exceptions occur, and an instance has been offered by the glossy -ibis. This bird has always been a conspicuous member of the teeming -_pajaréras_, or mixed heronries, of our wooded swamps of Andalucia. But -it was only as a spring-migrant that the ibis was known. It arrived in -April and departed, after nesting, in September. A diluvial winter in -1907-8, however, apparently induced it to reconsider its "standing -orders." Already, that autumn, the ibises had departed--as usual. But in -December (the whole country meanwhile having been inundated) they -suddenly reappeared. Small parties distributed themselves over the -marismas, and with them came an unwonted profusion of other waders, -stilts and curlews, whimbrels and godwits, the latter a month or two -before their usual date. All availed the occasion to frequent far-inland -spots, normally dry bush and forest, _nota quae sedes fuerat columbis_, -and one saw flights of waders and even ducks, such as teal and shoveler, -circling over flooded forest-glades. - -The changed quarters evidently met with approval, for each succeeding -year since then we have had the company of ibises _during winter_. - -An immature ibis, shot January 30, otherwise in normal plumage, had the -head and neck brownish grey with curlew-like striations. - -SLENDER-BILLED CURLEW (_Numenius tenuirostris_).--Years ago we wrote in -our wrath, moved thereto by the constant misuse of the term, that such a -thing as a "rare bird" does not exist, save only in a relative sense. Go -to its proper home, wherever that may be, and the supposed rarity is -found abundant as its own utility and nature's balances permit. Should -some lost wanderer straggle a few hundred miles thence, it is proclaimed -a "rare bird." - -Against this, our old mentor, Howard Saunders, wrote across the -proof-sheet: "There ARE rare birds, some nearly extinct"; and the above -species affords an admirable example of these exceptions to the general -rule. - -No one at present knows the true home of the slender-billed curlew, nor -the points (if any) where it is common, nor where it breeds. In southern -Spain it appears every year during February and at no other season; -while even then its visits are confined to a few days and to certain -limited areas. The photo at p. 250 shows a beautiful pair shot February -5, 1898. When met with, they are rather conspicuous birds, -distinguishable from whimbrel by their paler colour--indeed, on rising, -the "slender-bills" look almost white. A specially favoured haunt in the -Coto Doñana is the bare sandy flat in front of Martinazo. - -When we first studied ornithology there still remained whole categories -of birds (many of them abundant British species) whose breeding-places -were utterly unknown. - -One by one they have been removed from the list of "missing," forced to -surrender their secrets by the resistless, world-scouring energy of -ornithologists (mostly British). The year 1909 saw but ONE species yet -undiscovered--our present friend, the slender-billed curlew. - -While we are yet busy with this book, the eggs of the slender-billed -curlew have been found--in Siberia!--the ultimate answer in all such -cases. The first was exhibited by Mr. H. E. Dresser at the meeting of -the British Ornithologists' Club on December 15, 1909, having been taken -by Mr. P. A. Schastowskij on the shores of Lake Tschany, near -Taganowskiye, in Siberia on the 20th of May preceding. - -Yes, there _do_ exist "rare birds," and in Europe the slender-billed -curlew appears to be an excellent illustration of the fact. - -SANTOLALLA, _December 29, 1897_.--A wild night, black as ink, and a -whole gale blowing from the eastward; an hour's ride through the scrub, -and five guns silently distribute themselves along the shores. Strategic -necessity placed us to windward, so most fowl were bound to fall in the -water. As stars pale to the dawn the flight begins, the dark skies -hurtle with the rush of passing clouds, and for two hours a steady -fusillade startles the solitude. - -As ten o'clock approaches, one by one we seek the cork-oak, from beneath -whose canopy a welcome column of smoke has long announced that breakfast -was preparing. But considering the run of shooting we have heard, the -toll of game brought in seems humiliating. Each gunner, gloomily -depositing his fifteen or twenty, declares he has lost twice that number -in the open water!... Well, a list of "claims" being drawn up, it -appears that 205 duck are stated to have been shot, while only 120 can -be counted. In his inner conscience possibly each man regards the rest -as ... but, ere breakfast is over, here come the keepers. They have -ridden round the lee-shores and islets, and bring in another 114! - -The bag after all sums up to 234, or actually nineteen more than the -sum-total of claims that we had been laughing at as extravagant. This is -the list:-- - - 2 geese - 8 mallard - 53 wigeon - 152 teal - 4 gadwall - 2 shoveler - 3 pochard - 9 tufted duck - -There were also shot two cormorants (mistaken for geese in the -half-light), a marsh-harrier, two great crested grebes, and several -coots. - -The incident illustrates an instance of scrupulous honesty. - - -OTHER COUNTRIES, OTHER STANDARDS - -(A Sentiment about Wildfowl) - -(_January 1909._) - -A wet winter and flooded marisma--under our eyes float wildfowl in -league-long lengths; countless, but far out in open water. By experience -we know them to be unassailable. Yet these hosts seem to throw down the -gauntlet of defiance at our very doors; and under the reproach of that -unspoken challenge experience succumbs. That night we arranged to -dispose our six guns over a two-league triangle before the morrow's -dawn. After every detail had been fixed, to us our trusted pessimist, -Vasquez: "Ni por aqui ni por alli, ni por este lado ni por el otro, ni -por ninguna parte cualquiera, no harémos _náda_ por la mañana"--"Neither -on this side nor on that, neither to east nor west, nor at any other -point whatever, shall we do the slightest good to-morrow!" - -On reassembling for breakfast, the result worked out as follows: 2 -geese, 3 mallard, 29 wigeon, 26 teal, 7 gadwall, 4 shovelers, 1 marbled -and 1 tufted duck. Total, 73 head before ten o'clock, besides a curlew -and several golden plover, godwits and sundries. - -We felt fairly satisfied; yet Vasquez's comment ran: "Seventy head among -six guns, _eso no es náda_ = that is nothing!" - - NOTE.--The writer had in his pocket a letter from home: "We put in - six days' punt-gunning at the New Year. Frost severe and all - conditions favourable. My bag, 4 brent-geese, 2 mallard, 3 wigeon, - and a northern diver.--E. H. C." - - - - -Appendix - -A SPECIFIC NOTE ON THE WILD-GEESE OF SPAIN - - -The Greylag Goose (_Anser cinereus_) is the only species we need here -consider. For of the many hundreds of wild-geese that we have shot and -examined during the eighteen years since the publication of _Wild -Spain_, every one has proved to be a Greylag. This is the more -remarkable inasmuch as an allied form, the Bean-Goose, was supposed in -earlier days to occur in Spain, though relatively in small numbers. Col. -Irby estimated the Bean-Geese as one to 200 of the Greylags; but no such -proportion any longer exists, at least in the delta of the Guadalquivir, -where, during eighteen years, hardly a single Bean-Goose has been -obtained.[72] - -This abandonment of southern Spain by the Bean-Goose (presuming it was -ever found therein) appears inexplicable. The species has lately been -recognised as divisible into various races or subspecies (differing -chiefly in the form and colour of the beak),[73] for which reason it may -here be recorded that of the few Bean-Geese examined twenty years ago in -Spain, the beak was invariably dark to below the nasal orifice, with a -dark tip, and an intermediate band of rufous-chestnut. - -Of the other three members of the genus, the Pink-footed Goose (_Anser -brachyrhynchus_) has never occurred in Spain; while neither the -white-fronted nor the lesser white-fronted species (_A. albifrons_ and -_A. erythropus_, L.) have ever been recorded save in an isolated -instance in either case. We have never met with any one of them--indeed, -the only wild-goose in our records, other than Greylag and half-a-dozen -Bean-Geese, is a single Bernacle (_Bernicla leucopsis_), one of three -that was shot at Santolalla by our late friend Mr. William Garvey. - -Of the Greylags that winter in Andalucia, the great majority are -adults--that is (presuming our diagnosis to be correct), scarcely one in -four is a gosling of the year. The adult geese we distinguish by the -spur on the wing-point of the ganders and generally by their larger size -and heavier build. Their undersides, moreover, are more or less spotted -or barred with black--some wear regular "barred waistcoats," whereas the -young birds are wholly plain white beneath. The legs and feet of the -latter are also of the palest flesh-colour (some almost white), rarely -showing any approximation to a pink shade, and their beaks vary from -nearly white to palest yellow; whereas in the older, mostly -"spot-breasted," geese the beak is deep yellow to orange, and their legs -and feet are distinctly pink--some as pronouncedly so as in _A. -brachyrhynchus_. These "soft parts" are, however, subject to infinite -variation, and the above definition is a careful deduction from the -results of many years' observation.[74] - -On several occasions we have examined from a dozen to a score of geese -without finding a single _gosling_ among them. The largest proportion of -the latter so recorded was on January 29, 1907, when of sixteen geese -shot, five (or possibly six) were young birds of the year before. All -these sixteen showed some white feathers on the forehead, and the -heaviest pair (two old ganders) weighed together 18-1/2 lbs. - -As regards their weights, the following notes show the variation:-- - -During the severe drought of 1896, six geese weighed on November 26, -when almost starving for food and water, ranged from 6-1/4 to 7-3/4 lbs. -A month later, when rains had fallen, weights had increased to 8-1/4 to -9-1/4 lbs. - -_December 28, 1899._--The heaviest of 29 scaled 9-1/4 lbs. - -_January 30, 1905._--The geese this dry season are in fine condition. An -old gander, shot at Martinazo, exceeded 10-1/2 lbs., another pair, shot -right and left, scaled 9-1/2 and 10 lbs. - -_February 4, 1907._--Two geese, the heaviest of eleven shot this -morning, weighed over 9 lbs. each, the pair scaling 18-1/4 lbs. It was a -severe frost, the shallows being covered with ice, and as each goose -fell, two bits of solid ice, in form as it were a pair of sandals, were -found lying alongside it, these having been detached by the fall from -the feet of the bird. - - * * * * * - -_1906. November 28._--Two pure white geese observed on Santolalla to-day -and on subsequent occasions. Though usually seen flying in company with -packs of normally coloured geese, the white pair always kept together. - -_1907. January 25._--After a month's bitterly cold and dry weather with -few geese, the wind to-day shifted to east, with heavy rain. All day -long a continuous entry of geese took place from the south-westward, in -frequent successive packs--sometimes two or three lots in sight at once. -A sense of movement was perceptible over the whole marisma. Next morning -these newcomers were sitting in ranks of thousands by the "new water" -all along the verge of the marisma--a wondrous sight. - - -NOTES ON SOME WILDFOWL THAT NEST IN SOUTHERN SPAIN - - -WILD-DUCKS - -PINTAIL (_Dafila acuta_).--In wet years a considerable number of -pintails remain to nest in the marismas of Guadalquivir, and by August -the broods (together with those of garganey, marbled duck, etc.) -assemble on the only waters that then remain--such as the Lagunas de -Santolalla, etc. - -In 1908, a very wet spring, almost as many pintails bred here as -mallards, and in eight nests observed the maximum number of eggs was -nine. They resemble those of mallards, consisting of twigs with a few -feathers placed on the mud, and easily seen through the open clump of -samphire which shelters them.[75] - -MALLARD (_Anas boschas_), in the marisma, nest in precisely similar -situations, but their eggs number twelve or fourteen. Elsewhere their -nests (being among bush or reedbeds) are less easily seen. - -WIGEON (_Mareca penelope_) never breed, though chance birds (and some -greylags also) remain every summer--possibly wounded. - -GADWALL (_Anas strepera_) do not nest in the open marisma, but many -pairs retire to the rush-fringed inland lagoons, such as Zopiton and -Santolalla. They lay nine to twelve eggs about mid-May, usually at a -short distance from the water. - -TEAL (_Nettion crecca_) remain quite exceptionally. Even in that wet -spring, 1908, only a single nest was found. There were eight eggs laid -on bare mud, with hardly any nest, beneath a samphire bush. Though quite -fresh, and placed at once under a hen, these eggs did not hatch. - -GARGANEY (_Querquedula circia_) breed among the samphire in the open -marisma--in wet seasons quite numerously. Seven young, caught newly -hatched in 1908 and kept alive at Jerez, showed no distinctive sexual -coloration all that autumn or up to February 1909. Early in March three -drakes became distinguishable, the most advanced being complete in -feather by the 15th, and all three perfect by April 1. - -Young pintails, on the other hand, acquire complete sexual dress in the -autumn, as mallards do, by November. - -Garganey also nest in large numbers on the lagoons of Daimiel in La -Mancha. - -MARBLED DUCK (_Querquedula angustirostris_).--This is one of the most -abundant of the Spanish-breeding ducks, nesting both in the marisma and -along the various channels of the Guadalquivir. Their nests, -substantially built of twigs of samphire, dead reeds, and grass, lined -with down, are carefully concealed among covert, usually on dry ground. -Some are approached by a sort of tunnel. Exceptionally we have seen a -nest built a foot high in the branches of a samphire bush with a clear -space beneath, and overhanging shallow water. The eggs, laid at the end -of May, vary from twelve to fourteen, and in one instance -twenty--possibly the produce of two females. We find these the most -difficult of all the ducks to rear in confinement. Probably their food -is quite different, anyway they are very bad eating. - -Marbled ducks are unknown at Daimiel. - -SHOVELERS (_Spatula clypeata_) only breed exceptionally and in wet -seasons; we found one nest at Las Nuevas in 1908. Though abundant in -winter, does not breed at Daimiel. - -FERRUGINOUS DUCKS (_Fuligula nyroca_), like all the diving tribe, breed -only on deep and permanent lakes, such as those of Medina and Daimiel, -where they abound all summer. None nest in the marisma, which in summer -is largely dry. Nests, mid-May; eggs, nine or ten. - -POCHARD (_Fuligula ferina_).--Though we have not found it ourselves, one -of our fowlers (Machachado) tells us that pochards breed on the lakes, -and even more in Las Nuevas, laying but few eggs--five to seven. - -RED-CRESTED POCHARD (_Fuligula rufila_).--This is the characteristic -breeding-duck at Daimiel in La Mancha, as well as on the Albufera of -Valencia, at both of which points it abounds. Yet curiously it is all -but unknown on the Bætican marismas. Among the thousands of ducks we -have shot therein, but a single example of the red-crested pochard -figures--a female killed January 19, 1903. - -TUFTED DUCK (_Fuligula cristata_).--None remain, though abundant in -winter. - -WHITE-FACED DUCK (_Erismatura leucocephala_).--This species, known as -_Bamboléta_ or _Malvasía_, arrives in spring and breeds commonly on -every deep pool and reed-girt lagoon in Andalucia. - -SHELDUCKS (_Tadorna cornuta_), we are assured (though this we have not -proved), breed in the marisma in hollows (_hoyos_)--such as the -cavernous footprints made by cattle in the soft mud in winter. Common in -dry winters. - -RUDDY SHELDUCK (_Tadorna casarca_).--These are seen here all summer, yet -we have failed to discover their breeding-places. They are common, old -and young, on the Laguna de Medina in August and September. This is a -striking species of stately flight and clear-toned ringing -cry--_H[=a][=a]-[)a][)a]_--thrice repeated. - - -WAGTAILS - -PIED WAGTAIL (_Motacilla lugubris_).--This familiar British species -occurs rarely in S. Spain--we have but four records, all in winter. In -the reverse, the WHITE WAGTAIL (_M. alba_) abounds--ploughed lands -sometimes look _grey_ with it; and it is here, in winter, as tame and -familiar as one sees it in Norway and Iceland in summer. Yet midway -between the two, _i.e._ in the British Isles, we have seen it but -thrice! There it may indeed be termed a "rare bird." The explanation -seems to be that (like the two southern wheatears) these two wagtails -are not specifically distinct, but merely a dimorphic form. This year -(June 1910) we found the white wagtail breeding commonly in North -Estremadura. - -During a northerly hurricane on February 7, 1903, we observed an -assemblage of many hundreds of white wagtails on the barren sand-dunes -of Majada Real--a second crowd, as numerous, a mile away. Both were -migrating bands arrested by the gale. This is merely one example out of -scores that have come under our notice of the magical apparition of -birds from the clouds, caused by a sudden change of wind. Specially -notable, besides wagtails, are swallows, wheatears, pipits and larks. - -The GREY WAGTAIL (_M. melanope_), though occasionally seen in winter, is -most conspicuous about mid-February, when it passes several days on our -lawn at Jerez. It has not then acquired the black throat of spring; but -two months later we have found it nesting on mountain-burns of the -sierras--precisely such situations as it frequents among the -Northumbrian moors. - -The YELLOW WAGTAIL (_M. flava_; the Continental form, _cinereocapilla_) -appears on the lawn a week or so after the grey species has disappeared; -but this remains throughout the spring, nesting in wet meadows and -marshes, laying during the last week of April. - -The British form (_M. raii_) also occurs during spring, but rarely and -on passage only, none remaining to nest. - - -RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION - -ROOK (_Corvus frugilegus_).--There is a certain limited stretch--say a -league or so, on the foreshores of the marisma--whither each winter come -a few scores of rooks. At that one spot, and nowhere else within our -knowledge, are rooks to be found in southern Spain. - -MAGPIE (_Pica caudata_).--On the western bank of Guadalquivir this bird -abounds to a degree we have seen surpassed nowhere else on earth. But -cross that river, and never another magpie will you see for a hundred -miles to the eastward. For it the lower Bætis marks a frontier. Over the -rest of Spain its distribution is normal and regular. - -A similar remark would almost hold good of the Jackdaw (_Corvus -monedula_). - -The AZURE-WINGED MAGPIE (_Cyanopica cooki_) abounds in central Spain and -in the Sierra Moréna. But its southern range stops dead at the little -village of Coria del Rio just below Sevilla. 'Tis but a few miles -beyond, yet in Doñana we have never seen so much as a straggler. The -Azure-wing does not straggle. - -From Spain (as elsewhere stated) you must travel to China and Japan ere -you see another azure-winged magpie. - -JAYS (_Garrulus glandarius_) in Spain confine themselves to -mountain-forests, eschewing the lowland woods which in other lands form -their home. - - - - -Index - - -Absenteeism, 12 - -Accentor, alpine, 222, 316 - -Africa, 29, 40, 41, 67, 91, 111, 112, 381, 383; - bird natives of, 272 - -Africa, British East, 272, 295 - -African bush-cuckoo, 400 _n._ 1 - -Agriculture, Moorish, 9-10; - Spanish, 11 - -Alagon River, 232 and _n._ 1, 233, 295 - -Albufera Lake, 321-4, 410 - -Alfonso XII., 37, 190, 292 - -Alfonso XIII., 19, 26, 31, 37, 72, 131, 140, 190, 206, 292, 336 - -Algamita, Sierra of, 176 - -Algeciras, 295 - -_Alimañas_, 28, 42, 337-46 - -Almanzór, Plaza de, 140, 213, 216, 217, 286 - -Almonte, village of, 82 _et seq._ - -Almoraima, 363 - -Alpuxarras, the, 142, 302, 305 - -_Alquerías_ (Las Hurdes), 235, 236, 241 - -America, flamingoes in, 273 - -_Anatidae_, 40; - distribution of, in S. Spain, 136 - -Andalucia, 2, 4, 10, 351, 393, 401, 402, 403; - bandits in, 175 _et seq._; - big game of, 54 _et seq._; - birds of, 40 _et seq._, 222, 393-5, 403 - -Ant-lion (_Myrmeleon_), 36 - -Arabs. _See_ Moors - -Arahal, Niño de, bandit, 176 _et seq._ - -_Armajo_ (samphire), 89-90, 91, 106, 114 - -Asturias, the, 294 _et seq._; - chamois in, 283-93 - -Avila, 213, 219 - -Avocet, 268, 385 - - -Badger, 337, 344, 345 - -Bandits, 174 _et seq._ - -Barbary stag, 43, 44 - -Barbel, 298-9, 393 - -Basques, the, 5 - -Bear, 289, 298; - brown, 4, 29, 294 - -Bear-hunting, 296-7 - -Bee-eater, 41, 209, 211, 226, 393 - -Bernicle goose, 191, 407 - -Bewick's swan, 375 - -Bharal, 26 - -Bidassoa River, 2 - -Big game in Spain, 6, 28-9, 54 _et seq._, 148 _n._ 1, 303 - -Bird-life on the marisma, 40-42, 91 _et seq._, 114 _et seq._, 138 _n._ 1, - 265-71, 376, 381-91, 408, 409 - -Bird-migration, 29, 40, 41-2, 91-2, 99 and _n._ 1, 103-4, 111, 376-80, 389-90, - 401-3 - -Blackbird, 223 - -Black-chat, 222, 230, 319, 353 _n._ 1, 367 - -Blackstart, 313, 318, 352, 362, 367 - -Boar, wild, 29, 42, 47, 68-9, 70 _et seq._, 147, 161, 171, 191, 229, 238, 289, - 353, 365-6, 396 - -Boar-hunting, 70 _et seq._ - -_Boga_, 299 - -Bombita I., matador, 199 - -Bombita II. (Ricardo Torres), 199, 205 - -Bonaparte, Joseph, 196-7 - -Bonelli's eagle, 28, 289, 355, 362, 366, 394-5 - -Bonelli's Warbler, 232, 318, 393 - -Bonito, 300 - -Brambling, 62 - -Breeding-places of flamingoes, 265-71 - -Bull, the Spanish fighting, breeding and training of, 200-204; - breeds of, 88, 204, 208 - -Bull-fight, the Spanish, 8, 15, 192-9 - -Bull-fighters, famous, 195-9 - -Bull-frog, 392 - -Bustard, 212, 226, 227, 232; - great, 4, 11, 24, 29, 119, 209, 242-64; - lesser (_Otis tetrax_), 29, 262-4, 328, 392 - -Bustard-shooting, 244 _et seq_. - -Butterflies, 62, 313 - _Lycaena telicanus_, 62 - _Megaera_, 62 - _Thaïs polyxena_, 62, 394 - _Vanessa polychloros_, 394 - -Buzzard, 228, 342, 397 - - -_Cabrestos_, 371-3, 379 - -Caceres, province, 228 _n._ 1 - -_Caciquismo_, 175, 180-81, 240 - -_Cactus_ (prickly-pear), 9 - -Caldereria, 324-7 - -Camels, wild, on the marisma, 36, 40, 275-82 - -Cantabria, 4, 28, 29, 298; - mountains of, 286 - -Cape de Verde Islands, 266, 271 _n._ 1 - -Capercaillie, 4, 29, 294, 298 - -Cares River, 284, 296 - -Castile, 5, 29 - -Catalonia, 5 and _n._ 1 - -Cavestany, Sr. D. A., Spanish poet laureate, 164 - -Central Asia, wild camels in, 276 - -Cervantes, 183 - -Cetti's warbler, 61, 393 - -Chaffinch, 164, 319 - -Chameleon, 394 - -Chamois, 4, 29; - in the Asturias, 283-93, 294; - preservation of, 142 - -Chamois-shooting, 286 _et seq._ - -Chapman, Mr. F., 273 - -Chapman, Mr. J. Crawhall, 280 - -Charles V., Emperor, 194 - -Chough, 222, 309, 319, 353, 355, 358, 366, 367 - -Ciguela River, 185 - -Cinco Lagunas, Las, 141, 215 - -Cirl-bunting, 319, 348 - -Cistus (_Helianthemum_), 37, 50, 62 - -Climate of Spain, effects of, 2-4 - -Coot, 186, 188, 207, 326, 384, 387, 388, 399; - crested, 399 - -Cormorant, 186 - -_Corros_, 376-80 - -Cortez, 231 - -_Corvidae_, 401 - -_Corvus cornix_, 401 _n._ 1 - -Costillares, bull-fighter, 196 - -Coto Doñana, 30 _et seq._, 58, 59, 74, 78, 89, 122, 332, 343, 402, 404; - fauna of, 38 _et seq._ - -Crag-martin, 319, 366, 367, 368 - -Crake, 39 - -Crane, 40, 392 - -Crossbill, 351; - migrations of, 401-3 - -Cuckoo, 313, 393; - great spotted, 41, 400-401 - -Curlew, 403; - slender-billed, 392, 403-4; - stone-, 227, 232, 343 - -Cushat, 396 - - -Daimiel, lagoons of, 185-91, 324, 409, 410; - town of, 191 - -Dampier, 266, 271 _n._ 1 - -Dartford Warbler, 61, 223, 353 _n._ 1 - -Date-palm, 4 - -Deer, 94, 148, 161, 171, 333, 343; - fallow, 28, 148 and _n._ 1, 228 and _n._ 1; - red, 42 _et seq._, 147, 155-6, 158 and _n._ 1, 228, 238,; _tables_, 170-3; - roe-, 165, 229, 298, 353, 363 - -Deer-shooting ("driving"), 44, 156 _et seq._ - -Deer-stalking, 44 _et seq._, 60 - -Despeñaperros, 149 - -Deva River, 284, 296 - -Dipper, 211, 319 - -Diving ducks, 101, 112, 138 _n._ 1, 324 - -Don Quixote, country of, 183, 228 - -Dormice, 396 - -Dove, 209, 226, 393, 396; - turtle, 212, 331 - -"Driving" (_see also Monteria_), 44, 47 _et seq._, 59 _et seq._, 115, 116-22, - 248-55, 286 _et seq._, 338-40, 360-62 - -Duck, 40, 41, 95, 96, 99, 102, 186-90, 322, 324 _et seq._, 375 - _n._ 1, 383, 388, 403; - habits of, 106, 110-11, 187; - ferruginous, 101, 186, 190, 409; - marbled, 101, 112, 135, 383, 389, 409; - tufted, 101, 138 _n._ 1, 186, 410; - white-faced, 384, 386-7, 410 - -Duck-hawk, 102, 186 - -Duck-shooting, 108, 187-90 - -Dunlin, 63 _n._ 1 - -Dwarf-juniper, 315 - - -Eagle, 38, 222, 228, 333, 334, 342, 363; - Bonelli's, 28, 289, 355, 362, 366, 394-5; - booted, 396; - golden, 28, 153, 156, 317, 353-5, 362; - imperial, 28, 258-9, 396-7; - spotted, 398; - white-tailed or sea-, 397-8 - -Eagle-owl, 343, 368, 370, 395 - -Egret, 186, 382, 385, 392 - -Espinosa, Pedro, 37 - -Estepa, 175 _n_. 1. - -Estremadura, 80, 225-33; - climate of, 230; - fauna of, 29, 43, 226, 228 - - -Falcon, 334; - peregrine, 135, 317, 398 - -Fantail warbler, 61 - -Ferdinand VII., 195, 197 - -Firecrest, 352 - -Flamingo, 25 and _n._ 1, 40, 94-5, 100-101, 134, 186, 191, 327, 382, 383; - breeding-places of, 265-74; - _Phoenicopterus minor_, 272 _n._ 1; - _Phoenicopterus ruber_, 273 - -"Flighting," 122-4, 136 - -Fly-catcher, 41; - pied, 232, 319; - spotted, 232 - -Foumart, 341 - -Fowling, Spanish modes of, 371-5, 379 - -Fox, 46, 60, 129, 226, 277, 317, 333, 334, 337 _et seq._ - -Francolin, 321 - -Frascuelo, bull-fighter, 197-8 - -Fuen-Caliente, 142, 149-50, 171 - - -Gadwall, 101, 111, 384, 409 - -Gaëtanes, 2 - -Galicia, 4 - -Game preservation in Spain, 335-6 - -Garganey, 112, 190, 384, 409 - -Gecko, lobe-footed, 394 - -Genet, 171, 334, 337, 395 - -Gibraltar, 355 - -Godoy, 196 - -Godwit, 42, 63 _n._ 1, 134, 392, 403,; - bartailed, 389; - black-tailed, 390 - -Goose, bean, 407; - bernicle, 191, 407; - black (_Ganzos negros_), 186; - greylag, 31, 32-3, 92, 95, 102, 114 _et seq._, 120, 125, 127, 191, 373, 375 - _n._ 1, 407-8; - pink-footed, 407 - -Goths, the, 229, 231 - -Granada, 10, 301 - -Granadilla, 232 and _n._ 1, 233 - -Grasshopper (_Cigarras panzonas_), 259 - -Grebe, 186, 190; - eared, 387 - -Grédos, Circo de, chief features of, 141, 213-15 - -Greenshank, 390 - -Griffon. _See under_ Vulture - -Guadalete, battle of, 7, 229 - -Guadalquivir River, 30, 35, 299, 374, 391, 411; - marismas of, 88 _et seq._, 114, 190, 265, 408, 409 - -Guadiana River, 185 - -Guerra, Rafael, bull-fighter, 198 - -Gull, 41, 186, 384; - black-backed, 107; - British black-headed (_L. ridibundus_), 391; - Mediterranean black-headed (_Larus melanocephalus_), 268, 390-91 -slender-billed (_Larus gelastes_), 268 - -Gum-cistus (_see also_ Cistus), 160, 225, 235 - - -Hare, 226, 238, 328, 330, 331, 334 - -Hawfinch, 61, 362 - -Hawk, 333 - -Hazel-grouse, 4, 29, 298 - -Heron, 41, 186, 190, 382 - buff-backed, 385 - purple, 267, 388 - squacco, 389 - -Hobby, 397 - -Hoopoe, 41, 62, 184, 226, 230, 313, 319, 393 - -Humming-bird hawk-moth, 62 - -Hunting dogs, 159, 164, 328, 340 - -Hurdanos, the, 5, 234 _et seq._ - - -Ibex, Spanish (_Capra hispánica_), 15, 26, 29, 43, 139-46, 149, 156, 210, 287, - 303 _et seq._, 317, 321-2, 352, 360 and _n._ 1, 362; - distribution of, 142, 303, 305; - habits of, 144-6, 152, 153, 360; - heads, _Table of_, 157; - preservation of, 139-42 - -Ibex-hunting, 216-24, 304 _et seq._ - -Ibis, 41, 382 - glossy, 403 - -Inns (_posada_), 18, 19 _et seq._ - -Irrigation, neglect of, 12, 230 - -Isabel I. (_la Católica_), 194 - -Isabella II., 323 - - -James I., 321 - -Janda, Laguna de, 375 _n._ 1 - -Jay, 164, 362, 411 - -Jerez, 347, 392, 401, 403 - - -Kestrel, 164, 212, 226, 230, 319, 396 - lesser, 355, 395 - -Kite, 211, 333, 334, 342, 396 - red, 397 - -Kitty-wren, 348 - -Knot, 42, 63 _n._ 1, 389 - - -Lagartijo, bull-fighter, 197-8 - -Laguna de Grédos, 219, 220 - -La Mancha, 183-91, 409, 410 - -Lammergeyer, 26-7, 149, 217-8, 314-5, 353, 357, 358-9, 360, 362, 367, 368 - -Land-tortoise, 343 - -Lanjarón, 306 - -Lark, 41, 212, 226, 232 - Calandra, 209 - crested, 209, 319 - short-toed, 319 - sky-, 312 - wood-, 313, 319, 348, 352, 353 _n._ 1, 367 - -Las Hurdes, 5, 233 _et seq._ - -Las Nuevas, 99 _et seq._, 280 - -Lemming, 210 _n._ 1 - -León, 5; - Cortes de, 6 - -Lilford, Lord, 265 - -Linnet, 319 - -Lizard, 333, 334, 355 - _Blanus cinereus_, 393 - -Locusts, 226, 227 - -Lugar Nuevo, 172 - -Lynx, 33, 46, 60, 68, 76-7, 155, 171, 317, 333, 334, 337 _et seq._, 398 - - -Madoz, Pascual, on the Hurdanos, 239 and _n._ 1, 240, 241 - -Magpie, 226, 232, 333, 401, 411 - Spanish azure-winged, 29, 164, 184, 209, 225, 226, 411 - -Mallard, 186, 188, 190, 326, 327, 384, 389, 392, 409 - -_Manzanilla_ (camomile), 111 - -Maria, José, bandit, 174, 181 - -Marisma, the, 35-6, 88 _et seq._, 190; - bird-life in, 40-42, 91 _et seq._, 114 _et seq._, 138 _n._ 1, 265-71, 376, - 381-91, 408, 409; - plant-life in, 89-90, 115; - wild camels on, 36, 40, 275-82; - wildfowl shooting in, 95 _et seq._, 105-13, 115 _et seq._, 371-75 - -Marmot, 210 _n._ 1 - -Marsh-harrier, 38, 102, 107, 135, 387, 388, 392, 399 - -Marsh-tern, 384 - -Marten, 171, 317, 319 - -Martin, 355 - -Mazzantini, Luis, bull-fighter, 198-9 - -Merida, 229, 230 - -Mezquitillas, 167, 170, 171 - -Migration of wildfowl. _See_ Bird-migration - -Missel-thrush, 212, 318 - -"Miura question," 192, 204-7 - -Mole-cricket, 392 - -Monachil River, 314, 316, 317, 318, 319 - valley, 311 - -Mongoose, 163, 171, 333, 334, 337, 339, 341, 344, 364 - -_Montería_, 157, 158 _et seq._, 283, 296 - -Montes, Francisco, bull-fighter, 197 - -Moorish domination, traces of, 7 _et seq._, 37, 232-3, 295 - origin of bull-fight, 8, 193-4 - -Moors, the, 149, 229 - -Mosquito, 62 - -Mudéla, estate, 335 - -Mulahacen, 312, 315 - -Mullet, grey, 299 - - -Naranjo de Bulnes, 291-2 - -National characteristics, 5, 12 _et seq._, 19 - types, 4-5 - -Navarre, 6 - -_Neophron_, 319, 366, 368, 395 - -Nightingale, 232, 318, 393 - -Nightjar, 41, 396 - -_Nucléo central_, 140 - -Nuthatch, 223, 232 - - -Oleander, 160, 166 and _n._ 1 - -Orange, cultivation of, 9 - -Oriole, 393 - golden, 41, 232 - -Orphean warbler, 393, 396 - -Ortolan, 319 - -Osprey, 191 - -Otter, 337 - -_Ovis bidens_, 352-3 - -Owl, 396 - little, 319 - white, 230 - - -Paris, Comtes de, 278-9 - -Partridge, 15, 30, 32, 164, 226, 238, 331, 332-3, 335-6, 362, 363, 398 - grey, 28, 298 - redleg, 15, 29, 184, 319, 328, 329 - -Peewit, 267 - -Pelayo, 7 - -Pelican, Danish, 276 - -Peñones, the, 314, 315 - -Pepe-Illo, bull-fighter, 196 - -Peregrine falcon, 135, 317, 398 - -Perez, Gregorio, 292, 293 - -Pernales, bandit, 174 _et seq_. - -Petroleum, 347 _n._ 1 - -Phillip II., 195 - -Phillip III., 195, 323 - -Phillip IV., 37, 195 - -Phillip V., 195 - -_Pica mauretanica_, 401 _n._ 1 - -Picos de Europa, 142, 144, 283, 285, 292, 302 - -Pig, 298, 363 - -Pilgrimages to Rocio, 82 _et seq._ - -"Pincushion" gorse, 314, 352 - -Pine (_Pinus pinaster_), 319, 361 - -Pinsapo pine (_Abies pinsapo_), 349-52 and _notes_, 360, 362 - -Pintail, 94, 97, 101, 110, 111, 186, 188, 326, 408, 409 - -"Piorno" (_Spartius scorpius_), 352 - -Pipit, alpine, 222 - tawny, 319, 353 _n._ 1, 367 - -Pius V., Pope, 194 - -Pizarro, 231 - -Plant-life in the marisma, 89-90, 115 - -Plover, golden, 63 _n._ 1, 331 - grey, 42, 134, 389 - Kentish, 267, 382 - -Pochard, 101, 138 _n._ 1, 186, 188, 324, 327, 384, 410 - red-crested (_Pato colorado_), 186, 188, 190, 327, 410 - white-eyed, 138 _n._ 1, 384 - -Polyglotta warbler, 393 - -Pratincole, 268, 382 and _n._ 1 - -Praying mantis, 394 - -Préjavalsky, Russian explorer, 276 - -Ptarmigan, 4, 29, 298 - -_Pterostichus rutilans_, 314 - -Puerta de Palomas, 367-70 - -Puntales del Peco, 167 - -Pyrenean musk-rat, 29 - -Pyrenees, 28, 29, 298, 302; - ibex in, 142, 143-4 - - -Quail, 29, 328, 330 - - -Rabbit, 330, 338, 341 - -Rail, 39 - -"Rare birds," 403, 404 - -Raven, 209, 222, 309, 319, 366, 395 - -_Reclamo_ (call-bird), 328-9 - -Redondo, José, bull-fighter, 197 - -Redshank, 267, 268, 379 - -Redstart, 223 - -Redwing, 164, 362 - -Reed-climbers, 39, 61 - -Ribbon-grass (_canaliza_), 115 - -Rice-grounds, 322, 323, 324-5 - -Ring-dotterel, 390 - lesser, 393 - -Ring-ouzel, 222, 309, 316, 353 _n._ 1 - -Ring-plover, 238 - -Riscos del Fraile, 141, 211, 214, 221 - -Robin, 232, 318 - -Rocio, shrine at, pilgrimages to, 82 _et seq._ - -Rock-bunting, 313, 319, 348, 367 - -Rock-climbing, 144 - -Rock-sparrow, 319, 355 - -Rock-thrush, 222, 313, 318, 353 _n._ 1, 366, 367, 368 - blue, 230, 365 - -Roderick, King of the Goths, 7 - -Roe-deer, 165, 229, 298, 353, 363 - -Roller, 226, 393 - -Romans, the, in Spain, 6, 229, 232 - -Romero, Francisco, bull-fighter, 195 - -Romero, Pedro, bull-fighter, 196 - -_Ronda_, _Caceria á la_, 80-1 - -Rook, 411 - -Rota, 299 - -Rudolph, late Crown Prince of Austria, 266 - -Ruff, 63 _n._ 1, 134 - -Rufous warbler, 232, 318, 393 - - -Salmon, 295-6 - -San Cristobal, 347, 349, 351, 352, 353 - -Sanderling, 390 - -Sand-grouse, 4, 29, 186, 209, 227, 382, 401; - black-bellied, 232 - -Sand-hills and wild geese, 125-32 - -Sand-lizard, 62 and _n._ 1 - -Sand-piper, 211, 389 - curlew, 42, 389 - green, 390, 392 - -Sardinian warbler, 164, 393 - -Saunders, Howard, 265, 403 - -Schastowskij, Mr. P. A., 404 - -Sedge-warbler, great, 387 - -Serin, 311, 313, 319, 348, 393 - -Serpent-eagle, 209, 396 - -Serranía de Ronda, 2, 267, 347-59, 360 _et seq._; - flora of, 348 _et seq._, 360, 361; - ibex in, 142 - -Shad, 299 - -Shelduck, 101, 112, 191, 327, 410 - ruddy, 410 - -Shoveler, 97, 101, 111, 112, 186, 188, 327, 403, 409 - -Shrike, great grey (_Lanius meridionalis_), 62, 63 _n._ 2, 212, 393 - _Lanius excubitor_, 63 _n._ 2 - -Siberia, 404 - -Sierra Bermeja, 349, 360-63 - -Sierra de Gata, 227, 235 - -Sierra de Grédos, 140, 208 _et seq._, 302; - ibex in, 142, 145, 210 _et seq._, 352 - -Sierra de Guadalupe, 227 and _n._ 1 - -Sierra de Jerez, 363-7 - -Sierra Moréna, 29, 411; - fauna of, 42, 142, 147 _et seq._; - flora of, 160, 225 - -Sierra Nevada, 301 _et seq._, 355; - birds of, 311-16. 318-19; - ibex in, 142, 148-9, 303, 317 - -Sierra de las Nieves, 349 - -Sierra Quintana, 149-53, 171 - -Silk manufacture, Moorish, 9-10 - -Small-game shooting, 328-36 - -Snake, 334 - coluber, 393 - -Snipe, 327, 330, 331, 392 - -Snow-finch, 316, 318 - -Soldier-ants, 61 - -Spear-grass, 90, 92, 95, 115 - -Spectacled warbler, 232, 396 - -Sphinx moth (_S. convolvuli_), 62 - -Spoonbill, 327, 383 - -"Still-hunting," 54 _et seq._, 60 - -Stilt, 190, 267, 268, 385, 392, 403 - -Stint, little, 390 - -Stonechat, 209, 211, 319 - -Stone-curlew, 227, 232, 343 - -Stork, 40, 230, 392 - -Subalpine warbler, 232, 396 - -Sugar-cane, 4, 9 - -Swan, wild, 375; Bewick's, _ib._ - -Swift, alpine, 355 - - -Tagus River, 228 _n._ 1; - valley of, 210 - -Tarifa, 300 - -Tarik, Arab chief, 7 - -Tato, El, bull-fighter, 197 - -Teal, 91, 97, 101, 111, 126, 134, 188, 327, 373, 399, 403, 409 - marbled, 186 - -Tench, 295 - -Tern, 41; - gull-billed (_Sterna anglica_), 268; - whiskered, 389 - -Thistle, Spanish, 248, 262 - -Thrush, 164, 223; - blue, 222, 313, 318, 319, 353 _n._ 1, 362, 367 - -Tit, blue, 319, 352; - cole, 319, 352, 367; - great, 319; - long-tailed, 232, 348, 367 - -Toledo, Montes de, 147, 148 and _n._ 1, 184, 227 _n._ 1 - -Tormes River, 221, 223 - -Tree-creeper, 367 - -Trout, 15-16, 294-5, 309, 317 - -Trujillo, 227, 229, 230-31, 295 - -Tumbler-pigeons, 126 - -Tunny, 299-300 - - -Valdelagrana, 172 - -Valencia, 2, 4, 187; - ibex in, 142; - wildfowl in, 321-7, 410 - -Veleta, Picacho de la, 312 _et seq._ - -_Vetas_, 88-9, 90, 115, 122 - -Villarejo, 221 - -Villaviciosa, Don Pedro Pidal, Marquis de, 292, 296 - -Vivillo, El, bandit, 175 _et seq._, 181-2 - -Vulture, 67, 228, 356 and _n._ 1, 362, 366, 367-8 - black, 221-2 - griffon, 163, 222, 315, 319, 359, 364, 367, 369, 370, 397 - -Waders, 41, 382, 403 - -Wagtail, grey, 318, 348, 410 - pied, 410 - white, 232, 237, 410 - yellow, 410-11 - -Warblers. _See_ under names - -Water-hen, purple (_Porphyrio_), 388 - -Water-shrew, 103, 166 - -Wheatear, 41, 184, 211, 223, 312, 313, 318, 353 _n._ 1 - black-throated, 318 - eared, 318 - -Whimbrel, 390, 392, 403, 404 - -Whitethroat, 232, 318 - -Wigeon, 97, 101, 110, 111, 186, 188, 327, 380, 399, 409 - -Wild-cat, 165, 167, 226, 317, 333, 334, 337 _et seq._ - -Wildfowl at Daimiel, 186-91, 409, 410 - of marisma, 40-2, 91 _et seq._, 114 _et seq._, 381-91, 408, 409 - shooting, 95 _et seq._, 105-13, 115 _et seq._, 131-2, 254, 323-7, 371-5, 379 - in Valencia, 321 _et seq._ - -Wild-thyme (_Cantuéso_), 225 - -Willow-warbler, 232 - -Wolf, 147, 154, 156, 164, 171, 229, 238, 289, 306, 317, 319, 334 - -Woodchat, 41, 318, 393, 396 - -Woodcock, 331 - -Wood-pecker, 396 - great black, 298 - green, 68 and _n._ 2, 164, 232 - spotted, 367 - -Wood-pigeon, 362, 367 - -Wren, 282, 318 - -Wryneck, 311 - - -Yna de la Garganta, 355-7 - - -Zamujar, 172 - -Zaragoza, Cortes of, 6 - -THE END - -_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_. - - * * * * * - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Catalonia was a separate State, under independent rulers, the Counts -of Barcelona, until A.D. 1131, when it was merged in the Kingdom of -Arragon. - -[2] The term "Moor" has always seemed to us a trifle unfortunate, as -tending to indicate that the conquering race came from Morocco--"Turks" -or "Arabs" would have been a more appropriate title. For fifty years -after the conquest Spain was governed by Emirs subject to the Kaliphs of -Damascus, the first independent power being wielded by the Emir -Abderahman III. who, in 777, usurped the title of Kaliph of Cordoba. -That kaliphate, by the way, during its earlier splendours, became the -centre of universal culture, Cordoba being the intellectual capital of -the world, with a population that has been stated at two millions. - -[3] For the information of readers who have not studied the subject, it -may be well to add that, during the early years of the seventeenth -century, something like a million of Spanish Moors--the most industrious -of its inhabitants--were either massacred in Spain or expelled from the -country. - -[4] At a big hotel the menu on May 26 included (as usual) "partridges." -We emphasised a mild protest by refusing to eat them; but the landlord -scored with both barrels. On opening our luncheon-basket next day (we -had a twelve-hours' railway journey), there were the rejected redlegs! -We had to eat them then--or starve! - -[5] We have seen an exception to this in the mountain villages of the -Castiles, where on _fiesta_ nights a sort of rude valse is danced in the -open street. - -[6] By their peculiar style of aviation these birds, swaying up and down -and swerving on zigzag courses, alternately expose a scintillating -crimson mass suddenly flashing into a cloud of black and rosy -white--according as their brilliant wing-plumage or their white bodies -are presented to the eye. "A flame of fire" is the Arab signification of -their name _flamenco_. - -[7] No offence to our scientific friends aforesaid. We recognise their -argument and respect its thoroughness, though regarding it as -occasionally misdirected. Possibly in their splendid zeal they overlook -the danger of reducing scientific classification to a mere monopoly -confined to a few score of professors, specialists, and -cabinet-naturalists, instead of serving as an aid and general guide (as -is surely its true intention) to thousands of less learned students. -Over-elaboration is apt to beget chaos. - -[8] We have known the spoor of a wounded stag pass beneath strong -interlacing branches so low that, in following, we have had to wriggle -under on hands and knees. The spoor showed there had been no such -cervine necessity. - -[9] Weight, clean, two days killed, 78 kilos = 180 lbs. - -[10] There are sand-lizards identical in colour with the sand -itself--pale yellow or drab, adorned with wavy black lines closely -resembling the wind-waves on the sand. - -[11] There are, of course, exceptions, such as golden plovers, ruffs, -dunlin, godwits, knots, that do assume a vernal dress. - -[12] This, the southernmost form of the green woodpecker, has much the -most ringing voice. The closely allied northern form, _G. canus_, that -one hears constantly in Norway, utters but a sharp monosyllabic note. A -second curious fact may here be mentioned: that the great grey shrike, -just named, _Lanius meridionalis_, is resident in Spain throughout the -year, while the closely allied and almost identical _L. excubitor_ -breeds exclusively in the far north (chiefly within the Arctic) and only -descends to England in winter. Besides the harsh note mentioned above, -the southern shrike, in spring, utters a piping whistle not unlike a -golden plover. - -[13] This is only the second instance in thirty or forty years of a -wounded or "bayed" stag killing a dog. In the Culata del Faro, we -remember, many years ago, a stag shot through the lungs, and which was -brought to bay close behind the writer's post, tossing a _podenco_ clean -over its head, and so injuring it that the dog had to be destroyed at -once. - -[14] The initials are those of our late friend Colonel Brymer of -Ilsington, Dorset, formerly M.P. for that county, and who was a frequent -visitor to Spain, where, alas! his death occurred while we write this -chapter (May 1909). A unique exploit of the Colonel's during his last -shooting-trip may fitly be recorded. On February 5, 1909, at the Culata -del Faginado, four big stags broke in a clump past his post on a -pine-crowned ridge in the forest. Two he dropped right and left; then -reloading one barrel, killed a third ere the survivors had vanished from -sight. These three stags carried thirty-four points, the best head -taping 30-1/2 inches by 27 inches in width, and 4-1/2 inches basal -circumference. - -[15] Not a single accident, great or small, has occurred during the -authors' long tenure of the Coto Doñana. - -[16] See _On Safari_, by Abel Chapman, pp. 216-17. The Spanish term -_Ronda_ may roughly be translated as "rounding-up." - -[17] At the date in question (end of November) it is, of course, -possible that this immigration was proceeding, not from the north, but -from the south. That is, that these were fowl which, on their first -arrival in Spain in September and October, had found the _marisma_ -untenable from lack of water, and had in consequence passed on into -Africa, whence they were now returning, on the changed weather. But be -that as it may, the route above indicated is that invariably followed by -the north-bred wildfowl on their first arrival in Spain. - -[18] This was in earlier days. Later on we developed a flotilla of -flat-bottomed canoes expressly adapted to this service. A photo of one -of these is annexed. - -[19] See _Instructions to Young Sportsmen_, by P. Hawker, second edition -(1816), pp. 229, 230. - -[20] In the big and deep lucios no plant-life exists, nor could -surface-feeding ducks reach down to it even if subaquatic herbage of any -kind did grow there. - -[21] We have here in our mind's eye our own shooting-grounds in the -Bætican marismas. But there are other regions in Andalucia where geese -feed on open grassy plains on which shelter of some sort is often -available. It may be but a clump of dead thistles or wild asparagus; but -at happy times a friendly ditch or dry watercourse will yield quite a -decent hollow where one can hide in comparative comfort and security. On -the day here described no such "advantage" befriended. - -[22] The scarcity of diving-ducks is explained by these having all been -shot in the shallow, open marisma. In the deeper waters, such as -Santolalla, common and white-eyed pochards, tufted ducks, etc., abound. - -[23] The Montes de Toledo comprise some of the best big-game country in -Spain and include several of her most famous preserves; such, for -example, as the Coto de Cabañeros belonging to the Conde de -Valdelagrana, El Castillo, a domain of the Duke of Castillejos, and -Zumajo of the Marques de Alventos. The Duke of Arión possesses a wild -tract inhabited by fallow-deer. - -[24] Thirteen wolves were killed thus (and recovered) on the property of -the Marquis del Mérito in the winter of 1906-7. - -[25] Similarly the half-wild cattle of Spain leave their new-born calves -concealed in some bush or palmetto, the mother going off for a whole day -and only returning at sunset. - -[26] Photos given in _Wild Spain_. - -[27] We exclude from consideration all deer that are winter-fed or -otherwise assisted, and of course all that have been "improved" by -crosses with extraneous blood. These mountain deer of Spain are true -native aborigines, unaltered and living the same wild life as they lived -here in Roman days and in ages before. - -[28] We here use the term hound or dog indiscriminately as, in the -altering circumstances, each is equally applicable and correct - -[29] I never myself count shots, hits or misses--_horas non numero_. The -above record is solely due to the inception by our gracious hostess at -Mezquitillas of a pretty custom, namely, that for every bullet fired, a -small sum should be payable by the sportsman towards a local charity. - -[30] The oleander is poisonous to horses and other domestic animals, and -is instinctively avoided by both game and cattle. During the Peninsular -War it is recorded that several British soldiers came by their deaths -through this cause. A foraging party cut and peeled some oleander -branches to use as skewers in roasting meat over the camp-fires. Of -twelve men who ate the meat, seven died. - -[31] Pernales was born at Estepa, province of Sevilla, September 3, -1878, a ne'er-do-weel son of honest, rural parents. By 1906 he had -become notorious as a determined criminal. His appearance and -Machiavellian instincts were interpreted as indicating great personal -courage, and, united with his physique, combined to present a repulsive -and menacing figure. A huge head set on broad chest and shoulders, with -red hair and deep-set blue eyes, a livid freckled complexion, thin -eyebrows, and one long tusk always visible, protruding from a horrid -mouth, made up a sufficiently characteristic ensemble. - -[32] The authors personally assisted at this _toilet_, Talavera, May -1891. - -[33] The oft-described details of the bull-fight we omit; but should any -reader care to peruse an impartial description thereof, written by one -of the co-authors of the present work, such will be found in the -_Encyclopædia of Sport_, vol. i. p. 151. - -[34] In particular, remembering an incident that had occurred here in -1891, and recorded in _Wild Spain_, p. 147, we were anxious to ascertain -if the lemming, or any relative of his, still survived in these central -Spanish cordilleras. The marmot is another possible inhabitant. - -[35] For these, as well as graphic notes on the subject, we are indebted -to Sr. D. Manuel F. de Amezúa, the most experienced and intrepid -explorer of the Sierra de Grédos. - -[36] This range is, in fact, a northern outspur of the Montes de Toledo, -which occupy the whole space betwixt Tagus and Guadiana. Its highest -peak, La Cabeza del Moro, reaches 5110 feet. - -[37] Wild fallow-deer are indigenous among the infinite scrub-clad hills -that fringe the course of the Tagus, as well as in various _dehesas_ in -the province of Caceres--those of Las Corchuelas and de Valero may be -specified. The wild fallow are larger and finer animals than the others. - -[38] Immediately adjoining the south approach to the bridge over the -Alagón is sculptured on the bluff a heraldic device representing a -figure plucking a pomegranate (_Granada_) from a tree--the arms of -Granadilla. There is an inscription, with date, beneath; but these we -failed to decipher. - -[39] _Diccionario geografico, estadistico, y historico de España_, by -Pascual Madoz (Madrid, 1845). - -[40] A later Spanish work, the _Diccionario enciclopedico -hispano-americano_ (Barcelona, 1892), regards some of Pascual Madoz's -descriptions as over-coloured and exaggerated. Our own observation, -however, rather tended to confirm his views and to show that subsequent -amelioration exists rather in name than in fact. - -[41] The Hurdanos, we were told, make bad soldiers. Being despised by -their comrades, they are only employed on the menial work of the -barracks. Many, from long desuetude, are unable to wear boots. - -[42] The white on a bustard's plumage exceeds in its intensity that of -almost any other bird we know. It is a dead white, without shade or the -least symptom of any second tint so usual a feature in white. - -[43] _Avetarda_ is old Spanish, the modern spelling being _Abutarda_. - -[44] A large number of horsemen inevitably excites suspicion in game -unaccustomed to see more than three or four men together. - -[45] The horses, if ground permits, may be utilised as "stops" to -extreme right and left of the drive, otherwise they must be concealed in -some convenient hollow in charge of a boy or two. - -[46] We know of no other bird that increases thus in weight anticipatory -of the breeding-season, nor are we at all sure that it is the swollen -neck that explains that increase. - -[47] We have never succeeded in inducing our tame bustards to breed in -captivity. - -[48] Dampier, _New Voyage round the World_, 2nd ed., i. p. 71; London, -1699. - -[49] Dampier's visit to the Cape de Verde Islands took place in -September, when, of course, flamingoes would not be nesting. - -[50] We also observed in Equatoria a second species, smaller and red all -over, _Phoenicopterus minor_. This, however, was far less numerous; the -great bulk of East-African flamingoes were the common _Ph. roseus_. - -[51] It is right to add that in America the growth of mangrove and other -bushes, sometimes in close proximity to the nests, offers facilities to -the photographer that are wholly wanting in Spain, where the flamingo -only nests in perfectly open waters devoid of the slightest covert or -means of concealment. - -[52] _Gaitero_ is the word used. The _gaita_ is a musical instrument -which we may translate as bagpipes. - -[53] For notes on these subjects, we are indebted to Mr. Carl D. -Williams. - -[54] Boabdil, we read, was a keen hunter, and during his sojourn at -Besmer frequently spent weeks at a time among the mountains with his -hawks and hounds. - -[55] _La Alpujarra_, by Don Pedro A. de Alarcón (4th edition, Madrid, -1903). - -[56] Several of these animals, moreover, yield excellent fur. - -[57] These mountains are believed to overlie vast store of subterranean -wealth in the form of petroleum. Geologists seem agreed upon that; but -they differ as to the precise locality of the treasure or whence it may -most conveniently be exploited. - -[58] We have a number of pinsápos growing in Northumberland. They were -planted some ten years ago on a cold northern exposure, and are now -flourishing vigorously, some having reached a height of eight or ten -feet. Nearly all tend to throw up numerous "leaders" as described. - -[59] Pinsápo timber is fairly hard, but too "knotty" for general -purposes, and it is useless for charcoal. Yet these glorious forests are -being sacrificed wholesale because the wood affords "good kindling" for -the charcoal-furnace--can wasteful wantonness further go? That the only -existing forests of the kind on earth should be ruthlessly destroyed for -no single object but to provide _kindling_ passes understanding. - -[60] We mention, parenthetically, certain birds observed at end of March -on that alpine meadow (4800 feet), as follows:--One ring-ouzel, a pair -of common wheatears, woodlarks, and Dartford warblers--all, no doubt, on -migration--besides, of course, blackchats, blue thrushes, etc. A month -later the beautiful rock-thrush had come to grace the desolation with -lilting flight and song, and tawny pipits ran blithely among the rocks. - -[61] Note that the pellets or "castings" thrown up by vultures are -chiefly formed of grass cut up into lengths and compacted with saliva, -evidently digestive. We have frequently seen vultures carrying a wisp of -grass in their beaks. - -[62] The Spanish name of the ibex, _Cabra montés_, signifies, not as -might appear, "mountain-goat," but _scrub-goat_; and may have originated -in this region, or at least from a habit which prevails here though -obsolete everywhere else. - -[63] Similar results followed on the Laguna de Janda. That great shallow -lake abounds in winter with both ducks and geese; but differs from the -marismas in being sweet water, hence is not frequented by flamingoes. -Another point of difference is that its shores are occupied by wild -bulls instead of brood-mares; hence the _cabresto_-pony is not -available. Wildfowl here also proved inaccessible to a gunning-punt on -open waters; while wherever reeds or sedge promised some "advantage," in -such places the depth of water was always insufficient to float the -lightest of craft within range. The best shot made during four seasons -realised but twenty-three (seven geese and sixteen duck)--a paltry -total. Occasionally a great bustard was shot from the gunboat. - -[64] The word "_Corro_" applies in Spanish to any noisy group--say a -knot of people discussing politics in the street! - -[65] One feels convinced, while lying listening, that these exuberant -fowl invent and formulate a series of new notes and cries special to the -occasion and outside their normal vocabulary. Hence, possibly, -originated the use of the term "_Corro_." - -[66] _Corros_ usually consist (especially the earlier assemblies) of one -root-species--others merely "edge in." The later _corros_, however, are -much mixed. They vary in numbers: one may contain but 200 pairs, another -within half-a-mile as many thousands. - -[67] Pratincoles cast themselves down flat on the dry mud, fluttering as -though in mortal agony--or, say, like a huge butterfly with a pin -through its thorax! The device is presumably adopted in order to decoy -an intruder away from their eggs or young. This year, however, the -pratincoles still practised it, although they had neither eggs nor young -at all. One day (May 12) a gale of wind blew some of the deceivers -bodily away. - -[68] In none were the generative organs more than slightly developed, -and in most the plumage was full of new blood-feathers, showing that the -summer change was not yet complete. The date, May 10-15. Another drawing -is given at p. 42. - -[69] Common British birds we exclude from notice, or might fill a page -with swarming goldfinches, robins, wrens, chaffinch, blackbird, -stonechat, whitethroats, tree-pipits, titlarks (the last three on -passage), blackcap, garden-warbler, whinchat, redstart, and a host more. - -[70] The African bush-cuckoos, or coucals (_Centropus_), certainly build -their own nests; but they are only related nominally, and the connection -is remote. - -[71] In Egypt the hooded crow (_Corvus cornix_) is invariably the -cuckoo's dupe; in Algeria, _Pica mauretanica_. - -[72] We find a note that one Bean-Goose was shot on November 27, -1896--weight 5-1/4 lbs. - -[73] See the elaborate monograph on _The Geese of Europe and Asia_, by -M. Serge Alphéraky of St. Petersburg (London, Rowland Ward). - -[74] One such note may be given as an example:-- - -"1903.--Examined 40 geese shot January 1 and 2. Legs varied from white -and pale flesh-colour to pale yellowish and pink, adults all of the -latter colour. Beaks vary from whitish or flesh-colour, through yellow, -up to bright orange. A few of the geese, mostly the smaller, young -birds, were nearly pure white below: others heavily spotted or barred -with black: nearly all (old and young) show signs of a 'white-front.'" - -[75] In Jutland we found some pintails' nests rather cunningly concealed -in holes upon open grassy islets in marine lagoons not unlike our -Spanish marismas; others were on bare ground, though occasionally hidden -among thistles. Here also the eggs numbered eight or nine. See _Ibis_, -1894, p. 349. - - * * * * * - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -averge depth=> average depth {pg 302} - -produces these montrosities=> produces these monstrosities {pg 348} - -secured a specimen of two=> secured a specimen or two {pg 360} - -are always strictly cleanly=> are always strictly clean {pg 368} - -Préjavelsky, Russian explorer, 276=> Préjavalsky, Russian explorer, 276 -{index} - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Unexplored Spain, by -Abel Chapman and Walter J. 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Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/41593-8.zip b/41593-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f983784..0000000 --- a/41593-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/41593-h.zip b/41593-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 246108f..0000000 --- a/41593-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/41593-8.txt b/old/41593-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 65c9cf4..0000000 --- a/old/41593-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,17561 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Unexplored Spain, by Abel Chapman and Walter J. Buck - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Unexplored Spain - -Author: Abel Chapman - Walter J. Buck - -Illustrator: Joseph Crawhall - E. Caldwell - -Release Date: December 10, 2012 [EBook #41593] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNEXPLORED SPAIN *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -Every attempt has been made to replicate the original book as printed. -Some typographical errors have been corrected (a list follows the text). -No attempt has been made to correct or normalize the printed -accentuation or spelling of Spanish names or words. (etext transcriber's -note) - - - - -UNEXPLORED SPAIN - -ABEL CHAPMAN'S WORKS - -=BIRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS=. First Edition, 1889; ----- ----, Second Edition, 1907. - -=WILD SPAIN=. (WITH W. J. B.) 1893. - -=WILD NORWAY=. 1897. - -=ART OF WILDFOWLING=. 1896. - -=ON SAFARI= (IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA). 1908. - -=UNEXPLORED SPAIN.= (WITH W. J. B.) 1910. - -[Illustration: H.M. KING ALFONSO XIII SPEARING A BOAR.] - - - - -UNEXPLORED -SPAIN - -BY - -ABEL CHAPMAN - -AUTHOR OF 'WILD SPAIN,' 'WILD NORWAY,' 'ON SAFARI,' ETC. - -AND - -WALTER J. BUCK - -BRITISH VICE-CONSUL AT JEREZ -AUTHOR OF 'WILD SPAIN' - -WITH 209 ILLUSTRATIONS BY - -JOSEPH CRAWHALL, E. CALDWELL, AND ABEL CHAPMAN -AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS - -NEW YORK - -LONGMANS, GREEN & CO. -LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD - -1910 - -INSCRIBED - -BY GRACIOUS PERMISSION -TO THEIR MAJESTIES - -KING ALFONSO XIII. - -HIMSELF AN ACCOMPLISHED SPORTSMAN - -AND - -QUEEN VICTORIA EUGENIA OF SPAIN - -WITH DEEP RESPECT -BY THEIR MAJESTIES' GRATEFUL AND DEVOTED SERVANTS - -THE AUTHORS - - - - -Preface - - -The undertaking of a sequel to _Wild Spain_, we are warned, is -dangerous. The implication gratifies, but the forecast alarms not. -Admittedly, in the first instance, we occupied a virgin field, and -naturally the almost boyish enthusiasm that characterised the earlier -book--and probably assured its success--has in some degree abated. But -it's not all gone yet; and any such lack is compensated by longer -experience (an aggregate, between us, of eighty years) of a land we -love, and the sounder appreciation that arises therefrom. Our own -resources, moreover, have been supplemented and reinforced by friends in -Spain who represent the fountain-heads of special knowledge in that -country. - -No foreigners could have enjoyed greater opportunity, and we have done -our best to exploit the advantage--so far, at least, as steady plodding -work will avail; for we have spent more than two years in analysing, -checking and sorting, selecting and eliminating from voluminous notes -accumulated during forty years. The concentrated result represents, we -are convinced, an accurate--though not, of course, a -complete--exposition of the wild-life of one of the wildest of European -countries. - -No, for this book and its thoroughness neither doubt nor fear intrudes; -but we admit to being, in two respects, out of touch with modern -treatment of natural-history subjects. Possibly we are wrong in both; -but it has not yet been demonstrated, by Euclid or other, that a -minority even of two is necessarily so? Nature it is nowadays customary -to portray in somewhat lurid and sensational colours--presumably to -humour a "popular taste." Reflection might suggest that nothing in -Nature is, in fact, sensational, loud, or extravagant; but the lay -public possess no such technical training as would enable them to -discern the line where Nature stops and where fraud and "faking" begin. -At any rate we frequently read purring approval of what appears to us -meretricious imposture, and see writers lauded as constellations whom we -should condemn as charlatans. Beyond the Atlantic President Roosevelt -(as he then was) went bald-headed for the "Nature-fakers," and in -America the reader has been put upon his guard. If he still likes -"sensations"--well, that's what he likes. But he buys such fiction -forewarned. - -In the illustration of wild-life our views are also, in some degree, -divergent from current ideas. Animal-photography has developed with such -giant strides and has taught us such valuable lessons (for which none -are more grateful than the Authors), that there is danger of coming to -regard it, not as a means to an end but as the actual end itself. While -photography promises uses the value of which it would be difficult to -exaggerate, yet it has defects and limitations which should not be -ignored. First as regards animals in motion; the camera sees too -quick--so infinitely quicker than the human eye that attitudes and -effects are portrayed which we do not, and cannot see. Witness a -photograph of the finish for the Derby. Galloping horses do not figure -so on the human retina--with all four legs jammed beneath the body like -a dead beetle. No doubt the camera exhibits an unseen phase in the -actual action and so reveals its process; but that phase is not what -mortals see. Similarly with birds in flight, the human eye only catches -the form during the instantaneous arrest of the wing at the end of each -stroke--in many cases not even so much as that. But the camera snaps the -whirling pinion at mid-stroke or at any intermediate point. The result -is altogether admirable as an exposition of the mechanical processes of -flight; but it fails as an illustration, inasmuch as it illustrates a -pose which Nature has expressly concealed from our view. - -Secondly, in relation to still life. Here the camera is not only too -quick, but too faithful. A tiny ruffled plume, a feather caught up by -the breeze with the momentary shadow it casts, even an intrusive bough -or blade of grass--all are reproduced with such rigid faithfulness and -conspicuous effect that what are in fact merest minute details assume a -wholly false proportion, mislead the eye, and disguise the whole -picture. True, these things are actually there; but the human eye enjoys -a faculty (which the camera does not) of selecting its objective and -ignoring, or reducing to its correct relative value each extrinsic -detail; of looking, as it were, through obstacles and concentrating its -power upon the one main subject of study. - -The portrayal of wildfowl presents a peculiar difficulty. This group -differs in two essential characters from the rest of the bird-world. -Though clad in feathers, yet those feathers are not "feathery." Rather -may they be described as a steely water-tight encasement, as distinct -from the covering, say of game-birds as mackintosh differs from satin. -Each plume possesses a compactness of web and firmness of texture that -combine to produce a rigidity, and this, it so happens, both in form and -colour. For in this group the colours, too, or patterns of colour, are -clean-cut, the contrasts strong and sharply defined. The plumage of -wild-fowl, in short, is characterised by lack of subdued tints and -half-tones. That is its beauty and its glory; but the fact presents a -stumbling-block to treatment, especially in colour. - -The difficulty follows consequentially. Subjects of such character and -crude coloration defy accustomed methods. That is not the fault of the -artist; rather it reveals the limitations of Art. Just as in landscape -distance ever demands an "atmosphere" more or less obliterative of -distinctive detail afar (though such detail may be visible to -non-artistic eyesight miles away), so in birds of sharply contrasted -colouring the needed effect can only (it would appear) be attained by -processes of softening which are not, in fact, correct, and which ruin -the real picture as designed by Nature. - -No wild bird (and wildfowl least of all) can be portrayed from captive -specimens--still less from bedraggled corpses selected in Leadenhall -market. In the latter every essential feature has disappeared. The -ruffled remains resemble the beauty of their originals only as a -dish-clout may recall some previous existence as a damask serviette. -Living captives at least give form; but that is all. The loss of -freedom, with all its contingent perils, involves the loss of character, -the pride of life, and of independence. Once remove the first essential -element--the sense of instant danger, with all that the stress and -exigencies of wild-life import--and with these there vanish vigilance, -carriage, sprightliness, dignity, sometimes even self-respect. - -Not a man who has watched and studied wild beasts and wild birds in -their native haunts, glorified and ennobled by self-conscious aptitude -to prevail in the ceaseless "struggle for existence," but instantly -recognises with a pang the different demeanour of the same creatures in -captivity, albeit carefully tended in the best zoological gardens of the -world. - - * * * * * - -To Mr. Joseph Crawhall (cousin of one author) we and our readers are -indebted for a series of drawings that speak for themselves. - -Further, we desire most heartily to thank H.R.H. the Duke of Orleans for -notes and photographs illustrative both of Baetican scenery and of the -wild camels of the marisma; also the many Spanish and Anglo-Spanish -friends whose assistance is specifically acknowledged, _passim_, in the -text. - -Should some slight slip or repetition have escaped the final revision, -may we crave indulgence of critics? 'Tis not care that lacks, but sheer -mnemonics. In a work of (we are told) 150,000 words the mass of -manuscript appals, and to detect every single error may well prove -beyond our power. We have lost, moreover, that guiding eye and -pilot-like touch on the helm that helped to steer our earlier venture -through the shoals and seething whirlpools that ever beset voyages into -the unknown. - -A. C. - -W. J. B. - -BRITISH VICE-CONSULATE, JEREZ, _December 1910_. - - - - -Contents - - -CHAP. PAGE - - I. UNEXPLORED SPAIN: INTRODUCTORY 1 - - II. " " " (_Continued_) 17 - - III. THE COTO DOÑANA: OUR HISTORIC HUNTING-GROUND (A FOREWORD - BY SIR MAURICE DE BUNSEN, P.C., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., BRITISH - AMBASSADOR AT MADRID) 30 - - IV. THE COTO DOÑANA: NOTES ON ITS PHYSICAL FORMATION, FAUNA, - AND RED DEER 35 - - V. ANDALUCIA AND ITS BIG GAME: STILL-HUNTING 54 - - VI. " " " WILD-BOAR 70 - - VII. "OUR LADY OF THE DEW": THE PILGRIMAGE TO THE SHRINE OF - NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL ROCÍO 82 - - VIII. THE MARISMAS OF GUADALQUIVIR 88 - - IX. WILDFOWL-SHOOTING IN THE MARISMAS 105 - - X. WILD-GEESE IN SPAIN: THEIR SPECIES, HAUNTS, - AND HABITS 114 - - XI. WILD-GEESE ON THE SAND-HILLS 125 - - XII. SOME RECORDS IN SPANISH WILDFOWLING 133 - - XIII. THE SPANISH IBEX 139 - - XIV. SIERRA MORÉNA: IBEX 147 - - XV. " " RED DEER AND BOAR 158 - - XVI. PERNALES 174 - - XVII. LA MANCHA 183 - - XVIII. THE SPANISH BULL-FIGHT 192 - - XIX. THE SPANISH FIGHTING-BULL 200 - - XX. SIERRA DE GRÉDOS 208 - - XXI. " " : IBEX-HUNTING 216 - - XXII. AN ABANDONED PROVINCE: ESTREMADURA 225 - - XXIII. LAS HURDES (ESTREMADURA) AND THE SAVAGE TRIBES THAT - INHABIT THEM 234 - - XXIV. THE GREAT BUSTARD 242 - - XXV. " " (_Continued_) 256 - - XXVI. FLAMINGOES 265 - - XXVII. WILD CAMELS 275 - - XXVIII. AFTER CHAMOIS IN THE ASTURIAS 283 - - XXIX. HIGHLANDS OF ASTURIAS 294 - - XXX. THE SIERRA NEVÁDA 301 - - XXXI. " " (_Continued_) 311 - - XXXII. VALENCIA 321 - - XXXIII. SMALL-GAME SHOOTING IN SPAIN 328 - - XXXIV. ALIMAÑAS, OR THE MINOR BEASTS OF CHASE 337 - - XXXV. OUR "HOME-MOUNTAINS": THE SERRANÍA DE RONDA 347 - - XXXVI. " " " " (_Continued_) 360 - - XXXVII. A SPANISH SYSTEM OF WILDFOWLING: THE "CABRESTO" OR - STALKING-HORSE 371 - -XXXVIII. THE "CORROS," OR MASSING OF WILDFOWL IN SPRING FOR THEIR - NORTHERN MIGRATION 376 - - XXXIX. SPRING-TIME IN THE MARISMAS 381 - - XL. SKETCHES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE 392 - - APPENDIX 407 - - INDEX 413 - - - - -List of Plates - - -H.M. KING ALFONSO XIII. SPEARING A BOAR _Frontispiece_ - - FACING PAGE - -TYPICAL LANDSCAPE IN COTO DOÑANA 30 - -EGRET HERONRY AT SANTOLALLA, COTO DOÑANA 32 - -RED DEER IN DOÑANA. From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall 36 - -THREE VIEWS IN COTO DOÑANA: (1) SAHARAN SAND-DUNES; (2) TRANSPORT; - (3) A CORRAL, OR PINEWOOD ENCLOSED BY SAND 40 - -RED DEER. From Drawings by Joseph Crawhall 46 - -INSPIRING MOMENTS 51 - -GUNNING-PUNT IN THE MARISMA 90 - -WILD-GOOSE SHOOTING ON THE SAND-HILLS 90 - -VASQUEZ APPROACHING WILDFOWL WITH CABRESTO-PONY 90 - -STANCHEON-GUN IN THE MARISMA--DAWN 106 - -WILD-GEESE IN THE MARISMA 122 - -SPANISH IBEX IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS 140 - -HEADS OF SPANISH IBEX 152 - -RED-DEER HEADS, SIERRA MORÉNA 156 - -WOLF SHOT IN SIERRA MORÉNA, MARCH 1909 158 - -HUNTSMAN WITH CARACOLA, SIERRA MORÉNA 158 - -PACK OF PODENCOS, SIERRA MORÉNA 158 - -WILD-BOAR, WEIGHING 200 LBS. 162 - -THE RECORD HEAD (RED DEER), SIERRA MORÉNA 162 - -RED DEER. From Drawings by Joseph Crawhall 166 - -RED DEER. From Drawings by Joseph Crawhall 170 - -WILD-BOAR. From Drawings by Joseph Crawhall 170 - -RED-DEER HEADS, SIERRA MORÉNA 172 - -BULL-FIGHTING. From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall 194 - -BULL-FIGHTING. From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall 198 - -AFTER THE STROKE. From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall 202 - -SCENES IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS 212 - -"AT THE APEX OF ALL THE SPAINS" 216 - -TWO SPANISH IBEX SHOT IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS, JULY 1910 220 - -GREAT BUSTARD 250 - -SLENDER-BILLED CURLEW 250 - -GREAT BUSTARD "SHOWING OFF" 260 - -FLAMINGOES ON THEIR NESTS 272 - -WILD CAMELS 276 - -CAPTURING A WILD CAMEL IN THE MARISMA 280 - -THE HOME OF THE CHAMOIS 286 - -PEAKS OF SIERRA NEVÁDA 306 - -NEST OF GRIFFON 306 - -ROYAL SHOOTING AT THE PARDO, NEAR MADRID 334 - - -Illustrations in the Text - - - PAGE - -Lammergeyer (_Gypaëtus barbatus_) 3 - -Woodchat Shrike (_Lanius pomeranus_) 7 - -Griffon Vulture (_Gyps fulvus_) 9 - -Wooden Plough-share 12 - -Cetti's Warbler (_Sylvia cettii_) 14 - -Dartford Warbler (_Sylvia undata_) 16 - -Fantail Warbler (_Cisticola cursitans_) 17 - -Rock-Thrush (_Petrocincla saxatilis_) 18 - -A Village _Posada_ 20 - -Serin (_Serinus hortulanus_) 23 - -Bonelli's Eagle (_Aquila bonellii_) 26 - -Black Vulture (_Vultur monachus_) 27 - -White-Faced Duck (_Erismatura leucocephala_) 28 - -Spanish Imperial Eagle 31 - -Spanish Lynx 33 - -Greenshank (_Totanus canescens_) 34 - -Sketch-Map of Delta of Guadalquivir 35 - -Marsh-Harrier (_Circus aeruginosus_) 38 - -"Silent Songsters" 39 - -Blackstart (_Ruticilla titys_) 39 - -Great Spotted Cuckoo (_Oxylophus glandarius_) 41 - -"Globe-Spanners" 42 - -"Confidence" 43 - -Abnormal Cast Antler 44 - -Egret 45 - -"Suspicion" 49 - -Altabaca (_Scrofularia_) 51 - -Tomillo de Arena 51 - -"What's This?" 52 - -Antlers 56 - -Stag "taking the Wind" 57 - -_Sylvia melanocephala_ 60 - -Reed-Climbers 61 - -Great Grey Shrike (_Lanius meridionalis_) 62 - -Spanish Green Woodpecker (_Gecinus sharpei_) 63 - -Tarantula 64 - -Stag--as he fell 67 - -Hoopoes at Jerez, March 19, 1910 69 - -"Room for Two" 71 - -Wild-Boar--at bay 73 - -Wild-Boar--"Bolted past" 79 - -Wild-Boar 81 - -Praying Mantis 87 - -Avocet 88 - -Samphire 90 - -Greylag Geese 92 - -White-Eyed Pochard (_Fuligula nyroca_) 94 - -"Flamingoes over" 95 - -Pochard (_Fuligula ferina_) 96 - -Flight of Flamingoes 97 - -Wild-Geese alighting 98 - -Wildfowl in the Marisma 101 - -Flamingoes 102 - -Stilt 105 - -Godwits 113 - -Root of Spear-Grass 115 - -System of driving Wild-Geese 117 - -Shelters for driving Wild-Geese 118 - -Godwits 124 - -Wild-Geese alighting on Sand-Hills 129 - -Wild-Geese 133 - -Godwits 134 - -Sketch-Map of the _Nucléo Central_ of Grédos 141 - -Grey Shrike 162 - -Azure-Winged Magpie 163 - -Sardinian Warbler 164 - -Griffon Vulture 166 - -Pair of Antlers 167 - -Stag--"picking his way up a Rock-Staircase" 168 - -"The Hart bounced, full-broadside, over the Pass" 169 - -Pernales 175 - -Sparrow-Owls (Athene noctua) and Moths 182 - -Hoopoes 183 - -Woodchat Shrike and its "Shambles" 184 - -Desert-loving Wheatears 185 - -Red-crested Pochard (_Fuligula rufila_) 186 - -Red-crested Pochards 190 - -"Minor Game" 210 - -Southern Grey Shrike 212 - -Griffon Vulture and Nest 215 - -"The Way of an Eagle in the Air" (_Lammergeyer_) 218 - -Black Vulture (_Vultur monachus_) 222 - -Roller (_Coracias garrula_) 226 - -Trujillo 227 - -"Scavengers" 228 - -Wolf-proof Dog-Collar 231 - -Woodlark 232 - -Sketch-Map of Las Hurdes 234 - -White Wagtail 238 - -Wolf-proof Sheepfold 239 - -The Great Bustard 243 - -Well on Andalucian Plain 244 - -Calandra Lark 246 - -Spanish Thistle and Stonechat 248 - -Bustards--"Swerve aside" 252 - -Bustards passing full broadside 254 - -Imperial Eagle--"Hurtling through Space" 258 - -Draw-Well with Cross-Bar 259 - -"_Hechando la Rueda_" 260 - -Tail-Feathers of Great Bustard 261 - -Little Bustard 263 - -Stilts in the Marisma 265 - -Flamingoes 266 - -Stilts disturbed at Nesting-Place 268 - -Flamingoes and their Nests 269 - -Flight of Flamingoes 270-1 - -Head of Flamingo 273 - -Little Gull and Tern 274 - -Flamingoes 277 - -"The Camels a-coming" 281 - -Chamois 283 - -A Chamois Drive--Picos de Europa 288 - -Hoopoe 293 - -Lammergeyer (_Gypaëtus barbatus_) 303 - -"Unemployed": Bee-eaters on a Wet Morning 311 - -Woodlark (_Alauda arborea_) 313 - -Lammergeyer 314 - -Soaring Vulture 315 - -Golden Eagle Hunting 317 - -Rock-Thrush 318 - -Spanish Sparrow 320 - -Imperial Eagle Passing Overhead 342 - -Pinsápo Pine (_Abies pinsapo_) 347 - -Rock-Bunting (_Emberiza cia_) 348 - -Pinsápo Pines 350 - -Crossbill 351 - -Lammergeyer Overhead 353 - -Golden Eagle Hunting 354 - -Vultures 356 - -Lammergeyer entering Eyrie 358 - -Lammergeyer 361 - -Griffon Vultures 368 - -Reed-Bunting 378 - -Grey Plover 381 - -Head of Crested Coot 384 - -Avocets Feeding 385 - -White-Faced Duck (_Erismatura leucocephala_) 387 - -Purple Heron (_Ardea purpurea_) 389 - -Grey Plovers 390 - -Orphean Warbler 391 - -Savi's Warbler (_Sylvia savii_) 393 - -Unknown Insect 394 - -Bonelli's Eagles 395 - -Great Spotted Cuckoo (_Oxylophus glandarius_) 400 - -Crossbills (_Loxia curvirostra_) 402 - - - - -CHAPTER I - -UNEXPLORED SPAIN - -INTRODUCTORY - - -The Spain that we love and of which we write is not the Spain of tourist -or globe-trotter. These hold main routes, the highways from city to -city; few so much as venture upon the bye-ways. Our Spain begins where -bye-ways end. We write of her pathless solitudes, of desolate steppe and -prairie, of marsh and mountain-land--of her majestic sierras, some -well-nigh inaccessible, and, in many an instance, untrodden by British -foot save our own. Lonely scenes these, yet glorified by primeval beauty -and wealth of wild-life. As naturalists--that is, merely as born lovers -of all that is wild, and big, and pristine--we thank the guiding destiny -that early directed our steps towards a land that is probably the -wildest and certainly the least known of all in Europe--a land worthy of -better cicerones than ourselves. - -Do not let us appear to disparage the other Spain. The tourist enjoys -another land overflowing with historic and artistic interest--with -memorials of mediæval romance, and of stirring times when wave after -wave of successive conquest swept the Peninsula. Such subjects, however, -fall wholly outside the province of this book: nor do they lack -historians a thousand-fold better qualified to tell their tale. - - * * * * * - -The first cause that differentiates Spain from other European countries -of equal area is her high general elevation. This fact must jump to the -eye of every observant traveller who books his seat by the Sûd-express -to the Mediterranean. Better still, for our purpose, let him commence -his journey, say at the Tweed. From Berwick southwards through the heart -of England to London: from London to Paris, and right across France--all -the way he traverses low-lying levels; fat pastures, fertile and tilled -to the last acre. His aneroid tells him he has seldom risen above -sea-level by more than a few hundred feet; and never once has his train -passed through mountains--hardly even through hills; he can scarce be -said to have had a real mountain within the range of his vision in all -these 1200 miles. - -Now he crosses the Bidassoa ... the whole world changes! At once his -train plunges into interminable Pyrenees, and ere it clears these, he -has ascended to a permanent highland level--a tawny treeless steppe that -averages 2000-feet altitude, and sometimes approaches 3000, traversed by -range after range of rugged mountains that arise all around him to four, -five, or six thousand feet. Railways, moreover, avoid mountains (so far -as they can). Our traveller, therefore, must bear in mind that what he -actually sees is but the mildest and tamest version of Spanish sierras. -There are bits here and there that he may have thought anything but -tame--only tame by comparison with those grander scenes to which we -propose guiding him. - -For the next 500 miles he never quits that austere highland altitude nor -ever quite loses sight of jagged peaks that pierce the skies--peaks of -that hoary cinder-grey that shows up almost white against an azure -background. Never does he descend till, after leaving behind him three -kingdoms--Arragon, Navarre, and Castile--his train plunges through the -Sierra Moréna, down the gorges of Despeñaperros, and at length on the -third day enters upon the smiling lowlands of Andalucia. Here the -aneroid rises once more to rational readings, and fertile _vegas_ spread -away to the horizon. But our traveller is not even now quite clear of -mountains. Whether he be booked to Malaga or to Algeciras, he will -presently find himself enveloped once more amidst some fairly stupendous -rocks--the Gaëtánes or Serranía de Ronda respectively. - -Spain is, in fact, largely an elevated table-land, 400 miles square, and -traversed by four main mountain-ranges, all (like her great rivers) -running east and west. The only considerable areas of lowland are found -in Andalucia and Valencia. - -Naturally such physical features result in marked variations of climate -and scene, which in turn react upon their productions and denizens, -whether human or of savage breed. We take three examples. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -LAMMERGEYER (_Gypaëtus barbatus_) - -Whose home is in the wildest Sierras--a weird dragon-like bird-form; -expanse, 9 feet. - -[Formerly reputed to carry off _babies_ to its eyrie.]] - -The central table-lands, subject all summer to solar rays that burn, in -winter shelterless from biting blasts off snow-clad sierras, present -precisely that landscape of desperate desolation that always results -from a maximum of sunshine combined with a minimum of rainfall. A -desiccated downland, khaki-colour or calcareous by turn, but bare (save -for a few weeks in spring) of green thing, naked of bush or shrub, -innocent even of grass. Not a tree grows so far as eye can reach, not a -watercourse but is stone-dry and leaves the impress that it has been so -since time began. Oh, it is an unlovely landscape, that central plateau. -'Twere ungrateful, nevertheless (and unjust too), to forget that here we -are journeying in a glory of atmosphere, brilliant in aggressive -radiance that annihilates distance and revels in space. Though patches -of vine-growth be lost in the monotony of tawny expanse, mud-built -hamlet and village church indistinguishable amidst a universal khaki, -yet this is, in truth, a kingdom of the sun. The great bustard maintains -a foothold on these arid uplands, but the fauna is best exemplified by -the desert-loving sand-grouse (_Pterocles arenarius_). - -Precisely the reverse of all this is Cantabria--the Basque provinces of -the north, with Galicia and the Asturias. There, bordering on the -Biscayan Sea, you find a region absolutely Scandinavian in -type--pinnacled peaks, precipitous beyond all rivals even in Spain, with -deep-rifted valleys between, rushing salmon-rivers and mountain-torrents -abounding in trout. Here the fauna is alpine, if not subarctic, and -includes the brown bear and chamois, the ptarmigan, hazel-grouse, and -capercaillie. - -Cantabria is a region of rock, snow, and mist-wraith; of birch and -pine-forest--the very antithesis of the third region, that next concerns -us, the smiling plains of Andalucia and Valencia nestling on -Mediterranean shore. Here for eight months out of the twelve one lives -in a paradise; but the summer is African in its burden of heat and -discomfort. Every green thing outside the vineyard and irrigated garden -is burnt up by a fiery sun, a sun that changes not, but, day following -day, grips the land in a blistering embrace. Climatic conditions such as -these reacting on a race already infused with Arab blood naturally -conduce to Oriental modes of life. Yet even here we have examples of the -curious contradictions that characterise this _pays de l'imprévu_. Thus -within sight of one another, there flourish on the _vega_ below the -date-palm and sugar-cane, while the ice-defying edelweiss embellishes -the snows above--arctic and tropic in one. - - * * * * * - -Such extremes of climate react, as suggested, upon the character of the -human inhabitants of a land which includes within its boundaries nearly -all the physical conditions of Europe and North Africa. From the north, -as might be expected, comes the worker--the sturdy laborious Galician, -disdained and despised by his Andalucian brother, regarded as lacking in -dignity--the very name _Gallego_ is a term of reproach. But he is a -happy and contented hewer of wood and drawer of water, that Gallego: -throughout Spain he carries the baskets, bears the burdens, cleans the -floors; and finally returns, a rich man, to his barren hills of Galicia. - -The Andalucian will condescend to tend your cattle or garden, to drive -your horses or ponies: and such offices he will perform well; but -anything menial, or what he might regard as derogatory, he -prefers--instinctively, not offensively--to leave to the Galician. From -Castile and Navarre comes a different caste, stately and aristocratic by -nature, yet with fiery temperament concealed beneath subdued -exterior--honestly, we prefer both the preceding exemplars. The Catalan -comes next, pushing and effervescent, all for his own little corner, his -factories and his trade--impregnated, every man, with a sort of -cinematograph of advanced views on social and political questions of the -day--borrowed mostly from his up-to-date neighbours beyond the Pyrenees, -yet grafted on to old-world _fueros_, or franchises, that date back to -the times of the Counts of Barcelona.[1] Perhaps the most perfect -example of contemporary natural nobility is afforded by the -peasant-proprietor of pastoral León; then there is the Basque of Biscay, -Tartar-sprung or Turanian, Finnic, or surviving aboriginal--let -philologists decide. Among Spain's manifold human types, we suggest to -ethnologists (and suggested before, twenty years ago) the study of a -surviving remnant that still clings secreted, lonely as lepers, in the -far-away mountains of Northern Estremadura--the Hurdes. These wild -tribes of unknown origin (presumed to be Gothic) live apart from Spain, -four thousand of them, a root-grubbing race of _homo sylvestris_, -squatted in a land without written history or record, where all is -traditional even to the holding of the soil. Not a title-deed or other -document exists; yet this is a region of considerable extent--say fifty -miles by thirty. A recent pilgrimage to these forgotten glens enables us -to give, in another chapter, some contemporary facts about "Las Hurdes." - -Throughout Spain the people of the "lower orders"--the peasantry--strike -those who leave the beaten tracks by their independence and manly -bearing. North or south, east or west, an infinite variety of races -differing in habit and character, even in tongue, yet all agreeing in -their solid manliness, in straight-forward honesty, in what the Romans -entitled _virtus_--fine types save where contaminated by _empléomania_, -call that "officialdom" (one of the twin curses of Spain). Largely there -exists here ground-work for the rebuilding of Spanish greatness--such a -land awaits but the wand of a magician to recall its people to front -rank. Neither by despotic methods nor by the power that is only -demonstrated by violence will the change be brought about, but by the -enlightenment that has learnt to leave unimitated the follies of the -past, and unused the forces of coercion. - -Such a leader, we believe, to-day wields that wand. May he be spared to -restore the destinies of his country. - -It was in Spain, remember, that, more than 2000 years ago, the fate of -Carthage and, later, that of Rome was decided. To the latter Imperial -city Spain had given poets, philosophers, and emperors. It was in Spain -that there dawned the earlier glimmerings of popular liberties, as such -are now understood. Self-government with municipal rights were -recognised by the Cortes of León previous to our Magna Charta. -Individual guarantees, freedom of person and contract, and the -inviolability of the home were granted by the Cortes of Zaragoza in -1348--more than three centuries before our Habeas Corpus was signed in -1679. A land with such traditions and achievements, with its twenty -millions of inhabitants, cannot long be held back outside the trend of -liberal expansion. - -The pursuit of game, alike with other aspects of Spanish things, is not -exempt from startling surprises. A ramble through the cistus-scrub, with -no more exciting object than shooting a few redlegs, may result in -bagging a lynx; or a handful of snipe from some cane-brake be augmented -by the addition of a wild-boar. It is not that game abounds, but that -the country is wide and wild, abandoned to natural state and combining -conditions congenial to animal-life. Of the big-game that is obtained or -of its habitats, there is no approximate estimate, nor do precise -knowledge or records exist. Each village in the sierra or higher -mountain-region lives its own life apart. Communication with other -places is rare and difficult, nor is it sought. One must go oneself to -the spot to ascertain with any sort of accuracy what game has been, or -may be obtained thereat. This means finding out every fact at -first-hand, for no reliance can be placed on reports or hearsay -evidence. Nor does this remark apply to game alone: it applies -universally in wilder Spain. The Englishman straying in these lone -scenes finds himself amongst a kindly but independent people where -sympathy and a knowledge of the language carry him further than money. -Where all are _Caballeros_, neither titles nor wealth impress or subdue. -The wanderer is free to join his new-made friends in the chase, taking -equal chance with keen sportsmen and on terms of equality. He will find -his nationality a passport to their liking, and soon discover that Arab -hospitality has left an abiding impress in these wild regions; as, -indeed, Moorish domination has done on every Spanish thing. - -That last sentence sums up an ever-present and essential factor. In any -description of this country, however superficial, this Oriental heritage -must always be borne in mind as an influence of first importance. -Previous to the Arab inrush, Spain had enjoyed practically no organic -national existence. The Peninsula was occupied by a cluster of separate -kingdoms, not united nor even homogeneous, and usually one or another at -war with its neighbour. Neither Roman nor Goth had fused the Spanish -races into a concrete whole during their eight centuries of -overlordship. In A.D. 711 occurred a decisive day. Then, on Guadalete's -plain, below the walls of Jerez, that impetuous Arab chieftain Tarik -overthrew the Gothic King Roderick and with him the power of Spain. Like -an overwhelming flood, the Arabs swept across the land. Within two years -(by 713) the insignia of the Crescent floated above every castle and -tower, and Moslem rule was absolute throughout the country--excepting -only in the wild northern mountains of Asturias, whence the tenacity of -the mountaineers, guided by the genius of Pelayo, flung back the tide of -war. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -WOODCHAT SHRIKE (_Lanius pomeranus_)] - -Spanish history for the next seven centuries (711-1492) records "Moorish -domination." Now history, as such, lies outside our scope; but we become -concerned where Arab systems, and their methods of colonisation, have -altered the face of the earth and left enduring marks on wilder Spain. -And we may, beyond that, be allowed to interpolate a remark or two in -elucidation of what sometimes appear popular misconceptions on these and -subsequent events. Thus, during the period denominated "domination," the -Arab conquerors enjoyed no peaceful or undisputed possession. During all -those centuries there continued one long succession of wars--intermittent -attempts, successful and the reverse, at reconquest by the Christian -power. Here a patch of ground, a city, or a province was regained; -presently, perhaps, to be lost a second or a third time. Never for long -was there a final acceptance of the major force. But during the -interludes, the periods of rest between struggles, the two contending -races lived in more or less friendly intercourse, exchanging courtesies -and even maintaining a stout rivalry in those warlike forms of sport -which in mediæval times formed but a substitute for war. It was thence -that the custom of bull-fighting took its rise. If not fighting Arabs, -fight bulls, and so prepare for the more strenuous contest. Such -conditions could not but have tended towards greater coherence among the -various elements on the Christian side, except for the incessant -internecine rivalries between the Christians themselves. A Spanish -knight or kinglet would invoke the aid of his nation's foe to -consolidate or establish his own petty estate. Christians with Moslem -auxiliaries fought Moslems reinforced by Christian renegades. - -The Moorish invader had to fight for his possession--every yard of it. -Yet despite that, this energetic race found time to colonise, to develop -and enrich the subjugated region with a thoroughness the evidence of -which faces us to-day. We do not refer to their cities or to such -monuments in stone as the Mezquita or Alhambra, but to their -introduction into rural Spain of much of what to-day constitutes chief -sources of the country's wealth, and which might have been enormously -increased had Moorish methods been followed up. The Koran expressly -ordains and directs the introduction of all available fruits or plants -suitable to soil that came, or comes, under Moslem dominion. "The man -who plants or sows the seed of anything which, with the fruit thereof, -gives sustenance to man, bird or beast does an action as commendable as -charity"--so wrote one of their philosophers. "He who builds a house and -plants trees and who oppresses no one, nor lacks justice, will receive -abundant reward from the Almighty." There you have the religion both of -the good man and the good colonist. These precepts the Moors habitually -and energetically carried out to the letter. Arboriculture was -universal: the provinces of Valencia, Cordoba, and Toledo they filled -with trees--fruit-trees and timber. In the warm valleys of the coast and -in the sheltered glens of the mountains they acclimatised exotic fruits, -plants, and vegetables hitherto restricted to the more benign climes of -the East or to Afric's scorching strand. Sugar-cane flourished in such -luxuriance as to leave available a heavy margin for export. The fig-tree -and carob, quince and date-palm, the cotton-plant and orange, with other -aromatic and medicinal herbs, together with aloes and the -anachronous-looking prickly-pear (_Cactus_), its amorphous lobes -reminiscent of the Pleistocene, were all brought over for the use and -benefit, the delight and profit of Europe. Of these, the orange to-day -forms one of Spain's most valuable exports, representing some three -millions sterling per annum. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -GRIFFON VULTURE (_Gyps fulvus_) - -Abounds all over Spain: sketched while drying his wings after a -thunderstorm, in the Sierra de San Cristobal, Jerez.] - -Silk and its manufacture represented another immense source of wealth -and industry introduced into Spain--to-day extinct. The Moors covered -Andalucia with mulberry-groves: in Granada alone ran 5000 looms for the -weaving of the fibre, and the streets of the Zacatin and the Alcarcería -became world-markets, where every variety of costly stuffs were bought -and sold--tafetans, velvets, and richest textures that surpassed in -quality and brilliancy of tint even the far-famed products of Piza, -Florence, and the Levantine cities which since Roman days had -monopolised the silk-supply of the world. These now found their wares -displaced by Spanish silks; even the sumptuous "creations" of Persia and -China met with a dangerous rivalry. - -Such was the technical skill and success of the Moors in agriculture and -acclimatisation that, on the eventual conquest and final expulsion of -their race from Spain, overtures were made with a view of inducing a -certain proportion to remain, lest Spain might lose every expert she -possessed in these essential pursuits. Six families in every hundred -were promised amnesty on condition of remaining, but none accepted the -offer. Deep as was their love for Spain--so deep that the departing -Moors are related to have knelt and kissed its strand ere embarking, -broken-hearted, for Africa--yet not a man of them but refused to remain -as vassals where, for centuries, they had lived as lords. - -Such were the Moors--strong in war, yet equally strong in all the arts -and enterprises of peace, filled with energy, an industrious and a -practical race. It is safe to say that under their regime the resources -of this difficult land were being developed to their utmost capacity.[2] - -Of the final expulsion of the Moors (and that of the Jews was analogous) -'tis not for us to write. Yet, for Spain, both events proved momentous, -and, along with the antecedent practices of the Moriscos, provide -side-lights on history that are worth consideration.[3] - -The subjoined statistics give the state of Spanish agriculture at the -present day, the total acreage being taken as 50,451,688 hectares (2-1/2 -acres each):-- - - Hectares. - Cultivated 21,702,880 - - Uncultivated:-- - Pasture, scrub, and wood 24,055,547 - Unproductive 4,693,261 - ___________ - - Total 28,748,808 - __________ - Grand Total 50,451,688 - -These figures demonstrate precisely the extent of the authors' -condominium in Spain--well over one-half the country! With the area -under cultivation (say 43 per cent), we have but one concern--the Great -Bustard. The remaining 57 per cent pertain absolutely to our -province--Wilder Spain. The term scrub or brushwood (in Spanish -_monte_), though by a sort of courtesy it may be ranked as -"pasture"--and parts of it do support herds of sheep and goats--implies -as a rule the wildest of rough covert and jungle, rougher far than a -Scottish deer-forest; and this _monte_ clothes well-nigh one-half of -Spain. - -Such figures may appear to infer considerable apathy and lack of effort -as regards agriculture. 'Twere, nevertheless, a false assumption to -conclude that Spanish mountaineers are an idle race--quite the reverse, -as is repeatedly demonstrated in this book. In the hills every acre of -available soil is utilised, often at what appears excessive -labour--maybe it is a patch so tiny as hardly to seem worth the tilling, -or so terribly steep that none save a _serrano_ could keep a foothold, -much less plough, sow, and reap. - -The main explanation of the immense percentage of waste lies in the fact -first set forth--the high general elevation of Spain; and, secondly, in -her mountainous character. - -Whether these or any other extenuating circumstances apply to the -corn-lands, we are not sufficiently expert in such subjects as to -express a confident opinion. But we think not. So antiquated, wasteful, -and utterly inefficient have been Spanish methods of agriculture, that a -land which might be one of the granaries of Europe is actually to some -extent dependent on foreign grain, and that despite an import-duty! A -distinct movement is, nevertheless, perceptible in the direction of -employing modern agricultural machinery, chemical manures, and -such-like. Irrigation in a land whose head-waters can be tapped at 2000 -feet and upwards could be carried out on a larger scale and at cheaper -rates than in any other European country--yet it is practically -neglected; no considerable extension has been made to the two million -acres of irrigated lands that existed when we last wrote, twenty years -ago, although the ruined aqueducts of Roman, Goth, and Moor are ever -present to suggest the silent lesson of former foresight and prosperity. - -[Illustration: WOODEN PLOUGH-SHARE - -(As still commonly used.)] - -One incidental circumstance of rural Spain, the fatal effects of which -are all-penetrating (though it will never be altered), is absenteeism on -the part of landowners. Not even a tenant-farmer will live on his -holding. No, he must have his town-house, and employ an administrator or -agent to superintend the farm, only visiting it himself at rare -intervals. Oh! that hideous nightmare, the hireling, how his dead-weight -of apathy and dishonesty at secondhand crushes out every spark of -interest and enterprise, and breeds in their stead a rampant crop of all -the petty vices and frauds that prey on industry. But that evil can -hardly be eradicated. - -What we British understand by the expression "country life" totally -fails to commend itself to the more gregarious peoples of the south. -Rich and poor alike, from grandee to day-labourer, the Spanish ignore -and disdain the joys of the country. They call it the _campo_ and the -_campo_ they detest. Each nightfall must see every man of them, -irrespective of class, assembled within the walls of their beloved town -or city, irresistibly attracted to street-girt abode--be it humblest cot -or sumptuous palace (and one stands next door to the other). Even -suburban existence is eschewed. There are no outer fringes to a Spanish -town. No straggling "villa residences," no Laburnum Lodge or River-View -"ornament" the extramural solitude. Back at dusk all hie, crowding to -the _paséo_, to club or casino, to social gathering and games of chance -or (more rarely) of skill. That ubiquitous term "_animacion_," which may -be translated gossip, chatter, light-hearted intercourse, fulfils the -ideals of life. Its more serious side--reading, study, scientific -pursuit--have little place; seldom does one see a library in any Spanish -home, urban or rural. - -None can accuse the authors of desiring to use a comparison -(proverbially odious) to the detriment of our Spanish friends. The above -is merely a record of patent facts that must quickly become obvious to -the least observant. It is but a definition of divergent idiosyncrasies -as between different human genera. And remember that we in England have -recently been told that our rural system is fraught with unseen and -unsuspected evil. Into those wider questions we have no intention of -entering. But at least our impressions are based upon personal -experience of both lines of life, while much of the vituperation -recently poured upon rural England is derived from a view of but one, -and not a very clear view at that. - -Where the owner--big or little, but the more of them the better--lives -on the land, that land and the country at large benefit to a degree that -is demonstrated with singular clearness by seeing the converse system as -it is practised in Spain to-day. Here no one, owner or tenant--still -less the hireling--takes any living interest (to say nothing of pride) -in his possession or occupation beyond that very short-sighted -"interest" of squeezing the utmost out of it from day to day. Ancient -forests are cut down and burnt into charcoal, and rarely a tree -replanted or a thought given to the resulting effects on rainfall or -climate. As to beauty of landscape--what matter such æsthetic notions -when the owner lives a hundred miles away? The collateral fact that, to -a great extent, nature's beauty and nature's gifts are analogous and -interdependent is ignored. Such simple issues are too insignificant, -and too little understood, for frothy rhetoricians to reflect upon: the -latter, moreover, like Gallio (and Pontius Pilate) care for none of -these things. - -A characteristic that differentiates the Spaniard, north or south, from -other (more modern) nationalities, is a comparative indifference in -money matters. Now a Spaniard requires money for his daily needs as much -as the others; yet he never sinks to the level of total absorption in -his pursuit of the dollar. Put that down to apathy, if you will--or to -pride; at least there is dignity in the attribute. The leading Spanish -newspapers quote the various market fluctuations and changes in value -from day to day. Sometimes, possibly, the report may read _sin -operaciones_, but never will you see conspicuously protruded, as a main -item in the morning's news, the headline "Wall Street." There is (or -was) dignity in commerce, and there may yet be readers in England who -silently wish that such matters were relegated to their proper -position--the monetary columns. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -CETTI'S WARBLER (_Sylvia cettii_) - -A winter songster, abundant but rarely seen, skulking in densest -brakes.] - -The chief financial flutter that interests is the Government lottery -which is held every fortnight, and at which all classes lose their -money; but the National Treasury profits to the tune of three millions -sterling yearly. Spain is the home of "chance": that element appeals to -Spanish character. Thus in bull-fighting (the one popular pastime) the -name applied to each of its formulated exploits is _suerte_--chance. - - * * * * * - -SPAIN is frequently accused of being a land of _mañana_. Hardly can we -call to mind a book on the country in which some play on that word does -not figure. But procrastination is not confined to any one country, and -in this case the accusers are quite as likely to be guilty as the -accused. A characteristic that strikes us as more applicable is rather -the reverse--that of taking no thought for the morrow. Let us take an -example or two. It is not the custom to repair roads. When, from long -use, a road has gradually passed from bad to worse, till at length it -has virtually ceased to exist, then it is "reconstruction" that is the -remedy. Annual repairs, one may presume, would cost, say half the -amount, would preserve continuous utility, and avoid that slowly -aggravated destruction that ends finally in a hiatus. But that is not -the Spanish way. "Reconstruction" is preferred. The ruthless cutting -down of her forests without replanting a single tree has already been -quoted. Next take an example or two of the things that lie most directly -under the authors' special view, such as game. The ibex--a unique asset, -restricted to Spain, and of which any other country would be proud--has -been callously shot down without thought for to-morrow, extirpated for -ever in a dozen of its former habitats. The redleg--under the murderous -system of shooting, year in and year out, over decoy-birds--would be -exterminated within three or four years in any other country save this. -It is merely the incredible fecundity of the bird and the vast area of -waste lands that preserves the breed. Partridge in Spain are like -rabbits in Australia--indestructible. The trout affords another example. -Everywhere else on earth the trout is prized as one of nature's valued -gifts--hard to over-appreciate. Fully one-half of Spain is expressly -adapted to its requirements. Trout were intended by nature to abound -over the northern half of Spain--say down to the latitude of Madrid, and -even in the extreme south where conditions are favourable, as in the -Sierra Neváda. Trout might abound in Spain to the full as they abound in -Scotland or Norway, adding value to every river and a grace to country -life. But what is the treatment meted out to the trout in Spain? No -sooner is its presence detected than the whole stock--big and little -alike, even the spawn--is blown out of existence with dynamite, poisoned -by quicklime, or captured wholesale (regardless of season or condition) -in nets, cruives, funnel-traps, and every other abomination. Kill and -eat, big or little, breeding female or immature--it matters not; kill -all you can to-day and leave the morrow to itself. True, there are -game-laws and close-seasons, but none observe them.[4] - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -DARTFORD WARBLER (_Sylvia undata_) - -Resident. Frequents deep furze-coverts, seldom seen (as we are -constrained to represent it) in separate outline.] - -We have selected these examples because we know and can speak with -absolute authority. Presumption and analogy will naturally suggest that -the same intelligence, the same blind improvidence will apply equally in -other and far more important matters. Not one of our Spanish friends -with whom we have discussed these subjects time and again but agrees to -the letter with the above conclusions and most bitterly regrets them. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -UNEXPLORED SPAIN (_Continued_) - -ON TRAVEL AND OTHER THINGS - - -Travel in all the wilder regions of Spain implies the saddle. Our Spain -begins, as premised, where roads end. For us railways exist merely to -help us one degree nearer to the final plunge into the unknown; and not -railways only, but roads and bridges soon "petter out" into trackless -waste, and leave the explorer face to face with open -wilds--_despoblados_, that is, uninhabited regions--with a route-map in -his pocket that is quite unreliable, and a trusty local guide who is -just the reverse. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -FANTAIL WARBLER (_Cisticola cursitans_) - -Resident: builds a deep purse-like nest supported on long grass or -rushes.] - -Riding light, with the "irreducible minimum" stowed in the saddle-bags, -one may traverse Spain from end to end. But it is only a hasty and -superficial view that is thus obtainable, and except for those who love -roughing it for roughness' sake, even the freedom of the saddle presents -grave drawbacks in a land where none live in the country and none travel -off stated tracks. In the _campo_, nothing--neither food for man nor -beast--can be obtained, and no provision exists for travellers where -travellers never come. The little rural hostelry of northern lands has -no place; there is instead a _venta_ or _posada_ which may too often be -likened to a stable for beasts with an extra stall for their riders. It -is a characteristic of pastoral countries everywhere that their rude -inhabitants discriminate little between the needs of man and beast. - -But even towns of quite considerable size--when far removed from the -track--are totally devoid of inns in our sense. Inns are not needed. The -few Spanish travellers who, greatly daring, venture so far afield, -usually bespeak beforehand the hospitality of some local friend or -acquaintance. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -ROCK-THRUSH (_Petrocincla saxatilis_) - -A beautiful spring-migrant to the highest sierras. Colours of male: -opal, orange, and black, with a white "mirror" in centre of back. -Female, yellow-brown barred with black.] - -Incidentally it may be added that a visit to one of these -out-of-the-world cities--asleep most of them for the last few -centuries--is a pleasing and restful change amidst the racket of -exploration. One breathes a mediæval atmosphere and marvels at the -revelation, enjoying prehistoric peeps in lost cities replete for the -antiquary with historic memorial and long-forgotten lore. No one cares. - -Yet in those bygone days of Spain's world-power these somnolent spots -produced the right stuff,--a minority, no doubt, belonged to the type -satirised by Cervantes,--but many more strong in mind as in muscle, who -went forth, knights-errant, Paladins and Crusaders, to conquer and to -shape the course of history. Is the old spirit extinct? Our own -impression is that the material is there all right ready to spring to -life like the stones of Deucalion, so soon as Spain shall have shaken -off her incubus of lethargy and the tyranny that clogs the wheels of -progress. Nor need the interval be long. - - * * * * * - -That sound human material continues to exist in rural Spain we have had -recent evidence during the calling-out of levies of young troops ordered -abroad to serve their country in Morocco. None could witness the -entrainment at some remote station of a detachment of these fine lads -without being struck by their bearing, their set purpose, and above all -their patriotism. With such material, with a well cared-for, contented, -and loyal army and a broadening of view, wisely graduated but equally -resolute, Spain moves forward. Alfonso XIII. is a soldier first--No! -Above that he is a king by nature, but his care for his army and its -well-being has already borne fruits that are making and will make for -the honour, safety, and advancement of his country. - - * * * * * - -To resume our interrupted note on travel: whether you are riding across -bush-clad hills, over far-spread prairie, or through the defiles of the -sierra, as shadows lengthen the problem of a night's lodging obtrudes. -There is a variety of solutions. At a pinch--as when belated or -benighted--one may, in desperate resort, seek shelter in a _choza_. Now -a _choza_ is the reed-thatched hut which forms the rural peasant's -lonely home. Assuredly you will be made welcome, and that with a grace -and a courtesy--aye, a courtliness--that characterises even the humblest -in Spain. The best there is will be at your disposal; yet--if -permissible to say so in face of such splendid hospitality (and in the -hope that these good leather-clad friends of ours may not read this -book)--the open air is preferable. There exists in a _choza_ absolutely -no accommodation--not a separate room; a low settee running round the -interior, or a withy frame, forms the bed; those kindly folk live all -together, along with their domestic animals--and pigs are reckoned such -in Spain. Let us gratefully pay this due tribute to our peasant -friends--but let us sleep outside. - -At each village will usually be found a _posada_. These differ in -degree, mostly from bad downwards. The lowlier sort--little better than -the _choza_--is but a long, low, one-storeyed barn which you share with -fellow-wayfarers, and your own and their beasts, or any others that may -come in, barely separated by a thatched partition that is neither -noise-proof nor scent-proof. We can call instances to mind when even -that small luxury was lacking, and all, human and other, shared alike. -There are no windows--merely wooden hatches. If shut, both light and air -are excluded; if open, hens, dogs, and cats will enter with the -dawn--the former to finish what remains of supper. The cats will at -least disperse the regiment of rats which, during the night, have -scurried across your sleeping form. - -Here we relate, as a specific example, a night we spent this last spring -in northern Estremadura:-- - -[Illustration: A VILLAGE _POSADA_] - -Owing to a miscalculation of distance, it was an hour after sundown ere -we reached our destination, a lonely hamlet among the hills. Our good -little Galician ponies were dead-beat, for we had been in the saddle -since 5 A.M., and it was past eight ere we toiled up that last steep, -rock-terraced slope. We were a party of three, with a local guide and -our own Sancho Panza--faithful companion, friend, and servant of many -years' standing. At a dilapidated hovel, the last in the village and -perched on a crag, we drew rein, and after repeated knocks the door was -opened by a girl--she had set down a five-year-old child among the -donkeys while she drew the bolt, the ground-floor being (as usual) a -stable. To our inquiry as to food--and the hunger of the lost was upon -us--our hostess merely shrugged her shoulders, and with an expressive -gesture of open hands, answered "Nada"--nothing! Sancho, however, was -equal to the occasion. Within two minutes, while we yet stood -disconsolate, he returned with a cackling cockerel in his arms. "Stew -him quick before he crows," he adjured the girl, and turned to unload -the ponies. - -What an age a cockerel takes to cook! It was midnight ere he smoked on -the board and, hunger satisfied, we could turn in. In an upper den were -two alcoves with beds, or rather stone ledges, ordinarily used by the -family, and which were assigned to us, the luckless No. 3 by lot having -to make shift (in preference to sleeping on a filthy floor) with three -cranky tables of varying heights, and whose united lengths proved a foot -too short at either end! - -Oh, the joy of the morning's dawn and delicious freshness of the -mountain air, as we turned out at five o'clock for yet another -ten-league spell to our next destination. Two nights later we slept in -the gilded luxury of Madrid! But how we abused our previous neglect in -not having brought a camp-outfit. - -The above, however, presents the gloomier side of the picture, and there -is a reverse, even in _posadas_. We cannot better describe the latter -side than in our own words from _Wild Spain_:-- - - A NIGHT AT A _POSADA_ (ANDALUCIA) - - The wayfarer has been travelling all day across the scrub-clad - wastes, fragrant with rosemary and wild thyme, without perhaps - seeing a human being beyond a stray shepherd or a band of nomad - gypsies encamped amidst the green palmettos. Towards night he - reaches some small village where he seeks the rude _posada_. He - sees his horse provided with a good feed of barley and as much - broken straw as he can eat. He is himself regaled with one - dish--probably the _olla_ or a _guiso_ (stew) of kid, either of - them, as a rule, of a rich red-brick hue, from the colour of the - red pepper or capsicum in the _chorizo_ or sausage, which is an - important (and potent) component of most Spanish dishes. The - steaming _olla_ will presently be set on a table before the large - wood-fire, and with the best of crisp white bread and wine, the - traveller enjoys his meal in company with any other guest that may - have arrived at the time--be he muleteer or hidalgo. What a fund of - information may be picked up during that promiscuous supper! There - will be the housewife, the barber, and the padre of the village, - perhaps a goatherd come down from the mountains, a muleteer, and a - charcoal-burner or two, each ready to tell his own tale, or to - enter into friendly discussion with the "Ingles." Then, as you - light your _breva_, a note or two struck on the guitar falls on - ears predisposed to be pleased. - - How well one knows those first few opening notes: no occasion to - ask that it may go on: it will all come in time, and one knows - there is a merry evening in prospect. One by one the villagers drop - in, and an ever-widening circle is formed around the open hearth, - rows of children collect, even the dogs draw around to look on. The - player and the company gradually warm up till couplet after couplet - of pathetic _malagueñas_ follow in quick succession. These songs - are generally topical, and almost always extempore; and as most - Spaniards can--or rather are anxious to--sing, one enjoys many - verses that are very prettily as well as wittily conceived. - - But girls must dance, and find no difficulty in getting partners to - join them. The _malagueñas_ cease, and one or perhaps two couples - stand up, and a pretty sight they afford! Seldom does one see - girl-faces so full of fun and so supremely happy as they adjust the - castanets, and one damsel steps aside to whisper something sly to a - sister or friend. And now the dance begins; observe there is no - slurring or attempt to save themselves in any movement. Each step - and figure is carefully executed, but with easy, spontaneous grace - and precision both by the girl and her partner. - - Though two or more pairs may be dancing at once, each is quite - independent of the others, and only dance to themselves; nor do the - partners ever touch each other.[5] The steps are difficult and - somewhat intricate, and there is plenty of scope for individual - skill, though grace of movement and supple pliancy of limb and body - are almost universal, and are strong points in dancing both the - _fandango_ and _minuet_. Presently the climax of the dance - approaches. The notes of the guitar grow faster and faster; the - man--a stalwart shepherd-lad--leaps and bounds around his - pirouetting partner, and the steps, though still well ordered and - in time, grow so fast that one can hardly follow their movements. - - Now others rise and take the places of the first dancers, and so - the evening passes; perhaps a few glasses of _aguardiente_ are - handed round--certainly much tobacco is smoked--the older folks - keep time to the music with hand-clapping, and all is good nature - and merriment. - - What is it that makes the recollection of such evenings so - pleasant? Is it merely the fascinating simplicity and freedom of - the dance, or the spectacle of those weird, picturesque groups, - bronze-visaged men and dark-eyed maidens, all lit up by the blaze - of the great wood-fire on the hearth, and low-burning oil-lamps - suspended from the rafters? Perhaps it is only the remembrance of - many happy evenings spent among these people since our boyhood. - This we can truly say, that when at last you turn in to sleep you - feel happy and secure among a peasantry with whom politeness and - sympathy are the only passports required to secure to you both - friendship and protection if required. Nor is there a pleasanter - means of forming acquaintance with Spanish country life and customs - than a few evenings spent thus at a farm-house or village inn in - any retired district of laughter-loving Andalucia. - -For rough living we are of course prepared, and accept the necessity -without demur or second thought while travelling. But when more serious -objects are in hand--say big-game or the study of nature, objects which -demand more leisurely progress, or actually encamping for a week or more -at selected points--then we prefer to assure complete independence of -all local assistance and shelter. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -SERIN (_Serinus hortulanus_) - -A true European canary, but its song is harsh and hissing.] - -An expedition on this scale involves an amount of care and forethought -that only those who have experienced it would credit. For in Spain it is -an unknown undertaking, and to engineer something new is always -difficult. Quite an extensive camping-trip can be organised in Africa, -where the system is understood, with less than a hundredth part of the -care needed for a comparatively short trip in Spain where it is not. The -necessary bulk of camp-outfit and equipment requires a considerable -cavalcade, and this mule-transport (since no provender is obtainable in -the country) involves carrying along all the food for the animals--the -heaviest item of all. Naturally the cost of such expeditions works out -to nearly double that of simple riding. - -But, after all, it is worth it! Compare some of the miseries we have -above but lightly touched upon--the dirt and squalor, the nameless -horrors of _choza_ or _posada_--with the sense of joyous exhilaration -felt when encamped by the banks of some babbling trout-stream or in the -glorious freedom of the open hill. Casting back in mental reverie over a -lengthening vista of years, we certainly count as among the happiest -days of life those spent thus under canvas--whether on the sierras and -marismas of Spain, on high field or dark forest in Scandinavia, or on -Afric's blazing veld. - -Should some remarks (here or elsewhere in this book) appear -self-contradictory the reason will be found rather in our inadequate -expression than in any confusion of idea. We love Spain primarily -because she is wild and waste; but, loving her, are naturally desirous -that she should advance to that position among nations that is her due. -Such material development, nevertheless, need not--and will not--imply -the total destruction of her wild beauties. Development on those lines -would not consist with the peculiar genius of the Spanish race, and, -while we trust the development will come, we fear no such collateral -results. Take, for instance, the corn-lands. There the great bustard is -alike the index and the price of vast, unwieldy farms unfenced and but -half tilled, remote from rail, road, or market. That condition we -neither expect nor hope to see exchanged for smug fields with a network -of railways. For "three acres and a cow" is not the line of Spanish -regeneration; it is rather a claptrap catch-word of politicians--a -murrain on the lot of them! - -True, the plan seems to answer in Denmark, and if the Danes are -satisfied, well and good--that is no business of ours. But no such -mathematical and Procrustean restriction of vital energies and ambitions -will subserve our British race, nor the Spanish. In Spanish sierra may -the howl of the wolf at dawn never be replaced by blast from factory -siren, nor the curling blue smoke of the charcoal-burner in primeval -forest be abolished in favour of black clouds belching from bristling -chimneys that pierce a murky sky. Either in such circumstance would be -misplaced. - -Similarly, when the engineer shall have been turned loose in the Spanish -marismas, he can, beyond all doubt, destroy them for ever. His straight -lines and intersecting canals, hideous in utilitarian rectitude, would -right soon demolish that glory of lonely desolation--those leagues of -marshland, samphire, and glittering _lucio_. And all for nothing! Since -the desecration will not "pay" financially--the reason we give in detail -elsewhere--and you sacrifice for a shadow some of the grandest bits of -wild nature that yet survive--the finest length and breadth of utter -abandonment that still enrich a humdrum Europe. Should "progress" only -advance on these lines no scrap of that continent will be left to -wanderer in the wilds--no spot where clanging skeins of wild-geese serry -the skies, and the swish of ten thousand wigeon be heard overhead; or -that marvellous iridescence--as of triple flame--the passing of a flight -of flamingoes, be enjoyed.[6] - -That national progress and development may come, for Spain's sake, we -earnestly pray. But does there exist inherent reason why progress, in -itself, should always come to ruin natural and racial beauties? Progress -seems nowadays to be misunderstood as a synonym for uniformity--and -uniformity to a single type. Disciples of the cult of insensate haste, -of self-assertion and advertisement, have pretty well conquered the -civilised world; but in Spain they find no foothold, and we glory to -think they never will. Spain will never be "dragooned" into a servile -uniformity. There remain many, among whom we count our humble selves, -who bow no knee to the modern Baal, and who (while conceding to the -"hustling" crowd not one iota of their pretensions to fuller efficiency -in any shape or form) are proud to find fascination in simplicity, a -solace in honest purpose and in old-world styles of life--right down (if -you will) to its inertia. - -Yes, may progress come, yet leave unchanged the innate courtesy, the -dignity and independence of rural Spain--unspoilt her sierras and -glorious heaths aromatic of myrtle and mimosa, alternating with natural -woods of ilex and cork-oak--self-sown and park-like, carpeted between in -spring-time with wondrous wealth of wild flowers. There is nothing -incongruous in such aspiration. Incongruity rather comes in with -misappreciation of the fitness of things, as when a coal-mine is planked -down in the midst of sylvan beauties, to save some hypothetic -penny-a-ton (as per Prospectus); where pellucid streams are polluted -with chemical filth and vegetation blasted by noisome fumes; or where -God's fairest landscapes are ruined by forests of hideous smoke-stacks. - -If vandalisms such as these be progress then we prefer Spain as she is. - - -A NOTE ON THE SPANISH FAUNA - -After all, it is less with the human element that this book is concerned -than with the wild Fauna of Spain; a brief introductory notice thereof -cannot, therefore, be omitted. - -[Illustration: BONELLI'S EAGLE (_Aquila bonellii_) - -A pair disturbed at their eyrie.] - -As head of the list must stand the Spanish Ibex (_Capra hispánica_), a -game-animal of quite first rank, peculiar to the Iberian Peninsula, and -whose nearest relative--the Bharal (_Capra cylindricornis_)--lives 2500 -miles away in the far Caucasus. In Spain the ibex inhabits six great -mountain-ranges, each covering a vast area but all widely separated. -After a crisis that five years ago threatened extermination, this grand -species is now happily increasing under a measure of protection and the -ægis of King Alfonso. Next--a notable neighbour of the ibex (and -practically extinct in central Europe)--we place the lone and lordly -Lammergeyer. A memorable spectacle it is to watch the huge _Gypaëtus_ -sweeping through space o'er glens and corries of the sierra in striking -similitude to some weird flying dragon of Miocene age--a vision of -blood-red irides set on a cruel head with bristly black beard, of hoary -grey plumage and golden breast. Watch him for half an hour--for half a -day--yet never will you discern a sign of force exerted by those 3-yard -pinions. With slightly reflexed wings he sinks 1000 feet; then, shifting -course, rises 2000, 3000 feet till lost to sight over some appalling -skyline. You have seen the long cuneate tail deflected ever so -slightly--more gently than a well-handled helm--but the wide lavender -wings remain rigid, not an effort that indicates force have you -descried. Yet the power (so defined as "horse-power") required to raise -a deadweight of 20 lbs. through such altitudes can be calculated by -engineers to a nicety--how is it exerted? That the power is there is -conspicuous enough, and at least it serves to explain fabled traditions -of giant lammergeyers hurling ibex-hunter from perilous hand-hold on the -crag, to feast on the remains below; or, in idler moment, bearing off -untended babes to their eyries--alas! that the duty of nature-students -involves dissipating all such romance. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -BLACK VULTURE (_Vultur monachus_) - -Nests in the mountain-forests of Central Spain, and winters in -Andalucia. Sketched in Cote Doñana--"Getting under way."] - -Spain, as geologically designed, being, as to one-half of her -superficies, either a desert wilderness or a mountain solitude, -naturally lends congenial conditions of life to the predatory forms that -rely on hooked bill, on tooth and claw, fang and talon, to ravage their -more gentle neighbours. Savage raptores, furred and feathered, -characterise her wilder scenes. Wherever one may travel, a day's ride -will surely reveal huge vultures and eagles circling aloft, intent on -blood. Throughout the wooded plains the majestic Imperial Eagle is -overlord--you know him afar in sable uniform, offset by snow-white -epaulets. Among the sierras a like condominium is shared by the Golden -and Bonelli's Eagles--and they have half-a-dozen rivals, to say nothing -of lynxes and fierce wolves (we give a photo of one, the gape of whose -jaws exceeds by one-half that of an African hyaena). Then there patrol -the wastes a horde of savage night-rovers, denominated in Spanish -_Alimañas_, to which a special chapter is devoted. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -WHITE-FACED DUCK (_Erismatura leucocephala_) - -Bill much dilated, waxy-blue in colour. Wings extremely short; a sheeny -grebe-like plumage, and long stiff tail, often carried erect.] - -In Estremadura, where man is a negligible quantity, and along the wild -wooded valley of the Tagus, roams the Fallow-deer in aboriginal purity -of blood--whether any other European country can so claim it, the -authors have been unable to ascertain. In Cantabria and the Pyrenees the -Chamois abounds. - -Of the big game (the list includes red, roe, and fallow-deer, -wild-boar, ibex, chamois, brown bear, etc.), we treat in full detail -hereafter. - -As regards winged game, this south-western corner of Europe, is -singularly weak. There exists but a single resident species of true -game-bird--the redleg. Compare this with northern Europe, where, in a -Scandinavian elk-forest, we have shot five kinds of grouse within five -miles; while southwards, in Africa, francolins and guinea-fowl are -counted in dozens of species. True, there are ptarmigan in the Pyrenees, -capercaillie, hazel-grouse, and grey partridge in Cantabria, but all -these are confined to the Biscayan area. Nor are we overlooking the -grandest game-bird of all, the Great Bustard, chiefest ornament of -Spanish steppe, and there are others--the lesser bustard, quail, -sand-grouse, etc.--but these hardly fall within our definition. As for -the teeming hosts of wildfowl and waterfowl that throng the Spanish -marismas (some coming from Africa in spring, the bulk fleeing hither -from the Arctic winter), all these are so fully treated elsewhere as to -need no further notice here. - -Spain boasts several distinct species peculiar to her limits. Among such -(besides the ibex) are that curious amphibian, the Pyrenean musk-rat -(_Myogale pyrenaica_), not again to be met with nearer than the eastern -confines of Europe. Birds afford an even more striking instance. The -Spanish azure-winged magpie (_Cyanopica cooki_) abounds in Castile, -Estremadura, and the Sierra Moréna, but its like is seen nowhere else on -earth till you reach China and Japan! - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE COTO DOÑANA: OUR HISTORIC HUNTING-GROUND - - A Foreword by SIR MAURICE DE BUNSEN, G.C.M.G., British Ambassador - at Madrid. - - -Among my recollections of Spain none will be more vivid and delightful -than those of my visits to the Coto Doñana. From beginning to end, -climate, scenery, sport, and hospitable entertainment combine, in that -happy region, to make the hours all too short for the joys they bring. -Equipped with Paradox-gun or rifle, and some variety of ammunition, to -suit the shifting requirements of deer and boar, lynx, partridge, -wild-geese and ducks, snipe, rabbit and hare, nay, perhaps a chance shot -at flamingo, vulture, or eagle, the favoured visitor steps from the -Bonanza pier into the broad wherry waiting to carry him across the -Guadalquivir, a few miles only from its outflow into the Atlantic. In -its hold the first of many enticing _bocadillos_ is spread before him. -Table utensils are superfluous luxuries, but, armed with hunting blade -and a formidable appetite, he plays havoc with the red mullet, -_tortilla_, and _carne de membrillo_, washed down with a tumbler of -sherry which has ripened through many a year in a not far distant -_bodega_. - -In half an hour he is in the saddle. Distances and sandy soil prohibit -much walking in the Coto Doñana. - -[Illustration: SAND WASTE IN COTO DOÑANA.] - -[Illustration: LANDSCAPE IN COTO DOÑANA, WITH MARISMA IN BACKGROUND. - -FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY H.R.H. PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS.] - -[Illustration: SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE] - -Marshalled by our host, the soul of the party, the cavalcade canters -lightly up the sandy beach of the river. Thence it strikes to the left -into the pine-coverts, leading in five hours more to the friendly roof -of the "Palacio." A picturesque group it is with Vazquez, Caraballo, and -other well-known figures in the van, packhorses loaded with luggage and -implements of the chase, and lean, hungry _podencos_ hunting hither and -thither for a stray rabbit on the way. The views are not to be -forgotten, the distant Ronda mountains seen through a framework of -stone-pines, across seventy miles of sandy dunes, marismas, and -intervening plains. After a couple of hours we skirt the famous -sandhills, innocent of the slightest dash of green, which for some -inscrutable reason attract, morning after morning, at the first tinge of -dawn, countless greylag geese to their barren expanse and on which, _si -Dios quiere_, toll shall be levied ere long. The marismas and long -lagoons are covered here and there with black patches crawling with -myriads of waterfowl, to be described after supper by the careful -Vazquez as _muy pocos, un salpicon_--a mere sprinkling. Their names and -habits, are they not written, with the most competent of pens, in this -very volume? We stop, perhaps, for a first deer-drive on our line of -march. How thrilling that sudden rustle in the brushwood! Stag is it, or -hind, or grisly porker? As we approach the "Palacio" we see the -spreading oak on which perched, contemptuous and unsuspecting, the -imperial eagle, honoured this year by a bullet from King Alfonso's -unerring rifle. As we ride through the scrub the whirr of the -red-legged partridge sends an involuntary hand to the gun. They may -await another day. At dusk we ride into the whitewashed _patio_, just in -time to sally forth and get a flighting woodcock between gun and -lingering glow of the setting sun. - -For no precious hours are wasted in the Coto Doñana. Next day at early -dawn, maybe, if the lagoon be our destination, or at any rate after a -timely breakfast, off starts again the eager cavalcade, be it in quest -of red deer or less noble quarry. Then all day in the saddle, from drive -to drive, dismounting only to lie in wait for a stag, or trudge through -the sage-bushes after partridge, or flounder through the boggy _soto_, -beloved of snipe, with intervening oases for the unforgotten -_bocadillo_. - -If Vazquez be kind, he will take you one day to crouch with him behind -his well-trained stalking-horse, drawing craftily nearer and nearer to -where the duck sit thickest, till, straightening your aching back, you -have leave to put in your two barrels, as Vazquez lays low some twenty -couples with one booming shot from his four-bore, into the brown. - -[Illustration: EGRET-HERONRY AT SANTOLALLA, COTO DOÑANA. - -(THE FOREGROUND IS SAND.) - -FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY H. R. H. PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS.] - -But one morning surely a visit must be paid to the sandhills. Caraballo -will call you at 4 A.M., and soon after you will be jogging over the six -or eight miles which separate the "Palacio" from that morning -_rendezvous_ of the greylag. The stars still shine brightly as you -dismount at the foot of the long stretch of dunes. A few minutes' trudge -will deposit you in a round hole dug deep in the dazzling white expanse -the day before; for a hole too freshly dug will expose the damp brown -sand from below, staining the spotless surface with a warning blotch, -and causing the wary geese to swerve beyond the range of your No. 1 -shot. It is still dark as you drop into your hole. Gradually the sky -grows greyer and lighter, till the sun rises from the round yellow rim -of the blue morning sky. Who shall describe the magic thrill of the -first hoarse notes falling on your straining ear? The temptation to peep -out is strong, but crouching deep down, you wait till the mighty pinions -beat above you, and the first wedge of eight or ten sails grandly away -in the morning sun. You judge them out of shot. But surely this second -batch is lower down? Are they not close upon you? Why then no response -to your two barrels? Was the emotion too great, or have you misjudged -the speed of that easy flight or its distance through the crystal -air? All the keener is the joy when, with heavy thump, your first goose -is landed on the sand amid the tin decoys. When three or four lie there, -Vazquez will send his fleet two-legged "water-dog" to set them up with -twigs supporting their bills, to beguile more of their kind into line -with the barrels. If the day be propitious, the sky will be dotted at -times with geese in all directions. Now and again they will give you a -shot, the expert taking surely three or four to the tyro's one. It is -half-past eight, and you have sat in your hole close on two hours before -Vazquez comes to gather the slain, to which he will add two or three -more, marked down afar, and picked up as dead as the rest. Never have -two of your waking hours passed so quickly. What would you not give to -live them over again and undo some of those inexplicable misses? But one -goose alone would amply repay that early start. Even four or five are -all you can carry, and the twenty or thirty that our expert [who must be -nameless] would have shot, will live to stock the world afresh. - -[Illustration: SPANISH LYNX] - -Among the fauna of the Coto Doñana, a word must be given to the lynx. -Never can I forget sitting one afternoon, Paradox in hand, on the fringe -of a covert. I was waiting for stag, rather drowsily, for the beat was a -long one and the sun hot, when my eyes suddenly rested on a lynx -standing broadside among the bushes, beyond a bare belt of sand, some -fifty yards off. Fain would I have changed my bullet for slugs, but -those sharp ears would have detected the slightest click; so I loosed -my bullet for what it was worth. - -The lynx was gone. When the beat came at last to an end, I thought I -would just have a look at his tracks. He lay stone-dead behind a bush, -shot through the heart. - -The eventful days are all too soon over. But the recollection remains of -happy companionship and varying adventure, of easy intercourse between -Spaniard and Englishman, with the echo of many a sporting tale, mingled -with sage discourse from qualified lips on the habits of bird and beast. -Who can tell you more about them than that group of true sportsmen and -lovers of nature whose names, Garvey, Buck, Gonzalez, and Chapman, are -indissolubly linked with the more modern history of the famous Coto -Doñana? - -MAURICE DE BUNSEN. - -BRITISH EMBASSY, MADRID, - -_July 1910_. - -[Illustration: GREENSHANK (_Totanus canescens_)] - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE COTO DOÑANA - -NOTES ON ITS PHYSICAL FORMATION, FAUNA, AND RED DEER - - -The great river Guadalquivir, dividing in its oblique course seawards -into double channels and finally swerving, as though reluctant to lose -all identity in the infinite Atlantic, practically cuts off from the -Spanish mainland a triangular region, some forty miles of waste and -wilderness, an isolated desert, singular as it is beautiful, which we -now endeavour to describe. This, from our having for many years held the -rights of chase, we can at least undertake with knowledge and affection. - -[Illustration] - -Its precise geological formation 'twere beyond our power, unskilled in -that science, to diagnose. But even to untaught eye, the existence of -the whole area is obviously due to an age-long conflict waged between -two Powers--the great river from within, the greater ocean without. The -Guadalquivir, draining the distant mountains of Moréna and full 200 -miles of intervening plain, rolls down a tawny flood charged with yellow -mud till its colour resembles _café au lait_. Thus proceeds a ceaseless -deposit of sediment upon the sea-bed; but the external Power forcibly -opposes such infringement of its area. Here the elemental battle is -joined. The river has so far prevailed as to have grabbed from the sea -many hundred square miles of alluvial plain, that known as the marisma; -but at this precise epoch, the Sea-Power appears to have called -checkmate by interposing a vast barrier of sand along the whole -battle-front. The net result remains that to-day there is tacked on to -the southernmost confines of Europe a singular exotic patch of African -desert. - -This sand-barrier, known as the Coto Doñana, occupies, together with its -adjoining dunes on the west, upwards of forty miles of the Spanish -coast-line, its maximum breadth reaching in places to eight or ten -miles. The Coto Doñana is cut off from the mainland of Spain not only by -the great river, but by the marisma--a watery wilderness wide enough to -provide a home for wandering herds of wild camels. (See rough sketch-map -above.) - -Sand and sand alone constitutes the soil-substance of Doñana, overlying, -presumably, the buried alluvia beneath. Yet a wondrous beauty and -variety of landscape this desolate region affords. From the river's -mouth forests of stone-pine extend unbroken league beyond league, hill -and hollow glorious in deep-green foliage, while the forest-floor revels -in wealth of aromatic shrubbery all lit up by chequered rays of dappled -sunlight. Westward, beyond the pine-limit, stretch regions of Saharan -barrenness where miles of glistening sand-wastes devoid of any vestige -of vegetation dazzle one's sight--a glory of magnificent desolation, the -splendour of sterility. To home-naturalists the scene may recall St. -John's classic sandhills of Moray, but magnified out of recognition by -the vastly greater scale, as befits their respective creators--in the -one case the 100-league North Sea, here the 1000-league Atlantic. Rather -would we compare these marram-tufted, wind-sculptured sand-wastes with -the Red Sea litoral and the Egyptian Soudan, where Osman Digna led -British troops memorable dances in the 'nineties--alike both in their -physical aspect and in their climate, red-hot by day, yet apt to be -deadly chilly after sundown. Resonant with the weird cry of the -stone-curlew and the rhythmic roar of the Atlantic beyond, these seaward -dunes are everywhere traced with infinite spoor of wild beasts, and -dotted by the conical pitfalls dug by ant-lions (_Myrmeleon_). - -[Illustration: IN DOÑANA.] - -Between these extremes of deep forest and barren dune are interposed -intermediate regions partaking of the character of both. Here the -intrusive pine projects forest-strips, called _Corrales_, as it were -long oases of verdure, into the heart of the desert, hidden away between -impending dunes which rear themselves as a mural menace on either hand, -and towering above the summits of the tallest trees. Nor is the -menace wholly hypothetic; for not seldom has the unstable element -shifted bodily onwards to engulf in molecular ruin whole stretches of -these isolated and enclosed _corrales_. Noble pines, already half -submerged, struggle in death-grips with the treacherous foe; of others, -already dead, naught save the topmost summits, sere and shrunk, protrude -above that devouring smiling surface, beneath which, one assumes, there -lie the skeletons of buried forests of a bygone age. - -All along these lonely dunes there stand at regular intervals the grim -old watch-towers of the Moors, reminiscent of half-forgotten times and -of a vanished race. Arab telegraphy was neither wireless nor fireless -when beacon-lights blazing out from tower to tower spread instant alarm -from sea to sierra, seventy miles away. - -In contrast with the scenery of both these zones, shows up the landscape -of a third region, on the west--that of scrub. Here, one day later in -geological sense, the eye roams over endless horizons of rolling -grey-green brushwood, the chief component of which is cistus -(_Helianthemum_), but interspersed in its moister dells with denser -jungle of arbutus and lentisk, genista, tree-heath, and giant-heather, -with wondrous variety of other shrubs; the whole studded and ornamented -by groves of stately cork-oaks or single scattered trees. All these, -with the ilex, being evergreen, one misses those ever-changing autumnal -tints that glorify the "fall" in northern climes. Here only a sporadic -splash of sere or yellow relieves the uniform verdure. - -Obviously regions of such physical character can ill subserve any human -purpose. As designed by nature, they afford but a home for wild beasts, -fowls of the air, and other _ferae_ which abound in striking and -charming variety. For centuries the Coto Doñana formed, as the name -imports, the hunting-ground of its lords, the Dukes of Medina Sidonia, -and to not a few of the Spanish kings--from Phillip IV. in the early -part of the seventeenth century (as recorded by the contemporary -chronicler, Pedro Espinosa) to Alfonso XII. in 1882, and quite recently -to H.M. Don Alfonso XIII. For five-and-twenty years the authors have -been co-tenants, previously under the aforesaid ducal house; latterly -under our old friend, the present owner. - -The sparse population of Doñana includes a few herdsmen (_vaqueros_) -who tend the wild-bred cattle and horses that in semi-feral condition -wander both in the regions of scrub and out in the open marisma. Nomadic -charcoal-burners squat in the forests, shifting their reed-built wigwams -(_chozas_) as the exigencies of work require; while the gathering of -pine-cones yields a precarious living to a handful of _piñoneros_. -Lastly, but most important to us, there are the guardas or keepers, -keen-eyed, leather-clad, and sun-bronzed to the hue of Red Indians. -There are a dozen of these wild men distributed at salient points of the -Coto, most of them belonging to families which have held these posts, -sons succeeding fathers, for generations. Of three such cycles we have -ourselves already been witnesses. - -Briefly to summarise a rich and heterogeneous fauna is not easy; a -volume might be devoted to this region alone. Elsewhere in this book -some few subjects are treated in detail. Here we merely attempt an -outline sketch. - -[Illustration: MARSH-HARRIER (_Circus aeruginosus_)] - -Throughout the winter (excepting only the wildfowl) there exists no such -conspicuous ornithic display as appeals to casual eye or ear--those, -say, of the average traveller. Ride far and wide through these wild -landscapes in December or January, and you may wonder if their -oft-boasted wealth of bird-life be not exaggerated. You see, perhaps, -little beyond the ubiquitous birds-of-prey. These are ever the first -feature to strike a stranger. Great eagles, soaring in eccentric -circles, hunt the cistus-clad plain; the wild scream of the kite rings -out above the pines, and shapely buzzards adorn some dead tree. Over -rush-girt bogs soar weird marsh-harriers--three flaps and a drift as, -with piercing sight, they scan each tuft and miss not so much as a frog -or a wounded wigeon. All these and others of their race are naturally -conspicuous. But, though unseen, there lurk all around other forms of -equal beauty and interest, abundant enough, but secretive and apt to be -overlooked save by closest scrutiny. That, however, is a characteristic -of winter in all temperate lands. Birds at that season are apt to be -silent and elusive, but their absence is apparent rather than real. - -[Illustration: "SILENT SONGSTERS"] - -All around you, in fact, forest and jungle, scrub, sallow, and -bramble-brake abound with minor bird-forms--with our British summer -visitors, here settled down in their winter quarters; with charming -exotic warblers and silent songsters--all off work for the season. Where -nodding bulrush fringes quaking bog, or miles of tasselled cane-brakes -border the marsh, there is the home of infinite feathered amphibians, -crakes and rails, of reed-climbers and bush-skulkers, all for the nonce -silent, shy, reclusive. - -[Illustration: BLACKSTART (_Ruticilla titys_) - -Abundant in winter; retires to the sierra to nest.] - -Their portraits, roughly caught during hours of patient waiting, may be -found (some of them) scattered through these chapters. But the present -is not the place for detail. - -The land-birds in winter you hardly see, for they "take cover." - -Diametrically different--in cause and effect--is the case of wildfowl. -These, by the essence of their natures and by their economic -necessities, are always conspicuous, for they inhabit solely the open -spaces of earth--the "spaces" that no longer exist at home: shallows, -wastes, and tidal flats devoid of covert. Wildfowl, for that reason, -have long learnt to discard all attempt at concealment, to rely for -safety upon their own eyesight and incredible wildness. No illusory idea -that security may be sought in covert abuses their keen and receptive -instincts. Probably it never did. Nowadays, at any rate, they openly -defy the human race with all its brain-begotten devices. There, in -"waste places," wildfowl sit or fly--millions of them--conspicuous and -audible so far as human sense of sight and sound can reach, and there -bid defiance to us all. Much of these wastes are not (in the cant of a -hypocritical age) "undeveloped," but rather, as means exist, incapable -of development. Such spectacles of wild life as these Andalucian -marismas to-day present are probably unsurpassed elsewhere in Europe--or -possibly in the world. In foreground, background, and horizon both earth -and sky are filled with teeming, living multitudes; while the shimmering -grey monotony of the marisma, tessellated with its grey armies of the -_Anatidae_, is everywhere brightened and adorned by rosy battalions of -flamingoes. And out there, far beyond our visible horizon, there wander -in that watery wilderness the wild camels, to which we devote a separate -chapter. - -Flamingoes ignore the limits of continents, and shift their mobile -headquarters between Europe and Africa as the respective rainfall in -either happens to suit their requirements. Hence, whether by day or -night, the sight or sound of gabbling columns of flamingoes passing -through the upper air is a characteristic of these lonely regions, -irrespective of season. Cranes also in marshalled ranks, and storks, -continually pass to and fro. The African coast, of course, lies well -within their range of vision from the start. - -[Illustration: (1) SAHARAN SAND-DUNES.] - -[Illustration: (2) TRANSPORT.] - -[Illustration: (3) A CORRAL, OR PINE-WOOD ENCLOSED BY SAND. - -THREE VIEWS IN COTO DOÑANA.] - -Then as winter merges into spring--what time those clanging crowds of -wild-geese and myriad north-bound ducks depart--there pours into -Andalucia an inrush of African and subtropical bird-forms. The sunlit -woodland gleams with brilliant rollers and golden orioles, while -bee-eaters, rivalling the rainbow in gorgeous hues, poise and dart in -the sunshine, and their harsh "chack, chack," resounds on every side. -Woodchats, spotted cuckoos, hoopoes, and russet nightjars appear; lovely -wheatears in cream and black adorn the palm-clad plain. With them comes -the deluge--no epitomised summary is possible when, within brief limits, -the whole feathered population of southern Europe is metamorphosed. The -winter half has gone north; its place is filled by the tropical inrush -aforesaid. Warblers and waders, larks, finches, and fly-catchers, -herons, ibis, ducks, gulls, and terns--all orders and genera pour in -promiscuously, defying cursory analysis. - -[Illustration: GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO (_Oxylophus glandarius_)] - -A single class only will here be specifically mentioned, and that -because it throws light on climatic conditions. Among these vernal -arrivals come certain raptores in countless numbers--all those which are -dependent on reptile and insect food. For even in sunny Andalucia the -larger reptiles and insects hibernate; hence their persecutors -(including various eagles, buzzards, and harriers, with kites and -kestrels in thousands) are driven to seek winter-quarters in Africa. - -Another phenomenon deserves note. Weeks, nay months, after this great -vernal upturn in bird-life has completed its revolution, and when the -newcomers have already half finished the duties of incubation, then in -May suddenly occurs an utterly belated little migration quite -disconnected from all the rest. This is the passage, or rather -through-transit, of those far-flying cosmopolites of space that make the -whole world their home. They have been wintering in South Africa and -Madagascar, in Australia and New Zealand, and are now returning to -their summer breeding-grounds in farthest Siberia, beyond the Yenisei. -Thus some morning in early May one sees the marismas filled with godwits -and knots, curlew-sandpipers and grey plovers, all in their glorious -summer-plumage. But these only tarry here a few days. A short week -before they had thronged the shores of the southern hemisphere--far -beyond the zodiac of Capricorn. A week hence and they are at home in the -Arctic. - -Andalucia possesses a feathered census that approaches 400 species; but -of these hardly a score are permanently resident throughout the year. - -[Illustration: "GLOBE-SPANNERS" - -Rest twelve hours in Spain on the journey--Australia to Siberia.] - -Four-footed creatures are less difficult of diagnosis than are birds. By -nature less mobile, they are infinitely less numerous specifically. -Relatively the Spanish census is long, and includes, locally, quite a -number of interesting beasts that are "lumped together" as -_Alimañas_--to wit, lynxes, wild-cats, genets, mongoose, foxes, otters, -badgers, of which we treat separately. The two chief game-animals of the -Coto Doñana are the red deer and the wild-boar. These two we here -examine from the sportsman's point of view as much as from that of the -naturalist. - -The Spanish red deer are specifically identical with those of Scotland -and the rest of Europe, and are distributed over the whole southern half -of the Iberian Peninsula--say south of a line drawn through Madrid. -Their haunts, as a rule, are restricted to the -mountain-ranges--especially the Sierra Moréna, where they attain their -highest development. That red deer should be found inhabiting lowlands -such as the Coto Doñana is wholly exceptional. In Estremadura, it is -true, there are wild regions (in Badajoz and Cáceres) where deer are -spread far and wide over wooded and scrub-clad plains, all these, -however, being subjacent to neighbouring sierras, which refuges are -available for retreat in case of need. Nowhere else in Spain, save here -in the Coto Doñana only, are red deer restricted exclusively to -lowlands. - -[Illustration: CONFIDENCE] - -This South-Spanish race (the southernmost of all if we except the -distinct but limited breed that yet maintains a foothold in North -Africa, the Barbary stag, which is white-spotted) differs from Scotch -types in their longer faces and slim necks unadorned with the hairy -"ruff" of harsher climes. Beyond a doubt, when our species-splitting -friends arrive in Spain, they will differentiate her red deer (and ibex -also) in various species or subspecies, each with a Latin trinomial. -Such energies, however, may easily be superfluous, even where not -actually mischievous. For practical purposes there exists but one -European species, though it has, even within Spain, its local varieties; -while, further afield, geographical and climatic divergencies naturally -tend to increase.[7] - -We cannot claim for our lowland deer of Doñana a high standard of -comparative quality; they are, in fact, the smallest race in Spain, -almost puny as compared with her mountain breed--smaller also than the -Barbary stag. Clean weights here rarely exceed 200 lbs., while a 30-in. -head must be accounted beyond the average. The general type, both of -horn and body, is illustrated by various photos and drawings in this -book. - -Deer-shooting in Spain takes place in the winter. The rutting season -commences at the end of August, terminating early in October, and stags -have recovered condition by the end of November. - -The habits of red deer being, here as elsewhere, strictly nocturnal, and -the country densely clad with bush, it follows that these animals are -seldom seen amove during daylight. Hence deer-stalking, properly so -called, is not available, nor is the method much esteemed in Spain. In -Scotland one may detect deer, though it be but a tip of an antler, when -couched in the tallest heather or fern. Here, where heather grows six or -eight feet in height with a bewildering jumble of other shrubbery of -like proportions, no such view is possible. Hence "driving" is in Spain -the usual method of deer-shooting, whether in mountain or lowland. - -[Illustration: ABNORMAL CAST ANTLER - -(Picked up in Doñana.)] - -[Illustration] - -There is, nevertheless, one opportunity of stalking which (though not -regarded with favour) has yet afforded us delightful mornings, and to -which a few lines of description are due. The plan is based upon -cutting-out the deer as they return from their nocturnal pasturages at -daybreak. As the last watch of night wears on towards the dawn, the -deer, withdrawing from their feeding-grounds on open strath or marsh, -slowly direct a course covertwards, lingering here and there to nibble a -tempting genista, or to snatch up a bunch of red bog-grass on their -course. We have reached a favourite glade, often used by deer. It is not -yet light--rather it might be described as nearly dark--when the -splashing of light hoofs through water puts us on the alert. A few -moments suffice to gain a bushy point beyond; whence presently six or -eight nebulous forms emerge from deceitful gloom. Of course there is not -a horn among them, bar a little yearling, for good stags never come thus -in troops, and with all due caution, so as to avoid alarming these, we -hurry away to try another likely spot. Time is of the essence of this -business, for light is now strengthening, and in another half-hour the -deer will all have gained their coverts and the chance will be past. -Again groups of hinds and small beasties meet our gaze; but some -distance beyond are a couple of stags. It is light enough now, by aid of -the glass, to count their points--only eight apiece, no use. While yet -we watch, a pack of graceful white egrets alight close around the nearer -deer--some dart actively between the grazing animals picking flies and -insects from their legs and stomachs; two actually perching, -cavalier-like, on their withers to search for ticks--magpies, on -occasion, we have observed similarly employed. The sun's rim now peers -from out the watery wastes in front; nothing worth a bullet has -appeared, and our morning's work looks as good as lost when my -companion, Pepe, detects two really good stags which, though already -within the shelter of fringing pines, yet linger in a lovely glade, -tempted for fatal minutes by a clump of flowering rosemary. The wind -demands a considerable detour; yet the pair still dally while we gain -the deadly range, and a second later the better of the two drops amidst -the ensnaring blue blossoms. Pepe's half-soliloquising comment precisely -interprets the Spanish estimate of stalking:--"The first stag I ever -saw shot with his head down!" Other countries, other standards; but -there is a ring of sterling chivalry in it too. The idea conveyed is -that the noble stag should meet his death, only when duly forewarned of -danger and bounding in wild career o'er bush and brake. - -Without unduly trespassing on our Spanish friends' susceptibilities, we -have nevertheless enjoyed such mornings as this. To begin with, that -hour of breaking day is ever delicious to spend afield. Therein one -observes to best advantage the wild beasts, undisturbed and following -their secret, solitary lives--one learns more in that hour than in all -the other twenty-three. One seems almost to associate with deer, so near -can the troops of hinds and small staggies be approached; and, moreover, -there may be afforded the advantage of selecting some splendid head -afar, and thus commencing a stalk which, believe me, does not always -prove easy. Yonder comes a fox, trotting straight in from his night's -hunting in the distant marisma. Let him come on within fifty yards, and -then give him a bit of a fright--it is a wild goose he drops as he turns -to fly! A single glint of something ruddy catches the eye; this the -glass shows to be a sunray playing on the pelt of a prowling lynx, -hateful of daylight and hurrying junglewards. Rarely are these -nocturnals seen thus, after sun-up, and not for many seconds will the -spectacle last; for no animal is more intensely habituated to -concealment, or hates so much to move even a few yards in the open. - -Following are two or three incidents selected as illustrative of this -matutinal work:-- - -...A really fine stag--already against the glory of the eastern light, I -have counted thirteen points and there may be more. Half an hour later -we have gained a position--not without infinite manoeuvres, including -a crawl absolutely flat across forty yards of bog and black mire--a -position that in five more minutes should secure to us that trophy. The -five hinds that, before it was fully light, had been in the Royal -company, have already, long ago, passed away in the scrub on our right, -and give us now no further concern. Never should hinds be thus lightly -regarded! The slowly approaching stag stops to nibble a golden broom. He -is already almost within shot--seconds must decide his fate--when a -triple bark, petulant and defiant, breaks the silence behind. Those five -hinds, sauntering round, have gone under our wind, and now ... the -landscape is vacant. - -[Illustration: APRIL.] - -[Illustration: JUNE.] - -"Hinds only bark at a _persona_," remarks Dominguez, as we turn -homewards, "never at any other _bicho_." The stag knew that too. But it -was a curious way of putting it. - -...We are too early; it is still pitch-dark; no sign of dawn beyond a -slight opalescence low on the eastern horizon. Moreover, an icy wind -rustles across the waste, and for dreary minutes we seek shelter, -squatting beneath some friendly gorse. Presently a strange sound--a -distinct champing, and close by--strikes our ears. "Un javato comiendo" -= "a boar feeding," whispers Dominguez, and creeping a few yards towards -an open strath, we dimly descry a dusky monster. At the moment his snout -is buried deep in the soil, up to the eyes, and the tremendous muscular -power exerted in uprooting bulbs of palmetto arrests attention even in -the quarter-light. Now he stands quiescent, head up, and the champing is -resumed--a rare scene. The distance is a bare fifteen yards, and all the -while my companion insists on hissing in my ear, "tiré-lo, tiré-lo" = -"shoot, shoot." Presently up goes the boar's muzzle; straight and -steadfastly he gazes in our direction, but his glance seemed to pass -high over our heads. I don't think he saw us; yet a consciousness of -danger had got home--in two bounds he wheeled and disappeared, headlong, -amid the bush beyond. - -...Far and wide the bosky glade is furrowed with sinuous trenches, and -infinite turrets stand erect as where children build sand-castles on the -beach. Last night a troop of wild-pig have sought here for -mole-crickets--small fry, one may think; yet even worms they don't -despise, for we have seen masses of these reptiles (some still alive) in -the stomach of a newly-shot boar. Follow the spoor onwards, and where it -enters a pine-grove, you notice splintered cones and scattered seed. -Thus wild-beasts are assisting to fulfil nature's plan, and if you care -to advance it another stage, turn some soil over those overlooked -pine-nuts, and some day forest-monarchs will result to reward another -generation. - - * * * * * - -Such matutinal forays are, however, but an incident. The main system of -dealing with the deer is by driving. For this purpose both the fragrant -solitudes of pine and far-stretched wilds of bending cistus are mentally -mapped out by the forest-guards into definite "beats," each of which -has its own name; though to a casual visitor (since guns are necessarily -placed differently day by day according to the wind) the actual -boundaries may appear indefinite enough. - -On lowlands such as the Coto Doñana, which is more or less level and -open, the use of far-ranging rifles is necessarily restricted by -considerations of safety. Obviously no shot, on any pretext whatever, -may be fired either into the beat or until the game has passed clear of -and well outside the line of guns. In every instance, as a gun is -placed, the keeper in charge indicates by lines drawn in the sand or -other unmistakable means the limits within which shooting is absolutely -prohibited. The result, it follows, not only increases the prospective -difficulty of the shot, but gives fuller scope to the instinctive -intelligence of the game. For deer, unlike some winged game, do not, -when driven, dash precipitately straight for illusory safety, but retire -slowly and with extreme circumspection; all old stags, in particular, -fully anticipate hidden dangers to lie on their line of flight, and -narrowly scrutinise any suspicious feature ahead before taking risks. -The gunner will therefore be wise to occupy the few minutes that remain -available in so arranging both himself and his post as to be -inconspicuous; and also in an accurate survey of his environment with -its probable chances, thereby minimising the danger of being taken by -surprise. The cunning displayed by an old stag when endeavouring to -evade a line of guns at times approaches the marvellous. Thus, on one -occasion, the writer was warned of the near approach of game by a single -"clink"--a noise which deer sometimes make, probably unintentionally, -with the fore-hoof--yet seconds elapsed, and neither sight nor sound -were vouchsafed. Then the slightest quiver of a bough beneath caught my -eye. A big stag with antlers laid flat aback, and crouching to half his -usual height, though going fairly fast, was slipping, silent and -invisible, through thick but low brushwood immediately beneath the -little hillock whereon I lay. On examining the spot, the spoor showed -that he had passed thus through openings barely exceeding two feet in -height, though he stood himself forty-six inches at the withers. The -feat appeared impossible.[8] - -[Illustration: SUSPICION] - -In thick forest or brushwood that limits the view it may be advisable to -sit with back towards the beat, relying on ears to indicate the approach -or movements of game. While sitting thus, it will occur that you become -aware of the arrival of an animal, or of several animals, immediately -behind you. The natural inclination to look round is strong; but 'twere -folly to do so--fatal to success. This is the critical moment, when a -few seconds of rigid stillness will be rewarded by a shot in the open. -But that stillness must be statuesque, as of a stone god. For piercing -eyes are instantly studying each bush and bough, and analysing at close -quarters the least symptom of danger ahead. - -Should a good stag break fairly near, it is advisable to allow it to -pass well away before moving a muscle. For should the game be -prematurely alarmed--say by your missing exactly upon the firing-line, -or otherwise by its detecting your movement of preparation--that stag -will instantly bounce back again into the beat. Then, assuming that the -sportsman is a tyro, or subject to "emotions" or buck-fever, there is -danger of his forgetting for one moment his precise permitted line of -fire; in which case a perilous shot must result. Once allowed to pass -_well outside_, the stag will usually continue on his course. - -In this, as in every form of sport, "soft chances" occasionally occur. -More often, the rifle will be directed at a galloping stag crashing -through bush that conceals him up to the withers; or, it may be, -bounding over inequalities of broken ground or brushwood, or among -timber, at any distance up to 100 yards, sometimes 150, while, should he -have touched a taint in the wind, his pace will be tremendous. - -Although to casual view a plain of level contours this country is -undulated to an extent that deceives a careless eye--the more -accentuated by the monotone of cistus-scrub that appears so uniform. In -reality there traverse the plain glens and gently graded hollows the -less apt to be noticed, inasmuch as the scrub in moister dell grows -higher. - -Far through the marish green and still the watercourses sleep. - -Inspiring moments are those when--before the beat has commenced--your -eye catches on some far-away skyline the broad antlers of a stag. This -animal has perhaps been on foot and alert, or maybe has taken the "wind" -from the group of beaters wending a way to their points far beyond. For -three seconds the antlers remain stationary, then vanish into some -intervening glen. A glance around shows your next neighbour still busy -completing his shelter--meritorious work if done in time--and you have -strong suspicion that the man beyond will just now be lighting a -cigarette! Such thoughts flash through one's mind; the dominant question -that fills it is: "Where will that great stag reappear?" But few seconds -are needed to solve it. Perhaps he dashes, harmless, upon the careless, -perhaps upon the slow--lucky for him should either such event befall! On -the other hand, those moments of glorious expectancy may resolve in a -crash of brushwood hard by, in a clinking of cloven hoofs, and a noble -hart with horns aback is bounding past your own ready post. What -proportion, we inwardly inquire, of the stags that are killed by -craftsmen has already, just before, offered first chance to the careless -or the slovenly? - -[Illustration: "INSPIRING MOMENTS." - -(NEITHER CAUGHT NAPPING.)] - -We may conclude this chapter with an independent impression. - - Lying hidden in one of these lonely _puestos_--writes J. C. - C.--ever induces in me a powerful and sedative sense of - contemplation and reflection, though fully alert all the time. - While thus waiting and watching, I can't but marvel, first at - nature's wondrous plan of waste--a scheme here without apparent - object or promise of fulfilment. Where I lie the prospect comprises - nothing but melancholy and unutterably silent solitudes of sand, - droughty wastes with but at rare intervals some starveling patch of - scant weird shrub destined either to shrivel in summer's sun or - shiver in winter's winds. But, lying in that environment, one - marvels yet more at the extreme caution displayed by wild animals; - one has exceptional opportunity of admiring the exquisitive gifts - bestowed by nature upon her _ferae_. Here is a young stag coming - straight along, down-wind, ere yet the beat has begun, and in a - desolate spot which to human sense could betray absolutely no - feature or taint of danger. Suddenly he becomes rigid, arrested in - mid-career--sniffing at a pure untainted air, yet conscious somehow - of something wrong somewhere! It is a miraculous gift, though one - cannot but feel grateful that we humans are devoid of senses that - ever keep nerves in highest tension. Here is a sketch of a - non-shootable stag thus suddenly statuetted thirty yards from me - snugly hidden well down-wind, and so intensely interested that - _something else_ (a very old pal) well-nigh escaped notice. - - [Illustration: ALTABACA (_Scrofularia_) - - The starveling shrub that grows in sand.] - - [Illustration: TOMILLO DE ARENA - - Another sand-plant (in spring has a lovely pink bloom like - sea-thrift).] - - That something was our good friend Reynard--_Zorro_ they style him - out here--whose proverbial cunning exceeds all other cunnings. He - has come down to my track and there stopped dead, expressing in - every detail the very essence of doubly-distilled subtlety and - craft. At those footprints he halts, sniffs the wind, curls his - brush dubiously--as a cat will do when pleased--but not sure yet of - his next move. One second's consideration decides him and it is - executed at once--he is off like a gust of wind. But a Paradox ball - at easy range in the open broke a hind-leg, and it was curious to - note his evolutions--he, poor fellow, not realising what had - occurred, flung himself round and round in rapid gyrations, the - while biting at his own hind-leg. Needless to say not an instant - passed ere a second ball terminated his sufferings. To observe the - beautiful traits in the habits of wild beasts is to me quite as - great a joy as adding them to my score and immensely augments the - enjoyment of a big-game drive. - -[Illustration: "WHAT'S THIS?"] - - -RED DEER HEADS--_COTO DOÑANA_. - -This list is neither comprehensive nor consecutive, but merely a record -of such good and typical heads as we happened to have within reach. - -_For Table of Heads of Mountain-Deer see Chapter on Sierra Moréna._ - - ---------------+---------------+--------------+--------+-------+-------------- - | | Widest. | | | - | Length. |--------------|Circum- |Points.| Remarks. - | (Inches.) |Tips. |Inside.|ference.| | - ---------------+---------------+------+-------+--------+-------+-------------- - W. I. B. |32-1/4 |30 |... | ... | 13 | - Do. |31 + 30-1/4 |32-5/8|... | ... | 10 |No bez. - P. Garvey | 31 |28 |... | 4-5/8 | 15 | - Col. Brymer |30-1/2 + 28 |27 |23 | 4-1/4 | 10 |No bez. - Col. Echagüe |30-1/8 + 28-1/2|20 |18 | 4-1/2 | 14 |4 on each top. - Villa-Marta, |29-3/4 + 29-1/2|31-1/4|... | 4-1/2 | 13 |4 on each top, - Marquis | | | | | | but 1 bez - | | | | | | wanting. - Segovia, | | | | | | - Gonzalo[9] |29-3/4 + 29-1/2|39-1/2|... | 5-1/4 | 10 |No bez. - Arión, Duke of |29 + 28 |30 |... | ... | 14 | - A. C. |29 + 28-1/4 |25 |... | 5 | 12 | - Do. |28-1/2 |26-1/2|... | 5-1/8 | 13 | - P. N. Gonzalez |28-1/2 |25 |22 | 5 | 12 | - Arión, Duke of |28-1/4 |23 |21-1/2 | 4-1/8 | 10 |No bez. - F. J. Mitchell |28 + 27 |30-1/2|... | ... | 14 |4 on each top. - A. C. |27 + 26-3/4 |24 |24 | 4-1/4 | 10 | - Do. |25-1/2 |28-1/4|24 | 4-1/5 | 11 |At British - | | | | | | Museum. - Williams, Alex.|25-1/2 |27-3/4|23-1/4 | 4-1/4 | 12 | - B. F. B. |25-3/4 + 24 |27-1/4|22-3/4 | 4-1/4 | 12 | - De Bunsen, | | | | | | - Sir M. |25-1/2 + 25 |27 |... | 4-1/2 | 11 | - B. F. B. |24-1/2 + 24-1/2|27-1/2|... | 4-1/2 | 12 | - J. C. C. | 23 |29-1/2|22-1/2 | 4-1/8 | 12 | - B. F. B. |22-1/2 |21-1/2|19 | 4-1/4 | 12 | - ---------------+---------------+------+-------+--------+-------+------------- - -Ordinary Royals (by which we mean full-grown stags in their first prime) -average 24 or 25 inches in length of horn. Heads of 26 to 28 inches -belong to rather older beasts which have continued to improve. Anything -beyond the latter measurement is quite exceptional, and is often due, -not so much to fair straight length of the main beam as to an abnormal -development of one of the top tines--usually directed backwards. There -are, however, included in our records two or three examples of long -straight heads which fairly exceed the 30-inch length. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -ANDALUCIA AND ITS BIG GAME - -STILL-HUNTING (RED DEER) - - -The line of least resistance represents twentieth-century -ideals--maximum results for the minimum of labour or technical skill. In -the field of sport, wherever available, universal "driving" supersedes -the arts of earlier venery--the pride of past generations. - -In Spain, more leisurely while no less dignified, there survive in -sport, as in other matters, practices more consonant with the dash and -chivalry popularly ascribed to her national character. Such, for -example, is the attack, single-handed, on bear or boar with cold -steel--_á arma blanca_, in Castilian phrase. Here we purpose describing -the system of "Still-hunting" (_Rastreando_) as practised in Andalucia -with a skill that equals the best of the American "Red Indian," and is -only surpassed, within our experience, by Somalis and Wandorobo savages -in East Africa. - -Before day-dawn we are away with our two trackers. Maybe it is a lucky -morning, and as the first streaks of light illumine the wastes, they -reveal to our gaze a first-rate stag. In that case the venture is vastly -simplified. It is merely necessary to allow time for the stag to reach -his lie-up, and the spoor can be followed at once. But barring such -exceptional fortune, it is necessary to find, or rather to select from -amidst infinity of tracks crossing and recrossing hither and thither in -bewildering profusion the trail of such a master-beast as clearly is -worthy the labour of a long day's pursuit. Twice and again we follow a -spoor for 100 yards or more over difficult ground before finally -deciding that its owner is not up to our standard of quality, and the -interrupted search is resumed. Once found, there is rarely room for -mistake with a really big spoor. The breadth of heel, the length and -deep-cut prints of the cloven toes attest both weight and quality. The -ground is open, soft, and easy. The big new track, with its spurts of -forward-projected sand, are visible yards ahead. We follow almost at a -run--how simple it seems! But not for long. Soon comes check No. 1. A -dozen other deer have followed on the same line, and the original trail -is obliterated. The troop leads on into a region of boundless bush, -shoulder-high, where the ground is harder and the trackers spread out to -right and left, backing each other with silent signals. Their skill and -patience fascinate; but it is to me, in the centre, that after a long -hour's scrutiny, falls the satisfaction of rediscovering that big track -where it diverges alone on the left. Half a mile beyond, our erratic -friend has passed through water. For a space a broken reed here or -displaced lilies there help us forward; then the deepening water, all -open, bears no trace. The opposite shore, moreover, is fringed by a -200-yard belt of bulrush and ten-foot canes, and beyond all that lies -heavy jungle. - -You give it up? Admittedly these are no lines of least resistance, but -we will cut the unpopular part as short as may be and merely add that it -was high noon ere, after three hours' work--puzzling out problems and -paradoxes, now following a false clue, anon recovering the true -one--that at last the big spoor on dry land once more rejoiced our -sight. More than that, it now bears evidence--to eyes that can -read--that our stag is approaching his selected stronghold. He goes -slowly. Here he has stopped to survey his rear--there he has lingered to -nibble a genista, and the spoor zigzags to and fro. Now it turns at -sharp angle, following a cheek-wind, and a suggestive grove of cork-oaks -embedded in heavy bush lies ahead. One hunter opines the stag lies up -here: the other doubts. No half-measures suffice. We turn down-wind, -detouring to reach the main outlet (_salida_) to leeward; here I remain -hidden, while my companions, separating on right and left, proceed to -encircle the _mancha_. Two hinds break hard by, and presently Juan -returns with word that the stag has passed through the covert--better -still, that a second big beast has joined the first, and that the double -spoor, moving dead-slow and three-quarters up wind, proceeds due north. -Another mile and then right ahead lies heavy covert, but long and -straggling, and the halting trail indicates this as a certain find. - -The strategic position is simple, but tactics, for a single gun, leave -endless scope for decision. Our first rule in all such cases is to get -_close in_, risk what it may. Hence, while my companions separated, as -before, to encircle the covert from right and left, the writer crept -forward yard by yard till a fairly broad and convenient open suggested -the final stand. - -Not ten minutes had elapsed, nor had a sound reached my ears, when as by -magic the figure of a majestic stag filled a glade on the left--what a -picture, as with head erect he daintily picked his unconscious way! -Clearly he suspected nothing _here_; but, having got sense, sight, or -scent of Juan far beyond, was astutely moving away, with intelligent -anticipation, to safer retreat. The shot was of the simplest, and merely -black antlers crowned with triple ivory tips marked the fatal point -among deep green rushes. - -Now when two big stags fraternise, as they frequently do, it usually -happens that, when pressed, both animals will finally seek the same -exit, even though a shot has already been fired there. I had accordingly -instructed the keepers that in the event of my firing, each should -discharge his gun in the air, at the same time loosing one dog. The -expected shots now rang out, presently followed by a crashing in the -brushwood. This proved to be caused by a handful of hinds with, alas! -the loose dog baying at their heels. The adverse odds had fallen to -zero, till Juan, divining what had occurred, fired again and slipt the -other dog. Anxious minutes slowly passed while my two biped -sleuth-hounds on the other side gradually, yard by yard, made good their -advance; for the wit and wiles, the practised cunning of an old stag -when thus cornered, need every scrap of our human skill to out-general, -and nothing to spare at that. But that skill was not at fault to-day, -and in the thick of the _mancha_, Manuel presently "jumped" the recusant -hart from almost beneath his feet, and his view-halloa reached expectant -ears. - -[Illustration] - -Then, within a few yards of the spot where No. 1 had silently appeared, -out bounced No. 2, but in widely different style. In huge bounds, with -head and neck horizontal and antlers laid flat aback, he covered the -open like a racer. The first shot got in too far back, but the second -went right, and the two friends lay not divided in death. Both were -_coronados_ (triple-crowned), indeed the second carried four-on-top in -double pairs as sketched--a not uncommon formation--but being very old, -lacked bez tines. - -Very nearly five hours had elapsed since we had first struck the spoor, -five hours of concentrated attention, crowned by the final assertion of -human "dominion." And during these moments of permissible expansion, -there was impressed on our minds the fact that such success involves -mastery of a difficult craft. - -[Illustration: "TAKING THE WIND" - -(A stag, on recognising human scent, will give a bound as though a knife -had been plunged into his heart.)] - -Illustrative of how astutely a cornered stag will exploit every device -and avenue of escape, an excellent instance is given in _Wild Spain_, p. -434. - -Skilled deer-driving is a different undertaking from the _force majeure_ -by which pheasants and such-like game may be pushed over a line of guns. -For deer do not act on timid impulse, but on practical instinct. Scent -is their first safeguard when danger threatens and their natural flight -is up-wind. But as it is obviously impossible to place guns to windward, -the operation resolves itself into moving the game--dead against its -instinct and set inclination--down-wind, or at least on a "half-wind." -The latter is easier as an operation, but less effective in result: -since the guns must be posted in echelon--otherwise each "gives the -wind" to his next neighbour below. Consequently the firing-zone of each -is greatly circumscribed. - -In practice, therefore, the game has to be moved or cajoled--it can -hardly be said to be "driven"--into going, at least so far, down-wind by -skilled handling of the driving-line and by intelligent co-operation on -the part of each individual driver. In the great mountain-drives of the -sierras (elsewhere described) packs of hounds, being carefully trained, -perform infinite service. Always under control of their huntsman, they -systematically search out thickets impenetrable to man and push all game -forward. In the Coto Doñana, our scratch-pack of _podencos_ and mongrels -of every degree, run riot unchecked at hind, hare, or rabbit, giving -tongue in all directions at once, and probably do as much harm as good. - -Our mounted keepers, however, expert in divining afar the yet unformed -designs of the game ahead, are quick to counter each move by a feint or -demonstration behind; and when desirable, to forestall attempted escape -by resolute riding. The Spanish are a nation of horsemen, and a fine -sight it is to see these wild guardas galloping helter-skelter through -scrub that reaches the saddle--especially the way they ride down a -wounded stag or boar with the _garrocha_--a long wooden lance. - -Despite it all, however, many stags break back. Riding with the beaters -it is instructive to watch the manoeuvres of an old stag as, sinking -from sight, he couches among quite low scrub on some hillock, or stands -statuesque with horns aback hiding behind a clump of tall -tree-heaths--alert all the while, stealthily to shift his position as -yapping _podencos_ on one side or the other may suggest--and watching -each opportunity to evade the encompassing danger. Now a stretch of -denser jungle obstructs the advancing line. The beaters are forced apart -to pass it, and a gap or two yawns in the attack. Instantly that -introspective wild beast realises his advantage--he springs to sight, -ignores Spanish expletives that scorch the scrub, and in giant bounds -breaks back in the very face of encircling foes. Within thirty seconds -he has regained security amid leagues of untrodden wilds. - -Some years ago we tried the plan of placing one (or two) guns with the -driving-line; but the experiment proved impracticable. Obviously only -the coolest and most reliable men could be trusted in an essay which -otherwise involved danger. Unfortunately--and it is but human -nature--every one considers himself equally cool and reliable. Hence the -breakdown and abandonment of the practice. For the long line of beaters, -struggling at different points through obstacles of varying difficulty, -necessarily loses precise formation; it becomes more or less broken and -scattered. Here and there a man may get "stuck" and left a hundred yards -behind the general advance. The risk in "firing back" is obvious. The -writer remembers being one of two guns with the beaters, when a pair of -stags, jumping up close ahead, bolted straight back, passing almost -within arm's length. As the second carried a fairly good head, I -dismounted and shot it, but was then horrified to discover that my -companion-gun had (contrary to all rules) gone back in that very -direction to shoot a _woodcock_! - - -DRIVING BIG GAME - -On "driving" as such we do not propose to enlarge. The system is simple -though the practice is subject to variation. On the gently undulated -levels of Doñana, for example, the latter (as already indicated) is -widely differentiated from the systems practised in mountainous -countries--whether in Scotland or the Spanish sierras--where shots can -safely be accepted at incoming or at passing game. Guns are there -protected from danger by intervening ridges, crags, and piled-up rocks -that flank each "pass." Here the game must be left to pass well through -and outside the line of guns before a shot is permissible. - -Our "drives," whether in forest or scrub, seldom exceed a couple of -miles in extent; but in wild regions where isolated patches of covert -are scattered, inset amid wastes of sand, the area may be extended to -half a day's ride. These long scrambling drives gain enhanced interest -to a naturalist in precisely inverse ratio with their probability of -success. - -In a big-game drive the first animals to come forward are, as a rule, -foxes and lynxes--creatures which move on impulse, and instantly quit a -zone where danger threatens. Both, however, will certainly pass unseen -should there be any scrub to conceal their retreat. The lynx especially -is adept at utilising cover, however slight. Should open patches or -sandy glades occur among the bush, foxes will be viewed bundling along, -to all appearance quite carelessly. Here in Spain foxes are merely -"vermin"; but it is a mistake to shoot them, owing to the risk of -thereby turning back better game. Neither lynx nor fox, by the way, are -accounted _caza mayor_ unless killed with a bullet. - -[Illustration: _SYLVIA MELANOCEPHALA_ - -(Sardinian warbler; conspicuous by its strong colour-contrasts.)] - -As elsewhere mentioned, there is always a considerable possibility at -the earlier period of a "drive" (and even _before_ the operation has -actually commenced) of some old and highly experienced stag attempting -to slip through the line in the calculated hope (which is often well -founded) that he will thereby take most of the guns by surprise and so -escape unshot at. Never be unready. - -Although in "driving," that element of ceaseless personal effort, -observation and self-reliance that characterise stalking, still-hunting, -or spooring, is necessarily reduced, yet it is by no means eliminated. -Nor are there lacking compensating charms in those hours of silent -expectancy spent in the solitude of jungle or amid the aromatic -fragrance of pine-forest. Every sense is held in tension to mark and -measure each sign or sound; 'tis but the fall of a pine-cone that has -caught your ear, but it might easily have been a single footfall of -game. The wild-life of the wilderness pursues its daily course around -unconscious of a concealed intruder in its midst. Overhead, busy -hawfinches wrestle with ripening cones, swinging in gymnastic attitude. -These are silent. You have first become aware of their presence by a -shower of scales gently fluttering down upon the shrubbery of genista -and rosemary alongside, amidst the depths of which lovely French-grey -warblers with jet-black skull-caps (_Sylvia melanocephala_) pursue -insect-prey with furious energy--dashing into the tangle of stems -reckless of damage to tender plumes. There are other bush-skulkers -infinitely more reclusive than these--some indeed whose mere existence -one could never hope to verify (in winter) save by patience and these -hours of silent watching. Such are the Fantail, Cetti's, and Dartford -warblers, while among sedge and cane-brake alert reed-climbers beguile -and delight these spells of waiting. Soldier-ants and horned beetles -with laborious gait, but obvious fixity of purpose, pursue their even -way, surmounting all obstruction--such as boot or cartridge-bag. Earth -and air alike are instinct with humble life. - -[Illustration: REED-CLIMBERS] - -To a northerner it is hard to believe that this is mid-winter, when -almost every tree remains leaf-clad, the brushwood green and -flower-spangled. Arbutus, rosemary, and tree-heath are already in bloom, -while bees buzz in shoulder-high heather and suck honey from its -tricoloured blossoms--purple, pink, and violet. Strange diptera and -winged creatures of many sorts and sizes, from gnat and midge to savage -dragon-flies, rustle and drone in one's ear or poise on iridescent wing -in the sunlight, and the hateful hiss of the mosquito mingles with the -insect-melody. Over each open flower of rock-rose or cistus hovers the -humming-bird hawk-moth with, more rarely, one of the larger sphinxes -(_S. convolvuli_), each with long proboscis inserted deep in tender -calyx. Not even the butterflies are entirely absent. We have noticed -gorgeous species at Christmas time, including clouded yellows, painted -lady and red admiral, southern wood-argus, Bath white, _Lycaena -telicanus_, _Thäis polyxena_, _Megaera_, and many more. On the warm sand -at midday bask pretty green and spotted lizards,[10] apparently asleep, -but alert to dart off on slightest alarm, disappearing like a thought in -some crevice of the cistus stems. - -[Illustration: GREAT GREY SHRIKE (_Lanius meridionalis_)] - -Hard by a winter-wandering hoopoe struts in an open glade, prodding the -earth with curved bill and crest laid back like a "claw-hammer"; from a -tall cistus-spray the southern grey shrike mumbles his harsh soliloquy, -and chattering magpies everywhere surmount the evergreen bush. Where the -warm sunshine induces untimely ripening of the tamarisk, some brightly -coloured birds flicker around pecking at the buds. They appear to be -chaffinches, but a glance through the glass identifies them as -bramblings--arctic migrants that we have shot here in midwinter with -full black heads--in "breeding-plumage" as some call it, though it is -merely the result of the wearing-away of the original grey fringe to -each feather, thus exposing the glossy violet-black bases. - -[Illustration: SPANISH GREEN WOODPECKER (_Gecinus sharpei_) - -(1) Alighting. -(2) Calling. -] - -Birds, as a broad rule, possess no "breeding-plumage." They only renew -their dress once a year, in the autumn, and breed the following spring -in the worn and ragged plumes. It's not poetic, but the fact.[11] This -is not the place to enumerate all the characteristic forms of bird-life, -and only one other shall be mentioned, chiefly because the incident -occurred the day we drafted this chapter. One hears behind the rustle of -strong wings, and there passes overhead in dipping, undulated flight a -green woodpecker of the Spanish species, _Gecinus sharpei_. With a -regular thud he alights on the rough bark of a cork-oak in front, clings -in rigid aplomb while surveying the spot for any sign of danger, then -projects upwards a snake-like neck and with vertical beak gives forth a -series of maniacal shrieks that resound through the silences.[12] By all -means watch and study every phase of wild-life around you--the habit -will leave green memories when the keener zest for bigger game shall -have dimmed--but never be caught napping, or let a silent stag pass by -while your whole attention is concentrated on a tarantula! - -[Illustration: A TARANTULA] - -By way of illustrating the practice of "driving," we annex three or four -typical instances:-- - -LAS ANGOSTURAS, _February 5, 1907_.--The writer's post was in a green -glade surrounded by pine-forest. A heavy rush behind was succeeded (as -anticipated) by the appearance of a big troop of hinds followed by two -small staggies. A considerable distance behind these came a single good -stag, and already the sights had covered his shoulder, when from the -corner of an eye a second, with far finer head, flashed into the -picture, going hard, and I decided to change beasts. It was, however, -too late. Half automatically, while eyes wandered, fingers had closed on -trigger. At the shot the better stag bounded off with great uneven -strides through the timber, offering but an uncertain mark. Both -animals, however, were recovered. The first, an eleven-pointer, lay dead -at the exact spot; the second was brought to bay within 300 yards, a -fine royal. - -LOS NOVARBOS, _January 9, 1903_.--My post was among a grove of -pine-saplings in a lovely open plain surrounded by forest. Two good -stags trotted past, full broadside, at 80 yards. The first dropped in a -heap, as though pole-axed, the second receiving a ball that clearly -indicated a kill. While reloading, noticed with surprise that No. 1 had -regained his legs and was off at speed. A third bullet struck behind; -but it was not till two hours later, after blood-spooring for half a -league, that we recovered our game. The first shot had struck a horn (at -junction of trez tine) cutting it clean in two. This had momentarily -stunned the animal, but the effect had passed off within ten seconds. -Both were ten-pointers, with strong black horns, ivory-tipped. During -that afternoon I got & big boar at Maë-Corra; and B., who had set out at -4 A.M., twenty-three geese at the Cardo-Inchal. - -FAR NORTH, _January 31, 1907_.--First beat by the "Eagles' Nest" (in the -biggest cork-oak we ever saw, the imperial bird soaring off as we rode -up). Brushwood everywhere tall and dense, giving no view. On placing me -the keeper remarked, "By this little glade (_canuto_) deer _must_ break, -but amidst such jungle will need _un tiro de merito_!" Four stags broke, -two were missed, but one secured--seven points on one horn, the other -broken. So dense is the bush here that a lynx ran almost over the -writer's post, yet had vanished from sight ere gun could be brought to -shoulder. In the next beat, La Querencia del Macho (again all dense -bush), B. shot two really grand companion stags, but again one of these -had a broken horn. This animal while at bay so injured the spine of one -of our dogs that it had to be killed two days later.[13] A third beat -added one more big stag, and the day's result--four stags with only two -"heads"--is so curious that we give the detail:-- - - +--------------------------------------------------------+ - | | Length. | Breadth. | Points. | - +--------------------------------------------------------+ - | W. E. B.[14] | 23-1/2" | (One horn) | 7 × 2 | - | W. J. B. (No. 1) | 28" | Do. | 6 × 2 | - | W. J. B. (No. 2) | 25" × 25" | 25" | 7 × 6 = 13 | - | A. C. | 26" × 24" | 20-1/2" | 6 × 5 = 11 | - +--------------------------------------------------------+ - -Amidst forest or in dense jungle (such as last described) where no -distant view is possible, it is usually advisable to watch -outwards--that is, with back towards the beat, relying on _ears_ to -give notice of the movements of game within. But in (more or less) open -country where a view, oneself unseen, can be obtained afar, the -situation is modified. The following is an example:-- - -CORRAL QUEMADO, _February 1, 1909_.--The authors occupied the two -outmost posts on a high sand-ridge which commanded an introspect far -away into the heart of the covert. Already before the distant signal had -announced that the converging lines of beaters had joined, suddenly an -apparition showed up. Some 300 yards away a low pine-clad ridge -traversed the forest horizon, and in that moment the shadows beneath -became, as by magic, illumined by an inspiring spectacle--the tracery of -great spreading antlers surmounting the sunlit grey face and neck of a -glorious stag. For twenty seconds the apparition (and we) remained -statuesque as cast in bronze. Then, with the suddenness and silence of a -shifting shadow, the deep shade was vacant once more. The stag had -retired. It boots not to recall those agonies of self-reproach that -gnawed one's very being. Suffice it, they were undeserved; for five or -six minutes later that stag reappeared, leisurely cantering forward. -Clearly no specific sign or suspicion of danger ahead had struck his -mind or dictated that retirement. But his course was now, by mere chance -and uncalculated cunning, 300 yards outside the sphere of your humble -servants, the authors. That stag was now about to offer a chance to gun -No. 3, instead of, as originally, to Nos. 1 and 2. Eagerly we both -watched his course, now halting on some ridge to reconnoitre, gaze -shifting, and ears deflecting hither and thither, anon making good -another stage towards the goal of escape. A long shallow _canuto_ -(hollow) concealed his bulk from view, but we now saw by the bunchy -"show" on top that this was a prize of no mean merit. Then came the -climax. Rising the slope which ended the _canuto_, in an instant the -stag stopped, petrified. Straight on in front of him, not 100 yards -ahead, lay No. 3 gun, and the fatal fact had been discovered. It may -have been an untimely movement, perhaps a glint of sunray on exposed -gun-barrel, or merely the outline of a cap three inches too high--anyway -the ambush had been detected, and now the stag swung at right angles and -sought in giant bounds to pass behind No. 2. It was a long shot, very -fast, and intercepted by intervening trees and bush--the second barrel -directed merely at a vanishing stern. Yet such was our confidence in the -aim--in both aims--that not even the subsequent sight of our antlered -friend jauntily cantering away down the long stretch of Los Tendidos -impaired by one iota its self-assurance. For a mile and more we followed -that bloodless spoor, far beyond the point whereat the keeper's solemn -verdict had been pronounced, "No lleva náda--that stag goes scot-free." -As usual, that verdict was correct. - -[Illustration] - -An incident worth note had occurred meanwhile. On the extreme left of -our line, a mile away, two stags out of four that broke across the -sand-wastes had been killed; and these, while we yet remained on the -scene (though a trifle delayed by fruitless spooring) had already been -attacked and torn open by a descending swarm of vultures. That, in -Africa, is a daily experience, but never, before or since, have we -witnessed such unseemly voracity in Europe. - -MAJADA REAL.--This is the one lowland covert where shots are permissible -at incoming game. Being flanked on the west by gigantic sand-dunes, the -guns (under certain conditions) may be lined out a couple of miles away, -along the outskirts of the next nearest covert--the idea being to take -the stags as they canter across the intervening dunes. The conditions -referred to are (1) a straight east wind, and (2) reliable guns. -Obviously the element of _danger_ under this plan is vastly increased, -and as the keepers are responsible for any accident, they are reluctant -to execute the drive thus save only when their confidence in the guns is -complete.[15] A careless man on a grouse-drive is dangerous enough; but -here, with rifle-bullets, a reckless shot may spell death. The -"in-drive," nevertheless, is both curious and interesting. A spectacle -one does not forget is afforded when the far-away skyline of dazzling -sand is suddenly surmounted by spreading antlers, and some great hart, -perhaps a dozen of them, come trotting all unconscious directly towards -the eager eyes watching and waiting. The effect of a shot under these -conditions is frequently to turn the game off at right angles. The deer -then hold a course parallel with the covert-side, thus running the -gauntlet of several guns, and the question of "first blood" may become a -moot point--easily determined, however, by reference to the spoor. Boar -naturally are averse to take such open ground; but when severely -pressed, we have on occasion seen them scurrying across these Saharan -sands, a singular sight under the midday sun. - -To introspective minds two points may have showed up in these rough -outline illustrations. First, that the best stags are ever the earliest -amove when danger threatens. These not seldom escape ere a slovenly -gunner is aware that the beat has begun. The moral is clear. Secondly, -as these bigger and older beasts exhibit fraternal tendencies, it -follows that a first chance (whether availed or bungled) need not -necessarily be the last. - -Besides deer, it is quite usual that wild-boar, as well as lynxes and -other minor animals, come forward on these "drives." The divergent -nature of pig, however, renders a more specialised system advisable -when wild-boar only are the objective. For whereas the aboriginal stag -seeking a "lie-up" wherein to pass the daylight hours was satisfied by -any sequestered spot that afforded shelter and shade from the sun, that -was never the case with the jungle-loving boar. To the stag strong -jungle and heavy brushwood were ever abhorrent, handicapping his light -build and branching antlers. Clumps of tall reed-grass or three-foot -rushes, a patch of cistus or rosemary, amply fulfilled his diurnal -ideals and requirements. Nowadays, it is true, the expanded sense of -danger, the increasing pressure of modern life--even cervine life--force -him to select strongholds which offer greater security though less -convenience. The wild-boar, on the reverse, with lower carriage and -pachydermatous hide, instinctively seeks the very heaviest jungle within -his radius--the more densely briar-matted and impenetrable the better he -loves it. - -Many such holts--some of them may be but a few yards in extent--are -necessarily passed untried both by dogs and men when engaged in -"driving" extended areas, sometimes miles of consecutive forest and -covert. The somnolent boar hears the passing tumult, lifts a grisly -head, grunts an angry soliloquy, and goes to sleep again, secure. -Another day you have returned expressly to pay specific attention to -him. In brief space he has diagnosed the difference in attack. Instantly -that boar is alert, ready to repel or scatter the enemy, come who may, -on two legs or four. - -[Illustration: HOOPOES - -On the lawn at Jerez, March 19, 1910.] - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -ANDALUCIA AND ITS BIG GAME (_Continued_) - -WILD-BOAR - - -From one's earliest days the wild-boar has been invested with a sort of -halo of romance, identified in youthful mind with grim courage and brute -strength. Perhaps his grisly front, the vicious bloodshot eyes, savage -snorts, and generally malignant demeanour, lend substance to such idea. -But even among adults there exists in the popular mind a strange mixture -of misconception as between big game and dangerous game--to hundreds the -terms are synonymous. Thus a lady, inspecting our trophies, exclaimed, -"Oh, Mr.----, aren't these beasts very treacherous?" which almost -provoked the reply, "You see, we are even more treacherous!" - -In sober truth, nevertheless, a big old boar when held up at bay, or -charging in headlong rushes upon the dogs, his wicked eyes flashing -fire, and foam flying from his jaws as tushes clash and champ, presents -as pretty a picture of brute-fury and pluck as even a world-hunter may -wish to enjoy. - -Yet among hundreds of boars that we have killed or seen killed (though -dogs are caught continually, and occasionally a horse), there has never -occurred a serious accident to the hunter, and only a few narrow -escapes. - -As an example of the latter: the keeper, while "placing" the writer -among bush-clad dunes outside the Mancha of Majada Real, mentioned that -a very big boar often frequented some heavy rush-beds on my front. -"Should the dogs give tongue to pig at that point, your Excellency will -at once run in to the function." Such were his instructions. - -[Illustration: ROOM FOR TWO] - -At the point indicated the dogs bayed unmistakably, and seizing a light -single carbine, ·303 (as there was a stretch of heavy sand to cover) I -ran in. Arriving at the covert and already close up to the music, -suddenly the "bay" broke, and I felt the bitter annoyance of being -twenty seconds too slow. I had entered by a narrow game-path, and was -still hurrying up this when I met the flying boar face to face. By -chance he had selected the same track for his retreat! As we both were -moving, and certainly not six yards apart, there was barely time to pull -off the carbine in the boar's face and throw myself back against the -wall of matted jungle on my left. Next moment the grizzly head and -curving ivories flashed past within six inches of my nose! The spring he -had given carried the boar a yard past me, and there he stopped, -stern-on, champing and grunting, both tushes visible--I could see them -in horrid projection, on either side of the snout! I had brought the -empty carbine to the "carry," so as to use it bayonet-wise, to ward the -brute off my legs; but he remained stolidly where he had stopped, and, -as may be imagined, I stood stolid too. As it proved, the bullet, -entering top of shoulder, had traversed the vitals--hence the cessation -of hostilities. A few moments later the arrival of the dogs terminated -an untoward interval. - -On another occasion at the Veta de las Conchas, amidst the lovely -_pinales_, just as the beat was concluded, there dashed from a small -thicket a troop of a dozen pig, making direct for the solitary pine -behind which the writer held guard. Passing full broadside, at thirty -yards the biggest dropped dead on the sand, and, just as the troop -disappeared in a donga, a second, it seemed, was knocked over. On the -beaters approaching I walked across to see, and there, in the hollow, -lay the second pig apparently dead enough. Having picked up my -field-glasses, cartridge-pouch, etc., I stood close by awaiting the -keeper's arrival. Three or four dogs, however, following on the spoor, -arrived first; and on their worrying the deceased, it at once sprang to -its feet, gazed for one instant, and charged direct. Never have I seen -an animal cover twenty yards more quickly! Dropping the handful of -_chismes_ aforesaid, I pulled off an unaimed cartridge in my assailant's -face and a lucky bullet struck rather below the eyes. This is not a dead -shot, but the shock at that short distance proved sufficient. - -An amusing incident, not dissimilar, occurred at Salavar. A youthful -sportsman was approaching a boar which had fallen and lay apparently -dead, when it, too, suddenly sprang up and charged. Our friend turned -and fled; but, tripping over a fallen branch, fell headlong amidst the -green rushes. There, face-downwards, he lay, preferring, as he explained -later, "to receive his wound behind rather than have his face messed -about by a boar!" Luckily the animal, on losing sight of its flying foe, -pulled up and stood, grunting surprise and disapproval. - -A similar experience befell King Alfonso XIII. in this Mancha of -Salavar, December 29, 1909. We need not tell English readers that His -Majesty proved equal to this, as to every occasion, and dropped his -adversary at arm's length. - -When one reads (as we do) descriptions of big-game hunting, a recurring -expression gives pause--that of "charging." A recent discussion in a -sporting paper turned on the question of "the best weapon for a charging -boar." Now such a thing as a "charging boar" has never, in a long -experience, occurred to the authors--that is, a boar charging -deliberately, and of its own initiative, upon human beings; and we do -not believe in the possibility of such an event. Of course should a boar -(or any other savage animal) be disabled, or in a corner, that is a -different matter--then a wild-boar will fight, and right gallantly too. - -The nearest approach to a "charge" (though it wasn't one really) -occurred at the Rincon de los Carrizos. Towards the end of the beat the -dogs ran a pig, and, seeing it was a big one, the writer followed, and -after a spin of 300 yards overtook the boar at bay in a deep water-hole. -The place was all overhung with heavy foliage and thick pines above, -giving very poor light. Though the boar's snout pointed straight towards -me about ten yards away, I imagined (wrongly) that his body stood at an -angle--about one-third broadside: hence the bullet (aimed past the ear), -splashed harmlessly in the water, and next moment the pig was coming -straight as a die, apparently meaning mischief. When within five yards, -however, he jinked sharply to right, passing full broadside, when I -killed him _á-boca-jarro_, as the phrase runs, "at the mouth of the -spout." - -[Illustration] - -That idea of "charging at large" is so splendidly romantic, and fits in -so appropriately with preconceived ideas, that we almost regret to -disturb its semi-fossilised acceptance. But, in mere fact, neither boars -nor any other wild beasts "charge" at sight--always and only excepting -elephant and rhinoceros, either of which _may_ (or may not) do so, -though previously unprovoked. It would, at least, be unwise entirely to -ignore the contingency of either of these two so acting. - -There exist, nevertheless, old and evil-tempered boars that are quite -formidable adversaries. We have many such in our Coto Doñana--boars -that, having once overmastered our hounds, practically defy us. Each of -these old solitary tuskers occupies some densely briared stronghold--it -may be but an isolated patch of jungle, scarce half an acre in extent, -or alternatively, a little sequence of similar thickets, each connected -by intervals of lighter bush. Such spots abound by the hundred, but once -the lair of our bristled friend is found, then there is work cut out for -man, horse, and hound. For long-drawn-out minutes the silence of the -wilderness re-echoes with doubly concentrated fury--frantic hound-music -mingled with lower accompaniment of sullen, savage snorts and grunts and -the champing of tusks; then a sharp crunch of breaking boughs ... and -the death-yell of a _podenco_ tells that _that_ blow has got home. But -the seat of war remains unchanged--the same rush and the same fatal -result are repeated. Presently some venturous hound may discover an -entry from behind. The enemy's flank is turned, and with a crash that -seems to shake the very earth, our boar retreats to a second stronghold -only twenty yards away. All this is occurring within arm's length; one -hears, can almost feel, the stress of mortal combat, but one sees -nothing inside the mural foliage, nor knows what moment the enemy may -sally forth. Such moments may even excite what are termed in Spanish -phrase "emotions." - -In his second "Plevna" our boar is secure, and he knows it. With rear -and flanks protected by a _revêtement_ of gnarled roots and a labyrinth -of stems, he fears nothing behind, while the furiously baying hounds on -his front he now utterly despises. Blank shots fired in the air alarm -him not, nor will Pepe Espinal--in a service of danger--succeed in -dislodging him with a _garrocha_, after a perilous climb along the -briar-matted roof. That boar is victor--master of a stricken field. - -One human resource remains, to go in _á arma blanca_--with the cold -steel. There are dashing spirits who will do this--in Spain we have seen -such. But to crawl thus, prostrate, into the dark and gloomy tunnels -that form a wild-boar's fortress, intercepted and obstructed on every -side, there to attack in single combat a savage beast, still unhurt and -in the flush of victory, pachydermatous, and whose fighting weight far -exceeds your own--well, _that_ we place in the category of pure -recklessness. Courage is a quality that all admire, though one may -wonder if it is not sometimes over-esteemed, when we find it possessed -in common, not only by very many wild-beasts, but even by savage races -of human kind--races which we regard as "lower," yet not inferior in -that cherished quality of "pluck." - -Before you crawl in there, stop to think of the annoyance the act may -cause not merely to our hunt, but possibly to a wife, otherwise to -sisters, friends, or hospital nurses, even, it may be, to an -undertaker--though he will not object. - -Once victorious over canine foes, it will be a remote chance indeed that -that boar, unless caught by mishap in some carelessly chosen lair, will -ever again show up as a mark for the fore-sight of a rifle. - -After one such rout, we remember finding our friend the Reverend Father, -who had sallied forth with us for a mild morning's shooting, perched -high up among the branches of a thorny _sabina_ (a kind of juniper), -whence we rescued him, cut and bleeding, and badly "shaken in nerve!" - -We add the following typical instances of boar-shooting:-- - -SALAVAR, _February 1, 1900_.--A lovely winter's morn, warm sun and dead -calm. The distant cries of the beaters (nigh three miles away) had just -reached my ears, when a nearer sound riveted attention--the soft patter -of hoofs upon sand. Then from the forest-slope behind appeared a -pig--big and grey--trotting through deep rushes some forty yards away. -Already the fore-sight was "touching on" its neck, when a lucky -suspicion of striped piglings following their mother arrested the ball. -Next came along a gentle hind with all her infinite grace of contour and -carriage. At twenty-five yards she faced full round, and for long -seconds we stared eye to eye. Curious it is that absolute quiescence -will puzzle the wildest of the wild! Hardly had she vanished 'midst -forest shades, than once again that muffled patter--this time an -unmistakable tusker. But, oh! what an abominable shot I made--too low, -too far back--and onwards he pursued his course. By our forest laws it -was my _deber_ (bounden duty) to follow the stricken game. All that -noontide, all the afternoon--through bush and brake, by dell and dusky -defile--patiently, persistently, did Juanillo Espinal and I follow every -twist and turn of that unending spoor. There was blood to help us at -first, none thereafter. Through the thickets of Sabinal, then back on -the left by Maë-Corra, forward through the Carrizal, thence crossing the -Corral Grande, and away into the great _pinales_ beyond--away to the -Rincon de los Carrizos, three solid leagues and a bit to spare! That was -the price of a bungled shot. - -Here at last we have tracked him to his lair. Within that sullen -fortress of the Rincon lies our wounded boar. How to get him out is a -different problem. Though wounded, he is in no way disabled, and is -ready, aye "spoiling," to put up a savage fight for his life. Having -precisely located him in a dense tangle of lentisk and briar, our single -dog, Careto, a tall, shaggy _podenco_, not unlike a deerhound, but on -smaller scale, is let go. Up a gloomy game-path he vanishes, and in a -moment fierce music startles the silent woods. The boar refused to move. -But one resource remained. We must go in to help Careto, crawling up a -briar-laced tunnel. It was horribly dark at first, and I began to think -of ... when, fortunately, the light improved, and a few yards farther in -a savage scene was enacting in quite a considerable open. Beneath its -brambled roof we could stand half upright. In its farthest corner stood -our boar at bay, a picture of sullen ferocity. Upon Juanillo's -appearance the scene changed as by magic--there was a rush and -resounding crash. Precisely what happened during the three succeeding -seconds deponent could not see, it being so gloomy, and Juanillo on my -front. Ere a cartridge could be shoved into the breech the great boar -was held up, Careto hanging on to his right ear, and Juanillo, springing -over the dog, had seized the grisly beast by both hind-legs--at the -hocks--and stepping backward, with one mighty heave flung the boar -sidelong on the earth. Next moment I had driven the knife through his -heart. - -Though the method described is regularly employed by Spanish hunters to -seize and capture a wounded or "bayed" boar--and we have seen it -executed dozens of times--yet seldom in such a spot as this, cramped in -space, handicapped by bad light and intercepting boughs and briars. It -was a dramatic scene, and a bold act that bespoke cool head and brawny -biceps. - -The head of this boar hangs on our walls to commemorate an event we are -not likely to forget. - -We remember following a wounded lynx into a similar spot--a deep -hollowed jungle. A pandemonium of savage snarling and spitting, barks -and yowls greeted our ears as we crawled in, while on reaching the -cavern the green eyes of the lynx flashed like electric lights from a -dark recess. Though one hind-leg had been broken and the other damaged -by a rifle-ball, yet she held easy mastery over five or six dogs. -Sitting bolt upright, she kept the lot at bay with sweeping half-arm -blows. Not a dog dared close, and the brave feline had to be finished -with the lance. - -MANCHA DEL MILAGRO, _February 4, 1908_.--The covert, we knew by spoor, -held a first-rate boar, and his most probable _salida_ (break-out) was -at the foot of a perpendicular sand-wall, within fifty yards of which -the writer held guard. Within brief minutes the music of the pack -corroborated what had been foretold by spoor. Twice the boar with -crashing course encircled the _mancha_ within, passing close inside my -post. Each moment I watched for his appearance at the expected point on -the right. Then, without notice or sound of broken bough, suddenly he -stood outside on the left--almost beneath the gun's muzzle--not eight -feet away. Luckily (as he stood within my firing-lines) the boar -steadfastly gazed in the opposite direction, nor did I seek by slightest -movement to attract attention to my presence. For some seconds we both -remained thus, rigid. Then with sudden decision the boar bounded off, -flying the gentle slope in front, and ere he had passed a yard clear of -the firing-line, fell dead with a bullet placed in the precise spot. - -Weight, 164 lbs. clean, and grey as a donkey. - - * * * * * - -A wounded boar should always be approached with caution. Remember he is -a powerful brute, very resolute, and furnished with quite formidable -armament, which, while life remains, he will use. One of the biggest, -after receiving a bullet slightly below and behind the heart, went -slowly on some fifty yards, when he subsided, back up, among some green -iris. Half an hour later the writer silently approached from directly -behind. At ten yards the heaving flanks showed that plenty of life -remained, and beautiful scimitar-like tushes were conspicuous enough on -either side. I therefore quietly withdrew. On a keeper presently riding -up, the boar at once dashed on a dog, flung him aside (laying open half -his ribs), and charged the horse. The latter was smartly handled and -cleared, when the boar instantly turned on me. The dash of that onset -was splendid to watch. Luckily he had a yard or two of soft bog to get -through, but it was necessary to stop him with another bullet. - -Impressive is the mental sensation aroused when any savage -wild-beast--normally the object of pursuit--suddenly turns the tables -and becomes the aggressor. The actual incident is necessarily but -momentary, yet its effect remains graven on the tablets of memory. Pity -'tis so rare. - -Again we conclude with an independent impression by J. C. C.:-- - - Never a visit to the Coto Doñana but brings some separate - experience--possibly more pleasurable in retrospect than reality! I - will instance my first interview with wild-boars. Now, of course, I - know more about them and can almost regard them with serenity; but - at that time, believe me, it was not so. That first encounter at - really close quarters occurred at the close of a long day's work. - My post was behind a twelve-inch pine on an otherwise bare hill, - the reverse slope of which dipped down to dense bamboo-thickets - just out of my sight, though close by. Within a few minutes - commenced and continued the hullabaloo of hounds. Close glued to my - pine-trunk I listened in tense excitement. Suddenly, ere I had - quite realised such possibility, there rushed into view on the - ridge, not twenty paces distant, a great shaggy grey boar. He had - dashed up the steep bank beyond and was now making direct for my - legs. This is not the confession of a nervous man, but it did occur - to me that truer safety lay in the _fork_ of my tree! but B. was - the next gun, only sixty or seventy yards away, and keenly - interested. In a moment I was myself again; but the interval had - been, to say the least, painfully enthralling. I had, of course, to - wait till the great "Havato" had crossed my "firing-lines." He - certainly saw _something_, for he paused momentarily, took rapid - counsel, and bolted past. Nerves were steady now, and once across - the line the boar had my right in the ribs, left in flank. I - actually saw blood spurt--hair fly--at each shot, yet the boar - followed on his course unmoved. Pachydermatous pig! I pondered - while reloading. Ten seconds later on my boar's sleuth follows - _Boca-Negra_, a veritable Beth Gelert. Utterly ignoring me, he - passes away into gloom and silence; but shortly I see him coming - back, blood-stained and satiated, and my self-respect returns. Ten - minutes later, a second tusker gallops along the hollow behind. Him - also my right caught fair in the ribs--only a few inches left of - the heart, yet again without visible result. The second bullet, - however, broke his spine as he ascended the sand-bank beyond, and - he fell stone dead. When the beat was over we followed No. 1. He - also lay still, 200 yards away--a pair of first-rate tuskers. - - I remember, during the gralloch, some dreadfully poor - charcoal-burners appearing on the scene to beg for food. This, of - course, was gladly conceded; but so famished were those poor - creatures that old women filled their aprons with reeking viscera, - while it was with difficulty that children could be prevented from - starting at once on raw flesh and liver. Truly it was a grievous - spectacle, and filled the homeward ride with sad reflections on the - awful hardships such poor folk are destined to endure. - -[Illustration: BOLTED PAST] - -In days of rapid change, when, in our own generation, sporting weapons -have been at least thrice utterly metamorphosed, it is unwise to be -dogmatic. Yet we may summarise our personal experience that the most -efficient weapon for all such purposes as here described is that known -as the "Paradox," or at least of the Paradox type. The old "Express -rifle" (the best in its day, less than a score of years ago, but now -mere "scrap") was also useful. But it always fell second to the Paradox, -as the latter (being really a shot-gun, equally available for small -game, snipe, duck, or geese) came up quicker to the eye for -snap-shooting with ball. - -The invention of the Paradox type of gun has practically introduced a -third style of shooting where there previously existed only two, to -wit:-- - -(1) Gun-shooting with _shot_ where any "aim" or even an apology for an -aim is fatal to modern maximum success. - -(2) Rifle-shooting proper, which must be mechanical and deliberate--the -more so, the more effective. - -(3) Thirdly, we have this new system intermediate between the -two--"gun-shooting with ball." - -Using the Paradox as a rifle, an alignment _must_ be taken; but it may -be taken as with a _gun_, and not necessarily the deliberate and -mechanical alignment essential with a rifle, properly so called. - -In short, with a Paradox, always glance along the sights. You will -nearly always find that some "refinement" of aim is required. More words -are useless. - -One word as to the "forward allowance" needed after the rough alignment -(as explained) has been effected. At short snapshot ranges none is -required. At a galloping stag at 50 yards, the sights should clear his -chest; at 100 yards, half-a-length ahead, and double that for 150 yards. -At these longer ranges one instinctively allows for "drop" by taking a -fuller sight. For standing shots, of course, the back-sights can be -used. - - -BOAR-HUNTING BY MOONLIGHT (ESTREMADURA) - -"_Caceria á la Ronda._" - -This picturesque and altogether break-neck style of hunting the boar--a -style perhaps more consonant than "driving" with popular notions of the -dash and chivalry of Spanish character--still survives in the wild -province of Estremadura. No species of sport in our experience will -compare with the _Ronda_ for danger and sheer recklessness unless it be -that of "riding lions" to a stand, as practised on British East African -plains.[16] - -Years ago we described this system of the _Ronda_ in the "Big-Game" -volumes of the Badminton Library, and here write a new account, -correcting some slight errors which had crept into the earlier article. - -This sport is practised by moonlight at that period of the autumn called -the _Montanera_, when acorns and chestnuts fall from the trees, and -when droves of domestic swine are turned loose into the woods to feed on -these wild fruits. At that date the wild-boars also are in the habit of -descending from the adjacent sierras, and wander far and wide over the -wooded plains in search of that favourite food. - -When the acorns fall thus and ripe chestnuts strew the ground in these -magnificent Estremenian forests, the young bloods of the district -assemble to await the arrival of the boars upon the lower ground. Two -kinds of dog are employed: the ordinary _podencos_, which run free; and -the _alanos_, a breed of rough-haired "seizers," crossed between -bull-dog and mastiff--these latter being held in leash. - -Sallying forth at midnight, so soon as the _podencos_ give tongue, the -_alanos_ are slipped in order to "hold-up" the flying boar till the -horsemen can reach the spot. - -Then for a while hound-music frightens the darkness and shocks the -silence of the sleeping woods; there is crashing among dry forest-scrub, -a breakneck scurry of mounted men among the timber, until the furious -baying of the hounds and the noisy rush of the hunters converge towards -one dark point among the shadows, and in the half-light a great grisly -tusker dies beneath the cold steel, but not before he has written a -lasting record on the hide of some luckless hound. - -A stiff neck and bold heart are essential to these dare-devil gallops, -where each horse and horseman vie in reckless rivalry, flying through -bush and brake, and under overhung boughs difficult to distinguish amid -moon-rays intercepted by foliage above. Accidents of course occur--an -odd collar-bone or two hardly count, but what does annoy is when by -mistake some wretched beast of domestic race is found held up by the -excited pack. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -"OUR LADY OF THE DEW" - -THE PILGRIMAGE TO THE SHRINE OF NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL ROCÍO - - -Pilgrimages by the pious to distant shrines are a well-known phase in -the faith both of the Moslem and of the Romish Church, and require no -definition by us; but one that is yearly performed to a tiny and -isolated shrine not a dozen miles from our shooting-lodge of Doñana -deserves description. - -First as to its origin. Twelve hundred years ago when Arab conquerors -overran Spain much treasure of the churches, with many sacred emblems, -relics, etc., were hurriedly concealed in places of safety. But not -unnaturally, since Moorish domination extended over 700 years, all trace -or record of such hiding-places had long been lost, and it was merely by -chance and one by one that, after the Reconquest, the hidden treasures -were rediscovered. - -The story of the recovery of our Lady of the Dew is related to have -occurred in this wise. A shepherd tending his flocks in the -neighbourhood of Almonte was induced by the strangely excited barking of -his dog to force a way into the dense thickets known as La Rocina de la -Madre (a wooded swamp, famous as a breeding-place of the smaller herons, -egrets, and ibises), in the midst of which the dog led him to an ancient -hollowed tree. Here, half-hidden in the cavernous trunk, the shepherd -espied the figure of "a Virgin of rare beauty and of exquisite carving," -clothed in a tunic of what had been white linen, but now stained dull -green through centuries of exposure to the weather and dew (_rocío_). - -Overjoyed, the shepherd, bearing the Virgin on his shoulders, set out -for Almonte, distant three leagues; but being overcome by fatigue and -the weight of his burden, he lay down to rest by the way and fell -asleep. On awakening he found the Virgin had gone--she had returned to -her hollow tree. Having ascertained this, and being now filled with -fear, he proceeded alone to Almonte, where he reported his discovery. At -once the Alcalde and clergy accompanied him to the spot, and finding the -image as related, a vow was then and there solemnised that a shrine, -dedicated to N. S. del Rocío, should be erected at the very spot. - -On its being discovered that this Virgin was able to perform miracles -and to grant petitions, her fame soon spread afar, and religious fervour -waxed strong. Thus during the plague of 1649-50, the Virgin having been -removed to Almonte as a safeguard, the inhabitants of that place were -immune from the pestilence, though every other hamlet was decimated. A -second miracle was attributed to the Virgin. Hard by the shrine at Rocío -was a spring of water, but of such poor supply that ordinarily a single -man could empty it within two hours: yet during the three days of the -pilgrimage thousands of men and their horses could all assuage their -thirst. - -Owing to these manifestations devout persons endowed the Virgin of Rocío -with considerable sums of money, with which a larger shrine was built, -while sumptuous garments, laces, and embroidery, with jewelry and -precious stones, were provided for her adornment. In addition to this, -Replicas of the original effigy were made and distributed around the -villages of the neighbourhood, particularly the following:-- - - Kilos. - Palma, distant 32 - Moguer " 30 - Umbrete " 45 - Huelva " 65 - Triana " 76 - Rota " 55 - San Lucar " 45 - Villamanrique " 18 - Pilas " 23 - Almonte " 17 - Coria " 44 - -At each of these and other places, "Brotherhoods" (_Hermandades_), -affiliated to the original at Rocío, were established to guard these -effigies; and it is from these points that every Whitsuntide the various -pilgrim-fraternities journey forth across the wastes towards Rocío, each -Brotherhood bringing its own carved replica to pay its annual homage to -its carved prototype. - - * * * * * - -In the spring of 1910 the authors attended the _Fiesta_. Already, the -night before, premonitory symptoms--the tuning-up of fife and drum--had -been audible, and during the twelve-mile ride next morning fresh -contingents winding through the scrub-clad plain were constantly -sighted, all converging upon Rocío. It was not, however, till reaching -that hamlet that the full extent of the pilgrimage became apparent, and -a striking and characteristic spectacle it formed. From every point of -the compass were descried long files of white-tilted -ox-waggons--hundreds of them--slowly advancing across the flower-starred -plain; the waggons all bedecked in gala style, crammed to the last seat -with guitar-touching girls, with smiling duennas and attendant squires; -the ox-teams gaily caparisoned, and escorted by prancing cavaliers, many -with wife or daughter mounted pillion-wise behind, while younger -pilgrims challenged impromptu trials of speed--a series of minor -steeplechases. There were four-in-hand brakes, mule-teams and -donkey-carts, pious pedestrians--a motley parade enveloped in clouds of -dust and noise, but all in perfect order. - -The following quaint description was written down for us by a Spanish -friend who accompanied us:-- - - It is at the entry of the various processions that the most - striking and picturesque effects are produced by the cavalcade. - Here one sees displayed the grace and ability of the Amazon--the - robust and comely Andalucian maiden, carried _á ancas_ - (pillion-wise) at the back of his saddle by gallant cavalier proud - of his gentle companion, and exhibiting to advantage his skill in - horsemanship. The noble steed, conscious of its onerous part, - carries the double burden with care and spirit, being trained to - curvet and rear in all the bravery of mediæval and Saracenic age. - -About 4 P.M., while the converging caravans were yet a mile or so -afield, all halted, each to organise its own procession, and each headed -by the waggon bearing its own Virgin bedecked in gorgeous apparels of -silk and silver braid. Then to the accompaniment of bands and -bell-ringing, hand-clapping and castanets, drum, tambourine, and guitar, -with flags flying and steeds curvetting, this singular combination of -religious rite with musical fantasia resumed its advance into the -village. - -Despite the dust and crush not a unit but held its assigned position, -and thus--one long procession succeeding another--the whole concourse -filed into the village, crossed its narrow green, and sought the shrine -where, within the open doors, the Virgin of Rocío, removed from the -altar, was placed to receive the homage of the Brotherhoods. As each -Replica reached the spot, its bearers halted and knelt, while expert -drivers even made their ox-teams kneel down in submission before the -"Queen of Heaven and Earth." There was but a moment's delay, nor did -castanets and song cease for an instant. Later in the evening came the -processions of the Rosario, when each of the visiting Brotherhoods make -a ceremonious call upon the Senior Brother--that is, the Hermit of -Rocío--after which each confraternity, with less ceremony but more -joviality, visited the camps of the others. This last was accompanied by -bands, massed choirs, and _fireworks_. Then the festival resolved -itself, so far as we could judge, into a purely secular -affair--feasting, merry-making, dancing, till far on in the night. - -Rain had set in at dusk and was now falling fast. Rocío is but a tiny -hamlet--say two score of humble cots--yet to-night 6000 people occupied -it, the womenfolk sleeping inside their canvas-tilted ox-waggons, the -men lying promiscuously on the ground beneath. - -Sunday is occupied with religious ceremonies, beginning with High Mass. -These we will not attempt to describe--nor could we if we would. The -Spanish friend who at our request jotted down some notes on the _Fiesta_ -uses the following expressions:-- - - The days of the Rocío are days of expansion, merry-making, - animation. Never, throughout the festival, ceases the laughter of - joyous voices, the clang of the castanets, the melody of guitar and - tambourine. Dances, song, and music, with jovial intercourse and - good fellowship, all unite to preserve unflagging the rejoicing - which is cultivated at that beautiful spot. At this festival many - traders assist with different installations, including jewellers in - the porch of the church, vendors of medallions, photographs, - coloured ribbons, and other articles dedicated to the patroness of - a festival which is well worthy a visit for its originality and - bewitchment. - -On the Monday morning, after joint attendance of all the Brotherhoods at -Mass, followed by a sermon, the image of the Virgin is formally replaced -upon the altar (the feet resting upon the same hollow trunk in which the -figure was first found), then the processions are reformed and the long -homeward journey to their respective destinations begins. - -Although many thousands of people yearly attend this festival, all -entirely uncontrolled by any authority, yet quarrels and disturbance are -unknown. The mere cry of "viva la Virgen" suffices at once to appease -incipient angers, should such arise. Thousands of horses and donkeys, -moreover, are allowed to roam about untended and unguarded, as there is -no danger of their being stolen. - - * * * * * - -The Virgin of the Rocío, it appears, specialises in accidents, and many -votive pictures hung within the shrine illustrate the nature of her -miracles. One man is depicted falling headlong from a fifth-storey -window, another from a lofty pine, a third drowning in a torrential -flood; a lady is thrown by a mule, another run over by a cart, a lad -caught by an infuriated bull; a beatific-looking person stands harmless -amidst fiery forked lightning--apparently enjoying it. From all these -and other appalling forms of death, the survivors, having been saved by -the Virgin's miraculous interposition, have piously contributed -pictorial evidence of the various occurrences. - -A somewhat gruesome relic records the incident that a mother having -vowed that should her daughter be restored to life, she should walk to -Rocío in her grave-clothes--and there the said clothes lie as evidence -of that miracle. - -The festival above described is celebrated each spring at Pentecost. -There is, however, a second yearly pilgrimage into Rocío which -originated in this wise. - -In 1810 when the French occupied this country, the village of Almonte -was held by two troops of cavalry who were engaged in impressing -recruits from among the neighbouring peasantry. These naturally objected -to serve the enemy, but many were terrorised into obedience. Bolder -spirits there were, however, and these, to the number of thirty-six, -resolved to strike a blow for freedom. Having assembled in the thick -woods outside Almonte, at two o'clock one afternoon they fell upon the -unsuspecting French and, ere these could defend themselves, many were -killed and others made prisoners. Finally the French commander was shot -dead on his own doorstep. "The villagers of Almonte were horrified at -what had occurred, for, although they had had no hand in the matter, -they felt sure they would have to bear the blame"--so runs a Spanish -account. - -The few French troopers who had escaped fled to Seville, reported the -affair, and (wrongly) incriminated the villagers of Almonte--precisely -as those worthies had foreseen. The General commanding at Seville -ordered that Almonte should be razed to the ground and its inhabitants -beheaded--that being the penalty decreed by Murat for any shedding of -French blood. A detachment of dragoons, despatched to Almonte, had -already taken prisoner the mayor, the priests, and all the chief -inhabitants preparatory to their execution. In this grave situation they -bethought themselves to pray to the Virgin of Rocío, promising that if -she would rescue them from their deadly peril, they would institute a -new pilgrimage to her shrine for thanksgiving. - -Already the detachment of French soldiers detailed to carry out the -executions had reached Pilas, a village within six leagues of Almonte, -when, by mere coincidence, a handful of Spanish troops flung themselves -against the French positions at Seville. The French, thinking that their -assailants must be the forerunners of a larger army, hurriedly recalled -all their outposts, including those commissioned to destroy Almonte! - -Thus the wretched Alcalde and his fellow-prisoners were saved; for, -their innocence of the "crime" being presently established, the town was -let off with a fine. Since then, in accordance with the promise made 100 -years ago, the whole of Almonte repairs every 7th of August to the -shrine of Nuestra Señora del Rocío. - -[Illustration: PRAYING MANTIS (_Mantis religiosa_)] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE MARISMAS OF GUADALQUIVÍR - -THE DELTA - - -From Seville to the Atlantic the great river Guadalquivír pursues its -course through seventy miles of alluvial mud-flats entirely of its own -construction. The whole of this viewless waste (in winter largely -submerged) is technically termed the marisma; but its upper regions, -slightly higher-lying, have proved amenable to a limited dominion of -man, and nowadays comprise (besides some rich corn-lands) broad -pasturages devoted to grazing, and which yield _Toros bravos_, that is, -fighting-bulls of breeds celebrated throughout Spain, as providing the -popular champions of the Plaza. - -[Illustration: AVOCET] - -It is not of these developed regions that we treat, but of the Lower -Delta, which still remains a wilderness, and must for centuries remain -so--a vast area of semi-tidal saline ooze and marsh, extending over some -forty or fifty miles in length, and spreading out laterally to untold -leagues on either side of the river. - -This Lower Delta, the marisma proper, while it varies here and there by -a few inches in elevation, is practically a uniform dead-level of -alluvial mud, only broken by _vetas_, or low grass-grown ridges seldom -rising more than a foot or two above the flat, and which vary in extent -from a few yards to hundreds of acres. The precise geological cause of -these _vetas_ we know not; but the calcareous matter of which they are -composed--the debris of myriad disintegrated sea-shells, mostly -bivalves--proves that the ocean at an earlier period held sway, till -gradually driven backwards by the torrents of alluvial matter carried -down by the river, and finally forced behind the vast sand-barrier now -known as the Coto Doñana--the buffer called into being whilst age-long -struggles raged between these two opposing forces. The fact is further -evidenced by the salt crust which yearly forms on the surface of the -lower marisma when the summer sun has evaporated its waters. - -In summer the marisma is practically a sun-scorched mud-flat; in winter -a shallow inland sea, with the _vetas_ standing out like islands. - -There are, as already stated, slight local variations in elevation. -Naturally the lower-lying areas are the first to retain moisture so soon -as the long torrid summer has passed away and autumn rains begin. -Speedily these become shallow lagoons, termed _lucios_--similar, we -imagine, to the _jheels_ of India--and a welcome haven they afford to -the advance-guard of immigrant wildfowl from the north. - -Plant-life in the marismas is regulated by the relative saltness of the -soil. In the deeper _lucios_ no vegetation can subsist; but where the -level rises, though but a few inches, and the ground is less saline, the -hardy samphire (in Spanish, _armajo_) appears, covering with its small -isolated bushes vast stretches of the lower marisma. - -The _armajo_, which is formed of a congeries of fleshy twigs, leafless, -and jointed more like the marine _algae_ than a land-plant, belongs to -three species as follows:-- - - (2) _Arthraenimum fruticosum_} - } in Spanish, _Armajo_. - (3) _Suaeda fruticosa_ } - -All three belong to the natural order _Chenopodiaceae_ (or "Goose-foot" -family). - -The _armajo_ is the typical plant of the marisma, flourishing even where -there is a considerable percentage of salt in the soil. This aquatic -shrub increases most in dry seasons, a series of wet winters having a -disastrous effect on its growth. The _Sapina_, above mentioned, has a -curious effect when eaten by mares (which is often the case when other -food is scarce) of inducing a form of intoxication from which many die. -Indeed, the deaths from _Ensapinadas_ represent a serious loss to -horse-breeders whose mares are sent to graze in the marismas. Cattle are -not affected. - -[Illustration: SAMPHIRE] - -Formerly the _Sapina_ possessed a commercial value, being used (owing to -its alkaline qualities) in the manufacture of soap. Nowadays it is -replaced by other chemicals. - -Here and there, owing to some imperceptible gradient, the marisma is -traversed by broad channels called _caños_, where, by reason of the -water having a definite flow, the soil has become less saline. The -_armajo_ at such spots becomes scarce or disappears altogether, its -place being taken by quite different plants, namely: Spear-grass -(_Cyperus_), _Candilejo_, _Bayunco_, the English names of which we do -not know. - -Efforts have been made from time to time to reclaim and utilise portions -of the marisma by draining the water to the river; but failure has -invariably resulted for the following reasons: - -(1) The intense saltness of the soil. - -(2) That the marisma lies largely on a lower level than the river banks. - -(3) The river being tidal, its water is salt or brackish. - -There are vast areas of far better land in Spain which might be -reclaimed with certainty and at infinitely less cost. - -The only human inhabitants of the marisma are a few herdsmen whose -reed-built huts are scattered on remote _vetas_. There are also the -professional wildfowlers with their _cabresto_-ponies; but this class is -disappearing as, bit by bit, the system of "preservation" extends over -the wastes. Though the climate is healthy enough except for a period -just preceding the autumn rains, yet our keepers and most of those who -live here permanently are terrible sufferers from malaria. Quinine, they -tell us, costs as much as bread in the family economy. - -We quote the following impression from _Wild Spain_, p. 78:-- - -[Illustration: GUNNING-PUNT IN THE MARISMA. - -(NOTE THE HALF-SUBMERGED SAMPHIRE-BUSHES.)] - -[Illustration: WILD-GOOSE SHOOTING ON THE SANDHILLS. - -(NOTE TIN DECOYS, ALSO SOME NATURAL GEESE.)] - - The utter loneliness and desolation of the middle marismas call - forth sensations one does not forget. Hour after hour one pushes - forward across a flooded plain only to bring within view more - and yet more vistas of watery waste and endless horizons of tawny - water. On a low islet at farthest distance stand a herd of - cattle--mere points in space; but these, too, partake of the - general wildness and splash off at a gallop while yet a mile away. - Even the wild-bred horses and ponies of the marisma revert to an - aboriginal anthropophobia, and become as shy and timid as the - _ferae naturae_ themselves. After long days in this monotony, - wearied eyes at length rejoice at a vision of trees--a dark-green - pine-grove casting grateful shade on scorching sands beneath. To - that oasis we direct our course, but it proves a fraud, one of - nature's cruel mockeries--a mirage. Not a tree grows on that spot, - or within leagues of it, nor has done for ages--perhaps since time - began. - -Such is the physical character of the marisma, so far as we can describe -it. The general landscape in winter is decidedly dreary and somewhat -deceptive, since the vast areas of brown _armajos_ lend an appearance of -dry land where none exists, since those plants are growing in, say, a -foot or two of water--"a floating forest paints the wave." The monotony -is broken at intervals by the reed-fringed _caños_, or sluggish -channels, and by the _lucios_, big and little--the latter partially -sprinkled with _armajo_-growth, the bigger sheets open water, save that, -as a rule, their surface is carpeted with wildfowl. - -Should our attempted description read vague, we may plead that there is -nothing tangible to describe in a wilderness devoid of salient feature. -Nor can we liken it with any other spot, for nowhere on earth have we -met with a region like this--nominally dry all summer and inundated all -winter, yet subject to such infinite variation according to varying -seasons. It is not, however, the marisma itself that during all these -years has absorbed our interest and energies--no, that dreary zone would -offer but little attraction were it not for its feathered inhabitants. -These, the winter wildfowl, challenge the world to afford such display -of winged and web-footed folk, and it is these we now endeavour to -describe. - -By mid-September, as a rule, the first signs of the approaching invasion -of north-bred wildfowl become apparent. But if, as often happens, the -long summer drought yet remains unbroken, these earlier arrivals, -finding the marisma untenable, are constrained to take to the river, or -to pass on into Africa. - -Should the dry weather extend into October, the only ducks to remain -permanently in any great numbers are the teal, the few big ducks then -shot being either immature or in poor condition, from which it may be -inferred that the main bodies of all species have passed on to more -congenial regions. - -About the 25th September the first greylag geese appear. These are not -affected by the scarcity of water in any such degree as ducks, since -they only need to drink twice a day, morning and evening, and make shift -to subsist by digging up the bulb-like roots of the spear-grass with -their powerful bills. - -[Illustration: GREYLAG GEESE] - -But so soon as autumn rains have fallen, and the whole marisma has -become supplied with "new water," it at once fills up with -wildfowl--ducks and geese--in such variety and prodigious quantities as -we endeavour to describe in the following sketches. - - -WILDFOWL--'TWIXT CUP AND LIP - -Wildfowl beyond all the rest of animated nature lend themselves to -spectacular display. For their enormous aggregations (due as much to -concentration within restricted haunts, as to gregarious instinct, and -to both these causes combined) are always openly visible and conspicuous -inasmuch as those haunts are, in all lands, confined to shallow water -and level marsh devoid of cover or concealment. - -Thus, wherever they congregate in their thousands and tens of thousands, -wildfowl are always in view--that is, to those who seek them out in -their solitudes. This last, however, is an important proviso. For the -haunts aforesaid are precisely those areas of the earth's surface which -are the most repugnant to man, and least suited to his existence. - -In crowded England there survive but few of those dreary estuaries -where miles of oozy mud-flats separate sea and land, treacherous of -foot-hold, exposed to tide-ways and to every gale that blows. Such only -are the haunts of British wildfowl, though how many men in a million -have ever seen them? To wilder Spain, with its 50 per cent of waste, and -its vast irreclaimed marismas, come the web-footed race in quantities -undreamt at home. - -We have before attempted to describe such scenes, though a fear that we -might be discredited oft half paralysed the pen. An American critic of -our former book remarked that it "left the gaping reader with a feeling -that he had not been told half." That lurking fear could not be better -explained. A dread of Munchausenism verily gives pause in writing even -of what one has seen again and again, raising doubts of one's own -eyesight and of the pencilled notes that, year after year, we had -scrupulously written down on the spot. - -The Baetican marisma has afforded many of those scenes of wild-life -that, for the reason stated, were before but half-described. With fuller -experience we return to the subject, though daring not entirely to -satisfy our trans-Atlantic friend. - -The winter of 1896 provided such an occasion. It was on the 26th of -November that, under summer conditions, we rode out, where in other -years we have sailed, across what should have been water, but was now a -calcined plain. - -November was nearly past; autumn had given place to winter, yet not a -drop of rain had fallen. Since the scorching days of July the fountains -of heaven had been stayed, and now the winter wildfowl from the north -had poured in only to find the marisma as hard and arid as the deserts -of Arabia Petraea. Instinct was at fault. True, each to their appointed -seasons, had come, the dark clouds of pintail, teal, and wigeon, the -long skeins of grey geese. Where in other years they had revelled in -shallows rich in aquatic vegetation, now the travellers find instead -nought but torrid plains devoid of all that is attractive to the tastes -of their tribe. For the parched soil, whose life-blood has been drained -by the heats of the summer solstice, whose plant-life is burnt up, has -remained panting all the autumn through for that precious moisture that -still comes not. The carcases of horses and cattle, that have died from -thirst and lack of pasturage, strew the plains; the winter-sown wheat is -dead ere germination is complete. - -In such years of drought many of the newly arrived wildfowl, especially -pintails, pass on southwards (into Africa), not to return till February. -The remainder crowd into the few places where the precious -element--water--still exists. Such are the rare pools that are fed from -quicksands (_nuclés_) or permanent land-springs (_ojos_) and a few of -the larger and deeper _lucios_ of the marisma. - -Riding through stretches of shrivelled samphire we frequently spring -deer, driven out here, miles from their forest-haunts, by the eager -search for water. - -[Illustration: WHITE-EYED POCHARD (_Fuligula nyroca_)] - -Approaching the first of the great _lucios_, or permanent pools, a -wondrous sight lay before our eyes. This water might extend for three or -four miles, but was literally concealed by the crowds of flamingoes that -covered its surface. For a moment it was difficult to believe that those -pink and white leagues would really be all composed of living creatures. -Their identity, however, became clear enough when, within 600 yards, we -could distinguish the scattered outposts gradually concentrating upon -the solid ranks beyond. Disbelieve it if you will, but four fairly sane -Englishmen estimated that crowd, when a rifle-shot set them on wing, to -exceed ten thousand units--by how much, we decline to guess. - -The nearer shores, with every creek and channel, were darkened by -masses of ducks, huddled together like dusky islets; while further away -several army-corps of geese were striving, with sonorous gabble, to tear -up tuberous roots of spear-grass (_castañuela_) from sun-baked mud. - -It was a rifle-shot at these last that finally set the whole host on -wing--an indescribable spectacle, hurrying hordes everywhere outflanked -by the glinting black and pink glamour of flamingoes. Then the -noise--the reverberating roar of wings, blending with a babel of croaks -and gabblings, whistles and querulous pipes, punctuated by shriller -bi-tones, ... we give that up. - -[Illustration: "FLAMINGOES OVER"] - -A long ride in prospect precluded serious operations to-night, but -towards dusk we lined out our four guns, and in half an hour loaded up -the panniers of the carrier-ponies with nearly three score ducks and -geese. - -An hour before the morning's dawn we were in position to await the -earliest geese. Experience had taught the chief flight-lines, and these, -over many miles of marsh, were commanded by lines of sunken tubs. These, -however, the exceptional conditions had rendered temporarily useless. -Our tubs lay miles from water; hence each man had to hide as best he -could, prostrate behind rush-tuft or twelve-inch samphire. - -This morning, however, the greylags flew wide and scattered, in strange -contrast with their customary regularity. We noticed the change, but -knew not the cause. The geese did. The barometer during the night -(unnoticed by us at 4 A.M.) had gone down half an inch, and already, as -we assembled for breakfast at ten o'clock, rain was beginning to -fall--the first rain since the spring! The wind, which for weeks had -remained "nailed to the North--_norte clavado_," in Spanish phrase--flew -to all airts, and a change was at hand. By eleven there burst what the -Spanish well name a _tormenta_; lightning flashed from a darkened sky, -while thunder rolled overhead, and rain drove horizontal on a living -hurricane. An hour later the heavens cleared, and the sun was shining as -before. That short and sudden storm, however, had marked an epoch. The -whole conditions of bird-life in the marisma had been revolutionised -within a couple of hours. - -[Illustration: POCHARD (_Fuligula ferina_)] - -In other years, under such conditions as this morning had promised, we -have records of sixty and eighty greylags brought to bag, and it was -with such anticipation that we had set out to-day. The result totalled -but a quarter of such numbers. - -Ducks came next in our programme, and the writer, being the last gun by -lot, had several miles to ride to his remote post at El Hondón. The -scenes in bird-life through which we rode amazed even accustomed eyes. -At intervals as we advanced across mud-flats clad in low growth of rush -and samphire, rose for a mile across our front such crowds of wigeon and -teal that the landscape ahead appeared a quivering horizon of wings that -shimmered like a heat-haze. - -Crouching behind a low breastwork, before me lay a five-acre pool which -no amount of firing ever kept quite clear of swimming forms, so fast did -thirsty duck, teal, and geese keep dropping in, since behind for twenty -leagues stretched waterless plain. - -Merely to make a bag under such conditions means taking every chance, -firing away till barrels grow too hot to hold. Here, however, that -nature-love that overrides even a fowler's keenness stepped in. With -half the wildfowl of Europe flashing, wheeling, and alighting within -view--many, one fondly imagined, likely to be of supreme interest--the -writer cannot personally go on taking single mallards, teal, or wigeon, -one after another in superb but almost monotonous rapidity. For the -moment, in fact, the naturalist supplants the gunner. True, this may be -sacrificing the mutton to the shadow, and this afternoon no special -prize rewarded self-denial in letting pass many a tempting chance. - -[Illustration] - -For gratifying indeed to fowler's pride it is to pull down in falling -heap the smart pintails and brilliant shovelers, to bring off a -right-and-left at geese, though, it may be, one had first to let a cloud -of wigeon pass the silent muzzle. Such is individual taste, nor will the -memory of that afternoon ever fade, although my score, when at 3.30 P.M. -I was recalled, only totalled up to seventy-four ducks and four greylag -geese. - -The recall was imperative, and I obeyed, though not without hesitation -and doubt. Could earth provide a better place? "Yes," replies Vasquez, -"in one hour the geese will be streaming in clouds up the Algaidilla and -Caño Juncero. Come! there's no time to lose." Within an hour we had -reached the spot. The water was four inches deep, with low cover of -rushes. The revolving stool stood too high, so I knelt in the shallow, -and within three minutes the first squad of geese came in quite -straight. One I took kneeling, but had to jump for the second. Just as -No. 2 collapsed, No. 1 caught me full amidships, knocking me sidelong -and, rebounding, upset the stool and the bag of cartridges thereon! A -nice mess, occurring at the very outset of one of those ambrosial -half-hours seldom realised outside of dreams. Quickly I dried the -cartridges as well as circumstances would admit, for pack after pack of -geese hurled themselves gaggling and honking right in my face, and -during the few brief minutes of the southern twilight, I reckoned I had -twenty-three down--seven right-and-lefts--though in the darkness only -seventeen could be gathered, the winged all necessarily escaping. - -[Illustration: WILD GEESE ALIGHTING AT FIFTEEN YARDS - -(Take the upper pair right-and-left, leaving the nearer geese for second -gun.)] - -Within thirty-six hours we had secured sixty-two geese and over two -hundred ducks. For four guns, under favouring conditions, this would -have been no very special result; but to-day the fowl were all alert and -restless at the prospect of a coming change. The keynote had already -been sounded that first day, when the _tormenta_ burst, and when the -long drought ended on the very morning we had selected to commence our -operations. Had the weather held for a single week ... but why dwell on -it? The point must be clear enough. No more geese were got that year. -Let us conclude with a few ornithological observations made during -succeeding days. On November 30, after three days of stormy weather, -with tremendous bursts of rainfall, there commenced one of the most -remarkable bird-migrations we have witnessed. From early morn till night -(and all the following day) cloud upon cloud of ducks kept streaming -overhead from the westward. Frequently a score of packs would be in view -at once--never were the heavens clear; and all coming from precisely the -same direction and travelling in parallel lines to the east. Their -course seemed to indicate that these migrants (avoiding the overland -route across Spain which would involve passing over her great -cordilleras, say 10,000 feet) had travelled south by the coast-line as -far as the latitude of Cape St. Vincent. Thence they "hauled their wind" -and bore up on an easterly course which brought them direct into the -great marismas of the Guadalquivir.[17] - - -LAS NUEVAS - -We had acquired this waste of marsh and mud-flat and were keen to "go -and possess it." Initial difficulties arose to confront us. Though the -whole region now belonged to us (_i.e._ the rights of chase, and it -boasts but little other value) yet our possession was to be met by some -opposition. - -It was all very natural, delightfully human, and despite the annoyance, -captivated our sympathy. Local fowlers, accustomed from immemorial times -to earn a scant living by shooting for market the wildfowl of the -wilderness, resented this acquisition of exclusive rights. Our scattered -guards were overawed, our reed-built huts were burned, and threats -reached us--not to mention a casual bullet or two ricochetting in wild -bounds across the watery waste. That one quality, however, above -mentioned--sympathy--is the passport to Spanish hearts, and thereby, -together with courtesy and fair-dealing, the erstwhile insurgents in -brief time became the best of friends. - -For the moment, however, we found ourselves hutless, and constrained to -encamp two leagues away on the distant _terra firma_, this involving an -extra couple of hours' work in the small dark hours. - -As before 4 A.M. we rode, beneath a pouring rain, "path-finding," in -blind darkness across slimy ooze and shallow--not to mention deeper -channels that reached to the girths,--a nightjar circled round our -cavalcade--true, a very small event, but recorded because it is quite -against the rules for a nightjar to be here in December. Only three guns -braved this adventure, and by 5.45 we occupied each his allotted post. -These could not be called comfortable, since the positions in which we -had to spend the next six or eight hours were quite six inches deep in -water, and the only covert a circle of samphire-bush barely a foot above -water-level--that being the utmost height allowed by the keen sight of -flighting fowl. Each man had an armful of cut brushwood to kneel on, -besides another bundle on which cartridge-bags might be supported clear -of the water.[18] - -Rain descended in sheets. Before it was fully light--indeed the average -human being of diurnal habit would probably swear it was still quite -dark--the swish of wings overhead foretold the coming day. Then with a -roar the whole marisma bursts into life as though by clock-work. -Thrice-a-minute, and oftener, sped bunches of duck right in one's face, -at times a hurricane of wings. Not seeing them till quite close in, but -one barrel can be emptied each time, yet soon a score of beautiful -pintail and wigeon formed the basis of a pile. - -Behind, in the gloom to westward, a sense of movement has developed. At -first it might have been but the drift of night-clouds, but as light -broadens, form and colour evolve and the phenomenon shapes itself into -vast bodies of flamingoes, sprawling, as it were, on the face of heaven -in writhing, scintillating confusion. After infinite evolutions, the -amorphous mass resolves itself into order; files and marshalled -phalanxes serry the sky--those weird wildfowl, each with some six foot -of rigid extension, advancing direct upon our posts. Their armies have -spent the night on the broad _lucios_ of El Desierto, and now head away -towards feeding-grounds outside. Arrayed line beyond line in echelon, -ten thousand pinions beat, in unison--beat in short, sharp strokes from -the elbow. The fantasy of form amazes; the flash of contrasted colour as -the first sun-rays strike on black, white, and vermilion. One may have -witnessed this spectacle a score of times, yet never does it pall or -leave one without a sense that here nature has treated us to one of her -wildest creations. No rude sketch of ours--possibly not the best that -art can produce--will ever convey the effect of these quaint forms in -vast moving agglomeration. Long after they have vanished in space, one -remains entranced with the glamour of the scene. - -[Illustration: WILDFOWL IN THE MARISMA] - -The flamingoes have passed away, but the lightening skies are still -streaked and serried. Most numerous are the wigeon, millions of them in -hurrying phalanxes, white specks flanged with dark wings, too well known -to describe; pintails (this wet winter hardly less numerous), readily -distinguishable by their longer build and stately grace of flight; the -dark heads and snowy necks of the drakes conspicuous afar. The -arrow-like course of the shoveler, along with his vibrant wing-beats and -incessant call, "zook, zook, tsook, tsook," identify that species; while -gadwall, more sombre in tone than the mallards, "talk" in distinctive -style; and mob-like masses of teal and marbled ducks sweep along the -open channels. Then there are the diving-ducks with harsh corvine -croaks, pochards, ferruginous, and tufts, just as swift as the rest, -though of apparently more laboured flight; occasionally a string of -shelducks, conspicuous by size and contrasted colouring, and among them -all, swing along with leisurely wing-beats but equal speed, wedge-like -skeins of great grey-geese. A single morning's bag may include seven or -eight different species, sometimes a dozen. - -Now the rim of the sun shows over the distant sierra, and one begins to -see one's environment and to realise what Las Nuevas is like. Of Mother -Earth as one normally conceives it not a particle is in sight, beyond -such low reeds and miles of samphire-tops as break the watery surface, -and a vista of this extends to the horizon. - -[Illustration] - -Behind our positions stretched a _lucio_ of open water. Upon this, a -mile away, stood an army of flamingoes, whose croaks and gabblings -filled the still air. During a quiescent interval I examined these with -binoculars. Thereupon I discovered that the whole _lucio_ around them -and stretching away, say a league in length, was carpeted with legions -of duck, which had not been noticed with the naked eye. The discovery -explained also a resonant reverberation that, at recurring intervals, I -had noticed all the morning, and which I had attributed to the gallant -Cervera's squadron at quick-firing gun-practice away in Cádiz Bay. Now I -saw the cause; it was due to the duck-hawks and birds-of-prey! Twice -within ten minutes a swooping marsh-harrier aroused that host on -wing--or, say, half-a-mile of them--to fly in terror; but only to settle -a few hundred yards farther away. The harrier's hope was clearly to -find a wounded bird among the crowd--the massed multitude none dared to -tackle. - -It is nine o'clock, the pile of dead has mounted up, but the "flight" is -slackening. Already I see our mounted keepers (who have hitherto stood -grouped on an islet two miles away) separate and ride forth to set the -ducks once more in motion. At this precise moment one remembers two -things--both that wretched breakfast at 3 A.M., and the luxuries that -lie at hand, almost awash among the reeds. Ducks pass by unscathed for a -full half-hour, while such quiet reigns in "No. 1" that tawny -water-shrews climb confidingly up the reeds of my screen. - -Meanwhile the efforts of our drivers were becoming apparent in a renewal -of flighting ducks; but we would here emphasise the fact that these -second and artificially-produced flights are never so effective from a -fowler's point of view as the earlier, natural movements of the game. -For the ducks thus disturbed come, as the Spanish keepers put it, -_obligados_ and not of their own free-will. Hence they all pass -high--many far above gunshot--and not even the attraction that our fleet -of "decoys" (for we have now stuck up the whole of the morning's spoils -to deceive their fellows) will induce more than a limited proportion, -and those only the smaller bands, to descend from their aërial altitude. - -The "movement" of these masses nevertheless affords another of those -spectacular displays that we must at least try to describe. For though -none of their sky-high armies will pass within gunshot--or ten -gunshots--yet one cannot but be struck with amazement when the whole -vault of heaven above presents a quivering vision of wings--shaded, -seamed, streaked, and spotted from zenith to horizon. Then the -multiplied pulsation of wings is distinctly perceptible--a singular -sensation. One remembers it when, perhaps an hour later, you become -conscious of its recurrence. But now the heavens are clear! Not a single -flight crosses the sky--not one, that is, within sight. But up above, -beyond the limits of human vision, there pass unseen hosts, and _theirs_ -is that pulsation you feel. - -The passage of these sky-scrapers is actuated by no puny manoeuvre of -ours. They are travellers on through-routes. Perhaps the last land (or -water) they touched was Dutch or Danish; and they will next alight -(within an hour) in Africa. Already at their altitude they can see, -spread out, as it were, at their feet, the marshes and meres of Morocco. - -Although nominally describing that first day in Las Nuevas (and, so far -as facts go, adhering rigidly thereto), yet we are endeavouring to -concentrate in fewest words the actual lessons of many subsequent years -of practical experience. Thus the pick-up on that day (though it may -have numbered a couple of hundred ducks) we refrain from recording in -this attempt to convey the concrete while avoiding detail. - -Back again, splash, splosh, through mud and mire, two hours' ride to our -camp-fire--a picturesque scene with our marsh-bred friends gathered -round, their tawny faces lurid in the firelight as flames shoot upwards -and pine-cones crack like pistol-shots; and over the embers hang a score -of teal each impaled on a supple bough. Away beyond there loom like -spectres our horses tethered when silvery moonlight glances through -scattered pines. Things would have been pleasant indeed had the rain but -stopped occasionally. True we had our tents; but our men slept in the -open, each rolled in his cloak, beneath some sheltering bush. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -WILDFOWL-SHOOTING IN THE MARISMA - -ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE - - -Vast as their aggregations may be, yet wildfowl do not -necessarily--merely by virtue of numbers--afford any sort of certainty -to the modern fowler. Half-a-million may be in view day by day, but in -situations or under conditions where scarce half-a-score can be killed. -This elementary feature is never appreciated by the uninitiated, nor -probably ever will be since Hawker's terse and trenchant prologue failed -to fix it.[19] - -What "the Colonel" wrote a century ago stands equally good to-day; and -_mutatis mutandis_ will probably stand good a century hence. - -[Illustration] - -Long before the authors had appeared on the scene with -breech-loaders--even before the epoch of Hawker with his copper-caps and -detonators--the Spanish fowlers of the marisma had already devised means -of their own whereby the swarming wildfowl could be secured by -wholesale. As a market venture, their system of a stalking-horse (called -a _cabresto_) was deadly in the extreme and interesting to boot, -affording unique opportunity of closely approaching massed wildfowl -while still unconscious of danger. We have spent delightful days -crouching behind these shaggy ponies, and describe the method later. But -this is not a style that at all subserves the aspirations of the modern -gunner, and we here study the problem from his point of view. - -The essence of success lies in ascertaining precisely the exact areas -where fowl in quantity are "strongly haunted," by day and night, -together with their regular lines of flight thence and thereto. -Obviously such exact knowledge in these vast marismas, devoid of -landmarks, demands careful observation, and it must be remembered that -these things change with every change of weather and water. Having -located such well-frequented resorts or flight-lines, the degree of -success will yet depend on the _strength_ of the "haunt." It may happen -(despite all care) that the partiality of the fowl for that special spot -or route is merely superficial and evanescent. A dozen shots and they -have cleared out, or altered their course. In the reverse case, so -strong may be their "haunt" that no amount of disturbance entirely -drives them away, and even those that have already been scared by the -sound of shooting will yet return again and again. - - * * * * * - -By night ducks feed in the slobby shallows and oozes, but concealed by -the samphire-growth which flourishes in such places. Hence the use of -the stancheon-gun is not here available as in the case of bare, -plant-free, tidal flats at home and elsewhere. - -In the dusk the ducks have arrived at these feeding-grounds in quite -small trips or bunches. But as the stars pale towards the dawn, they -depart in larger detachments, often numbering hundreds in a pack. Still, -such are their enormous numbers that, even so, their shifting armies -form an almost continuous stream in the direction whither they take -their course. But where is that? That is the problem on the solution of -which the fowler's success depends. We will presume that you have so -solved it. In that case, you will have witnessed, between an hour before -sun-up and half-an-hour thereafter, as marvellous a procession as the -scheme of bird-life can afford. - -Let us follow the fowl throughout that matutinal flight. Away through -leagues of empty space they hold their course, now high in air where -vistas of brown samphire loom like land and might conceal a lurking foe, -anon lowering their flight where sporadic sheets or lanes of open water -break the tawny monotony. Beyond all this, stretching away in open -waters like an inland sea, lies a big _lucio_. That is their goal. One -by one, or in dozens and scores, the infinite detachments re-unite to -splash down upon that glassy surface. Within brief minutes the whole -expanse is darkened as with a carpet. - -[Illustration: THE STANCHEON-GUN IN THE MARISMA--DAWN.] - -Upon this _lucio_ the assembled ducks command a view for miles around. -Hardly could a water-rat approach unseen. If the fowl persisted in -passing the entire day thereon, no human power would avail to molest -them--they could bid defiance to fowlers of every race and breed. Two -circumstances, however, favour their human foes. The first is the -perpetual disturbance created among those floating hosts by -birds-of-prey. These--chiefly marsh-harriers, but including also the -great black-backed gulls--execute perpetual "feints" at the swimming -ducks, sections of which (often thousands strong) are compelled to rise -on wing by the menacing danger. The dominant idea actuating the raptores -(since they are unable to attack the main bodies) is to ascertain if one -or more wounded ducks remain afloat after their sound companions have -cleared--the cripples, of course, affording an easy prey. The disturbed -fowl will not fly far, perhaps half-a-mile, unless indeed they happen -during that flight to catch sight of an attractive fleet of "decoys" -moored in some quiet creek a mile or so away. - -The second favouring circumstance arises from a difference in habit -between ducks in Spain and their relatives (even con-specific) -inhabiting British waters. For whereas the latter, as a rule, will -remain quiescent in their selected resting-places the livelong day, in -Spain, on the contrary, by about 11 A.M., the force of hunger begins -visibly to operate--not in all, but in sections, which, rising in -detachments, separate themselves from the masses and commence -exploratory cruises among the smaller and shallower _lucios_ where food -may be found.[20] This intermittent flight slackens off for an hour or -so at midday, is renewed in the afternoon, and stops dead one hour -before sun-down. - -To exploit the advantage offered by these habits it is necessary to -ascertain to which of the innumerable minor _lucios_ these -"hunger-marchers" are resorting. Observation will have decided that -point, and our expert gunner now (at 11 A.M.) be concealed with -scrupulous care, and his fleet of, say, fifty decoys set out in lifelike -and (or) attractive attitudes, exactly in the centre of the particular -lagoon, whither, of recent days, the ducks have been observed to resort -in greatest abundance from noon onwards. - -The gunner lies expectant on the cut rushes which strew the -bottom-boards of his _cajon_--a box-shaped punt some 7 feet long by -2-1/2 broad, which is concealed by being thrust bodily in the midst of -the biggest samphire bush available. The craft nevertheless is still -afloat and, though flat-bottomed, is yet terribly crank, and any sudden -movement to port or starboard threatens to capsize the entire outfit. - -To allay the tense suspicion of flighting wildfowl, several of the -adjacent bushes for fifty yards around have been heightened by the -addition of a cut bough or two--the idea being to induce a theory among -passing ducks merely that this particular spot seems peculiarly -favourable to samphire-growth--that and nothing more. - -In setting up decoys, while many are posed in lifelike attitudes, it is -advisable to hang a few (especially white-plumaged species, such as -pintail, shoveler, and wigeon-drakes) in almost vertical positions, in -order to induce a belief among hungry incomers that these birds are -"turning-up" to feast on abundant subaquatic plants beneath. - -This intermittent flight is naturally irregular, hunger affecting -greater or less numbers on different days; but when it comes off in -force affords the cream of wildfowling from before noon till the sun -droops in the west. During the last hour before he dips not a wing -moves. - -Duck-shooting thus resolves itself into two main systems: (1) -intercepting the fowl on flight at dawn, and later (2) awaiting their -incoming at expected points. - -A good shoot may sometimes be engineered by cutting a broad "ride" -through the samphire along some flight-line, thereby forming an open -channel between two _lucios_. Ducks which have hitherto flown sky-high -in order to cross the danger-zone will now pass quite low along the new -waterway, and even prefer it to crossing the cover at hazard, however -high. - -A typical day's fowling in mid-marisma may be described. The night has -been spent in a reed-built hut charmingly situate on a mud-islet -half-an-acre in extent, and commanding unequalled views of flooded and -featureless marisma. At 4 A.M. we turn out and by the dim light of a -lantern embark in a _cajon_ (punt), serenaded by the croaks and gabbling -of flamingoes somewhere out in the dark waters. My wild companion, -Batata, kneeling in the bows and grasping a punt-pole in either hand, -bends to his work, and away we glide--into the unknown. - -A weird feeling it is squatting thus at water-level and watching the -wavelets dance by or dash over our two-inch free-board. We make but -three miles an hour, yet seem to fly past half-seen water-plants. A -myriad stars are reflected on the still surface ahead, and it is by a -single great _Lucero_ (planet) that our pilot is now steering his -course. - -Batata presently remarks that we have "arrived." One takes his word for -this. Still that verb does conditionally imply some place or spot of -arrival. Here there was none--none, at least, that could be -differentiated from any other point or spot in many circumambient -leagues. But this was not an hour for philological disquisition, so we -mentally decide that we have reached "nowhere." A few hours later when -daylight discovers our environment, that negation appears sufficiently -proved. There are visible certain objects on the distant horizon. -One--that behind us--proves to be the roof of the _choza_ wherein we had -spent the night--"hull-down" to the eastward. The others a lengthened -scrutiny with prism-binoculars shows to be a trio of wild camels feeding -knee-deep in water. Now where you see such signs you may conclude you -are nowhere. - -We skip a few hours, since we have no intention of inflicting on the -reader the details of a morning's flight-shooting. Suffice that at 9 -A.M. B. reappears poling up in his punt, the spoils are collected -(forty-nine in all, mostly wigeon and teal, with a few pintail and -shoveler and one couple of gadwall), and the plan for the day discussed. -To remain where we were (as this _lucio_ had yesterday attracted a -fairly continuous flight of ducks) had been our original idea. But a -shift of the wind had rendered a second _lucio_, distant two miles, a -more favourable resort for to-day, and thither accordingly we set out. -Here a new _puesto_ is promptly prepared and the forty-nine decoys -deftly set out, each supported by a supple wand stuck in the mud below. -Hardly had these preparations been completed, than the intermittent (or -secondary) flight had commenced, file after file of ducks heading up -from distant space, wheeling over or dashing past the seductive decoys. -At recurring moments during the next three or four hours (with blank -intervals between) I enjoyed to the full this most delightful form of -wildfowling, so totally different in practice to all others. - -Such is the speed of flighting fowl, such their keenness of vision and -instant perception of danger, that but a momentary point of time--say -the eighth of a second--is available fully to exploit each chance. -Should the gunner rise too quick, the ducks are beyond the most -effective range; yet within a space not to be measured by figures or -words, they will have detected the fraud, and in a flash have scattered, -shooting vertically upwards like a bunch of sky-rockets. - -Two features in the life-history of the duck-kind become apparent. The -first points to the probability that adults pair for life, and that the -mated couples keep together all winter even when forming component units -in a crowd. For when an adult female is shot from the midst of a pack, -the male will almost invariably accompany her in her fall to the very -surface of the water, and will afterwards circle around, piping -disconsolately, and even return again and again in search of his lost -partner. This applies chiefly to wigeon, but we have frequently observed -the same trait in pintail and occasionally in other species. It is only -the drakes that display this constancy; a bereaved female continues her -flight unheeding. - -The feature is most conspicuous when awaiting ducks at their -feeding-grounds (_comederos_), but it also occurs when shooting on their -flight-lines (_correderos_) between distant points. - -The second singular habit is the custom, particularly among wigeon, to -form what are termed in Spanish _magañonas_--little groups of four to a -dozen birds consisting of a single female with a bevy of males in -attendance, flying aimlessly hither and thither in a compact mass, the -drakes constantly calling and the one female twisting and turning in all -directions as though to avoid their attentions. The _magañonas_ appear -blind to all sense of danger, and will pass within easy range even -though a gunner be fully exposed. Not only this, but a first shot may -easily account for half-a-dozen, and should the hen be among the fallen, -the survivors will come round again and again in search of her. We have -known whole _magañonas_ to be secured within a few minutes. - -Other species also form _magañonas_, but more rarely and never in so -conspicuous a manner as the wigeon. The habit certainly springs from -what we have elsewhere termed a "pseudo-erotic" instinct (see _Bird-life -of the Borders_, 2nd ed., pp. 208, 234-5), and is probably the first -pairing of birds which have just then reached full maturity. - - * * * * * - -From mid-February to the end of March ducks are constantly departing -northwards whenever conditions favour, to wit, a south-west wind in the -afternoon, which wind is a feature of the season. Their vacant places -are at once filled by an equally constant succession of arrivals from -the south (Africa), easily recognised by rusty stains on their lower -plumage (denoting ferruginous water) which they lose here within a few -days. - -Ducks at this season can find food everywhere in the _manzanilla_, or -camomile, which now grows up from the bottom and in places covers the -shallows with its white, buttercup-like flowers. Having food everywhere -there is less necessity to fly in search of it. It is, however, a -curious feature of the season that, after the morning-flight (which is -shorter than in mid-winter), ducks practically suspend all movement -from, say, 8 A.M. till the daily sea-breeze (_Viento de la mar_) springs -up about 1 P.M. During these five hours not a wing moves, but no sooner -has the sea-breeze set in than constant streams of ducks fly in -successive detachments from the large open _lucios_ to the shallower -feeding-grounds. Thus we have known a late February "bag," which at 2 -P.M. had numbered but a miserable half-score, mount up before dusk to -little short of a hundred. - - * * * * * - -Wigeon arrive from the end of September onwards, the great influx -occurring during the first fortnight of November. They commence leaving -from mid-February, and by the end of March all (save a few belated -stragglers) are gone. - -The same remarks apply equally to pintail, shoveler, and teal, though, -as before remarked, pintail often appear exceptionally early--in -September,--and are again extremely conspicuous (after being scarce all -winter) on their return journey--_de vuelta paso_, as it is called--in -February. - -Gadwall, preferring deep waters, are not numerous in the shallow -marisma. A big bag therein, nevertheless, will always include a few -couples of this species. - -Shoveler are so numerous that we have known over eighty bagged by one -gun in a day. - -Garganey chiefly occur in early autumn and again _de vuelta paso_ in -March. They winter in Africa. - -Marbled duck breed here, and in September large bags may be made; but in -mid-winter (when they have retired to Africa) it is rare to secure more -than half-a-dozen or so in a day. They are very bad eating. - -Shelduck only occur in dry seasons. They fall easy victims to any sort -of "decoy" provided it is _white_. A local fowler told us he had killed -many by substituting (in default of natural decoys) the dry bones and -skulls of cattle! Ruddy shelduck do not frequent the marisma, preferring -the sweeter waters and shallows adjoining Doñana. - -Diving-ducks avoid the marisma except only in the wettest winters. - - * * * * * - -An hour before sun-down, as above stated, all bird-movement ceases. For -a brief space absolute tranquillity reigns over the illimitable marisma. -The dusky masses that cover the _lucios_ seem lulled to sleep and -silence. But the interlude is very temporary. Hardly has night thrown -her mantle across the wastes, than all that tremendous, eager, vital -energy is reawakened to fresh activities. A striking and a memorable -experience will be gained by awaiting that exact hour at some favourite -feeding-ground. Within a few minutes, as darkness deepens, the ambient -air fairly hisses and surges with the pulsation of thousand strong -pinions hurtling close by one's ear, and with the splash of heavy bodies -flung down by fifties and hundreds in the shallows almost within -arm's-length--the nearest approximation that occurs to us is a -bombardment of pompoms. Yet, for all that, night-flighting in the -marisma (having regard to the quantities concerned) produces but -insignificant results. The ducks come in so low and so direct--no -preliminary circling overhead--and at such velocity that this -flight-shooting may be likened to an attempt to hit cannon-balls in the -dark. Our expert shots score, say, eight or ten, but what is that? The -nocturnal disturbance, moreover, may be (and usually is) prejudicial to -the next day's operations, and it is clearly not worth the risk, for -half-a-dozen shots in the twilight, to discount a hundred at dawn. - -The fewer shots ducks hear, the better. Never disturb them unless you -have every reasonable prospect of exacting a proportionate toll. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER X - -WILD-GEESE IN SPAIN - -THEIR SPECIES, HAUNTS, AND HABITS - - -To Spain, as to other lands that remain unaltered and "unimproved," -resort the greylag geese in thousands to pass the winter. - -In our marismas of the Guadalquivir they appear during the last days of -September, but it is a month later ere their full numbers are made up, -and from that date until the end of February their defiant multitudes -and the splendid difficulties of their pursuit afford a unique form and -degree of wild sport perhaps unknown outside of Spain. - -Ride through the marisma in November; it is mostly dry, and autumn rains -have merely refreshed the sun-baked alluvia and formed sporadic -shallows, or _lucios_ as they are here termed. That _lucio_ straight -ahead is a mile across, yet it is literally tessellated with a sonorous -crowd. With binoculars one distinguishes similar scenes beyond; the -intervening space--and indeed the whole marisma--is crowded with geese -as thickly as it is on our immediate front. To right and left rise fresh -armies hitherto concealed among the _armajo_, till the very earth seems -in process of upheaval, while the air resounds with a volume of -voices--gabblings, croaks, and shrill bi-tones mingled with the rumble -of beating wings. - -Amid the islands of the Norwegian Skaargaard one can see geese in bulk, -but there their numbers are distributed over a thousand miles of coast. -Here we have them all--or a large proportion--concentrated in what is by -comparison but a narrow space. - -In their life-habits these geese are strictly diurnal, that is, they -feed by day--chiefly in the early morning and again towards afternoon, -with a mid-day interval of rest. The night they spend asleep on some -broad _lucio_ or other bare open space. That habit, however, is subject -to modification during the periods of full moon, when many geese avail -themselves of her brilliant light to feed in even greater security than -they can enjoy by day. Their food consists exclusively of vegetable -substances--at first of the remnants of the summer's herbage, such as -green ribbon-grass (_canaliza_), and other semi-aquatic plants; their -main sustenance in mid-winter consists of the tuber-bearing roots of -spear-grass (_Cyperus longus_ and _C. rotundus_) which they dig up from -the ground. - -[Illustration: ROOT OF SPEAR-GRASS] - -When autumn rains are long delayed, their voracious armies will already -have consumed every green thing that remains in the parched marismas -long before the "new water" from the heavens shall have furnished new -feeding-grounds. In such cases the geese are forced to depart, and do -so--so far as our observation goes--in the direction of Morocco; -returning thence (within a few hours) immediately after rain has fallen. -Their entry, on this second arrival, is invariably from the south and -south-west--that is, from the sea. - -There are three methods of shooting wild-geese in the Spanish marismas -which may here be specified, to wit:-- - -(1) Morning-flight, when the geese habitually come to "take sand" at the -dawn. See next chapter. - -(2) "Driving" during the day (available only in dry years). - -(3) Awaiting their arrival at dusk at their _dormideros_, or -sleeping-places, see pp. 97, 98. - -An all-important factor in their pursuit arises from an economic -necessity with wild-geese constantly to possess, and frequently to -renew, a store of sand or grit in their gizzards. To obtain this they -resort every morning to certain sandy spots in the marismas (hereinafter -described, and which are known as _vetas_); or failing that, when the -said _vetas_ are submerged, to the sand-dunes outside. Although great -numbers of geese resort each morning to these spots, yet those numbers -are but a small proportion of their entire aggregate, for no individual -goose needs to replenish his supply of sand or grit more often than -perhaps once a week, or even less frequently. Hence at each dawn it is a -fresh contingent of geese that comes in _para arenárse_ = to "sand -themselves," as our keepers put it. - -One other quality in the natural economy of wild-geese requires -mention--that is, their sense of scent. This defence wild-geese possess -in equal degree with wild-ducks and most other wild creatures; but each -class differ in their modes of utilising it. - -For whereas ducks on detecting human scent will take instant alarm and -depart afar on that indication alone; yet geese, on the other hand, -though their nostrils have fully advised them of the presence of danger, -will not at once take wing, but remain--with necks erect and all eyes -concentrated towards the suspect point--awaiting confirmation by sight -what they already know by scent. - -That such is the case we ascertained in the days (now long past) when we -ventured to stalk geese with no more covert than the low fringe of rush -that borders the marisma. "_Gatiando_" = cat-crouching, our keepers term -the method--laborious work, creeping flat for, it may be, 200 yards, -through sloppy mud with less than two-foot of cover. Should it become -necessary during the stalk to go directly to windward of the fowl, one's -presence (though quite unseen) would be instantly detected. The geese, -ceasing to feed or rest, all stood to attention, while low, rumbling -alarm-signals resounded along their lines. But they did not take wing. -Presently, however, one reached a gap in the thickly growing rushes--it -might not extend to a yard in width, yet no sooner was but a glimpse -available to the keen eyes beyond, than the whole pack rose in -simultaneous clatter of throats and wings. They had merely waited that -scintilla of ocular confirmation of a known danger. - - -"DRIVING" (IN A DRY SEASON) - -For four months no rain had fallen. The parched earth gaped with -cavernous cracks; vegetation was dried up; starving cattle stood about -listless, and every day one saw the assembled vultures devouring the -carcases of those already dead. - -From the turrets of our shooting-lodge one's eye surveyed--no longer an -inland sea, but a monotone of sun-baked mud; inspection through -binoculars revealed the fact that this whole space was dotted with -troops of ... well, a friend who was with us thought they were sheep; -but which, in fact, were bands of greylag geese. - -The fluctuations of Spanish seasons--varying from Noachian deluge to -Saharan drought--necessarily react upon the habits of wildfowl. These -changes are one of the charms of the country; at any rate, they "stretch -out" the fowler to devise some new thing. - -Those battalions of greylags posted out there on a vantage-ground where -a mouse might be a prominent object at 100 yards, how can they be -reduced to possession? Our friend aforesaid replies that the undertaking -appears humanly impossible. We have, nevertheless, elaborated a system -of driving, by which in dry years the greylag geese may be obtained with -some degree of certainty. - -This morning (the last of January) we rode forth, four guns and four -keepers, across that plain. Upon approaching the pack of geese selected, -one keeper rides to a position rather above the "half-wind" line, and -there halts as a "stop." The remaining seven ride on till, at a silent -signal, No. 1 gun, without checking his horse, passes the bridle forward -and rolls out of the saddle with gun and gear, lying at once flat as a -flounder on the bare dry mud. At intervals of eighty yards each -successive gun does the same, the four being now extended in a half-moon -that commands nearly a quarter-mile of space. The three keepers (leading -the other horses) continue riding forward in circular course till a -second "stop" is placed in the right flank corresponding with the one -already posted on the left. The last pair now complete the circuit by -riding round to windward of the game, separating by 200 yards as that -position is attained. (See diagram.) - -[Illustration] - -How are these four guns to conceal themselves on perfectly bare ground -from the telescopic sight of wild-geese? Occasionally, some small -natural advantage may be found--such as tufts of rushes--and these are -at once availed of. But this morning there is no such aid. Not a rush -nor a mole-hill breaks that dead-level monotone for miles; and in such -condition a human being, however flat he may lie, is bound to be -detected by the keen-eyed geese long ere they arrive within shot.[21] A -dozen twigs of tree-heath, dipped in wet mud and then allowed to dry, so -as to harmonise in colour with the surroundings, may be utilised; but -the annexed sketch shows better than words a portable screen we have -devised and which fulfils this purpose. It consists of four bamboo -sticks two feet long, sharpened at the point, and connected by four or -five strings with one-foot intervals. This when rolled up forms a bundle -no thicker than an umbrella. On reaching one's post the bundle unrolls -of itself, the sharpened points are stuck into the ground at an angle -sloping towards the prostrate gun, a few tufts of dead grass (carried in -one's pocket) are woven through the strings and the shelter is complete. -Needless to say, these preparations must be carried out with the minimum -of movement in face of such vigilant foes. Some assistance, however, -accrues from the geese continuing to watch the moving file of horsemen -while the prostrate gunner erects his screen. - -[Illustration: SHELTERS FOR DRIVING WILD-GEESE] - -Well, the circle being complete, all four drivers (distant now, say, -1000 yards) converge on the common centre. The watchful geese have -ceased grubbing up the spear-grass, and now stand alert with a forest -of necks erect, while an increasing volume of gabbling attests their -growing suspicion. Presently, with redoubled outcry, they rise on wing, -and now commences the real science of our Spanish fowlers. The guns, -after all, command but a small segment of the circle--anywhere else the -geese can break out scathless--and this mischance it is the object of -our drivers and flankers to avert. No sooner does the gaggling band -shift its course to port or starboard than the "stop" on that side is -seen to be urging his horse in full career to intercept their flight, -yet using such judgment as will neither deflect their course too much or -turn them back altogether. Sometimes both flankers and drivers are seen -to be engaged at once, and a pretty sight it is to the prostrate gunners -to watch the equestrian manoeuvres. - -Presently the whole band head away for what appears the only available -outlet, and should they then pass directly over one or other of the -guns, are seldom so high but that a pair should be secured -right-and-left. - -In strong gales of wind the geese, on being driven, are apt, instead of -taking a direct course, to circle around in revolving flight, gaining -altitude at each revolution; and in such case not only come in very high -but at incredible speed--_mas lejeros que zarcetas_--swifter than teal, -as Vasquez puts it. - -The first essential of success in driving wild-geese (and the same -applies to great bustard and all large winged game) is to instal the -firing-line as near as may be without disturbing the fowl. The more -remote the guns the greater the difficulty in forcing the game through -the crucial pass. - -To manoeuvre single bands of geese as above, three or four guns at -most, with the same number of drivers, are best. A great crowd of -horsemen (such being never seen in these wilds) unduly arouses -suspicions already acute enough. With any greater number of guns, it is -advisable to extend the field of operations to, say, two or three miles, -thereby enclosing several troops of geese--this requiring a large force -of drivers. It does not, however, follow that each of these enclosed -troops will "enter" to the guns; for should one pack come in advance, -the firing will turn back the others. This mischance--or rather -bungle--may be averted (or may not) by the leading driver firing a blank -shot behind so soon as the first geese are seen to have taken wing. -Needless to remark, once a shot has been fired ahead, it becomes -tenfold harder to force the remaining geese to the guns. - -Each gun should hold his fire till the main bodies of geese are well on -wing and seen to be heading in towards the shooting-line. The "best -possible" chances are thus secured, and not for one gun only, but quite -possibly for all, as several hundred geese pass down the line. A -premature shot, on the contrary, will ruin the best-planned drive, and -bring down merited abuse from the rest of the party with scathing -contempt from the drivers. - -Taking single troops at a time, as many as six or eight separate drives -may be worked into a long day. Our first drive to-day produced three -geese, the second was blank, while five greylags rewarded the third -attempt. In the last instance three of the guns received welcome aid -from a string of _ojos_, or land-springs, around which grew a fringe of -green rushes, affording excellent cover. - -By four o'clock we had secured, in five drives, eleven geese and a -wigeon. We then, on information received, changing our plan, rode off to -a point which the keeper of that district had noted was being used by -the geese as a _dormidero_, or sleeping-place; and here, as dusk fell, -an hour's "flighting" added six more greylags to that day's total. - -The above may be put down as a fair average day's results in a dry -season. From a dozen to a score of driven geese (and occasionally many -more) represent, with such game as greylags, a degree and a quality of -sport that is ill-represented by cold numerals. - -There are spots in the marisma where the configuration of the shore-line -enables the flight of the geese, when disturbed, to be foretold with -certainty. For geese will not cross dry land: their retreat is always to -the open waters. In such situations excellent results accrue from -placing the gun-line at a _right angle_ to the expected line of flight, -while all the "beaters," save one or two to flush the fowl, are -stationed as "stops" between the geese and their objective. On rising, -the birds thus find themselves confronted by a long line of horsemen who -intercept their natural retreat, and, in effect, force them back towards -the land. Should the operation be well executed, the landmost gun will -probably be the first to fire; while the geese thereafter pass down the -entire line of guns, possibly affording shots to each in turn. - -Two guns can then be effectively brought into action. Needless to add, -the second must be handled with the utmost rapidity. - -In wet winters, when the marisma is submerged, "driving" is not -available. Obviously you cannot place a line of guns, however keen, in -six inches of water, much less in half-a-yard. - - My first impression of wild-goose driving (writes J.) was one of - wonder that such intensely astute and wide-awake fowl would ever - fly near, much less over so obvious a danger as the little loose - semicircle of rosemary twigs behind which I lay prone on the barest - of bare mud. Peering through between their naked stalks, I could - plainly see the geese some half-mile away, and it seemed incredible - that I should not be equally visible to them. Possibly the brown - leaves on top of the twigs may have concealed me from the loftier - anserine point of view, and the equestrian manoeuvres beyond no - doubt greatly aided the object. Anyway, the whole pack--three or - four hundred, and proportionally noisy--_did_ come right over me, - and a wildly exciting moment it was, I can assure you! We had six - or seven drives that day, and bagged twenty-eight splendid great - grey geese, of which eight fell to my lot. - - I may perhaps be allowed to add (since such details are taken for - granted, or regarded as unworthy of note by regular gunners of the - _marisma_) that to-day we had no less than six times to cross and - recross a broad marsh-channel called the _Madre_--floundering, - splashing, slithering, and stumbling through 100 yards of mud and - water full three-foot deep. It may be nothing (if you're used to - it), yet twice I've seen horses go down, and their riders take a - cold bath, lucky if they didn't broach their barrels! To follow - Vasquez about the _marisma_ is a job that requires special - qualities that not all of us possess or (perchance fortunately?) - require to possess. - -The following instructions may be worth the attention of new -beginners:-- - -(1) Never fire till you are fairly certain to kill at least one. - -(2) Never rise or even move in your "hide" till the beat is entirely -finished. - -(3) Reload at once; when big lots are being moved, two, three, or more -chances may offer quite unexpectedly. - -(4) Wear suitably coloured clothes and head-gear, and never let the sun -glint on the gun-barrels. - -(5) After firing, watch the departing geese till nearly out of sight. -Though apparently unhurt, one of their company may turn over, -stone-dead, in the distance. - - -"FLIGHTING"--AN INCIDENT OF A DRY SEASON - -The day above described was selected, not only because it affords a -typical illustration of our theme, but also because there had occurred -during its course an extraneous incident which serves to amplify this -exposition of the pursuit of the greylag goose. - -Riding across the marisma, certain signs at once filled both our minds -with fresh ideas. All around the ground was littered with cast feathers -and other evidence proclaiming that this special spot was a regular -resort of geese. We were crossing one of those slightly raised ridges of -sand and grit which here and there intersect the otherwise universal -dead-level of alluvial mud, and which ridges are known locally as -_vetas_--tongues. - -Now the nutritive economy of wild-geese, as already explained, requires -a frequently replenished store of sand or grit. In wet seasons (the -marisma being then submerged) the geese resort to the adjoining -sand-dunes of Doñana to secure these supplies. But in dry winters they -are enabled to obtain the necessary sand from these _vetas_; and it was -to this particular spot that, to the number of many hundreds, the geese -were evidently resorting at this period. - -At once the measure of opportunity was gauged, and the arrangements -necessary for its exploitation were made. Within three minutes a -messenger was galloping homewards to summon a couple of men with spades -and buckets to prepare a hole wherein one of us might lie concealed at -daybreak. A pannier-mule to carry away the excavated material was also -requisitioned, since the least visible change in the earth's surface -would instantly be recognised by the geese as a danger-signal. Within a -few minutes we had resumed our course, to continue the day's sport. - -[Illustration: WILD-GEESE IN THE MARISMA.] - -Next morning half an hour before dawn the writer reached the spot. It -was pitch-dark and a dense fog prevailed. By what mental process my -guides directed an unerring course to that lonely hole in the midst of a -pathless and practically boundless waste passes understanding. Such -piloting (without aid of compass or even of the heavenly bodies--the -usual index on which marshmen rely) seems to indicate a point where -intellect and instinct touch; or perhaps rather a survival of the latter -quality which, in modern races, has become obsolete through disuse. -Among savage races that faculty of instinct is markedly prominent, -indeed the master-force; but there it has been acquired (or retained) at -the cost of intellect, which is not the case with our Spanish -friends--they possess both qualities. But place the best intellects of -Madrid, or Paris, or London in such conditions--in darkness, or fog, or -in viewless forest--and not one could hold a straight course for -half-a-mile. Within ten minutes each man would be lost, devoid of all -sense of direction. That is part of the price of the higher -civilisation--the loss of a faculty which need not clash with any other. -Of course where people live with a telephone at their ear, with electric -trams and "tubes" close at hand, where a whistle will summon an -attendant hansom and two a taxi-meter--or, as _Punch_ suggested, three -may bring down an airship--well, in such case, those modern "advantages" -may be held to outweigh the loss of a primitive natural faculty. - -Hardly had a tardy light begun to strengthen to the dawn than the soft, -soliloquising "Gagga, gagga, gagga," with alternatively the raucous -"Honk-honk," resounded afar through the gloom. From seven o'clock -onwards geese were flying close around--so near that the rustling of -strong wings sounded almost within arm's-length; but that opaque fog -held unbroken and nothing could be seen. Long before eight I resolved to -quit and leave the fowl undisturbed for another morning rather than open -fire at so late an hour. Having a compass, I steered a good line to the -point where the horses awaited me, a mile away. - -The following morning again broke foggy, though not quite so thick; -still I had only five geese at eight o'clock, when three packs coming -well in, in rapid succession, afforded three gratifying doubles. Total, -eleven geese. - -Leaving the geese a few mornings' peace, on February 5 the authors -together occupied that hole at dawn. It proved a brilliant morning with -a fine show of geese. As each pack came in, we took it in turns to give -the word whether to fire or not. In the negative case, our eyes sank -gently below the surface of the earth, and crouching down we heard the -rush of wind-splitting pinions pass over and behind--probably to offer -a fairer mark when they next wheeled round. Then two, and often three, -great geese came hurtling downwards, to fall with resounding thuds -behind. Few mistakes occurred this morning and scarce a chance was -missed. But never could we succeed in working-in the two doubles at -once! The cramped space forbade that. The hole, having been dug for one, -gave no freedom of action for two guns; its floor, moreover, had now -become a compound of sticky glutinous clay a foot deep, and that further -hampered movements. Only one gun could work the second barrel. - -After each shot, one of us jumped out and propped up the fallen geese as -decoys. To leave them lying about all-ends-up has a disastrous effect. - -Ere the "flight" ceased we had five-and-twenty greylags down around our -hide, besides several others that had fallen at some distance, duly -marked by the keepers who now galloped off to gather these--say two -mule-loads of geese. The discovery of that lonely "sanding-place" had -had a concrete reward. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -WILD-GEESE ON THE SAND-HILLS - - -Flanking the marisma and separating it from the dry lands of Doñana, -there rises rampart-like a swelling range of dunes--the biggest thing in -the sand line we have seen on earth. For miles extend these mountains of -sand, unbroken by vestige of vegetation or any object to relieve one's -eyesight, dazzled--aye, blinded--by that brilliantly scintillating -surface, set off in vivid contrast by the azure vault above. - -Should a stranger, on first seeing those buttressed dunes, be seriously -informed that their naked summits constitute a favourite resort of -wild-geese, he might reasonably suspect his informant's sanity, or at -least wonder whether his own credulity were not being tested. Yet such -is the fact--one of the surprises that befall in Spain, the _pays de -l'imprévu_. - -The paradox is explained by the stated necessity in wild-geese to -furnish their gizzards with store of grit or sand for digestive -purposes. - -This supply, so long as the marisma is dry, they are able to obtain from -those raised ridges of calcareous debris (already described, and known -locally as _vetas_) which here and there outcrop from the alluvial -wastes. But when winter rains and floods have submerged the whole region -and thus deprived the fowl of that local resource, they are forced to -rely upon the sand-dunes aforesaid and to substitute pure sea-sand for -their former specific of calcareous grit or disintegrated shells. To the -sand-dunes, therefore, in the cold bright mornings between October and -February, the skeins of greylag geese may be seen directing their course -in successive files, in order, as the Spanish put it, "to sand -themselves" (_arenárse_). - -A notable fact (and one favourable to the fowler) is that, though these -dunes extend for miles, yet the geese select certain limited areas--or, -to be precise, the summits of two particular hills--for alighting, and -this despite their being regularly shot thereat, year after year. - -With the first sign of dawn the earlier arrivals will be heard -approaching; but the bulk of the geese come in about sun-up and onwards -till 9 A.M. Geese arriving high (having come presumably from a distance) -will sometimes, after a preliminary wheel, suddenly collapse in mid-air, -diving and shooting earthwards in a score of curving lines--as teal do, -or tumbler-pigeons; but with these heavy fowl the manoeuvre is -executed with surprising grace and command of wing. Their numbers vary -on different mornings without any apparent cause; but it may be laid -down as a general rule that more will come on clear bright mornings than -when the dawn is overcast, while rain proves (as in all wildfowling) an -upsetting factor. Sometimes, even on favourable mornings, no geese -appear. Occasionally, in small numbers, they may visit the sand in -afternoon. - -To exploit the advantage afforded by this habit of the geese, it is -necessary that the fowler be concealed before dawn in a hole dug for the -purpose in the sand--care being taken to utilise any natural -concealment, such as a depression flanked by a steep sand-revetment; so -that, at least from one quarter, the geese may perceive no danger till -right over the gun. The hole (or holes, but _one_ is best) must be dug -at least twelve hours before, or the newly turned sand will show up -dark. Were it not for the risk of wind filling them up with driving sand -(a matter of an hour or two), the holes might well be prepared two or -even three days beforehand. The excavated material is piled up around -the periphery and flattened down smooth, thus forming a raised rampart -which screens the suspicious darkness of the interior. Needless to say, -the fewer human footprints around the spot, the better. - -Such is the inability exhibited by many sportsmen (not being -wildfowlers) to conceal their persons--or even to recognise the virtue -of concealment--that, for such, the holes are apt to be made too big, -and the geese swerve off at sight of those gaping pits. This indeed is a -form of sport that none save wildfowlers need essay--others merely -succeed in thwarting the whole enterprise. - -However carefully prepared and skilfully occupied, these holes (dug in -naked sand) must obviously be visible enough to the keen sight of -incoming greylags. One such hole (when backed up by well-placed decoys) -the geese may almost ignore; two they distrust; while three inspire -something approaching panic. Consequently a single craftsman who knows -his business and bides his time will shoot, under the most favourable -circumstances, at almost every successive band of geese that means -alighting. Two guns, in _full sympathy_ with each other, may effectually -combine by occupying holes dug at some fifty yards apart and with a -single set of decoys set midway between for mutual use. Thus there can -be secured fair, frequent, and almost simultaneous shots. - -It is essential to bear in mind the fact that the geese have come with -the intention (unless prematurely alarmed) of _alighting_. Hence, as -they often circle two or three times around before finally deciding, a -judicious refusal of all uncertain chances has a concrete reward when, a -few seconds later, the pack sweep overhead at half gunshot. The first -element of success lies in concealment; the second in ever allowing the -geese to come in to such close quarters as renders the shot a certainty. - -Greylag geese are, of course, huge birds, very strong, and impenetrable -as ironclads. But to tyros (and many others) in the early light they are -apt to appear much larger, and consequently much nearer, than is -actually the case. All this has, the night before, been impressed upon -our friend, the tyro, in solemn, even tragic tones. The urgency of the -thing seems to have been graven deep on the very tissues of his brain, -and he promises with earnest humility to bear the lesson in mind when -the vital moment shall arrive; to deny himself all but point-blank shots -well within thirty yards, whereby he will not only himself assist to -swell the score, but enable his companion to do likewise. - -Words fail to describe that companion's frame of mind at the dawn, when, -despite over-night exhortations and assurances, he sees to his horror -pack after pack of incoming geese (some of which he has himself let pass -within forty yards) "blazed at" at mad and reckless ranges by that -wretched scarecrow who never ruffles a feather and afterwards tries to -excuse his failure by enlarging on "the extreme height the geese came in -at!" - -These goose-hills, it may here appropriately be stated, lie midway -between our two shooting-lodges and distant between two and three hours' -ride from either. Thus every morning's goose-shooting presupposes some -fairly arduous work. It means being in the saddle by 4 A.M. with its -resultant discomforts and a long scrambling ride in the dark. Hence the -disgust is proportionate when all that work is thrown away in such -insane style. Never again for any tyro on earth, though he be our -clearest friend, never will the authors turn out at 3 A.M., abusing with -clattering hoof the silence and repose of midnight watch and the hours -designed for rest--never again, unless alone or with a known and -reliable companion. - -A word now as to the "decoys." These, in design, are American--first -observed and brought across from Chicago--cut out of block-tin, formed -and painted to resemble a grey-goose. Geese being gregarious by nature -are peculiarly susceptible to the attractions of decoys. Hence these tin -geese have a marvellous effect when silhouetted on the skyline of a -sand-ridge, being conspicuous for enormous distances and the only -"living" objects on miles of desert. They are _most_ deadly before -sunrise, after which they are apt to glint too much despite a coating of -dried mud. As daylight broadens, incoming geese are apt to be -disconcerted at losing sight of their supposed friends, which event must -occur as each decoy falls end-on--one can interpret the hurried queries -and expletives of the puzzled phalanx at that mysterious disappearance! -For these reasons it is desirable as soon as possible to supplement the -decoys with, and finally to substitute for them, the real article, that -is, the newly shot geese, set up in life-like attitudes by aid of twigs -brought for the purpose. Fallen birds must, in any case, be set up as -fast as gathered; if left spread-eagled as they fell, inevitably the -next comers are scared. The more numerous and life-like the decoys, the -more certain are the geese to come in with confidence and security. - -Naturally great care must be used in getting into and out of one's hide -to avoid breaking down its loose and crumbling substance. But it is of -first importance quickly to gather and prop up the dead. A winged goose -walking away should be stopped with a charge of No. 6 in the head. - -As illustrating the life-like effect produced by our tin decoys, on one -occasion a friend, after firing both barrels, was watching a wounded -goose, when a strange sound behind attracted his attention. On looking -round, a fox was seen to have sprung upon one of the tin geese! That a -fox, with his keen intuition and knowledge of things, should have -considered it worth his while to stalk wild-geese (even of flesh and -blood) on that naked expanse seems incredible. The fact remains that he -did it! - -Strange indeed are the sensations evoked by that silent watch before -day-dawn, in expectation of what truly appears incredible! Buried -virtually in a desert of sand the fowler has nothing in sight beyond the -dark dunes and a star-spangled sky overhead. For his hide is cunningly -hidden in a slight depression with a hanging buttress on two sides. - -[Illustration: WILD-GEESE ALIGHTING ON THE SAND-HILLS] - -Several hundred yards away, concealed under stunted pines, stand our -horses, while the men cower round a small fire, for we have had a biting -cold two-hours' ride, and freezing to boot. Half-a-mile away on the -other side--the east--begins the marisma, though hidden from view by the -waves of rolling sand that intervene. - -Now a faint glint of light gleams on the tin decoys and foretells the -coming dawn. Five more minutes elapse, and then ... that low deep-toned -anserine call-note, instinct with concentrated caution--"Gagga, gagga, -gagga, gagga"--sets pulses and nerves on fuller stretch. This pack -proves to be but an advance-guard; for this is one of those -thrice-blessed mornings for which we pray! The geese come in thick and -fast in successive bands of six or eight to a score, and all beautifully -timed, with exactly the correct interval between. The fowler is a -craftsman, a master of his art, and, moreover, he is all alone. Hence he -can to-day await the psychological moment with patience and absolute -confidence. Rarely in such circumstances is trigger touched in vain; not -seldom has the second gun been brought into action with good, thrice -with double effect. No simple achievement is this, when fowl vanish -swift and ghost-like into space; for, remember, guns must be exchanged -with due deliberateness else shifting sand in an instant fills the -breech and clogs the actions. Thrice has the double _carambola_ been -brought off, and now comes the prettiest shot of all--five geese swing -past, head up for the decoys, and pass full broadside at deadliest -range; they are barely twenty yards away. In all but simultaneous pairs -fall four of their company on the sand--all four stone dead; and but a -single survivor wings away to bear news of the catastrophe to his -fellows in the marisma! - -It is 8 A.M., and the tin decoys are now entirely replaced by geese of -flesh and feather, with the fatal result that each successive pack now -enters with fullest confidence, so that by doubles and trebles the score -mounts fast during the fleeting minutes that yet remain. - -Before nine o'clock the flight has ceased. It only remains to gather -those birds which have fallen afar--and which have been marked by the -keepers from their points of vantage--and to follow by their spoor on -the sand such winged geese as may have departed on foot. Some of these -will be overtaken, those that have concealed themselves in the nearest -rush-beds; but should any have passed on and gained the stronghold of -the marisma, they are lost. - -Such is an ideal morning's work, one of those rare rewards of patience -and skill that occur from time to time. Far differently may the event -fall out. There are mornings when scarce once will that weird -forewarning note, "Gagga, gagga," rejoice the expectant ear with harsh -music, when no chain-like skeins dot and serry the eastern skies, or -ever a greylag appears to remember his wonted haunts. We do not -complain, much less despair. Such are the underlying, fundamental -conditions of wildfowling in all lands. To a nature-lover the wildness -of the scene, with its unique conditions and environment are ever -sufficient reward. - -Roughly speaking, from a dozen to a score of geese may be reckoned as a -fair average morning's work for one gun. The following figures, selected -from our game-books, indicate the degree of success that rewards -exceptional skill. In each instance they apply to but one fowler, though -two guns (12-bores) may have been employed. - - 1903. Remarks. - - Dec. 4. 29 geese. Later in day, shot 46 ducks in the - _marisma_ close by. - Dec. 5. 51 geese. Later, shot 25 ducks, 16 snipe.--B. F. B. - - 1904. - - Nov. 27. 27 geese. (A second gunner shot but three.) - Nov. 30. 52 geese. - - 1903. - - Jan. 9. 23 geese. Westerly gale kept filling hole with sand; half my time - spent in new excavation.--W. J. B. - - 1908. - - Dec. 7. Three guns on sand-hills, 4 + 7 + 22 = 33 geese. - Dec. 10. 42 geese. Shots fired, 44. Later in day, shot 55 ducks, - 3 snipe = 100 head.--B. F. B. - - 1909. - - Jan. 8. 38 geese. - Jan. 19. 59 geese. The record.--(B. F. B.) - Dec. 29. H.M. King Alfonso XIII., 6 geese; Marq. de Viana, 5 = 11 - geese (an unfavourable morning). - - 1910. - - Jan. 7. Two guns (second at Caño - de la Casquera), 12 + 28 = 40 geese. - Jan. 8. 23 geese. - -Possibly the larger totals are unsurpassed in the world's records. By -way of contrast we append what may perchance be discovered in the -note-book of the veracious tyro:-- - -Went out three mornings at three, emptied three cartridge-bags at -ridiculous ranges, fluked three geese, and scared three thousand. - - -INSTRUCTIONS IN SHOOTING WILD-GEESE - -Where the main object is _close quarters_, ordinary 12-bore guns -suffice. But since geese are very strong and heavily clad, large shot is -a necessity, say No. 1. - -Thirty to thirty-five yards should be regarded as the outside range, -with forty yards as an extreme limit. The latter, however, should only -be attempted in exceptional cases, and never when shooting in company. - -Should two guns be employed, the case of the second is, of course, -different. It may be loaded with larger shot--say AAA--which is -effective up to fifty yards. - -The speed of geese (like that of bustards) is extremely deceptive--as -much so as their apparent nearness when really far out of shot. When in -full flight geese travel as fast as ducks or as driven grouse, though -their relatively slow wing-beats give a totally false impression -thereof. It is a safe rule for beginners to allow _double_ that forward -swing of the gun that may appear needful to inexpert eyes. - -Even when geese are slowing down to alight, the impetus of their flight -is still far greater than it appears. - -It is a mistake to suppose (as many urge) that geese cannot be killed -coming in, that the shot then "glances off their steely plumage," or -that you "must let them pass over and shoot from behind," etc., etc. The -cause of all these frequent misapprehensions is--the old, old -story--_too far back!_ Hold another foot ahead--or a yard, according to -circumstance--and this dictum will be handsomely proved. - -Never deliberately try to kill two at one shot; it results in killing -neither. But by shooting well ahead of _one_ goose that is seen to be -aligned with another beyond, _both_ may thus be secured. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -SOME RECORDS IN SPANISH WILDFOWLING - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - - -El Travierso, _February 9, 1901._--An hour before dawn we (five guns) -lay echeloned obliquely across a mile of water, the writer's position -being the second out. No. 1 squatted (in six inches of water) between me -and the shore; but, being dissatisfied, moved elsewhere shortly after -day-break, leaving with me two geese and about a dozen ducks. These, -with thirty-six of my own, I set out as decoys. Shortly thereafter I -heard the gaggle of geese, and two, coming from behind, were already so -near that there was only time to change _one_ cartridge to big shot. The -geese passed abeam, quite low and within thirty yards, but six feet -apart--impossible to get them both. Held on; upon seeing that the decoys -were a fraud, the geese spun up vertically, and that _one_ cartridge -secured both. The incident gives opportunity to introduce two rough -sketches pencilled down at the moment. During this day there were -recurrent periods when for ten or fifteen, minutes ducks flew extremely -fast and well--_revoluciones_, our keepers term these sporadic -intermittent movements; then for a full hour or more might follow a -spell of absolute silence and an empty sky. Almost the whole of these -successive flights concentrated on No. 2--such is fowler's luck,--so -that by dusk I had gathered 105 ducks, 3 geese, 3 flamingoes, and 4 -godwits; total, 115. The next gun (J. C. C.), though only 200 yards -away, in No. 3, had but 30 ducks; while the others had practically had -no shooting all day. Bertie, however, two miles away at the Desierto, -added 65--bringing the day's total to 268 ducks, 8 geese, etc. Three -guns left to-night. - -Next day at the Cañaliza, Bertie and I had 70 ducks by noon, when (by -reason of intense sun-glare at the point) I shifted back to my -yesterday's post--two hours' tramp through sticky mud and water, with a -load of cartridges, ducks, etc. Thereat in one hour (4 to 5 P.M.) I -secured 56 ducks, bringing my total for the two days--a record in my -humble way, but surpassed threefold, as will be seen on following -pages--to over 200 head, and for the party, to precisely 500 (491 ducks -and 9 geese), besides flamingoes, ruffs, grey-plover, etc. - -[Illustration: GODWITS] - - * * * * * - -A curious incident occurred on February 11 (1907). But few ducks--and -they all teal--had "flighted" early, and a strong west wind having -"blown" the water, my post was left near dry. Just as I prepared to move -300 yards eastward, a marvellous movement of teal commenced. On the far -horizon appeared three whirling clouds, each perhaps 100 yards in length -by 20 in depth, and all three waltzing and wheeling in marshalled -manoeuvres down channel towards me. To right and left in rhythmical -revolutions swept those masses, doubling again and again upon themselves -with a precision of movement that passes understanding. Each unit of -those thousands, actuated by simultaneous impulse, changed course while -moving at lightning speed; and with that changed course they changed -also their colour, flashing in an instant from dark to silvery white, -while the roar of wings resembled an earthquake. - -All three clouds had already passed along the deeper water beyond my -reach when there occurred this strange thing. A peregrine falcon had for -some time been hanging around studying with envious eye the dozen or two -dead ducks stuck up around my post; now he swept away, as it were, to -intercept that feathered avalanche on my right, with the result that the -third and last cloud, being cut off, doubled back in tumultuous -confusion right in my face--what a spectacle! The puny twelve-bore -brought down a perfect shower of teal--probably 30 or more fell all -around me. I gathered 18 as fast as the sticky mud allowed; others -fluttered here and there beyond reach; how many in all escaped to feed -marsh-harriers none can tell. - -Another incident with peregrine:--I had just taken post for -night-flighting at the Albacias, when, as dusk fell, a big bird appeared -in the gloom making, with laboured flight, directly towards me. Thinking -(though doubtfully) that it was a goose, I fired. The stranger proved to -be a beautiful adult peregrine, carrying in its claws a marbled duck, -and the pair are now set up in my collection. - - * * * * * - -Figures such as the following are apt to provoke two sentiments: (1) -that they are not true, or that (2), being true, such results must be -easy of attainment. The first we pass over. As regards the second, the -assumption ignores the nature and essential character of wildfowl. - -These, being cosmopolitans, remain precisely the same wherever on the -earth's surface they happen to be found. It is their sky they change, -not their natural disposition or their fixed habits, when wildfowl shift -their homes. The difficulty is that not half-a-dozen men in a thousand -understand wildfowl or the supreme difficulty which their pursuit -entails, whether in Spain, England, or elsewhere. - -In England, it is true, such results are out of the question, simply -because the country is highly drained, cultivated, and populous. Were it -desired to recover for England those immigrant hosts--the operation -would not be impossible--break down the Bedford Level and flood five -counties! Then you might enjoy in the Midlands such scenes as to-day we -see in Spain. - -As a matter of simple fact--and this we state without suspicion of -egotism, or careless should such uncharitably be imputed--the results -recorded below represent even for Spain something that approaches the -human maximum alike in wild-fowling skill, in endurance, and in deadly -earnest. - -That test of individual skill has, it may go without saying, been -demonstrated during all these years times without number. There are not, -within the authors' knowledge, a score of men who have fairly gathered -to their gun in one day 100 ducks in the open marisma. Again, while one -such gun, who is thoroughly efficient, will secure his century, others -(including excellent game-shots) will fail to bag one-tenth of that -number. There can be no question here of "luck" in that long run of -years. - -A feature, more valuable than the figures themselves, is the light they -throw upon the varying distribution of the _Anatidae_ (both specifically -and seasonably) in the south of Spain. - - 1897. _November 10._--ONE GUN (W. J. B.) - Dawn at El Puntal 6 geese - Forenoon at Santolalla 128 ducks - Afternoon " " 2 stags - - 1897. _November 25._--LAS NEUVAS (C. D. W. and B. F. B.) - 307 ducks, 53 geese - (Geese, all the afternoon, came well in to decoys) - - 1898. _January_ 29, 30, and 31.--TWO GUNS (W. D. M. and W. J. B.) - 437 ducks, 17 geese - -1903._January 18._--FLIGHT-SHOOTING WITH 12-BORE AT CAÑO DULCE (ONE GUN) - - 139 Wigeon - 32 Pintail - 20 Teal - 22 Shovelers - 10 Gadwall - 1 Mallard - 3 Greylag Geese - -Total, 224 ducks and 3 _geese_. About one-half shot on natural flight -before 11 A.M.; the rest later, over "decoys." Nice breeze all day. - - 1903. _February._--THREE CONSECUTIVE DAYS' FLIGHTING (ONE GUN) - - February 22. February 23. February 24. - - Pintaila 49 39 68 - Wigeon 17 18 5 - Shovelers 41 70 2 - Teal 10 17 2 - Gadwall 1 0 3 - Marbled Duck 1 0 0 - Garganey 1 1 0 - Mallard 0 0 1 - --- --- --- - 120 145 81 = 346 - -On the 24th a succession of pintails came in, all _in pairs_. Almost the -entire bag of that species was made in double shots. - -1903. _March 4._--BEYOND DESIERTO, FLIGHTING (ONE GUN) - - 124 Teal - 7 Pintail - 2 Mallard - 4 Shovelers - -Put away many thousands of teal early. These kept coming back in small -lots all day. But the wind held wrong all through, and the _Viento de la -mar_ (= sea-breeze) did not blow up till 5 P.M. Nine camels passed close -by. - -1904. _November 8._--LAGUNA DE SANTOLALLA (ONE GUN) - - 102 Teal - 14 Pochard - 3 Gadwall - 7 Mallard - 3 Shovelers - 6 Ferruginous Duck - 25 Marbled Duck - --- - Total 159 Ducks - -1905. _November 8._--(P. GARVEY, C. D. W., and B. F. B.) - -Santolalla 264 ducks - -1905. _December 3._--CAÑO DULCE (ONE GUN) - - 3 Greylag Geese - 121 Wigeon - 47 Teal - 3 Pintail - 3 Shovelers - 1 Flamingo - --- - Total 178 - -1905-6. TWO DAYS AT CAÑO DULCE (ONE GUN) - - Dec. 17, 1905. Feb. 17, 1906. - - Wigeon 235 47 - Shovelers 10 13 - Pintail 18 62 - Gadwall 6 0 - Teal 2 6 - Marbled Duck 1 0 - Geese 1 2 - ---- ---- - 273 130 - -The total on December 17 represents the "Record," and was made (as was -that with geese, see p. 131) by B. F. B. - -The whole of the above records refer to flight-shooting with a 12-bore -gun. - -Following is a list of the different ducks shot by one gun during two -consecutive seasons:-- - - 1902-3. 1903-4. - - Wigeon 277 230 - Pintail 267 28 - Mallard 9 42 - Gadwall 21 36 - Shovelers 195 32 - Teal 276 269 - Garganey 2 1 - Marbled Duck 4 51 - Pochard[22] 1 0 - Pochard, Crested 1 0 - Tufted Duck 0 1 - White-faced Duck 0 1 - Unenumerated 191 0 - ---- --- - 1244 726 - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE SPANISH IBEX - - -In the Spanish ibex Spain possesses not only a species peculiar to the -Peninsula, but a game-animal of the first rank. - -Fortunate it is that this sentence can be written in the present tense -instead of (as but a few years ago appeared probable) in the past. - -Since we first wrote on this subject in 1893 the Spanish ibex has passed -through a crisis that came perilously near extirpation. Up to the date -named, and for several years later, none of the great landowners of -Spain, within whose titles were included the vast sierras and -mountain-ranges that form its home, had cherished either pride or -interest in the Spanish wild-goat. Some were dimly conscious of its -existence on their distant domains: but that was all. Not a scintilla of -reproach is here inferred. For these mountain-ranges are so remote and -so elevated as often to be almost inaccessible--or accessible only by -organised expedition independent of local aid. Their sole human -inhabitants are a segregated race of goat-herds, every man of them a -born hunter, accustomed from time immemorial to kill whenever -opportunity offered--and that regardless of size, sex, or season. That -the ibex should have survived such persecution by hardy mountaineers -bespeaks their natural cunning. Their survival was due to two -causes--first, the antiquated weapons employed, but, more important, the -astuteness of the game and the "defence" it enjoyed in the stupendous -precipices and snow-fields of those sierras, great areas of which remain -inaccessible even to specialised goat-herds, save only for a limited -period in summer. - -But no wild animal, however astute or whatever its "defence," can -withstand for ever perpetual, skilled human persecution. During the -early years of the present century the Spanish ibex appeared doomed -beyond hope. Private efforts over such vast areas were obviously -difficult, if not impossible. - -We rejoice to add that at this eleventh hour a new era of existence has -been secured to _Capra hispánica_ at that precise psychological moment -when its scant survivors were struggling in their last throes. The -change is due to graceful action by the landowners in certain great -mountain-ranges; and if our own explorations and our writings on the -subject have also tended to assist, none surely will grudge the authors -this expression of pride in having helped, however humbly, to preserve -not only to Spain, but to the animal-world, one of its handsomest -species. - -This new era took different forms in different places. In certain -sierras--those of less boundless area--the owners have undertaken the -preservation of the ibex partly from their realising the tangible asset -this game-beast adds to the value of barren mountain-land, and partly in -view of the legitimate sport that an increase in stock may hereafter -afford. - -But the main factor which has assured success (and which in itself led -up to the private efforts just named) took origin in the great Sierra de -Grédos. This elevated region is the apex of the long cordillera of -central Spain, the Carpeto-Vetonico range, which extends from Moncayo, -east of Madrid, for some 300 miles through the Castiles and Estremadura, -forming the watershed of Tagus and Douro. It separates the two Castiles, -and passing the frontier of Portugal is there known as the Serra da -Estrella, which, with the Cintra hills, extends to the Atlantic -sea-board. Along all this extensive cordillera there is no more favoured -resort of ibex than its highest peak, the Plaza de Almanzór, of 2661 -metres altitude (= 8700 feet) above sea-level. - -In 1905, when the ibex were about at their last gasp, the proprietors of -the _Nucléo central_, which we may translate as the _Heart_ of Grédos, -of their own initiative, ceded to King Alfonso XIII. the sole -rights-of-chase therein, and His Majesty commissioned the Marquis of -Villaviciosa de Asturias to appoint an adequate force of guards. - -Six guards were selected from the self-same goat-herds who, up to that -date, had themselves been engaged in hunting to extermination the last -surviving ibex of the sierra, and whom we had ourselves employed during -various expeditions therein. - -[Illustration: ON THE RISCO DEL FRAILE. - -SPANISH IBEX IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS..] - -The ceded area comprised all the best game-country, defined as the -"Circo de Grédos"--including the gorge of the Laguna Grande, the Risco -del Fraile, Risco del Francés, and that of Ameál de Pablo, together with -the wild valley of Las Cinco Lagunas--as shown on rough sketch-plan -annexed. - -[Illustration: SKETCH-MAP OF THE _NUCLÉO CENTRAL_ OF GRÉDOS - -(A. _Alto del Casquerázo._ - -B. _Riscos del Fraile_, with the Hermanitos in front.)] - -In 1896 we estimated the stock of ibex at fifty head, and during the -following years it fell far below that--by 1905 almost to zero. In 1907, -after only two years of "sanctuary," it was computed by the guards that -the total exceeded 300 head. - -In July 1910 we inquired if it were possible to estimate the present -stock. In a letter (the composition of which would cost some anxiety) -the Guarda of the Madrigal de la Vera--one portion only of the -"sanctuary"--reports: "It is difficult to count the ibex. Sometimes we -see more, sometimes less. Yesterday on the Cabeza Neváda we counted 39 -rams and 22 females together. On the other side we counted 29 in one -troop, 19 in another, 12 in another, besides smaller lots. We probably -saw 160 or 170, and we could not see all. Some of the old rams are very -big, and it would be advisable that some be shot." Another report (at -same date) from the "Hoyos del Espino," estimates the ibex there to -exceed 200 head. The two reports go to show that the continuity of the -race is fairly secured. - -[A similar cession of sole hunting-rights to the King was simultaneously -made by the owners of the "Central Group" of the Picos de Europa in -Asturias. There are no ibex in that Cantabrian range; the graceful act -was there inspired by a desire to preserve the chamois, animals with -which we deal in another chapter.] - -The Spanish ibex is found at six separate points in the Peninsula, each -colony divided from its fellows as effectually as though broad oceans -rolled between. The six localities are:-- - -(1) The Pyrenees--which we have not visited. - -(2) Sierra de Grédos, as above defined, and as described in greater -detail hereafter. - -(3) Sierra Moréna, a single isolated colony near Fuen-Caliente, now -preserved (see next chapter). - -(4) Sierra Neváda and the Alpuxarras (cf. _infra_). - -(5) The mountains along the Mediterranean, which are properly western -outliers of Neváda, but which are usually grouped as the "Serrania de -Ronda," some lying within sight of Gibraltar. Several of the most -important ranges are now preserved by their owners (cf. _infra_). - -(6) Valencia, Sierra Martés. This forms a new habitat hitherto -unrecorded, and of which we only became aware through the kindness of -Mr. P. Burgoyne of Valencia, who has favoured us with the annexed photo -of an ibex head killed (along with a smaller example) at Cuevas Altas in -the mountain-region known as Peñas Pardas in that province, February 22, -1909. The dimensions read as follows:-- - - Length along front curves 21-3/4 inches - Circumference at base 7-7/8 " - Widest span 16-3/8 " - Tip to tip 17 " - -Our informant has reason to believe that ibex also exist (or existed -within recent years) in the rugged mountains of Tortosa, farther east in -Catalonia. - -In the form of its horns the Spanish ibex differs essentially from the -typical ibex of the Alps--now, alas, exterminated save only in the King -of Italy's preserved ranges around the Val d'Aosta. In the true ibex the -horns bend regularly backwards and downwards in a uniform, scimitar-like -curve. In the Spanish species, after first diverging laterally, the -horns are recurved both inward and finally upward. That is, in the first -case they follow a simple semicircular bend, while in the Spanish goats -they form almost a spiral. - -A minor point of difference lies in the annular rings or notches which -in the true ibex are rectangular, encircling the horn in front like -steps in a ladder, while in _Capra hispánica_ they rather run obliquely -in semi-spiral ascent. These annulations indicate the age of the -animal--one notch to each year--but the count must stop where the spiral -ends. Beyond that is the lightly grooved tip, which does not alter. - -The horns of old rams (which are often broken or worn down at the tips) -average 26 to 28 inches, specially fine examples reaching 29 inches or -more. The females likewise carry horns, but short and slender, only -measuring 6 or 7 inches. - -The six isolated colonies of ibex, separated from each other during -ages, live under totally different natural conditions. For while some, -as stated, exist at 8000, 10,000, or 12,000 feet altitude, others occupy -hills of much more moderate elevations--say 4000 to 6000 feet, some of -which are bush-clad to their summits. Under such circumstances there -have naturally developed divergencies not only in habits, but in form -and size. Particularly does this apply to the horns, and for that reason -we give a series of photos of typical examples from various points. - -The ibex of the Pyrenees is certainly the largest race, and has been -entitled by scientists _Capra pyrenaica_; those of the centre and south -of Spain being differentiated as _C. hispánica_. We attach less -importance to specific distinctions, but leave the illustrations of -specimens to speak for themselves. It may, however, be remarked that -examples from the two outside extremes (Pyrenees and Neváda) most -closely assimilate in their flattened and compressed form of horn. - -Neither in Grédos nor Neváda are the rock-formations so precipitous as -in the Picos de Europa in Asturias--described later in this book. They -present, nevertheless, difficulties possibly insuperable to mere hunters -unskilled in the technique of climbing. Rock-climbing forms a recognised -branch of "mountaineering," but of that science the authors (with sorrow -be it confessed) have never been enamoured. To us, mountains, merely as -such, have not appealed. But they form the home of alpine creatures, the -study and acquisition of which were objects that no terrestrial obstacle -could entirely forbid, and we enjoy retrospective pride in having so far -surmounted those antecedent terrors as to have secured a few specimens -of this, the most "impossible" of European trophies--the Spanish ibex. - -An awkward situation is a subrounded wall of rough granulated granite -blocking our course and traversed obliquely by an up-trending fissure -barely the breadth of hempen soles, its inclination outward, and the -"tread" carpeted with slippery wet moss still half frozen. It is seldom -what one can _see_ that gives pause, but the fear of the unseen. Here we -hesitate by reason of the uncertainty of what may confront beyond that -grim curve. The fissure might cease; to turn back would clearly be -impossible. Impatient of delay our crag-born guide--a _homo rupestris_, -prehensile of foot--seized the gun, and with a muttered ejaculation that -might have included scorn, in three strides had skipt around the dreaded -corner--of course we followed. - -Snow-slopes tipped at steep angles never inspire confidence in the -unaxed climber, especially when the surface is half melted, revealing -green ice beneath, and when the disappearing curve conceals from view -what dangers may lurk below. Again a suddenly interrupted ledge--say -where some great block has become disintegrated from the hanging -face--necessitates a sort of nervy jump quite calculated to shorten -one's days, even if it does not precipitately terminate them. - -The ibex is always nocturnal. On the great cordilleras it spends its day -asleep on some rock-ledge isolated amidst snow-fields, its security -doubly assured by sentinels, whenever such are deemed necessary: or, -lower down, in the caves of a sheer precipice. Only after sun-down do -the ibex descend, and never, even then, so far as timber-line. On these -loftier sierras their home by day is confined to rock and snow; by night -to that zone of moss, heath, and alpine vegetation that intervenes -between the snow-line and topmost levels of scrub and conifer. - - * * * * * - -Such are the ibex of the loftier ranges--Grédos and Neváda. But in the -south, wild-goats are found on mountains of inferior elevation, 4000 to -6000 feet, many of which are jungled--some even forested--to their -summits, and there they cannot disdain the shelter of the scrub. We have -hunted them (within sight of the Mediterranean) in ground that appeared -more suitable to roe-deer, and have seen the "rootings" of wild-pig -within the ibex-holding area. - -In such situations the wild-goats take quite kindly to the scrub, -forming regular "lairs" wherein they lie-up as close as hares or roe. -Amidst the brushwood that clothes the highland--heaths and broom, -genista, rhododendron, lentiscus, and a hundred other shrubs--they rest -by day and browse by night without having to descend or shift their -quarters at all. On these lower hills the ibex owe their safety, and -survival, to the vast area of covert, and, in less degree, to their -comparatively small numbers. So few are they and so big their home, they -are considered "not worth hunting." - -During summer the ibex feed on the mountain-grasses, rush, and flowering -shrubs which at that season adorn the alpine solitudes; later, on the -berries and wild-fruits of the hill. By autumn they attain their highest -condition--the beards of the rams fully developed and their brown pelts -glossy and almost uniform in colour. At this period (September to -October) the rutting season occurs and fighting takes place--the -champions rearing on hind-legs for a charge, and the crash of opposing -horns resounds across the corries of the sierra. Even in spring memories -of the combative instinct survive, for we have watched, in April, a pair -of veterans sparring at each other for half an hour. - -The young are born in April and soon follow their dams--graceful -creatures with unduly large hind-legs, like brown lambs. One is the -usual number, though two are not infrequent. The kid remains with its -dam upwards of a year--that is, till after a second family has been -born. - -At that season (April to May) the ibex are changing their coats. The -males lose the flowing beard and assume a hoary piebald colour, -contrasting with the dark of legs and quarters. The muzzle is warm cream -colour and the lower leg (below knee) prettily marked with black and -white. On the knee is a callosity, or round patch of bare hardened skin. -The horns of yearling males are thicker and heavier than those of adult -females. - -Though the hill-shepherds in summer drive out their herds of goats to -pasture on the higher sierra, where they may come in contact with their -wild congeners, yet no interbreeding has ever been known; nor can the -wild ibex be domesticated. Wild kids that are captured invariably die -before attaining maturity. The horns of the herdsmen's goats differ in -type from those of the ibex, which can never have been the progenitor of -the race of goats now domesticated in Spain. - -Though the personal aroma of an ibex-ram is strong--rather more -offensive than that of a vulture--yet no trace of this remains after -cooking. The flesh is brown and tough, but devoid of any special flavour -or individuality--that is, when subjected to the rude cookery of the -camp. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -SIERRA MORÉNA - -IBEX - - -The tourist speeding along the Andalucian railways and surveying from -his carriage-window the olive-clad and altogether mild-looking slopes of -the Sierra Moréna, will form no adequate, much less a romantic, -conception of that great mountain-system of which he sees but the -southern fringe. Yet, in fact, the train hurries him past within a few -leagues of perhaps the finest big-game country in Spain--of -mountain-solitudes and a thousand jungled corries, wherein lurk fierce -wolves and giant boars, together with one of the grandest races of red -deer yet extant in Europe. - -True, the Sierra Moréna lacks both the altitudes and the stupendous -rock-ridges that characterise all other Spanish sierras--from Neváda and -Grédos to the Pyrenees. It consists rather of a congeries of jumbled -mountain-ranges of no great elevations, but of infinite ramification, -and lacking (save at two points only) those bolder features that most -appeal to the eye. Were the Spanish ranges all of the contour of Moréna, -the name "Sierra" would not have applied. It is, moreover, a unilateral -range--a buttress, banked up on its northern side by the high-lands of -La Mancha, resembling in that respect the well-known Drakensberg of the -Transvaal. - -The Sierra Moréna, typical yet apart, divides for upwards of 300 miles -the sunny lowlands of Andalucia from the bare, bleak uplands of La -Mancha on the north. And in vertical depth (if we may include the -contiguous Montes de Toledo) the range extends but little short of 150 -miles. - -As a homogeneous mountain-system, Moréna thus covers a space equal to -the whole of England south of the Thames, with a central northern -projection which would embrace all the Midland Counties as far as -Nottingham! - -[In any survey of the Sierra Moréna, it is appropriate to include the -adjoining Montes de Toledo. They, as just stated, form a north-trending -pyramidal apex based on the main chain and presenting identical -characteristics, both physical and faunal, though of lower general -elevation. The Montes de Toledo, in short, are an intricate complication -of low subrounded hills--rather than mountains--tacked on to the north -of Moréna, all scrub-clad and inhabited by the same wild beasts. Toledan -stags exhibit the same magnificent cornual development, and there is -evidence of seasonal intermigration as between two adjacent regions only -divided by the valley of the Guadiana--a shortage in one area being -sometimes found to be compensated by a corresponding increase in the -other. Roe-deer are more abundant in the lower range; but the sole -clean-cut faunal distinction lies in the presence of wild fallow-deer in -the Montes de Toledo--these animals being quite unknown in Moréna.[23]] - -May we digress on a cognate subject? The Sierra Neváda, though so near -(at one point the two ranges are merely separated by a narrow gap yclept -Los Llanos de Jaén), yet presents totally divergent natural phenomena. - -There are points in Moréna--say from the heights above -Despeñaperros--whence the two systems can be surveyed at once. Behind -you, on the north, roll away, ridge beyond ridge, the endless rounded -skylines of Moréna--colossal yet never abrupt. In front, to the -south--apparently within stone's-throw--rise the stupendous snow-peaks -of Neváda--jagged pinnacles piercing the heavens to nigh 12,000 feet. - -These peaks may appear within stone's-throw, or say an easy day's ride, -though that is an optical illusion. But narrow as it is, that gap of -Jaén divides two mountain-regions utterly dissimilar in every attribute, -whether as to the manner of their birth in remote ages and the -landscapes they present to-day. - -Faunal distinctions are also conspicuous. In Neváda there are found -neither deer of any kind (whether red, roe, or fallow) nor wild-boar, -whereas it forms the selected home of ibex and lammergeyer, both of -which are conspicuous by their absence from Moréna, save for a single -segregated colony of wild-goats near Fuen-Caliente. - - * * * * * - -Although the Sierra Moréna partakes rather of massive than of abrupt -character, yet there occur at a couple of points outcrops of naked rock -of real grandeur. Such, for example, is Despeñaperros, through whose -gorges the Andalucian railway threads a semi-subterranean course. The -very name Despeñaperros signifies in that wondrously adaptive Spanish -tongue nothing less than that its living rocks threaten to hurl to death -and destruction even dogs that venture thereon. - -Another interpretation suggests that in olden days, such were the -pleasantries of the Moors, it was not dogs, but Christians (since to a -Moor the terms were synonymous) that were hurled to their death from the -_riscos_ of Despeñaperros. - -These rock-formations are superbly abrupt. Great detached crags, massive -and moss-marbled, jut perpendicular from ragged steeps, or vast -monoliths protrude, each in rectilineal outline so exact that one -wonders if these are truly of nature's handiwork, and not some fabled -fortalice of old-time Goth or Moor. Despite its striking contour, -however, its crags and precipices are too scattered and detached (with -traversable intervals between) to attract such a rock-lover as the ibex, -and no wild-goat has ever occupied the gorges of Despeñaperros. - -A similar rock-region, but more extensive and continuous, is found near -Fuen-Caliente--by name the Sierra Quintána. This range, though its -elevations barely exceed 7000 feet, forms the only spot in the Sierra -Moréna at which the Spanish ibex retains a foothold. - -Thereat the writer in 1901 endured one of those evil experiences which -from time to time befall those who seek hunting-grounds in the wilder -corners of the earth. It was in mid-February that, forced by bitter -extremity of weather, we fain sought refuge in the hamlet of -Fuen-Caliente clinging at 5700 feet on the steep of the sierra, as -crag-martins fix their clay-built nests on some rock-face. Fuen-Caliente -dates back to Roman days. Warm springs, as its name implies, here burst -from riven rock, and stone baths, built by no modern hand, attest a -bygone enterprise. To this day, we are told, the baths of Fuen-Caliente -attract summer-visitors; we trust their health benefits thereby. Surely -some counter-irritation is needed to balance the perils of a sojourn -within that unsavoury eyrie. We write feelingly, even after all these -years, and after suffering assorted tribulations in many a rough -spot--Fuen-Caliente is bad to beat. - -Having tents and full camp-outfit, we had thought to live independent of -the village _posada_. One night, however, as we climbed the rising -ground that leads to the higher sierra there burst in our faces an -easterly gale (_levante_), with driving snow-storms that even a mule -could not withstand. Nothing remained but to seek shelter in the village -below. - -Here my bedroom measured twelve feet by four, with a door at each end. -The door proper was reached by a vertical ladder; the second might -perhaps be differentiated as a window, but could only be distinguished -as such by its smaller size--both being made of solid wood. Thus, were -the window open, snow swirled through as freely as on the open sierra; -if shut, we lived in darkness dimly relieved by the flicker of a -_mariposa_, that is, a cotton-wick reposing in a saucer of olive-oil. -Under such conditions, with other nameless horrors, we passed three days -and nights while gales blew and snow swirled by incessant. - -On the fourth morning the wind fell, and snow had given place to fine -rain. These _levantes_ usually last either three or nine days; so, -thinking this one had blown itself out, we packed the kit and set out in -renewed search of ibex, Caraballo, with accustomed forethought, buying a -bunch of live chickens, which hung by their legs from the after-pannier -of the mule. On the limited area of Quintána, ibex offer the best chance -of stalking. - -Mules are marvellous mountaineers. The places that animal surmounted -to-day passed belief. Two donkeys that belonged to the local hunters, -Abad and Brijido, who accompanied us, soon got stuck, and had to be left -below. - -By three o'clock we, mule and all, had reached the highest ridge of -Quintána, and encamped within a few hundred feet of its top-most -_riscos_. - -To set up a tent among rocks is never easy; even specially made iron -tent-pegs find no hold, and guy-ropes have to be made fast, as securely -as may be, to any projecting point. - -Hardly had the sun gone down, than the easterly gale blew up again with -redoubled force. All night it howled through our narrow gorge and around -its pinnacled rock-minarets, with the result that at 11 P.M. the -ill-secured guys gave way, and down came our tent with a crash. Two -hours were spent (in drenching rain) remedying this; and when day broke, -an icy _neblina_ (fog) enveloped the sierra, shutting out all view -beyond a few yards. The cold was intense, and a little dam we had -engineered the night before was frozen thick. The fog held all that day -and the next. Nothing could be done, though we persisted in going out -each day, as in duty bound, for a few hours' turn among the crags--how -we prayed for _one_ hour's clear interval that might have given that -glorious sight we sought! At dusk the second night snow fell heavily, -and later on a thunderstorm added to our joys. Frequent and vivid -flashes of lightning lit up the darkness, and caused the surviving -chickens (which in common charity we had had tethered inside the tent) -to crow so incessantly that sleep was impossible. Presently we noticed a -sharp fall in temperature--the men had brought in a cube of ice, the -solidified contents of one of our camp-buckets, which they proposed to -melt at a little fire kept burning in the tent! But this was too much, -even though it meant "no coffee for breakfast." - -The frost and fog continuing, on the third morning the men proposed we -should move lower down the hill, to some _cortijo_ they knew of, thereat -to await milder weather. - -By this time, however, the cold had penetrated deep into throat and -chest, which felt raw and inflamed, leaving the writer almost -speechless. We therefore decided to abandon the whole venture, and -struck camp, still wrapt in that opaque shroud of driving sleet. - -Crossing over the highest ridge of the sierra, between crags of which -only the bases were visible, we descended on the south side; here we -organised a "drive" amid the jungles that clothe the lower slopes. Two -lynxes and three pigs were reported as seen by the beaters. Only one of -the latter, however, came to the gun, and proved to be a sow, bigger by -half than any wild-pig we had then seen in Spain. We regretted having no -means of weighing this beast, which we estimated at well over 200 lbs. -clean. A remarkable cast antler picked up at this spot carried four -points on the main beam, as well as four on top--length 34-1/8 inches, -by 5-3/4 inches basal circumference. - -The "defences" of the ibex in the Sierra Quintána lie among some fairly -big crags forming the eastern and southern faces of the range. The -shooting at that time was free; hence the goats were never left in peace -by the mountaineers, who all carried guns, and used them whenever a -chance presented itself. The result was that the few surviving goats had -become severely nocturnal in habit, spending the entire day in caves and -crevices in the faces of sheer and naked precipices. - -Some of their eyries appeared absolutely inaccessible to any creature -unendowed with wings. One cave, though it had no visible approach, was -situate only some eight or ten feet above a ledge in the perpendicular -rock-face. One morning at dawn two ibex having been seen to enter this -cave, at once a couple of the wiry goat-herds thought to reach them from -the ledge below, one lad actually climbing on to the other's shoulders -as he stood on that narrow shelf. In its rush to escape, however, the -leading ibex upset the precarious balance, and the poor lad was -precipitated among the tumbled rocks in the abyss below. - -Riding homewards through inhospitable brush-clad hills towards the -railway (forty miles away), we put up one night at a village named, with -unconscious irony, Cardeña Real. In the small hours broke out another -terrific disturbance--shrieks, squeals, barking--all the dogs gone mad. -The night was pitch-dark with rain falling in torrents; but next morning -we ascertained that a pack of wolves had carried off the landlord's pigs -from their stye, not fifteen yards away--indeed, three mangled porkers -lay piled up against the wall of our hovel. - -The contingency of pigs being worse off than ourselves had not -previously occurred to us. Thus ended, in a cycle of catastrophe, our -first wrestle with _Capra hispánica_ in Moréna; but initial failure only -served to stimulate further efforts later on. Winter, moreover, is no -season for camping in these high sierras; May is more favourable, but -the early autumn is best of all. - -At this period (1901) the surviving ibex had fallen to a mere handful. -Fortunately here, as elsewhere in Spain, there was aroused, within the -next five years, the tardy interest of Spanish landowners to save them. - -[Illustration: HEADS OF SPANISH IBEX. - -(A) SIERRA DE GRÉDOS--MADRIGAL DE LA VERA. - -Length 26-1/2 in. Circum. 10-1/8 in. Tips, 22-1/8 in. - -(B) SIERRA NEVADA. - -Length 29-3/4 in. Circum. 8-1/8 in. Tips, 20-7/8 in. - -(C) SIERRA DE GRÉDOS, BOHOYO. 29-1/8 in. - -(D) VALENCIA, SIERRA MARTES. 21-3/4 in.] - -The owner of the sierras above mentioned (the Marquis del Mérito) has -favoured us with latest details respecting both the ibex and other wild -beasts therein. - - The wild-goat (he writes) is the most difficult of all game to - shoot, proof of which is afforded by the fact that in the lands - which I hold in the Sierra Quintána (although until recent years - these were unpreserved and in the neighbourhood of a village where - every man was a hunter) yet the local shooters had not succeeded in - exterminating the species. Its means of defence, over and above its - keen sight and scent, consist chiefly in the inaccessible natural - caves of those mountains, in which the wild-goats invariably seek - refuge the moment they find themselves pursued. In these caves the - goats were accustomed to pass the entire day, never coming out to - feed except during the night. - - To-day (since free shooting has ceased) they begin to show up a - little during daylight, and in other ways demonstrate a returning - confidence. Nevertheless they display not the slightest inclination - to abandon their old tendency to betake themselves, immediately on - the appearance of danger, to the vast crags and precipices which - lie towards the east of the sierra, and which crags afford them - almost complete security. The most effective method of securing a - specimen to-day is, as you know, by stalking (_resécho_). For this - animal, when it finds itself suddenly surprised by a human being, - is less startled than deer, or other game, and usually allows - sufficient time for careful aim to be taken--indeed, it seems to be - the more alarmed when it has lost sight of the intruder. - - The rutting season occurs in November and December, and the kids, - usually one or two in number, are born in May, the same as domestic - goats. These kids have a terrible enemy in the golden eagles, since - their birth coincides with the period when these rapacious birds - have their own broods to feed, and when they become more savage - than ever. To reduce the damage thus done, I am now paying to the - guards a reward for every eagle destroyed, and this last spring - took myself a nest containing one eaglet, shooting both its - parents. - - The dimensions of horns I am unable to put down with precision, but - there was killed here an ibex (which was mounted by Barrasóna at - Córdoba) measuring 85 centimetres in length (= 33-1/2 inches). Of - the last, which was killed by Lord Hindlip, as shown in photo I - send, the length of horns was 68 centimetres (= 26-3/4 inches). - -The dimensions of the best ibex head obtained by us in this sierra were: -Length, 28 inches; basal circumference, 8-1/4 inches. - - -WOLVES - -These animals, which perpetrate incredible destruction to game, are very -abundant in Moréna, yet rarely shot in the _monterías_ (mountain-drives). -This is not due to any special astuteness of the wolf, but simply -because, while waiting for deer, sportsmen naturally lie very low, thus -giving opportunity to wolves to pass unseen; while, on the other hand, -when boars only are expected, and sportsmen therefore remain less -concealed, the wolf is apt to detect the danger before arriving within -shot. - -In May and June the she-wolves produce their young; but it is difficult -to discover these broods, since at that period they betake themselves to -remote regions far away from the haunts frequented in normal times. - -There is, however, one method of discovering them which is known to the -mountaineers as the _otéo_, or watching for them over-night, thus noting -precisely where each she-wolf gives tongue. If on the following morning -the howl is repeated at the same spot, it is a practical certainty that -that wolf will have her brood in that immediate neighbourhood. - -Thereupon at daybreak the hunters proceed to examine every bush and -brake in the marked spot, which invariably consists either of strong -brushwood or broken rocks. All around the actual lair for a hundred -yards the ground is traced with footprints and scratchings, which -usually lead to its discovery; but should it not be found that day, it -is completely useless to seek for it on the following, since the moment -that a she-wolf perceives that her whelps are being sought, she at once -removes them far away. To exterminate wolves, strychnine is extensively -used, giving positive results.[24] At the same time it is always better -to supplement its use by searching out with practical men the broods of -wolf-cubs at their proper season. - -The photo facing p. 158 shows a magnificent old dog-wolf, scaling 93 -lbs. dead-weight, which we obtained in the Sierra Moréna, near Córdoba, -in March 1909. - - -LYNX, OR _GATO CERVAL_ - -This animal breeds in April and May, and the number of young is -generally two. If captured, the majority of the young lynxes die at the -period when they change from a milk diet to solid food, and one may -imagine that the same thing happens in the case of the wild lynxes, -since otherwise it is difficult to explain why an animal, whose only -enemy is mankind, should remain so scarce. Their food consists of -partridges, rabbits, and other small game. - - -RED DEER - -With the red deer of these mountains, as elsewhere in Spain, the rut -(_celo_) depends upon the autumn, which season may be earlier or later; -but the _celo_ always takes place between mid-September and mid-October. -The calves are born at end of May or early in June, and suckled by their -mothers till the following autumn. - -The casting of the horns, together with the change of hair, varies in -date, depending on the state of health in each individual. It generally -occurs in May, but in very robust animals we have seen cases in April, -and in the _barétos_, or stags of one year, in March. The development of -the new horn is complete by the end of July, and in August occurs the -shedding of the velvet. The horn at first is of a white bone-colour, but -gradually darkens, the final colour depending on the nature of the bush -frequented, the blackest being found in those stags which inhabit the -gum-cistus (_jarales_). - -Although it is currently believed among country folk that the age of a -stag can be determined by the number of his points, this is incorrect, -the horn development depending solely on the robustness of the animal. -It frequently happens that a stag carries fewer points than he did the -year before. - -When the hinds are about to bring forth, they isolate themselves, -seeking spots where the brushwood is less dense, and leaving the calf -concealed in some bush. The habits of a hind when giving her offspring -its first lessons in the arts of concealment and caution are interesting -to watch. Shortly after daybreak the mother suddenly performs a series -of wild, convulsive bounds, leaping away over the bush as though in -presence of visible peril, thus alarming the youngster and teaching it -to seek cover for itself. This performance is repeated at intervals -until the calf has learnt to lie-up, when the hind will do the same, but -at some distance, although in view. She only allows her progeny to -accompany her when it has acquired sufficient strength and agility to -follow, which is the case some twenty or thirty days after birth. - -Having noted the spoor of a single hind at the breeding-time, one may -follow to the spot where she is suckling her young. But so soon as one -observes the prints of these spasmodic jumps with which the mother -instils into her offspring a sense of caution (as above described), one -may then begin leisurely to examine every bush round about. In one of -these the calf will be found lying curled up without a bed and with its -nose resting on its hip.[25] It will at first offer some slight -resistance, but once captured, may be set free with the certainty that -it will not make any attempt to escape. - -The only enemies the full-grown stag has to fear are mankind and the -wolf, but chiefly the latter, since not only do single wolves destroy in -this sierra large numbers of the newly born calves, but, worse still, -when a troop of wolves have once tasted venison they commence habitually -to hunt both hinds and even the younger stags, which they persistently -follow day after day till the deer are absolutely worn out. They then -pull them down, the final scene usually occurring in some deep ravine or -mountain burn. - -The calves of red deer, as happens with ibex kids, are also preyed upon -by golden eagles. - - -DEER-SHOOTING - -As regards sport, the best results are only attainable by _monterías_, -or extended drives, assuming that the district is thickly jungled, and -generally of elevated situation. There is also a system of shooting at -the "roaring-time," but that is uncertain owing to the rapidity of the -stag's movements, the thick bush, and the risk of his getting the wind. -Practised trackers are in the habit of hunting _á la greña_, which -consists in observing the deer at daybreak, selecting a good stag, and -afterwards following his spoor at midday (at which hour deer, while -enjoying their siesta, are quite apt to lie close) and shooting as he -springs from his lair (_al arrancár_). - -[Illustration: RED DEER HEADS, SIERRA MORÉNA. - -ZAMUJAK, JAËN. - -Points 16. Length 38-3/4 in. - -VALDELAGRANA. - -Points 16. Length 40-5/8 in.] - -SIERRA QUINTANA. - -Points 15. Length 37-1/2 in. - -RISQUILLO. - -Points 14. Length 36-3/4 in.] - -A really big stag is nearly always found alone, or should he have a -companion, the second will also be an animal of large size. Such stags -are never seen with hinds, excepting in the autumn (_celo_). - -The system of the _montería_, or mountain-drive, is described in detail -in the following chapter. - - TABLE OF SPANISH IBEX HEADS - - Measured by the Authors, or other stated Authority. - - +------------+---------+-------------------+----------+----------------+ - | | | Width. | | | - | Locality. | Length. +---------+---------+ Circum- | Authority. | - | | | Tips. | Inside. | ference. | | - +------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+----------------+ - | | ins. | ins. | ins. | ins. | | - | Moréna | 33-1/2 | ... | ... | ... | Marq. Mérito | - | | | | | | (p. 158).| - | Pyrenees | 31 | 26-1/2 | ... | 8-3/4 | Sir V. Brooke. | - | Neváda | 29-3/4 | 22-1/4 | 20-7/8 | 8-1/4 | At Madrid. | - | Grédos[26] | 29-1/4 | 23-1/4 | ... | 9-1/2 | Authors. | - | Do. | 29-1/8 | 23-1/8 | 21 | 9-7/8 | M. Amezúa. | - | Do. | 29 | 22-1/2 | ... | 9-1/4 | Authors. | - | Pyrenees | 29 | 23 | ... | 10 | Sir V. Brooke. | - | Neváda[26] | 29 | 23 | 18-3/4 | 9 | Authors. | - | Do. | 28-1/4 | 24-1/2 | 22 | 9-1/16 | Do. | - | Moréna | 28-1/2 | ... | ... | 8-1/4 | Do. | - | Bermeja | 28 | 19 | ... | 8-1/4 | Do. | - | Moréna | 26-3/4 | ... | ... | ... | Lord Hindlip. | - | Grédos | 26-1/2 | ... | 22-1/8 | 10-1/8 | At Madrid. | - | Pyrenees | 26 | 21 | ... | 10 | Sir V. Brooke. | - | Sa. Blanca | 26 | ... | ... | 8-3/4 | P. Larios. | - | Grédos | 24-1/8 | ... | ... | 8-1/4 | Authors. | - | Pyrenees | 22-3/4 | 18-3/4 | ... | 9-1/2 | E. N. Buxton. | - | Sa. Blanca | 22 | ... | 14 | 7-3/4 | P. Larios. | - | Valencia | 21-3/4 | 16-3/8 | 17 | 7-7/8 | P. Burgoyne. | - +------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+----------------+ - - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -SIERRA MORÉNA (_Continued_) - -RED DEER AND BOAR - - -The mountain deer of the Sierra Moréna are the grandest of their kind in -Spain, and will compare favourably with any truly wild deer in -Europe.[27] The drawings, photographs, and measurements given in this -chapter prove so much, but no mere numerals convey an adequate -conception of these magnificent harts, as seen in the full glory of life -bounding in unequal leaps over some rocky pass, or picking more -deliberate course up a stone stairway. - -Massive as they are in body (weighing, say, 300 lbs. clean), yet even so -the giant antlers appear almost disproportionate in length and -superstructure. - -The whole Sierra Moréna being clad with brushwood and jungle, thicker in -places, but nowhere clear, shooting is practically confined to "driving" -on that extensive scale termed, in Spanish phrase, _montería_. - -Before describing two or three typical experiences of our own in this -sierra, we attempt a sketch of the system of the _montería_ as practised -throughout Spain. - -[Illustration: WOLF SHOT SIERRA MORÉNA. - -March, 1909--weight 93 lb.] - -[Illustration: HUNTSMAN WITH CARACOLA, SIERRA MORÉNA.] - -[Illustration: PACK OF PODENCOS, SIERRA MORÉNA. (COUPLED IN PAIRS.)] - -The area of operations being immense and clad with almost continuous -thicket, it is customary to employ two or three separate packs (termed -_reháles_, or _recóbas_), counting in all as many as seventy or eighty -hounds. The extra packs--beyond that belonging to the host--are brought -by shooting guests, and each pack has its own huntsman (_perréro_), whom -alone his own hounds[28] will follow or recognise. The huntsmen -(though not the beaters) are mounted, and each carries a musket and a -_caracóla_, or hunting-horn formed of a big sea-shell. The forelegs of -the horses, where necessary--especially in Estremadura--are enveloped in -leather sheaths (_fundas de cuero_) to protect them from the terrible -thorns and the spikes of burnt cistus which pierce and cut like knives. -The best dogs are _podencos_ of the bigger breeds, also crosses between -_podencos_ and mastiffs, and between mastiffs and _alanos_, the latter a -race of rough-haired bull-dogs largely used in Estremadura for -"holding-up" the boar. - -The huntsmen with their packs, and the beaters, usually start with the -dawn, sometimes long before, dependent on the distance to be traversed -to their points, which may be ten or twelve miles. Till reaching the -cast-off, hounds are coupled up in pairs: a collar fitted with a bell -(_cencerro_) is then substituted, and the alignment being -completed--each pack at its appointed spot--at a given hour the beat -begins. - -On every occasion when a game-beast is raised a blank shot is fired to -encourage the hounds, and the who-hoops of the huntsmen behind resound -for miles around. Should the animal hold a forward course (as desired), -the hounds are shortly recalled by the _caracólas_, or hunting-horns -aforesaid, and the beat is then reformed and resumed. - -Meanwhile--far away at remote posts prearranged--the firing-line -(_armáda_) has already occupied its allotted positions; the guns most -often disposed along the crests of some commanding ridge, sometimes -defiled in a narrow pass of the valley far below. - -Should the number of guns be insufficient to command the whole front, -the expedient of placing a second firing-line (termed the _travérsa_), -projected into the beat, and at a right angle from the centre of the -first line, is sometimes effective. - -It may occur to those accustomed to deal with mountain-game on a large -scale that the chance of moving animals with any sort of accuracy -towards a scant line of guns scattered over vast areas must be remote. -True, the number of guns--even ten or twelve--is necessarily -insufficient, but here local knowledge and the skill of Spanish -mountaineers (by nature among the best _guerrilleros_ on earth) comes -effectively into play. In practice it is seldom that the best "passes" -are not commanded. - -In the higher ranges skylines are frequently pierced by nicks or -"passes" (termed _portillas_) sufficiently marked as to suggest, even to -a stranger possessed of an eye for such things, the probable lines of -retreat for moving game. But "passes" are not always conspicuous, nor -are all skylines of broken contour. On the contrary, there frequently -present themselves long summits that to casual glance appear wholly -uniform. Here comes to aid that local intuition referred to, nor will it -be found lacking. Many a long hill-ridge apparently featureless may (and -often does) include several well-frequented passes. Some slight sense of -disappointment may easily lurk in one's breast in surveying one's -allotted post to perceive not a single sign of "advantage" within its -radius--or "jurisdiction," as Spanish keepers quaintly put it. Yet it -may be after all--and probably is--the apex of a congeries of converging -watercourses, glens, or other accustomed _salidas_ (outlets), all of -which are invisible in the unseen depths on one's front; but which -salient points in cynegetic geography are perfectly appreciated by our -guide. - -The brushwood of Moréna consists over vast areas--many hundreds of -square miles--of the gum-cistus, a sticky-leaved shrub that grows -shoulder-high on the stoniest ground. Wherever a slightly more generous -soil permits, the cistus is interspersed and thickened with -rhododendron, brooms, myrtle, and a hundred cognate plants. On the -richer slopes and dells there crowd together a matted jungle of lentisk -and arbutus, white buck-thorn and holly, all intertwined with vicious -prehensile briar and woodbine, together with heaths, genista, giant -ferns, and gorse of a score of species. Watercourses are overarched by -oleanders, and the chief trees are cork-oak and ilex, wild-olive, -juniper, and alder, besides others of which we only know the Spanish -names, quejigos, algarrobas, agracejis, etc. - -Naturally, in such rugged broken ground as the sierras, where the guns -are protected by intervening heights, shooting is permissible in any -direction, whether in front or behind, and even sometimes along the line -itself. A survival of savage days, when beaters didn't count, is -suggested by a refrain of the sierra:-- - - Más vale matár un Cristiano - Que no dejár ir una res-- - - (Rather should a Christian die - Than let a head of game pass by.) - -A word here as to the game and its habits. The lairs of wild-boar are -invariably in the densest jangle and on the shaded slope where no sun -ever penetrates. There is always at hand, moreover, a ready _salida_, or -exit, along some deep watercourse or by a rocky ravine or gully--rarely -do these animals show up in the open, or even in ground of scanty -covert. It is usually the strongest arbutus-thickets (_madronales_) that -they select for their quarters. - -It is seldom that wild-boar are "held-up" by the dogs during a beat--the -old tuskers never. - -Deer, on the contrary, avoid the denser jungle, lying-up in more open -brushwood and invariably on the sunny slope. Though their "beds" -(_camas_) may be on the lower ground, they invariably seek the heights -when disturbed, and then select a course through the lighter -cistus-scrub or across open screes, knowing instinctively that thus they -can travel fastest and best throw off the pursuing pack. - -Owing to the wide areas of each beat, a _montería_ in the sierras is -confined to a single drive each day, the guns usually reaching their -posts about eleven o'clock, and remaining therein till late in the -afternoon. In the lowlands, as already described, four, five, and even -six _batidas_ (drives) are sometimes possible during the day. - - -A _MONTERÍA_ AT MEZQUITILLAS (PROVINCE OF CÓRDOBA) - -A glorious ride amid splendid mountain scenery all lit up with southern -sunshine--the narrow bridle-track now forms a mere tunnel hewn out of -impending foliage; anon it descends abrupt rock-faces, in zigzags like a -corkscrew, apt to make nerves creep, when one false step would -precipitate horse and rider into a half-seen torrent hundreds of feet -below. Some eight miles of this, and by eleven o'clock we have reached -our positions at Los Llanos del Peco. - -These positions extend for over a league in length (there are twelve -guns), occupying the crests and "passes" of a lofty ridge whence one -enjoys a bird's-eye view of a world of wild mountain-land. - -My own post commanded a panorama of almost the whole day's operation, -excepting only that on my immediate front there yawned a deep ravine -(_cañada_) into the full depth of which I could not see. - -Already within a few minutes one had become aware, by a far-distant -shot, and by the echoing note of the bugle faintly borne on a gentle -northerly breeze, that the beat had begun. At dawn that morning the four -huntsmen, each with his pack, had left the lodge, and are now encircling -some seven or eight miles of covert on our front, two-thirds of which -lay beneath my gaze. - -For five hours I occupied that _puesto_ sitting between convenient -rocks, and hardly a measurable spell of the five hours but I was held -alert, either by the actual sight of game afoot--far distant, it is -true--or by the shots and bugle-calls of the hunters and the music of -their packs--all signs of game on the move. - -[Illustration] - -It is instructive, though rarely possible, watch wild game thus, when -danger threatens, and to observe the wiles by which they seek -escape--doubling back on their own tracks till nearly face to face with -the baying _podencos_, and then, by a smart flank-movement, skirting -round behind the pack, till actually between the latter and the -following huntsmen; then lying flat, awaiting till perchance the latter -has gone by! That is our stag's plan--bold and comprehensive--yet it -fails when that huntsman, biding his time, perceives that his pack have -overrun the scent and recalls them to make quite sure of that -intervening bit of bush--poor staggie! Rarely indeed, even in -mountain-lands, do such chances of watching the whole play (and -bye-play) occur as those we enjoyed to-day on the Llanos del Peco. Shots -are apt to be quite difficult, as all bushes and many trees are in full -leaf (January) and the _rayas_, or rides cut out along the -shooting-line, barely twenty yards broad. To-day, moreover, the wind -shifting from north to east operated greatly to our -disadvantage--practically, in effect, ruined the plan. - -[Illustration: WILD-BOAR--WEIGHT 200 LBS., CLEAN.] - -[Illustration: THE RECORD HEAD--43 INCHES--LUGAR NUEVO, NOV. 14, 1909. - -SIERRA MORÉNA.] - -The first stag that came my way had already touched the tainted breeze -ere I saw him--being slightly deaf (the effects of quinine) I had not -heard his approach. Instantly he crossed the _raya_, 100 yards away, -in two enormous bounds. There was just time to see glorious antlers with -many-forked tops ere he dived from sight, plunging into ten-foot scrub. - -I had fired both barrels, necessarily with but an apology for an aim and -the second purely "at a venture." Three minutes later resounded the -tinkling _cencerros_ (bells) of the _podencos_, and when two of these -hounds had followed the spoor ahead, all _mute_, then I knew that both -bullets had spent their force on useless scrub. - -[Illustration: AZURE-WINGED MAGPIE] - -Fortune favoured. Half an hour afterwards, a second stag followed. This -time a gentle rustle in the bush, and one clink of a hoof on rock had -caught my faulty ear. Then coroneted antlers showed up from the depths -below, and so soon as the great brown body came in view, a bullet on the -shoulder at short range dropped him dead. This was an average stag, -weighing 255 lbs. clean, but although "royal," carried a smaller head -than that first seen. Later, two other big stags descended together into -the unseen depths on my front, but whither they subsequently took their -course--_quien sabe?_ I saw them no more. - -The only other animal that crossed my line during the day was a -mongoose, but objects of interest never lacked. Close behind my post, a -huge stick-built nest filled a small ilex. This was the ancestral abode -of a pair of griffons, and its owners were already busy renewing their -home, though my presence sadly disconcerted them. Hereabouts these -vultures breed regularly _on trees_, a most unusual habit, due -presumably to the lack of suitable crags which elsewhere form their -invariable nesting-site. Cushats and robins lent an air of familiarity -to the scene, while azure-winged magpies--a species peculiarly -Spanish--hopped and chattered hard by, curiosity overcoming fear. There -were also pretty Sardinian warblers, with long tails and a white nuchal -spot like a coal-tit. Other birds seen in this sierra include merlin and -kestrel, green woodpecker, jay, blackbird, thrush, redwing, woodlark, -and chaffinch; and on off-days we shot a few red-legged partridges. - -The two packs employed to-day numbered forty--twenty-four big and -sixteen small _podencos_, all yellow and white, the larger having a -cross of mastiff. That evening two of the best in the pack were -missing--"Capitan," killed by a boar in the _mancha_; the other returned -during the night, fearfully wounded, one foreleg almost severed. - -[Illustration: SARDINIAN WARBLER] - -The head-keeper told us that these _podencos_ fear the he-wolf. They -will run keenly on his scent, but never dare to close with him as they -do with boar. Yet curiously they have been known to fraternise with the -she-wolf, and in no case will they attack, but rather incline to caress -her. - -It was estimated by the drivers that eighty head of big-game (_reses_) -were viewed to-day. Thirty-two shots were fired, but only my one stag -was killed. Had the wind held steady, much better results were -probable.[29] Included among the guests at Mezquitillas--and they -represented rank and learning, arms, State, and Church--was a genial and -imposing personality in the poet laureate of Spain, Sr. D. Antonio -Cavestany, who celebrated this delightful if somewhat unlucky day in a -series of graceful couplets. We are wholly unequal to translate, but -copy two or three which readers who understand Spanish will -appreciate:-- - - Del Poeta al arma no dieron - Las Musas mucha virtud: - Cuatro ciervos le salieron ... - Y los cuatro se le fueron - Rebosantes de salud! - - Suya fue la culpa toda: - Con la escopeta homicida - Á apuntar no se acomoda ... - Si les dispara una oda - No escapa ni uno con vida! - - Sin duda no plugo á Dios - Que del ganado cervuno - Fueran las Parcas en pos - Total; tiros, treinta y dos - Yvenados muertos, uno!!! - - ¿Quien realizó tal hazaña? - Verguenza de humillacion, - Mi frente al decirlo baña. - Fue el Ingles ... la rubia Albion - Quedó esta vez sobre España!! - - Resumen: luz, embeleso, - Panoramas, maravillas, - Bosques, arroyos, cantuéso ... - Lo dice junto todo eso - Solo al decir "Mezquitillas." - - Y bondad, afecto, agrado, - Gracia que ingenio revela, - Hospitalidad, cuidado ... - Todo eso esta compendiado - Condecir "Juan y Carmela." - -The next day's operations precisely reversed those of to-day, the guns -being placed along the depths of a valley, while the beaters brought -down the whole mountain-slopes above. Thus each post, though it -commanded a "pass," gave no such wonderful view beyond as had been the -feature of yesterday's _montería_. It will, in fact, be obvious that in -a big mountain-land no two beats are ever alike nor the conditions -equal. Every day presents fresh problems. That is one of the charms. - -To-day, several stags and a pig were killed, besides one roe-deer and an -enormous wild-cat that scaled 7-3/4 kilos (over 17 lbs.). - -[Illustration: GRIFFON VULTURE] - -Towards noon, the sun-heat in the gorge being intense, I had cautiously -shifted my post to the banks of a mountain-burnlet that, embowered in -oleanders,[30] gurgled hard by. In those glancing streams, while I sat -motionless, a pair of water-shrews were also busied with their -lunch--dipping and diving, turning over pebbles, and searching each nook -and cranny of the crystal pool. Lovely little creatures they -were--velvety black with snow-white undersides, which showed -conspicuously on either flank; but the curious feature was the silver -sheen caused by infinite air-bubbles that still adhered to the fur while -they swam beneath the surface. They recalled a similar scene in an -elk-forest of distant Norway; but never in Spanish sierras have we -noticed water-shrews except on this occasion. While yet watching the -water-fairies, another movement caught the corner of one eye; with slow -sedate steps, a grey wild-cat was descending the opposite slope. She saw -nothing, yet the foresight of the ·303 carbine was recusant, it declined -to get down into the nick, and a miss resulted. But what a bound the -feline gave as an expanding bullet (at 2000 feet a second velocity) -shattered the sierra half an inch above her back! - -[Illustration: ROARING SEPTEMBER.] - -[Illustration: "HABET."] - -An incident occurred near this point (though in another year) with a -stag. Two shots had been fired on the left, when the slightest sound -behind and above inspired a prepared glance in that direction--and only -just in time, for three seconds later a glorious pair of antlers showed -up on the nearest bush-clad height, and the easiest of shots yielded a -35-inch trophy. - -[Illustration] - -The annexed drawing shows a 14-pointer, which was killed here the -following year by our host, Sr. Don Juan Calvo de León of Mezquitillas. -In mere inches the measurements may be surpassed by others, but no head -that we have seen excels this in extraordinary boldness of curve and -symmetry of form. This stag was shot on the Puntales del Peco, January -17, 1908, and in the same beat Sr. Juan Calvo, Junr., secured another -fine 14-pointer, as below:-- - - +-----+-------+-------+------------+--------------+----------------+ - | |Points.|Length.|Widest Tips.|Widest Inside.|Circ. above Bez.| - +-----+-------+-------+------------+--------------+----------------+ - |No. 1| 14 |38-3/4"| 39-1/4" | 33-1/4" | 6-1/4" | - |No. 2| 14 |36-1/4"| ... | 25-3/4" | ... | - +-----+-------+-------+------------+--------------+----------------+ - -Less rosy on that occasion was the writer's own luck. My post in Los -Puntales was in a narrow neck or "pass" in the knife-edged ridge of a -mountain-spur, the rock-strewn ground, overgrown with cistus -shoulder-high, falling sharply away both before and behind. In front I -looked into a chasm probably 1500 feet in depth, the hither slope being -invisible, so sharp was the drop; the opposite side, however (probably -2000 feet high), lay spread out as it were a perpendicular map. From -leagues away beyond its apex the beaters were now approaching. From -early in the day great fleecy cloud-masses had rolled by, and these -gradually grew denser till the whole sierra was enveloped in viewless -fog. Hark! some animal is escalading my fortress; one cannot see fifteen -yards--tantalizing indeed. Yet so well has the _puesto_ been chosen that -presently the intruder gallops almost over my toes--a yearling pig or -_lechon_, not worth a bullet. - -[Illustration: PICKING HIS WAY UP A ROCK STAIRCASE - -(A 40-inch head.)] - -[Illustration] - -Later, during a clearer interval, I descried a stag picking a slow and -deliberate course down the opposite escarpment. In the abyss below he -was long lost to sight but presently reappeared, coming fairly straight -in. Seldom have I felt greater confidence in the alignment than when I -then fired. Yet the result was a clean miss. While pressing trigger, -another shot rang out half-a-mile beyond and the stag swerved sharply; -still I had another barrel, and the second bullet "told" loudly enough -as the hart bounced, full-broadside, over the pass. Then he swerved to -take the rising ground beyond and, crossing the skyline, displayed the -grandest pair of antlers I have seen alive--the great yard-long horns -with their branching tops seemed too big even for that massive body. - -On examination blood was found at once, and on both sides--that is, the -bullet had passed right through. - -In the fog I had under-estimated the distance and the hit was low and -too far back. With two trackers I followed the spoor while daylight -served and through places that any words of mine must fail to describe; -but from the first the head-keeper had foretold the result: "Eso no se -cobra--va léjos"--"that stag you will not recover; he goes far, but -wherever he stops, he dies. See here! the dogs have run his spoor all -along, but have not yet brought him to bay." - -The indications left by the stag on brushwood and rock conveyed to the -trackers' practised eyes, as clear as words, the precise position of the -wound; and, as foretold, those coveted antlers were lost, to perish -uselessly. - -The pack of Mezquitillas was on this occasion reinforced by those of the -Duke of Medinaceli and of the Marquis of Viana--bringing the total up to -seventy hounds. Thus, in Spain, do the Grandees of a big land, when -guests at a _montería_, bring with them their huntsmen, kennelmen, and -their packs of hounds--a system that breathes a comforting sense of -space. - -Next day being hopelessly wet, I took opportunity of measuring three of -the trophies which adorn the hall at Mezquitillas:-- - - +-------+-------+---------+------------+------------+-------------+ - | |Points.| Length. |Widest Tips.|Circ. above | Circ. below | - | | | | | Bez. | Corona. | - +-------+-------+---------+------------+------------+-------------+ - |A | 15 | 38-1/4" | 38-3/4" | 6-1/2" | ... | - |B | 14 | 38" | 29-1/2" | 6-1/4" | 7-1/2" | - |C | 14 | 37-3/4" | 33-1/2" | ... | ... | - |Roebuck| ... | 8-1/2" | 3-1/4" | | | - +-------+-------+---------+------------+------------+-------------+ - -It will be observed that the stag shot a day or two before, and -illustrated above (p. 167), tops the best of these by half an inch. The -somewhat abnormal curve, however, partly explains this. - -[Illustration: JULY.] - -[Illustration] - -We must record yet one more memorable day on this estate of -Mezquitillas. This _montería_ (in January 1910) covered the region known -as the Leoncillo. Upwards of twenty big stags passed the firing-line, -and every gun enjoyed his chance--several more than one. In the result, -six stags were killed--three by our host, one by his son. Though -carrying 12, 11, 10, and 10 points respectively, none of these four were -of exceptional merit, and the best, a 14-pointer, fell to the Duke of -Medinaceli. - -The clean weight of these, the largest stags, is usually between 11-1/2 -and 12 arrobas, or 287 to 300 lbs. English. One exceptionally heavy stag -killed by our host's son, Juan Calvo, Junr., and which had received some -injury in the _testes_, resulting in a malformation of the horn, weighed -no less than 16-1/2 arrobas, or 412 lbs. English. - -Full-grown wild-boars at Mezquitillas average about 7 arrobas, or 175 -lbs., clean--one specially big boar reached 8 arrobas, or 200 lbs. -Wolves, though abundant, are but rarely shot in _monterías_ for the -reasons already given. During the period covered by these notes only two -were killed in _monterías_--one by Sr. Calvo, Junr., the other by -Colonel Barrera. Wild-pigs breed as a rule in March, and to some extent -_gregatim_, or in little colonies, which is supposed to be as a -protection against the wolves; the lair _(cama)_ being a regular nest -made among thick scrub, and roofed over by the foliage. Lynxes, like -wolves, are rarely seen. This year, four (a female, with three -full-grown cubs) were held-up by the dogs, and all killed in one -thicket. - -Mongoose and genets are numerous on these brush-clad hills, and martens -_(Mustela foina)_ breed in the crags. - -Stags roar from mid-September, chiefly by night. Their summer coat is -darker rather than redder than that of winter. - -Farther east in Moréna, near Fuen-Caliente, already mentioned, very fine -heads are also obtained. The same systems prevail, and the following -measurements have been given us by the Marquéz del Mérito, taken from -two stags shot at Risquillo in his forests of the Sierra Quintána, -season 1906-7. - - +-----+---------+---------+----------+-------------+--------------+ - | | Length. | Widest | Circ. at | Circ. above | Brow-Antler. | - | | | Inside. | Burr. | Bez. | | - +-----+---------+---------+----------+-------------+--------------+ - |No. 1| 36-3/4" | 35" | 8-3/4" | 5-1/2" | 12" | - |No. 2| 40-1/4" | ... | 8-3/4" | 6" | 12" | - +-----+---------+---------+----------+-------------+--------------+ - -No. 1 carried 7 + 7 = 14 points, and weighed 224 lbs. clean. - -No. 2 carried 8 + 7 = 15 points, besides several knobs. - -Both are shown in photos annexed. - -In the extreme east of the Sierra Moréna another culminating point of -excellence appears to be attained--at Valdelagrana and Zamujar in the -neighbourhood of Jäen--at least it is from that region that two of the -largest examples came that we have yet seen in Spain. Both the -magnificent heads below described were carefully measured by -ourselves:-- - - +-----+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+-----------+-----------+ - | |Points.|Length.| Widest| Widest |Circ. at|Circ. above|Circ. below| - | | | | Tips. | Inside.| Base. | Bez. | Corona. | - +-----+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+-----------+-----------+ - |No. 1| 16 |40-5/8"|40-1/2"| 31-1/2"| 7-1/2" | 5-5/8" | 7-1/4" | - |No. 2| 16 |38-3/4"|33-1/2"| 28-1/2"| ... | 5-3/4" | 7-1/8" | - +-----+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+-----------+-----------+ - -No. 1 was shot at Valdelagrana, Jäen, by Sr. D. Enrique Parladé, has -five on each top, all strong points, brow-antler 14-1/4 inches. Both -horns precisely equal, 40-5/8 inches. - -No. 2 shot at El Zamujar, Jäen, by the Marquéz de Alvéntos, the whole -head massive and rugged, and all the sixteen points well developed. - -The only Spanish stag within our knowledge which exceeds these -dimensions was shot at Ballasteros in the Montes de Toledo by Sr. D. I. -L. de Ybarra, the measurements of which, though not taken by ourselves, -we accept without reserve as follows:--Length, 41 inches; breadth, -36-1/2 inches; circumference below corona, 8-1/4 inches. (See photo.) - -Since writing the foregoing, a head much exceeding the above records has -been obtained at Lugar Nuevo, near Andujar, in the eastern sierra, and -which measures no less than 43 inches. Photographs, with measurements -taken by Messrs. Rowland Ward (both of this and another good head -secured at Fontanarejo), have been sent us by the fortune-favoured -sportsman, Mr. J. M. Power of Linares, and will be found subjoined. For -convenience of reference we put the whole record in tabular form. - -[Illustration: RED DEER HEADS, SIERRA MORÉNA. - -RISQUILLO. - -Points 15, plus knobs. Length 40-1/4 in. - -MARMOLEJOS. - -A Twenty-four Pointer. - -FONTANAREJO. - -Points 16. Length 32-1/2 in. - -MONTES DE TOLEDO. - -Points 14. Length 41.] - - RECORD OF RED DEER HEADS--SIERRA MORÉNA - - +----------------+-------+---------------+--------+-------+---------------+ - | | | |Circum- | | | - | |Length | Widest. |ference | | | - | |outside+------+--------+ above |Points.| Locality. | - | |Curve. | Tips.| Inside.| Bez. | | | - +----------------+-------+------+--------+--------+-------+---------------+ - | | in. | in. | in. | in. | | | - |J. M. Power |43 |35 | 33-1/2 | 5-1/2 | 6 + 6 |Lugar Nuevo. | - |I. L. de Ybarra |41 |36-1/2| ... | ... | ... |Ballasteros, | - | | | | | | | Montes | - | | | | | | |de Toledo. | - |E. Parladé |40-5/8 |40-1/2| 31-1/2 | 5-5/8 | 8 + 8 |Valdelagrana. | - |Marq. Mérito |40-1/4 |... | ... | 6 | 7 + 7 |Risquillos. | - |Authors |40 |36-1/2| 32 | 5-1/4 | 9 + 8 |(_Wild Spain_.)| - |Marq. Alvéntos |38-3/4 |33-1/2| 28-1/2 | 5-3/4 | 8 + 8 |Zamujar, Jäen. | - |J. Calvo de León|38-3/4 |39-1/4| 33-1/4 | 6-1/4 | 7 + 7 |Mezquitillas. | - | Do. |38-1/4 |38-3/4| ... | 6-1/2 | 8 + 7 | Do. | - | Do. |38 |29-1/2| ... | 6-1/4 | 7 + 7 | Do. | - | Do. |38 |33-1/2| ... | ... | 7 + 7 | Do. | - |Authors ... |37-1/2 |34-1/2| 29-1/4 | 5 | 8 + 7 |(_Wild Spain_.)| - |Marq. Mérito |36-3/4 |... | 35 | 5-1/2 | 8 + 7 |Risquillos. | - |J. Calvo, hijo |36-1/4 |... | 25-3/4 | ... | 7 + 7 |Mezquitillas. | - |Authors |35 |32-1/2| 28 | 5-3/4 | 6 + 6 | Do. | - | Do. |34-1/8 | (cast antler) | 5-3/4 | 8 + 0 |Sa. Quintána. | - |J. M. Power |32 1/2 |... | ... | 5-1/2 | 8 + 8 |Fontanarejo. | - +----------------+-------+------+--------+--------+-------+---------------+ - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -PERNÁLES - - -A country better adapted by nature for the success of the enterprising -bandit cannot be conceived. The vast _despoblados_ = uninhabited wastes, -with scant villages far isolated and lonely mountain-tracts where a -single desperado commands the way and can hold-up a score of passers-by, -all lend themselves admirably to this peculiar form of industry. And up -to quite recent years these natural advantages were exploited to the -full. Riding through the sierras, one notes rude crosses and epitaphs -inscribed on rocks recording the death of this or that wayfarer. Now -travellers, as a rule, do not die natural deaths by the wayside; and an -inspection of these silent memorials indicates that each occupies a site -eminently adapted for a quiet murder. Fortunately, during the last year -or two, the extension of the telegraph and linking-up of remote hamlets -has aided authority practically to extinguish brigandage on the grander -scale. Spain to-day can no longer claim a single artist of the Jack -Sheppard or Dick Turpin type; not one heroic murderer such as José Maria -(whose safe-conduct was more effective than that of his king), Vizco el -Borje, Agua-Dulce, and other _ladrones en grande_ whose life-histories -will be found outlined in _Wild Spain_. - -The two first-named represent a type of manhood one cannot but -admire--admire despite oneself and despite its inconvenience to -civilisation. These were men ignorant of fear, who, though themselves -gentle, were yet able, by sheer force of iron will, to command and -control cut-throat gangs which set authority at defiance, and who -subjected whole districts to their anarchical aims and orders. The -outlaw-overlords ever acted on similar lines. Respecting human life as, -in itself, valueless, they commandeered real value by an adroit -combination of liberally subsidising the peasantry while yet terrorising -all by the certainty of swift and merciless retribution should the -least shade of treachery befall--or rather what to the brigand-crew -represented treachery. Human life was otherwise safe. Two points in this -connection demand mention. Besides direct robberies, the brigands -battened upon a tribute exacted from landowners and paid as a ransom to -shield themselves and their tenants from molestation. Secondly, their -safety and continued immunity from capture was largely due to that -secret influence--quite undefinable, yet potent to this day--known as -"Caciquismo." That influence was exerted on behalf of the outlaws as -part of the ransom arrangement aforesaid. - -Neither for robber-chieftains of the first water, such as these, nor for -brigandage as a scientific business, is there any longer opportunity in -modern Spain, any more than for a Robin Hood at home. Lesser lights of -the road, footpads and casual _sequestradores_, will survive for a -further space in the wilder region; but the real romance of the industry -ceased with the new century. - -[Illustration: PERNALES] - -Its first decade has nevertheless produced a brace of first-rate -ruffians who, though in no sense to be compared with the old-time -aristocracy of the craft, at least succeeded in setting at naught the -civil power, and in pillaging and harassing rural Andalucia during more -than two years. - -The original pair were known as Pernáles and El Vivillo, the latter a -man of superior instincts and education, who, under former conditions, -would doubtless have developed into the noble bandit. Vivillo on -principle avoided bloodshed; not a single assassination is laid to his -charge during a long career of crime. Pernales, on the contrary, -revelled in revolting cruelties, and rated human life no higher than -that of a rabbit. At first this repulsive ruffian, as hateful of aspect -as of character,[31] acted as a sort of lieutenant to Vivillo, but the -partnership was soon renounced by the latter consequent on a cowardly -crime perpetrated by Pernales in the Sierra of Algamita. At a lonely -farm lived an elderly couple, the husband an industrious, thrifty man, -who had the reputation of being rich among his fellows. Their worldly -possessions in actual fact consisted of some 2000 reales = £20. Pernales -was not likely to overlook a hoard so ill-protected, and one night in -November 1906 insisted, at the muzzle of his gun, on the savings being -handed over to him. A lad of fourteen, however, had witnessed the -transaction, and on perceiving him (and fearing he might thus be -denounced) Pernales plunged his knife in the boy's breast, killing him -on the spot. Vivillo, on hearing of this insensate murder by his second, -insisted on the restitution of their money to the aged pair, expelled -Pernales from his gang, and threatened him with death should he dare -again to cross his path. - -Pernales now formed a fresh partnership with a desperado of similar -calibre to himself, a soulless brute, known as the Niño de Arahál, whose -acquaintance he had made at a village of that name. This pair, along -with a gang of ruffians who acclaimed them as chiefs, were destined to -achieve some of the worst deeds of violence in the whole annals of -Spanish _Bandolerismo_. For two years they held half Andalucia in awe, -terrorised by the ferocity of their methods and merciless disregard of -life. None dared denounce them or impart to authority a word of -information as to their whereabouts, even though it were known for -certain--such was the dread of vengeance. - -Innumerable were the skirmishes between the forces of the law and its -outragers. An illustrative incident occurred in March 1907. A pair of -Civil Guards, riding up the Rio de los Almendros, district of Pruna, -suddenly and by mere chance found themselves face to face with the men -they "wanted." A challenge to halt and surrender was answered by instant -fire, and the outlaws, wheeling about, clapped spurs to their horses and -fled. Now for the Civil Guards as brave men and dutiful we have the -utmost respect; but their marksmanship on this occasion proved utterly -rotten, and an easy right-and-left was clean missed twice and thrice -over! The fugitives, moreover, outrode pursuit, and the fact illustrates -their cool, calculating nonchalance, that so soon as they reckoned on -having gained a forty-five minutes' advantage, the pair paid a quiet -social call on a well-to-do farmer of Morón, enjoyed a glass of wine -with their trembling host, and then (having some fifteen minutes in -hand) rode forward. Now comes a point. On arrival of the pursuers, that -farmer (though not a word had been said) denied all knowledge of his -new-gone guests. Pursuit was abandoned. - -For eight days the bandits lay low. Then Pernales presented himself at a -farm in Ecija with a demand for £40, or in default the destruction of -the live-stock. The bailiff (no farmer lives on his farm) despatched a -messenger on his fleetest horse to bring in the ransom. As by the -stipulated hour he had not returned, Pernales shot eight valuable mules! -Riding thence to La Coronela, a farm belonging to Antonio Fuentes, the -bull-fighter, a similar message was despatched. Pending its reply our -outlaws feasted on the best; but instead of bank-notes, a force of Civil -Guards appeared on the scene. That made no difference. The terrified -farm-hands swore that the bandits had ridden off in a given direction, -and while the misled police hurried away on a wild-goose chase, our -heroes finished their feast, and late at night (having loaded up -everything portable of value) departed for their lair in the sierra. - -During the next two months (May and June 1907) only minor outrages and -robberies were committed, but that quiescence was enlivened by two feats -that set out in relief the coolness and unflinching courage of these -desperados. In May they moved to the neighbourhood of Córdoba, and among -other raids pulled off a good haul in bank-notes, cash, and other -valuables at Lucena, an estate of D. Antonio Moscoso, following this up -by a report in their "Inspired Press" that the brigands had at last fled -north-wards with the view of embarking for abroad at Santander! A few -days later, however (May 31), they had the effrontery to appear in -Córdoba itself at the opening of the Fair, but, being early recognised, -promptly rode off into the impending Sierra Moréna. On their heels -followed the Civil Guard. Finding themselves overtaken, our friends -faced round and opened fire, but the result was a defeat of the bandit -gang. One, "El Niño de la Gloria," fell dead pierced by three bullets; -two other scoundrels--Reverte and Pepino--were captured wounded, while -in the mêlée the robbers abandoned four horses, a rifle, and a quantity -of jewelry--the product of recent raids. Pernales himself and the rest -of his crew escaped, and found shelter in the fastnesses of the Sierra -Moréna--thence returning to their favourite hunting-grounds nearer -Seville. - -Riding along the bye-ways of Marchena, disguised as rustic travellers, -on June 2 they demanded at a remote farm a night's food and lodging. -Half-concealed knives and revolvers proved strong arguments in favour of -obedience, and, despite suspicion and dislike, the bailiff acceded. This -time the Civil Guard were on the track. At midnight they silently -surrounded the house, communicated with the watchful bailiff, and -ordered all doors to be locked. The turning of a heavy key, however, -reached Pernales' ear. In a moment the miscreants were on the alert. -While one saddled-up the horses, the other unloosed a young farm mule, -boldly led him across the courtyard to the one open doorway, and, -administering some hearty lashes to the animal's ribs, set him off in -full gallop into the outer darkness. The police, seeing what they -concluded was an attempted escape, first opened fire, then started -helter-skelter in pursuit of a riderless mule! The robbers meanwhile -rode away at leisure. - -Five days later, on June 7, both bandits attacked a _venta_, or country -inn, near Los Santos, in Villafranca de los Barrios, carrying off £200 -in cash, six mules, with other valuables, and leaving the owner for -dead. This particular crime, for some reason or other, was more noised -abroad than dozens of others equally atrocious, and orders were now -issued jointly both by the _Ministro de Gobernacion_, the -Captain-General of the district, and the Colonels commanding the Civil -Guard throughout the whole of the harassed regions, that at all hazards -the murderous pair must be taken at once, dead or alive. This peremptory -mandate evolved unusual activities; the whole of the western sierra was -reported blockaded. Pernales, nevertheless, receiving warning through -innumerable spies of the police plans, succeeded in escaping from the -province of Seville into that of Córdoba, where the pair pursued their -career of crime, though now under conditions of increased hazard and -difficulty. Sometimes for days together they lay low or contented -themselves with petty felonies. - -Then suddenly in a new district--that of Puente-Genil--burst out a fresh -series of the most audacious outrages. Big sums of money, with -alternative of instant death, were extorted from farmers and -landowners. These exploits, together with an odd murder or two, spread -consternation throughout the new area, and in all Puente-Genil, Pernales -and the Niño de Arahal became a standing nightmare. So soon as checked -here by the police, the robbers once more moved west, again "inspiring" -the press with reports of a foreign destination--this time viâ Cádiz. A -few days later, Málaga was named as their intended exit. Yet on July 16 -they were to the north of Seville, and had another rifle-duel with the -Guards, again escaping scatheless at a gallop. - -Persecution was now so keen that the wilds of the Sierra Moréna afforded -their only possible hope, and by holding the highest passes the outlaws -reached this refuge, being next reported at Venta de Cardeñas, 160 miles -north of Córdoba. A cordon of police was now drawn along the whole -fringe of the sierra from Vizco del Marquéz to Despeñaperros. The -position of the hunted couple became daily more precarious, their scope -of activity more restricted, and robberies reduced to insignificant -proportions. Nevertheless, on July 22, with consummate audacity and -dash, they raided the farm of Recena belonging to D. Tomas Herrera, -carrying off a sum of £160, with which they remained content till August -18, when they attacked the two farms of Vencesla and Los Villares, but, -being repulsed, fled northwards towards Ciudad Real. On September 1 they -entered the province of La Mancha, apparently seeking shelter in the -deep defiles of the Sierra de Alcaráz, for that morning a Manchegan -woodcutter was accosted by two mounted wayfarers who inquired the best -track to Alcaráz. The woodman innocently gave directions which, if -exactly followed, would much shorten the route. While thanking his -informant, Pernales--apparently out of sheer bravado--revealed his -identity, introducing himself to the astonished woodcutter as the Fury -who was keeping all authority on the jump and the country-side ablaze. -Straightway the man of the axe made for the nearest guard-station, and a -captain with six mounted police, reinforced by peasants, followed the -trail. As dusk fell the pursuers perceived two horses tethered in a -densely wooded dell, while hard by their owners sat eating and -drinking--the latter imprudence perhaps explaining why the brigands were -at last caught napping. To the challenge "Alto á la Guardia Civil!" came -the usual prompt response--the vibrant whistle of rifle-balls. Pernales -managed to empty the magazine of his repeater, killing one guard -outright and wounding two more. Though himself hit, he yet stood erect, -and was busy recharging his weapon when further shots brought him to -earth. On seeing his chief go down the Niño de Arahal sprang to the -saddle, but the opposing rifles were this time too many and too near. -The bandit, fatally wounded, was pitched to earth in death-throes, while -the poor beast stumbled and fell in its stride a few paces beyond. An -examination of the bodies showed that Pernales had been pierced by -twenty-two balls, his companion by ten. - - -CACIQUISMO - -Doubtless the thought may have occurred to readers that some -interpretation is necessary to explain how such events as these -(extending over a series of years) are still possible in Spain--in a -country fully equipped not only with elaborate legal codes bristling -with stringent penalties both for crime and its abettors, but also with -magistrates, judges, telegraphs, and an ample armed force, competent, -loyal, and keen to enforce those laws. Without assistants and -accomplices (call their aiders and abettors what you will) the Pernales -and Vivillos of to-day could not survive for a week. The explanation -lies in the existence of that inexplicable and apparently ineradicable -power called Caciquismo--fortunately, we believe, on the decline, but -still a force sufficient to paralyse the arm of the law and arrest the -exercise of justice. Ranging from the lowest rungs of society, -Caciquismo penetrates to the main-springs of political power. A secret -understanding with combined action amongst the affiliated, it secures -protection even to criminals with their hidden accomplices, provided -that each and all yield blind obedience to their ruling Cacique, social -and political. The Cacique stands above law; he is a law unto himself; -he does or leaves undone, pays or leaves unpaid as may suit his -convenience--conscience he has none. At his own sweet will he will -charge personal expenses--say his gamekeepers' wages or the cost of a -private roadway--to the neighbouring municipality. None dare object. -Caciquismo is no fault of the Spanish people; it is the disgrace of the -Caciques, who, as men of education, should be ashamed of mean and -underhand practices that recall, on a petty scale, those of the Tyrants -of Syracuse. Should any of these sleek-faces read our book, they may be -gratified to learn that no other civilised country produces parasites -such as they. - -Not a foreign student of the problems of social life in Spain with its -conditions but has been brought to a full stop in the effort to diagnose -or describe the secret sinister influence of Caciquismo. Our Spanish -friends--detesting and despising the thing equally with ourselves--tell -us that no foreigner has yet realised either its nature or its scope. -Certainly we make no such pretension, nor attempt to describe the thing -itself--a thing scarce intelligible to Saxon lines of thought, a baneful -influence devised to retard the advance of modern ideas of freedom and -justice, to benumb all moral yearnings for truth and honesty in public -affairs and civil government. Caciquismo may roughly be defined as the -negation and antithesis of patriotism; it sets the personal influence of -one before the interest of all, sacrificing whole districts to the -caprice of some soul-warped tyrant with no eyes to see. - - * * * * * - -A word in conclusion on Vivillo. Neither ignorance nor necessity -impelled Joaquin Camargo, nicknamed El Vivillo (the Lively One), to -embark, at the age of twenty-five, on a career of crime. Rather it was -that spirit of knight-errantry, of reckless adventure, that centuries -before had swept the Spanish Main, and that nowadays, in baser sort, -thrives and is fostered by a false romance--as Diego Corrientes, the -bandit, was reputed to be "run" by a duchess, as the "Seven Lads of -Ecija" terrorised under the ægis of exalted patronage, and José Maria, -the murderer of the Sierra Moréna, was extolled as a melodramatic hero -by novelists all over Spain. On such lines young Camargo thought to -gather fresh glories for himself. He early gained notoriety by a smart -exploit in holding-up the diligence from Las Cabezas for Villa Martin -just when the September Fair was proceeding at the latter place. The -passengers, mostly cattle-dealers, were relieved of bursting purses--no -cheques pass current at Villa Martin--to the tune of £8000. After that, -for several years, Vivillo ruled rural Andalucia, and his desperate -deeds supplied the papers with startling head-lines. When pursuit became -troublesome he embarked for Argentina, and soon his name was forgotten. -His retreat, however, was discovered, and Vivillo was brought back, -landing at Cádiz February 19, 1908. Since that date he has lived in -Seville prison--a man of high intelligence, of reputed wealth, and the -father of two pretty daughters. For reasons unexplained (and into which -we do not inquire) his trial never comes on. Vivillo keeps a stiff lip -and enjoys ... nearly all he wants. - -[Illustration: A SUMMER EVENING--SPARROW-OWLS (_Athene noctua_) AND -MOTHS] - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -LA MANCHA - -THE LAGOONS OF DAIMIEL - - -Immediately to the north of our "Home-Province" of Andalucia, but -separated therefrom by the Sierra Moréna, stretch away the uplands of La -Mancha--the country of Don Quixote. The north-bound traveller, ascending -through the rock-gorges of Despeñaperros, thereat quits the mountains -and enters on the Manchegan plateau. A more dreary waste, ugly and -desolate, can scarce be imagined. Were testimony wanting to the -compelling genius of Cervantes, in very truth La Mancha itself would -yield it. - -[Illustration] - -Yet it is wrong to describe La Mancha as barren. Rather its central -highlands present a monotony of endless uninteresting cultivation. -League-long furrows traverse the landscape, running in parallel lines to -utmost horizon, or weary the eye by radiating from the focal point as -spokes in a wheel. But never a break or a bush relieves one's sight, -never a hedge or a hill, not a pool, stream, or tree in a long day's -journey. Oh, it is distressing, wherever seen--in Old World or New--that -everlasting cultivation on the flat. True, it produces the necessary -fruits of the earth--here (to wit) corn and wine. - -Farther north, where the Toledan mountains loom blue over the western -horizon, La Mancha refuses to produce anything. - -The unsympathetic earth, for 100 miles a sterile hungry crust, stony and -sun-scorched, obtrudes an almost hideous nakedness, its dry bones -declining to be clad, save in flints or fragments of lava and splintered -granite. Wherever nature is a trifle less austere, a low growth of dwarf -broom and helianthemum at least serves to vary the dreariness of dry -prairie-grass. There, beneath the foothills of the wild Montes de -Toledo, stretch whole regions where thorn-scrub and broken belts of open -wood vividly recall the scenery of equatorial Africa--we might be -traversing the "Athi Plains" instead of European lands. Evergreen oak -and wild-olive replace mimosa and thorny acacia--one almost expects to -see the towering heads of giraffes projecting above the grey-green bush. -In both cases there is driven home that living sense of arid sterility, -the same sense of desolation--nay, here even more so--since there is -lacking that wondrous wild fauna of the other. No troops of graceful -gazelles bound aside before one's approach; no herds of zebra or -antelope adorn the farther veld; no galloping files of shaggy gnus spurn -the plain. A chance covey of redlegs, a hoopoe or two, the desert-loving -wheatears--birds whose presence ever attests sterility--a company of -azure-winged magpies chattering among the stunted ilex, or a -woodchat--that is all one may see in a long day's ride. - -[Illustration: WOODCHAT SHRIKE AND ITS "SHAMBLES" (Sketched in La -Mancha)] - -Another feature common to both lands--and one abhorrent to northern -eye--is the absence of water, stagnant or current. Never the glint of -lake or lagoon, far less the joyous murmur of rippling burn, rejoice eye -or ear in La Mancha. - -Alas, that to us is denied the synthetic sense! In vain we scan -Manchegan thicket for compensating beauties, for the Naiads and Dryads -with which Cervantes' creative spirit peopled the wilderness; no vision -of lovely Dorotheas laving ivory limbs of exquisite mould in sylvan -fountain rewards our searching (but too prosaic) gaze--that may perhaps -be explained by the contemporary absence of any such fountains. Nor have -other lost or love-lorn maidens, Lucindas or Altisidoras from enchanted -castle, aided us to add one element of romance to purely faunal studies. -Castles, it is true, adorn the heights or crown a distant skyline; nor -are Dulcineas of Toboso extinct or even in the _posada_ at Daimiel, -while excellent specimens graced the twilight _paséo_ of Ciudad Real or -reclined beneath the orange-groves of its _alameda_. - -[Illustration: DESERT-LOVING WHEATEARS] - -We have animadverted upon the absence of water in La Mancha. Yet there -is no rule but has its exception, and it is, in fact, to the existence -of a series of most singular Manchegan lagoons, abounding in bird-life, -that this venturesome literary excursion owes its genesis. - -In the midst of tawny table-lands, well-nigh 200 miles from the sea and -upwards of 2000 feet above its level, nestle the sequestered Lagunas de -Daimiel extending to many miles of mere and marsh-land. These lakes are, -in fact, the birthplace of the great river Guadiana, the head-waters -being formed by the junction of its nascent streams with its lesser -tributary the Ciguela. - -In the confluence of the two rivers mentioned it is the Guadiana that -chiefly lends its serpentine course to the formation of a vast series of -lagoons, with islands and islets, cane-brakes and shallows overgrown by -reeds, sedge, and marsh-plants, all traversed in every direction by open -channels (called _trochas_), the whole constituting a complication so -extensive that none save experienced boatmen can thread a way through -its labyrinths. - -Isolated thus, a mere speck of water in the midst of the arid -table-lands of central Spain, yet these lagoons of Daimiel constitute -not only one of the chief wildfowl resorts of Spain, but possibly of all -Europe. Upon these waters there occur from time to time every species of -aquatic game that is known in this Peninsula, while in autumn the -duck-tribe in countless hosts congregate in nearly all their European -varieties. Those which are found in the greatest numbers include the -mallard, pintail, shoveler, wigeon, gargany, common and marbled teal, -ferruginous duck, tufted duck, pochard, and (in great abundance) the -red-crested pochard or _Pato colorado_. Coots also frequent the lagoons, -but in smaller numbers. There also appear at frequent intervals -flamingoes and black geese (_Ganzos negros_), whose species we have not -been able to identify, sand-grouse of both kinds, sea-gulls, duck-hawks, -grebes, and occasionally some wandering cormorants. Herons and egrets in -their different varieties haunt the shores and the shallows. - -[Illustration: RED-CRESTED POCHARD (_Fuligula rufila_)] - -Lest any far-venturing fowler be induced by this chapter to pack his -12-bore and seek the nearest Cook's office, it should at once be stated -that the rights-of-chase (as are all worth having, alike in Spain, -Scotland, or England) are in private hands--those of the Sociedad de las -Lagunas de Daimiel, a society which at present numbers five members, all -of ducal rank, and to one of whom we are indebted for excellent -descriptive notes. The lakes are guarded by keepers who have held their -posts for generations--the family of the Escudéros. - -To claim for these far-inland lagoons a premier place among the great -wildfowl resorts of Europe may seem extravagant--albeit confirmed by -facts and figures that follow. But the lakes, be it remembered, are -surrounded by that cultivation afore described--100 mile stubbles and so -on. Another fact that well-nigh struck dumb the authors (long accustomed -to study and preach the incredible mobility of bird-life) was that ducks -shot at dawn at Daimiel are found to be cropful of _rice_. Now the -nearest rice-grounds are at Valencia, distant 180 miles; hence these -ducks, not as a migratory effort, but merely as incidental to each -night's food-supply, have sped at least 360 miles between dusk and dawn. - - As autumn approaches (we quote from notes kindly given us by the - Duke of Arión), so soon as the keepers note the arrival of incoming - migrants, their first business consists in observing the points - which these select for their assemblage. Then with infinite - patience, tact, and skill, the utmost advantage is seized of those - earlier groups which have chosen haunts nearest to points where - guns may be placed most effectively. These favoured groups are left - rigorously alone to act as decoys, while by gentleness and least - provocative methods, the keepers induce other bands which have - settled in less appropriate positions to unite their forces with - the elect. Thus within a few days vast multitudes, scattered over - wide areas, have been unconsciously concentrated within that - "sphere of influence" where four or five guns may act most - efficaciously. - - The supreme test of the keepers' efficiency is demonstrated when - this concentration is limited to some particular area designated - for a single day's shooting. - - The night preceding the day fixed for shooting, so soon as the - ducks have already quitted the lagoons and spread themselves afar - over the surrounding cornlands on their accustomed nocturnal - excursions in search of food, the posts of the various gunners are - prepared. This work involves cutting a channel through some - islanded patch of reeds situate in the centre of open water. The - channel is merely wide enough to admit the entrance of the punt - from which the gunner shoots, the cut reeds being left to remask - the opening so soon as the punt has entered. - - Somewhere between three and four o'clock in the morning the - sportsmen sally forth from the shooting-lodge (situate on the Isla - de los Asnos), each in his punt directing a course to the position - he has drawn by lot. In the boat, besides guns, cartridges, and - loader (should one be taken), are carried thirty or forty - decoy-ducks fashioned of wood or cork and painted to resemble in - form and colour the various species of duck expected at that - particular season. - - Each of these decoys is furnished with a string and leaden weight - to act as an anchor. A fixed plummet directly beneath the floating - decoy prevents its being blown over or upset. - - Generally speaking, the sportsman awaits the dawn in the same boat - in which he has reached his position, but should shallow water - prevent this, either a lighter punt, capable of being carried by - hand, or some wooden boards are substituted as a seat. Having set - out his decoys, and arranged his ammunition, each gunner awaits in - glorious expectancy the moment when the first light of dawn shall - set the aquatic world amove. - - Singly they may come, or in bands and battalions--soon the whole - arc of heaven is serried with moving masses. Should the day prove - favourable, firing continues practically incessant till towards ten - o'clock. From that hour onwards it slackens perceptibly, ducks - flying fewer and fewer and at increasing intervals up to noon or - thereby, when spoils are collected and the day's sport is over. - - There are at most but four or five _puestos_, or gun-posts, at - Daimiel, and that only when ducks are in their fullest numbers. - - Under such conditions, and when all incidental conditions are - favourable, a bag of over 1000 ducks in the day has not - infrequently been registered. On such occasions it follows that - individual guns must gather from 200 to 300 ducks apiece. - - Almost incredible as are the results occasionally obtained under - favouring conditions, yet the duck-shooting at Daimiel is - nevertheless subject to considerable variation in accordance with - the sequence of the season. The biggest totals are usually recorded - during the months of September, October, and November in dry years. - The bags secured at such periods are apt to run into extraordinary - numbers, but with this proviso, that quality is then sometimes - inferior to quantity. For the chief item at these earlier shoots - consists of teal, with only a sprinkling of mallard, wigeon, and - shoveler, and, in some years, a few coots. But at the later - _tiradas_ (shootings), although game is usually rather less - abundant, it is then entirely composed of the bigger ducks--beyond - all in numbers being the mallard, pintail, wigeon, and red-crested - pochard, while an almost equal number of shovelers and common - pochards are also bagged. - - At these earlier _tiradas_ a good gun should be able, with ease, to - bring down, say, 400 ducks, although this number dwindles sadly in - the pick-up, since but few of those birds will be recovered that - fall outside the narrow space of open water around each "hide." One - may say roughly that at least one-fourth are lost. For, although - each post be surrounded by open water, yet many ducks must fall - within the encircling canes, while even those that fall in the - open, if winged and beyond the reach of a second barrel, will - inevitably gain the shelter of the covert, and all these are - irrecoverable. Others, again, carrying on a few yards, may fall - dead in open water, but at a distance the precise position of which - is difficult to fix by reason of intervening cane-brakes. Thus - between those that are lost in the above ways and others that may - be carried away by the wind or the current (besides many that are - devoured by hawks and eagles under the fowler's eye but beyond the - range of his piece) it is no exaggerated estimate that barely - three-fourths of the fallen are ever recovered. - -To the above description another Spanish friend, Don Isidoro Urzáiz, -adds the following:-- - - In the year 1892 I fired at ducks in a single morning at Daimiel - one thousand and ten cartridges. This was between 6.30 and 10.30 - A.M. I gathered rather over two hundred, losing upwards of a - hundred more. I shot badly; it being my first experience with duck, - I had not learnt to let them come well in, and often fired too - soon. - - In subsequent _tiradas_ I have never enjoyed quite so much luck, - although never firing less than 400 to 500 cartridges. In spite of - the difficulty of recovering dead game, I have always on these - occasions gathered from one hundred upwards--the precise numbers I - have not recorded. Some of the _puestos_ have a very small extent - of open water around them, and in these a greater proportion of the - game is necessarily lost. For example, in a single quite small - clump of reeds I remember marking not less than thirty ducks fall - dead, yet of these I recovered not one. The sharp-edged leaves of - the sedge (_masiega_) cut like a knife, and the boatman who entered - the reeds to collect the game returned a few minutes later without - a bird, but with hands, arms, and legs bleeding from innumerable - cuts and scratches, which obliged him to desist from further - search. This is but one example of the difficulty of recovering - fallen game. - -As examples of the totals secured individually in a day may be quoted -the following. At the first shooting in 1908 the Duke of Arión gathered -251 ducks, and at the second shoot, 245, the Duke of Prim, 197. The -record bag was made some ten or twelve years ago by a Valencian -sportsman, Don Juan Cistel, who brought in no less than 393 ducks in -one day! His late Majesty, King Alfonso XII., comes second with 381 -ducks shot in three hours and a half. On his second visit, on hearing -that he had secured his century, His Majesty stopped shooting, being -more interested to watch the fowl passing overhead. His total was 127. -King Alfonso XIII. had an unlucky day here--rain and storm--hence he -only totalled ninety odd. Many years ago, our late friend, Santiago -Udaëta, was credited with 270 ducks to his own gun in one day. - -These bags are truly enormous, for, big as it is, Daimiel is not a patch -in size as compared with our own marismas of the Guadalquivir. There is -here, on the other hand, abundant cover to conceal the guns, which is -not the case with us. - -[Illustration: RED-CRESTED POCHARD--AN IMPRESSION AT DAIMIEL] - -It was at Daimiel that we first made acquaintance with the red-crested -pochard--a handsome and truly striking species, smart in build, colour, -action, and every attribute. A bushy red head outstretched on a very -long neck contrasts with the jet-black breast, while the white -"speculum" on the wings shows up conspicuous as a transparency, -especially when a band passes over-head in the azure vault, or splashes -down on reed-girt shallow--one actually seems to see through the gauzy -texture of their quills. These ducks breed in numbers at Daimiel, as do -also mallards, garganey, and ferruginous ducks, together with stilts, -grebes, and herons of all denominations. Greatly do we regret that our -experience at Daimiel does not include the spring-season with all its -unknown ornithological possibilities. An unfortunate accident prevented -our spending a week or two at Daimiel in May of the present year. - -Ospreys visit the lakes in autumn, preying on the abundant carp and -tench; and wild-boars, some of great size, coming from the bush-clad -Sierra de Villarubia on the south, frequent the cane-brakes. Shelducks -of either species appear unknown; but grey geese (as well as flamingoes) -make passing calls at intervals, a small dark-coloured goose (possibly -the bernicle) is recorded to have been shot on two or three occasions, -and wild swans once. - -The little country-town of Daimiel, situate six or eight miles from the -lakes, was recently the scene of an extraordinary tragedy. We copy the -account from the Madrid newspaper, _El Liberal_, February 20, 1908:-- - - Telegraphing from Daimiel, it is announced that yesterday a gang of - masked men forced their entrance into the Council-Chamber while the - Council were holding a meeting under the presidency of the Mayor. - - The masked men, who numbered six or eight, came fully armed with - guns and rifles which they discharged in the very face of the - Mayor, who fell dead, riddled with bullets. - - The assembled Councillors, seized with panic, fled. - - The murdered Mayor was a Conservative, and the only member of that - party who held a seat in the Corporation. It is believed that the - assassination was perpetrated in obedience to political motives. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE SPANISH BULL-FIGHT - -ITS ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT - - -Perhaps no other contemporary spectacle has been oftener and more -minutely described by writers who--censors and enthusiasts -alike--possess neither personal nor technical qualification, for the -work. Impressions, once the Pyrenees are passed, grow spontaneously -deeper and stronger in inverse ratio with experiences. And the majority -of descriptions confessedly prejudge the scene in adverse sense--the -writer (sometimes a lady) going into wild hysterics after half-seeing a -single bull killed. - -We have not the slightest intention of entering that arena of ravelled -preconceptions and misconceptions, nor are we concerned either to uphold -or to condemn. A greater mind has satirised the human tendency to -"condone the sins we are inclined to, by damning those we have no mind -to," and we are content to leave it at that. - -In this chapter we purpose to glance at the subject from three points of -view. - -(1) The origin of bull-fighting, 500 years ago, and its subsequent -development. - -(2) The modern system of breeding and training the fighting bull. - -(3) The "Miura question"--an incident of to-day. - -As a Spanish institution, bull-fighting dates back to the Reconquest or -shortly thereafter. When that abounding vigour and virility that had -animated and sustained Spanish explorers and warriors--the sailors and -adventurers who, following in the wake of the caravels of Columbus, -opened up a new world to Spain and carried the purple banner of Castile -to the ends of the earth--when that vigour had spent its fiery force and -grown anæmic, there still remained (as always) a residue of bold -spirits who, scorning decadent circumstance, turned intuitively to that -virile and dangerous exercise left them as a heritage by the vanished -Moors. - -For it was the Arab conquerors, the so-called Moors, who first practised -this form of vicarious warfare. It was, however, in no sense as a -sport--far less as a popular pastime--that the fierce Arab had risked -equal chances with the fiercest wild beast of the Spanish plain. No, it -was strictly as a substitute and a preparation for the sterner realities -of war that, during the intervals of peace, the Moors "kept their hands -in" by fighting bulls. - -The object was to keep themselves and their chargers fit, their eyesight -true, and muscles toughened for the further struggles that all knew must -follow. But during those intervals of peace, the rival knights, -Christian and Moslem, met in keen competition with lance and sword on -the enclosed arena of the bull-ring. The conclusion of a truce was -frequently celebrated by holding a joint _fiesta de toros_. - -No trace, however, exists in Arab writings to show that these people -possessed any innate love of bull-fighting as a sport, or ever practised -it save only as an accessory to the art of war. - -No other people of ancient race have had exhibitions of this kind--that -is, where the skill of man was invoked to incite a beast to attack in -certain desired modes; while the performer escaped the onset, and -finally slew his adversary, by preconceived forms of defence governed by -set rules--a spectacle wherein the assembled crowd could, each according -to his light, estimate both the skill of the man and the fighting -quality of the beast. That the blood of many a gladiator dyed the Roman -arena at the horns of bulls is certain: but no artistic embellishments -of attack or defence added to the joy of the Roman holiday. The mere -mechanical instinct of self-preservation may inadvertently have -suggested to individual combatants certain combinations in the conflict -that in later days have been utilised by modern matadors; but it seems -hardly possible to suppose that Roman gladiators saved themselves by -methods of prescribed art. Contemporary records, together with the -scenes depicted on coinage, represent rather a mere massacre of men by -brute force; and such cannot bear any relation to the conditions that -govern the national _fiesta_ of Spain to-day. - -The actual origin in Spain of the _Corrida de Toros_ must thus be traced -to the Spanish Arabs, who, to exercise themselves and their steeds -during intermittent periods of peace, adopted this dangerous pastime -with the view of fortifying and invigorating personal valour, so -necessary in times of constant strife. - -The Arab's spear and charger were opposed to the wild bull of the -Spanish plain under conditions many of which are analogous to these in -vogue to-day. - -In those earlier ages it was permitted to an unhorsed cavalier to accept -protection from the horns of his enemy at the hands of his personal -retainers, who not infrequently sacrificed their own lives in devotion -to their chief. - -At this period (during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries) the -knight who, lance in hand, had been hurled from the saddle might draw -his sword and kill the bull, his vassals being allowed to assist in -placing the animal (by deft display of coloured cloaks) in a position to -facilitate the death-stroke. Here, doubtless, originated the art of -"playing" the bull, and incidentally sprang the professional -bull-fighter. - -For as these servants became experts, and by reason of their prowess -gained extra wages, so proportionately such skill became of pecuniary -value. Mercenaries of this sort were, nevertheless, despised--to risk -their lives in return for money was regarded as an infamous thing. But -at least they had inaugurated the regime of the highly paid matador of -to-day. - -During the first century after the Reconquest bull-fighting was opposed -by several powerful influences, but each in turn it survived and set at -naught. Isabel la Católica, horrified by the sight of bloodshed at a -bull-fight which she personally attended, decided to prohibit all -_corridas_; but that, she found, lay beyond even her great influence. -Next, in 1567, the power of the Papacy was invoked in vain. - -Pope Pius V., by a _bula_ of November 20, forbade the spectacle under -pain of excommunication, the denial of Christian burial, and similar -ecclesiastical penalties; but he and his _bula_ had likewise to go under -in face of the national sentiment of Spain. - -A noble bull fell to the lance of Isabel's grandson, H.M. the Emperor -Charles V., in the Plaza Mayor of Valladolid amidst acclamation of -countless admirers. This occurred during the festivals held to -celebrate the birth of his eldest son, afterwards Phillip II. - -[Illustration: BULL-FIGHTING. From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall] - -In 1612 bull-fighting first assumed a financial aspect. Phillip III. -conceded to one Arcania Manduno the emoluments accruing during the term -of three lives from the _corridas de toros_ in the city of Valencia. -Charities and asylums benefited under this fund, but the bulk went in -payment for professional services in the Plaza. - -During the reign of Phillip IV.--that king being skilled in the use of -lance and javelin (_rejón_), and frequently himself taking a public -part--the _fiesta_ advanced enormously in national estimation. English -readers may recall the sumptuous _corrida_ which marked the arrival of -Charles I., with the Duke of Buckingham, at Madrid. - -Later, during the reigns of the House of Austria, to face a bull with -bravery and skill and to use a dexterous lance was the pride of every -Spanish noble. - -Phillip V., however, would have none of the spectacle, and then the -nobility held aloof from the _corridas_; but their example proved no -deterrent. For the hold of the national pastime on the Moro-hispanic -race was too firm-set to be swept aside by alien influence, however -strong; and when thus abandoned by the patricians, the hidalgos and -grandees of Spain, the sport of bull-fighting (hitherto confined -exclusively to the aristocracy) was taken up by the Spanish people. A -further impulse was generated later on under Ferdinand VII., who -obtained a reversal of the anathema of the Church on condition that some -of the pecuniary profits of the _corridas_ should swell the funds of the -hospitals. - -It was, however, during the first half of the eighteenth century that -bull-fighting on a popular basis, as understood and practised at the -present day, took its start. Then there stepped upon the enclosed arena -the first professional _Toréro_ amidst thrilling plaudits from tier -above tier of encircling humanity. Never before had the bull been taken -on by a single man on foot armed only with his good sword and scarlet -flag--with these to pit his strength and skill against the weight and -ferocity of a _toro bravo_--alone and unaided to despatch him. Such a -man was Francisco Romero, erewhiles a shoemaker at Ronda--A.D. -1726--first professional _lidiador_. On his death at an advanced age, he -left five sons, all craftsmen of repute, who, in honour of their sire, -formed a bull-fighting guild still known as the Rondénean -School--distinguished from the later Sevillian cult by its more serious -and dignified attack as compared with the prettiness and "swagger" of -the Sevillano. - -In that generation Francisco's son, Pedro Romero, appeared in rivalry -with PEPE-ILLO, the new-risen star in the Sevillian firmament. It was, -by the way, the master-mind of the latter which completed and perfected -the reorganisation on popular lines of the national _fiesta_ after -Bourbon influence had alienated the aristocracy from their ancient -diversion. The rivalry between these competing exponents of the two -styles commenced in 1771, the pair representing each a supreme mastery -of their respective schools, and only terminated with the death of -Pepe-Illo in the Plaza of Madrid, May 11, 1801. The Sevillian style has -since attained pre-eminence, appealing more to the masses by its -nonchalance and apparent disregard of danger. When the best features of -both schools are combined--as has been exemplified in more than one -brilliant exponent of the art--then the letters of his name are writ -large on the _cartels_. - -One other famous name of that epoch demands notice--that of Costillares, -who introduced the flying stroke distinguished as the _suerte de -volapié_. Hitherto all _lidiadors_ had received the onset of the bull -standing--the _suerte de recibir_. In the _volapié_ the charging bull is -met half-way, an exploit demanding unswerving accuracy, strength of arm, -and exact judgment of distance, since the spot permissible for the sword -to enter, the target on the bull's neck, is no bigger than an orange. - -The normal difficulty of sheathing the blade at that exact point on a -charging bull is great enough; but is vastly increased in the _volapié_, -or flying stroke, and the effect produced on the spectators emotional in -the last degree. - -Costillares also formalised the costumes of the different classes of -bull-fighters. He flourished in 1760, and died of a broken heart owing -to his right arm being injured, which incapacitated him from further -triumphs. About that period Martinho introduced the perilous pole-jump, -and José Candido stood out prominent for skill and extraordinary -resource. - -Intermediate episodes of minor importance we must briefly note. Thus -Godoy in 1805 stopped bull-fights, but Joseph Bonaparte in 1808 -re-established the spectacle, in vain hope--a sop to Cerberus--of -attaching sympathy to his dynasty. - -On the return of Fernando VII. in 1814, he also prohibited the shows, -only to re-authorise them the following year, while in 1830 he founded a -school of Toromaquia in Seville. One famous _toréro_, matriculating -thereat, inaugurated a new epoch. Francisco Montes carried popular -enthusiasm to its highest apex. Joy bordering on madness possessed the -Madrilenean ring when Montes handled the _muleta_. Yet as a matador he -had serious defects. - -In 1840 Cuchares appeared on the scene, and two years later the great -disciple of Montes, José Redondo. The rivalry of these notable -contemporaries lifted the _toréo_ once more to a level of absorbing -national interest. It will have been seen that whenever two brilliant -constellations flash forth simultaneously, their very rivalry commands -the sympathy and supreme interest of the Spanish people. - -From 1852 El Tato stood out as a type of elegance and valour, the idol -of the masses, till on June 7, 1859, a treacherous bull left him -mutilated in the arena. Antonio Carmóna (El Gordito), commenced his -career in 1857, alternating in the ring with El Tato and later with -Lagartijo, the latter a brilliant _toréro_ (or player of bulls) as -distinguished from a matador. Consummate in every feint and artifice, -Lagartijo could befool the animals to the top of his bent, yet as a -matador, the final and supreme executor, he failed. - -For twenty years (1867-87) the Spanish public were divided in their keen -appreciation of contemporaneous masters, Lagartijo and Frascuelo. The -latter, whose iron will and courage made amends for certain personal -defects in the lighter role, had marvellous security in the final -stroke. - -Lagartijo and Frascuelo accentuate an era well remembered by enthusiasts -in the Classic School of the _Toréo_. In their day all Spaniards were -devoted, aye, passionate adherents of one or the other: all Spain was -divided into two camps, that of Lagartijo and that of Frascuelo. The -actual supporters of the ring were probably no more numerous then than -to-day; but toreadors breathed that old-fashioned atmosphere in which a -love of the profession was supreme--an heroic unselfishness, personal -skill, and valour were the ruling motives. Pecuniary interest was a -thing apart. - -The career of the bull-fighter to-day is absolutely wanting in such -virtue. Lagartijo and Frascuelo staked their lives each afternoon, -through a love of their art, by the impress of honest nature, perhaps by -inspiration of a woman's eyes. Into their calculations, ideas of lucre -did not enter, money had no value. - -Then came on the scene (1887) that bright particular star, Rafael Guerra -(Guerrita) celebrated and admired--and with justice. But his coming -destroyed for ever the legend of the disinterested _toréro_. The lover -of the art for its own sake was no more, Guerrita was a mercenary of the -first water. Admittedly first of modern bull-fighters, the aspiration of -his soul was the possession of bank-notes, to be the clipper of many -coupons! Neither passion, nor blood, nor favour of the fair inspired his -sordid soul. At the supreme moment of danger, money, only money, was the -motive which actuated him. In his desire for wealth, he succeeded. His -unexpected retirement from the arena in the very apogee of his glory, -and carrying away the accumulation of his thrift, was a shock to this -warm-hearted people. Every vestige of the romantic halo with which -personal prowess and graceful presence had surrounded him was destroyed. -Guerrita as a player of bulls (_toréro_) was the first in all the -history of the ring. As a "matador" also he was the most complete and -certain. Unlike the majority of his compeers, he was reserved in his -habits, and lived apart from the bizarre and tempestuous life of the -ordinary bull-fighter, with its feminine intrigues and excitements. For -that reason he had many enemies amongst his set; but of his claim to be -in the very first rank there has never been a question. To see Guerrita -wind the silken sash around his ribs of steel, as he attired himself for -the arena, was a sight his patrons considered worth going many a mile to -witness.[32] - -Since his retirement, the show has fallen greatly, in the quality of the -bull-fighter. - -Luis Mazzantini created a temporary revolution in the annals of -toromaquia (1885), lighting up anew the enthusiasm for the _fiesta_. He -came not of the usual low, half-gipsy caste, but of the class which -entitled him to the _Don_ of gentle birth. Don Luis Mazzantini, the only -professional bearing such a prefix, acquired at an unusually late period -of life sufficient technical knowledge of bull-fighting to embolden him -to enter the lists in competition with professionals. He was thirty -years of age when the heavy pay of the matador induced him to risk his -life in the arena. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -Whatever may be said of his failing as an artistic exponent of the art -of Cucháres, he killed his bulls in a resolute manner, and re-animated -the interest in the _corrida_, but his example was a bad one. Several -men emulating his career have endeavoured to become improvised -_toréros_, and, like him, to avoid the step-by-step climb to matador's -rank. All have been failures. They wanted to begin where the -bull-fighter of old left off. - -Mazzantini has retired, unscathed, from his twenty years of perilous -experience in the arena, and is now a civic light in the local -government of the city of Madrid. - -Since Guerrita, not a single matador of leading light has arisen. -Reverte (1891), Antonio Fuentes (1893), and Bombita (1894) all attracted -a numerous public; and after them we arrive at the lesser lights of the -present day, Bombita II. and Machaquito. - -Notwithstanding its present decadence in all the most essential -qualities, yet the _fiesta de toros_ is still, if not the very -heartthrob of the nation, at least the single all-embracing symbol of -the people's taste as distinguished from that of other lands. Racing has -been tried and failed; there are no teeming crowds at football, nor -silent watchers on the cricket-field. _La Corrida_ alone makes the -Spanish holiday. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE SPANISH FIGHTING-BULL - -HIS BREEDING AND TRAINING - - -The normal British idea of a bull naturally derives colour from those -stolid animals one sees at home, some with a ring through the nose, and -which are only kept for stud purposes, but occasionally evince a latent -ferocity by goring to death some hapless herdsman. - -Between such and the Spanish _Toro de Plaza_ there exists no sort of -analogy. The Spanish fighting-bull is bred to fight, and the keen -experience of centuries is brought to bear on the selection of the -fittest--that, moreover, not only as regards the bulls, for the cows -also are tested both for pluck and stamina before admission to the -herd-register. The result, in effect, assures that an animal as fierce -and formidable as the wildest African buffalo shall finally face the -matador. - -The breeding of the fighting-bull forms in Spain a rural industry as -deeply studied and as keenly competitive as that of prize-cattle or -Derby winners in England. - -At the age of one year preliminary tests are made, and promising -youngsters branded with the insignia of the herd. But it is the -completion of the second year that marks their critical period; for then -take place the trials for pluck and mettle. The brave are set aside for -the Plaza, the docile destroyed or gelded; while from the chosen lot a -further selection is made of the sires for future years. - -At these two-year-old trials, or _Tentaderos_, it is customary for the -owner and his friends to assemble at the sequestered _rancho_--the event -indeed becomes a rural fête, a bright and picturesque scene, typical of -untrodden Spain and of the buoyant exuberance and dare-devil spirit of -her people. - -Nowhere can the exciting scenes of the _Tentadero_ be witnessed to -greater advantage than on those wide level pasturages that extend from -Seville to the Bay of Cádiz. Here, far out on spreading _vega_ ablaze -with wild flowers, where the canicular sun flashes yet more light and -fire into the fiery veins of the Andaluz--here is enacted the first -scene in the drama of the _Toréo_. For ages these flower-strewn plains -have formed the scene of countless _tentaderos_, where the young bloods -of Andalucia, generation after generation, rival each other in feats of -derring-do, of skill, and horsemanship. - -The remote _estancia_ presents a scene of unwonted revelry. All night -long its rude walls resound with boisterous hilarity--good-humour, -gaiety, and a spice of practical joking pass away the dark hours and by -daylight all are in the saddle. The young bulls have previously been -herded upon that part of the estate which affords the best level ground -for smart manoeuvre and fast riding, and the task of holding the -impetuous beasts together is allotted to skilled herdsmen armed with -long _garrochas_--four-yard lances, with blunt steel tip. All being -ready, a single bull is allowed to escape across the plain. Two horsemen -awaiting the moment, spear in hand, give chase, one on either flank. The -rider on the bull's left assists his companion by holding the animal to -a straight course. Presently the right-hand man, rising erect in his -stirrups, plants his lance on the bull's _off-flank_, near the tail, and -by one tremendous thrust, delivered at full speed, overthrows him--a -feat that bespeaks a good eye, a firm seat, and a strong arm. Some young -bulls will take two or more falls; others, on rising, will elect to -charge. The infuriated youngster finds himself faced by a second foe--a -horseman armed with a more pointed lance and who has been riding close -behind. This man is termed _el Tentador_. Straightway the bull charges, -receiving on his withers the _garrocha_ point; thrown back thus and -smarting under this first check to his hitherto unthwarted will, he -returns to the charge with redoubled fury, but only to find the horse -protected as before. The pluckier spirits will essay a third or a fourth -attack, but those that freely charge _twice_ are passed as fit for the -ring. - -Should a young bull _twice_ decline to charge the _Tentador_, submitting -to his overthrow and only desiring to escape, he is condemned--doomed to -death, or at best to a life of agricultural toil. - -Not seldom a bull singled out from the _rodéo_ declines to escape, as -expected; but, instead, charges the nearest person, on foot or mounted, -whom he may chance to espy. Then there is a flutter in the dovecotes! -Danger can only be averted by skilled riding or a cool head, since there -is no shelter. Spanish herdsmen, however (and amateurs besides), are -adepts in the art of giving "passes" to the bull--a smart fellow, when -caught thus in the open, can keep a bull off him (using his jacket only) -for several moments, giving time for horsemen to come up to his rescue. -Even then it is no uncommon occurrence to see horseman, horse, and bull -all rolling on the turf in a common ruin. Seldom does it happen that one -of these trial-days passes without broken bones or accidents of one kind -or another. - -For four to five more years, the selected bulls roam at large over the -richest pasturages of the wide unfrequented prairies. Should pasture -fail through drought or deluge, the bulls are fed on tares, vetch, or -maize, even with wheat, for their début in public must be made in the -highest possible condition. The bulls should then be not less than five, -nor more than seven years old. - -The _tentadero_ at the present day brings together aristocratic -gatherings that recall the tauromachian tournaments of old. Skill in -handling the _garrocha_ and the ability to turn-over a running bull are -accomplishments held in high esteem among Spanish youth. Even the -Infantas of Spain have entered into the spirit of the sport, and have -been known themselves to wield a dexterous lance. - -At length, however, the years spent in luxurious idleness on the silent -plain must come to an end. One summer morning the brave herd find -grazing in their midst sundry strangers which make themselves extremely -agreeable to the lordly champions, now in the zenith of magnificent -strength and beauty. These strangers are the _cabrestos_ (or -_cabestros_, in correct Castilian), decoy-oxen sent out to fraternise -for a few days with the fighting race preparatory to the _Encierro_, or -operation of convoying the latter to the city whereat the _corrida_ is -to take place. Each _cabresto_ has a cattle-bell suspended round its -neck in order to accustom the wild herd to follow the lead of these base -betrayers of the brave. Thus the noble bulls are lured from their native -plains through country tracks and bye-ways to the entrance of the fatal -_toril_. - -[Illustration: AFTER THE STROKE.] - -An animated spectacle it is on the eve of the _corrida_ when, amidst -clouds of dust and clang of bells, the tame oxen and wild bulls are -driven forward by galloping horsemen and levelled _garrochas_. The -excited populace, already intoxicated with bull-fever and the -anticipation of the coming _corridas_, line the way to the Plaza, -careless if in the enthusiasm for the morrow they risk some awkward rips -to-day. - -Once inside the lofty walls of the _toril_ it is easy to withdraw the -treacherous _cabestros_, and one by one to tempt the bulls each into a -small separate cell, the _chiquero_, the door of which will to-morrow -fall before his eyes. Then, rushing upon the arena, he finds himself -confronted and encircled by surging tiers of yelling humanity, while the -crash of trumpets and glare of moving colours madden his brain. Then the -gaudy horsemen, with menacing lances, recall his day of trial on the -distant plain--horsemen now doubly hateful in their brilliant glittering -tinsel. - -What a spectacle is presented by the Plaza at this moment!--one without -parallel in the modern world. The vast amphitheatre, crowded to the last -seat in every row and tier, is held for some seconds in breathless -suspense; above, the glorious azure canopy of an Andalucian summer sky; -below, on the yellow arena, rushes forth the bull, fresh from his -distant prairie, amazed yet undaunted by the unwonted sight and -bewildering blaze of colour which surrounds him. For one brief moment -the vast mass of excited humanity sits spell-bound; the clamour of -myriads is stilled. Then the pent-up cry bursts forth in frantic volume, -for the gleaning horns have done their work, and _Buen toro! buen toro!_ -rings from twice ten thousand throats. - -We have traced in brief outline the life-history of our gallant bull; we -have brought him face to face with the matador and his Toledan -blade--there we must leave him.[33] In concluding this chapter, may we -beg the generous reader, should he ever enter the historic precincts of -the Plaza, to go there with an open mind, to form his own opinion -without prejudice or bias. Let him remember that to untrained eyes there -must ever fall unseen many of the finer "passes," much of the skilled -technique and science of tauromachian art. The casual spectator -necessarily loses that; he perceives no more difficulty in the perilous -_suerte de vol-á-pié_ than in the simpler but more attractive _suerte de -recibir_, and a hundred similar details. Finally, before crystallising a -judgment, critics should endeavour to see a few second-or third-rate -_corridas_. It is at these that the relative values of the forces -opposed--brute strength and human skill--are displayed in truer and more -speaking contrast. At set bull-fights of the first-class, the latter -quality is often so marked as partly to obscure the difficulties and -dangers it surmounts. Watch _toréros_ of finished skill and the game -seems easy--as when some phenomenal batsman, well set, knocks the best -bowling in England all over the field. Yet that bowling, the expert -knows, is not easy. Nor are the bulls. At second-rate fights the forces -placed face to face are more evenly balanced; and there it is often the -bull that scores. - - -THE MIURA QUESTION - -A raging controversy, illuminative of Tauromachia, has recently split -into two camps the bull-fighting world and agitated one-half of Spain. -The breeding of the fighting-bull is in this country a semi-æsthetic -pursuit, analogous to that of short-horns or racehorses in England, and -the possession of a notable herd the ambition of many of the grandees -and big landowners of Spain. - -Among the various crack herds that of Don Eduardo Miura of Sevilla had -always occupied a prominent rank; while during recent years the power -and dashing prowess of the _Miureno_ bulls had raised that breed almost -to a level apart, invested with a halo of semi-mysterious quality. -Captures occurred at every _corrida_; man after man had gone down before -these redoubted champions, and the minds of surviving -matadors--saturated one and all with gipsy-sprung superstition--began to -attribute secret or supernatural powers to the dreaded herd. Not a -swordsman but felt unwonted qualm when meeting a _Miureno_ on the sanded -arena. Showy players with the _capa_ and the banderillos proved capable -of giving attractive exhibitions, but it was another matter when the -matador stood alone, face to face with his foe. Even second-class -_toréros_ can, with almost any bull, show off their accomplishments in -these lighter séances; but in the supreme rôle--that of killing the -bull as art demands--there is no room for half-measures or deceptions. -To valour, ability must be united. When those two qualities are not both -coupled and balanced, then one of two things happens: Either the scene -becomes a dull one, a mixture of funk and feebleness made patent all -round; or disaster is at hand. This one hears forecast in the strange -cries of this meridional people--from all sides come the shouts of -"_Hule! Hule!_" Now _Hule_ is the name of the material with which the -stretchers for the killed and wounded are covered! - -At this period (summer of 1908) a combination of the bull-fighting craft -attempted a boycott of the Miura herd, or at least double pay for -killing them. This was done secretly at first, since neither would open -confession redound to the credit of the "pig-tail," nor did it promise -favourable reception by the public. - -At this conjuncture a notable _corrida_ occurred at Seville--six -_Miurenos_ being listed for the fight. Ricardo Torres (Bombita II.) -despatched his first with all serenity and valour; with his second, a -magnificent animal worthy of a royal pageant, he would doubtless have -comported himself with equal skill but for an extraneous incident. Upon -rushing into the arena this bull had at once impaled a foolhardy amateur -named Pepín Rodriguez who (quite against all recognised rule) had madly -sprung into the ring. The poor fellow was borne out only in time to -receive the last religious rite. - -At the precise moment when Ricardo stepped forth to meet his foe, the -murmur reached his ear--Pepín was dead, and his superstitious soul sank -down to zero at that whisper from without. When the critical moment -arrived--the popular matador stood pale, nerveless, incapable. Then the -scorn of the mighty crowd burst forth in monstrous yells. Ricardo Torres -had fallen from the pinnacle of fame to the level of a clumsy beginner. -In a moment he was disgraced, his increasing reputation ruined for ever -under the eyes of all the world--and that by a _Miureno_ bull. From that -moment the fallen star organised his colleagues in open rebellion -against the victorious breed. - -The line of action adopted was to abuse and libel the incriminated herd. -It was urged that the bulls lacked the true qualities of dash and valour -and only scored by treachery; and especially insinuated that the young -bulls were expressly taught at their _tentaderos_, or trials on the open -plains, to discriminate between shadow and substance--in other words, -to seek the man and disdain the lure--this naturally making the rôle of -matador more dangerous, and double pay was demanded. To outsiders it -would appear that on the day when bulls learn this, bull-fighting must -cease. - -A storm burst that raged all winter--all classes taking part. Spain was -rent in twain; press and people, high and low, joined issue in this -unseemly wrangle. We cannot here enter into detail of the various -schemes, fair and unfair, whereby the bull-fighters' guild sought to -justify their action and their demands and to prejudice the terrible -_Miurenos_ in the public eye. They were seconded by most professionals -of renown, and soon all but seven had joined the league. But the -squabble with its resultant lawsuits and sordid financial aspect finally -disgusted the public. - -Needless to add, a counter-association of bull-breeders had been forced -into existence, which eventually, despite varied and particular personal -interests unworthy of definition, united the opposition. Oh! it was a -pretty quarrel and one in its essence peculiar to Spain. But it held the -whole country engaged all winter in the throes of a semi-civil war! - -At the first _corrida_ of the following season--held at Alicante January -18, 1909, and graced by the presence of King Alfonso XIII. in -person--the public delivered their verdict, filling the Plaza to -overflowing, although the whole of the six champions were of the -condemned Miura breed and the matadors, Quinito and Rerre, belonged to -the recalcitrant Seven. The bull-fighters' guild had received a fatal -blow. - -Such was the situation, the mental equilibrium between the fiercely -contending factions, as the crucial period approached--the Easter -_corridas_ at Seville. The _impresarios_ of that function, having full -grip of the circumstance, engaged matadors of minor repute--Pepete, -Moréno de Alcalá, and Martin Vasquez. All three, although but of second -rank, were popular and regarded as coming men. - -Flaming posters announced that six champions of the Miura breed would -face the swordsmen. - -The occasion was unique, and D. Eduardo Miura rose to meet it, -presenting six bulls of incomparable beauty, magnificent in fine lines, -in dash, brute-strength, and valour, yet utterly devoid (as the event -proved) of guile or lurking treachery. Such animals as these six -demanded a Romero, a Montes, or a Guerrita as equals; instead, these -young _Toréros_ who faced them, courageous though they were, lacked -calibre for such an undertaking. This _corrida_ marked an epoch, but it -acquired the proportions of a catastrophe. The bye-word that "where -there are bulls there are no matadors" became that afternoon an axiom. - -A _gettatura_, or atmosphere of superstition, surrounded the bulls and -unnerved or confounded their opponents. Pepete was caught by the first -bull, Moréno de Alcalá by the fourth, while Martin Vasquez (already -thrice caught) succumbed to the fifth. - -The sixth bull thus remained unopposed champion of the Plaza--not a -matador survived to face him, and it became necessary to entice an -unfought bull (by means of trained oxen) to quit the arena--an event -unprecedented in the age-long annals of Tauromachy! - -A typical incident, trivial by comparison, intervened. A youthful -spectator, frenzied to madness by the scene, had seized a sword, leapt -into the ring, and ... promptly met his death. - - * * * * * - -Every contention of the bull-fighters' guild had been falsified, and the -association collapsed. A Sevillian paper summed up the event thus:-- - - The six bulls were each worthy to figure in toromaquian annals for - their beautiful stamp, their lines, weight, bravery, and caste. We - witnessed a tragedy when, on the death of the fifth bull, not a - matador remained. But had that tragedy been caused by malice, - wickedness, or treachery on the part of the bulls, surely a - declaration of martial law in this city would have been demanded by - not a few! But that was not so; each of the six competed in the - qualities of bravery, nobility, and adaptability--such bulls are - worthy of better swordsmen. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -SIERRA DE GRÉDOS - - -We met, our trio, on the platform of Charing Cross--not classic but -perhaps historic ground, since so many notable expeditions have started -therefrom, with others of less importance. - -The heat in Madrid towards the end of August (1896) was not -excessive--less than we had feared. We enjoyed, that Sunday, quite an -excellent bull-fight, although the bulls themselves had been advertised -as of "only one horn" apiece (_de un cuerno_). There was no sign, -however, of any cornual deficiency as each magnificent animal dashed -into the arena, although with binoculars one could detect a slight -splintering of one horn-point, a defect which had caused the rejection -of that animal from the herd-list. For these bulls were, in fact, of -notable blood--that of Ybarra of Sevillian _vegas_--and none bearing -that name appear in first-class _corridas_ save absolutely perfect and -unblemished. - -The point illustrates the keen appreciation of quality in the -fighting-bull, which in Spain goes without saying, yet may well deceive -the casual stranger. Thus an American party who breakfasted with us -(always keen to get the best, but not always knowing where to find it) -despised the "Unicorns" and reserved themselves instead for the opera. -We enjoyed an excellent fight with dashing bulls--two clearing the -barrier and causing a fine stampede among the military, the police, and -crowds of itinerant fruit-and water-sellers who occupy the -_Entre-barreras_. - -These "Unicorns" proved really better bulls than at many of the formal -_corridas_. Three young and rising matadors despatched the animals--two -each. They were Galindo, Gavira, and Parrao--both the latter excellent. -Gavira looked as if he might take first rank in his order, while Parrao -displayed a coolness in the _lidia_ such as we had seldom before -seen--even to stroking the bull's nose--while in the final scene he -went in to such close quarters, "passing" the animal at half -arm's-length, that the whole 10,000 in the Plaza held their breath. -Parrao will become a first-flighter, unless he is caught, which -certainly seems the more natural event. - -That evening we were hospitably entertained at the British Embassy, -where our host, the Chargé d'Affaires, regretted that the short -fourteen-days' Ortolan season had just that morning expired. Thus, quite -unconsciously, was an ornithological fact elucidated. - -Next morning we were away by an early train, and after five hours' -journey joined our staff, as prearranged. But here we committed the -mistake of quartering in a country-town on the banks of the Tagus, -instead of encamping in the open country outside. Bitterly did we regret -having allowed ourselves to be thus persuaded. Long summer heats and -parching drought had destroyed what primitive system of natural drainage -may have existed in Talavera de la Reina and produced conditions that we -revolt from describing. Oh! those foul effluvia amidst which men live, -and feed, and sleep! - -With intense delight, but splitting headaches, we left the plague-spot -at earliest dawn and set out for the mountain-land. For thirty odd miles -our route traversed a highland plateau; a group of five great bustard, -gasping in the noon-day heat, lay asleep so near the track that we tried -a shot with ball. Farther north, near Medina del Campo, we had also -observed these grand game-birds feeding on the ripening grapes in the -vineyards. Packs of sand-grouse (_Pterocles arenarius_) with musical -croak flew close around. Spanish azure magpies abounded wherever our -route passed through wooded stretches, and we also observed doves, -bee-eaters, stonechats, crested and calandra larks, ravens, and over -some cork-oaks wheeled a serpent-eagle showing very white below. - -Towards evening the track began to ascend through the lower defiles of -the great cordillera that now pierced the heavens ahead. Presently we -entered pinewoods, resonant at dusk with the raucous voices of millions -of wingless grasshoppers or locusts (we know not their precise name) -that live high up in pines. Never before had we heard such strident -voice in an insect. - -At 4000 feet we encamped beneath the pines by a lovely trout-stream. -This was the rendezvous whereat by arrangement we met with our old -friends the ibex-hunters of Almanzór--savage perhaps to the eye, yet -beyond all doubt radiantly glad to welcome back the foreigners after a -lapse of years. No mere greed of dollars inspired that enthusiasm, but -solely the bond of a common passion that bound us all--that of the -hunter. It was, however, but sorry hearing to listen to the reports they -told us around the camp-fire. Everywhere the ibex were yearly growing -scarcer, dwindling to an inevitable vanishing-point, former haunts -already abandoned--or, we should rather say, swept clean. Where but a -score of years before, 150 ibex had been counted in a single _montería_, -our friends reckoned that exactly a dozen survived. One remark -especially struck us. "There remained," with glee our friends assured -us, "one magnificent old goat, a ram of twelve years, out there on the -crags of Almanzór." _ONE!_ To _one_ sole big head had it dwindled? - -[Illustration: "MINOR GAME"] - -The valley of the Tagus divides two geological periods, and perhaps at -one time divided Europe from a retiring Africa. Marked differences -distinguish the fauna on either side of the river, and that of the north -(with its 10,000 feet altitude) promised reward worthy the labours of -investigation. Not a yard of that great mountain-land of Grédos has been -trodden by British foot (save our own) since the days of Wellington. -Hence it was an object with us to secure, not only ibex heads, but -specimens of the smaller mammalia that dwell in those heights. Our -mountain friends assembled round the camp-fire--twenty-five in all--each -promised to take up this unaccustomed quest and to regard as game every -hitherto unconsidered _bicho_ of the hills, whether feathered, furred, -or scaled. If ibex failed us, at least a harvest in such minor game we -meant to assure.[34] - -Three o'clock saw us astir, bathing in the dark burn while moonlight -still streamed through sombre pines. Camp meanwhile was broken up; -tents and gear packed on ponies and mules, breakfast finished--we were -off, heavenwards. Then, just as the laden pack-animals filed through the -burn, there rode up a man--he had ridden all night--and bore a message -that changed our exuberant joy to grief--bad news from home. - -There could be no doubt--the writer must return at once. Within five -minutes I had decided to make for a point on the northern railway beyond -the hills and distant some sixty miles as the crow flies. Baggage and -battery were abandoned; a handbag with a satchel of provisions and a -wine-skin formed my luggage, and, leaving my companions in this wild -spot, I set forth in the grey dawn on a barebacked mule devoid of -saddle, bridle, or stirrups, and accompanied by two of our hill-bred -lads, one riding pillion behind or running alongside in turn. - -Where the grey ramparts of the Risco del Fraile and the Casquerázo frown -on a rugged earth below I parted with my old pals, they to continue the -ibex-hunt, I on my mournful homeward way. - -Bee-eaters poised and chattered, brilliant butterflies (whose names I -forgot to note), abounded as we rode along those fearful edges and -boulder-studded steeps. Six hours of this brought us to a rock-poised -hamlet of the sierra. The landlord of the _posada_ was also the -_Alcalde_ (mayor) of the district, and even then presiding over a -meeting of the council (_ayuntamiento_). Amidst dogs, children, fleas, -and dirt, along with my two goat-herd friends, we made breakfast. - -Thence over the main pass of Navasomera--no road, not the vestige of a -track, and a tremendous ravine stopped us for hours, and for a time -threatened to prove impassable. By patience and recklessness we lowered -mule and ourselves down scrub-choked screes, and after some of the -roughest work of my life gained a goat-herd's track which led upwards to -the pass. After clearing the reverse slope we traversed for twenty miles -a dreary upland (6000 feet) till we struck the head-waters of the -Albirche river, where my lads tickled half-a-dozen trout and a _frog_! -Kites beat along the stony hills, where wheatears and stonechats -fluttered incessant, with dippers and sandpipers on the burn below. - -We halted at a lonely _venta_ (wayside wine-shop), where assembled -goat-herds courteously made room, and passed me their wine-skin. -Presently one of them asked whither I went, remarking, "Your Excellency -is clearly not of this province." Three or four skinny rabbits hung on -the wall, and the landlord, after inquiring what his Excellency would -eat, assured me he had plenty of everything, was yet so strong in his -commendation of _rabbit_ that I knew those wretched beasties were the -only food in the place. Presently with my two lads, and surrounded by -mules, cats, dogs, poultry, wasps, and fleas, we sat down to dine on -trout, rabbits-_á-pimiento_, and _chorizo_ (forty horse-power sausage). -I believe my boys also ate the frog! - -Two hours after dark we were still dragging along the upland, while the -outlines of the jagged cordillera behind had faded in gathering night. I -could scarce have sat much longer on that bony saddleless mule when a -light was descried far below, and, on learning that we were still twenty -miles from our destination, I decided to put up for the night at that -little _venta_ of Almenge, sleeping on bare earth alongside my boys, and -close by the heels of our own and sundry other mules. - -[Illustration] - -At breakfast there sat down, besides ourselves and hostess, sundry -muleteers, all sympathetic and commiserate since my mission had become -known. I was hurrying homewards to distant Inglaterra--so Juanito had -explained--because my brother was _poco bueno_--not very well. The -hostess looked hard, and said, "Señor, it must be _muy grave_ (very -serious), or they would not have telegraphed for the _caballero_ to -return." - -Many more hours of tedious mule-riding followed ere at last from -lowering spurs we could see the end of the hills and the white track -winding away till lost to view across the plain below. - -Here in the highest growth of trees were grey shrikes (_Lanius -meridionalis_), adults and young, besides missel-thrushes, turtle-doves, -etc. On the level corn-lands below, which we now traversed for miles, we -observed bustards (these, we were told, retired to lower levels in -September)--nothing else beyond the usual larks and kestrels common to -all Spain. - -[Illustration: SCENES IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS. - -MOREZÓN. CUCHILLAR DE NAVÁJAS. ALMANZÓR. - -THE CIRCO DE GRÉDOS. - -LAGUNA DE GRÉDOS. - -A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW--SHOWS THE AMEÁL AND CUCHILLAR DEL GUETRE.] - -LOOKING SOUTH ACROSS LAGUNA. - -HERMANITOS-- - -CASQUERÁZO.] - -It was past noon ere the long ride was completed, and we entered the -ancient city that boasts bygone glories, splendid temples, and memories -of mediæval magnificence, but which is now ... well, Avila. But one -feature of Avila demands passing note--its massive walls, withstanding -the centuries, full forty feet in height by fifteen feet broad. An hour -later the Sûd-express dashed up whistling into the station, to the -genuine alarm of my leather-clad mountain-lads, who recoiled in fear -from an unwonted sight. They, noticing that the officials of the train -also spoke a foreign tongue (French), asked me if such things (_i.e._ -railway trains) were "only for your Excellencies"--meaning for -foreigners, _vos-otros_. - -At Paris a reassuring telegram filled me with joy indescribable, but in -London and at York further messages intensified anxiety. On August 29 I -reached home, and on the evening of September 3 doubts were resolved, -and the silver cord was loosed. - - * * * * * - -The Plaza de Almanzór, with its immediate environment, presents a -panorama of mountain-scenery unrivalled, not only in the whole -cordillera of Grédos, but probably in all Spain--it may be questioned if -the world itself contains a more striking landscape than that known as -the "Circo de Grédos." Briefly put, a vast central amphitheatre of -rock--really four-square (though known as the "Circo") in the depths of -which nestle an alpine lake--is enclosed by stupendous rock-walls and -precipices of granite; some of these smooth and sheer, others rugged and -disintegrated or broken up by snow-filled gorges of intricacies that -defy the power of pen to describe. Three of these vast mural ramparts -stand almost rectangular, the fourth shoots out obliquely, traversing -the abysmal _enclave_ and all but closing the fourth side of its -quadrilateral. The rough sketch-map at p. 141 shows the configuration -better than written words, while the photos convey, so far as such can, -some idea of the scenery.[35] - -The actual peak of Almanzór which dominates the whole "Circo," as viewed -from the north, culminates in a flattened cone, the summit being split -into two huge rock-needles or pinnacles separated by an unfathomed -fissure between. Only one of these needles--and that the lower--has yet -been scaled. The loftier of the pair, though it only surpasses its -fellow by a few yards in height, is so sheer, its surface so devoid of -crevice or hand-hold, that the ascent (without ropes and other -appliances) appears quite impracticable. - -Will the reader seat himself in imagination at the spot marked (*) on -the map. Surveying the scene from this point, the whole opposite horizon -is filled by the Altos de Morezón--a jagged and turreted escarpment -pierces the sky, while its frowning walls dip down, down in endless -precipices to the inky-black waters of the Laguna far below. - -Towards the left one's view is interrupted by an extraordinary mass of -upstanding granite, disintegrated and blackened by the ages, known as -the Ameál de Pablo--in itself a virgin mountain, as yet untrodden by -human foot. This colossus, glittering with snow-striæ, surmounts the -oblique ridge aforesaid, that of the Cuchillar del Guetre, which -traverses two-thirds of the "Circo," leaving but a narrow gap between -its own extremity and the opposite heights of Morezón. - -Continuing towards the right, there rises to yet loftier altitudes the -black contour of the Risco del Fraile, beloved of ibex; while adjacent -on the north-west, but on slightly lower level, uprear from the -snow-flecked skyline three more unscaled masses--rectangular monoliths -like giant landmarks. This trio is distinguished as Los Hermanitos de -Grédos, their abruptness of outline almost appalling as set off by an -azure background. - -Farther to the right (in the angle of the square) two more -mountain-masses--knife-edged, jagged, and embattled along the -crests--frown upon one another across a gorge rent through their very -bowels. These two are the Alto del Casquerázo and the Cuchillar de las -Navájas, while the interposed abyss--the Portilla de los Machos--cuts -clean through the great cordillera, forming a natural gateway between -its northern and its southern faces. As the name implies, this gorge is -the main route of the ibex from their much-loved Riscos del Fraile to -their second chief resort, the Riscos del Francés, which occupy the -southern face of the sierra whose snowfields defy even the heats of -August. - -From our present standpoint the southern wall of the Circo--the -Cuchillar de las Navájas--is not visible. This section of the -quadrilateral is equally abrupt and intricate, dropping in massive -bastions towards the level of the lake. Just beyond the Plaza de -Almanzór a second deep gorge or "pass"--the Portilla Bermeja--unites the -northern and the southern faces. - -Behind where we sit lies yet another panorama of terrible wildness, -again dominated by rock-walls of fantastic contour--the valley of Las -Cinco Lagunas. But right here our rock-descriptive powers give out--we -can only refer to the map. - -[Illustration: GRIFFON VULTURE AND NEST] - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -SIERRA DE GRÉDOS (_Continued_) - -IBEX-HUNTING - - -Why try to describe the distress of that morning or the efforts it cost, -during fourteen hours, to gain the summits of Grédos? Again and again -what we had taken for our destination proved to be some intervening -ridge with another desperate gorge beyond. Suffice it that it was an -hour after dark ere we finally lifted the cargoes from the dead-beat -beasts. Presently the moon arose, and against her pale effulgence -towered the gnarled and pinnacled peaks of Almanzór, piercing the very -skies--a lovely but to me an appalling scene. Their altitude is 8800 -feet. - -Our whole plan and ambitions in this expedition were to find and stalk -the ibex--the very undertaking which had proved beyond our powers during -two strenuous efforts in former years as readers of _Wild Spain_ already -know. - -Now in all stalking it must be obvious even to non-technical readers -that the first essential is to bring under survey of the binoculars a -very considerable extent of game-country every day; but here, in the -chaotic jumble of perpendicular or impending precipice or smooth -rock-faces inclined at angles that we dare not traverse, any such -extensive survey is a sheer impossibility. Alpine climbers or others in -the fullest enjoyment of youth and activity might get forward at a -reasonable speed. To us, already past that stage, the feat was -impossible, _i.e._ by our own sole exertions. That we, of course, knew -in advance; but our plan was to supplement our own powers by availing -the splendid rock-climbing abilities of our friends, the goat-herds of -Almanzór, on whom we relied for at least finding the game in the first -instance. - -[Illustration: "AT THE APEX OFF ALL THE SPAINS." - -(IBEX ON THE PLAZA DE ALMANZÓR.)] - -Ramón and Isidóro were away by the first glint of dawn, disappearing -in opposite directions so as to encompass both the surrounding -rock-ranges and to mark ibex in stalkable positions. We awaited their -return in camp, not only with anxiety, but with some impatience, since -the temperature had fallen so low that no wraps or blankets served to -keep us warm while inactive. - -After a fruitless search of four hours, the scouts returned; no better -results attended a second morning and a third--nor our impatience. -Clearly the second resource, that of "driving," must now be tried. It -was only ten o'clock that third morning, and already the drivers, who -had left at dawn so as to reach agreed positions in case of the failure -of resource No. 1, would be approaching the fixed points four miles away -on the encircling heights, whereat, by signal, they would know whether -to proceed with the "drive" or to return by the circuitous route they -had gone. Meanwhile we have ourselves to reach the "passes" in the -heights above, and the scramble and struggle which that ascent involved -we must leave readers to imagine. Bertram gets through such work fairly -well, but the writer, a generation older, is fain to choose a lower -place, reputed a likely "pass." Here, after waiting an hour, we descried -the drivers showing-up at different points of those encircling Riscos de -Morezón, climbing like flies down perpendicular faces, disappearing in -gorges, and doing all that specialised hunters can. But not an ibex came -our way. When we reassembled, it proved that three goats had been seen, -one a ram. Thus ended that day--cruel work amidst lovely though terrible -scenery--and never a wild-goat within our sight. - -On the morrow our selected positions were to be yet nearer the heavens -above than those of yesterday--along the highest skylines of Grédos, -between the Plaza de Almanzór and the Ameál. From our camp my own post -was pointed out, a niche in that far-away impossible ridge. How long, I -asked Ramón, do you imagine it will take me to reach it? Our friends, -who, lean and lythe of frame, a specialised race of mountaineers, mock -mountain-heights and appreciate too little (though they recognise) our -relative weakness, reply, "Two hours." But at that precise moment, while -I yet scanned with binoculars the scene of this supreme effort, -examining in a species of horror that infinity of piled rock-masses, -their details cruelly developed in a blazing sunlight, just then, across -the field of the glass soared a single lammergeyer. Now I know that -these giant birds-of-prey span some ten feet from wing to wing, and the -tiny speck that this one, reduced by distance, appeared on the -object-glass helped me to gauge what lay before us. - -A black point that from camp I had mentally noted as a landmark proved -to be a mass of dolomite seamed with interjected striæ of glistening -felspar, big as a village church! - -[Illustration: "THE WAY OF AN EAGLE IN THE AIR" - -(LAMMERGEYER--_Gypaëtus barbatus_)] - -I had demanded four hours, and precisely within that period reached my -celestial pinnacle. Bertram was beyond and higher still--where, I could -not see. But my own post seemed to me as sublime as even an ibex-hunter -could desire, at the culminating apex of the Spains and the centre of -dispersal of four giant gorges each bristling with bewildering chaos of -crags and rock-ruin, while above, to right and left, towered yet loftier -_riscos_. - -At these serene altitudes life appeared non-existent. The last signs of -a cryptogamic vegetation we had left below, and I could now see eagles -or vultures soaring almost perpendicularly beneath and reduced by -distance to moving specks. - -Yet shortly before reaching our posts, along one of those awesome -shelves with a 500-feet drop below, a touch from Ramón drew my attention -to a truly magnificent old ibex-ram in full view, quietly skipping from -crag to crag some 300 yards above. So slow and deliberate were his -movements, with frequent halts to gaze, that time was allowed to gain a -rational position and to enjoy for several minutes a glorious view -through binoculars. Twice he halted in front of small snow-slopes, -against which those curving horns were set off in perfect detail. Then -with measured movements, making good each foot-hold, alternated by -marvellous bounds to some rock-point above, the grand wild-goat vanished -from view. His course led into a rock-region that already our drivers -were encompassing, hence we had strong hopes that we might not have seen -the last of him. - -Two herds of ibex, it transpired, were enclosed in this beat; one -comprising nine females and small beasts, the second two with a -two-year-old ram; but our big friend was seen no more. - -I had, however, enjoyed a scene that went far to compensate for the -tribulations it had cost. - -Late that night the two lads who had accompanied A. returned to camp. -After riding fifteen hours on Wednesday, he could do no more, slept at a -_venta_, and reached Avila (which he considers twenty leagues from -Ornillos, the spot where he left us) at noon on Thursday, where he -caught the Sûd-express, and to-night will be in Paris. He sent us a few -pencilled words, urging us to utmost endeavours with the wild-goats, as -this will be in all probability our _last chance_. I agree, for the -natives kill off male and female alike, only a few wily old rams remain, -a mere fraction of the stock which formerly existed. The shepherds who -come to these high tops to pasture their herds for a few weeks each -summer have chances to kill the ibex which they do not neglect. When Don -Manuel Silvela, the statesman, was here twenty years ago, some 150 ibex -were driven past his post above the Laguna de Grédos. Not a quarter of -that number now survive in all the range. - -_August 26._--Everything outside the tents was frozen solid last night, -but with sunrise the temperature goes up with a bound. We had trout for -breakfast, caught by hand from the burn below. To-day the work was -easier, for the two beats were both small and more or less on the same -level as our camp. The first lasted five hours, but gave no result. We -then moved to the west, always rising till we found ourselves on the -summit of another ridge looking down into a mighty gorge and upon the -mysterious rock-cradled Cinco Lagunas de Grédos. The plains of Castile -lay beneath us like a map, towns and villages distinguishable through -the glass though not without. Bertram was placed in a "pass," about 100 -yards wide, piercing the topmost peaks, myself in a similar _portilla_ -rather lower down. An hour later Dionýsio, who had climbed the crag -above me, whence he could see into the abyss beneath, signalled as he -hung over the edge of his eyrie that something was coming. Then he slid -down to my side to tell me that three goats were moving slowly up the -gorge. Dionýsio returned to his ledge, and for half an hour I enjoyed -that state of breathless suspense when one expects each moment to be -face to face with a coveted trophy. The three goats, I perceived, must -pass through this _portilla_ on one side or the other of the rock behind -which I lay expectant. At last there caught my ear the gentle patter of -horned hoofs on rocks, but oh!... it was succeeded by the bang of a gun. -Dionýsio had fired from his ledge twenty yards above me. The three ibex -had come on to within ten yards of where I lay, looking, as it were, -down a tunnel. The wind had been right enough, but it appeared an -erratic puff had elected to blow straight from us to them. They caught -it, and in a flash disappeared down the ravine, Dionýsio, as he hung -from the ledge, giving them a parting shot. That was friend Dionýsio's -version of the event. What actually occurred, all who are experienced in -this wild-hunting will divine without our telling. I ran from my post -along the lip of the abyss--luckily there was a bit of fairly good -going--hoping to get a chance as the game turned upwards again; for at -once, on hearing a shot, the beaters far below joined in a chorus of -wild yells to push them upwards. This they succeeded in doing, but the -goats passed beyond my range. I now saw there were four in all--three -females and a handsome ram. Dionýsio made a further effort to turn them, -which so far succeeded that the ram separated and bounded up the rocks -towards the higher pass, where he ran the gauntlet of Bertram within -thirty yards. Now the whole stress and burden of a laborious expedition -fell upon the youngest shoulders, for B. was barely out of his teens, -and more skilled with shot-gun than with ball. The responsibility proved -almost too great--almost, but not quite; for one bullet had taken -effect, and the rocks beyond the little "pass" were sprinkled with -blood. The late hour, 4 P.M., and the long scramble campwards forbade -our following the spoor that night, but the ram was recovered some two -miles beyond the point where we had last seen him--horn measurements -24-1/8 inches, by 8-1/4 inches basal circumference. - -[Illustration: TWO SPANISH IBEX SHOT IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS, JULY, 1910. - -MARQUÉS DE VILLAVICIOSA DE ASTEREAS. - -MARQUÉS DE VIANA. - -TWO SPANISH IBEX SHOT IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS, JULY, 1910.] - -The beaters reported having seen several ibex during this drive, two -small rams, females, and kids--thirteen in all. We devoted a couple more -days to this section of the sierra, but both proved unsuccessful so far -as regards the one grand ibex-ram which we had seen. Here, on the Riscos -del Fraile, and later on at Villarejo, we each spared small beasts; but -at last were fain to be content with a three-year-old goat, whose head -adorns our walls. - -Before daylight we were aroused by the breaking-up of camp, and by seven -o'clock had taken a downward course from that lofty eyrie which we had -occupied for ten days. It was a lovely ride with bright sunlight -lighting up every detail of the mountain scenery, while every mile -brought evidence of the lowering altitude--first, in green herbage, then -in brushwood and stunted trees, till at mid-day we reached the region of -pines in the cool valley of the river Tormes. Here we halted, and while -lunch was being prepared, enjoyed a swim in those crystal torrents. That -afternoon was devoted to trout, but with meagre results. The stream -gleamed like polished steel, everything that moved in the waters could -be seen, and doubtless its denizens enjoyed a similar advantage as -regards things in the other element. At any rate, none save the smaller -trout would look at a fly; so we continued our journey, following the -river-side in the direction of the mountains of Villarejo. - -Dionýsio and Caraballo had gone to a hamlet lower down for bread and -wine. There was no bread, and having to wait till it was baked, delayed -the march. Meanwhile, we wandered on through pine-woods with the -beautiful stream fretting and foaming, and collecting a few -bird-specimens, though none of much interest. We did, however, come -across two gigantic nests of the black vulture, flat platforms of -sticks, each superimposed on the summit of a lofty pine. Even in these -uplands the black vulture nests in March, when the whole land is yet -enveloped in snow, and while frequent snowstorms sweep down the valleys. -So closely does the parent vulture incubate, that she allows herself to -be completely buried on her nest beneath the drifting snow. On these -hanging steeps the eyries are overlooked from above, yet not a vestige -of the sitting vulture can be seen until she is disturbed by a blow from -an axe on the trunk, or by a shot fired--then off she goes, dislodging a -cloud of snow from her three-yard wings as she launches into space. - -[Illustration: BLACK VULTURE (_Vultur monachus_)] - -The black vulture lays but one huge egg, often boldly marked and -suffused with dark-brown and rusty blotches and splashes, in contrast -with the eggs of the griffon vulture, which are usually colourless or, -at most, but faintly shaded. - -The latter, so abundant in Andalucia, is remarkably scarce in Grédos, -where we saw rather more eagles than vultures. The chief bird-forms of -the high sierra were ravens and choughs, ring-ouzels, rock-thrush and -black-chat (_Dromolaea leucura_). The alpine accentor (_Accentor -collaris_) and alpine pipit (_Anthus spipoletta_) also reach to the -highest summits; the blue thrush lower down. - -In the valley of the Tormes and among the pines many British species -were at home, such as blackbirds and thrushes, redstarts, nuthatches, -and Dartford warblers; besides the two southern wheatears, since found -to be but _one_ dimorphic form! - - -THE RISCOS DE VILLAREJO - -Three hours later the mule-train overtook us, and we pursued the track -upwards towards the Riscos de Villarejo till darkness obliged us to -encamp. The jagged outline ahead, marking our destination, looked far -away; we could go no nearer to-night, and outspanned on a tiny lawn on -the mountain-slope. Once more we had left tree and shrub far below, but -the dry _piorno_-scrub made fire enough to cook a frugal supper. The -hunters, with their stew-pots balanced on stones, sat round us in a -circle. - -Next morning we were alert, as usual, before the dawn--called at 4 -A.M.--and off again on another terrible climb towards the summits. It is -no mild trudge through turnips this 1st of September, but one more -effort to interview in his haunts the Spanish mountain-ram. - -At 6000 feet we reached a point beyond which no domestic beast can go. -Here, leaving our own men to encamp, the upward climb with the hunters -begins. This day and each of the two following were devoted solely to -stalking, each of us separately with his guide taking a diverging course -along two of the lower ridges of the sierra. Two female ibex were -descried in a position which might without difficulty have been stalked. -These, however, we left in peace; though, as it proved, they were the -only animals seen before we regained camp, an hour after dark, tired out -and empty-handed once more. On the fourth day we drove this same -rock-region, but without success, only two goats, both small males, -being seen. The entire failure of this venture was a disappointment, as -ibex were known to frequent these reefs. An explanation was suggested -that a herd of domestic goats had approached too near their exclusive -wild congeners, which had fled to a neighbouring mountain. That -mountain, we arranged, should be explored at daylight on the morrow by -two of our hunters. The cold at night in camp was intense, and our -Andalucian retainers complained bitterly, although they kept an enormous -fire going; yet during the day the heat had been excessive, and the sun -burns terribly at these altitudes. - -The following morning we tried a comprehensive drive encompassing two -gorges composed of sublimely grand rocks. As I look over the edge of the -black pinnacle that forms my post the sheer drop below is appalling, and -above me tower similar masses in rugged and frowning splendour. But not -a goat was seen till quite late in the afternoon, when two females -slowly approaching were descried. For a mile we watched them, so -deliberate was their progress, till they disappeared through the very -"pass" where A. had shot his some five years before. - -_September 6._--Our scouts returned last night, having failed to locate -ibex on the opposite mountain; so we made a final effort on the Riscos -of Villarejo--again blank. Well! we have done our best for six days on -those terrible rocks, on which we must now turn our backs for the -present. - -At the village of Arénas de San Pedro we bade good-bye to all our -people; even their wives (clad in the same short skirts of greens and -other brilliant hues we had noticed in '91, for fashions change slowly -in the sierra) came down from Guisando to say farewell to the Ingléses. -Here Ramón brought in the head of Bertie's ibex shot the week before; -Ramón presented me with his powder-horn and bullet-pouch as a keepsake, -and Juanito with a mountain-staff. Our visit had marked an epoch in the -simple annals of the sierra and of its honest and primitive inhabitants. - - * * * * * - -To-day we rejoice to add that, as already fully set forth at pp. -141-142, wild-goats may be counted in troops on the erewhiles -ibex-denuded crags of Almanzór. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -AN ABANDONED PROVINCE - -(ESTREMADURA) - - -Can this really be Europe--crowded Europe? For four long days we have -traversed Estremenian wilds, and during that time have scarce met a -score of folk, nor seen serious evidence of effective human occupation. -At first our northward way led through rolling undulations, the western -foothills of the long Sierra Moréna, clad with the everlasting -gum-cistus, with euonymus, a few stunted trees, and the usual aromatic -brushwood of the south. Only at long intervals--say a league or two -apart--would some tiny cot, of woodcutter perhaps, or goat-herd, gleam -white amidst the rolling green monotone. Here and there wild-thyme -(_cantuéso_) empurpled the slopes as it were August heather, but the -chief beauty-spot was the rose-like flower of the cistus, now (May) in -fullest bloom--waxy white, with orange centre and a splash like black -velvet on each petal. Next, for a whole day we ride through open forest -of evergreen oak and wild-olive, the floor carpeted with tasselled -grasses, tufty broom, and fennel. We encamp where we list and cut -firewood, none saying us nay or inquiring by what authority we do these -things. - -One evening while we investigated an azure magpie's nest in an ilex hard -by the tents, four donkey-borne peasants appeared. Though they rode -close by, yet they showed no sign, passing silent and incurious. The few -natives we met hereabouts all seemed listless, apathetic, -uncommunicative, in striking contrast with their sprightly southern -neighbours beyond the hills in Andalucia. We read that Estremadura is a -"paludic" province and unhealthy; possibly the malarial microbe has -sapped energy. - -To forest, next day succeeded more rolling hills with ten-foot bush and -scattered trees. From a crag-crowned ridge, the culminating point of -these, there fell within view three human habitations--_three_, in a -vista of thirty miles--two tall castles perched in strong places, the -third apparently a considerable farm. The landscape is often lovely -enough, park-like, with infinite sites for country halls; yet all, all -seems abandoned by man and beast. The few wild creatures observed -included common and azure magpies, hoopoes, and bee-eaters, rollers, -doves, kestrels, with a sprinkling of partridge and an occasional hare. - -A landowner in this province (Badajoz) endeavoured to preserve the game -on his estate. At first all went well. As their enemies decreased, -partridge rapidly multiplied. But thereupon occurred an influx of -extraneous vermin (foxes and wild-cats) from adjacent wilds, and Nature -restored her former exiguous balance of life. - -[Illustration: ROLLER (_Coracias garrula_)] - -The scene changes. For the next twenty miles there is not a tree or a -bush, hardly a living thing on those dreary levels save larks and -bustards. The hungry earth shows brown and naked through its scanty -herbage, stript by devouring locusts. - -Travelling by rail the abandonment seems yet more striking, since thus -we cover more ground. True, along the line cluster some slight attempts -at cultivation elsewhere absent; but these amount to nothing--a few -patches of starveling oats, six to eighteen inches high, with scarce a -score of blades to the yard! Two men are reaping with sickles. Each has -his donkey tethered hard by, and at nightfall will ride to his distant -village, a league away maybe, hidden in some unnoticed hollow. Scarce a -village have we seen. - -The monotony wearies. The abject barrenness of Estremadura, its -lifelessness, is actually worse, more pronounced and depressing, than we -had anticipated. Now the far horizon on the north bristles with -battlements, towers, and spires--that is Trujillo, an old-world fortress -of the Caesars, crowning a granite koppie in yon everlasting plain. The -ten leagues that yet intervene recall, in colour and contour, a -mid-Northumbrian moor, wild and bleak--here the home of bustards, -stone-curlew, sand-grouse, ... and of locusts. - -From the topmost turrets of Trujillo let us take one more survey of this -Estremenian wilderness ere yet we pronounce a final judgment. - -[Illustration: TRUJILLO] - -Ascend the belfry of Santa Maria la Mayor and you command an unrivalled -view. Spread out beneath your gaze stretch away tawny expanses of waste -and veld to a radius averaging forty miles, and everywhere girt-in by -encircling mountains. To the north Grédos' snowy peaks pierce the -clouds, 100 kilometres away, with the Sierra de Gata on their left, -Bejar on the right. To the eastward the Sierra de Guadalupe,[36] -far-famed for its shrine to Our Lady of that ilk, closes that horizon; -while to westward the ranges of Sta. Cruz and Montánches shut in the -frontier of Portugal. What a panorama--a circle eighty miles across! - -Yet in all that expanse you can detect no more evidence of human -presence than you would see in equatorial Africa--surveying, let us say, -the well-known Athi Plains from the adjoining heights of Lukénia. - -We are aware that already, in describing La Mancha, we have employed an -African simile; but here, in Estremadura, the comparison is yet more -apposite and forceful than in the wildest of Don Quixote's country. We -will vary it by likening Estremadura rather to the highlands of -Transvaal--the land of the back-veld Boer--than to Equatoria. Here, as -there, rocky koppies stud the wastes, and (differing from La Mancha) -water-courses traverse them, with intermittent pools surviving even in -June, stagnant and pestilent. Such in Africa would be -jungle-fringed--worth trying for a lion! Here their naked banks scarce -provide covert for a hare. - -[Illustration: "SCAVENGERS"] - -An index of the poverty-stricken condition of Estremadura is afforded by -the comparative absence of the birds-of-prey. Never do the soaring -vultures--elsewhere so characteristic of Spanish skies--catch one's eye, -and very rarely an eagle or buzzard. A province that cannot support -scavengers promises ill for mankind. - -In his mirror-like "Notes from Spain," Richard Ford suggested that the -vast unknown wildernesses of Estremadura would, if explored, yield store -of wealth to the naturalist, and each succeeding naturalist (ourselves -included) followed that clue. Therein, however, lurked that old human -error, _ignotum pro mirabili_. Deserted by man, the region is equally -avoided by bird and beast. We write generally and in full sense of local -exceptions--that wild fallow-deer, for example, find here one, possibly -their only European home;[37] that red deer of superb dimensions, roe, -wolves, and wild-boars abound on Estremenian sierra and _vega_. Then, -too, there may well be isolated spots of interest in 20,000 square -miles, but which escaped our survey. Yet what we write represents the -essential fact--Estremadura is a barren lifeless wilderness and offers -no more attraction to naturalist than to agriculturist. - -The cause of all this involves questions not easily answered. In earlier -days the case may have been different. Obviously the Romans thought -highly of Estremadura and meant to run it for all it was worth. The -Caesars were no visionaries, and such colossal works as their reservoirs -and aqueducts at Merida, the massive amphitheatre and circus at the same -city (a half-completed bull-ring stands alongside in pitiful contrast), -besides their construction of a first-class fortress at Trujillo, all -attest a matured judgment. After the Romans came the Goths, and they, -too, have left evidence of appreciation (though less conspicuous) alike -in city and country. Four hundred years later the Arabs overthrew the -Goths on Guadalete (A.D. 711), and within two years had overrun -two-thirds of Spain. But the Moor (so far as we can see) despised these -barren uplands, or perhaps assessed them at a truer value--a single -strong outpost (Trujillo) in an otherwise worthless region. - -Much or little, however, each of those successive conquerors found -_some_ use for Estremadura. A totally different era opened with the fall -of Moslem dominion. After the _Reconquista_ and subsequent extermination -of the Moors (seventeenth century), Estremadura was utterly abandoned, -by Cross and Crescent alike, till the highland shepherds of the Castiles -and of León, looking down from its northern frontier, saw in these -lower-lying wastes a useful winter-grazing. Then commenced seasonal -nomadic incursions thereto, pastoral tribes driving down each autumn -their flocks and herds, much as the Patriarchs did in Biblical days--or -the Masai in East Africa till yesterday. - -Though the land itself was ownerless, shadowy prescriptive rights -gradually evolved, and under the title of _Mestas_ continued to be -recognised by the pastoral nomads till abolished by Royal Decree in the -sixteenth century. From that date commenced the subdivision of -Estremadura into the present large private estates--again recalling the -back-veld Boers, who hate to live one within sight of another, except -that here owners are non-resident. - -All this may explain superficially the existing desolation. The -essential causes, however, are, we believe, (1) barrenness of soil; and -(2) an enervating climate, fever-infected by stagnant waters, dead -pools, and ubiquitous shallow swamps that poison the air and produce -mosquitoes in millions. - -Gazing in reflective mood upon those magnificent memorials of Roman rule -at Merida, one is tempted to wonder whether, after all, the silent ruins -(with a stork's nest on each parapet) do not yet point the true way to -Estremenian prosperity--IRRIGATION (plus energy--a quality one misses in -Estremadura). - - -TRUJILLO - -Founded 2000 years back (by Augustus Caesar), this out-of-the-world city -has a knack of periodically dropping out of history--skipping a few -centuries at a time--meanwhile presumably dragging on its own dreamy -unrecorded existence, "by the world forgot," till some fresh incident -forces it on the stage once more. There were stirring times here while, -for near a thousand years, the upland vegas were swept and ravaged by -three successive waves of foreign invasion. Then Trujillo relapsed into -trance, skipped the middle ages, and awoke to find at its gates another -foreign foe--this time the French. - -And the city reflects these vicissitudes. The Roman fortress, -magnificent in extent and military strength, completely covers the -rugged granite heights, imposing still in crumbling ruin. Forty-foot -ramparts with inner and outer defences, bastions and flanking towers, -machicolated and pierced for arrow fire, crown the whole circuit of the -koppie. Signs of ancient grandeur everywhere meet one's eye; but -contrasts pain at every turn. For filthy swine to-day defile palaces; -donkeys are stalled in sculptured _patios_ whence armoured knight on -Arab steed once rode forth to clatter along the stone-paved ravelins -that led to the point of danger. From mullioned embrasures above, whence -the Euterpes and Lalagés of old waved tender adieux, now peer slatternly -peasants; crumbling battlements form homes for white owls and bats, -kestrels, hoopoes, and a multitude of storks such as can nowhere else be -seen congregated in a single city. The sense of desolation is -accentuated by finding such feathered recluses as blue rock-thrush and -blackchat actually nesting in the very citadel itself. - -The citadel marks the era of war. The Goths followed and despised -fortifications. Their ornate palaces, enriched with escutcheons and -sculptured device, lie below, outside the Roman walls. - -After the Goths and after the Moors, Trujillo enjoyed a transient -awakening when Pizarro, son of an Estremenian swine-herd, with Cortez -(also born hard by), swept the New World from Mexico to the Andes, and -the glory of her sons, with the gold of the Incas, poured into the city. -Thereafter destiny altered. Instead of consolidating new-won dominions -by fostering commerce, exploiting their resources by establishing forts -and factories, plantations, harbours, and the like, Spain directed her -energies to missionising. Instead of commercial companies with fleets of -merchantmen, she sent out sacred Brotherhoods, friars of religious -orders, and studded the New World with empty names, all acts right -enough and laudable in their own proper time and place. - - * * * * * - -Trujillo boasts an industry in the manufacture of a rough red-brown -earthenware, chiefly tall water-jars, amphora-shaped, which damsels -carry upright on their heads with marvellous balance; and iron-spiked -dog-collars as here represented. These are not suitable for lap-dogs, -but for the huge mastiffs employed in guarding sheep and which, without -such protection, would be devoured by wolves! - -[Illustration: WOLF-PROOF DOG-COLLAR - -(Six-inch diameter.)] - -Hitherto our journeys have led us chiefly through the Estremenian plain, -but after passing Plasencia the country changes. We enter the outliers -of those great sierras that shut out Estremadura from León and Castile, -from Portugal--and the world! Here one quickly perceives signs of -greater prosperity, due in part to the heavier rainfall from the hills, -to a slightly richer soil, but mainly to the superior energy of -hill-folk. Wherever the soil warrants it, cultivation is pushed right up -amidst the jungled slopes of the hills. - -In the folds of the sierra grow magnificent woods of Spanish chestnut -with some walnut trees, and among these we observed many fresh species -of birds, including:--nuthatch (not seen elsewhere in Spain), green -woodpecker, common (but no azure) magpies, golden orioles, pied and -spotted fly-catchers, grey and white wagtails (breeding), whitethroats -and nightingales, longtailed tits, woodlarks, corn-buntings, -rock-sparrows, and quite a number of warblers (spectacled, rufous, and -subalpine, Bonelli's and melodious willow-warblers), besides the usual -common species--serins, chaffinches, robins, wrens, and so on. On the -sterile upland plateaux, both here and in Castile, the black-bellied -sand-grouse breeds, as well as stone-curlew, bustard, and the usual -larks and chats. - -[Illustration] - - -GRANADILLA - -At the extreme northern verge of the plain one encounters a singular -survival of long-past and forgotten ages, the "fenced city" of -Granadilla, so absolutely unspoilt and unchanged by time that one -breathes for a spell a pure mediæval air. Granadilla is mentioned in no -book that we possess; but it stands there, nevertheless, perched on a -rocky bluff above the rushing Alagón, and entirely encompassed by a -thirty-foot wall. Not a single house, not a hut, shows up outside that -rampart, and its single gate is guarded by a massive stone-built tower. - -This tower, we were told by a local friend, was erected after the -"Reconquest" (which here occurred about 1300), but the bridge which -spans the Alagón, immediately below, is attributed to the Romans--more -than a thousand years earlier! and the town itself to the Moors--a -pretty tangle which some wandering archaeologist may some day -unravel.[38] That the Moors established a settlement here, or hard by, -we are confident owing to the existence of extensive _huertas_ -(plantations) a few miles up the banks of Alagón. This is just one of -those _enclaves_ of rich soil for which the Arabs always had a keen eye; -and ancient boundary-walls, with evidence of extreme care in irrigation -and cultivation, all bespeak Moorish handiwork. These _huertas_ are -planted with fig, pomegranate, cherry, and various exotic fruit-trees, -besides cork-oak and olive; every tree displaying signs of extreme old -age--though that strikes one in most parts of Spain. Never have we seen -more luxuriant crops of every sort than in those ancient _huertas_. Yet -they are inset amid encircling wastes! - -Granadilla (its name surely suggests cherished memories in its founders -of the famous Andalucian _vega_) lies at the gate of that strange wild -mountain-region called Las Hurdes. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -LAS HURDES (ESTREMADURA) AND THE SAVAGE TRIBES THAT INHABIT THEM - - -Isolated amidst the congeries of mountain-ranges that converge upon -León, Castile, and Estremadura, lies a lost region that bears this name. -The Hurdes occupy no small space; they represent no insignificant nook, -but a fair-sized province--say fifty miles long by thirty broad--severed -from the outer world; cut off from Portugal on the one side, from Spain -on the other; while its miserable inhabitants are ignored and despised -by both its neighbours. - -[Illustration: SKETCH-MAP OF LAS HURDES] - -Who and what are these wild tribes (numbering 4000 souls) that, in a -squalor and savagery incredible in modern Europe, cling, in solitary -tenacity, to these inhospitable fastnesses? - -Possibly they are the remnants of Gothish fugitives who, 1200 years ago, -sought shelter in these hills from Arab scimitars; other theories trace -their origin back to an earlier era. But whether Goths or Visigoths, -Vandals or other, these pale-faced Hurdanos are surely none of swarthy -Arab or Saracenic blood; and equally certainly they are none of Spanish -race. The Spanish leave them severely alone--none dwell in Las Hurdes. -Being neither ethnologists nor antiquaries, nor even sensational -writers, the authors confine themselves to their personal experience, -stiffened by a study of what the few Spanish authorities have collated -on the subject. - -Whatever their origin may have been, the Hurdanos of to-day are a -depraved and degenerate race, to all intents and purposes savages, lost -to all sense of self-respect or shame, of honesty or manliness. Too -listless to take thought of the most elementary necessities of life, -they are content to lead a semi-bestial existence, dependent for -subsistence on their undersized goats and swine, on an exiguous and -precarious cultivation, eked out by roots and wild fruits such as -acorns, chestnuts, etc., and on begging outside their own region. - -First, as to their country. Picture a maze of mountains all utterly -monotonous in uniform configuration--long straight slopes, each skyline -practically parallel with that beyond, bare of trees, but clad in -shoulder-high scrub. On approaching from the south, the hills are lower -and display delightful variety of heaths (including common heather); but -as one penetrates northwards, the bush is reduced to the everlasting -gum-cistus, and elevations become loftier and more precipitous till they -culminate in the sheer rock-walls of the Sierra de Gata. Here, in remote -glens, one chances on groves of ilex and cork-oak, whose gnarled boles -attest the absence of woodcutters, while huge trunks lie prostrate, -decaying from sheer old age. Here and there one sees an ilex enveloped -to its summit in parasitic growths of creepers and wild-vine, whose -broad, pale-green leaves contrast pleasingly with the dusky foliage and -small leaf of its host. - -In the deep gorges or canyons of these mountains are situate the -settlements, called _Alquerías_, of the wild tribes, most of them -inaccessible on horseback. That of Romano de Arriba, for example, is -plunged in such an abyss that from November to March no ray of sunshine -ever reaches it. A similar case is that of Casa Hurdes, which, as seen -from the bridle-track leading over the Sierra de Portéros into Castile, -appears buried in the bottom of a crevasse. Others, in the reverse, are -perched on high, amidst crags that can only be surmounted by a severe -scramble up broken rock-stairways. - -These _alquerías_--warrens we may translate the word--consist of -den-like hovels straggling without order or huddled together according -as the rock-formation may dictate--some half-piled one on another, -others separate. Many are mere holes in the earth--lairs, shapeless as -nature left their walls, but roofed over with branches and grass held in -place by schistose slabs that serve for slates. Hardly, in some cases, -can one distinguish human dwellings from surrounding bush, earth, or -rock. As our companion, a civil guard, remarked of one set of eyries -that adhered to a cliff-face, they rather resembled "the nests of -crag-martins" (_nidos de vencéjos_) than abodes of mankind. - -Within are two tiny compartments, the first occupied by goats or swine, -the second littered with bracken on which the whole family sleep, -irrespective of age or sex. There is no light nor furniture of any -description; no utensils for washing, hardly even for cooking. True, -there is in some of the lairs a hollowed trunk which may serve as a bed, -but its original design (as the name _batane_ imports) was for pressing -the grapes and olives in autumn. No refuse is ever thrown out; even the -filthy ferns are retained for use as manure for the orchards--in a word, -these poor creatures habitually sleep on a manure-heap. Even wild -beasts, the wolves and boars, are infinitely more attentive to domestic -cleanliness and purity. - -Another _alquería_ visited by the authors, that of Rubiáco, consisted of -a massed cluster of sties embedded on the slopes of a low ridge bordered -on either side by crystal-bright mountain streams. So timid and shy are -the natives that several were descried actually taking to the hill on -our appearance. A distribution of tobacco, with coloured handkerchiefs -for the women, restored a measure of confidence, and we succeeded in -collecting a group or two for the camera. The day, however, was dull and -overcast, and rain, unluckily, fell at that precise moment. - -These people, clad in patch-work of rags, leather and untanned skins, -were undersized, pallid of complexion, plain (though we would scarce say -repulsive) in appearance, with dull incurious eyes that were instantly -averted when our glances met. The men, otherwise stolid and -undemonstrative, affected a vacuous grin or giggle, but utterly devoid -of any spark of joy or gladness. Many (though by no means all) displayed -distinctly flattened noses, somewhat of the Mongolian type; and not even -among the younger girls could a trace of good looks be detected. All -went bare-foot, indeed bare-legged to the knee. - -On opening the door of a den--an old packing-case lid, three feet high, -secured by a thong of goatskin--two pigs dashed forth squealing, and at -the first step inside the writer's foot splashed in fetid moisture -hidden beneath a litter of green fern. It being dark within, and too low -to stand upright, I struck a match and presently became aware of a -living object almost underfoot. It proved to be a baby, no bigger than a -rabbit, and with tiny black bead-like eyes that gleamed with a wild -light--never before have we seen such glance on human face. While -examining this phenomenon, a sound from the inner darkness revealed a -second inmate. We crept into this lair, scrambling up two steps in the -natural rock, and from the fern-litter arose a female. She stood about -three feet high, had the same wild eyes, unkempt hair, encrusted brown -with dirt, hanging loose over her naked shoulders--a merciful darkness -concealed the rest. She appeared to be about ten years old, and dwarfed -and undersized at that; yet she told us she was fourteen, and the mother -of the rabbit-child, also that its father had deserted her a month -ago--ten days before its birth. The lair contained absolutely no -furniture, unless dead fern be so styled. Can human misery further go? - -The next hovel did contain a _batane_, or hollowed tree, in which lay -some scanty rags like fragments of discarded horse-cloths. So lacking -are these poor savages in any sufficient clothing, whether for day or -night, that the children, we were assured, were habitually laid to sleep -among the swine, in order to share the natural warmth of those beasts. -In one abode only did we discover such convenience as a wooden chest. It -contained a handful of potatoes, some chestnuts, and a broken iron -cooking-pot. We examined another den or two--practically all were alike. -If anything was there that escaped our attention we had an excuse--the -aroma (personal, porcine, and putrid) was more than the strongest could -endure for many minutes on end. - -We turned away. Mingled feelings of loathing, of pity, and of despair at -the utter hopelessness of it all filled our minds. There, not a hundred -yards away, a contrasted sight met our eyes, one of humbler nature's -most perfect scenes: a fledgeling brood of white wagtails tripped gaily -along the burnside--types of pure spotless beauty, overflowing with high -spirits and the joy of life. A few minutes later, and a pair of -ring-plovers (_Aegialitis curonica_) on the river accentuated the same -pitiful contrast. - -Such small cultivation as exists in the Hurdes is carried on under -supreme difficulty. The hills themselves are uncultivable, and the only -opportunities that present themselves are either chance open spaces -amidst interminable rock, or such rare and narrow strips of soil as can -exist between precipitous slopes and the banks of the streams. Here -little garden-patches, thirty or forty feet long by a dozen in width, -are reclaimed; but the very earth is liable to be swept away by -winter-floods pouring down the mountain-sides, and has to be replaced by -fresh soil carried--it may be long distances--on men's shoulders. Here a -few potatoes may be raised and in the broader valleys scant crops of -rye. The few fruit trees are neglected, and therefore give short yield, -though what little is produced is of exquisite flavour, comprising figs, -cherries, a sort of peach (_pavia_), olives, and vines. All crops are -subject to the ravages of wild-boars, which roam in bands of a dozen to -a score, fearless of man and molested by none; while wolves take toll of -the flocks. - -[Illustration: WHITE WAGTAIL] - -Red deer also wander freely and unpreserved over these ownerless -hills--possibly the only place in Europe where such is the case. We -inquired whether many were shot, but were told that such an event -occurred rarely, though the Hurdano gunner might often approach within -close range. "We are not _enseñados_ [instructed] in the arts of chase," -explained our informant. A few partridges and hares are found, with -trout in the upper waters. - -Despite their degradation, the Hurdanos, we were assured, display no -criminal taint such as is inherent among Gipsies. - -As regards the habits and customs of these people, we here roughly -transcribe from the work of Pascual Madoz[39] some selected extracts -that appear to be as accurate to-day as when they were written some -sixty years ago. - - The food of the Hurdanos is as noxious as it is scanty. The potato - is the general stand-by, either boiled or cooked with crude goat's - suet; sometimes beans fried in the same grease, and lastly the - leaves of trees, boiled; with roots, the stalks of certain wild - grasses, chestnuts, and acorns. Bread is practically unknown--all - they ever have is made of coarse rye and such crusts as they obtain - by begging outside their district. Only when at the point of death - is wheaten bread provided. - - Their clothing consists of a shapeless garment reaching from the - hip to the knee, a shirt without collar, fastening with one button, - and a sack carried over the shoulder. They have no warm clothing - and all go bare-foot. The women are even less tidy and dirtier than - the men. Never have they a vestige of anything new--nothing but - discarded garments obtained by begging, or in exchange for - chestnuts, at the distant towns. Their usual "fashion" is never to - take off, to mend, or to wash any rag they have once put on--it is - worn till it falls off through sheer old age and dirt. They never - wash nor brush their hair, and go bare-legged like the men. - - [Illustration: A WOLF-PROOF SHEEPFOLD ON THE ALAGÓN, NORTH - ESTREMADURA - - Walls 10 feet high: note the shepherd's dwelling alongside. Within - are sheep.] - - These, moreover, are the richest; the majority being clad in - goatskins (untanned) that they kill or that die. These skins the - men fix round their necks, girt at waist and round the knees with - straps; the women merely an apron from the waist downward. - - Men and women alike are dwarfed in stature and repugnant in - appearance, augmented by their pallor and starveling look. On the - other hand, they are active and expert in climbing their native - mountains. There is no outward difference in the sexes as regards - their lives and means of subsistence. - - All their environment tends to make them untractable and savage - (_sylvaticos_), shunning contact with their kind, even fleeing at - sight and refusing to speak. They have no doctors nor surgeons, - relying on certain herbs for medicines; yet they live long lives. - They only recognise the passing seasons by the state of vegetation - and of the atmosphere. They sow and reap according to the phases of - the moon, of which they preserve an accurate observation. Religion - and schools alike are unknown. They glory in their freedom from all - moral suasion, and rejoice in the most brutal immorality and - crime--including parricide and polygamy. There are _alquerías_ - wherein no priest has set foot, nor do they possess the faintest - sense of Christian duties. - - It seems incredible that in the midst of two provinces both wealthy - and well reputed there should exist a plague-spot such as we have - painted, unknown as the remotest kraals of Central Africa. - -Thus Pascual Madoz in 1845, and but little external change has become -apparent in sixty-five subsequent years.[40] Churches, it is true, have -been erected, priests and schoolmasters appointed. Amelioration, -however, by such means can only come very slowly--if at all. The -physical and domestic status of these poor savages must first be raised -before they are mentally capable of assimilating the mysteries of -religion. Spain, however, owes them something. They are heavily -taxed--beyond their power to pay in cash. Thus they are cast into the -power of usurers. In each _alquería_, we were told, is usually found one -man more astute than the rest, and he, in combination with some sordid -scoundrel outside, exploits the misery of his fellows. A species of -semi-slavery is thus established--in some ways analogous to the baneful -system of _Caciquismo_ outside. - -The Hurdanos are also subject to the conscription and furnish forty to -fifty recruits yearly to the Spanish army. Curiously, time-expired men -all elect to return to their wretched lot in the mountains. On our -asking one of these (he had served at Melilla), "Why?" his reply was, -"for liberty."[41] - -There is a villainous custom in vogue that hurls these poor wretches yet -farther down the bottomless pit. This abomination rages to-day as it did -a hundred years ago: we therefore again leave old Pascual Madoz to tell -the tale in his own words:-- - - Many women make a miserable livelihood--it is indeed their only - industry--by rearing foundling infants from the hospitals of Ciudad - Rodrigo and Placencia. So keen are they of the money thus obtained - that one woman, aided by a goat, will undertake to rear three or - four babes--all necessarily so ill-tended and ill-fed as rather to - resemble living spectres than human beings. Cast down on beds of - filthy ferns and lacking all maternal care, the majority perish - from hunger, cold, and neglect. The few that reach childhood are - weaklings for life, feeble and infirm. - -This repulsive "industry" continues to-day, a sum of three dollars a -month being paid by the authorities of the cities named to rid -themselves of each undesired infant. The effect--direct and -incidental--upon morals and sexual relationship in the _alquerías_ of -the Hurdes may (in degree) be deduced--it cannot be set down in words. -Thus the single point of contact with civilisation serves but to -accentuate the degradation. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE GREAT BUSTARD - - -Over the vast expanse of those silent solitudes, the corn-growing -steppes of Spain--all but abandoned by human denizens--this grandest and -most majestic of European game-birds forms the chief ornament. When the -sprouting grain grows green in spring, stretching from horizon to -horizon, you may form his acquaintance to best advantage. And among the -things of sport are few more attractive scenes than a band of great -bustards at rest. Bring your field-glass to bear on the gathering which -you see yonder, basking in the sunshine in full enjoyment of their -mid-day siesta. There are five-and-twenty of them, and immense they look -against the green background of corn that covers the landscape--well may -a stranger mistake the birds for deer or goats. Many sit turkey-fashion, -with heads half sunk among back-feathers; others stand in drowsy yet -ever-suspicious attitudes, their broad backs resplendent with those -mottled hues of true game-colour, their lavender necks and well-poised -heads contrasting with the snowy whiteness of the lower plumage.[42] The -bustard are dotted in groups over an acre or two of gently sloping -ground, the highest part of which is occupied by a single big -_Barbudo_--a bearded veteran, the sentinel of the pack. From that -elevated position he estimates what degree of danger each living thing -that moves on the open region around may threaten to his company and to -himself. Mounted men cause him less concern than those on foot. A -horseman slowly directing a circuitous course may even approach to -within a couple of hundred yards ere he takes alarm. It was the head and -neck of this sentry that first appeared to our distant view and -disclosed the whereabouts of the game. He, too, has seen us, and is -even now considering whether there be sufficient cause for setting his -convoy in motion. If we disappear below the level of his range, he will -settle the point negatively, setting us down as merely some of those -agricultural nuisances which so often cause him alarm but which his -experience has shown to be generally harmless--for attempts on his life -are few and far between. - -[Illustration: THE GREAT BUSTARD] - -Another charming spectacle it is in the summer-time to watch a pack of -bustard about sunset, all busy with their evening feed among the -grasshoppers on a thistle-clad plain. They are working against time, for -it will soon be too dark to catch such lively prey. With quick darting -step they run to and fro, picking up one grasshopper after another with -unerring aim, and so intent on pursuit that the best chance of the day -is then offered to a gunner, when greed for a moment supplants caution -and vigilance is relaxed. But even now a man on foot stands no chance of -coming anywhere near them. His approach is observed from afar, all heads -are up above the thistles, every eye intent on the intruder; a moment or -two of doubt, two quick steps and a spring, and the broad wings of every -bird in the pack flap in slowly rising motion. The tardiness and -apparent difficulty in rising from the ground which bustards exhibit is -well expressed in their Spanish name _Avetarda_[43] and recognised in -the scientific cognomen of _Otis tarda_. Once on the wing the whole -band is off with wide swinging flight to the highest ground in the -neighbourhood. - -The chase of the great bustard presents characteristics and attractions -peculiar to itself and differing from that of all other winged game. -Rather it resembles the scientific pursuit of big game; for this is a -sport in which the actual shot becomes of secondary importance, merely a -culminating incident--the consummation of previous forethought, -fieldcraft, and generalship. Success in bustard-shooting--alike with -success in stalking--is usually attributable to the leader, who has -planned the operation and directed the strategy, rather than to the man -who may have actually killed the game. We here refer exclusively to what -we may be permitted to call the scientific aspect of this chase, as -practised by ourselves and as distinguished from other (and far more -deadly) methods in vogue among the Spanish herdsmen and peasantry. -Before describing the former system, let us glance at native methods of -securing the great bustard. - -During the greater part of the year bustard are far too wary to be -obtained by the farm-hands and shepherds who see them every day--so -accustomed are the peasantry to the sight of these noble birds that -little or no notice is taken of them and their pursuit regarded as -impracticable. There is, however, one period of the year when the great -bustard falls an easy prey to the clumsiest of gunners. - -[Illustration] - -During the long Andalucian summer a torrid sun has drunk up every brook -and stream that crosses the cultivated lands; the chinky, cracked mud, -which in winter formed the bed of shallow lakes and lagoons, now yields -no drop of moisture for bird or beast. The larger rivers still carry -their waters from sierra to sea, but an adaptive genius is required to -utilise these for purposes of irrigation. All water required for the -cattle is drawn up from wells; the old-world lever with its bucket at -one end and counterpoise at the other has to provide for the needs of -all. These wells are distributed all over the plains. As the herdsmen -put the primitive contrivance into operation and swing up bucketful -after bucketful of cool water, the cattle crowd around, impatient to -receive it as it rushes down the stone troughing. The thirsty animals -drink their fill, splashing and wasting as much as they consume, so that -a puddle is always formed about these _bebideros_. The moisture only -extends a few yards, gradually diminishing, till the trickling streamlet -is lost in the famishing soil. - -These moist places are a fatal trap to the bustard. Before dawn one of -the farm-people will conceal himself so as to command at short range all -points of the miniature swamp. A slight hollow is dug for the purpose, -having clods arranged around, between which the gun can be levelled with -murderous accuracy. As day begins to dawn, the bustard will take a -flight in the direction of the well, alighting at a point some few -hundred yards distant. They satisfy themselves that no enemy is about, -and then, with cautious, stately step, make for their morning draught. -One big bird steps on ahead of the rest; and as he cautiously draws -near, he stops now and again to assure himself that all is right and -that his companions are coming too--these are not in a compact body, but -following at intervals of a few yards. The leader has reached the spot -where he drank yesterday; now he finds he must go a little nearer to the -well, as the streamlet has been diverted; another bird follows close; -both lower their heads to drink; the gunner has them in line--at twenty -paces there is no escape; the trigger is pressed, and two magnificent -bustards are done to death. Should the man be provided with a second -barrel (which is not usual), a third victim may be added to his -morning's spoils. - -Comparatively large numbers of bustard are destroyed thus every summer. -It is deadly work and certain. Luckily, however, the plan enjoys but a -single success, since bands, once shot at, never return. - -A second primitive method of capturing the great bustard is practised in -winter. The increased value of game during the colder months induces the -bird-catchers, who then supply the markets with myriads of ground-larks, -linnets, buntings, etc., occasionally to direct their skill towards the -capture of bustard by the same means as prove efficacious with the small -fry--that is, the _cencerro_, or cattle-bell, combined with a dark -lantern. - -As most cattle carry the cencerro around their necks, the sound of the -bell at close quarters by night causes no alarm to ground-birds. The -bird-catcher, with his bright lantern gleaming before its reflector and -the cattle-bell jingling at his wrist, prowls nightly around the -stubbles and wastes in search of roosting birds. Any number of -bewildered victims can thus be gathered, for larks and such-like birds -fall into a helpless state of panic when once focussed in the rays of -the lantern. - -When the bustard is the object of pursuit, two men are required, one of -whom carries a gun. The pack of bustard will be carefully watched during -the afternoon, and not lost sight of when night comes until their -sleeping-quarters are ascertained. When quite dark, the tinkling of the -_cencerro_ will be heard, and a ray of light will surround the devoted -bustards, charming or frightening them--whichever it may be--into still -life. As the familiar sound of the cattle-bell becomes louder and -nearer, the ray of light brighter and brighter, and the surrounding -darkness more intense, the bustards are too charmed or too dazed to fly. -Then comes the report, and a charge of heavy shot works havoc among -them. As bands of bustards are numerous, this poaching plan might be -carried out night after night; but luckily the bustards will not stand -the same experience twice. On a second attempt being made, they are off -as soon as they see the light approaching. - -[Illustration: CALANDRA LARK - -A large and handsome species characteristic of the corn-lands.] - -The third (and by far the most murderous) means of destruction is due, -not so much to rural peasantry as to _cazadores_--shooters from -adjoining towns--men who should know better, and whom, in other -respects, we might rank as good sportsmen; but who, alas! can see no -shame in shooting the hen-bustards with their half-fledged broods in the -standing corn during June and July--albeit the deed is done in direct -contravention of the game-laws! Dogs, especially pointers, are employed -upon this quest when the mother-bustards, being reluctant to leave their -young, lie as close as September partridges in a root-crop; while the -broods, either too terrified or too immature to fly, are frequently -caught by the dogs. We regret that there are those who actually descant -with pride upon having slaughtered a dozen or more of these helpless -creatures in a day; while others are only restrained from a like crime -by the scorching solar heats of that season. - -More bustards are killed thus than by all the other methods combined--a -hundred times more than by our scientific and sportsmanlike system of -driving presently to be described. - -Except for this unworthy massacre of mothers with their broods in -summer, and the two clumsy artifices before mentioned, the bustards are -left practically unmolested--their wildness and the open nature of their -haunts defy all the strategy of native fowlers. The hen-bustard deposits -her eggs--usually three, but on very rare occasions four--among the -green April corn; incubation and the rearing of the young take place in -the security of vast silent stretches of waving wheat. The young -bustards grow with that wheat, and, ere it is reaped (unless prematurely -massacred), are able to take care of themselves. A somewhat more -legitimate method of outwitting the great bustard is practised at this -season. During harvest, while the country is being cleared of crops, the -birds become accustomed to see bullock-carts daily passing with creaking -wheel to carry away the sheaves from the stubble to the _era_, or -levelled threshing-ground, where the grain is trodden out, Spanish -fashion, by teams of mares. The loan of a _carro_ with its pair of oxen -and their driver having been obtained, the cart is rigged up with -_estéras_--that is, esparto-matting stretched round the uprights which -serve to hold the load of sheaves in position. A few sacks of straw -thrown on the floor of the cart save one, in some small degree, from the -merciless jolting of this primitive conveyance on rough ground. Two or -three guns can find room therein, while the driver, lying forward, -directs the team with a goad. - -This moving battery fairly resembles a load of sheaves, and well do we -remember the terrible, suffocating heat we have endured, shut up for -hours in this thing during the blazing days of July and August. The -result, nevertheless, repays all suffering. We refer to no mere -cynegetic pride but to the enduring joy of observing, at close quarters -and still unsuspicious, these glorious game-birds at home on their -private plains. The local idea is to fire through a slit previously made -in the _estéras_; but somehow, when the cart stops and the game -instantly rises, you find (despite care and practice) that the birds -always fly in a direction you cannot command or where the narrow slit -forbids your covering them. Hence we adopted the plan of sliding off -behind as the cart pulled up, thus firing the two barrels with perfect -freedom. We have succeeded by this means in bringing to bag many pairs -of bustard during a day's manoeuvring. - -[Illustration: SPANISH THISTLE AND STONECHAT] - -We now come to the system of bustard-driving, which we regard as -practically the only really legitimate method of dealing with this grand -game. From the end of August onwards the young bustards are perfectly -capable of taking care of themselves. The country is then cleared of -crops, and while this precludes the birds being "done to death" as in -the weeks immediately preceding, yet the ubiquitous thistles (often of -gigantic size, ten or twelve feet in height), charlock, and _viznagas_ -provide welcome covert for concealing the guns, while the heat still -renders the game somewhat more susceptible to the artifices of the -fowler. This is the easiest period. - -As the season advances the hunter's difficulties increase. The brown -earth becomes daily more and more naked, while files of slow-moving -ox-teams everywhere traverse the stubble, ploughing league-long furrows -twenty abreast. These factors combine to aid the game and stretch to its -utmost limit the venatic instincts of the fowler. - -Let us now attempt to describe a day's bustard-driving on scientific -lines. The district having being selected, it is advisable to send out -the night before a trustworthy scout who will sleep at the _cortijo_ and -be abroad with the dawn in order to locate precisely the various -_bandadas_, or troops of bustard, in the neighbourhood. The -shooting-party (three or four guns for choice, but in no case to exceed -six[44]) follow in the morning--riding, as a rule, to the rendezvous; -though should there be a high-road available it is sometimes convenient -to drive (or nowadays even to motor), having in that case sent the -saddle-horses forward, along with the scout, on the previous day. - -Arrived at the _cortijo_, the scout brings in his report, and at once -guns and drivers, all mounted, proceed towards the nearest of the marked -_bandadas_. Not only are the distances to be covered so great as to -render riding a necessity, but the use of horses has this further -advantage that bustard evince less fear of mounted men and thus permit -of nearer approach. The drivers should number three--the centre to flush -the birds, two flankers to gallop at top speed in any direction should -the game diverge from the required course or attempt to break out -laterally. - -Ten minutes' ride and we are within view of our first _bandada_ still a -mile away. They may be feeding on some broad slope, resting on the crest -of a ridge, or dawdling on a level plain; but wherever the game may -be--whatever the strategic value of their position--at least the -decision of our own tactics must be clinched at once. No long lingering -with futile discussion, no hesitation, or continued spying with the -glass is permissible. Such follies instil instant suspicion into the -astute brains on yonder hill, and the honours of the first round pass to -the enemy. - -For this reason it is imperative to appoint one leader vested with -supreme authority, and whose directions all must obey instantly and -implicitly. - -Needless to say, that leader must possess a thorough knowledge both of -the habits of bustard and the lie of a country--along with the rather -rare faculty of diagnosing at a glance its "advantages," its dangers, -and its salient points over some half-league of space. None too common -an attribute that, where all the wide prospect is grey or green, varying -according to ever-changing lights, and the downlands so gently graded as -occasionally to deceive the very elect. Much of the bustard-country -appears all but flat, so slight are its folds and undulations; while -even the more favouring regions are rarely so boldly contoured as -Salisbury Plain. The leader must combine some of the qualities of a -field-marshal with the skill of a deer-stalker, and a bit of red-Indian -sleuth thrown in. Luckily, such masters of the craft are not entirely -lacking to us. - -The thoughts revolving in the leader's mind during his brief survey -follow these general lines: First, which is (_a_) the favourite and -(_b_) the most favourable line of flight of those bustards when -disturbed; secondly, where can guns best be placed athwart that line; -thirdly, how can the guns reach these points unseen? A condition -precedent to success is that the firing-line shall be drawn around the -bustards fairly close up, yet without their knowledge. Now with -wild-game in open country devoid of fences, hollows, or covert of any -description that problem presents initial difficulties that may well -appear insuperable. But they are rarely quite so. It is here that the -fieldcraft of the leader comes in. He has detected some slight fold that -will shelter horsemen up to a given point, and beyond that, screen a -crouching figure to within 300 yards of the unconscious _bandada_. -Rarely do watercourses or valleys of sufficient depth lend a welcome -aid; recourse must usually be had to the reverse slope of the hill -whereon the bustards happen to be. Without a halt, the party ride round -till out of sight. At the farthest safe advance, the guns dismount and -proceed to spread themselves out--so far as possible in a -semicircle--around the focal point.[45] At 80 yards apart, each lies -prone on earth, utilising such shelter (if any) as may exist on the -naked decline--say skeleton thistles, a tuft of wild asparagus, or on -rare occasion some natural bank or tiny rain-scoop. - -[Illustration: GREAT BUSTARD--YOUNG. - -(1) AS HATCHED. - -(2) AT TWENTY DAYS OLD. - -(3) AT ONE MONTH.] - -[Illustration: SLENDER-BILLED CURLEW (NUMENIUS TENUIROSTRIS). - -[See Chapter on "Bird-life," _infra._]] - -Having now succeeded in placing his guns unseen and within a fatal -radius, the leader may congratulate himself that his main object has -been achieved. On the nearness of the line to the game, and on his -correct diagnosis of the bustards' flight depends the issue. - -[It may be added that bustard are occasionally found in situations that -offer no reasonable hope of a successful drive. It may then (should no -others be known within the radius of action) become advisable gently to -"move" the inexpugnable troop; remembering that once these birds realise -that they are being "driven," the likelihood of subsequently putting -them over the guns has enormously decreased. There accrues an incidental -advantage in this operation, for after "moving" them to more favouring -ground, it will not be necessary to line-up the guns quite so near as is -usually essential to success. For bustards possess so strong an -attachment to their _querencias_, or individual haunts, that they may be -relied upon, on being disturbed a second time, to wing a course more or -less in the direction of their original position. We give a specific -instance of this later. - -Each pack of bustard has its own _querencia_, and will be found at -certain hours to frequent certain places. This local knowledge, if -obtainable, saves infinite time and vast distances traversed in search -of game whose approximate positions, after all, may thus be ascertained -beforehand.] - - * * * * * - -Now we have placed our guns in line and within that short distance of -the unsuspecting game that all but assures a certain shot. We cannot, -let us confess, recall many moments in life of more tense excitement -than those spent thus, lying prone on the gentle slope listening with -every sense on stretch for the cries of the galloping beaters as in wild -career they urge the huge birds towards a fatal course. Before us rises -the curving ridge, its summit sharply defined against an azure -sky--azure but empty. Now the light air wafts to our ear the tumultuous -pulsations of giant wings, and five seconds later that erst empty ether -is crowded with two score huge forms. What a scene--and what commotion -as, realising the danger, each great bird with strong and laboured -wing-stroke swerves aside. One enormous _barbon_ directly overhead -receives first attention; a second, full broadside, presents no more -difficulty, and ere the double thuds behind have attested the result, we -realise that a third, shying off from our neighbour, is also "our meat." -This has proved one of our luckier drives, for the _bandada_, splitting -up on the centre, offered chances to both flanks of the blockading -line--chances which are not always fully exploited. - -[Illustration: SWERVE ASIDE TO RIGHT AND LEFT] - -We have stated, earlier in this chapter, that among the various -component factors in a bustard-drive the actual shot is of minor -importance. That is so; yet truly remarkable is the frequency with which -good shots constantly miss the easiest of chances at these great birds. -Precisely similar failures occur with wild-geese, with swans--indeed -with all big birds whose wing-action is deliberate and slow. Tardy -strokes deceive the eye, and the great bulk of the bustard accentuates -the deception--it seems impossible to miss them, a fatal error. As the -Spanish drivers put it: "Se les llenaron el ojo de carne," literally, -"the bustards had filled your eye with meat"--the hapless marksmen saw -everything bustard! Yet geese with their 40 strokes fly past ducks at -120, and the bustard's apparently leisured movement carries him in full -career as fast as whirring grouse with 200 revolutions to the minute. To -kill bustard treat them on the same basis as the smaller game that -appears faster but is not. - -Bustards being soft-plumaged are not hard to kill. As compared with such -ironclads as wild-geese, they are singularly easily killed, and with -AAA shot may be dropped stone-dead at 80 and even at 100 yards. A pair -of guns may thus profitably be brought into action. - -Bustards seldom run, but they walk very fast, especially when alarmed. -Between the inception of a drive and the moment of flushing we have -known them to cover half a mile, and many drives fail owing to game -having completely altered its original position. Instances have occurred -of bustards walking over the dividing ridge, to the amazement of the -prostrate sportsmen on the hither slope. Strange to say, when winged -they do not make off, but remain where they have fallen, and an old male -will usually show fight. Of course if left alone and out of sight a -winged bustard will travel far. - -In weight cock-bustard vary from, say, 20 to 22 lbs. in autumn, up to 28 -to 30 lbs. in April. The biggest old males in spring reach 33 and 34 -lbs., and one we presented to the National Collection at South -Kensington scaled 37 lbs. The breast-bone of these big birds is usually -quite bare, a horny callosity, owing to friction with the ground while -squatting, and the heads and necks of old males usually exhibit gaps in -their gorgeous spring-plumage--indicative of severe encounters among -themselves. Hen-bustard seldom exceed 15 lbs. at any season. - -Bustard are usually found in troops varying from half-a-dozen birds to -as many as 50 or 60, and in September we have seen 200 together. - -Bustard-shooting--by which we mean legitimate driving during the winter -months, September to April--is necessarily uncertain in results. Some -days birds may not even be seen, though this is unusual, while on others -many big bands may be met with. Hence it is difficult to put down an -average, though we roughly estimate a bird a gun as an excellent day's -work. A not unusual bag for six guns will be about eight head; but we -have a note of two days' shooting in April (in two consecutive years) -when a party of eight guns, all well-known shots, secured 21 and 22 -bustard respectively, together with a single lesser bustard on each day. -This was on lands between Alcantarillas and Las Cabezas, but it is fair -to add that the ground had been carefully preserved by the owner and the -operation organised regardless of expense. - -A minor difficulty inherent to this pursuit is to select the precise -psychological moment to spring up to shooting-position. This indeed is a -feature common to most forms of wild-shooting--such as duck-flighting, -driving geese or even snipe; in fact there is hardly a really wild -creature that can be dealt with from a comfortable position erect on -one's legs. Imagine partridge-shooters at home, instead of standing -comfortably protected by hedge or butt, being told to hide themselves on -a wet plough or bare stubble. Here, in Spain, it may also be necessary -to conceal the gun under one's right side (to avoid sun-glints), and -that also loses a moment. - -[Illustration: BUSTARDS PASSING FULL BROADSIDE] - -All one's care and elaborate strategy is ofttimes nullified through the -blunders of a novice. Some men have no more sense of concealment than -that fabled ostrich which is said to hide its head in the sand (which it -doesn't); others can't keep still. These are for ever poking their heads -up and down or--worse still--trying to see what is occurring in front. -We may conclude this chapter with a hint or two to new hands. - -Never move from your prone position till the bustard are in shot, and -after that, not till you are sure the whole operation is complete. There -may yet be other birds enclosed though you do not know it. - -Never claim to have wounded a bustard merely because it passed so near -and offered so easy a shot that you can't believe you missed it. You did -miss it or it would be lying dead behind. - -All the same keep one eye on any bird you have fired at so long as it -remains in view. Bustards shot through the lungs will sometimes fly half -a mile and then drop dead. - -Wear clothes suited, more or less, to environment--_greenish_, we -suggest, for choice--but remember that immobility is tenfold more -important than colour. A pure white object that is quiescent is -overlooked, where a clod of turf that _moves_ attracts instant -attention. - -In spring, when bustards gorge on green food, gralloch your victims at -once, otherwise the half-digested mass in the crop quickly decomposes -and destroys the meat. - - * * * * * - -Here is an example of an error in judgment that practically amounted to -a blunder. Before our well-concealed line stood a grand pack, between -thirty and forty bustard beautifully "horseshoed," and quite unconscious -thereof. Momentarily we expected their entry--right in our faces! At -that critical moment there appeared, wide on the right flank and -actually behind us, three huge old _barbones_ directing a course that -would bring them along close in rear of our line. No. 4 gun, on extreme -right, properly allowed this trio to pass; not so No. 3. But the -culprit, on rising to fire, had the chagrin to realise (too late) his -error. The whole superb army-corps in front were at that very moment -sweeping forward direct on the centre of our line! In an instant they -took it in, swerved majestically to the left, and escaped scot-free. -That No. 3 had secured a right-and-left at the adventitious trio in no -sort of way exculpated his mistake. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -THE GREAT BUSTARD (_Continued_) - - -The following illustrates in outline a day's bustard-shooting and -incidentally shows how strongly haunted these birds are, each pack to -its own particular locality. - -On reaching our point (a seventeen-kilometres' drive), the scouts sent -out the day before reported three bands numbering roughly forty, forty, -and sixteen--in all nearly a hundred birds. The nearest lot was to the -west. These we found easily, and B. F. B. got a brace, right-and-left, -without incident. - -Riding back eastwards, the second pack had moved, but we shortly -descried the third, in two divisions, a mile away. It being noon, the -bustards were mostly lying down or standing drowsily, and we halted for -lunch before commencing the operation. - -During the afternoon we drove this pack three times, securing a brace on -first and third drives, while on the second the birds broke out to the -side. - -Now bustards are, in Spanish phrase, _muy querenciosos_, _i.e._ attached -to their own particular terrain; and as in these three drives we had -pushed them far beyond their much-loved limit, they were now restless -and anxious to return. - -Already before our guns had reached their posts for a fourth drive, -seven great bustards were seen on the wing, and a few minutes later the -remaining thirty took flight, voluntarily, the whole phalanx shaping -their course directly towards us. The outmost gun was still moving -forward to his post under the crest of the hill, and the pack, seeing -him, swerved across our line below, and (these guns luckily having seen -what was passing and taken cover) thus lost another brace of their -number. - -The bustards shot to-day (January 16), though all full-grown males, only -weighed from 25-1/2 to 26-1/2 lbs. apiece. Two months later they would -have averaged over 30 lbs., the increased weight being largely due to -the abundant feed in spring, but possibly more to the solid distention -of the neck.[46] - -This wet season (1908) the grass on the _manchones_, or fallows, was -rank and luxuriant, nearly knee-deep in close vegetation--more like -April than January. Already these bustards were showing signs of the -chestnut neck, and all had acquired their whiskers. The following winter -(1909) was dry and not a scrap of vegetation on the fallows. Even in -February they were absolutely naked and the cattle being fed on broken -straw in the byres. - -The quill-feathers are pale-grey or ash-colour, only deepening into a -darker shade towards the tips, and that only on the first two or three -feathers. The shafts are white, secondaries black, and bastard-wing -lavender-white, slightly tipped with a darker shade. - -In _Wild Spain_ will be found described two methods by which the great -bustard may be secured: (A) by a single gun riding quite alone; and (B) -by two guns working jointly, one taking the chance of a drive, the other -outmanoeuvring the game as in plan (A). We here add a third plan which -has occasionally stood us (when alone) in good stead. - -On finding bustard on a suitable hill, leave your man to ride slowly to -and fro attracting the attention of the game till you have had time, by -hard running, to gain the reverse slope. The attendant then rides -forward, the whole operation being so punctually timed that you reach -the crest of the ridge at the same moment as the walking bustards have -arrived within shot thereof. Needless to add, this involves, besides -hard work, a considerable degree of luck, yet on several occasions we -have secured as many as four birds a day by this means. - - * * * * * - -[Illustration: "HURTLING THROUGH SPACE"] - -The great bustard, one imagines, has few enemies except man, but the -following incident shows they are not entirely exempt from extraneous -dangers. In October, some years ago, the writer purposed spending a -couple of nights at a distant marsh in order to see whether any snipe -had yet come in. Our course led us through good bustard-country, and by -an early start I had hoped to exploit this in passing. Hardly had we -entered upon the corn-lands than we espied fifteen bustard, a -quarter-mile away on the right. The rough bridle-track being worn -slightly hollow and no better cover appearing, I decided to "flatten" on -the spot, sending my two men to ride round beyond the game, which, being -in a dip, was now below my range of sight. In due course the bustards -appeared, winging directly towards me, but alighting in front when -already almost in shot. Feeling practically certain of them now, since I -could hear the shouts of the beaters beyond, I raised myself slightly, -only to see, to my utter chagrin, the bustards flying off in -diametrically the opposite direction while simultaneously a hissing -sound from behind and overhead caused me to glance upwards. A black -object hurtling earthward through space, shot diagonally past me--this I -mistook as merely a peregrine pursuing some hare that had been disturbed -by the beaters. But on hastening forward over the ridge, I perceived one -of the beaters riding up with a dead bustard across his saddle--a -female, with a great gaping gash in her side. The beaters reported that -just as they flushed the bustard a second time an eagle had swept down -upon them, knocked down this one, and sent the rest, scattered in wild -disorder, over their heads. Paco had then galloped up to within a few -yards before the eagle reluctantly abandoned its prize and sailed aloft. -Continuing our interrupted journey, half a mile ahead another pack of -bustard was descried, and while rapidly surveying the situation, yet -another lot appeared on wing, flying from the right. These last, we -instantly concluded both from their direction and also by the curiously -unsettled style of their flight, were a part of the band which had -recently been attacked by the eagle. Under such circumstances I realised -that (though I was mounted and in full view) they might yet pass within -shot, so, jumping from the horse, I fired at the nearest old -cock-bustard and distinctly saw blood spirt from his snow-white breast. -He flew slowly away with ever lowering flight, finally disappearing over -a crest close by the scene of our first drive. Confident of gathering -him, we rode back, and on gaining the ridge witnessed this amazing -spectacle. In the hollow, 300 yards away, was a well with the usual -cross-bar and pulley for drawing water, and on the cross-bar sat an -eagle. Below on the ground stood the wounded bustard, facing-up to a -second great eagle, which kept flapping around him, apparently reluctant -to attack so huge a bird on the ground and in its then aggressive -attitude, and endeavouring to force it to fly. - -So absorbed were both eagles on their quarry that I rode up unnoticed to -within 100 yards, and was making ready to fire when the two great birds -rose, that from the cross-bar flying away, while the other, not content -to resign his prize, circled overhead. In hope that he might descend I -concealed myself behind the well, always keeping one eye on the wounded -bustard, but presently the eagle had become a mere speck in the heavens. -The bustard all this time had remained standing close by, but on my -approach it rose quite strongly on wing, and had I not been loaded, -might yet have escaped. - -[Illustration: DRAW-WELL WITH CROSS-BAR] - -The aggressors were imperial eagles, and in their second attack had no -doubt realised that the quarry was already wounded. The first victim had -been knocked down, stone-dead, when absolutely sound and strong. - -During summer these birds practically subsist on grasshoppers, -especially those in the heavy wingless stage known as _Cigarras -panzonas_. These disappear after July, being replaced by smaller and -more active varieties, which are equally relished. Once the females -commence laying among the spring corn (in April), the cock-bustards -assemble in widower packs (_toradas_) on the fallows, and especially on -_marismas_ adjacent to corn-land. By September both sexes, with the -young, reunite on the stubbles, where we have seen as many as 200 -together. - -It is in April that the old _barbones_ attain their full glory and -pride of sexual estate--resplendent in fierce whiskers and gorgeous -chestnut ruffs all distended with the seasonal condition. Courtship -begins in March, when the weird eccentric performances of the males, -flashing alternately white and rich orange against their green -environment, lend a characteristic touch to the vernal _vegas_--white -specks that appear and disappear as the lovelorn monsters revolve and -display, somewhat in the frenzied style of the blackcock on our own -northern moorlands. _Hechando la rueda_ the Spanish call it, as an old -_barbon_ majestically struts around turning himself, as it were, inside -out before an assembled harem that, to all appearance, takes no manner -of interest in his fantastic performance--perhaps the gentler sex -dissemble their depth of feeling? Then occur ferocious duels between -rival paladins. Long sustained are these and conspicuous afar, albeit -not very deadly. No life-blood may flow, but feathers fly ere the point -of honour is settled and the victor left in proud possession. - -[Illustration: "HECHANDO LA RUEDA"] - -These combats occur chiefly at break of day while tall herbage yet -remains soaked by nocturnal dews, and it occasionally happens that some -luckless champion, damaged and bedraggled, and with plumage saturated -through and through, when thus encountered, is found unable to fly and -so captured. Several such instances came under our notice years ago -and--rare though they may be--misled us in _Wild Spain_ to conclude that -the incapacity arose from a spring-moult--similar to that of wild-geese -and of some ducks. That, however, was an error. The loss of flight-power -arises, as stated, from the damaged and dew-saturated state of the -primaries, as is concisely set forth in a letter from our friend D. José -Pan Elberto as follows:-- - - Many persons undoubtedly believe (owing to bustards being captured - in spring unable to fly) that these birds moult all their quills at - once. That is not the case; but since in spring, when the - male-bustards engage in continuous fighting, the corn-growth is - already quite tall, and in the early mornings all vegetation is - saturated with night-dews, it occasionally happens that a bustard - may be met with incapable by this cause of taking wing--that is, - that some of the flight-feathers are lost or broken and all - dew-soaked (_rociadas_). The bustard moults gradually and never - loses the power of flight. - -[Illustration: Great Bustard "SHEWING-OFF"--FROM LIFE. - -FIRST ATTITUDE. - -SECOND ATTITUDE. - -THE SAME, BUT LOOKING UP AT A PASSING BIRD. - -FINAL POSITION.] - -[Illustration: TAIL-FEATHERS OF GREAT BUSTARD] - -While never attaining the size of wild birds, yet bustards thrive well -in captivity--always assuming that they have been caught young. Old -birds brought home wounded never survive twenty-four hours, dying not -from the wound (which may be insignificant) but from _barinchin_, which -may be translated chagrin or a broken heart. Young bustards reared thus -become extremely tame, coming to call and feeding from the hand, though -when old the males are apt to grow vicious in spring, attacking savagely -children, dogs, and even women, especially those whom they see to be -afraid.[47] Tame as they are, they are always subject to strange alarms, -seemingly causeless. Suddenly they raise their wings, draw in their -heads, and dance around, jumping in air, and ever intently regarding the -heavens--sometimes dashing off under cover of bushes. One may connect -this exhibition with some speck in the sky, some passing eagle, more -often no motive is discernible. Bustard-chicks emit a plaintive whistle -so precisely similar to that of the kites that (when hatched out under a -domestic hen) the foster-mother has been so terrified as to desert her -brood. When adult, bustards are usually quite silent, save for a -grunting noise in spring--that is, in captivity. But on a hot day we -have heard the old males, when passing on a drive, utter panting -sounds, and (as already mentioned) a winged _barbon_ will turn to attack -with a sort of gruff bark--wuff, wuff--as his captor approaches. - -So retentive is their memory that each year as May comes round our tame -bustards keep constantly on the look-out for the first cart-load of -green cut grass brought into the stable-yard for the horses. They even -follow it right into the loose-box where it is stored, in order to feast -on the grasshoppers it conceals, climbing all over the mountain of -grass, but never scratching as hens or pheasants would do. - - -THE LITTLE BUSTARD (_OTIS TETRAX_--SPANISH, _SISÓN_) - -The little bustard may fairly claim the proud distinction that it alone -of all the game-birds on earth can utterly scorn and set at naught every -artifice of the fowler--modern methods and up-to-date appliances all -included. Here in Spain, though the bird itself is abundant enough (and -its flesh delicate and delicious), it so entirely defies every set -system of pursuit that no one nowadays attempts its capture. Practically -none are killed save merely by some chance or accidental encounter. - -True, during the fiery noontides of July and August even the little -bustard enjoys a siesta and may then be shot. It will, in fact, "lie -close" before pointers and cackle like a cock-grouse as it rises from -those desolate _dehesas_ which form its home--vast stretches of rolling -veld where asphodel, palmetto, and giant thistles grow rampant as far as -eye can reach. But that scarce comes within our category of sport, since -a solar heat that can (even temporarily) tame a _sisón_ is quite likely -to finish off a Briton for good and all. And with the advent of autumn -and a relatively endurable temperature, in a moment the _sisón_ becomes -impossibly wild. Any idea of direct approach is simply out of the -question, but beyond that, this astute fowl has elaborated a -scheme--indeed a series of schemes--that nullifies even that one -remaining resource of baffled humanity, "driving." You may surround his -company, "horse-shoe" them with hidden guns--do what you will, not a -single _sisón_ will come in to the firing-line. You cannot diagnose -beforehand his probable line of flight, for he has none, nor can you -influence its subsequent direction. For the little bustard shuts off all -negotiation at its initiation by springing vertically in air, soaring -far above gunshot, and there indulging in fantastic aerial evolutions -more in the style of wigeon or other wildfowl than of a true game-bird -as he is. Thus from that celestial altitude he spies out the country and -all terrestrial dangers, finally disappearing afar amidst the wastes of -atmospheric space. Frequently we have noticed the high-flying band, -after, say, twenty minutes of such display of wing-power, descend -directly to their original position at a safe interval after the drivers -had passed forward thereof! Thus do they scorn our efforts and add -insult to injury. - -[Illustration: LITTLE BUSTARD - -Summer plumage.] - -In practice no _sisónes_ whatever are killed in set drives, and for -twenty years we have abandoned the attempt as impossible. They -nevertheless--alike with every other fowl of the air--must, by -occasional mischance, fly into danger, and at such times, owing to their -habit of flying in massed formation, a heavy toll may be levied at a -single shot by a gunner who is alert to exploit the happy event. We have -ourselves, in this casual way, dropped from five to eight _sisónes_ with -the double charge. - -Though frequenting the same open terrain as their big cousins, the -_sisónes_ distinctly prefer the rough stretches of palmetto, thistles, -and other rank herbage to corn-land proper--in short, they prefer to sit -where they can never be seen on the ground. Conspicuous as their white -plumage and resonant wing-rattle makes them in air, we can hardly recall -a dozen instances of having detected a pack of little bustard at -rest--and then merely in quite accidental and exceptional -circumstances. And even then (as indicated) the knowledge of their -precise position has seldom availed to their undoing. - -By April the males have assumed a splendidly handsome breeding-dress. -The neck, swollen out like a jargonelle pear, is clad in rich -velvet-black, the long plumes behind glossy and hackle-like, and adorned -with a double gorget of white. All this finery is lost by August. -Thenceforward the sexes are alike save for the larger size and brighter -orange of the males, the females being smaller and yellower. They are -strictly monogamous, yet the males "show-off" in the same fantastic way -as great bustard and blackcock. About mid-May the female lays four -(rarely five) glossy olive-green eggs in the thick covert of thistles or -palmettos. - -In summer the food of the little bustard consists of snails and small -grasshoppers, and on the table they are excellent, the breast being -large and prominent and displaying both dark and white flesh--the -latter, however, being confined to the legs. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -FLAMINGOES - -THE QUEST FOR THEIR "INCUNABULA" - -[Illustration: A TYPICAL SIGHT IN THE MARISMA] - - -The flamingo stands in a class apart. Allied to no other -bird-form--hardly so much as related--it may be regarded almost as a -separate act of creation. Its nesting habits, and the method by which a -bird of such abnormal build could incubate its eggs, formed for -generations a "vexed question" in bird-life. The story of the efforts -made by British naturalists to solve the problem ranks among the -classics of ornithology. The marismas of Guadalquivir were early known -to be one of the few European _incunabula_ of the flamingo; but their -vast extent--"as big as our eastern counties," Howard Saunders -wrote--and the irregularity of the seasons (since flamingoes only remain -to nest in the wettest years) combined to frustrate exploration. First -in the field was Lord Lilford--as early as 1856; and both during that -and the two succeeding decades he and Saunders (who appeared on the -scene in 1864) undertook repeated journeys--all in vain. The record of -these makes splendid reading, and will be found as follows:-- - -Lord Lilford, "On the Breeding of the Flamingo in Spain," _Proceedings -Zoological Society of London_, 1880, pp. 446-50; Howard Saunders, -_ibid._, 1869, and the same authority in the _Ibis_, 1871, pp. 394 _et -seq._ - -The late Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria, who visited Spain in May 1879, -likewise failed to reach the nesting spot--apparently through the usual -cause, not going far enough--though a few eggs were found scattered on -the wet mud of the marisma. (Recorded by Lord Lilford as above.) - -Thus the question remained unsettled till 1883, when a favouring season -enabled the present authors to succeed where greater ornithologists had -striven in vain. - -[Illustration] - -A venerable apologue attaches to the nesting habit of the flamingo. -Owing to the length of its legs, it was assumed that the bird could not -incubate in the ordinary manner of birds, and that, therefore, it stood -astraddle on a nest built up to the requisite height--a combination of -unproved assumption with inconsequential deduction. 'Twere ungracious to -be wise after the event, yet, in fact, this fable passed current as -"Natural History" for precisely two centuries--from 1683, when Dampier -so described the nesting of flamingoes on the Cape de Verde Islands,[48] -till 1883, when the present authors had opportunity of observing a -flamingo-colony in southern Spain. - -Flamingoes do not nest every year in the Spanish marismas. Their doing -so depends on the season, and only in very wet years is the attempt -made. Rarely, even then, are young hatched off, so persistently are the -wastes raided by egg-lifters, who sweep up by wholesale every edible -thing, and to whom a "Flamingo City," with its hundreds of big eggs all -massed together--a boat-load for the gathering--represents an El Dorado. -As early as 1872 eggs were brought to us--taken by our own marshmen on -May 24--but it was not till 1883 that we enjoyed seeing an occupied -nest-colony ourselves. - -More than a quarter-century has sped since then, yet we cannot do better -than substantially transcribe the narrative as recorded in _Wild Spain_. - -During the month of April we searched the marismas systematically for -the nesting-places of flamingoes, but, though exploring large -areas--riding many leagues in all directions through mud and water -varying from a few inches to full three feet in depth--yet no sign of -nests was then encountered. Flamingoes there were in thousands, together -with a wealth of aquatic bird-life that we will not stop here to -describe. But the water was still too deep, the mud-flats and new-born -islets not yet sufficiently dried for purposes of nidification. The only -species that actually commenced to lay in April were the coots, purple -herons, peewits, Kentish plovers, stilts, redshanks, and a few more. - -April was clearly too early, and the writer lost nearly a week through -an attack of ague, brought on by constant splashing about in -comparatively cold water while a fierce sun always beat down on one's -head. In May the luck improved. Far away to the eastward flamingoes had -always been most numerous, and once or twice we observed (early in May) -signs that resembled the first rude beginnings of architecture, and -encouraged us to persevere in what had begun to appear an almost -hopeless quest. - -_May 9_ (1883).--The effects of dawn over the vast desolations of the -marisma were specially lovely this morning. Before sunrise the distant -peaks of the Serranía de Ronda (seventy miles away) lay flooded in a -blood-red light, and appearing quite twice their usual height. Half an -hour later the mountains sank back in a golden glow, and long before -noon had utterly vanished in quivering heat-haze and the atmospheric -fantasies of infinite space. Amidst chaotic confusion of mirage effects -we rode out across the wilderness: at first over dry mud-flats sparsely -carpeted with dwarf scrub of marsh plants, or in places bare and naked, -the sun-scorched surface cracked into rhomboids and parallelograms, and -honeycombed with yawning cattle-tracks made long ago when the mud was -moist and plastic; then through shallow marsh and stagnant waters -gradually deepening. Here from a patch of rush hard by sprang three -hinds with their fawns and splashed away through the shallows, their -russet pelts gleaming in the early sunlight. Gradually the water -deepened; "mucha agua, mucho fango!" groaned our companion, Felipe; but -this morning we meant to reach the very heart of the marisma, and before -ten o'clock were cooking our breakfast on a far-away islet whereon never -British foot had trod before, and which was literally strewn with -avocets' eggs, while nests of stilts, redshanks, pratincoles, and many -more lay scattered around. - -[Illustration: STILTS DISTURBED AT THEIR NESTING-PLACE] - -During this day we discovered two nests of the slender-billed gull -(_Larus gelastes_), not previously known to breed in Spain; also, we -then believed, those of the Mediterranean black-headed gull (_L. -melanocephalus_), though the latter were afterwards ascribed by -oological experts (perhaps correctly) to the gull-billed tern (_Sterna -anglica_), a species whose eggs we also found by the dozen. - -The immense aggregations of flamingoes which, in wet seasons, throng the -middle marismas can scarce be described. Our bird-islets lay so remote -from the low-lying shores that no land whatever was in sight; but the -desolate horizon that surrounded them was adorned by an almost unbroken -line of pink and white that separated sea and sky over the greater part -of the circle. On examining the different herds narrowly through -binoculars, an obvious dissimilarity was discovered in the appearance of -certain groups. One or two in particular seemed so much denser than the -others; the narrow white line looked three times as thick, and in the -centre gave the idea that the birds were literally piled upon each -other. Felipe suggested that these flamingoes must be at their -_pajeréra_, or breeding-place, and after a long wet ride we found that -this was the case. The water was very deep, the bottom clinging mud; at -intervals the laboured plunging of the mule was exchanged for an easier, -gliding motion--he was swimming. The change was a welcome relief to man -and beast; but the labours undergone during these aquatic rides -eventuated in the loss of one fine mule, a powerful beast worth £60. - -[Illustration: FLAMINGOES AND THEIR NESTS] - -On approach, the cause of the peculiar appearance of the flamingo city -from a distance became clearly discernible. Hundreds of birds were -sitting down on a low mud-island, hundreds more were standing erect -thereon, while others stood in the water alongside. Thus the different -elevations of their bodies formed what had appeared a triple or -quadruple line. - -On reaching the spot, we found a perfect mass of nests. The low, flat -mud-plateau was crowded with them as thickly as its space permitted. The -nests had little or no height above the dead-level mud--some were raised -an inch or two, a few might reach four or five inches in height, but the -majority were merely circular bulwarks of mud barely raised above the -general level, and bearing the impression of the bird's legs distinctly -marked upon the periphery. The general aspect of the plateau might be -likened to a large table covered with plates. In the centre was a deep -hole full of muddy water, which, from the gouged appearance of its -sides, had probably supplied the birds with building material. - -[Illustration] - -Scattered round the main colony were many single nests, rising out of -the water and evidently built up from the bottom. Here and there two or -three of these were joined together--"semi-detached," so to speak. These -isolated nests stood some eight inches above water-level, and as the -depth exceeded a foot, their total height would be two feet or -thereabouts, and their width across the hollowed top, some fifteen -inches. None of the nests as yet contained eggs, and though we returned -to the _pajeréra_ on the latest day we were in its neighbourhood (May -11), they still remained empty. On both occasions many hundreds of -flamingoes were sitting on the nests, and on the 11th we enjoyed -excellent views at close quarters. Linked arm-in-arm with Felipe, and -crouching low on the water to look as little human as possible, we had -approached within seventy yards before the sentries first showed signs -of alarm; and at that distance, with binoculars, observed the sitting -flamingoes as distinctly as one need wish. The long red legs doubled -under their bodies, the knees projecting slightly beyond the tail, and -the graceful necks neatly curled away among their back feathers like a -sitting swan, some heads resting on the breasts--all these points were -unmistakable. Indeed, as regards the disposition of the legs in an -incubating flamingo, no other attitude was possible since, in the great -majority of cases, the nests were barely raised above the level of the -mud-plateau. To sit _astride_ on a _flat_ surface is out of the -question. - -Inexplicable it seems that the flamingo, a bird that spends its life -half knee-deep in water, should so long delay the period of incubation. -For long ere eggs could be hatched, and young reared, the full summer -heats of June and July would already have set in, water would have -utterly disappeared, and the flamingoes be left stranded in a scorching -desert of sun-baked mud. - -[Illustration] - -Being unable ourselves to return to the marisma, we sent Felipe back on -May 26, when he obtained eggs--long, white, and chalky, some specimens -extremely rugged. Two is the number laid in each nest. In 1872 we had -obtained six eggs taken on May 24, which may therefore, probably, be -taken as the average date of laying. There remains, nevertheless, the -bare possibility that eggs had been laid before our visit on May 9, but -swept up meanwhile by egg-raiders. - -The flamingo city "in being" above described was the first seen by -ornithologists, and the observations we were enabled to make settled at -last the position and mode of incubation of the flamingo.[49] - -Science is impersonal, the impulsion of a naturalist springs from -devotion to his subject, and from no extrinsic motive--such as personal -kudos. Nevertheless, we make this categoric claim for ourselves simply -because the credit, _quantum valeat_, has since been (not claimed -straight away, but rather) insinuated on behalf of others who didn't -earn it--analogous with the case of Dr. Cook and the North Pole. - -Where do these thousands of Spanish flamingoes breed, and how do they -maintain their numbers, when Spain, three years out of five, is _too -dry_ for nesting purposes? The only obvious answer is, Africa. And, -though incapable yet of direct proof, that answer is clearly correct. -For flamingoes are essentially denizens of the tropic zone. The few that -ever overlap into southern Europe are but a fraction of their swarming -millions farther south. During our own expeditions into British East -Africa, we found flamingoes in vast abundance on all the equatorial -lakes we visited--Baringo, Nakuru, Elmenteita, Naivasha, and, -especially, Lake Hannington, where, during past ages, they have so -polluted the foreshores as to preclude human occupation. These were the -same flamingoes, a few of which "slop over" into Europe; we shot two -specimens with the rifle in Nakuru to prove that.[50] - -Flamingoes are not migratory in an ordinary sense--birds born on the -equator seldom are. Their movements have no seasonal character, but -depend on the rainfall and the varying condition of the lagoons at -different points within their range. Here, in Spain, we see them coming -and going, to and fro, at all seasons according to the state of the -marisma--and a striking colour-study they present when pink battalions -contrast with dark-green pine beneath and set off by deepest azure -above. - -In 1907 flamingoes attempted to establish a nesting-colony at a spot -called Las Albacias in the marisma of Hinojos. A mass of nests was -already half built, then suddenly abandoned. "If the shadow of a cloud -passes over them, they forsake," say the herdsmen of the wilderness. - -[Illustration: FLAMINGOES ON THEIR NESTS.] - -Quantities of drift grass and weed are always found floating where a -herd has been feeding, which at first led us to suppose that their food -consisted of water-plants (as with geese), but that is not the case. -The floating grasses are only incidentally uprooted by the birds while -delving in the mud. The Spanish marshmen say flamingoes "live on mud," -and truly an examination of their crops appears to confirm this. But the -mud is only taken in because of the masses of minute creatures -(_animalculae_) which it contains, and which form the food of the -flamingo. What precisely these living atoms are would require both a -microscopical examination and a knowledge of zoophites to determine. The -tongue of a flamingo is a thick, fleshy organ filling the whole cavity -of the mandibles, and furnished with a series of flexible bony spikes, -or hooks, nearly half an inch long and curving inwards. Flamingoes' -tongues are said to have formed, an epicurean dish in Roman days. -However that may be, we found them, on trial, quite uneatable--tough as -india-rubber; even our dogs refused the "delicacy." This bird's flesh is -dark-red and rank, quite uneatable. - -In the New World the mystery of the nesting habits of the flamingo -(_Phoenicopterus ruber_) was solved just three years later, and in a -precisely similar sense. - -[Illustration: HEAD OF FLAMINGO - -Showing the spikes on tongue and lamellae on mandibles. - -[The beak had to be forced open.]] - -We will close this chapter with a reference to a recent and most -complete demonstration of our subject--that of our namesake, Mr. Frank -M. Chapman, of the American Museum, New York, in his _Camps and Cruises -of an Ornithologist_. Therein is set forth, in Chapter IV., the last -word on this topic. In America, as in Spain, the final solution of the -problem was only attained after years of patient effort and many -disappointments. With the thoroughness of thought and honesty of purpose -that marks our transatlantic progeny while treating of natural -phenomena, this book sets forth the life-history and domestic economy of -the flamingo, from egg to maturity, illustrated by a series of -photographs that are absolutely unique.[51] We conclude by quoting our -bird-friend's opening sentence: "There are larger birds than the -flamingo, and birds with more brilliant plumage, but no other large -bird is so brightly coloured, and no other brightly coloured bird is so -large. In brief, size and beauty of plume united reach their maximum -development in this remarkable bird, while the open nature of its haunts -and its gregarious habit seem specially designed to display its marked -characteristics of form and colour to the most striking advantage. When -to these superficial attractions is added the fact that little or -nothing has hitherto been known of its nesting habits, one may realise -the intense longing of a naturalist, not only to behold a flamingo -city--itself the most remarkable sight in the bird-world--but to lift -the veil through which the flamingo's home-life has been but dimly -seen." - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -WILD CAMELS - - -It was during these aquatic rides in search of the nesting-places of the -flamingo that we first fell in with wild camels. - -Vague yarns, more or less circumstantial, that such animals wandered -over the farther marismas, we remember as early as 1872. The thing, -however, had appeared too incredible for consideration--at any rate, we -gave it none. But in that spring of 1883 we one day found ourselves face -to face with two unmistakable camels. They stood gazing intently about -half a mile away--a huge, shaggy, hump-backed beast, accompanied by a -second not half its size. The pair wheeled and made off ere we had -approached within 400 yards, and something "game-like" in their style -prompted our first and last attempt at pursuit. The camels simply ran -away from us, splashing through slippery mud and water, two feet deep, -at double our horses' speed, and raising in their flight a tearing trail -of foam as of twin torpedo-boats. - -Since then we have fallen in with camels on very many occasions, singly, -in twos and threes, or in herds of a dozen to twenty and upwards, old -and young together. It is, in fact, only necessary to ride far enough -into the marisma to make sure of seeing some of these extraordinary -monsters startling the desolate horizon, and silhouetted in incongruous -juxtaposition with ranks of rosy flamingoes and flotillas of swimming -waterfowl. - -The whole story of these wild camels and their origin has been narrated -in _Wild Spain_. Briefly summarised, the animals were introduced to -Spain in 1829 by the Marquis de Villafranca (House of Medina-Sidonia) -with the object of employing them in transport and agriculture, as they -are so commonly used on the opposite shores of Africa. But local -difficulties ensued--chiefly arising from the intense fear and -repugnance of horses towards camels, which resulted in numerous -accidents--and eventually the bactrians were set free in the marisma, -wherein they have since lived at large and bred under wholly wild -conditions for well-nigh a century. - -We admit that a statement of the existence of wild camels in these -watery wildernesses of Spain--flooded during great part of the year--is -difficult to accept. The camel is inseparably associated with the most -arid deserts of earth, with sun-scorched Sahara, Arabia Petraea, and -waterless tropical regions. Its physical economy is expressly adapted -for such habitats--the huge padded feet and seven-chambered stomach that -will sustain it for days without drinking. Yet the reader was asked to -believe that this specialised desert-dweller had calmly accepted a -condition of life diametrically reversed, and not only lives, but breeds -and flourishes amidst knee-deep swamp. - -At the period of which we write the camel was not known to exist on -earth in a wild state, and physical disabilities were alleged which -would have precluded such a possibility. During historic times it had -never been described save only as a beast of burden, the slave of -man--and a savage, intractable slave at that. A little later, however, -the Russian explorer, Préjevalsky, met with wild camels roaming over the -Kumtagh deserts of Turkestan, and in Tibet Sven Hedin has since shown -the two-humped camel to be one of the normal wild beasts of the Central -Asian table-lands. - -Wild camels in Europe represented a considerable draft upon the -credulity of readers; and a chorus of ridicule was poured upon the -statement. Men who had "lived in Spain for years"--a foreign consul at -Seville, engineers employed in reclaiming marismas (somewhere else)--all -rushed into print to attest the absurdity of the idea. Limited -experience was mistaken for complete knowledge! Similar treatment was -accorded to our observation of pelicans in Denmark. Ornithologists of -Copenhagen insinuated we did not know pelicans from seagulls; yet the -Danish pelicans are as well known to the Jutlander fisher-folk as are -the Spanish camels to the herdsmen and fowlers of the marisma. Knowledge -is no monopoly of high places. - -[Illustration: WILD CAMELS.] - -The Spanish camels spend their lives exclusively in the open marisma, -pasturing on the _vetas_, or higher-lying areas, and passing from islet -to islet, though the intervening water be three feet deep. We have -watched them grazing on subaquatic herbage in the midst of what -appeared miles of open water; and, in fact, during wet winters there is -no dry land to be seen. Yet they never approach the adjacent dunes of -Doñana, though these would appear so tempting. By night, however, the -camels sometimes pass so near to our shooting-lodge that their scent, -when borne down-wind, has created panic among the horses, though the -stables are situate within an enclosed courtyard. - -[Illustration] - -Antonio Trujillo, formerly head-keeper of the Coto Doñana, some years -ago chanced on a camel that was "bogged" in a quicksand (_nuclé_). These -places are dangerous, and it was not till six days later that he was -enabled, by bringing planks and ropes, to drag the poor beast to firm -land. All round the spot where the camel had laid he found every root, -and even the very earth, eaten away. Yet the animal when set free -appeared none the worse, for it strolled away quite unconcerned, and -shortly commenced to browse while still close by. - -Young camels are born early in the year, about February, though whether -that is the exclusive period we have no means of knowing. - -A curious incident occurred one winter day when we had ridden out into -the marisma expressly in search of camels. It was an intensely cold and -dry season, almost unprecedented for the severity of the frost. When -several leagues from anywhere, a keen eye detected in the far distance a -roving fox. All dismounted, and letting the horses graze, hid behind -them and awaited his approach. Then with only a single _podenco_, or -hunting-dog, _Frascuelo_ by name, after a straight-away run of five or -six miles over the sun-dried plain, we fairly rode bold Reynard down and -killed him. - -Six months after the publication of _Wild Spain_ we received the -following letter from H.R.H. the late Phillippe, Comte de Paris, the -owner of the adjoining Coto del Rey:-- - - _June 17, 1893._ - - Having read with the greatest pleasure and interest your - description of the wild camels, it struck me that you may - appreciate a photograph taken from nature of one of these - independent inhabitants of the shores of Guadalquivir. I found that - one could only look at them from a distance, and therefore the - enclosed photographs may be of interest. They were taken three - months ago by my nephew, Prince Henry of Orleans. My keepers had in - the early morning separated this single animal from the herd, but - it escaped from them about Marilopez at noon, and when we met with - him near the Laguna de la Madre, and about a mile from the Coto del - Rey, we had only to give him a last gallop to catch him. These - camels spend great part of the year on ground of which I am either - the owner or the tenant, and I do my best to protect them from the - terrible poachers coming from Trebujena. In order to be able to do - this more effectually, I bought yesterday from the heirs of the - landowners who turned them out some seventy years ago, I think, all - the claims they can have on these animals. - -We have recently been favoured by the present Comte de Paris with the -latest details respecting the camels. In a note dated August 1910, -H.R.H. writes:-- - - For some time their numbers have been decreasing, and we no longer - see great troops of them as we used to do eighteen years ago. The - cause of their diminution is certainly the bitter war waged against - them by poachers. The parts of the marisma frequented by the wild - camels lie between the Coto del Rey on the north, the Coto Doñana - on the west, and the Guadalquivir on the south-east. The long deep - channels of La Madre, however, interfere with their reaching the - Coto Doñana, and they chiefly graze in the marismas of Hinojos and - Almonte. The plan pursued by the poachers is as follows:--Coming - down from some of the little villages, they cross the river in - small flat-bottomed boats in which they can creep along the shores - to points where they have seen either the spoor or the animals - themselves during the day. Then drawing near to the camels, under - cover of the waning light, they are able to kill one or sometimes - two, which they skin and disembowel on the spot. The flesh is cut - up into pieces, sewn up in the skin, and, on returning to the - riverbank, secreted beneath the flat bottom-boards of the boat, - thereby evading detection by Civil Guards and douaniers. The men - then sail down the river and sell the meat at San Lucar as venison. - - When in the marisma in 1892 I met one day a troop of forty - animals--some old males, their huge bodies covered with thick hair - like blankets; there were also females followed by their - young--fantastic of appearance, owing to the disproportionate - length of their legs, but galloping and frisking around their - mothers as they had done since birth. - - Next day my companion and I took lassoes; we encountered a huge old - male, singly, which trotted and galloped round our horses, - terrifying the poor beasts to such an extent that we could not come - near the camel. At length after a fifty-minutes' chase, in crossing - a part where the mud was soft and the surface much broken up by - cattle coming to drink, we overtook him. Thanks to my horse having - less fear than the other, I was presently able to throw a lasso - around the camel, my companion hauling taut the rope to hold the - prisoner fast. The great brute proved very active, defending - himself with his immense flat feet, which he used as clubs, and, - moreover, he bit, and the bite of a camel is venomous. Ultimately I - succeeded in getting a second rope around him and dragging him to - the ground, where he lay like the domestic camel. The photographs - illustrate this episode. - - Old males frequently have the hair very ragged and scant, - especially on hind-quarters, and on their knees are great - callosities. The truly wild camels of the marisma are fast - disappearing. A friend has furnished me with the approximate number - now remaining absolutely wild, viz. fifteen or sixteen near La - Macha fronting the Palace of Tisana, besides five enclosed in the - Cerrado de Matas Gordas, near the Palacio del Rey, and belonging to - Madame La Condesa de Paris. - - It was owing to the rapid decrease in their numbers, and in order - to save them from extinction, that the Condesa had these - enclosures, known as Matas Gordas, prepared. They contain excellent - pasturage, besides some extent of brushwood; yet the enclosed - camels do not flourish, nor have they ever bred. Big as the - enclosures are, yet the area may be too restricted for them; or it - may be the disturbance due to the presence of cattle and herdsmen - (since the cerrados are let for grazing) that explains this - failure; or possibly the camels resent being enclosed at all. At - any rate the spectacle of troops of camels rushing wildly forward - in all directions is passing away all too quickly, and soon nothing - but the legend will remain. - - Truly it is melancholy that the wild camels should be allowed - utterly to disappear, representing, as they do, so extraordinary a - fact in zoological science. - -Our friend Mr. William Garvey tells us that in the summer of 1907, while -returning from Villamanrique, crossing the dry marisma in his -automobile, he saw three camels. He drove towards them, and when at 500 -or 600 yards, they turned and fled, he put on full speed (sixty miles an -hour), and within some ten minutes had all three camels completely -beaten, tongues hanging out, unable to go another yard! - -This will be the first occasion when wild camels have been run down, in -an open desert, by a motor-car! - - _February 9, 1903._--This morning, shortly after daybreak, a big - single bull camel passed my "hide" in the Lucio de las Nuevas - within easy ball-shot. He was splashing through water about two - feet deep overgrown with samphire bushes, and "roared" at - intervals--a curious sort of ventriloquial "gurgle," followed by a - bellow which I could still distinguish when he had passed quite two - miles away. With the binoculars I distinguished at vast distance - five other camels in the direction the single bull was taking. - -Here we insert a note received from the co-author's brother, J. Crawhall -Chapman:-- - - Oh, yes! I remember that camel-day--it's never likely to die out of - my memory, for never did I endure a worse experience nor a harder - in all my sporting life. It promised to be a great duck-shoot on - the famous "Laguna Grande"; but for me, at any rate, it began, - continued, and ended in misery! At 3.30 A.M., on opening my eyes, I - saw Bertie already silently astir--probably seeking quinine or - other febrifuge, for we were "housed" (save the mark) in Clarita's - _choza_, a lethal mud-and reed-thatched hut many a mile out in the - marisma. Nothing whatever lies within sight--nothing bar desolation - of mud and stagnant waters, reeds, samphire, and BIRDS, relieved at - intervals by the occasional and far-away view of a steamer's - funnel, navigating the Guadalquivír Sevillewards. - - Well, we arose, looked at what was intended for breakfast, and - groped for our steeds. I was to ride an old polo-pony named - _Bufalo_, an evil-tempered veteran with a long-spoilt "mouth" that - ever resented the Spanish curb. Cold and empty we rode for two long - hours in the dark, always following the leader since otherwise - inevitable loss must ensue--splosh, splosh, through deep mud and - deeper water, never stopping, always stumbling, slipping, - slithering onwards. I feared it would never end; and, in fact, it - never did--that is, the bog. For when I was finally told "Abajo" - (which I understood to mean "get down"), and to squat in a miry - place so much like the rest of the swamp that it didn't seem to - matter much where it really was--well, it was then only 6 A.M. and - horribly cold and desolate. - - [Illustration: WILD CAMELS OF THE MARISMA. - - PHOTOS BY H.R.H. PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS. - - CAPTURING A WILD CAMEL. - - THE CAPTIVE.] - - An hour later the sun began to rise. I had not fired a shot--nor - had any of us. As a duck-shoot it was a dismal failure. By eight - o'clock the sun was quite hot, so I tried to find a stomach--for - breakfast. Failed again; but drank some sherry, and then lay down - till noon in decomposing and malodorous reed-mush and mud. Never a - duck came near, so shifted my stye to an old dry ridge--apparently - an antediluvian division between two equally noisome swamps. Here I - tried to sleep, but that was no good, for a headache had set - in--possibly the effects of sun and sherry combined! I felt the - sweeping wind of a marsh-harrier who had found me too suddenly and - was half a mile away ere I could get up to shoot. - - At four o'clock I signalled for _Bufalo_ to take me back to our - hut, distant eight miles, the only guide being that morning's - outward tracks. - - It was on this ride that there occurred the incident of the - day--thrilling indeed had it not been for the headache that left me - cheaper than cheap. Having traversed some three miles of mud and - water, suddenly I saw ahead the "camels a-coming!"--eleven of them - in line, the last a calf, and what a splash they made! Knowing how - horses hate the smell and sight of camels, and _Bufalo_ being a - rearing and uncomfortable beast at best, I felt perhaps unduly - nervous. The camels were marching directly across my line of route - and up-wind thereof. If only I could pass that intersecting point - well before them, _Bufalo_, I hoped, might not catch the - unwholesome scent. I tried all I could, but the mud was too sticky. - The camel-corps came on, splashing, snorting, and striding at high - speed. _Bufalo_ saw them quick enough, I can tell you--he stopped - dead, gazed and snorted in terror, spun round pirouetting - half-a-dozen times, reared, and would certainly have bolted but - that he stood well over his fetlocks in mud and nigh up to the - girths in water. I could not induce him to face them anyhow; but - remember, please, that I was handicapped by the mass of - accoutrements and luggage slung around both me and my mount, to - wit:--Several empty bottles and bags, remains of lunch, some 500 - cartridges, three dozen ducks, a Paradox gun, waders, and brogues! - - [Illustration] - - Meantime the camels passed my front within 100 yards and then - "rounded up." Having loaded both barrels with ball, I felt safer, - and pushed _Bufalo_ forwards--to fifty yards. Then the thought - occurred to me, "Do camels charge?" _Bufalo_ reared, twisted, and - splashed about in sheer horror, and then--thank goodness--the - corps, with a parting roar, or rather a chorus of vicious gurgling - grunts, in clear resentment at my presence on the face of the - water at all, turned and bolted out west at full speed. I was left - alone, and much relieved. - - The adult camels were of the most disreputable, not to say - dissolute appearance, great ugly tangled mats of loose hair hanging - from their shoulders, ribs, and flanks, their small ears laid - viciously aback, and with utterly disagreeable countenances. I half - wish now that I had shot that leading bull--he would never have - been missed! I don't suppose that any one has been nearer to these - strange beasts than I was that day; certainly I trust never to see - them so near again--never in this world! - - * * * * * - -While preparing these pages for press we are grieved to hear of the -death of our friend Mr. William Garvey, whose adventure with the camels -is narrated above (p. 279). Mr. Garvey, who was in his eightieth year, -was a _Gentil Hombre de la Camara_ to King Alfonso and had on various -occasions, with his nephew, Mr. Patrick Garvey, entertained the monarch -on his splendid domain. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -AFTER CHAMOIS IN THE ASTURIAS - -PICOS DE EUROPA - - -At the château of Nuévos, hidden away amidst Cantabrian hills, hard by -where the "Picos de Europa" form the most prominent feature of that -100-mile range, we were welcomed by the Conde de la Vega de Sella, whom -we had met the previous year in Norway, and his friend Bernaldo de -Quirós. Our host was a bachelor and the menage curiously mixed; there -was a wild Mexican-Indian servant, but more alarming still, a tame wolf -prowled free about the house--none too tame either, as testified by a -half-healed wound on his master's arm. The bedrooms in the corridor -which we occupied had no doors, merely curtains hanging across the -doorway, and all night long that wolf pattered up and down the passage -outside. My own feelings will not be described--there was an ominous -mien in that wolf's eye and in those immense jaws. - -[Illustration] - -Beyond patches of maize and other minute crops grown in infinitesimal -fields divided by stone walls and surrounded by woods of chestnut and -hazel, the whole landscape surrounding the château was composed of -towering grey mountains. It was from this point that with our kind host -we had projected an expedition to form acquaintance with chamois, and to -see the system of a _montería_ as practised in the Biscayan mountains. -The month was September. - -The first stage--on wheels--brought us to the village of Arénas de -Cabrales, where a gipsy fair or _Romería_ was raging, affording striking -display of local customs and fashion. The girls, handsome though -somewhat stalwart, wearing on their heads bright-coloured kerchiefs -(instead of, as in Andalucia, flowers in the hair), danced strange steps -to the music of a drum and a sort of bagpipe called the _Gaita_. Cider -here replaced wine as a beverage, and wooden sabots are worn instead of -the hempen sandals of the south. - -Maize is the chief crop, and women work hard, doing, except the -ploughing, most of the field labour. - -The hill-country around belonged chiefly to our host, who was received -with a sort of feudal respect. Ancient rights included (this we were -told, but did not see enforced) the privilege of kissing all pretty -daughters of the estate. The region is primitive enough even for the -survival of so agreeable a custom. Such detail in a serious work must -appear frivolous by comparison, yet it reflects the _genius loci_. - -This was the point at which we had to take the hill. - -Our outfit was packed on ponies, and being joined by three of the -chamois-hunters, we set out, following the course of the river Cares. -This gorge of the Cares, along with its sister-valley the Desfiladero de -la Deva, form two of the most magnificent canyons in all the Asturias, -and perhaps have few equals in the wider world outside. The bridle-track -led along rock-shelves on the hanging mountain-side, presently falling -again till we rode close by the torrent of the Cares, here swirling in -foaming rapids with alternations of deep pools of such crystalline water -that trout could be discerned swimming twenty feet below the surface. -The water varied between a diamond-white and an emerald-green, according -as the stream flowed over the white limestone or rocks of darker shade. - -Approaching Bulnes, the track became absolutely appalling, zigzagging to -right and left up an almost perpendicular mountain. Riding was here out -of the question. It was giddy work enough on foot, rounding corners -where the outer rim overhung a sheer drop of hundreds of feet to the -torrent below, and with no protection to save horse or man in the event -of a slip or false step. Not without mental tremors we surmounted it and -reached Bulnes, a dozen stone, windowless houses clustered on an -escarpment. This is facetiously called the "Upper Town," and we -presumed that another group of hovels hidden somewhere beneath our sight -formed Lower Bulnes. - -We entered the best looking of these stone-age abodes, and discovered -that it formed the presbytery of the Cura of Bulnes, a strange mixture -of alpine hut with Gothic hermitage. Slabs of rough stone projecting -from unhewn walls served as tables, while rudely carved oak-chests did -double duty as seats or wardrobes in turn. The Cura's bed occupied one -corner, and from the walls hung gun and rifle, together with -accoutrements of the chase--satchels, belts, and pouches, all made of -chamois-skin. At first sight indeed the whole presbytery reeked rather -of hunting than of holiness--it is scarce too strong to say it smelt of -game. An inner apartment, windowless and lit by the feeble flicker of a -_mariposa_, that recalled the reed-lights of mediaeval history (and to -which, by the way, access was only gained past other cells which -appeared to be the abode of cows and of the cook respectively), was -assigned to us. - -The Padre himself was away on the cliffs above cutting hay, for he -combines agriculture with the care of souls, owns many cows, and makes -the celebrated cheese known as "Cabrales." Presently he joined us in his -stone chamber, and at once showed himself to be, by his frank and -genuine manner, what later experience proved him, a true sportsman and a -most unselfish companion. His Reverence at once set about the details of -organising our hunt, sent his nephew to round-up the mountain lads, some -being sent off at once to spend that night, how, we know not, in crags -of the Peña Vieja, while others were instructed to join us there in the -morning. - -While we dined on smoked chamois and rough red wine he busied himself -arranging weapons, ammunition, and mocassins for a few days' work on the -crags. Our arrival having been prearranged, we were soon on our upward -way, by sinous tracks which lead to the summits of the Picos de Europa, -some altitudes of which are as follows: Peña Vieja, 10,046 feet; Picos -de Hierro, 9610 feet; Pico de San Benigno, 9329 feet. All heavy baggage -was left below; there only remained the tent, rugs, guns, and -cartridges, and these were got up, heaven knows how, to about half the -required height on the backs of two donkeys. For provisions we relied on -the milk and bread of the cheese-makers who live up there, much in the -style of the Norwegian peasants at their _saeters_, or summer sheilings -on the fjeld. Hard by the _cabaña_, or cabin, of these honest folks, our -tent was pitched--altitude, 5800 feet. - -With the first of the daylight, after a drink of milk, we started -upwards, our host, the Cura, Bertie, and ourselves. - -With us were ten goat-herds who had to flank the drive; the others would -already be occupying allotted positions, we knew not where. Three hours' -climbing--the usual struggle, only worse--took us to the first line of -"passes," far above the last signs of vegetation and amidst what little -snow remains here in summer. This "drive" had been reckoned a certainty, -and four animals were reported seen in the mist, but no chamois came in -to the guns, and yet another two-hours' climb had to be faced ere the -second set of posts was reached. - -This bit, however, definitely stopped for the moment my career as a -chamois-hunter, such was the slippery, perpendicular, and utterly -dangerous nature of the rocks. A fortnight before I had climbed the -Plaza de Almanzór in the Sierra de Grédos, but these pinnacles of the -Picos proved beyond my powers. The admission, beyond any words of mine, -bespeaks the character of these Cantabrian peaks. Here on a dizzy ledge -at 8000 feet I remained behind, while the rest of the party, filing up a -rock-stair, were lost to sight within fifteen yards. - -Before me stretched away peak beyond peak in emulating altitudes the -whole vast cordillera of Cantabria--a glory of mountain-forms. - - ...the things which tower, which shine, - Whose smile makes glad, whose frown is terrible. - -In majestic array, pinnacles and crannied summits, flecked and streaked -with glistening snows, enthral and subdue. The giants Peña Vieja, -Urriales, Garnizo, lift their heads above the rest, piercing the blue -ether--fancied spires in some celestial shrine. - -This smiling noontide an all-pervading spirit of peace reigns; the -sublimity of solitude generates reverence and awe, the voice of the -Creator seems audible amidst encompassing silence. - -Far away below, as in another world, lie outspread champaigns; sunlit -stubbles, newly stripped of autumnal crops, form chequers of contrasted -colour that set off with golden background the dark Asturian woods, -while fresh green pastures blend in harmony with the riant foliage of -the vine. - -Presently, following my companion, a goat-herd, who had been left with -me, by slow degrees we reached the spot appointed to await our party's -return. - -[Illustration: THE HOME OF THE CHAMOIS. - -CHAMOIS FROM LIFE ON LA LLOROSA, PEÑA VIEJA. - -EL CORROBLE, PICOS DE EUROPA, ASTURIAS.] - -Hours went by and six o'clock came before, on the skyline above, they -appeared, five of the _monteros_ each bearing a chamois on his shoulder. -Then, in the 2000-feet ravine towards the north, a third drive was -attempted for my special benefit; but the day was far spent, and during -the crucial half-hour snow-clouds skurrying along the crests shut out -all chance of seeing game. The beaters reported enclosing quite forty -chamois, some of which broke downwards through the flankers, the rest -passing a trifle wide of the guns. This beat is termed "El Arbol." - -Long and weary was the descent, and fiendish places we had to pass ere -the welcome camp-fires loomed up through gathering darkness. Those who -wish to shoot chamois should commence the undertaking before they have -passed the half-century. - -The successful drive that was thus missed by No. 1 is hereunder -described by No. 2. We give the narrative in detail, inasmuch as this -day's operation was typical of the system of chamois-shooting as -practised in the Asturian mountains. - -After leaving No. 1 as mentioned, and while proceeding to our next -position, a number of chamois were viewed scattered in three groups on -the hanging screes of a second gorge, a mile beyond that which we had -intended to beat. After consultation held, it was decided to alter the -plan and to send the guns completely round the outer periphery of -encircling heights so as to command the passes immediately above the -game. This involved two hours' climbing and incidentally three detours, -scrambling each time down the precipitous moraine to avoid showing in -sight of the chamois. - -Upon reaching the reverse point, the Conde and I were assigned the most -likely posts; and these being also the highest, a final heart-breaking -climb up a thousand feet of loose rocks succeeded. Chamois, like ibex, -when disturbed instinctively make for the highest ground, hence our -occupation of the topmost passes. Cheered on by the Conde, himself as -hard as steel, the effort was accomplished, and I sank down, breathless, -parched, and exhausted, behind a big rock that was indicated as my -position. The lower passes had meanwhile been occupied by the Padre and -by sundry shepherds armed with primitive-looking guns. - -On recovering some degree of breath and strength, I surveyed my -surroundings. We were both stationed on the topmost arête, in a nick -that broke for 80 or 100 yards the rim of a knife-edged ridge that -separated two stupendous gorges. On my right, while facing the beat, and -not 30 yards away, the nick was terminated by a rock-mass perpendicular -and four-square as a cathedral tower, that uprose some 100 feet sheer. -On the left also rose cliffs though not quite so abrupt. The position -was such that any game attempting to pass the nick must appear within 50 -or 60 yards--so, in our simplicity, we thought. - -[Illustration: A CHAMOIS DRIVE--PICOS DE EUROPA - -Diagram illustrative of text. Our positions on arête marked (1) and (2); -"Cathedral" on right. Valley beyond full of driving mist (passing our -power to depict).] - -Behind us dipped away the long moraine of loose rocks by which we had -ascended; while in front, by stepping but a few paces across the narrow -neck, we could look down into the depths of the gorge whence the quarry -was to approach, as we feebly attempt to show in diagram annexed. - -The panorama from these altitudes was superb beyond words. We were here -far above the stratum of mist which enshrouded our camp and the sierra -for some distance above it. We looked down upon a billowy sea of white -clouds pierced here and there by the summits and ridges of outstanding -crags like islands on a surf-swept coast. - -Of bird-life there was no sign beyond choughs and a soaring eagle that -our guides called aguila pintada (_Aquila bonellii_, immature). There -are wild-boar in the forests far below, with occasional wolves and yet -more occasional bear. - -Hark! the distant cries of beaters break the solemn silence and announce -that operations have begun. Almost instantly thereafter the rattle of -loose stones dislodged by the feet of moving chamois came up from -beneath our eyrie. So near was the sound that expectation waxed tense -and eyes scanned each possible exit. - -Then from the heights on the left, and already above us, sprang into -view a band of five chamois lightly skipping from ledge to ledge with an -agility that cannot be conveyed in words. The Conde and I fired -simultaneously. The beast I had selected pulled himself convulsively -together, sprang in air, and then fell backwards down the abyss whence -he had just emerged. So abrupt was the skyline that no second barrel was -possible; but while we yet gazed into space the rattle of falling stones -right _behind_ attracted attention in that direction, and a chamois was -bounding across that loose moraine (or "canal" as it is here called) by -which we had ascended. He flew those jumbled rocks as though they were a -ballroom floor, offering at best but a snapshot, and the bullet found -the beast already protected by a rock. Hardly, however, had cartridges -been replaced than three more _Rebecos_ followed along precisely the -same track, and this time each gun secured one buck. - -Note that all these last four animals had come in from our _right_, that -is, they had escaladed the "cathedral"; though by what earthly means -they could surmount sheer rock-walls devoid of visible crack or crevice -passes human comprehension. For myself, having regarded the cathedral -as impassable, I had kept no watch on that side. - -For the next half-hour all was quiet. Then we heard again the rattle of -hoofs somewhere down under, and on the sound ceasing, had gently raised -ourselves to peer over into the eerie abyss in front, when a chamois -suddenly poked his head over the rocks within fifteen yards, only to -vanish like a flash. - -From this advanced position, in the far distance we could now -distinguish the beaters, looking like flies as they descended the -opposite circle of crests, and could hear their cries and the -reverberation of the rocks they dislodged to start the game. An extra -burst of clamour denoted game afoot, and a few seconds later another -chamois (having once more mocked the cathedral barrier) darted across -the moraine behind and fell within a score of yards of the previous -pair, though all three were finally recovered several hundred feet -below, having rolled down these precipitous screes. The first chamois I -had shot had fallen even farther--at one point over a sheer drop that -could not be less than 100 feet. His body was smashed into pulp, every -bone broken, but curiously the horns had escaped intact. We were much -struck by the clear emerald-green light in the eyes of newly killed -chamois. - -The beaters being now close at hand, we scrambled down to rejoin the -Padre who had occupied the _puesto_ next below ours. We found that -worthy man very happy as he had succeeded in putting two slugs into a -chamois-buck, to which the _coup de grâce_ had been given by Don Serafin -lower down. - -A curious incident occurred as we made our way to the next beat where -"No. 1" was to rejoin us. Suddenly the rugged stones that surrounded us -were vivified by a herd of bouncing chamois--they had presumably been -disturbed elsewhere and several came our way. A buck fell to a long shot -of our host; while another suddenly sprang into view right under the -Padre's feet. This, he averred, he would certainly have killed had he -been loaded with slugs (_postas_) instead of ball. - -The six chamois brought into camp to-night included four bucks and two -does. We had not ourselves found it possible to distinguish the sexes in -life, though long practice enabled the Conde to do so when within -moderate distance. All six were of a foxy-red colour, and the horns -measured from seven to eight inches over the bend. - -Chamois are certainly very much easier to obtain than ibex. Not only are -they tenfold more abundant, but, owing to their diurnal habits, they are -easily seen while feeding in broad daylight (often in large herds) on -the open hillsides. They never enter caves or crevices of the rocks as -ibex habitually do. - -Chamois might undoubtedly be obtained by stalking, though that art is -not practised in Spain. The excessively rugged nature of the ground is -rather against it; for one's view being often so restricted, there is -danger while stalking chamois, which have been espied from a distance, -of "jumping" others previously unseen though much nearer. Driving, as -above described, is the method usually adopted. Few beaters -comparatively are required; the positions of flankers and stops are -often clearly indicated by the natural configuration of the crests. - -Dogs are occasionally employed. The game, in their terror of canine -pursuers, will push forward into precipices whence there is no exit; and -then, rather than attempt to turn, will spring down to certain death. - -The best foot-gear is the Spanish _alpargata_, or hemp-soled sandal. -They will withstand two or three days' wear on the roughest of rocks and -only cost some eighteenpence a pair. Nailed boots are useless and -dangerous. - -Similar days followed, some more successful, others less, but all -laborious in the last degree. Both limbs and lungs had well-nigh given -out ere the time arrived to strike camp and abandon our eyrie. - -During the descent to Bulnes we noticed a goat which, in feeding along -the crags, had reached a spot whence it could neither retreat nor -escape, and by bleating cries distinctly displayed its fear. Now that -goat was only worth one dollar, yet its owner spent a solid hour, -risking his own life, in crawling along ledges and shelves of a fearful -rock-wall (_pared_) to save the wretched animal. We looked on -speechless, fascinated with horror--at times pulses well-nigh stood -still; even our hunters recognised that this was a rash performance. Yet -that goat was reached, a lasso attached to its neck, and it was drawn -upwards to safety. - -This incident occurred on the Naranjo de Bulnes, a dolomite mountain -which stands out like a perpendicular and four-square tower, in the -central group or _massif_ of the Picos--that known as Urriales. The -actual height of the Naranjo is given as 9424 feet, which is exceeded by -those of either of the other two groups to east and west respectively. -But its abrupt configuration gives the Naranjo by far the most imposing, -indeed appalling appearance, far surpassing all its rivals, while its -lateral walls of sheer rock, some of which reach 1500 to 2000 feet -vertically, long lent this peak the reputation of being absolutely -unscalable. That feat has, however (after countless failures), been -accomplished, in the first instance by Don Pedro Pidal, Marquis de -Villaviciosa de Asturias, who was accompanied in the ascent by Gregorio -Perez, a famous chamois-hunter of Caïn. - -At Arénas de Cabrales we bade farewell to our kind host, despatched -Caraballo with the baggage to Santandér, thence to find his way to Jerez -as best he might, by sea; and ourselves drove off through the hills -forty miles to the railway at Cabezón de la Sal, there to entrain for -Bilbao, Paris, and London. - - * * * * * - -On August 19, 1881, at a royal _montería_ above Aliva and Andara H.M. -Don Alfonso XII. recovered the same evening (lying dead around his post) -no less than twenty-one chamois. Thirteen more, which had fallen into -the abyss beneath, were brought in next morning, and nine others later, -making a total of forty-three chamois actually recovered, besides those -that had lodged in such inaccessible spots that their bodies could not -be reached. - -At another royal shoot held 1st and 2nd September 1905 H.M. King Alfonso -XIII. killed five chamois, the total bag on that occasion being -twenty-three. - - -THE PICOS DE EUROPA DECLARED A ROYAL PRESERVE - -In 1905 the freeholders of those villages in the three provinces of -Santandér, León, and Asturias, which lie encircling the Picos de Europa, -offered to H.M. King Alfonso XIII. the exclusive rights of hunting the -chamois throughout the whole "Central Group." His Majesty was pleased to -accept the offer, and in the following year commissioned the Marquis of -Villaviciosa de Asturias (the intrepid conqueror of the Naranjo) to -appoint guards to preserve the game. - -Five such guards were appointed in 1906, their chief being the -aforementioned Gregorio Perez, representing the region of Caïn, the -other four representing those of Bulnes, Sotres, Espiñama, and Valdeón. - -The chamois in the four regions named can be counted in thousands. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -HOOPOE (_Upupa epops_) - -The crest normally folds flat, backwards (as shown at p. 69), but at -intervals flashes upright like a halo.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX - -HIGHLANDS OF ASTURIAS - -(1) THE TROUT IN SPAIN - - -The Asturian Highlands--a maze of mist-wreathed mountains forested with -birch and pine, the home of brown bear and capercaillie, and on whose -towering peaks roam herds of chamois by hundreds--form a region distinct -from the rest of Spain. - -Rushing rivers and mountain-torrents coursing down each rent in those -rock-ramparts attracted our earliest angling ambitions. Some of those -efforts--with rod and gun--are recorded in _Wild Spain_, and we purpose -attempting no more--whether with pen or fly-rod. For the Spanish trout -is given no sort of sporting chance, and lovely streams--a very epitome -of trouting-water--that might make the world a pleasanter planet (and -enrich their owners too) are abandoned to the assassin with dynamite and -quicklime, or to villainous nets, cruives, and other engines of -wholesale destruction with which we have no concern. - -Never since the date of _Wild Spain_ have we cast line on Spanish -waters, nor ever again will we attempt it. Spain which, from her French -frontier in the Pyrenees right across to that of Portugal on the west, -might rival any European country in this respect stands well-nigh at the -foot of the list. Not in the most harassed streams of Norway, nor in her -hardest-"ottered" lakes, have the trout so damnable a fate dealt out to -them as in northern Spain, and for twenty years we have abandoned it as -an angling potentiality--or, to put it mildly, there are countries -infinitely more attractive to the wandering fisherman. - -The case of the Spanish trout as it stands to-day is summed up in the -following letter, dated April 1910, from our friend Capt. F. J. -Mitchell:-- - - I have tried a great many of the best rivers in northern Spain, - and have come to the conclusion that for angling purposes they - have been hopelessly ruined--by dynamite, cloruro, lime, coca, and - various other things. There may be deep pools here and there where - fish have escaped, but they are very few. If your book is not - finished you can put this in, as it is accurate, and may save many - a disappointment to the free fisherman. - -Farther south, in León and northern Estremadura, are also rivers of -first-rate character. The Alagón, for example, with its tributaries, is -well adapted for trout--dashing streams with alternate stretches of pool -and rapid. These still hold trout in their head-waters among the -mountains; but lower down the speckled beauties are well-nigh -extirpated. - -In this region one frequently observes, not without surprise, evidence -of the introduction and acclimatisation of exotic products by old-time -Moors--often in most outlandish nooks, wherever their keen eyes had -spotted some fertile patch: probably, ere this, that energetic race -would have preserved and cultivated the trout! The success of such -enterprise in New Zealand and South Africa (it is even promising to -succeed under the Equator in B.E. Africa), and indeed in Spain itself -(at Algeciras), attests how easily these Iberian waters might be endowed -with a new interest and a new value. - -Such, however, is existent apathy that, although the local natives (N. -Estremadura) were aware of the presence of fish in their rivers, and -told us that some ran to 10 or 12 lbs. in weight (these were barbel), -yet they knew no distinctive names for the various species. All fish, -big or little, were merely _pesces--Muy buenas pesces_. None could -describe them, whether as to appearance or habit, nor did they know -whether some species were migratory or otherwise. - -The only angling we have seen practised in this province was at -Trujillo, where in some lakes adjoining that old-world city _Tencas_ (we -presume tench) up to 5 or 6 lbs. are taken with bait. - - -(2) SALMON - -To such an extent used these to abound in Asturian streams that -maid-servants stipulated on entering domestic service that they should -not be given salmon more than twice a week. At the present day the -pollution of rivers by coal-mining and other impurities has in some -cases banished the salmon entirely, in others greatly reduced their -numbers. There yet remain, nevertheless, rivers in Asturias (such as the -Deva and Cares) where salmon abound, and where numbers are still -caught--chiefly by net, though rod-fishing is gradually extending its -popularity, "owing to the glorious emotions it excites." - -A local method deserves a word of description. In the crystal-clear -waters of N. Spain salmon are regularly captured by expert divers. Its -exact position having been marked, the diver, swimming warily up from -behind, slips a running noose over the salmon's head. The noose draws -tight as the fish begins to run; an attached line is then hauled upon by -a second fisherman on the bank. - -The Marquis de Villaviciosa de Asturias writes us:-- - - It is a common practice with the fishermen to dive and capture - salmon in their arms (_á brazo_). My grandfather, the Marquis de - Camposagrado, caught twelve thus in a single morning in the river - Nalon in Asturias. - - -(3) BEAR-HUNTING IN ASTURIAS - -To the same nobleman (one of the first sportsmen of Spain) we are -indebted for the following note:-- - - As regards the chase of the bear in Asturias, where I have killed - four, I may say that it commences in September, at which period the - bears are in the habit of descending nightly from the higher - mountain-forests to the lower ground in order to raid the - maize-fields in the valleys. Expert trackers, sent out at daybreak, - spoor the bear right up to whichever covert he may have entered, - and from which no further tracks emerge beyond. - - The locality at which the animal has laid up being thus - ascertained, a _montería_ (mountain-drive) is organised--the - beaters being provided with crackers, empty tins, hunting-horns, - and every sort of ear-splitting engine--even the services of the - bagpiper[52] are requisitioned! - - Three or four guns are usually required, and are posted along the - line where the bear is most likely to break--such as where the - forest runs out to a point; or where it is narrowed by some - projecting spur of precipitous rocks; or a deep valley where the - covert is flanked by a mountain-torrent that restricts and defines - the probable line of escape. - - The bear (which is in the habit of attacking and destroying much - cattle) comes crashing through the brushwood, breaking down all - obstacles, and giving ample notice by the noise of his advance. If - wounded he will attack the aggressor; but otherwise bears only - become dangerous when they have young or are hurt in some way. The - picturesque nature of these mountain-forests lends a further - fascination to the chase of the bear in Asturias. From twenty to - thirty bears are killed here every year. - -The following quaint paragraphs we extract from Spanish newspapers:-- - - FIGHT WITH A BEAR.--In the mountains of the Province of Lerida - (Catalonia) a bear last week attacked and overpowered a muleteer, - intending to devour him. A shepherd who happened to be in the - neighbourhood, though at some little distance, witnessed the - occurrence. Hastening with his utmost speed to the spot, he threw - himself between the bear and its victim; and after a prolonged and - strenuous combat (_lucha larga y esforzada_), the shepherd - succeeded with his lance (_garrocha_) in killing the savage beast - (_fiera_). - - In his gratitude, the muleteer desired to present the shepherd with - the best horse of his cavalcade, but this the latter - declined.--_November 24, 1907._ - - INCURSION OF A BEAR.--In the outskirts of the village of Parámo in - the Province of Oviedo (Asturias) there has within the last few - days made its presence felt an immense bear which continued to - execute terrible destruction among the cattle belonging to the - villagers. Fortunately the parish-priest, who is an expert shot, - succeeded in killing the depredator. It weighed 140 kilograms (= - 300 lbs.).--_April 25, 1908._ [Two others are recorded to weigh 400 - and 440 lbs.] - - CHASE OF A SHE-BEAR--SANTANDÉR, _February 1909_. From Molledo an - assemblage of the local peasantry, mustered for the purpose, and - bearing every kind of weapon, sallied forth, to give battle to a - bear which for some weeks had been working havoc among their flocks - and herds. After traversing the mountains in all directions without - result, they were already returning, dead-beat and disappointed, - towards their village, when they suddenly descried the bear - standing in the entrance to a cave. On observing the presence of - hunters, the animal disappeared within. A shepherd named Melchor - Martinez at once followed, penetrating the interior of the cavern - which extends far into the mountain-side. Presently on indistinctly - perceiving (_divisando_) the beast, Melchor gave it a shot--flying - out himself with hair all standing on end (_encrespados_) at the - roaring of the wild beast (_fiera_). Melchor, nevertheless, at once - entered the den again and fired a second shot--jumping out - immediately thereafter. After a short interval, the roars of the - _fiera_ within having ceased, the hunters in a body entered the - cavern and found an enormous she-bear lying dead, together with - four young, alive, which they carried away. - -(Bravo, Melchor Martinez!) - - -(4) GAME-BIRDS OF CANTABRIA - -Alike in its game-denizens with other physical features, Cantabria is -differentiated from the rest of Spain, approximating rather to a -north-European similitude. Thus the capercaillie is spread along the -whole Biscayan range though nowhere numerous, and in appearance less so -than in fact, owing to the density of these mountain-forests. - -During our long but fruitless rambles after bear we raised but four; -that, however, was in spring when these birds are apt to lie close. - -In the Pyrenees (where the capercaillie is known as _Gallo de Bosque_) a -certain number are shot every winter along with roebuck and pig in -mountain-drives (_monterías_); but in the Asturias the pursuit of the -_Gallo de Monte_ is effected (as in Austria and northern Europe) during -its courting-season in May. The system is well known. The opportunity -occurs at dusk and dawn, the stalker advancing while the lovelorn male -sings a frenzied epithalamium, halting instantly when the bird becomes -silent. - -Ptarmigan are found in the Pyrenees, but seem to extend no farther west -than the Province of Navarre, which area also coincides roughly with the -southern distribution of the hazel-grouse (_Tetrao bonasia_) though we -had some suspicion (not since confirmed) that the latter may extend into -Asturias. - -Our common grey partridge, unknown in S. Spain, occurs all along the -Cantabrian highlands up to, but not beyond, the Cordillera de León. Here -it descends to the foothills in winter, but is never found on the -plains. - -A bird peculiar to this region, though not game, deserves remark, the -great black woodpecker, a subarctic species which we have observed in -the Picos de Europa. - - -ANGLING IN RIVER AND SEA[53] - -Nearly all the Spanish rivers when they leave the sierras and dawdle -through the plains degenerate into sluggish mud-charged streams; but -most of them are well stocked with barbel, which may be caught by -methods similar to those in vogue on the Thames, _i.e._ by float-fishing -or ledgering with fine but strong tackle, as the first rush of a barbel -is worthy of a trout. These fish average about one pound in weight, but -in favourable spots, such as mill-tails, run up to 10 lbs. and upwards. - -The Spanish barbel has developed one trait in advance of its English -cousins, for it will rise to a fly, or at least to a grasshopper. Owing -to the abundance of these insects and of crickets along the river-banks -in summer, the barbel have acquired a taste for such delicacies, and a -hot June afternoon in Andalucia may be worse spent than in "dapping" -beneath the trees that fringe the banks of Guadalete and similar rivers. - -The _Boga_, a little fish of the roach or dace family, seldom exceeding -a quarter pound, will afford amusement in all the smaller trout-streams -of Spain and Portugal when trout are recusant. The _boga_ is lured with -a worm-tail (on finest gut and smallest hook) from each little run or -cascade, whence five or six dozens may be extracted in an afternoon. - -The Grey Mullet (Spanish, _Lisa_) is a good sporting fish ranging from -half a pound up to four pounds weight, and caught readily in tidal -rivers as it comes up from sea on the flood. Native anglers are often -very successful, using long roach-poles and gear similar to that of the -roach-fisher at home. The bait is either lugworm or paste, and on -favouring days as many as two dozen mullet are landed during the run of -the flood-tide. - -The Shad (Spanish, _Sabalo_), though not only the handsomest but also -the best-eating of all tidal-river fish, is of no concern to the angler, -since it refuses to look at lure of any kind. - -The Tunny (Spanish, _Atun_) frequents the south-Spanish coasts and comes -in millions to the mouths of the big rivers (especially the -Guadalquivír) to spawn. The usual method of capture is by a huge fixed -net called the _almadrava_, extending three miles out to sea, and placed -at such an angle to the coast-line that the fish, on striking it, follow -along to the inshore end, where they enter a _corral_ or enclosed space -about an acre in extent. Here the fishing-boats lie waiting, and when as -many as 500 huge tunnies (they average 300 lbs. apiece) are enclosed at -once, a scene of wild excitement and bloodshed ensues, the great fish -darting and splashing around their prison, sending spray flying -mast-high, while the fishermen yell and gaff and harpoon by turns. - -The most successful _almadrava_ is situate at Rota, some seven miles -south of the mouth of Guadalquivír, the average catch for the season -(May 1 till August 1) being about 20,000 tunnies. A canning factory -stands on the shore hard by, where the fish are boiled, potted, and -shipped to Italy, whence (the tins being labelled "Italian Tunny") they -are exported to all parts of the world! The flesh resembles veal, and is -much appreciated in South America. - - -ROD-FISHING FOR TUNNY - -At this period, when the tunny go to spawn (exclusively larger fish), -they travel, as the Spaniards say, with their mouths shut, and nothing -will induce them to look at a bait. There occurs, however, in winter -(November to February) another "run" of smaller fish averaging 50 to 150 -lbs. apiece, and these are amenable to temptation. Tarifa, in the -Straits of Gibraltar, is a favourable point from which to attempt this -sport. The system is to cruise about in a falucho, or sailing-boat, -carrying a plentiful supply of sardines, mackerel, and other small fish -to serve as bait. These, on arrival at likely waters, are thrown -overboard one by one till at length they attract a roving tunny. The -operation is repeated till the quarry is enticed close up to the vessel. -A similar fish, impaled on a two-inch hook, is then offered him, -dangling on the surface, and will probably be seized. The tunny on -finding himself held, makes off in a bee-line at a mile a minute. -Needless to say, the strongest tackle must be used, together with some -hundreds of yards of line, and the fight will be severe and prolonged, -for the tunny is one of the swiftest and most active of fish, and he -weighs as much as an average man. Few amateurs have hitherto attempted -this sport; but as large numbers of tunny are caught thus by -professional fishermen with extremely coarse hand-lines, there seems to -be no reason why "big-game fishing" in Spain, if scientifically pursued, -might not rival that of California. - -The Bonito is another fine game-fish which may be caught at sunrise at -nearly any point on the Andalucian sea-board by trolling with a white -fly. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX - -THE SIERRA NEVÁDA - - -The Sierra Neváda with its striking skylines, crisp and clean-cut -against an azure background, is yearly surveyed by thousands of tourists -in southern Spain. The majority content themselves with the distant view -from the battlements of Alhambra or from the summer-palace of -Generalife. Few penetrate the alpine solitude or scale peaks that look -so near yet cost some toil to gain. - -We are not ashamed to admit that these glorious sierras have in -themselves possessed for us attractions that transcend in interest the -accumulated art-treasures, the store of historic and legendary lore that -illumine the shattered relics of Moslem rule--of an Empire City where -during seven centuries the power and faith of the Crescent dominated -south-western Europe and the focal point of mediaeval culture and -chivalry. None, nevertheless, can long sojourn in Granada wholly -uninfluenced by its stirring past, by the pathetic story of the fall of -Moorish dominion, and the words graven on countless stones till they -seem to represent the very spirit of this land, the words of the -founder, King Alhama: LA GALIB ILLA ALLAH = Only God is Victor. - -Abler pens have portrayed these things, and we will only pause to touch -on one dramatic episode--since its scene lies on our course to the "high -tops"--when Boabdil, last of the Caliphs, paused in his flight across -the _vega_ to cast back a final glance at the scene of his former -greatness and lost empire. "You do well," snarled Axia, his mother, "to -weep over your kingdom like a woman since you could not defend it like a -man." That the maternal reproach was undeserved was proved by Boabdil's -heroic death in battle, thirty years later, near Fez.[54] - -From this spot--still poetically called El Ultimo Suspiro del Moro--the -Sierra Neváda stretches away some forty miles to the eastward with an -average depth of ten miles, and includes within that area the four -loftiest altitudes in all this mountain-spangled Peninsula of Spain. The -chief points in the Pyrenees, nevertheless, run them fairly close, as -shown in the following table:-- - - -GREATEST ALTITUDES IN FEET - - _Sierra Neváda._ - - Mulahacen 11,781 - Picacho de la Veleta 11,597 - Alcazába 11,356 - Cerro de los Machos 11,205 - Col de la Veleta 10,826 - - _Pyrenees._ - - Pico de Nethou 11,168 - Monte de Posets 11,046 - Monte Perdido 10,994 - -By way of comparison it may be added that the next greatest elevations -in Spain are:-- - - Picos de Europa (described in Chap. XXVIII.) 10,046 feet - Sierra de Grédos (already described) 8,700 " - -Curiously all the loftiest elevations occur outside the great central -table-lands of Spain, the highest point of which latter is the -last-quoted Sierra de Grédos. - -Adjoining the Sierra Neváda on the south, and practically filling the -entire space between it and the Mediterranean, lie the Alpuxarras, -covering some fourteen miles by ten. The Alpuxarras are of no great -elevation (4000 to 5000 feet), and are separated from their giant -neighbours by the Valle de Lecrin, the entrance to which bears the -poetic name of El Ultimo Suspiro del Moro, as just described. - -Here is a Spanish appreciation of Neváda:-- - - Compare this with northern mountains--Alps or Pyrenees: the tone, - the colours, the ambient air differentiate this southern range. - Snow, it is true, surmounts all alike, but here the very sky - flashes radiant (_rutilante_) in its azure intensity contrasted - with the cold blue of glacier-ice. Here, in lower latitude, the - rocks appear rather scorched by a torrid sun than lashed by winter - rain and hibernal furies. The valleys present a semi-tropical - aspect, resulting from the industry of old-time Moors, who, ever - faithful to the precepts of the Koran, introduced every such - species of exotic fruit or herb as was calculated to flourish and - enrich the land.[55] - -The main chain of the Sierra Neváda constitutes one of the strongholds -of the Spanish ibex; and, curiously, the ibex is the solitary example of -big game that these mountains can boast. Differing in geological -formation from other mountain-systems of southern Spain, the Sierra -Neváda shelters neither deer of any kind--red, fallow, or roe--nor -wild-boar. The ibex, on the other hand, must be counted as no mean -asset, and though totally unprotected, they yet hold their own--a fair -average stock survives along the line of the Veleta, Alcazába, and -Mulahacen. This survival is due to the vast area and rugged regions over -which (in relatively small numbers) the wild-goats are scattered; but -even more so to the antiquated muzzle-loading smooth-bores hitherto -employed against them. That moment when cheap, repeating cordite rifles -shall have fallen into the hands of the mountain-peasantry will sound -the death-knell of the ibex. - -[Illustration: LAMMERGEYER (_Gypallus barbatus_) - -A glorious denizen of Sierra Neváda.] - -While writing the above we hear (from two sources) that the "Mauser" has -at last got into the hands of at least one local goat-herd, who last -summer killed four out of a band of five ibex--all sexes and sizes. -There is no mistaking the import of this. It signifies that the end is -in view unless prompt measures are taken to save the ibex of Neváda from -extirpation. - -So long as local hunters were restricted to their old ball-guns, the -contest was fairly equal and the game could hold its own. But neither -ibex nor any other wild beast on earth can withstand _FREE_ shooting -(unlicensed and unlimited) with 1000-yard "repeaters." Personally the -writer regards the use of repeating-rifles on game as sheer barbarism. -These are military weapons, and should be excluded from every field of -sport. - -A precisely analogous case is afforded by Norway and her reindeer. The -Mauser first appeared there in 1894. Three years later we pointed out, -both to the Norwegian Government and also in _Wild Norway_, that unless -steps were taken to regulate and limit the resultant massacre, the wild -reindeer would be extinct within five years. Our warnings passed -unheeded; but the prediction erred only on the side of moderation. For -only four years later (in 1901) the Norsk Government was forced to -_prohibit absolutely_ all shooting for a period of seven years, and to -impose, on the expiry of that time, both licence-duties and limits, -alike on native as well as on foreign sportsmen. - -Free shooting, unregulated and unlimited, means with modern weapons -instant extermination--a matter of a few years. Then, after some -creature has perished off the face of the earth, we read a gush of -maudlin regret and vain disgust. It is too late; why do not these good -folk bestir themselves while there is time to safeguard creatures that -yet survive, though menaced with deadly danger? Warnings such as ours -pass unnoticed, and platonic tears are bottled-up for posthumous -exhibition. - - * * * * * - -In winter the ibex are driven downwards by the snow. They first descend -southwards to the Trevenque--one of those abruptly peaked mountains that -"stretch out" even skilled climbers to conquer. A long knife-edged ridge -is Trevenque, culminating in a sheer pyramidal aiguille, its flanks -scarred by ravines with complication of scarp and counter-scarp, -upstanding crags and steep shale-shoots that defy definition by pen or -pencil. - -A main winter resort is supplied by the Alpuxarras, and, beyond the -dividing Valle de Lecrin, ibex are distributed along the whole series of -mountain-ranges that lie along the Mediterranean as far as the Sierras -Bermeja and Ronda. - -Among those subsidiary ranges, the following may here be specified as -ibex-frequented, to wit: the Sierras de Nerja and Lujar near Motril, -Sierra Tejáda lying south of the Vega de Granada (especially the part -called Cásulas, which, with most of the range, is private property and -preserved), Sierras de Competa and Alhama, and, nearer the sea, the -Sierra Frigiliana belonging to the late Duke of Fernan Nunez, who -secured trophies thereon exceeding thirty inches in length. - -Westward, in the Province of Malaga, lie the Sierra de Ojen, Sierra -Blanca, and Palmitera (a great area of these being now preserved by Mr. -Pablo Larios), and last the Sierra Bermeja, described in _Wild Spain_. -Several of these ranges are of bare rock, while others are covered to -their summits with gorse and other brushwood. - - * * * * * - -The most enjoyable season for ibex-shooting (and on preserved ground the -most favourable) is during August and September, when the snow has -practically disappeared, except the permanent glaciers and stray patches -in some northern ravines. Camp-life is then delightful and exhilarating -and, given sound lungs and limbs, the game may be fairly stalked and -shot. The photo shows a typical trophy--a grand ibex ram shot years ago -on the Alcazába, horns 28-1/4 inches--another specimen measuring 29 -inches is figured in _Wild Spain_. Our own experiences with ibex, -however, are now rather remote and might appear out-of-date. We -therefore content ourselves with the following extract from our work -quoted. - -On a bitterly cold March morning we found ourselves, as day slowly -broke, traversing the outspurs of the sierra--on the scene of the great -earthquake of 1884, evidences of which were plentiful enough among the -scattered hill-villages. Already many mule-teams, heavily laden with -merchandise from the coast town of Motril, were wending their laborious -way inland. It is worth noting that in front of five or six laden mules -it is customary to harness a single donkey. This animal does little -work; but always passes approaching teams on the proper side, and, -moreover, picks out the best parts of the road. This enables the driver -to go to sleep, and the plan, we were told, is a good one. - -At Lanjarón (2284 feet) we breakfasted at the ancient _fonda_ of San -Rafael, where the bright and beautifully polished brass and copper -cooking utensils hanging on the walls were a sight to make a careful -housewife envious. We watched our breakfast cooked over the -charcoal-fire, and learned a good deal thereby. We were delayed here a -whole day by snow-storms. There is stabling under the _fonda_ for 500 -pack-animals, for Lanjarón in its "season" is an important place, -frequented by invalids from far and near. Its mineral springs are -reputed efficacious; but the drainage arrangements are villainous in the -extreme, and altogether it seemed a village to be avoided. Sad traces of -the cholera were everywhere visible, many doors and lintels bearing the -ominous sign: it was curious that in so few cases had it been erased. - -We left before daybreak, and a few leagues farther on the ascent became -very steep and abrupt, the hill-crests whither we were bound within view -but wreathed in mist. Only one traveller did we meet in the long climb -from Orjiva to Capileira, and he bringing two mule-loads of dead and -dying sheep, worried by wolves just outside Capileira the night before. -Expecting that the wolves would certainly return, we prepared to wait up -that night for them; but were dissuaded, the argument being "that is -exactly what they will expect! No, those wolves will probably not come -back this winter." But return they did, both that night and several -following. The night before we left Capileira on the return journey (a -fortnight later) they came in greater numbers than ever and killed over -twenty sheep. - -Capileira is the highest hamlet in the sierra and is celebrated for its -hams, which are cured in the snow. Here we put up for the night, -sleeping as best we could amidst fowls and fleas, after an amusing -evening spent around the fire, when one pot cooked for forty people -besides ourselves. The cold was intense, streams of fine snow whirling -in at pleasure through the crazy shutters, so we were glad to go to -bed--indeed I was chased thither by a hungry sow on the prowl, seeking -something to eat, apparently in my portmanteau. - -[Illustration: THE PEAKS OF SIERRA NEVADA. - -ALCAZÁBA. MULAHACEN. -] - -[Illustration: NEST OF GRIFFON.] - -Heavy snow-falls that night and all next day prevented our advance; but -at an early hour on the following morning we were under way--six of -us--on mules, though I would have preferred to walk, the snow being so -deep one could not see where the edges of the precipices were. No sooner -had I mounted than the mule fell down while crossing a hill-torrent, and -I was glad to find the water no deeper. - -After climbing steadily upward all the morning, the last two hours on -foot, the snow knee-deep, we at length sighted the cairn on the height -to which we were bound. Before nightfall we had reached the point, but -few of the mules accomplished the last few hundred yards. After bravely -trying again and again, the poor beasts sank exhausted in the snow, and -we had to carry up the impedimenta ourselves in repeated journeys. The -deep snow, the tremendous ascent, and impossibility of seeing a foothold -made this porterage most laborious, but we had all safely stowed in our -cave before sundown. - -The overhanging rock, which for the next ten or twelve days was to serve -as our abode, we found a mass of icicles. These we proceeded to clear -away, and then by a good fire to melt our ice-enamelled ceiling, -fancying that the constant drip on our noses all night might be -unpleasant. The altitude of our ledge above sea-level was about 8500 -feet, and our plateau of rest--our home, so to speak--measured just -seven yards by two. - -Early next morning we proceeded to erect snow-screens at favourable -"passes," wherein to await the wild-goats as they moved up or down the -mountain-side at dawn and dusk respectively, their favourite food being -the rye-grass which the peasants from the villages below contrive to -grow in tiny patches--two or three square yards scattered here and there -amidst the crags. It is only by rare industry that even so paltry a crop -can be snatched at such altitudes, and during the short period when the -snow is absent from the southern aspects. At present it enveloped -everything--not a blade of vegetation nor a mouthful for a wild-goat -could be seen. - -Although during the day the snow was generally soft--the sun being very -hot--yet after dark we found the way dangerous, traversing a sloping, -slippery ice-surface like a huge glacier, where a slip or false step -would send one down half a mile with nothing to clutch at, or to save -oneself. Such a slide meant death, for it could only terminate in a -precipice or in one of those horrible holes with a raging torrent to -receive one in its dark abyss, and convey the fragments beneath the -snow--where to appear next? Each step had to be cut with a hatchet, or -hollowed--the butt of a rifle is not intended for such work, but has had -to perform it. - -Every day we saw ibex on the snow-fields and towering rocks above our -cave. They were now of a light fawn-colour, very shaggy in appearance, -some males carrying magnificent horns. One old ram seemed to be always -on the watch, kneeling down on the very verge of a crag 500 or 600 yards -above us, and which commanded a view for miles--though _miles_ read but -paltry words! From where that goat was he could survey half a dozen -provinces. - -These ibex proved quite inaccessible, and nearly a week had passed away -ere a wild-goat gave us a chance. One night shortly after quitting my -post, little better than a human icicle, and not without fear of -scrambling caveward in absolute darkness along the ice-slope, a little -herd of goats passed--mere shadows--within easy shot of where, five -minutes before, I had been lying in wait. On another morning at dawn the -tracks of a big male showed that he, too, must have passed at some hour -of the night within five-and-twenty yards of the snow-screen. - -But it was not till a week had elapsed that we had the ibex really in -our power. Just as day broke a herd of eight--two males and six -females--stood not forty yards from our cave-dwelling. The fact was -ascertained by one Estéban, a Spanish sportsman whom we had taken with -us. Silently he stole back to the cave, and without a word, or -disturbing the dreams of his still sleeping employers, picked up an -"Express" and went forth. Then the loud double report at our very -doors--that is, had there been a door--aroused us, only to find ... the -spoor of that enormous ram, the spot where he had halted, listening, -above the cave, and the splash of the lead on the rock beyond--_eighteen -inches_ too low! an impossible miss for one used to the "Express." Oh, -Estéban, Estéban! what were our feelings towards you on that fateful -morn! - -Life in a mountain-cave high above snow-level--six men huddled together, -two English and four Spaniards--has its weird and picturesque, but it -has also its harder side. Yet those days and nights, passed amidst -majestic scenes and strange wild beasts, have left nothing but pleasant -memories, nor have their hardships deterred us from repeating the -experiment. These initial campaigns were too early in the season (March -and April). - -The only birds seen were choughs and ravens; ring-ouzels lower down. -There were plenty of trout, though small, in the hill-burns. On one -occasion a circular rainbow across a deep gorge perfectly reflected in -the centre our own figures on passing a given point. The ice-going -abilities of the mountaineers were marvellous--incredible save to an -eye-witness. Across even a north-drift, hard and "slape" as steel and -hundreds of yards in extent, these men would steer a sliding, slithering -course at top speed, directed towards some single projecting rock. To -miss that refuge might mean death; but they did not miss it, ever, in -their perilous course, making good a certain amount of forward movement. -At that rock they would settle in their minds the next point to be -reached, quietly smoking a cigarette meanwhile. How such performances -diminish one's self-esteem! How weak are our efforts! Even on the softer -southern drifts, what balancing, what scrambling and crawling on hands -and knees are necessary, and what a "cropper" one would have come but -for the friendly arm of Enrique, who, as he arrests one's perilous -slide, merely mutters, "Ave Maria purissima!" - - * * * * * - -Now we have left the ice and snow and the ibex to wander in peace over -their lonely domains. To-night we have dined at a _table_; there is a -cheery fire in the rude _posada_ and merry voices, contrasting with the -silence of our cave, where no one spoke above a whisper, and where no -fire was permissible save once a day to heat the _olla_. Now all we need -is a song from the Murillo-faced little girl who is fanning the charcoal -embers. "Sing us a couplet, Dolóres, to welcome us back from the snows -of Alpuxarras!" - -_Dolóres._ "With the greatest pleasure, _Caballero_, if José will play -the guitar. No one plays like José, but he is tired, having travelled -all day with his mules from Lanjarón." - -_José._ "No, señor, not tired, but I have no soul to-night to play. This -morning they asked me to bring medicine from the town for Carmen, but -when I reached the house she was dead. I find myself very sad." - -_Dolóres._ "Pero, si ya tiene su palma y su corona?" ... = but as she -already has her palm and her crown? - -_José._ "That is true! Bring the guitar and I will see if it will quit -me of this _tristeza_!" - -Next morning the snow prevented our leaving; and the day after, while -riding away, we met some of the villagers carrying poor Carmen to the -burial-ground on the mountain-side. The body, plainly robed in white, -was borne on an open bier, the hands crossed and head supported on -pillows, thus allowing the long unfettered hair to hang down loose -below. It was an impressive and a picturesque scene, and as I rode on, -the rejoinder of Dolóres came to my mind, "Ya tiene su palma y su -corona." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI - -IN THE SIERRA NEVÁDA (_Continued_) - -ITS BIRD-LIFE IN SPRING-TIME - - -The long snow-lines of the sierra had vanished behind whirling -cloud-masses, black and menacing. The green avenues of the Alhambra -seemed gloomier than ever under a heavy downpour, while troops of -rain-soaked tourists belied the glories of an Andalucian springtide. - -[Illustration: "UNEMPLOYED" - -Bee-eaters on a wet morning.] - -Serins sang in the elms, and wrynecks noisily courted, as we set forth -with a donkey-team for the sierra. On former occasions we had explored -northwards up the Darro towards Jaën, another year up the Genil, this -spring we had selected the valley of the Monachil. Hardly had we entered -the mountains than thunder crackled overhead, and then a rain-burst -drove us to shelter in a cave. Next day broke ominous enough, but we -rode on up the wild gorge of the Monachil, and after seven hours' -hill-climbing reached the alpine farm of San Gerónimo, to the guarda of -which we had a recommendation. The house nestles beneath the serrated -ridge of the Dornájo, 6970 feet. - -With some dismay we found assembled at this outlandish spot quite a -small crowd of men, women, and children who, with dogs, pigs, hens, and -an occasional donkey, all appeared to inhabit a single smoke-filled -room. We were bidden to take seats amidst this company, and watched the -attempt to boil an enormous pan of potatoes over a green brushwood -fire, while domestic animals (including cattle) passed freely through to -the byres beyond. These being on higher ground had created in front a -sort of quagmire, which was crossed by a plank-bridge. Rain was falling -smartly, and the writer's spirits, be it confessed, sank to zero at the -prospect of a week or two in such quarters. Worse situations, however, -have had to be faced, and usually yield to resolute treatment. Thus when -a separate room--albeit but a dirty potato store--had been assigned to -us, trestle-beds and a table set up, the quality of comfort advanced in -quite disproportionate degree. - -Now the Sierra Neváda with its league-long lines of unbroken snow, -accentuated by the mystery of the towering Veleta, massive Mulahacen, -and the rest, presents an alpine panorama that is absolutely unrivalled -in all the Peninsula. But immediately below those transcendent -altitudes, in its middle regions the Sierra Neváda is lacking in many of -those attributes that charm our eyes--naturalists' eyes. Over vast areas -and on broad shoulders of the hills the winter-snows linger so long that -plant-life, where not actually extinct, is scant and starved; while -these dreary inchoate stretches are strewn broadcast with a debris of -shale and schist that resembles nothing so much as one of nature's giant -rubbish tips. True, there exists a sporadic brushwood, exiguous, -dwarfed, and intermittent; there are scattered trees, ilex and pinaster -(_Pinus pinaster_), up to about 7000 feet. But all seems barren by -comparison. One's eye hungers for the deep jungles of Moréna, for the -dark-green _pinsapos_ of San Cristobal, or the stately granite walls of -Grédos. Here all is on a big scale, the biggest in Spain; but size alone -does not itself constitute beauty, and the adornments of beauty are -lacking. We write of course not as mountaineers, but as naturalists. - -It boots not to tell of days when rain fell in sheets and an icy -_neblina_ swept the hills, shrouding their summits from view. A single -ornithological remembrance shall be recorded--the abundance of certain -northern-breeding species on the middle heights, especially common -wheatears and skylarks. After watching these carefully, we were -convinced by their actions (their song, courting, and fluttering flight) -that both intended to nest here at 7000 feet, and dissection confirmed -that view. Time alone prevented our settling the point; but a month -later (say early in June) an ornithologist could easily verify the fact. - -May the 1st broke bright and clear, not a cloud in the azure firmament. -The songs of hoopoes, serins, and a cuckoo resounded hard by, and from -our paneless window we watched three glorious rock-thrushes "displaying" -before their sober mates--as sketched at p. 18. Within sight among the -tumbled boulders were also a pair of blue thrushes, with a woodlark or -two, several black-starts, and rock-buntings. - -[Illustration: WOODLARK (_Alauda arborea_) - -Nests in Neváda up to 5000 feet, and in the pine-forests of Doñana at -sea-level.] - -We bathed in an ice-cold burn with temperature little above freezing--at -dawn, indeed, the backwaters were ice-bound. Then, mounted on a donkey, -the writer alternately scrambled up the stony steeps or dragged the -sure-footed beastie behind. The gentler slopes were fairly clad with -yellow daffodil or narcissus, now just coming into bloom, and above 7000 -feet we entered a zone of dwarf-arbutus and ilex-scrub. The warm -sunshine brought out numerous butterflies--it seemed strange to see -these frail creatures fluttering across open snows! Most of those -recognised were tortoise-shells, rather paler than our own. - -Alas, before noon the icy mists once more swept up. In a crevice among -some rocks where we sought shelter at 8000 feet the skeleton of a -wheatear attested the cruel conditions of bird-life--death by -starvation. Here we separated, the writer going for a snow-scramble, -following the dwindling Monachil to its source, where the nascent river -trickles in triple streamlets down black rock-walls mantled by impending -snow-fields. Here snow lay in scattered patches dotted with the -resurgent unkillable "pincushion" gorse (_Buphaurum spinosum_) and a -spiny broom that later develops a purple blossom, and separated by -intervals where the melting mantle had left Mother Earth viscous and -inchoate, heart-broken at the indignity of eight months in the arctic. -Higher up the snow became continuous, but seamed by innumerable rills, -each laughing and dancing as in delight at a new-found existence, or -converging to join streams in buoyant exuberance. Some leapt forward -through fringing margins of emerald moss; others ploughed sullen ways -beneath an overhung snow-brae. But no chirp or sound of bird-life broke -the silence, the only living creatures were ants and a bronze-green -beetle! (_Pterostichus rutilans_, Dej.)--not a sign of those alpine -forms we had specially come to seek. - -[Illustration] - -From 8500 feet the snow stretched upwards unbroken (save where some -sheer escarpment protruded), covering in purest white the vast shoulder -of the Veleta. The Picácho itself was to-day hidden amidst swirling -clouds, and only once did we enjoy a momentary glimpse of its great -scarped outline. Yet in three short weeks, say by May 20, all these -leagues of solid snow will have vanished. - -Facing this gorge of the Monachil, the opposite slope is crowned by the -conspicuous turreted crags known as the Peñones de San Francisco, 8460 -feet. To these L. had climbed, and though we both failed in finding the -chief of our special objects (the snow-finch) yet L. had enjoyed a -glimpse of another alpine species, new to us, and we decided to revisit -the spot on the morrow. - -That morning again broke fine, the precursor of a glorious day. Hardly -had we left our quarters than a lammergeyer soared overhead, then, -gently closing his giant wings, plunged into a cavern above. Five -minutes later he reappeared and, after several aerial evolutions, -suddenly checked and, with indrawn pinions, swept downwards to earth. -Ere we could surmount an intervening ridge, the great dragon-like -_Gypaëtus_ swept into view, his golden breast gleaming in the early -sunlight, and bearing in his talons a long bone with which he sailed -across the valley towards Trevenque; we watched to see the result, but, -so far as prism-glasses could reach, that bone was never dropped. -Probably he had some special spot habitually used for bone-breaking. -Later a griffon-vulture (a species rarely seen in Neváda) passed -overhead, and then a second lammergeyer sailed up the gorge of Monachil. - -[Illustration: SOARING VULTURE] - -'Tis a long up-grade grind to the Peñones, but repaid by magnificent -views of the Picácho de la Veleta--its scarped outline gloriously offset -against the deepest azure and its 1000-foot sheer drop vanishing to -unseen depths in the mysterious "corral" beneath--an inspiring scene. - -Beyond to the eastward towered the mountain-mass, -Mulahacen--perpetuating the name of that Moslem chief whose remains, so -tradition records, yet lie in some unknown glacial niche in this the -loftiest spot of all the Spains. There they were laid to rest by the -fond hands of Zoraya, at the dying request of her husband the -penultimate Moorish king, Muley-Hacen. - -Our upward course led through beds of dwarf-juniper, thick strong stems -all flattened down horizontally by the weight of winters' snows, -precisely as one sees them on the high fjelds of Norway. Here, both -to-day and yesterday, we observed ring-ouzels, doubtless nesting amid -the dense covert. - -We soon picked up our friends of yesterday--small hedge-sparrow-like -birds with blue-grey throat, striated back, and red patches on either -flank, the alpine accentor. At first they were fairly tame, allowing us -to watch and sketch them perched on lowly shrub or rock, warbling a -sweet little carol (louder, but otherwise resembling that of our -hedge-sparrow), or darting to pick up a straying ant. After a while that -confidence, though wholly unabused, vanished; they became wild and -cautious, refusing to allow us a single specimen! These birds were -evidently paired, but showed no signs of nesting. Alas, that a drawing -by Commander Lynes depicting the scene with the Picácho de la Veleta in -the background refuses to "reproduce"! - -These were the only accentors we saw, nor did we see to-day or any other -day a single snow-finch. - - * * * * * - -_An Alpine Farm._--The lands of San Gerónimo (where we were quartered) -extend up the Monachil to either watershed--a length of 4-1/2 leagues, -while the breadth cannot average less than two. The acreage we leave to -be calculated by those who care for such detail. At this date (early -May) certainly one-half lay under snow, which still encumbered the -higher patches of cultivation--to-day we saw men unearthing last -autumn's crop of potatoes well above the snow-line. At lower levels some -corn already stood six inches high, but many "fields" were necessarily, -as yet, unploughed. Fields, by the way, were separated not, as at home, -by hedges, but sometimes by a sheer drop of 500 or 1000 feet, elsewhere -by perpendicular rock-faces or by shale-shoots. But the laborious -cultivation missed not one level patch--nor unlevel either, since we saw -ox-teams ploughing where one wondered if even a cat could maintain a -footing. - -This is the highest farm in Neváda, possibly in all Spain. The house -stands at 6000 feet and the lands extend to the Veleta, 11,597 feet. It -provides grazing for goats and sheep, as well as a small herd of cattle, -and thus affords permanent employment to several herdsmen. But at -seed-time and harvest it employs as many as twenty or thirty men who, -with their dependents, live in rude esparto-thatched huts scattered over -the whole fifteen miles, and it was the numbers of these (assembled for -pay-day) that had caused us some consternation on our first arrival! -The value of the farm, we were told, is put at £8000 Spanish, -representing some £400 as yearly rental. - -Two years before, wolves had become such a pest to the flocks that -strychnine was universally resorted to, with the result that to-day not -a wolf is to be seen in the whole sierra. Foxes also perished, and the -guarda, Manuel Gallegos, told us that he had thus obtained several -wild-cats (_Gatos montéses_) whose skins fetched 20 pesetas apiece as -ladies' furs. The following day we chanced on a dead marten-cat, -evidently killed by poison; and on showing it to Manuel with the remark -that that was _not_ a _gato montés_, he replied: "No, señor, that is a -_garduño; pero lo mismo da_" = "it's all the same!" Accuracy in -definition is not a strong point with Manuel, nor indeed is it with any -of our Spanish friends. - -Martens are the commoner animal in Neváda; there may, nevertheless, be a -few true wild-cats, and there certainly are some lynxes. The four-footed -fauna of Neváda is sadly limited. There are neither deer of any -kind--red, roe, or fallow--nor wild-boar. Bare rocks afford no covert -for these: there is, of course, one compensating equivalent in the ibex. -Small game is equally conspicuous by its absence. Local _cazadores_ -(each of whom, of course, possesses a decoy-bird--_reclamo_) enlarge on -the abundance of partridge and hares, yet we saw hardly any game whether -here on the Monachil, on the Genil, Darro, or at any of the points -whereon we have explored the Sierra Neváda. There must, however, be a -sprinkling to maintain the golden eagles and peregrines, both of which -birds-of-prey we observed. - -[Illustration: GOLDEN EAGLE HUNTING] - -There were small trout in the Monachil; but in Genil and Dilar (which -latter springs from the alpine Laguna de las Yeguas just under the -Picácho de la Veleta) trout ran up to a quarter-pound or thereby: the -method of capture is dynamite. - -Ibex at this season (May) frequent the southern slopes of the main -chain--looking down upon the Alpuxarras--a favourite resort being the -wild rocks of Alcazába, east of Mulahacen; but in summer they are -distributed along the whole of the "high tops" and are still maintaining -their numbers as usual. - -We had cherished the hope of meeting with ptarmigan and other alpine -forms in these high sierras, especially during our earlier expeditions -after ibex. We are satisfied that ptarmigan at least do not exist, -having seen no trace of them at any point; but we never saw the -snow-finch either, and it is reported to exist in numbers. - -Oh! the wearying monotony of that long down-grade ride--the infinity of -vast subrounded mountains, all alike, all ugly, all sprinkled rather -than clad with low gorse and spiky broom, like millions of pincushions -with all points outwards. Then the shale--the very earth seemed -disintegrated. Red shale and blue, cinder-grey and lemon-yellow; some -schistose and sparkling, the bulk dull and dead. Here and there, amid -oceans of friable detritus, stand out great rocks of more durable -substance--solitary pinnacles, towers and turrets of fantastic form. Six -hours of this ere we reach the _Vega_ of Granada. - - -ORNITHOLOGY - -For ornithologists the following notes on birds observed and not already -mentioned may here be inserted:-- - -[Illustration: ROCK-THRUSH] - - _Blue_ and _Rock-thrushes_.--Neither abundant, but the former most - so in the rock-gorges of lower Monachil, nesting in "pot-holes" and - horizontal crevices of the crags. The rock-thrush is more alpine - and confined (here as elsewhere) exclusively to the higher sierra. - - _Missel-thrushes_ among ilex-trees at 7000 feet, apparently - nesting: a few _woodchats_ observed at same points. - - _Blackstart._--Plentiful, though less so than on San Cristobal in - Sierra de Jerez (5000 feet). A nest in the crag over-hanging our - bathing-place in the burn at San Gerónimo contained five eggs on - April 28. We found others on Monachil, and _grey wagtails_ were - also breeding at both places. - - _Bonelli's Warbler._--Arrived, and preparing to nest, end of April: - a few _white-throats_ and _rufous warblers_ early in May. Robins - and wrens nesting, and _nightingales_ abundant in lower - river-valley. - - _Eared_ and _Black-throated Wheatear_.--Ubiquitous but not - abundant. In both these forms (as well as in the Common Wheatear) - the males displayed a dual stage of plumage; some being completely - adult, while others retained an immature state somewhat resembling - their first dress (May). - - _Stonechat._--Four eggs, April 29. - - _Blackchat_ and _Crag-martin_.--Both conspicuous by their absence. - - [This applies to the higher sierra--both were observed in the lower - Monachil--say 4000 feet.] - - _Ortolans_ (apparently just arriving during early days of May), - with _cirl_ and _rock-buntings_, were frequent up to the limits of - scrub-growth, say 7500 feet. - - _Rock-sparrow._--Breeding in crags on lower slopes. - - _Woodlark._--Lower hills: young on wing, end April. - - _Short-toed Lark._--Lower hills: about to nest here. - - _Crested Lark._--Lower hills: common. - - _Tawny Pipit._--Plentiful, scattered in pairs over the arid hills: - males singing tree-pipit fashion, soaring downwards with tail - spread overhead. - - _Great_, _Blue_, and _Cole-tits_.--Common, the latter only among - the open woods of pine (_Pinus pinaster_). - - _Raven_ and _Chough_.--A few. - - _Hoopoe_, _Kestrel_, and _Little Owl_.--A few. - - _Partridge_ (redleg).--Scarce: a pair and a single bird observed at - 8000 feet among snow-patches and junipers. - - _Chaffinches_ and _Serins_.--First broods on wing, end April; nests - for second broods building early in May. - - _Linnets._--Common up to scrub-limit. - - _Dippers._--Observed on Genil, Darro, Monachil, and all the rivers - visited. - - _Pied Flycatcher._--A male observed on migration, April 30. - - In the stupendous rock-gorges which enclose the lower course and - outlet of Monachil (3500-5000 feet) are situate the breeding-places - of the few griffon-vultures which inhabit this sierra. With them - nest some Neophrons, and there is a "Choughery" at 4000 feet, while - crag-martins and blackchats (not observed elsewhere), with many - blue thrushes, find a congenial home among these giant crags. - -While lunching, our goat-herd guide was pointing out rock-crannies where -wolves, from lack of brushwood, used to lie up by day, and complaining -that he could not keep poultry by reason of the marten-cats. Suddenly he -broke out in shrill and altered tones: "Tell me, Caballero," he -exclaimed, "tell me _why_ you come here from lands afar to suffer -discomfort and hardship and to undergo all these labours--why do you do -this?" We endeavoured to explain. "You see, Gregorio, that God created -all manner of animals different one from another. So also He created -mankind in many different races--all brothers, yet differing as brothers -do. You Spanish belong to the Latin race. You have many fine qualities, -some of which we lack. But you rather concern yourselves with material -things and disregard platonic study. We of British race are imbued with -desire to learn all that can be traced of Nature and her ways. Some -examine the earth itself, its formations and transformations; others the -birds or the beasts. There are those who devote their lives to studying -the beetles and ants, even the mosquitoes. Now in Spain you find none -who are interested in such matters." - -Gregorio sat silent and seemed impressed; but Caraballo interjected: -"Why waste time? These people are not concerned (_entrometidos_) in such -matters." True; but Gregorio had appeared interested and intelligent? -"Si! but when folk spent lonely lives among the mountains and never see -but a petty hill-village once or twice a year, then intelligence goes to -sleep (_se pone dormido_)." Certainly five minutes later they were both -hammering away again at the customary small-talk of the by-ways. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - -SPANISH SPARROW (_Passer hispaniolensis_ [_sic_], Temm.) - -A bird of the wild woods, never seen in towns; builds in foundations of -kites' and eagles' nests. Note that Temminck's Latin seems a bit -"rocky." The specific name might be _hispanicus_, or perhaps -_hispaniensis_, but _hispaniolensis_ never. That adjective must date -from a newer era and from a world then unknown.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII - -VALENCIA - -TWO NOTABLE WILDFOWL RESORTS - - -(1) THE ALBUFERA - -For centuries this marine lagoon--the largest sheet of water in -Spain--has, along with the forests and wastes that formerly adjoined it, -been a stronghold of wild animal-life. As early as the thirteenth -century King James I., after wresting the Kingdom of Valencia from the -Moors, and dividing its castles and estates among his nobles and -generals, selected, with shrewd appreciation, the Albufera for his -personal share of the spoils of war. For not only did the great lake -with its wild appanages form a truly regal hunting-domain, but the broad -lands intervening between the Grao of Valencia, Cullera, and the -lake-shores possessed a fabled fertility. - -For six centuries the lands and waters of Albufera belonged to the -Spanish Crown. Though by edict in A.D. 1250 James I. granted free public -rights of fishing (reserving, however, one-fifth of the catch for royal -use), yet both he and succeeding monarchs ever continued to extend and -improve the amenities of the Crown Patrimony. - -In State-papers of James I.'s time, where reference is made to the game, -there are expressly specified: "Deer, wild-boar, ibex, francolins, -partridges, hares, rabbits, otters, and wildfowl, besides the wealth of -fish" in the lake itself. Again, more than four centuries later, an -edict of October 31, 1671, expressly specified among resident game, -"deer, boar, ibex, and francolin." Now the francolin, although to-day -extinct in Spain, is known to have existed on the Mediterranean till -quite within modern times, and the other animals named might well have -abounded in the wild forests of those days. But the specific mention of -ibex (_twice_, with an interval of 400 years) appeared inexplicable; for -it was inconceivable that a wild-goat should ever have occupied the -low-lying _dehesas_ of Albufera. The discovery of the actual existence -of ibex in the sierras of Valencia, however (as recorded above, p. 142), -explains the paradox and also throws light on the breadth of mediæval -ideas in hunting-boundaries; since the Sierra Martés lies some forty -miles inland of Albufera. - -Lying about seven miles south-east of Valencia, the lake has a -water-area some fourteen miles long by six or seven wide, its -circumference being over nine leagues. On the south, it is shut off from -the Mediterranean by a strip of pine-clad dunes--the deep green foliage -broken in pleasing contrast by intervals of bare sand, forming splashes -of gold amidst dark verdure. On all other sides the limits of the lake -are marked by yellow reeds which fringe its shores. - -Its waters, dotted with the white sails of _faluchos_, present the -appearance of a small sea, a resemblance which is accentuated in stormy -weather by the height of the waves. - -The lake connects by canals with various adjacent villages; while two -canals (Perillo and Perillonet) communicate with the sea, though their -mouths are blocked by locks. These locks are closed each year from -November 1 till January 1--thereby retaining the whole of the -river-waters from inland, in order to raise the interior water-level and -so flood the surrounding rice-fields. - -This artificial inundation--by disseminating alluvial matter brought -down by autumnal rains over the adjacent lands--has greatly extended the -area of rice-cultivation, and, of course, equally reduced the original -water-surface. The result has been, nevertheless, immensely to augment -the enormous numbers of wildfowl which had always made the Albufera -their winter home; for no food is so attractive to ducks as rice, while, -despite its reduction, the water-area is yet ample. - -During the direct tenure of the Crown, all taking of fish or fowl was -carried on subject to the regulations of successive kings and their -administrators. Ancient methods of fowling, however quaint, do not -concern us as natural historians; but two methods described in -multitudinous records throw light on altered conditions and sharpened -instincts. The first was to "push" the fowl by a line of boats towards -sportsmen in concealed posts among reeds, the ducks either swimming -complacently forward or breaking back over the encircling flotilla, -when, in each case, large numbers were killed with crossbows. To -celebrate the nuptials of Phillip III., no less than 300 boats were thus -employed. The second plan involved persuading hosts of quietly paddling -ducks to swim forward into reed-beds through which winding channels had -been cut, and over which nets were spread. - -Needless to add, neither method would nowadays serve to outwit -twentieth-century wildfowl. - -By the beginning of last century (about 1830), owing to the destruction -of forests and reclamation of land for grazing or rice-cultivation, the -bigger game had already disappeared; but the flights of winter wildfowl -actually increased in proportion to the extended area of rice. - -The Albufera continued to be the property of the Crown of Spain from -1250 till May 12, 1865, when the Cortes decreed, and Queen Isabella II. -confirmed, its transference to the State. - -At the present day the shooting on Albufera is conducted on purely -commercial and up-to-date principles. The whole area is mapped out into -sections like a chessboard, and each considerable gun-post (or -_replaza_, as it is called) is sold by auction. - -These specially selected _replazas_ number thirty, and are sold for the -entire season, the prices varying from £150 for No. 1 down to about £6 -for No. 30. - -These thirty "reserved stalls" having been disposed of in public -competition, the remaining mid-water positions (for which the charge is -a dollar or two per day) are then apportioned by drawing lots. Finally, -licences are issued at a few pesetas to shoot from the foreshores or -from small launches stationed among the reeds at specified spots, but -which the licensee must not quit during the shooting. - -The sum that finally filtered through to the State during forty years -varied between 7500 and 23,000 pesetas (say £300 to £900), a record -price being obtained in 1868, namely, 40,000 pesetas. The municipality -of Valencia is seeking to obtain the cession of the Albufera from the -State. - -The gun-posts used are either flat-bottomed boats which can be thrust -into a sheltering reed-bed; or, should no cover be available, sunken -tubs masked by reeds or rice-stalks. The posts are fixed nominally at a -rifle-shot (_tiro de bala_) apart--say 200 yards. - -Regular fixed shoots take place every Saturday throughout the season, -with, however, certain small exceptions, aimed partly at securing to the -fowl a period of rest and quiet on their first arrival, and partly due -to the festivals of St. Martin and St. Catherine being public days and -free to all. - -The species of ducks obtained on Albufera do not differ from those at -Daimiel. On these deeper waters pochards and the various diving-ducks -are more conspicuous than on the shallower rice-swamps of the -Calderería. - - -(2) THE CALDEREÍA - -In contrast with the Albufera (and with Daimiel) the Calderería is not a -natural lagoon, but simply the artificial inundation of rice-grounds -(_arrozales_), such inundation being necessary for the cultivation of -that grain. - -The rice-grounds of the Calderería belong to the three adjacent communes -of Sueca, Cullera, and Sollana--held in a joint peasant-proprietorship. -The flooding of the _arrozales_ was commenced in 1850, the original -object being the cultivation of rice, combined with the taking of -wildfowl in nets (_paranses_). It was, however, early seen that the -enormous quantities of wild-ducks attracted to the spot were of almost -equal value with the grain-crop, and the fame of the Calderería -attracted troops of sportsmen from all parts of Spain. This influx, for -some years, the local authorities endeavoured to check, with a view to -securing the sport for local residents--who, by the way, wanted to enjoy -this good thing at the price of a dollar a year! In 1880 it was decided -to put up to auction the different shooting-posts, or _replazas_, -without any restriction. - -The whole of the _arrozales_ are accordingly divided into defined -sections called _replazas_, each perhaps 500 or 600 yards square, -forming roughly, as it were, a gigantic chessboard, though the various -_replazas_ are quite irregular in shape and size. These are sold by -public auction at a fixed date. The best positions realise as much as, -say, £80 to £100. A large rental is thus obtained yearly, some villages -receiving as much as 6000 dollars. - -Since the whole shooting area is their common property, every peasant -and villager is personally interested in the value and success of the -shooting, and each thus becomes virtually a game-keeper. Hence trespass -is impossible. During autumn and up to the first shoot never a human -form intrudes upon the deserted rice-grounds; and the enormous -assemblages of wildfowl which at that season congregate thereon enjoy -uninterrupted peace and security up to mid-November. More favourable -conditions it is impossible to conceive--on the Albufera, for example, -the fowl are liable to constant disturbance by passing boats, etc. - -The first shoot of the year takes place about the date just named, -November 15, and is repeated every eighth day thereafter up to the -middle of January, when the rice-grounds are run dry. - -Upon the completion of the auction sales there is announced a definite -day and hour at which (and at which _only_) the lessor is permitted to -enter the rice-grounds, in order to prepare his shelter. Should he omit -or neglect this opportunity, he is not afterwards allowed to touch it -until the actual morning of the shooting. - -Since there grows on rice-grounds no natural cover whatever, it is -essential to prepare some form of screen or shelter, and the reeds or -sedges required for the purpose must be brought from elsewhere. - -Across each _replaza_, or conceded space, is erected a double line of -screens, two yards apart and carefully masked by a fringe of reeds or -rice-stalks. In the intervening "lane" are fixed two or more sunken tubs -wherein the shooters can sit concealed. - -Hardly has midnight struck on that eventful morn than the world is -amove. Highways and byways, on land and water, are crowded by mobilising -forces; across the dark waters move forth whole squadrons of boats, -punts and launches, each one steering a course towards some far-away -_replaza_. Absolute silence reigns. No lights are allowed and no sound -shocks the mystery of night save the creaking of punt-pole or lapping of -wave--no human sound, that is, for "the night is filled with music"; the -pall overhead, the unseen wastes on every side are vocal with wildfowl -cries. Continuously the still air is rent and cleft by the rush of -myriad pinions. From right and left, before and behind, pass hurrying -hosts, their violent flight resonant as the wash of an angry sea. But -never a shot is fired. That is against the rules. - -Shortly before sunrise the note of a bugle announces to hundreds of -impatient ears the signal "Open fire," and in that instant the fusillade -from far and near rages like a battle. For a solid hour, nay, for two -and sometimes three, fire continues incessant. First to become silent -are the distant guns along the shores; the minor _replazas_ slacken down -next, and by noon all save two or three of the best posts are reduced to -a desultory and dropping fire. - -Then a second signal indicates that the "pick-up" may begin--up to that -moment not a gunner is permitted to leave his place. This gathering of -the game, stopping cripples, etc., induces a short renewal of the -fusillade; but soon all is silent once more, and at three o'clock a -third signal rings out, and at once every sportsman must quit the -shooting-ground. - -Besides the lessees of the auction-sold _puestos_ (many of whom come -from Madrid and distant parts of Spain), there foregather on these -occasions all the local gunners; and far away beyond those sacred areas -secured by purchase there form up league-long lines of fowlers by the -distant shore; so that, between the private and privileged _puestos_ and -the free public lines outside, there may assemble in all some 3000 -gunners. Hence these _tiradas_ partake of the character of a popular -festival. Yet in spite of such numbers there is not the slightest -confusion or danger, so perfect are the rules and so scrupulously are -they observed. - -With so many guns scattered over wide areas no precise record of the -exact numbers secured are possible; but, according to the estimates of -those best calculated to judge, as many as 22,000 to 23,000 head (ducks -and coots) are obtained in a single morning. - -The records of individual guns in the best _replazas_ run from 100 to -200 ducks gathered, and occasionally exceed those figures. - -At the first shoot of the year fully 25 per cent of the spoil are coots; -but at the later shoots ducks are obtained in greater proportion, as -coots then quit the rice-grounds. These later shoots do not produce -quite such stupendous totals; but still immense numbers are bagged--ten -or twelve thousand in a morning. - -As the majority of purchasers come from a distance and usually only -remain for one, or perhaps two, of the fixed shooting days, such prices -as £80 to £100 represent a fairly stiff rent. - -Few mallards are obtained at the first shoot, but their numbers increase -as the winter advances. The chief species are pintail, wigeon, teal, -and shoveller, together with a few shelducks and many common and -red-crested pochards. Flamingoes and spoon-bills frequent the shallows -in small numbers. - -As individual instances; from a _replaza_ that cost 900 pesetas (say -£40), and which was the _ninth_ in point of price that year, one gun -fired 700 cartridges in a single morning. - -The best _replaza_--at least the most expensive (it cost 1500 -pesetas)--was tenanted last winter by friends from whose experiences, -not too encouraging, we gather: At the first shoot (November 13) the -post was occupied by a single gun, who, after firing 400 shots, was -compelled to desist owing to injury to his shoulder. "I believe," he -writes, "I might have fired 1500 cartridges had I continued all day, but -was obliged to leave early. The boatmen had then gathered ninety--sixty -ducks, thirty coot--and expected to recover more." - -On November 28 the post was occupied by three guns: "No day for duck, a -blazing sun so hot that the reflection from the water blistered our -faces. The ducks mounted up high in air and mostly cleared early in the -proceedings, though some were attracted by our 100 decoys. We killed -ninety-six, mostly wigeon and pochard, a few mallard and teal, besides -twenty snipe. The desideratum is a really rough day, but that at -Valencia is past praying for." - -The _arrozales_ are run dry (and of course the shooting stopped) by the -middle of January. The water, in fact, is only kept up so long solely -for the sake of the shooting. So soon as its level has fallen a couple -of inches the fowl all leave directly. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII - -ON SMALL-GAME SHOOTING IN SPAIN - - -Hardly will one enter a village _posada_ or a peasant's lonely cot -without observing one inevitable sign. Among the simple adornments of -the whitewashed wall and as an integral item thereof hangs a caged -redleg. And from the rafters above will be slung an antediluvian -fowling-piece, probably a converted "flinter," bearing upon its rusty -single barrel some such inscription--inset in gold characters--as, -"Antequera, 1843." These two articles, along with a cork-stoppered -powder-horn and battered leathern shot-belt, constitute the -stock-in-trade and most cherished treasures of our rustic friend, the -Spanish cazador. Possibly he also possesses a _pachón_, or heavily built -native pointer; but the dog is chiefly used to find ground-game or -quail, since the redleg, ever alert and swift of foot, defies all -pottering pursuit. Hence the _reclamo_, or call-bird, is almost -universally preferred for that purpose. - -Red-legged partridges abound throughout the length and breadth of wilder -Spain--not, as at home, on the open corn-lands, but amidst the -interminable scrub and brushwood of the hills and dales, on the moory -wastes, and palmetto-clad prairie. On the latter hares, quail, and -lesser bustard vary the game. - -Thither have ever resorted sportsmen of every degree--the lord of the -land and the peasant, the farmer, the Padre Cura of the parish, or the -local medico--all free to shoot, and each carrying the traitor _reclamo_ -in its narrow cage. The central idea is, of course, that the _reclamo_, -by its siren song, shall call up to the gun any partridge within -hearing, when its owner, concealed in the bush hard by, has every -opportunity of potting the unconscious game as it runs towards the -decoy--two at a shot preferred, or more if possible. 'Twere unjust to -reproach the peasant-gunner for the deed; flying shots with his old -"flinter" would merely mean wasted ammunition and an empty -pot--misfortunes both in his _res angustae domi_. We have ourselves, on -African veld, where dinner depends on the gun, meted out similar measure -to strings of cackling guinea-fowl without compunction; but in Spain we -have never tried the _reclamo_, nor wish to. - -That the race of redlegs should have survived it all--year in and year -out--bespeaks a wondrous fecundity, and has inspired new-born ideas of -"preservation," which have been initiated in Spain with marked success. -To this subject we refer later. - -Though we have ourselves (maybe from "insular prejudice") systematically -refused to see the _reclamo_ work his treacherous rôle, yet many Spanish -sportsmen are enthusiastic over the system, which they describe as _una -faena muy interesante_, and are as proud of their call-birds as we of -our setters. The _reclamos_ may be of either sex. The cock-partridges -become past-masters of the art of calling up their wild rivals from -afar; and by a softer note the wild hen is also lured to her doom--for -the dual influences of love and war are both called into play. The male -hears the defiant challenge of battle and, all aflame, hurries by -alternative flights and runs to seek the unseen challenger. As distance -lessens the fire of each taunt increases, and, blind with passion, the -luckless champion dashes on to that fatal opening where he is aligned by -barrels peeping from the thicket. The female, with more tender purpose, -also draws near--the seductive love-note entices; but, oh! the wooing -o't--a few pellets of lead end that idyll. It is then--when either rival -or lover, it matters not which, lies low in death alongside his -cage--that the well-constituted _reclamo_ shows his fibre. So overcome -with savage joy, the narrow cage will scarce contain him as he bursts -into exultant pæons of victory. On the other hand, sullen disappointment -is exhibited by the decoy when his exploit has only resulted in a missed -shot. - -In the spring the female call-note is more effective than that of the -male. - -Well-trained _reclamos_ may be worth anything from £2 up to £10. -Recently a yearly licence of ten shillings per bird has been levied. -This has either reduced their numbers, or perhaps caused them to be kept -more secretly. Formerly a _cicada_ in a tiny cage and a _reclamo_ in its -conical prison were contiguous objects in almost every doorway. - -Ground-game is the special favourite of the Spanish cazador. He will -search hundreds of acres for a problematical hare, and a long day's hunt -with his trusty _pachón_ is amply rewarded by a couple or two of -diminutive rabbits about half the weight of ours, but whose speed verily -stands in inverse ratio. For the life of the Spanish rabbit is passed in -the midst of alarms; supremely conscious of soaring eagles and hawks -overhead, he never willingly shows in the open by daylight, or if forced -to it, then terror lends wings to his feet. The death of a hare, -however, represents to the cazador the climax of terrestrial triumph. In -those ecstatic moments the animal (average weight 4-1/2 lbs.) is held -aloft by the hind-legs, a subject for admiration and self-gratulation; -mentally it is weighed again and again to a chorus of soliloquising -ejaculations, "Grande como un chivo" = as big as a kid! - -The quail, though extremely abundant at its passage-seasons (when in -September the Levante, or S.E. wind, blows for days together, blocking -their transit to Africa, Andalucia is crammed with accumulated quails), -yet represents but a small morsel in a culinary sense, and is swift of -wing to boot. Neither of these attributes commend its pursuit to our -friend with the rusty single-barrel; and similar reasons bear, with -increased force, on the case of snipe. These game-birds are left -severely alone--that is, with the gun. - - Bags of twenty brace of quail (and in former years of forty or - fifty brace) may then be made where, on the wind changing next day, - never a quail will be found. - - In spring, again, great numbers pass northward, but many remain to - nest on the fertile _vegas_ of Guadalquivir and on the plains of - Castile. At that season quail are chiefly taken by nets; but on - systems so cunning and elaborate that we regret having no space for - descriptive detail. Put briefly, in Andalucia the fowler spreads a - gossamer-woven fabric loosely over the growing corn; then, lying - alongside, by means of a _pito_ (an instrument that exactly - reproduces the dactylic call-note of the quarry) induces every - combative male within earshot either to run beneath or to alight - precisely upon the outspread snare. So perfect is the imitation - that quail will even run over the fowler's prostrate form in their - search for the adversary. In Valencia living call-birds (hung in - cages on poles) are substituted for the _pito_, and the net is more - of a fixture--small patches of the previous autumn's crop being - left uncut expressly to attract quail to definite points. - - The Andalucian quail frequents palmetto-scrub and is very - local--rarely can more than two or three couple be killed in a day, - and that only in September. Some appear then to retire to Africa, - along with the turtle-doves--the latter a bird that surely deserves - passing note, since few are smarter on wing or afford quicker - snap-shooting while passing by millions through this country every - autumn. - -The conditions above indicated prevail over a vast proportion of rural -Spain, which thus presents small attraction to wandering gunner, however -humble his ideals. - -There are other regions where the landowners, though in no sense -"preserving," yet prohibit free entry on their properties owing to -damage done--such as disturbing stock, stampeding cattle on to -cultivation in a land where no fences exist, and so on. Naturally such -ground carries more game, and subject to permission being received, fair -and sometimes excellent sport is attainable. Thus, on one such property -the tangled woods of wild olive abound with woodcock, though -difficulties are presented by the impenetrable character of the -briar-bound thickets. Were "rides" cut and clearings enlarged quite -large bags of woodcock might be secured. The rough scrubby hills -adjoining carry a fair stock of partridge, and we have often killed -forty or fifty snipe in the marshy valleys that intervene. The following -will serve as an example of three consecutive days' shooting on such -unpreserved ground (two guns--S. D. and B. F. B.):-- - - +--------------------------------------------------------------+ - | | Nov. 13. | Nov. 14. | Nov. 15. | Total. | - +-------------------+----------+----------+----------+---------+ - | Snipe | 101 | 32 | 155 | 288 | - | Ducks and Teal | 2 | 9 | 3 | 14 | - | Wild-Geese | 3 | ... | ... | 3 | - | Sundries | ... | ... | 4 | 4 | - | +----------+----------+----------+---------+ - | | 105 | 41 | 162 | 309 | - +--------------------------------------------------------------+ - -Three days in February on similar ground, but in an unfavourable season, -yielded 79 snipe, 5 woodcock, 19 golden plovers, 3 lesser bustard, a -hare, and a few sundries. - -LEBRIJA, _December_ 1897.--TWO GUNS, C. D. W. AND B. F. B. (HALF-DAY) -117 snipe (mostly driven) - -LEBRIJA, _November_ 16, 1904.--SAME TWO GUNS -112 snipe, 2 mallard, 1 curlew - -CASAS VIEJAS, _November_ 19, 1906.--THREE GUNS (S. D., C. D. W., AND B. F. B.) -123 snipe, 1 mallard, 5 teal - - -PARTRIDGE-SHOOTING - -Passing from the use of the _reclamo_, of which we have no personal -experience, we turn to the system practised in the Coto Doñana. Here we -always have the marisma bordering, as an inland sea, our northern -frontage. Upon that fact the system known as "_averando_" is based. - -A line of six or eight guns, with sufficient beaters between, and -mounted keepers on either flank (the whole extending over, say, -half-a-mile of front), is formed up at a distance of a mile or two -inland from the marisma. On advancing, with the wings thrown forward, -and mounted men skirmishing ahead, a space comprising hundreds of acres -of scrub is thus enclosed. The partridge, running forward among the -cistus or rising far beyond gunshot, are gradually pushed down towards -the water; then, as the advancing line approaches the marisma, with the -belts of rush and sedge that border it, the work begins. The game, -unwilling to face the water, perforce come swinging back over the -shooting-line. Naturally on seeing encompassing danger in full view -behind and barring their retreat, the partridge spin up -heavenwards--higher and yet higher, till they finally pass over the guns -at a height and speed and with a pronounced curve that ensures the -maximum of difficulty in every shot offered. - -In this final stage of the operation grow cork-oaks whose bulk and -evergreen foliage add further complexity for the gunner. - -It illustrates the exertions made by the partridges to attain an -altitude and a speed sufficient to carry them safely over the -clearly-seen danger below, that should a bird which has succeeded in -thus running the gauntlet happen to be found after the beat is over, it -will often be too exhausted to rise again. Such tired birds are often -caught by the dogs. - -As many as six or eight _averos_, as they are termed, may be carried out -during a winter's day. The walking in places is apt to be rough, through -jungle and bush--chiefly cistus and rosemary, but intermixed with -tree-heaths, brooms, and gorse--intercepted with stretches of water -which must be waded without wincing, for it is essential that each man -(gun or beater) maintains correctly his allotted position in the -advance. - -Naturally in a sandy waste, devoid of corn or tillage of any kind, -partridge cannot be numerous. They are, moreover, subject to terrible -enemies in the eagles, kites, and hawks of every description; while -lynxes, wild-cats, foxes, and other beasts-of-prey take daily and -nightly toll; then in spring their eggs are devoured by the big lizards, -by harriers, mongoose, and magpies in thousands. We have recently -endeavoured to increase their numbers by grubbing up 300 acres of scrub -and cultivating wheat. But here again Nature opposes us. Deer break down -the fences, ignore our guards armed with lanterns and blank cartridge, -trample down more than they eat, and the rabbits finish the rest! -Moreover, in wet seasons the ground is flooded, the crops destroyed; -while, if too dry, the seed will not germinate, and all the time the -unkillable brushwood comes and comes again. - -Forty or fifty brace represent average days; though it is fair to add -that they are but few who fully avail the fleeting opportunities at -those back-swerving dots in the sky. - - -RABBITS - -The cistus plains abound with rabbits. One sees them by scores moving -ahead, but just beyond gunshot range, which they calculate to a nicety. -Others dart from underfoot to disappear in an instant in the cover. Few -are shot while walking; but some pretty sport is obtainable by short -drives, say a quarter-mile. The line of keepers and beaters ride round -to windward, encircling some well-stocked bush; then slowly and noisily, -with frequent halts, advance down-wind--the rabbit is as susceptible of -scent as a deer. Meanwhile the dogs are having a rare time of it -hustling the bunnies forward. The guns are placed each to command some -clear spot, for where scrub grows thick nothing can be seen. A momentary -glimpse is all one gets, and snap-shooting essential. The most -favourable spots are where a strip of open ground lies immediately -behind the guns. The rabbits fairly fly this, a dozen at a time, and at -speed that suggests some one having set fire to their tails. - -In days of phenomenal bags, our Spanish totals read humble enough. We -frequently kill a hundred or more rabbits in two or three short drives, -besides such partridge as may also have been enclosed. Were a whole day -devoted to rabbits alone, much greater numbers would of course result. -But having such variety of resource at disposal (to say nothing of -difficulty in disposing of large quantities), the _conejete_ rarely -receives more than an hour or two's attention. - -Hares (_Lepus mediterraneus_), common all over Spain, are rather more -numerous in the marisma than on the drier grounds. They have indeed -developed semi-aquatic habits, in times of flood swimming freely from -island to island and making arboreal "forms" in the half-submerged -samphire-bush. Should the whole become submerged, the hares betake -themselves to the main shore, and on such occasions, with two guns, we -have shot a dozen or so on a drive. These small Spanish hares are -marvellously fleet of foot, especially when an almost equally -fleet-footed _podenco_ is in full chase over ground as flat and bare as -a bowling-green. - -In these hares the females are larger and greyer in colour than the -males. Their irides are yellow, with a small pupil, whereas in the male -the eye is hazel and the pupil large. The fur of the latter is bright -chestnut in hue, especially on hind-quarters and legs, which frequently -show irregular splashes of white. The lower parts are purest white, and -along the clean-cut line of demarcation the colour contrasts are the -strongest. Long film-like hairs grow far beyond the ordinary fur on -their bodies, and the tails are longer and carried higher than in our -British species. - - WEIGHTS OF TEN SPANISH HARES, KILLED JANUARY 30, 1908 - - Males 4-1/2 4-1/2 4-1/2 4-1/2 4-1/2 lbs., deadweight - Females 4-3/4 5 5-1/2 5-1/2 5-1/2 lbs., deadweight - - WEIGHTS OF SPANISH RABBITS (IN COUPLES) - - Ten couples 3 3 3 3-1/4 3-1/4 3-1/4 3-1/4 3-1/2 3-1/2 3-3/4 lbs., clean - -These rabbits differ from the home-breed not only in their smaller size, -but in the colder grey of their fur and large transparent ears. - -[Illustration: READY TO CAST OFF. THE PACK OF PODENCOS IN COUPLES.] - -[Illustration: THE DAY'S RESULTS. - -ROYAL SHOOTING AT THE PARDO, NEAR MADRID.] - -Hitherto shooting over great areas of rural Spain has been practised -under conditions absolutely natural--almost pristine. The game on -mountain, moor, or marsh is not only free to any hunter who possesses -the skill to capture it, but it is left to fight unaided its struggle -for existence against hosts of enemies, feathered, furred, and scaled, -the like of which has no equivalent in our crowded isles; and which work -terrible havoc, each in its own way, among the milder members of -creation. The presence of so many fierce raptorials, however (though it -ruin the "bag"), adds for a naturalist an incomparable charm to days -spent in Spanish wilds. Alas! that even here those pristine conditions -should already appear to be doomed, that every savage spirit must be -quenched, till nothing save the utilitarian survive! The following notes -on game-preservation in Spain indicate the beginning of the change. - - -ON SOME GREAT SPORTING ESTATES OF SPAIN - -Game-preservation, in the stricter sense in which it is practised in -England, was unknown in Spain till within our own earlier days. But now -many great estates yield bags of partridge that may challenge comparison -with results obtained elsewhere. - -Whether those results equal the best of the crack partridge-manors in -England or not we do not inquire. It is immaterial and irrelevant. No -comparison is either desirable or possible where natural conditions and -difficulties differ fundamentally. But the result at least throws a ray -of reflected light upon the energy and capacity of the Spanish -gamekeeper, who, under extraordinary difficulties, has aided and enabled -his employers to produce conditions which only a few years ago would -have appeared impossible. It should be added that these estates which -now realise surprising results have, in most instances, belonged to the -same owners during generations, though not till towards the end of last -century was any special care bestowed upon the game. - - * * * * * - -The estate of Mudéla, in La Mancha, the property of the Marquis de -Mudéla, Count of Valdelagrana, stands unrivalled in a sporting sense. -Its extent is approximately 80,000 acres, and the whole abounds with -red-legged partridge, rabbits, and hares. A dozen consecutive -driving-days can be enjoyed, each on fresh ground, and 1000 partridges -are often here secured by seven guns, driving, in a day. - -There is here quite a small proportion of corn-land or tillage, the -greater portion consisting of the rough pasturage, interspersed with -patches of scattered brush and palmetto, which is characteristic of -southern Spain. - -The great results achieved (for 1000 partridges a day, all wild-bred -birds, can only so be described) are due to systematic preservation, -including the trapping of noxious animals, furred or feathered, and the -payment of rewards to the peasantry for each nest hatched-off--in short, -by efficient protection of the game, with the destruction of its -enemies. In hot dry summers it is necessary to provide both water and -food to the game. - -Next to Mudéla, the most celebrated sporting properties include those of -Lachár and Tajarja, both in the province of Granada, and belonging to -the Duke of San Pedro de Galatino; Trasmulas in the same province -belonging to the Conde de Agrela, and Ventosilla, the property of the -Duke of Santona in the province of Toledo. There should also be named -Daranézas in the last-named province, the Marquis de la Torrecilla; and -Daramezán (Toledo), the Marquis de Alcanices. - -At Malpica in Toledo, the estate of the Duke of Arión, there were -killed, on the occasion of a visit of King Alfonso XIII., a total in one -day of 1655 head (partridges, hares, and rabbits), of which His Majesty -was credited with 600. - -We extract the following from the Madrid newspaper _La Epoca_, January -22, 1908:-- - - At El Rincon, Navalcarnero, near Madrid, the King, with thirteen - other guns, were the guests of the Marquesa de Manzanedo on January - 20. Eight drives were completed, 350 beaters being employed. The - total recovered numbered 1400 head, of which 241 fell to the King's - gun. His Majesty continued shooting with astonishing brilliancy - even while darkness was already setting in, and wound up with four - consecutive right-and-lefts when one could scarce see even a few - yards away. King Alfonso killed 97 partridge, 31 hares, 98 rabbits, - and 15 various--double the number that fell to the next highest - score. - -Most of the places named are capable of yielding from 500 to 800 and -even 1000 partridge in a day's driving, besides other game. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV - -ALIMAÑAS - -THE MINOR BEASTS OF CHASE - - -We have no British equivalent for this generic term, applied in Spain to -a group of creatures, chiefly belonging to the canine, feline, and -viverrine families, that deserve a chapter to themselves. The Spanish -word _Alimañas_ includes the lynxes and wild-cats, foxes, mongoose, -genets, badgers, otters, and such like. It might therefore be rendered -as "vermin," but surely only in the benevolent sense--as it were, a term -of endearment. We have preferred the expression "minor beasts of chase," -though it may be objected that such are not, in fact, beasts of chase. -We reply that hardly any wild animals are harder to secure in fair -contest or more capable of testing the venatic resource of the hunter. - -For these animals are beasts-of-prey, and that fact alone implies -nothing less than that in their very nature and life-habits they must be -more cunning, more astute, than those other creatures (mostly game) on -which they are ordained to subsist. Moreover, being nocturnals, their -senses of sight, scent, and hearing all far exceed our own, and they -possess the enormous advantage that they see equally well in the dark. - -Wild Spain, with her 56 per cent of desert or sparsely peopled regions, -is a paradise for predatory creatures--alike the furred and the -feathered--and _alimañas_ abound whether in the bush and scrub of her -torrid plains, or amid the heavier jungle of her mountain-ranges. - -Numerous as they are, yet these night-rovers rarely come in evidence -unless one goes expressly in search of them. In regular shooting, with -organised parties, they are more or less ignored, or rather they pass -unseen through the lines, moving so silently and stealthily and always -choosing the thickest covert. With guns from 100 to 200 yards apart and -upwards, each intent on the larger game, the secretive _alimañas_ easily -get through--indeed, wolves and even big boars, though the crash of -brushwood may be heard, often pass unseen. - -Many unconventional days have the authors enjoyed in express pursuit of -these keen-eyed creatures--call them vermin if you will. There are four -methods which we have found effective: - -1. Short drives of individual jungles where sufficient open spaces occur -to leeward to enable the game to be seen. - -2. Long drives of extensive jungles, converging on guns placed at points -that either command the probable lines of retreat, or cover some other -favourite resort wherein the quarry is likely to seek refuge. - -3. Calling--in Spanish, _chillando_. - -4. Watching at dawn or dusk, either with or without a "drag." - - * * * * * - -1. The first plan is, of course, the simplest; but it must be borne in -mind that this is essentially close-quarters' work--hence the utmost -silence is necessary. Horses must be picketed at least a mile back, for -the clank of hoof on rock or the clashing of the bucket-like Spanish -stirrups in bush will awaken even a dormouse. All proceed on foot; and -the whole plan having been arranged beforehand, not a word need now be -spoken, each gun taking his allotted place in silence. Guns may be as -far as 100 yards apart (since mould-shot is effective up to nearly that -range) and each man should station himself looking into the beat, so as -to command the intervening "opens," while himself absolutely concealed -and still as a stone god, since he is now competing with some of the -keenest eyes on earth. All the cats, moreover, come on so stealthily, -making good their advance yard by yard, that quite possibly a great -tawny lynx may be coolly surveying your position ere your eye has caught -the slightest movement ahead. - -Nothing emphasises the amazing stealth of these silent creatures more -than such incidents: when suddenly you find, within twenty yards, a wild -beast, standing nearly two feet at shoulder, slowly approaching through -quite thin bush; how, in wonder's name, did it get so near unseen? -Foxes, as a rule, come bundling along with far less precaution and no -such vigilant look-out ahead, though they will instantly detect the -least _movement_ in front. A fox will often appear so deep in thought -as to be absolutely thunderstruck when he finds himself face to face -with a gun at six yards distance. In direst consternation he fairly -bounds around, describing a complete circle of fur; whereas a cat in -like circumstance merely deflects her course with coolest deliberation -and never a sign of alarm or increase of speed. But within six more -yards she will have vanished from view--covert or none. Adepts all are -the cats, alike in appearing one knows not whence, and in disappearing -one knows not how. - -Yonder goes a fox, slowly trotting along below the crest, in his -self-sufficient, nonchalant style. His upstanding fur, long bushy brush, -and swollen neck appear to double his bulk and lend him quite an -imposing figure. But let a rifle-ball sing past his ears or dash up a -cloud of the sand below--what a transformation! One hardly now -recognises the long lean streak that whips up and over the ridge. - -A handsome trophy is the Spanish lynx, especially those more brightly -coloured examples sparsely spotted with big black splotches arranged, -more or less, in interrupted lines. The ear-tufts--indeed in adults the -extreme tips of the ears themselves--point inwards and backwards; and -the narrow irides are pale yellow (between lemon and hazel), the pupil -being full, round, and black, nearly filling the circle. In the wild-cat -the pupil is a thin upright, set in a cruel pale-green iris. - -We have tried FIRE as a means of securing the smaller _alimañas_, such -as mongoose, but it is seldom a thicket or _mancha_ can be so completely -isolated as to leave no line of escape. The animals, moreover, are -astute enough to retire under cover of the clouds of smoke that roll -away to leeward. - -2. LONG DRIVES, extending over, say, a couple of miles of brush-wood -(which may contain half-a-dozen patches of thicker jungle, all -separate), give wide scope for skilled fieldcraft and demand no small -local knowledge. The first essential is "an eye for a country." There -are men to whom this faculty is denied; some seem incapable of acquiring -it. Others, again, appear correctly to diagnose even a difficult -country, with its chances, almost at a first experience. The favoured -haunts of game, together with their accustomed lines of retreat when -disturbed, must be studied. Each day, though engaged on other pursuit, -one's eye should be reading those lessons that are written in "spoor," -and noting each commanding point and salient angle or other local -"advantage" in the terrain. - -Such drives necessarily occupy more time; moreover, the precise lines of -entry along which game may approach are less restricted--hence follows -an even greater demand on that vigilance already emphasised. But to the -hunter the mental gratification, the sense of dominion achieved, is -ample reward when his deep-laid plans succeed and when along one or more -of his ambushed lines the cunning carnivorae pursue an unsuspecting -course. - -Nature herself may assist by signs which set the expectant hunter yet -more instantly alert. A distant kite suddenly swerving or checking its -flight has seen _something_. The chattering of a band of magpies may -only mean that they have struck a "find," say a dead rabbit--_tacitus -pasci si posset corvus_, etc. But it may easily indicate a moving -nocturnal, and such signs should never be ignored. Similarly a covey of -partridges springing with continued cackling is a certain token of the -presence of an enemy; while a terrified-looking rabbit, with staring eye -and ears laid back, means that an interview is then instantly impending. - -It may be necessary (as where a desert-stretch flanks the beat) to place -"stops" far outside. These are as important as in a grouse-drive, but -quite tenfold more difficult to array. - -In these more extensive operations the lynx, in evading the guns, is -sometimes intercepted by the advancing pack behind. Then, if by luck the -cat can be forced into the open, she goes off at fine speed in great -bounds, as a leopard covers the veld, and (the horses in this case being -picketed close by) may sometimes be "tree'd" or run to bay in some -distant thicket. In that case the assistance of the hunters is needed, -for a lynx at bay will hold-up a whole pack of _podencos_, sitting erect -on her haunches with her back to the bush and dealing half-arm blows -with lightning speed. These _podencos_, it should be explained, are not -intended to close, since all high-couraged dogs, we find, meet a speedy -death from the tusks of wild-boars. - -When pressed in the open, we have seen a lynx deliberately pass through -deep water that lay in her line of flight. - -3. CALLING.--The coney was ever a puny folk, yet in Tarshish he thrives -and multiplies amidst numberless foes aloft and alow. From the heavens -above fierce eyes directing hooked beaks and clenched talons survey his -every movement; on the earth lynxes, cats, and foxes subsist chiefly on -him; while below ground foumart and mongoose penetrate his farthest -retreats year in and year out. He seems to possess absolutely no -protection, yet he endures all this, supports his enemies, and -increases, ever, to appearance, gaily unconscious of the perils that -beset him. Once, however, let misfortune overtake the rabbit, and his -cry of distress brings instant response--from scrub and sky, from -thicket and lurking lair, assemble the fiercer folk, each intent on his -flesh. - -It is upon this fact that the system of calling, or, in Spanish, -_chillando_, is based. The instrument is simple. A crab's claw, or the -green bark of a two-inch twig slipped off its stalk, will, in the lips -of an adept, produce just such a cry of cunicular distress. Armed with -this, and observing the wind, one takes post concealed by bush but -commanding some open glade in front. The most favourable time is dawn -and dusk--the latter for choice, since then predatory animals are waking -up hungry. The first "call" by our Spanish companion almost startles by -its lifelike verisimilitude. At short intervals these ringing -distress-signals resound through the silent bush; if no response -follows, we try another spot. First, a distant kite or buzzard, hearing -the call, comes wheeling this way, but naturally the birds-of-prey from -their lofty point of view detect the human presence and pursue their -quest elsewhere. The rabbits themselves, from some inexplicable cause, -are among the first to respond. - -Within that opposite wall of jungle you detect a furtive movement; -presently with jerky, spasmodic gait a rabbit darts out; it sits -trembling with staring eyes and ears laid aback; another rolls over on -its side and performs strange antics as though under hypnotic influence. -In two minutes you have a _séance_ of mesmerised rabbits. - -My companion touches me on the arm; away beyond, and half behind him -(almost on the wind), stands a fox intently gazing. Before the gun can -be brought to bear it is necessary to step round the keeper's front, and -one expects that that first movement will mean the instant disappearance -of the vulpine. Not so! There he stands, statuesque, while the -manoeuvre is executed. Is he, too, hypnotised? On one occasion the -authors, standing shoulder to shoulder with the keeper behind them, were -only concealed by a single bush in front. At the third or fourth call a -wild-cat sprang from the thicket beyond, fairly flew the intervening -thirty yards at a bound, and landed in the single bush at our feet -(precisely where the "rabbit" should have been) before a gun could be -raised. What a marvellous exhibition of wild hunting! - -In this case, too, we had had notice in advance by the noisy rising of a -pair of partridges sixty yards away in the bush. That cat scaled 12-1/2 -lbs. dead-weight. - - * * * * * - -All the beasts-of-prey can be secured in this manner. February is their -pairing-season; but the best time for "calling" is a month or so -later--in March and April--when young rabbits appear and when the -_alimañas_ themselves have their litters to feed. - -[Illustration: IMPERIAL EAGLE PASSING OVERHEAD - -(The spectator is presumed to be lying on his back!)] - -Feathered raptores, such as eagles, kites, and buzzards, can also be -obtained by "calling," but, as above indicated, their loftier position -enables them to see the guns, and it is necessary in their case to -prepare a covered shelter in which one can stand, concealed from above. - -4. WATCHING.--The fourth and last system brings one face to face with -wild nature in her nocturnal aspects. Such aspects (to the majority of -mankind) are unknown; but night-work, whether at home, in Africa, or in -Spain, has always strongly appealed to the writers. Wild creatures do -not go to bed at night like lazy men; on the contrary, night is the -period of fullest activity for a large proportion of God's creation, -whether of fur or feather. To form an intimate personal acquaintance -(however imperfect) with these, the comfort of the blankets must be -sacrificed. - -Where stretches of open country border or intersect jungle, or lie -between the nocturnal hunting-grounds of carnivorae and the thickets -where they lie-up by day, there one may enjoy hours of intense interest -in watching what passes under the moon. In the Coto Doñana we have many -such spots, some within an hour or two's ride of our shooting-lodges. -Here, when the moon shines full, and the soft south wind blows towards -the dark leagues of cistus and tree-heath behind us, we line-out three -or four guns, each looking outwards across glittering sand-wastes on his -front. There, on smooth expanse, one may detect every moving thing. -Those shadowy forms that seem to skim the surface without touching it -are stone-curlews, and beyond them is a less mobile object, whose -identity none would guess by sight. That is a _tortuga_, or -land-tortoise, tracing its singular double trail. Across the sand passes -a bigger shadow--rabbits and the rest all vanish. What was that shadow? -A strange growl overhead, and you see it is an eagle-owl that has -scattered the ghost-like groups. Now there is something on the far -skyline ahead--something that moves and puzzles--four mobile objects -that were not there five seconds ago. These prove to be the ears of two -hinds; presently the spiky horns of a stag appear behind them, and the -trio move slowly across our front, stopping to nibble some tuft of bent. - -None of these are what we seek, but as dawn approaches you may (or may -not) detect the form of some beast-of-prey making for its lair in the -jungle behind you. Foxes, as their habit is, trot straight in; the lynx -comes with infinite caution. Should some starveling bush survive a -hundred yards out, she may stop, squatting on her haunches, half-hidden -in its shade. You can see there is something there, but the distance is -just beyond a sure range, and seldom indeed will that cat come nearer. -However low and still you have laid the while, she will, by some subtle -feline intuition, have gleaned (perhaps half unconsciously even to -herself) a sense of danger. When day has dawned, you will find the -retiring spoor winding backwards behind some gentle swell that leads to -an unseen hollow beyond--and to safety. Truly you agree when the keeper -says, "Lynxes see _best_ in the dark." - - * * * * * - -In a wide country it is of course purely fortuitous should any of these -animals approach within shot. To assure that result with greater -certainty we have adopted the plan of a "drag." Two or three hours -before taking our positions (that is, shortly after midnight), a keeper -rides along far outside on the sand, trailing behind his horse a bunch -of split-open rabbits. Upon arriving outside the intended position of -each gun, he directs his course inwards, thus dragging the bait close up -to the post. Then taking a fresh bunch of rabbits, he repeats the -operation to each post in turn. Thus every incoming beast must strike -the scented trail at one point or another. Occasionally one will follow -the drag right into the expectant gun, more often (the animals being -full at that hour) it will leave the trail after following it for a -greater or less distance. Some ignore it altogether. This applies to all -sorts. The sand, as day dawns, forms a regular lexicon of spoor. One can -trace each movement of the night. There go the plantigrade tracks of a -badger, and hard by the light-footed prints of mongoose, mice, and an -infinity of minor creatures. - - * * * * * - -Foxes most frequently capture their prey in fair chase, running them -down, as shown by the double spoor ending in blood. Lynxes never chase; -they kill by stalking, and a crouching spoor ends in a spring. Both -these habitually carry away or bury all they do not devour on the spot. - -From the end of January onwards (that being the pairing-season) foxes -may often be seen abroad by daylight in couples, and in such case, -provided _they_ are _seen first_, are easily brought-up by "calling." -Lynxes never show-up so by daylight, but an hour or two before dawn -their weird wailing cries may be heard in the bush from mid-February -onwards. - - * * * * * - -The mongoose is perhaps the least easily secured, being absolutely -nocturnal and running so low (like a giant weasel) as to be almost -invisible, however slight the covert. It is, moreover, an adept at -concealment, and will scarcely be detected even at thirty yards if -stationary. The best way to secure specimens of badger and mongoose is -by digging-out their breeding-earths or warrens. An initial difficulty -is to find the earths amid leagues of scrub or rugged mountain-sides; -and even when located it may be necessary to burn off half an acre of -brushwood before the spade can be brought into action. From one set of -earths we have succeeded in digging out five big mongoose alive. That -night, though confined in strong wooden cases, they gnawed their way -out, and were never seen more, albeit their prison was on board a yacht -anchored in mid-stream and half-a-mile from shore. - - * * * * * - -A few such days and nights as these teach that wild Spain cherishes -other animals besides the game, to the full as interesting and even more -difficult to secure. - -If we are asked (as we often have been before) why we molest creatures -which have no value when killed, we reply that almost without exception -our Spanish specimens have gone to enrich one collection or another, -public or private, and that during the year in which we write this the -authors spent a fortnight in obtaining a series of these animals for our -National Museum at South Kensington, with the following results:--[56] - - Four lynxes--two males, 30-1/4 and 31 lbs.; two females, 18-1/2 and - 23 lbs.--representing both types, namely, (1) that with many small - spots, and (2) the handsomer form with fewer large and conspicuous - blotches. - - One wild-cat (an exceptional specimen)--a male of 15 lbs., with - yellow irides instead of the usual cold, cruel, pale-green eyes - like an unripe gooseberry. This cat was what the Spanish keepers - describe as _rayado_ = banded, _i.e._ the spots are arrayed in - regular series or interrupted bands rather than scattered - promiscuously. This race is distinguished as _gato clavo_, the - ordinary wild-cat being known as _gato romano_. - - Several other wild-cats (_Gatos romanos_)--males weighing from - 10-3/4 to 12-1/2 lbs.; females weighing from 7-1/2 to 8-1/4 lbs. - - In the sierras wild-cats run heavier than this, for we have killed - in Moréna a wild-cat that scaled 7-3/4 kilos, or upwards of 17 lbs. - - Two badgers--male, 17-1/2 lbs.; female, 14-1/2 lbs. These Spanish - badgers are blacker in the legs than British examples, and their - fore-claws are more powerfully developed, possibly in this case - through living in sand. Really big males weigh nearly double the - above. - - Ten foxes (_Vulpes melanogaster_)--six males weighing 13-3/4, 14, - 15 16-1/2, 16-1/2, 17 lbs.; four females weighing 11, 11-3/4, - 13-1/2, 14 lbs. - - Besides "small deer," such as rats and mice, voles, moles, and - dormice, to say nothing of a whole red-stag and a whole wild-boar! - - -[POSTSCRIPT] - -_March 2, 1907._--_Chillando_ this evening at the Oyillos del Tio Juan -Roque, a big grey sow with numerous progeny came trotting up to within -a few yards--whether to devour the supposed rabbit or merely from -curiosity was not apparent. On realising the situation, she turned and -dashed off with an indignant snort, followed by her striped brood, but -did not go far before stopping (like Lot's wife) to listen and look -back. - -Later, at the Sabinal, just upon dusk, a fox appeared about 120 yards -away, down-wind. Though quite aware of our presence, both by scent and -sight, he deliberately sat down on his haunches to watch; but no charm -of the _chillar_ would induce a nearer approach, and a rifle-ball -whistling within an inch or two of his ears broke the spell. - -On May 16, 1910, a mongoose responded with unusual alacrity to the first -"call," running up within twenty yards. This was an adult male and -weighed 8-1/2 lbs. - - * * * * * - -We have endeavoured to rear some of these animals in captivity. The -young wild-cats are by far the most intractable--perfect fiends of -savage fury, quite unamenable to civilisation. The lynx at least affects -a measure of subjection, but remains always unreliable and treacherous -in spirit. The story of how one of our tame lynxes attacked and nearly -killed a poor _lavandera_ is told in _Wild Spain_, p. 447. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV - -OUR "HOME-MOUNTAINS" - -THE SERRANÍA DE RONDA - - -I. SAN CRISTOBAL AND THE _PINSÁPO_ REGION - -This mountain-system may be regarded as an outlying eastern extension of -the Sierra Neváda. Except at the "Ultimo Suspiro del Moro" there is no -actual break, and both in physical features and in fauna the two ranges -coincide, while differing essentially from the Sierra Moréna, their -immediate neighbour on the north. The Serranía de Ronda, nevertheless, -displays distinctive characters which entitle it to a place in this -book; it forms, moreover, our "Home-mountains," lying within a -thirty-mile ride eastward of Jerez. - -[Illustration: PINSÁPO PINE] - -The outstanding feature is the _massif_--or, in Spanish, _Nucléo -Central_--of San Cristobal, which rises to 5800 feet, and stands head -and shoulders above its surrounding satellites, an imposing pile of cold -grey rock and perpendicular precipice.[57] - -Nestling beneath its western bastions lies the Moorish hamlet of -Benamahoma, whence, housed in friendly quarters, we have oft explored -this hill. The route to the summit (which may almost be reached on -donkey-back) is by the southern face; for summits, however, merely as -such, we have no sort of affection, and never expend one ounce of energy -in gaining them, unless they chance to aid a main objective. As to -"views," we are sure to enjoy these from other points quite as -effective. - -New-fallen snow powdered the ground and mantled the surrounding peaks as -we rode out of Benamahoma on March 20. But the sun shone bright, and -from a poplar softly warbled a rock-bunting--with pearl-grey head, -triple banded. Serins and kitty-wrens sang from the wooded slopes, and -we observed long-tailed tits, with cirl-buntings and woodlarks. A grey -wagtail by the burnside was already acquiring the black throat of -spring. - -[Illustration: ROCK-BUNTING (_Emberiza cia_)] - -The tortuous track writhes upwards through sporadic cultivation--the -angles at which these hill-men can work a plough amaze, beans and -_garbanzos_ grow on slopes where no ordinary biped could maintain a -foothold. The industry of mountaineers (here as elsewhere in Spain) is -remarkable. Each tillable patch, however small or abrupt, is reduced to -service, its million stones removed and utilised to form the foundation -for a tiny era, or threshing-floor (like a shelf on the hillside), -whereon the hard-won crop is threshed with flails. Higher out on the -hills rude stone sheilings are erected to serve as shelters during -seed-time and harvest. Not even the hardy Norseman puts up a tougher -tussle with nature to wrest her fruits from the earth. - -Presently one enters forests of oak and ilex with strange misshapen -trunks, stunted and hollow, but decorated with prehensile convolvulus -and mistletoe--many three-fourths dead, mere shells with cavernous -interior, sheltering tufts of ferns. Here, instead of destroying the -whole tree, charcoal-burners pollard and lop; huge lateral limbs are -amputated as they grow, and the result, during centuries, produces these -monstrosities, rarely exceeding twenty feet in height and surmounted by -a delicate superstructure of branches totally disproportionate. No more -fantastic forms can be conceived than these bloated boles, wrestling, as -it were, with death, yet still able to transmit life to the -superstruction above. They recall the Baobab trees of Central Africa. In -neither case is the effect absolutely displeasing, albeit grotesque. -Both may be described as deformed rather than disfigured. - -On rounding the northern shoulder of the mountain, suddenly the whole -scene changes. Instead of limb-lopped trunks, one is faced by the dark -foliage of the pinsápo pine--a forest monarch whose stately growth -strikes one's eye as something conspicuously new. And new indeed it is. -For the range of this great Spanish pine (_Abies pinsapo_) is limited -not merely to Spain, but actually to this one mountain-range, the -Serranía de Ronda--there may exist more remarkable examples of a -restricted distribution, but none certainly that we have come across. -The pinsápo, moreover, affects even here but three spots: first, San -Cristobal itself; secondly, the Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain plainly -visible some thirty miles to the eastward (all its northern corries -darkened by pinsápos); and, lastly, the Sierra Bermeja on the -Mediterranean, distant thirty to thirty-five miles S.S.E. On each of the -three the pinsápo grows in forests; on adjacent hills we have observed -one or two scattered groups--otherwise this pine is found nowhere else -on earth. - -A curious character of the pinsápo is that it only grows on the northern -faces of the hills. - -The tree possesses remarkable personality. Though one sees a chance -specimen grow up straight as a spruce, yet its normal tendency is to -"flatten out" on top, whence three, four, even a dozen independent -"leaders" spring away, each with equal vigour, and finally form as many -distinct vertical trunks, say six or eight separate pines all arising -from a common base. - -To see the pinsápo in its pristine majesty and massiveness, one must -ascend beyond the range of charcoal-burners; up there flourish gigantic -specimens, some of which we measured (by rough pacing) to encompass ten -to fifteen yards of base. These trees grow from screes of broken -rock--great blocks of white dolomite; but the deep-searching tap-roots -penetrate to black alluvia beneath. Other huge pines found roothold in -walls of living rock. The three sketches, made from individual trees -(presumed for the purpose to be divested of foliage), illustrate the -singular multiple growth described. - -The foliage of the pinsápo differs from ordinary pine-needles, being -rather a series of stiff outstanding spines analogous to those of the -Araucaria. They display a crimson efflorescence in March, developing -into clusters of red cones by April, and ripening in August to -September.[58] - -[Illustration: PINSÁPO PINES (_Abies pinsapo_) - -Diagram to show trunk-plan, divested of foliage. Girth at base 30 to 45 -feet.] - -The pinsápo-forests are subject to terrible destruction alike by hatchet -and fire, tempest and avalanche. Forest-fires sweep whole glens; while -rock-slides overwhelm and uproot even the biggest trees by scores. Few -scenes that we have witnessed are more eloquent of nature's violence -than these traces of an avalanche. Mammoth skeletons, weird and -weather-blanched, protrude by the hundred from chaotic rock-ruin--some -still upright, others overthrown or half submerged in debris, yet -stretching great white arms heavenward, as though in agonised appeal. -The distant roar of an avalanche is a not infrequent sound throughout -the mountain-land. - -The pinsápo-forests of San Cristobal present one of the most striking -mountain-landscapes in Andalucia. For some three miles they cover in a -semicircle the whole scooped-out amphitheatre of the mountain-side. -Their dark-green masses, contrasted against the white rocks on which -they grow--and in winter with yet whiter snow--cluster upwards, tier -above tier, from below the 3000-feet level away to the extreme summit of -the knife-edged ridge above, say 5500 feet. Would that we could depict -the beauty of the scene. - -[Illustration: CROSSBILL - -Wrestling with pine-cone.] - -Through these dark forests a track winds, and here again the evident -industry of the mountaineers surprised. At intervals along this pathway -lay great baulks of pine-timber (sleepers, planks, and poles), dressed -and piled ready for transport. That such loads could be carried hence on -donkey-back, or, were such possible, that the labour could be repaid, -appeared incredible--so distant are markets and so heavy the cargo.[59] - -We had hoped to find in these forests a home of the Spanish crossbill, -but not a sign of it rewarded our search. To avail the ripe fruit, the -crossbill would need to nest in autumn, and that (wide as is the -latitude of its breeding-season) is too much even for the _Pico-tuerto_. -An interesting species found here in March was the cole-tit (_Parus -pinsapinensis?_), which climbed around us, swinging from twigs within a -yard as we sat at lunch. Blackstarts abounded, also firecrests. The -latter have a pretty habit of engaging in aërial struggle--whether for -love or war--both falling locked together to earth, as blue-tits do. On -one such occasion a male, ere taking wing, spread out his flaming crown -fanlike, as it were a halo. - -Beyond the pinsápo-forests succeeds a region of wiry esparto-grass, up -which we climbed to yet more sterile zones above. Here cruel rocks are -adorned with a dwarf sword-broom, steel-tipped, a thorny berberis, and -vicious pin-cushion gorse that protects its newer growths (not that -there is anything tender about it at any stage) by a delicate grey -tracery that deceives a careless eye. For that subtle tracery is, in -fact, the indurated malice of last year's spikey armour. No handhold -does nature here vouchsafe. - -Curiously, we noticed woodlarks up here, while blackstarts abounded as -titlarks on a Northumbrian moor. In an ivy-clad gorge at 4200 feet we -found two nearly completed nests in rock crevices: one occupied a -vertical fissure that needed quite twelve inches of packed moss to -provide a foundation, the cup-shaped nest being superimposed. But it was -not till a month later (April 24) that these birds were laying in -earnest. - -At 5000 feet the "Piorno" (_Spartius scorpius_) began to grow, a -red-stemmed shrub, known locally as _Leche-interna_, and on breaking it, -the twigs are found to be filled with a milky fluid that justifies the -name. The piorno we have never found growing except on the high tops of -Grédos and other lofty sierras, where it forms a chief food of the -Spanish ibex, its presence being, in fact, always associated with that -of the wild-goat. Alas! that here, on San Cristobal, that association -has been severed--another instance of the heedless improvidence that -marks the Spanish race. Fifteen years ago they destroyed the last ibex; -fifteen years hence they will have destroyed the last pinsápo! - -Once for brief moments a broad-horned head, peering over the topmost -crags, lent joyous hope that after all an ibex or two might yet survive. -But the intruder proved to be one of the dark-brown rams of _Ovis -bidens_ that, in semi-feral state, roam these peaks. - -San Cristobal itself now holds no big game; though ibex are found but a -few leagues to the eastward, and, we rejoice to add (on certain sierras -where protection is afforded them), begin to increase. The Serranía de -Ronda, like Neváda, of which it is an extension, has never held either -boar or deer; both are too rocky and precipitous to shelter those -animals, though both boar and roe are found in the lower hills towards -Jerez. - - * * * * * - -Just below the highest peak, the Cumbre de San Cristobal, lies a curious -little alpine meadow. It is only forty yards square, and while we -rested, lunching, on unaccustomed level a golden eagle swept overhead, -chased and hustled by a mob of choughs that colonise these crags. Ten -minutes later a lammergeyer afforded a second glorious spectacle, -speeding through space on pinions rigidly motionless, but strongly -reflexed, as is usual on a descending gradient. Only once, as far as eye -could follow, was one great wing gently deflected, and that merely from -the "wrist." - -[Illustration: LAMMERGEYER OVERHEAD - -Gliding high on down-grade with rigid reflexed wings, outer primaries -in-drawn, fan-wise.] - -On reaching a crest above, two lammergeyers appeared, the first carrying -a long stick or thin bone athwart his beak; the second held a course -direct to where L. sat on the ridge, coming so near that the rustle of -huge wings sounded menacingly and the white head, golden breast, and -hoary shoulders showed clear as in a picture. We expected to find the -eyrie somewhere hard by, but in this we were mistaken--once more. It was -not on that hill, nor the next; but on a third![60] - -We discovered the nest of our friends, the golden eagles. It was situate -quite two miles away, in a vertical pulpit-shaped rock-stack, that -stood forth in a terribly steep scree. From a cavern in the face of this -(prettily overhung by a clump of red-berried mistletoe) flew the male -eagle. From below, the eyrie was accessible to within a dozen feet; but -that interval proved impassable. In the evening we returned with the -rope, and having made this fast above, L. was about to ascend from -below, when the man left in charge at the top (probably misunderstanding -his instructions) let all go, and down came the rope clattering at our -feet! It was too late to rectify the blunder that night, and a month -elapsed ere we would revisit the spot. Then this curious result ensued. -The eagles, we found, had so bitterly resented the indignity of a rope -having been (even momentarily) stretched athwart their portals that they -had abandoned their stronghold, leaving two handsome eggs, partly -incubated. Their eyrie was eight feet deep, its entrance partly -overgrown with ivy and (as above mentioned) overhung by red-berried -mistletoe growing on a wild-cherry--the nest built of sticks, lined with -esparto, and adorned with green ivy-leaves and twigs of pinsápo. - -[Illustration: GOLDEN EAGLE HUNTING - -(1) The "stoop"--quite vertical. (2) "Got him." -] - -The golden eagle is still common, ornamenting with majestic flight every -sierra in Spain. For eagles are notoriously difficult to kill, and, when -killed, cannot be eaten; so the goat-herd, with characteristic apathy -and Arab fatalism, suffers the ravages on his kids and contents himself -with an oath. Only once have we found a nest in a tree; it was a giant -oak, impending a ravine so precipitous that from the eyrie you could -drop a pebble into a torrent 200 feet below. Usually their nests are in -the crags, vast accumulations of sticks conspicuously projecting, and -generally in pairs, perhaps 100 yards apart, and which are occupied in -alternate years. Eggs are laid by mid-March, but the young hardly fly -before June. It was in this sierra that we made the sketches of golden -eagles from life, here and at p. 317. - -Bonelli's eagle is another beautiful mountain-haunting species, but of -it we treat elsewhere. - - * * * * * - -From the knife-edged ridge above our eagle's eyrie (height 5500 feet) we -enjoyed a memorable view. Due south, 50 miles away, beyond the jumbled -Spanish sierras, lay Gibraltar, recognisable by its broken back, but -looking puny and inconsiderable amidst vaster heights. Beyond it--beyond -Tetuan, in fact--rose Mount Anna, an 8000-feet African mountain; to the -right, Gebel-Musa and all the Moorish coast to Cape Spartel, the straits -between showing dim and insignificant. To the eastward, beyond the -Sierra de las Nieves aforesaid, stands out boldly the long white -snow-line of Neváda, its majesty undimmed by distance and 140 miles of -intervening atmosphere. To the west we distinguish Jerez, 40 miles away, -and beyond it the shining Atlantic. - -From one point there lies almost perpendicularly below, the curious -mediæval village of Grazalema, jammed in between two vast cinder-grey -rock-faces--its narrow streets, white houses, and india-red roofs -resembling nothing so much as a toy town. No space for "back-streets," -each house faces both ways; yet Grazalema is one of the cleanest spots -we have struck--how they manage that, we know not. - -Immediately beneath Grazalema is a bird-crag that contains a regular -"choughery," hundreds of these red-billed corvines nesting in its caves -and crevices. As neighbours they had lesser kestrels and rock-sparrows -(_Petronia stulta_), while the roofs of the caverns were plastered with -the mud nests of crag-martins. We also noticed here alpine swifts, and a -great frilled lizard escaped us amid broken rocks. - -Within the limits of a chapter even the more notable spots of a great -serranía cannot all find place; but the rock-gorge known as the Yna de -la Garganta will not be overpassed, though no words of ours can convey -the stupendous nature of this place, a chasm riven right through the -earth's crust till its depths are invisible from above; and overshadowed -by encircling walls of sheer red crags, broken horizontally at -intervals, thus forming, as it were, tier above tier, and flanked by a -series of bastions and flying buttresses apparently provided to support -the vast superstructure above. - -[Illustration] - -By climbing along the rugged central tier, one overlooks from its apex, -as from the reserved seats of a dress-circle, the whole domestic economy -of a vulture city in being. Every ledge in that abyss was crowded; many -vultures sat brooding, their heads laid flat on the rock or tucked under -the point of a wing. Elsewhere a single grey-white chick, or a huge -white egg, lay in full view on the open ledge, nestled, apparently, on -bare earth; and behind these each niche or cavern had its tenant. The -rocks around a nest were often stained blood-red, and one vulture -arrived carrying a mass of what appeared carrion in its claws. Another -brought a wisp of dry esparto-grass athwart her beak and deposited it in -her nest.[61] - -While we watched this scene a smart thunderstorm passed over, with the -result that shortly afterwards the vultures spread their huge wings to -dry, displaying attitudes some of which we endeavour to sketch--see also -p. 9. - -[Illustration: "WING-DRYING"] - -The descent into the unseen depths beneath was rewarded, despite a -terrible scramble--part of the way on a rope--by discovering a fairy -grotto filled with pink, azure, and opalescent stalactites and -stalagmites. The bed of the canyon, which from above had appeared to be -paved with sand, now proved to consist of boulders ten feet high. After -threading a devious course through these for half-a-mile we reached the -mouth of the grotto. Its width would be nearly 200 feet and height about -half that, the form roughly resembling the quarter of a cocoa-nut. The -dome, in delicate colouring, passes description--the apex bright -salmon-pink, changing, as it passed inwards, first into clear emerald, -then to dark green, and finally to indigo; while the reflected sunlight -filtering down between the rock-walls of the canyon caused -phantasmagoric effects such as, one thought, existed only in fairyland. -The cavern was backed by pillars of stalactites resembling the pipes of -a mighty organ, and of so soft and feathery a texture that it was -surprising, on touching them, to find hard rock. The floor also was -composed of great smooth stalagmites, deep brown in colour. - -From outside, one saw the sky as through a narrow rift between the -perpendicular walls which towered up 300 feet; and above that level -there again uprose the vultures' cliffs already described. - - * * * * * - -One evening we detected afar a cavern which showed signs of being the -present abode of a lammergeyer. Ere reaching it, however, a keen eye -descried one of these birds in the heavens at an altitude that dwarfed -the great _Gypaëtus_ to the size of a humble kestrel. Presently, after -many descending sweeps, the lammergeyer entered another cavern 2000 feet -higher up--in fact, close under the sky-line, among some scanty -pinsápos. The hour was 4 P.M., and after a long day's scramble, the -writer shied at a fresh ascent. Not so my companion, L., who set off at -a run, and within an hour had reached the eyrie. It proved empty, though -the leg of a freshly killed kid lay half across the nest. This was -presumably the alternative site, used, this year, merely as a larder; -but time did not that night admit of further search. - -The writer beguiled the two-hours interval in interviewing a wild -gipsy-eyed girl of twelve, whose name was Joséfa Aguilár, and whose -vocation in life to attend a herd of swine. Throughout Spain, whether on -mountain or plain, one sees this thing--a small boy or girl spending the -livelong day in solitary charge of dumb beasts, goats or pigs, even -turkeys--and the sight ever causes me a pang of regret. Probably I am -quite wrong, but such hardly seems a human vocation--certainly it leads -nowhere. In intervals of pelting her recalcitrant charges with stones, -Joséfa told me she lived in a reed-hut which was close by, but so small -that I had overlooked its existence; that she never went to school or -had been farther from home than Zahara, a village some few miles away. -She asked if I was from Grazalema, and on being told from England, she -repeated the word "Inglaterra" again and again, while her bright black -eyes became almost sessile with wonderment. Joséfa's frock was hanging -in tatters, torn to bits by the thorny scrub. I gave her some coppers to -buy a new one, and with a little joyous scream Joséfa vanished among the -bush. - -[Illustration: LAMMERGEYER ENTERING EYRIE] - -Darkness was closing in ere L. returned; then great thunder-clouds -rolled up, obscuring the moon, and oh! what we suffered those next three -hours, scrambling over rock and ridge, through forest and thicket--all -in inky darkness and under a deluge of rain. - -On returning to this remote ridge (having ascended from the opposite -face), we soon renewed our friendship with the lammergeyer--when first -seen, it was being mobbed by an impudent chough. Then it sailed up the -deep gorge below us, passing close in front, and after clearing an angle -of the hill, wheeled inwards and with gently closing wings plunged into -a cavern in the crag. We felt we had our object assured; yet on -examining these mighty piles of rocks--a couple of hours' stiff -climbing--it was evident we were mistaken, for no nest, past or present, -did they reveal. It was on yet a third stupendous crag, quite a mile -from the alternative site first discovered, that this year these -lammergeyers had fixed their home. The nest was in quite a small cave in -the rock-face; more often (as described in _Wild Spain_) the lammergeyer -prefers a huge cavern in the centre of which is piled an immense mass of -sticks, heather-stalks, and other rubbish--the accumulation of -years--and lined with esparto-grass and wool. The eggs always number two -and are richly coloured, whereas the griffon lays but one, and that -white. Although laying takes place as early as January, yet the young -are unable to fly before June. Our principal object this year was to -sketch the lammergeyer in life, and in this several rough portraits -serve to show that we succeeded--so far as in us lies. - - * * * * * - -There remain notes of later vernal developments in these beautiful -sierras; but alas! this chapter is already too long, so over the -taffrail they go. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI - -SERRANÍA DE RONDA (_Continued_) - - -II. THE SIERRA BERMEJA - -The Sierra Bermeja, standing on Mediterranean shore, demands a page or -two if only because it affords a home to three of Spain's peculiar and -rarer guests--the pinsápo, the ibex, and the lammergeyer. - -Our earlier experience in Bermeja, our efforts to study its ibex--and to -secure a specimen or two--are told in _Wild Spain_. Suffice it here to -say that the characteristic of these Mediterranean mountains is that -here the ibex habitually live, and even lie-up (as hares do), among the -scrubby brushwood of the hills--a remarkable deviation from their -observed habits elsewhere, whether in Spain, the Caucasus and Himalayas, -or wherever ibex are found. But since brushwood clothes Bermeja and -other Mediterranean hills to their topmost heights, the local wild-goats -have literally no choice in the matter. Still, such a habitat must -strike a hunter's eye as abnormal, and is, in fact, a curious instance -of "adaptation to environment."[62] - -During December 1907 we spent some days in Bermeja in an attempt to -stalk the ibex--a difficult undertaking when game is always three-parts -hidden by scrub. On former occasions we had secured a specimen or two by -stalking (here called _raspagéo_) and "driving"; but whatever chance -there might have been was this time annihilated by incessant mists -enshrouding the heights in opaque screen. Thus another carefully -organised expedition and unstinted labour were once more thrown away! - -[Illustration: LAMMERGEYER - -[Drawn from life in Sierra Bermeja, March 1891.]] - -On December 19 we drove the "Pinsapal." This, commencing near the -highest tops, 5000 feet, extends down a tremendous conch-shaped ravine, -merging at the base into pine-forests--chiefly, we believe, _Pinus -pinaster_. This "drive" lasted two hours, mist sometimes densely thick, -at others clearing a little; but only allowing a view varying from -twenty to eighty yards. This, coupled with constant drip from the -gigantic pinsápos and a bitter wind blowing through clothes already -soaked, was ... well, comfortless and pretty hopeless to boot. Twice the -dogs gave tongue--and it could be nothing but ibex here; while D., who -was posted on the left, heard the rattling of hoofs as a herd passed -within, as he reckoned, 200 yards. A second lot, followed by dogs, was -heard though not seen on the extreme right. The pinsápos at this season, -and in such weather, form a favourite resort, for we saw more sign -hereabouts than on the high tops. A _levante_ wind in winter always -means mist--and failure. - -The ibex in winter hold the high ground unless driven down by snow. In -spring and summer they come lower--even to cork-oak levels--presumably -to avoid contact with tame goats, then pasturing on the tops. - -The east wind and fog continuing a whole week, though we tried all we -knew, every effort was frustrated by atmospheric obstruction. To drive -ibex successfully, the skilled training of the dogs is essential. -Formerly there were goat-herds who possessed clever dogs of great local -repute. But these days of "free-shooting" have passed away, and the ibex -of Bermeja with those of other Spanish sierras have recently fallen -under the beneficent ægis of "protection." - -Bird-life in winter is scarce. We noticed a few redwings feeding on -berries; jays, partridges, and many wood-pigeons picking up acorns. -Vultures rarely appear here, but both golden and Bonelli's eagles were -observed, and in one mountain-gorge a pair of lammergeyers have their -stronghold, where in 1891 we examined both their eyries, one containing -a young _Gypaëtus_ as big as a turkey. That was in March, at which -season hawfinches abounded in the pines, and at dawn the melody of the -blue thrush recalled Scandinavian springs and the redwing's song. -Another small bird caused recurrent annoyance while ibex-driving. With a -loud "Rat, tat, tat," resembling the patter of horny hoofs on rock, its -song commences; then follows a hissing note as of a heavy body passing -through brushwood--for an instant one expects the coveted game to -appear. No, confound that bird! it's only a blackstart. - -We extract the following scene from _Wild Spain_:-- - - On the lifting of a cloud-bank which rested on the mountain-side, I - descried four ibex standing on a projecting rock in bold relief - about 400 yards away. The intervening ground was rugged--rocks and - brush-wood with scattered pines--and except the first 50 yards, the - stalk offered no difficulty. I had passed the dangerous bit, and - was already within 200 yards, when in a moment the wet mist settled - down again and I saw the game no more. Curiously, on the fog first - lifting, an eagle sat all bedraggled and woe-begone on a rock-point - hard by, his feathers fluffed out and a great yellow talon - protruding, as it seemed, from the centre of his chest. Then a - faint sun-ray played on his bronzed plumage: he shook himself and - launched forth in air, sweeping downwards--luckily without moving - the ibex, though they took note of the circumstance. - -In the lower forests here are some pig and roe-deer. A far greater -stronghold, however, for both these game-animals is at Almoraima, -belonging to the Duke of Medinaceli, some six or eight leagues to the -westward. Almoraima covers a vast extent of wild mountainous land of no -great elevations generally, but all wooded and jungle-clad. On the lower -levels grow immense cork-forests. Here, during a series of _monterías_ -in February 1910, in which the writer, to his lasting regret, was -prevented from taking part, a total of 19 roe-deer and 52 boars was -secured. The two best roebuck heads measured as follows:-- - - Length - (outside curve). Circumference. Tip to Tip. - No. 1 9-1/2" 3-1/2" 3-5/8" - No. 2 9-1/4" 4-3/8" 3" - - -III. SIERRA DE JEREZ - -These mountains (being within sight of our home) formed the scene of our -earliest sporting ventures in Spain. It is forty years ago now, yet do -we not forget that first day and its anxieties, as we rode by crevices -that serve for bridle-paths, along with a too jovial hill-farmer, Barréa -by name, who persisted in carrying a loaded gun swinging haphazard and -full-cock in the saddle-slings--that it was loaded we saw by the shiny -copper cap on each nipple! Our objects that day were boar and roe-deer; -but presently a partridge was descried sprinting up the rugged screes -above. Out came the ready gun, and next moment all that remained of that -partridge was a cloud of feathers and scattered anatomy. The ball had -gone true. Barréa casually shouted to a lad to pick up the pieces, -himself riding on as though such practice was an everyday affair. My own -experience of ball-shooting being then limited, I reflected that if -such were Spanish marksmanship, I might be left behind! On assembling -for lunch, however, some vultures were wheeling high overhead, and it -occurred to me to try my luck. By precisely a similar fluke, one huge -griffon collapsed to the shot, and swirling round and round like a -parachute, occupied (it seemed) five minutes in reaching the -ground--1000 feet below us. - -That afternoon the antics of two strange beasties attracted my attention -and again my ball went straight. The victim was a mongoose, and with -some pride I had the specimen carefully stowed in the -mule-panniers--never to see it more! The mongoose, we now know, owing to -its habit of eating snakes, has acquired a personal aroma surpassing in -pungency that of any other beast of the field, and our men, so soon as -my back was turned, had discreetly thrown out the malodorous trophy. - -A boar-shooting trip to the Sierra de Jerez formed the first sporting -venture in which the authors were jointly engaged; for which reason -(though the memory dates back to March 1872) we may be forgiven for -extracting a brief summary from _Wild Spain_:-- - - Our quarters were a little white rancho perched amid deep bush and - oak-woods on the slope of the Sierra del Valle. A mile farther up - the valley was closed by the dark transverse mass of the Sierra de - las Cabras, the two ranges being separated by an abrupt chasm - called the Boca de la Foz, which was to be the scene of this day's - operations. - - A pitiable episode occurred. While preparing to mount, there - resounded from behind a peal of strange inhuman laughter, followed - by incoherent words; and through an iron-barred window we discerned - the emaciated figure of a man, wild and unkempt, whose eagle-like - claws grasped the barriers of his cell--a poor lunatic. No - connected replies could we get, nothing beyond vacuous laughter and - gibbering chatter. Now he was at the theatre and quoted magic - jargon; anon supplicating the mercy of a judge; then singing a - stanza of some old song, to break off abruptly into fierce - denunciation of one of us as the cause of his troubles. Poor - wretch! he had once been a successful advocate; but signs of - madness having developed, which increased with years, the once - popular lawyer was reduced to the durance of this iron-girt cell, - his only share and view of God's earth just so much of sombre - everlasting sierra as the narrow opening allowed. We were warned - that any effort to ameliorate his lot was hopeless, his case being - desperate. What hidden wrongs may exist in a land where no judicial - intervention is obligatory between the "rights of families" and - their insane relations (or those whom they may consider such) are - easy to conceive. - - The first covert tried was a strong jungle flanking the main gorge, - but this and a second beat proved blank, though two roebuck broke - back. The third drive comprised the main _manchas_, or thickets, of - the Boca de la Foz, and to this we ascended on foot, leaving the - horses picketed behind. Our four guns occupied the rim of a natural - amphitheatre which dipped sharply away some 1500 feet beneath us, - the centre choked with brushwood--lentisk, arbutus, and thorn--20 - feet deep. On our left towered a perpendicular block of limestone - cliffs, the right flank of the jungle being bordered by a series of - up-tilted rock-strata, white as marble and resembling a ruined - street. - - Ten minutes of profound silence, not a sound save the distant - tinkle of a goat-bell, or the song of that feathered recluse, the - blue rock-thrush (in Spanish, _Solitario_), then the distant cries - of the beaters in the depths below told us the fray had begun. - - Another ten minutes' suspense. Then a crash of hound-music - proclaimed that the quarry was at home. This boar proved to be one - of certain grizzly monsters of which we were specially in search, - his lair a jumble of boulders islanded amid thickest jungle. Here - he held his ground, declining to recognise in canine aggressors a - superior force. Two boar-hounds reinforced the skirmishers of the - pack, yet the old tusker stood firm. For minutes that seemed like - hours the conflict raged stationary: the sonorous baying of the - boar-hounds, the "yapping" of the smaller dogs, and shouts of - mountaineers blended with the howl of an incautious _podenco_ as he - received a death-rip--all formed a chorus of sounds that carried - their exciting story to the sentinel guns above. - - The seat of war being near half-a-mile away, no immediate issue was - expected. Then there occurred one crash of bush, and a second boar - dashed straight for the pass where the writer barred the way. The - suddenness of the encounter disconcerted, and the first shot - missed--the bullet splashing on a grey rock just above--time barely - remained to jump aside and avoid collision. The left barrel got - home: a stumble and a savage grunt as an ounce of lead penetrated - his vitals, and the boar plunged headlong, his life-blood dyeing - the weather-blanched rocks and green palmetto. For a moment he lay, - but ere cold steel could administer a quietus, he had regained his - feet and dashed back. Whether revenge prompted that move or it was - merely an effort to regain the covert he had just left, we know - not--a third bullet laid him lifeless. - - During this interlude (though it only occupied five seconds) the - main combat below reached its climax. The old boar had left his - stronghold, and after sundry sullen stands and promiscuous - skirmishes (during which a second _podenco_ died), he made for the - heights. Showing first on the centre, he was covered for a moment - by a ·450 Express; but, not breaking covert, no shot could be - fired, and when next viewed the boar was trotting up a stone-slide - on the extreme left. Here a rifle-shot broke a foreleg, and the - disabled beast, unable to face the hill, retreated to the thicket - below, scattering dogs and beaters in headlong flight. And now - commenced the hue and cry--the real hard work for those who meant - to see the end and earn the spoils of war. Presently _Moro's_ deep - voice told us of the boar at bay, far away down in the depths of - the defile. What followed in that hurly-burly--that mad scramble - through brake and thicket, down crag and scree--cannot be written. - Each man only knows what he did himself, or did not do. We can - answer for three. One of these seated himself on a rock and lit a - cigarette. The others, ten minutes later, arrived on the final - scene, one minus his nether garments and sundry patches of skin, - but in time to take part in the death of as grand a boar as roams - the Spanish sierras. - -This last spring (1910), after thirty-eight years, we revisited the Boca -de la Foz, partly to reassure ourselves that the above description was -not overdrawn. No! 'Tis a terrible wild gorge, the Foz, but the days -when we can follow a wounded boar through obstacles such as those have -passed away. The boars, we were told, are still there, and so are the -vultures in those magnificent crags. We climbed along the ledges and -there were the great stick-built nests, each in its ancestral site. In -March each contains a single egg; now (April) that is replaced by a -leaden-hued chick. These cliffs are also tenanted by ravens and a single -pair of choughs. Neophrons occupied the same cavern whence I shot a -female in 1872, and crag-martins held their old abodes, plastered on to -the roofs of the caves. - -As April advances a new and striking bird-form arrives to adorn the -higher sierras--the least observant can scarce miss this, the -rock-thrush (_Monticola saxatilis_), conspicuous alike in plumage and -actions; with clear blue head and chestnut breast, its colour-scheme -includes a broad patch of white set in the centre of a dark back. The -contrast is most effective, and, so far as we know, this "fashion" of a -white back is unique among birds, unless indeed it be shared by -Bonelli's eagle. The rock-thrush is also endowed with a lovely wild -song, quite low and simple, but replete with a fine "high-tops" quality. -By April 20 he yields to vernal impulses, and his courting is pretty to -see; wheeling around on transparent pinions, he soars and sings the -livelong day; at intervals, with collapsed wing, he drops like a stone -to join his sober-hued mate among the rocks; a few picturesque poses, -displaying all those flashing tints of orange and opal, and off he goes -again to soar and sing once more. His cousin, the blue-thrush, has also -a sweet song and a similar hovering flight, ending in a "drop act"; but -the ascent is more vertical, while frequently he varies the descent and -comes fluttering down in tree-pipit or butterfly-like style. Even the -sober little blackchat now "shows off," perched on some boulder with -quivering wings and tail spread fan-like over his back. Both these two -last, being resident, nest much earlier than the migratory rock-thrush: -the latter was building (in crevices of the rocks) by mid-April, but -hardly lays before May. - -These sierras being only 3000 to 4000 feet, one misses here some of the -alpine forms observed at higher altitudes. The tawny pipit, for example, -a sandy-hued bird with dark eye-stripe and active wagtail-like gait, -which was common on San Cristobal at 4500 feet in April, never showed up -here at all; nor did any of the following species, all so characteristic -of the higher ground: Blackstarts, woodlarks, rock-buntings, cole-and -longtail-tits, and tree-creepers. The choughs, spotted woodpeckers, -rock-thrushes, crag-martins, and wood-pigeons, though observed, were -here very much scarcer. The lammergeyer, too, rarely descends here, and -then only while in his smoke-black uniform of immaturity. - - -THE PUERTA DE PALOMAS - -In May 1883, while returning from Ubrique, our horses fell lame owing to -loss of shoes, and for four days and nights we were encamped in the pass -known as the Puerta de Palomas. There is a tiny _ventorillo_, or wayside -wine-shop, at the foot of the pass; but nights are warm in May, and we -preferred the freedom of the open hill, where the strange growls made by -the griffons at dawn, together with the awakening carol of the -rock-thrush, formed our reveille each morning in that roofless bedroom -amidst the boulders. - -The opposite side of the pass is dominated by the picturesque pile -called the Picacho del Aljibe, a conical peak that towers in tiers of -crags above the adjoining sierras not unlike a gigantic Arthur's Seat -over the Salisbury Crags. Our own side was rather a chaotic jumble of -detached monoliths than cliffs proper, and by clambering over these we -reached in one morning sixteen vultures' nests, the easiest of access we -ever struck. They were mostly very slight affairs, bare rock often -protruding through the scanty structure; though, where necessary, a -broad platform of sticks was provided--as sketched. The poults (only one -in each nest) were now as big as guinea-fowls, with brown feathers -sprouting through the white down. These eyries, albeit slightly -malodorous, are always strictly clean, since vultures feed their young -by disgorging half-digested food from their own crops, and we watched -this not-pleasing operation being performed within some eighty yards' -distance; hence there is no carrion or putrefying matter lying about, as -is the case with the neophron and lammergeyer. - -[Illustration: GRIFFON VULTURE FEEDING YOUNG--PUERTA DE PALOMAS, APRIL -10, 1910.] - -These eyries were situate on three great outstanding stacks of rock, and -during the scramble we came face to face with a pair of eagle-owls -solemnly dreaming away the hours in the recesses of a cavern, though no -sign of a nest was discovered. The caves were shared by crag-martins, -whose swallow-like nests were fixed under the roof, usually just beyond -reach. Their eggs are white, flecked with grey. On May 18 we obtained -here a nest of the rock-thrush with five beautiful greenish-blue eggs. -It was built in a cranny of the crags. - -This year (1910) found us once more in the Puerta de Palomas, the date -April 8. On rounding the Sierra de las Cabras, as L. was already far up -the hillside, I rode forward intending to ascend at the north end and -work back, thus meeting in centre. A succession of mischances, however, -upset that plan. A small clump of ilex clung to the steep above the -point whereat I had left the horses, and in traversing this, I walked -right into a calf concealed beneath a lentiscus. Knowing that this might -involve trouble should its half-wild mother be within hearing, I gently -retreated, but, hard by, stumbled on a second calf, even smaller, in -another bush. No. 1 meanwhile had gained its legs and bleated softly. -There followed a crash among the bush above, and as fierce-looking a -wild beast as ever I saw (and I have seen some) came hurtling down those -rugged rocks at amazing speed. On seeing me (luckily some little -distance from her own offspring) the infuriated mother pulled up, -full-face--a pretty picture, but rather menacing, especially as she kept -up a muttered bellowing, horribly eloquent. I had sidled alongside a -tree; but Paco, who carried my gun, with the reckless spirit begotten of -the bull-fight, boldly addressed the enemy in opprobrious terms. The -only result was that she came still nearer, and I swung to a lower -branch. Paco, nothing daunted, now tried stones (in addition to -expletives), and it was, to me at least, a relief when that cow at -length retired. The half-wild savage may easily be more dangerous than -the truly wild. The former have lost some of their pristine respect for -man, and of course one has less means of defence. - -This incident over, we commenced the climb. The rock-stack rose -vertically above us, but we diverged to the right as affording an easier -route. On reaching the desired level, however, I found it impossible to -make good that interval on our left--a smooth rock-face devoid of -handhold, and too upright to traverse, forbade all lateral movement. Up -we went another twenty yards, then another; but always to find that -slithery rock-face mocking our efforts to outflank it. We were now well -above the rock-stack overlooking the eyries, and I could see two -griffons brooding, another feeding a poult close by. But between us was -a great gulf fixed, and that gulf stopped us. The obvious alternative -was to descend and try again from a fresh point. But here a new -difficulty faced us: we could not descend. We had come up by following a -series of vertical fissures, or "chimnies," none too easy, since every -crevice sheltered some vicious vegetation, each more spikey and thorny -than the last. Still from _below_ one can always select a handhold -somewhere, and then defy the thorn; whereas on looking _backwards_, -nothing is visible but a vanishing outline of rock and gorse, porcupine -broom, or palmetto--beyond is vacant space, and a sheer drop at that. In -a word, we could neither descend nor move laterally. It was -humiliating--even more so than the antecedent incident with a _COW_! - -One resource remained--to climb on to the top; and even in that -direction a single bad rock might cut off escape. No such crowning -catastrophe befell, but it was tooth-and-claw work, every yard of it, -and the vertical height could not have been less than 1000 feet. - -While thus "clawing up" I recollect passing a perfect glory in -orchids--great twin purple blooms, golden-tipped and quite amorphous in -outline. They grew just beyond my reach. Curious recumbent ferns clung -to the rocks; anemones and violet-like bouquets peered from each cranny. - -Meanwhile L., approaching from the other side, had examined the -rock-stacks and succeeded in attaining one main objective--the nest of -the eagle-owl. This was in a rock-cavern, close by that of '83, easy of -access--indeed the great owl flew out in his face as he passed below. -The cave (four feet high by two wide) was at the foot of a vertical -limestone cliff, its floor level with a goat-track that skirted the -crag, and fully exposed to view; there was no nest nor any debris. Two -young owls in white down, with one egg actually "chipping," lay on the -bare earth. - - * * * * * - -One of the griffon's nests still contained (on April 8) a fresh egg, -which is now in the writer's collection as a memorial of that day. We -had secured all we had expected in the Puerta de Palomas--and something -more besides. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII - -A SPANISH SYSTEM OF FOWLING - -THE "CABRESTO" OR STALKING-HORSE - - -Spain is a land of flocks and herds, of breeders and graziers. At the -head of the scale stands the fighting-bull, monarch of the richest -_vegas_; at the opposite extreme come the shaggy little ponies and -brood-mares that eke out a feral and precarious subsistence in the -wildest regions. Throughout the marismas hardy beasts with wild-bred -progeny on which no human hand has ever laid, abound, grazing knee-deep -in watery wildernesses where tasteless reed or wiry spear-grass afford a -bare subsistence. - -There they live, splashing in the shadows, heads half-immersed as they -pull up subaquatic herbage; on the back of one rides perched a -snow-white egret, on another a couple of magpies, preying on ticks or -warbles, while all around swim wildfowl that scarce deign to move aside. - -No fowler could view such a scene without perceiving that approach to -the wildfowl might be effected under cover of these unsuspected ponies. -The earliest aucipial mind probably realised the advantage offered, and -the system has been practised in Spain from time immemorial. - -The method is simple. The ponies (termed, when trained, _cabrestos_, or -"decoys") seem by intuition to realise what is required. By a cord -attached to the headstall, the fowler, crouching behind the shoulder, -directs his pony's course towards the unconscious fowl. At intervals, -still further to disarm suspicion, feigned halts are made as though to -simulate grazing. Before closing in, the nose-cord is made fast to the -near fore-knee, thus holding the pony's head well down. Presently the -ducks are within half gunshot, and we amateurs (whose doubled backs ache -excruciatingly from a constrained position maintained for half an hour) -pray each moment for relief and the signal to fire. No! Our -fowler-friends shoot for a livelihood, and continue, with marvellous -skill and patience, so to manoeuvre their beasts that the utmost -possible target shall finally be presented to the broadside. There is no -hurry--nor time nor aching vertebræ with them count one centimo. (See -photo at p. 90.) - -Should it be necessary to change course, that operation is effected by -wheeling the pony stern-on to the fowl, the fowler meanwhile crouching -low under his muzzle: critical moments ensue during which the expert has -no cover but the pony's breadth--instead of his length--to shield him -from detection by hundreds of the keenest eyes on earth. But it is -remarkable how little notice is taken of what is necessarily in full -view provided that the exposed objects are _beneath_ the covering -animal. Once let a human head or a gun-barrel appear _above_ its outline -and the spell is broken. But otherwise--say during those interludes of -feigned "grazing"--the suffering fowlers can straighten their backs by -squatting down (in the water!) and thus enjoy at closest quarters a -spectacle of wild creatures that is impossible to attain by any other -means yet discovered. Though the fowlers are now fully visible, framed, -as it were, beneath the _cabresto's_ belly and between his legs, no -notice will be taken or any alarm created so long as the pony's skylines -remain unadorned with human appendages. There, within a score of yards, -you sit face to face with ducks by the hundred, feeding, splashing, -preening--all utterly unconcerned! Those of our readers who are most -familiar with wildfowl will best realise how incredible such a statement -must read. Ordinarily, the slightest visible movement--the mere glint of -a gun-barrel though half masked by cover--suffices to shift every duck -at one hundred yards and more. Here they ignore objects practically -exposed and close at hand. Apparently the habitual companionship day by -day of water-bred ponies has annihilated in their minds all sense of -danger arising from such a quarter. - -The Spanish professionals (using large but antiquated muzzle-loaders) -work singly, each man behind his own pony; or should two or more join -forces for a broadside, there still remains but one man behind each -animal. These men are reputed to have made extraordinary shots; and -having viewed their infinite patience, we can well believe such records. -To place two guns behind one _cabresto_-pony, that is, an amateur as -well as the professional, is a distinct handicap. We have done it -ourselves, and accepted the handicap merely to see the system in -operation; yet by using more powerful weapons have probably killed as -many fowl at one shot as even the fabled totals of our friends. - -Obviously no comparison can be, or is, suggested as between two totally -different performances. It has been solely for the purpose of learning -the system, and also of enjoying unequalled views of wildfowl close at -hand, that we have occasionally put in a day with the _cabresto_-ponies, -and here annex a few records of shots made by this means, taken at -random from our diaries. - - _January 1, 1898._--Fired three broadsides with two guns, a double - 8-and a single 4-bore; in the second case the fowl had just been - badly scared by a kite. Results:-- - - (1) 59 wigeon, 3 teal 62 - (2) 30 " 3 " 33 - (3) 60 " 1 " 4 pintail, 4 shoveler 69 - ___ - Total 164 - - _January 31, 1905._--In three shots at wigeon, the first being half - spoilt by a big black-backed gull, the authors (two guns) - gathered:-- - - 27 + 51 + 48 = 126 wigeon. - - _December 29, 1893._--Santolalla (2 guns), 78 teal, besides some - coots, at a single shot. - - _January 1894._--Laguna Dulce; three _cabrestos_ with Spanish - fowlers, and two amateurs with big breech-loaders (a broadside of 5 - barrels):-- - - 198 teal (including about a dozen wigeon). - -A shot made in January 1894 seems worth recording merely in respect of -the numbers killed by only some _seven ounces_ of lead. An islet -actually _carpeted_ with teal was our target, and two 12-bores, aided by -an ancient Spanish muzzle-loader (about 10-bore), realised fifty head, -to wit, forty-nine teal and one mallard-drake. - -Geese will rarely admit of approach to the close quarters necessary for -effective work; yet just on those rare exceptional occasions we have -secured (using heavy shoulder-guns) from six to a dozen greylags in a -day, once or twice more than this--five at a shot being the maximum. - - -THE STANCHION-GUN IN SPAIN - -In contrast with the success of the _cabresto_ system, the stancheon-gun -proved a failure. So admirably adapted for punt-gunning appeared those -great shallow marismas, that in 1888 we sent out the entire outfit and -artillery for wildfowling afloat--a 22-foot double-handed gunning-punt -and an 80-lb. gun to throw 16 oz. of shot. - -The little craft reached the Guadalquivir in September, but unforeseen -difficulties arose. The Spanish custom-house took alarm. True, the smart -little gun-boat was an entire novelty--even in the Millwall docks she -had created surprise; here she was incomprehensible. No such vessel had -ever floated on Spanish waters, and the official mind needed time to -consider. That oracle, after weeks of cogitation, ordered the removal of -the suspicious craft from the obscure port of Bonanza to the fuller -light that plays on the custom-house at Seville. There, after more weeks -of delay, it was decided that the white-painted six-foot barrel was "an -arm of war," that "the combination of boat and gun savoured of the -mechanism of war," and, finally, that "the boat could not be permitted -to pass the customs until it had been registered at the Admiralty." Thus -our _Boadicea_ joined the Imperial Navy of Spain. - -Seven months elapsed whilst these difficulties were in process of -solution, and ere they were smoothed away (as difficulties in Spain, or -elsewhere, do dissolve under prudent treatment), and the _Boadicea_ set -free to navigate the marismas, the season had passed and the migrant -fowl had returned to the north. - -The following autumn, however, it at once became apparent that the -venture was a failure. No wildfowl would tolerate her presence within -half-a-mile. No sooner had her low snake-like form crept clear of -fringing covert than the broad _lucio_ in front was in seething tumult, -every duck within sight had sprung on wing. Naturally we tried every -known plan, but all in vain. A system that is effective on the harassed -and hard-shot estuaries of England utterly broke down on the desolate -marismas of Spain. The apparent explanation is that whereas fowl at home -are accustomed to see passing craft of many kinds, and perhaps mistake -the low-lying gunboat for a larger vessel far away; here no craft of any -sort navigate the marisma, or should the box-shape _cajones_ of native -gunners be so classed, they are at once recognised as wholly and solely -hostile.[63] - -One plan remained by which the big gun might be brought to bear upon the -larger bodies of fowl: concealing the boat among sedges at some point -where ducks had been observed to assemble _within reach_ of such covert. -That, however, to begin with, was most uncertain--the only certainty was -that enormous drafts on patience would be required; and, after all, it -forms no part of the system of wildfowling afloat and lacks the joys and -glories of that pursuit. - - -WILD SWANS IN SPAIN - -Since meeting with four hoopers in February 1891, as recorded in _Wild -Spain_, we had neither seen nor heard of wild swans in Southern Spain -till February of the present year, 1910, when H.R.H. the Duke of Orleans -kindly informed us that he had succeeded in shooting one of a pair met -with in his marismas of Villamanrique. It proved to be an adult male of -Bewick's swan--the first occurrence of that species that has been -recorded in Spain. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII - -THE "CORROS," OR MASSING OF WILDFOWL IN SPRING FOR THEIR NORTHERN -MIGRATION - - -The withdrawal of the wildfowl at the vernal equinox affords an -unequalled scenic display. It forms, moreover, one of those rare -revelations of her inner working that Nature but seldom allows to man. -Her operations, as a rule, are essentially secretive. A little may be -revealed, the bulk must be inferred. Here, for once, a vast revolution -is performed in open daylight, _coram populo_--that is, if the authors -and a handful of Spanish fowlers be accepted as representative, since no -other witness is present at these scenes enacted in remote watery -wilderness. - -Up to mid-February the daily life of the marisma continues as already -described. From that date a new movement becomes perceptible--the -seasonal redistribution. Daily there withdraw northward bands and -detachments counting into thousands apiece. But no vacancy occurs since -their places are simultaneously filled by corresponding arrivals from -beyond the Mediterranean. - -It is at this precise epoch that there occurs the phenomenon of which we -have spoken. - -Towards the close of February, dependent on the moon, a marked climatic -change takes place. A period of sudden heat usually sets in--a sequence -of warm sunny days, breathless, and at noontide almost suffocating. But -each afternoon with flowing tide there arises from the sea a S. W. -breeze, gentle at first and uncertain but gaining strength with the -rising flood. - -Already, shortly before this change, the duck-tribes had partially -relaxed their full mid-winter activities--owing to abundant spring -growths of food-plants, had become more sedentary; if not sluggish, at -least reluctant to move. After the brief morning-flight not a wing -stirred. But now, scan the mirror-like surface of some great _lucio_ -and you will recognise a new movement distinct and dissimilar from -regular hibernal habit. There float within sight (and the same is -happening at a score of places beyond sight) not only the usual loose -flotillas, but three, four, or five concrete assemblages of densely -massed fowl whose appearance the slightest scrutiny will differentiate -from the others. These are not sitting quiescent. The binoculars -disclose a scene of perpetual motion, well-nigh of riot--one might be -regarding a feathered faction-fight. Hundreds of units fight, splash, -and chase, or throw up water with beating wings till surf and spray half -conceals the seething crowd. That flicker of pinions and flying foam -are, moreover, accompanied by a chorus of myriad notes--a babel of -twirling sound blended in rising and falling cadences, comparable only -to the distant roar of some mighty city. A more singular spectacle we -have not encountered. - -Inquiry from one's companion elicits the reply that these assemblages -are _hechando corros para irse_ (literally, "forming choruses -preparatory to departure")--an expression which conveyed no more -significance to us than it can to the reader.[64] We decided to return -at daybreak to see this thing through, and after watching the phenomenon -a score of times can now explain it. - -During the morning hours there are established focal points whereat -assemble those units already affected by the emigrant furor. These (at -first, perhaps, but a score or two) rapidly increase in numbers till -each focus becomes the nucleus of a corro. The seasonal infection -spreads, and as its influence impregnates the surrounding masses, these, -singly or in scores or hundreds as the passion seizes them, hasten to -join one or other of the mobilising army-corps. Within an hour or two -the insignificant original nucleus has developed into a vast host all in -a ferment of agitation, and being constantly reinforced by buzzing -swarms of recruits from without. - -All this procedure, remember, has been taking place during the blazing -noontide heat. Now the hour is 2 P.M., and the first gentle breath of -the daily sea-breeze--the _viento de la mar_--is becoming perceptible. -This breeze springs from the S. W., and let us here admit that, being -fowlers as well as naturalists, our observance of the phenomenon has -usually been carried out upon a _lucio_ which happens to terminate -towards the N. E. in a long narrow bight fringed by tall reeds and -bulrush, where, concealed in friendly covert, we can continue the -observation while glancing along the barrel of a punt-gun. That -secondary fact is merely incidental and, it so happens, facilitates the -main object. - -A mile to windward three such armies are mobilising separately within -the scope of our view; and now the gentle force of that sea-breeze -begins to impel those unconscious hosts, too preoccupied with -all-absorbing passion to notice detail, directly towards the point -whereat we lie concealed. - -[Illustration: REED-BUNTING - -A winter visitor to the marismas.] - -By this time the sun has three or four hours of declension and the thin -dark line representing thousands of surging atoms has drifted down to -within 200 yards. We can study at short range an amazing phenomenon. In -weird exuberance they fight and flirt, chase, cherish, and flap till -churned water flies in foam and a discordant roar of sibilant sound -fills to the zenith the voids of space. The volume of voices defies -description since these assembling multitudes belong to no single -species, but include a promiscuous agglomeration of all that care to -enlist, and each adds its own distinctive element to the general -uproar.[65] Around the floating host new-comers buzz like swarming bees, -each seeking some spot to wedge itself into the crowd. - -To-night the main _corro_ that we had been awaiting drifted past our -front a trifle beyond effective range. The two that followed both "took -the ground" and remained stationary, away to the right. The chance of -making a great shot had failed; but we were content to watch the -phenomenon to its finish. - -Now the sun dips. The western sky is filled with golden glory; in twenty -short minutes darkness will have enveloped the earth. Then in a moment, -as by word of command, silence, sudden and impressive, reigns where just -before that torrential babel had raged. Such, now, is the stilly silence -that by comparison the pipe of a passing redshank sounds well-nigh -scandalous! A few seconds pass. Then, dominated by a single impulse, the -concentrated mass on our front rises simultaneously on wing. The spell -of silence is broken; the roar of pinions reverberates far and wide. -They're off--bound for Siberia! - - Yet unperplexed as though one spirit swayed - Their indefatigable flight. - -Holding the same massed formation, the fowl in three or four broadening -circles quickly attain a considerable altitude--say 100 yards--and then -head away on their course, _ALWAYS_ (so far as they remain visible) to -the _SOUTH-EAST_--diametrically opposite to the direction one would -expect. As in deepening darkness we set forth on our homeward voyage, -the heaven above pulsates at intervals with the beating of wings as yet -more north-bound _corros_ pass overhead. - -Certain notable facts are observable in this vernal exodus. For upwards -of twelve hours prior to departure the outgoing fowl take no food. That -period is devoted exclusively to preparation and overhaul, _and_ to -pairing. Plumage is preened and dressed till each unit is spick and -span, speckless, and not a feather misplaced. All, moreover, are -absolutely empty--in best and lightest travelling trim. - -When ducks are _acorrados_--that is, formed into _corros_ (the term is -used thus in verb-form)--their normal watchfulness is relaxed. All -thought and energy are concentrated on the impending event. Hence, at -these periods they are apt to fall an easier prey to the fowler and on -wholesale lines. The native gunners with their trained _cabresto_-ponies -sometimes unite and enormous totals are secured as the result of a -single joint broadside. The fowl thus obtained afford proof of the facts -just stated, being all absolutely empty; besides which many different -species will be killed at the one shot.[66] These men also state that -the ducks start already paired and flying side by side; this, they say, -explains the ferment and commotion of the previous hours--courting and -sorting. Adult ducks, as previously indicated (p. 110), apparently pair -for life; but since some species (such as wigeon) take at least two -years to gain maturity, it is probable that the sexual phenomena which -are so conspicuous in the _corros_ represent the first pairing of the -newly adult two-year-olds. - -The most favourable time for the assembling of corros is on those days -when great heat and calm at midday is succeeded towards evening by an -extra strong sea-breeze. On such occasions very large numbers will leave -between sundown and dark. Northerly winds will almost absolutely arrest -the exodus. - -For the season of 1900-1901 our game-books showed a total of 4849 -wildfowl (4674 ducks and 175 geese)--a record for which we were -good-humouredly taken to task by our venerable friend the late Canon -Tristram, who thought it looked excessive. The figures certainly are -big, but the next entry in the book reads:-- - - _March 15._--This evening between fifty and seventy _corros_ left - within half an hour--say 50,000 to 70,000 ducks. Next morning the - marisma appeared as full as ever. - -Our toll of 5000 seemed by comparison but as a drop in the bucket! - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX - -SPRING-TIME IN THE MARISMAS - -BIRD-LIFE IN A DRY SEASON - - -Bird-life in the Spanish marisma--in spring no less than in -winter--presents spectacles of such abounding variety as can nowhere in -Europe be surpassed. In the Arctic are vaster aggregations, but these, -comprising, say, only half-a-dozen species, are less attractive. It is -the infinite kaleidoscopic succession of graceful and dissimilar forms -that hour by hour flash on one's sight--in a word, it is variety that -lends abiding charm to our Spanish bird-world. - -[Illustration: GREY PLOVER (MAY)] - -These scenes have already been described--we have ourselves described -them in detail, and do not propose to recapitulate, alluring though the -subject be. - -Here we purpose depicting bird-life under undescribed conditions--in a -spring when, by reason of exceptional drought, the myriad marsh-dwellers -find themselves entirely at fault. Winging their seasonal way from -Africa, to seek the seclusion of reed-girt pools and their accustomed -league-long swamps and shallows, they found instead a calcined plain, no -drop of water remaining, plant-life either prematurely parched or -pulverised beneath a fiery sun. Watching the arrival of the -advance-guard in early spring, one wondered what the bewildered hosts -would do next, how they would face this fresh freak of nature. - -The marismas, it should be explained, normally dry every summer, however -wet the previous winter may have been. Though the great _lucios_ stood -five feet deep in February, yet the deepest will be stone-dry by -midsummer or, at latest, by St. Jago (July 24). Cattle and the wild-game -can then only drink at the narrowed pools where permanent water, however -exiguous, oozes forth--or the cattle from wells. In normal years, -however, the marsh-birds have already reared their broods before these -dates. - -But in years of drought--what resource have they, where can they find a -substitute for their sun-destroyed and desolate _incunabula_? Many (the -waders in particular) instinctively prognosticate a drought; few, -comparatively, either come or remain--those that come pass on. Even such -birds as breed on permanent deep-water lakes (such, for example, as the -smaller herons, egrets, and ibises) perceive in advance that, although -they may have water assured, there will neither be sufficient covert, -later on, to conceal their nurseries nor food for the rearing of their -young. The erewhiles teeming heronries are abandoned. - -Never within forty years has there occurred a drier season than this -last, 1909-10. Incidentally we may remark that most of the previous -spring-tides that we had expressly devoted to the marisma had been years -of excessive rainfall, years when flamingoes nested abundantly--an -unfailing index. Such was 1872, for example, 1879, and 1883; again, in -April 1891, we remember our gunning-punt, caught in a squall, sinking -beneath us in quite three feet of water though barely a mile from shore. -These are the seasons when (as described in _Wild Spain_) one sees the -waterfowl in their fullest abundance. On the present occasion (1910) we -were to witness converse conditions. Throughout the preceding winter the -fountains of heaven had been stayed, nor did the advent of spring bring -one hour of rain. By mid-March the marisma was practically waterless--a -fortnight later, sunbaked hard as bricks. Where now were the -marsh-birds? In April or May you could ride a long day over arid -mud-flats and never see a wing, bar, in the latter month, a few Kentish -plovers and fluttering pratincoles[67]--add a band or two of croaking -sand-grouse (_Pterocles alchata_) passing in the high heavens. Where had -the exiled myriads gone? No man can answer. - -We are not so foolish as attempt to say; but we do venture to express -the opinion that in years when even wildest Spain refuses asylum to wild -creatures such as these, the result to them can only represent an -overwhelming catastrophe. For there lies before them no alternative -refuge; their races must perish by wholesale. - -At those rare points where permanent waters remained one might look for -great concentrations of bird-life, yet such was not the case. As -indicated, the bulk had foreseen the event and abandoned this country. - -One phenomenon struck us as inexplicable. Of the birds that did remain -none displayed the slightest symptom of yielding to the vernal impulse, -of pairing, or of desiring to nest. - -Flamingoes, for example (what few there were), continued massed in solid -herds up to mid-May. A band of 300 that we examined closely on the 12th -at the Caño de la Junquera (though fully 90 per cent were adults in -perfect pink feather) contained not a single paired couple. Hard by the -flamingoes some forty or fifty spoonbills were feeding. These, last -year, nested at this spot, building upon or among the low -samphire-scrub--a dangerously open situation for such big and -conspicuous birds. This spring, though many remained in the marisma, not -a spoonbill nested in the district at all. Flamingoes, by the way, had -exhibited extreme restlessness throughout the spring. On February 22, -for example, while steaming up the Straits of Gibraltar, we detected -them in quite incredible numbers but at an altitude almost beyond the -range even of prism-glasses--it was a dim similitude to drifting _cirri_ -that first caught our eye. So vast was their aërial elevation that it -was only after prolonged examination we at length recognised those -revolving grey specks as being birds at all; presently a nearer band, -directly overhead, revealed their characteristic identity. The bulk of -these held a southerly tendency, towards Africa; others drifted -undecided; while several bands, halting between two opinions, when lost -to sight were wheeling beyond the Spanish hills. - -Ducks also in mid-May serried the skies in utterly anachronous -skeins--reminiscent of winter. These were largely marbled ducks, all -unpaired; but there were also very large aggregations of mallards. One -such pack on May 10 certainly counted 500--a number we never remember to -have seen massed together in Spain before, not even in winter. This was -at the Hondon. A similar phenomenon was observed with the white-faced -ducks. These curious creatures also remained in packs, and without sign -of pairing, on the open waters of Santolalla--open only because aquatic -plants had forborne to grow. In normal seasons these lakes are studded -with great cane-brakes and islanded reed-jungles, within whose recesses -these amphibians build their floating homes. This spring not a reed had -grown--partly owing to cattle having destroyed the earlier shoots which -are usually protected by deep water. There was literally no covert -within which these ducks (and the swarming coots and grebes) could -breed, even were they so minded--which they were not! - -The only ducks that had paired in earnest were gadwall, garganey, common -and white-eyed pochard (of which the first three nest here in very -limited numbers), together with normal quantities of mallard. - -[Illustration: HEAD OF CRESTED COOT - -The frontal plate is concave, whereas in the common coot it is convex.] - -A collateral result of the shortage of water wrought yet further havoc -among the birds which had elected to remain, and accentuated the -prescience of those that had departed. Nesting-places, ordinarily -islanded in mid-water, were now left stranded on dry land and thus open -to the ravages of the whole fraternity of four-footed egg-devouring -vermin. Many species, we know, foresee such risks and invariably avoid -them; others, less prudent, make the attempt and lose their labour. The -white-eyed pochards, for example, which are accustomed to nest in -islanded clumps of rush and dense aquatic grasses, this year simply -provided free breakfasts to rats and ichneumons! We happened to require -two or three settings of these ducks to hatch-off under hens, but no -sooner did a marked nest contain three or four eggs than all were -devoured! As to the coots, of which both the common and crested species -breed in the marisma in myriads, they simply gave it up as a bad -business. They did not depart, but resigned themselves to the necessity -of skipping a season. - -Gulls, great and small, with graceful marsh-terns, floated -spectre-like, surveying in solitude and silence arid wastes where before -they had found aquatic Edens. Once or twice we also noticed the small -white herons (buff-backed and egret) flying disconsolately over their -lost homes. A similar remark would apply to most of the other -marsh-breeders--we need not recapitulate them all. Stilts, for example, -and avocets remained perforce in single blessedness--the latter in noisy -querulous bands, quite wild and showing no tendency to assume spring -notes or habits. We _did_ chance on a single avocet's nest, where, in -other years, we have found hundreds. The same with the stilts--they also -retained winter ways. Curiously on May 17--one wet day--two male stilts -had a regular set-to over an irresponsive female; the only symptom of -their love-making we noticed all that spring! - -[Illustration: AVOCETS FEEDING - -Though long-legged, these are half-webfooted and swim freely.] - -Here, in the very height of what ought to have been the breeding-season, -we had all these birds (and many others), instead of hovering overhead -and shrieking in one's ear, flying wild in great packs at 100 yards. - -How came it to pass that the normal vernal impulse was neglected for a -whole season, unfelt and unrecognised--what was the precise -psychological reason? It reads ridiculous to assume that any feathered -husband should deliberately remark: "Now, Angelina, don't you agree that -it would be imprudent our attempting to raise a family this -drought-struck season?" Nor could the neglect arise from physical -weakness, since the birds were strong and wild. Such specimens as we -shot proved plump and well favoured, though the generative organs -disclosed a hybernal obsolescence. One explanation--indeed a -rough-and-ready diagnosis that seemed to cover the ground--was given by -Vasquez. Now Vasquez is our Guarda of the marisma; he is not scientific, -but has been in charge of the wilderness and its wildfowl these thirty -years and, more than all, he is observant. This rough keeper perhaps -understands the inner lives of wildfowl, with the causes that actuate -their movements and habits, better than our best scientists, and Vasquez -told us in February: "This year no birds will breed here; the conditions -necessary to _calientár los ovários_ [literally, to warm up the ovaries] -are wanting." The subsequent course of events, corroborated by the -evidence of dissection, proved the correctness of his forecast. - - * * * * * - -For a moment we return to the white-faced ducks--no European bird-form -less known, or more extravagant. With heavy, swollen beaks, quite -disproportionate in size and pale waxy-blue in colour, with white heads, -black necks, and rich chestnut bodies, their tiny wings (as well as the -sheeny silken plumage) recall those of grebes, but they have long stiff -tails like cormorants, and are more tenacious of the water than either -of those. To push them on wing is well-nigh impossible. They seek safety -in the middle waters and there abide, ignoring threats. To-day, however -(May 16), we needed specimens, and by hustling their company between -three guns, two mounted keepers, and an old boat that leaked like a -sieve we eventually forced them to fly and secured three. They flew -entirely in packs (not pairs), rarely many feet above the surface, but -with a speed little inferior to pochard or other diving-ducks. -Dissection showed that in a female the ovaries had not begun to develop, -there were no ripe ova, nor had the oviduct been used. The _testes_ in -both the males proved also that here these birds were not yet breeding, -or thinking of doing so. - -A week earlier, however, at another lake of quite different formation -and different plant-growth (thirty miles away), we had found these -singular waterfowl already nesting, and append a note of that day:-- - -[Illustration: WHITE-FACED DUCK (_Erísmatura leucocephala_). See also p. -28.] - -LAGUNA DE LAS TERAJES, _May 8._--A lonely lagoon hidden away in a -saucer-shaped basin amidst sequestered downs; almost the entire extent -(twenty acres) choked with dense cane-brakes and thick green reeds which -stood six or eight feet above water. We had driven hither, nine miles, -across sandy heaths and pine-wood; and while breakfasting on the shore -our two canoes (carted here yesterday) were got afloat. Meanwhile, on a -patch of open water we had observed several white-faced ducks swimming, -deeply immersed, and with their long stiff tails cocked upright at -intervals, together with some eared grebes; while marsh-harriers slowly -quartered the brakes and the reed-beds rang with the harsh nasal notes -of the great sedge-warbler. On pushing out into the aquatic jungle -ahead--no light labour with five feet of water encumbered with densely -matted canes and the dead tangle of former growths--we soon fell in with -nests of all the species above mentioned and several more. Those of the -white-faced ducks consisted, first, of a big floating platform of broken -canes, upon which was piled a mass of fine dried "duck-weed"--the coots' -nests being formed of flags and reeds alone. None of the ducks' nests -contained eggs; probably the season was too early (in other years we -have found their great white eggs, rough-grained, about the third week -in May), but possibly the harriers had forestalled us, as we found one -egg floating alongside. The grebes were just beginning to lay; their -nests, composed of rotten floatage, all awash and malodorous, containing -one to three eggs. Next we found two nests of marsh-harriers, immense -masses of dead flags, two feet high, supported on floating canes and -lined with sticks, heather-stalks, and palmetto. One had four eggs, -hard-sat; the other, two eggs, chipping, and two small young in white -down, with savage black eyes. The harriers' eggs are usually dull white; -in one nest found this year, however, the eggs were spotted with pale -red--apparently blood-stains. Hard by were two nests of the purple -water-hen, both of which had obviously been recently robbed by the -harriers next door. - -These curious birds climb the tall green reeds parrot-wise, grasping -four or five at once in their long, supple, heavily clawed toes; then -with their powerful red beaks neatly cut down the reeds a yard or more -above water, in order to feed on the tender pith. Here and there float -masses of these cut-down reeds, split and emptied--_comederos_, the -natives call such spots. But the birds are silly enough to cut down the -very reeds that surround their nests--thus exposing the huge piled-up -structures to the gaze of their truculent neighbour, the egg-loving -marsh-harrier. Instinct badly at fault here. - -With a degree more intelligence, the purple water-hens might at least -retaliate, by watching their opportunity and mopping-up the harriers' -young. They are amply equipped for such work, having great pincer-like -beaks fit to cut barbed wire! - -On the other hand, the great purple water-hens habitually do a bit -robbery and murder on their own account, plundering the nests both of -ducks and coots and devouring eggs or young alike. We shot one whose -beak was smeared all over with yolk from a plundered duck's nest hard -by, and alongside the nest of a _Porphyrio_ with five eggs (found May 1) -lay floating the head-less corpses of two young coots. We have also -observed similar phenomena alongside the nests of the coots -themselves--doubtless attributable to the same cause. The eggs of the -purple water-hen are lovely objects, ruddier and much more richly -coloured than those of any of its congeners. These birds remain in the -marismas all winter. - -In the densest brake bred purple herons, but this part proved quite -impenetrable to canoes. A few days later, however, at the Retuerta, we -reached a little colony of three nests. A beautiful sight they -presented, broad platforms of criss-crossed canes, cleverly supported on -tall bamboos, and lined with the flowering tops of _carrizos_ (canes). -These three nests were close together (another or two hard by), were -about five feet above water-level, and contained three, three, and four -pale-blue eggs. While circling around their nests, the old herons showed -a conspicuous projection beneath their curved necks. We therefore shot -one and found the effect was caused by a curious "kink" or bony process -on the front of the upper neck--as sketched. - -Of other birds observed at this Laguna de Terajes may be noted a few -mallard and marbled ducks, a pair of squacco herons (not breeding), -common sandpipers (on May 8), and a party of whiskered terns which -arrived while we were there. - -The day we had spent among the marsh-birds at this sequestered lagoon -happened to be the day of the general election and the usual excitement -prevailed. Yet, as we journeyed down by the early train, we had read in -the morning's paper this paragraph: "An understanding" -[_Inteligencia_]--"Yesterday an understanding was arrived at in Madrid -between Maura and Cañalejas, by which the former is to hold 225 seats." -Why, after that, bother further with an election? 'Twill serve as an -object-lesson at home. - -[Illustration: PURPLE HERON (_Ardea purpurea_)] - -Another phenomenon of the Spanish marismas is the through-transit in May -of that little group of world-wanderers that make a winter-home in the -southern hemisphere--in South Africa and Madagascar, Australia, New -Zealand, some even in Patagonia--and yet return each spring to summer in -Arctic regions. These comprise, notably, but four species, and not one -of these four, in our view, is excelled for perfect beauty of bright, -chaste, and contrasted coloration by any other bird-form on earth. This -quartette is composed of the grey plover, knot, curlew-sandpiper, and -bartailed godwit--all four of which appear here in thousands every May, -and all in summer dress. - -Note, first, that these do not arrive in Spain (having come 6000 or 8000 -miles but being still 2000 or 3000 miles short of their final -destination) until long after all other birds--including several -congeneric and closely related species--have already laid their eggs and -many hatched their young. Also, secondly, that some of them begin to -assume their spring breeding-plumage under autumnal conditions _before_ -quitting Australia in April--that is, the Australian autumn--and while -yet some 10,000 miles distant from the points at which that -breeding-dress is designed to be worn. - -To the four named might properly be added other two species--the -sanderling and the little stint. Our only reason for confining our -remarks to the original quartette is that, in Spain, the transit of the -other two is less pronounced and noticeable. - -Last spring (1910), dry as the marismas were, we had these -globe-spanners in thousands. They were extremely wild, and it was only -by elaborate "drives" that we secured a few specimens.[68] We also -observed in mid-May hundreds of _black_-tailed godwits, a species which -usually disappears from southern Spain at end of March and which we have -found nesting in Jutland _before_ the above date, viz. the first week in -May. - -[Illustration: GREY PLOVERS - -In summer plumage, on route for Siberia--Marisma, May 12.] - -Whimbrels had been extremely abundant early in May, together with a few -greenshanks, ring-dotterel, and green sandpiper. On May 13 we observed -several of the Mediterranean black-headed gull (_Larus melanocephalus_) -on Santolalla. - - [NOTE.--Referring to the last sentence, our companion, Commander H. - Lynes, R. N., writes:--"All the gulls I saw on Santolalla I am - positive were _L. ridibundus_, and I looked most carefully. The - wing-pattern of _melanocephalus_ is very distinct. With the latter - I became quite familiar in the Mediterranean in winter, and also - saw them in late summer at Smyrna." We, nevertheless, leave our own - record as above, being confident that such gulls as happened to - come within our own view were _exclusively_ of the southern - species, with its darker and deeper hood. But the occurrence of our - British Black-headed Gull so far south in mid-May is also - remarkable. That species, though abundant all winter, has - disappeared, as a rule, by the end of March. Our own last note of - observing it during the spring in question was on April 1. We may - add a further note of having observed _both_ species (swimming - alongside) on Guadalquivir, March 12, 1909. The distinction, alike - in the depth and darker shade of the "hood" in _L. melanocephalus_, - was unmistakable, even to naked eye.] - -This dry spring not a spoonbill nested in Andalucia. The teeming -_pajaréras_, or heronries, at the Rocina de la Madre and in Doñana were -left lifeless and abandoned. In normal years these are tenanted (as -shown in photo at p. 32) by countless multitudes of buff-backed, -squacco, and night-herons, glossy ibis, some purple herons, and a few -pairs of spoonbills, whose massed nests fairly weigh down the marsh-girt -tamarisks. - -[Illustration: ORPHEAN WARBLER (_Sylvia orphea_) - -Arrives end of April; hardly so brilliant a songster as its specific -title would import.] - - - - -CHAPTER XL - -SKETCHES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE - - -Spain is a land where one can enjoy seeing in their everyday life those -"rare" British birds that at home can only be seen in books or museums. -So far as it can be done in half-a-dozen brief sketches, we will -endeavour to illustrate this. - - -I. AN EVENING'S STROLL FROM JEREZ. - -Spanish towns and villages are self-contained like the "fenced cities" -of Biblical days. The _pueblecitos_ of the sierra show up as a concrete -splash of white on the brown hillside. Once outside the gates you are in -the _campo_ = the country. Even Jerez with its 60,000 inhabitants boasts -no suburban zone. Within half an hour's walk one may witness scenes in -wild bird-life for the like of which home-staying naturalists sigh in -vain. We are at our "home-marsh," a mile or two away: it is -mid-February. Within fifteen yards a dozen stilts stalk in the shallows; -hard by is a group of godwits, some probing the ooze, the rest preening -in eccentric outstretched poses. Beyond, the drier shore is adorned by -snow-white egrets (_Ardea bubulcus_), some perched on our cattle, -relieving their tick-tormented hides. - -Thus, within less than fifty yards, we have in view three of the rarest -and most exquisite of British birds. And the list can be prolonged. A -marsh-harrier in menacing flight, his broad wings brushing the -bulrushes, sweeps across the bog, startling a mallard and snipes; there -are storks and whimbrels in sight (the latter possibly slender-billed -curlew), and a pack of lesser bustard crouch within 500 yards in the -palmettos. From a marsh-drain springs a green sandpiper; and as we take -our homeward way, serenaded by bull-frogs and mole-crickets, there -resounds overhead the clarion-note of cranes cleaving their way due -north. - - -II. AN ISOLATED CRAG IN ANDALUCIA - -Within an easy half-day's ride from X. lie the cliffs of Chipipi, rising -in crenellated tiers from the winding river at their base. It is a -lovely May morning. Doves in dozens dash away as we ride through groves -of white poplars, and the soft air is filled with their murmurous -chorus; the bush-clad banks are vocal with the song of orioles and -nightingales, cuckoos, and a score of warblers--Cetti's and orphean, -Sardinian, polyglotta, Bonelli's. The handsome rufous warbler, though -not much of a songster, is everywhere conspicuous, flirting a -boldly-barred, fan-shaped tail that catches one's eye. There are -woodchats, serins, hoopoes; azure-blue rollers squawk, and brilliant -bee-eaters poise and chatter overhead--their nest-burrows perforate the -river-bank like a sand-martins' colony. On willow-clad eyots nest lesser -ring-dotterels and otters bask; while in the shaded depths beneath the -fringing osiers lurk barbel intent to dash at belated grasshopper or -cricket. - -[Illustration: SAVI'S WARBLER (_Sylcia savii_) - -A spring-migrant, common but very local. Has eggs by mid-April.] - -In a thick lentiscos is the nest of a great grey shrike, and while we -watch, its owner flies up carrying a lizard in her beak. Half an hour -later we see a second shrike, with falcon-like dash, capture another -lizard basking in a sunny cranny among the rocks--no mean performance -that. There are snakes here also; one we killed, a coluber, on March 31, -was 5-1/2 feet long and contained two rabbits swallowed whole and head -first--one partly digested. Another snake, quite small, struck us as -being something new; him we bottled in spirit and despatched to the -British Museum. Presently came the reply, thanking us for a "Lizard, -_Blanus cinereus_." Lizard? Well, we learnt a lesson. There are limbless -lizards, and this was one--the subterranean amphisbaena; our British -blindworm (_Anguis fragilis_) is another, and that also we did not know -before. There are curious reptiles here in Spain--the chameleon, for -example. The lobe-footed gecko, _Salamanquésa_ in Spanish, haunts sunny -rocks where insects abound. But he carries war into the enemy's camp, -invading (not singly, but in force) the wild-bees' nests. A Spanish -bee-keeper gravely assured us that the cold-blooded gecko does this -thing expressly to enjoy the sensation of being stung in twenty places -at once! Here in a shady glade lie strewn broadcast the wings of -butterflies--examine very closely the bush above, and presently an -iris-less eye, expressionless as a grey pearl, will meet your own. That -is a praying mantis (or _Santa Teresa_ in Spanish), a practical insect -but no aesthete, since he devours the ugly body and casts aside the -beauteous wings!--see his portrait at p. 87. Among butterflies we -counted here the scarce swallowtail, _Thaïs polyxena_ (hatching out on -April 3), _Vanessa polychloros_, a big fritillary with blood-red -under-surface to its fore-wings (_Argynnis maia_, Cramer), -_Euchloëbelia_ (March) and the curious insect figured alongside, we know -not what it is.[69] - -[Illustration] - -For more than thirty years within our knowledge (and probably for -centuries before) these cliffs have formed a home of Bonelli's eagle. -Two huge stick-built nests stand out in visible projection from crevices -in the crag, some forty yards apart. To-day (April 3) the occupied eyrie -contained a down-clad eaglet, four partridges, and half a rabbit, -besides a partridge's egg, intact, and sundry scraps of flesh, all quite -fresh. The nest was lined with green olive-twigs; swarms of -carrion-flies buzzed around, and a great tortoiseshell butterfly alit on -its edge while we were yet inside. The parent eagles soared overhead, -the female carrying a half rabbit, which, in her impatience, she -presently commenced to devour, the pair perching on a dead ilex, and -affording us this sketch and another inserted at p. 26. Her white -breast shone in the sun with a satin-like sheen. - -Within sight (though fifteen miles away) is another eyrie of this -species--the alternative nests not ten feet apart, merely a projecting -buttress of rock separating the two vertical fissures in which they -rest. This site is in a rock-stack standing out from the wooded slope of -the sierra. The two eggs, slightly blotched with red, were laid in -February. - -The rough bush-clad hills above our cliff are preserved, and presently -meeting the gamekeeper, we tried--(that daily toll of four partridges -plus sundry rabbits had got on our consciences!)--to put in a word for -our eagle-friends, assuring him they did him service by destroying -snakes and big lizards (which they don't). "Si, señor," he agreed, -adding, "y los insectos!" - -[Illustration: BONELLI'S EAGLES SOARING AROUND EYRIE - -Note white patch in centre of back, between the wings.] - -Farther along the cliff we found two nests of neophron, each containing -two very handsome eggs. This bird makes a comfortable home, the -foundation being of sticks, but with a warmly lined central saucer, -bedecked with old bones, snakes' vertebrae, rabbit-skulls, and similar -ornaments. The nests were on overhung shelves of the vertical crag, and -(like those of the eagles) only accessible by rope. There lay a rat in -one--and rather "high." - -Remaining denizens of these crags we can but briefly name. A pair of -eagle-owls had three young (fully fledged by June 10) in a deep -rock-fissure; there were also ravens, many lesser kestrels, and a colony -of genets. - - -III. OAK-WOOD AND SCRUB - -Cistus and tree-heath, genista and purple heather that brushes your -shoulder as you ride, studded with groves of cork-oak--such was our -hunting-field. The reader's patience shall not be abused by a catalogue -of ornithological fact. True, we were studying bird-problems, and at the -moment the writer was endeavouring, amidst ten-foot scrub, to locate by -its song, a nest of Polyglotta--or was it _Bonellii_?--when in the -depths of osmunda fern was descried something _hairy_--it was a -wild-boar!... Three horsemen armed with _garrochas_ come galloping -through the bush--herdsmen rounding-up cattle? But this morning it is a -_bull_ they are rounding-up; and a bull that had grown so savage and -intractable that his life was forfeit. A crash in the brushwood and we -stand face to face. Three minutes later that bull fell dead with two -balls in his body; but two others, less well aimed, had whistled past -our ears. Those three minutes had been momentous--the choice, it had -seemed, lay between horn and bullet. Bird-nesting in Spanish wilds has -its serious side. - -The afternoon was less eventful. Almost each islanded grove had yielded -spoil. We need not specify spectacled, subalpine, and orphean warblers, -woodpeckers, woodchats and grey shrikes, nightjars, owls, kestrels, and -kites--some prizes demanding patient watching, others a strenuous climb. -The last hour had resulted in discovering a nest of booted eagle, two of -black, and one of red kites, each with two eggs (the next tree held a -nest of the latter containing a youngster near full grown). We had -turned to ride homewards when, over a centenarian cork-oak on the -horizon, we recognised (by their buoyant flight and white undersides) a -pair of serpent-eagles. The grotesque old tree was half overthrown, and -on its topmost limb was established the snake-eaters' eyrie, containing -the usual single big white egg--this specimen, however, distinctly -splashed with reddish brown. In the same tree were also breeding cushats -and doves, a woodpecker with four eggs, and a swarm of bees who made -things lively for the climber. One of to-day's climbs, by the way, had -resulted incidentally in the capture of a family of dormice, _Lirones -avellanos_ in Spanish, handsome creatures with immense whiskers and -arrayed in contrasts of rich brown, black and white. - -Half an hour later we descried the unmistakable eyrie of an imperial -eagle--a platform of sticks that crowned the summit of a huge cork-oak, -the more conspicuous since any projecting twigs that might interrupt the -view are always broken off. The eagle, entirely black with white -shoulders, only soared aloft when L. was already half-way up. The two -handsome eggs we left, though they have since, presumably, added two -more "detrimentals" to prey on our partridges. Eagles, so soon as adult, -pair for life; but that condition may require several years for full -attainment, and in the imperial eagle the adolescent period is passed in -a distinctive uniform of rich chestnut. So long ago as 1883, however, we -discovered the singular fact that this species breeds while yet -(apparently) "immature." That is, we have frequently found one of a -nesting pair in the paler plumage described, while its mate gloried in -the rich sable-black of maturity, as sketched on p. 31. This year (1910) -we had come across such a couple--they had two eggs on March 15--the -male being black, while his partner was parti-coloured. A curious -incident had occurred at that nest; at dawn next morning a griffon -vulture was discovered asleep close alongside the sitting eagle. But on -the arrival of the husband a furious scene ensued! The intruder (whom we -acquit of dishonourable intent) was set upon, hustled, and violently -ejected from the tree--hurriedly and dishevelled he departed. But -conjugal peace was soon restored, and presently the royal pair set out -in company for a morning's hunting. - -These resident birds-of-prey breed early. We have found the eagles' eggs -by February 28, buzzards' on March 12, and red kites' on March 14. - -This spring was remarkable for the numbers of hobbies that passed north -during May, sometimes in regular flocks. They often roosted in old -kites' nests, and when disturbed therefrom misled us into a futile -climb. - - * * * * * - -WHITE-TAILED OR SEA-EAGLE (_Haliaëtos albicilla_).--This does not -properly belong to the Spanish zone. We cannot find recorded a single -authentic instance of its occurrence in that country, but can supply one -ourselves. - -In the early days of February 1898 we watched on several occasions an -eagle (which at the time we took to be Bonelli's) wildly chasing the -geese that are wont to assemble in front of our shooting-lodge. Splendid -spectacles these aerial hunts afforded. The selected goose, skilfully -separated from his company, made a grand defence. Fast he flew and far, -now low on water, now soaring upwards in widening circle; but all the -time gaggling and protesting against the outrage in strident tones that -we could hear a mile away. Never, so far as eyesight could reach, did -the assailant make good his hold. - -Months afterwards--it was before daybreak on December 28 (1898)--the -authors lay awaiting the "early flight" of geese at the Puntal, hard by, -when an eagle (whether the same or not) appeared from out the gloom, -made a feint at No. 1's decoy-geese (made of wood), passed on and fairly -"stooped" at those of No. 2. A moment later the great bird-of-prey fell -with resounding splash, and proved to be (so far as we know) the only -sea-eagle ever shot in Spain--a female, weight 12-1/2 lbs., expanse just -under 8 feet. - - * * * * * - -This is not the only instance in our experience of eagles hunting before -the dawn. We recall several others. Apparently, if pressed by hunger, -eagles start business early--almost as early as we do ourselves. - -SPOTTED EAGLE (_Aquila naevia_).--This also, like the last, is scarcely -a Spanish species; but a beautiful example, heavily spotted, was shot in -September in the Pinar de San Fernando by our friend Mr. Osborne of -Puerto Sta. Maria. It was one of a pair. - -PEREGRINE AND PARTRIDGE.--CORRAL QUEMADO, _Jan. 27, 1909_. While posted -on a mesembrianthemum-clad knoll during a big-game drive, troops of -partridges kept streaming out from the covert behind. Their demeanour -struck both me and the next gun posted on a knoll 200 yards away. Across -the intervening glade, almost bare sand but for a stray tuft of rush or -marram-grass, the partridge ran to and fro in a dazed sort of way, -crouching flat as though terror-stricken, or standing upright, gazing -stupidly in turn. None dared to fly, though some were so near they could -not have failed to detect me. The mystery was solved when a peregrine -swept close overhead and made feint after feint: yet not a partridge -would rise. Well they knew that the falcon would not strike _on the -ground_; but what a "soft job" it would have been for a goshawk or -marsh-harrier! Presumably partridge discriminate between their winged -enemies and in each case adapt defence to fit attack. - -An interesting scene was terminated by a lynx trotting out by my -neighbour, Sir Maurice de Bunsen, who might thus have been taken -unawares; only ambassadors are never believed to be so, and on this -occasion the spotted diplomat certainly got the ball quite right, behind -the shoulder. - -MARSH-HARRIER (_Circus aeruginosus_).--Over dark wastes resound -"duck-guns sullenly booming." Thereat from reed-bed and cane-brake -awaken roosting harriers, quick to realise the import. It is long before -their normal "hours of business," but these miss no chances, and soon -the hidden gunner descries spectral forms drifting in the gloom--all -intent to share his spoils. Watch the robbers' methods. In the deep a -winged teal is making away, almost swash. The raptor feints again and -again, following the cripple's subaquatic course; but he never attempts -to strike till incessant diving has worn the victim out. Then--so soon -as the luckless teal is compelled to tarry five seconds above -water--instantly those terrible talons close like a rat-trap. Next comes -a lively wigeon, merely wing-tipped; but the water here is shoal and the -hawk dare not close. For the volume of mud and spray thrown up by those -whirling pinions would drench his own plumage. The wigeon realises his -advantage and sticks to the shallow--the raptor ever trying to force him -to the deep. The end comes all the same, though the process of -tiring-out occupies longer--sooner or later, down drop the yellow -legs--there is a moment of strenuous struggle and the duck is lifted and -borne ashore. Should no land be near, the branches of a submerged -samphire will serve for a dining-table. Within five minutes nought is -left but empty skin and clean-picked bones. - -Obviously any attempt to seek dead at a distance or to recover cripples -is labour lost--once they drift, or swim, or dive, to the danger-radius -instantly the chattel passes to the rival "sphere of influence." - -As early as February (and sometimes even in January) the abounding coots -begin to lay. The marsh-harrier notes the date and becomes a determined -oologist. Over the everlasting samphire-swamp resounds the reverberating -cry of the crested coot, _Hoo, hoo, Hoo, hoo_, so strikingly human that -one looks round to see who is signalling. Presently you hear the same -cry, but wailing in different tone and temper. That is a coot defending -hearth and home against the despoiler; and bravely is that defence -maintained. With a glass, one sees the coot throw herself on her back -and hold the hawk at bay, striking out right and left, for she has -powerful claws and can scratch like a cat. Often the assailant is fairly -beaten off; or should the fight end without visible issue, probably the -coveted eggs have been hustled overboard in the tussle. Then it amuses -to watch the harrier's frantic efforts to recover the sunken prizes from -the shallows. - -[Illustration] - -GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO (_Oxylophus glandarius_).--A striking rakish form, -this stranger from unknown Africa silently appears in Spain during the -closing days of February or early in March. On the fifth evening of the -latter month, while rambling in the bush on the watch for "some new -thing," a hawk-like figure swept by and perched on the outer branches of -a thorny acacia. When shot, the bird dropped a yard or so, then -clutching a bough with prehensile zygodactylic claws, hung suspended -with so desperate a hold that it was with difficulty released. Waiting a -few minutes, a harsh resonant scream--_cheer-oh_, thrice -repeated--announced the arrival of the male, which fell winged on a -patch of bog beyond. Ere we could reach the spot the bird had run back, -regained the outer trees, and was climbing a willow-trunk more in the -style of parrot than cuckoo. The beak was used for steadying, and so -fast did it climb that we had to ascend after it. - -The beak in this species opens far back, giving a very wide gape--colour -inside pink, deepening to dark carmine. We sketched and preserved both -specimens, see p. 41 and above. - - * * * * * - -As a rule this cuckoo disappears in early autumn, but we have an -exceptional record of its occurrence in winter. One was shot at San -Lucar de Barraméda, December 19, 1909. - -This cuckoo, like all its old-world congeners,[70] is parasitic in its -domestic _ménage_--that is, it adopts a system of reproduction by -proxy--relying, as Canon Tristram long ago put it, on finding a -"foundling hospital" for its young. But even the keen intellect quoted -was at first at fault. For the great spotted cuckoo differs in one -essential point from that "wandering voice" with which we are familiar -at home. The latter deposits a single egg in casual nest of titlark, -hedge-sparrow, wagtail--in short, of any small bird, regardless of the -fact that its own egg may differ conspicuously from those of its -selected foster-parent. The spotted cuckoo is more circumspect. -Everywhere it restricts the delegated duty to some member of the -_Corvidae_,[71] and in Spain exclusively to the magpies. Moreover, -whether by accident or evolution, the cuckoo has so admirably adapted -the coloration of its own egg to resemble that of its victim, as to -deceive even so cute a bird as the magpie. Earlier ornithologists (as -above suggested) failed for a moment to distinguish the difference--it -was, in fact, the zygodactylic foot of an unhatched embryo that first -betrayed the secret (Tristram, _Ibis_, 1859). On close examination the -cuckoo's eggs differ in their more elliptic form and granular surface; -but, unless previously fore-warned and specially alert, no one would -suspect that these were not magpies' eggs, any more than does the magpie -itself. - -The spotted cuckoo deposits two, three, and even four eggs in the _same_ -magpie's nest, sometimes leaving the lawful owner's eggs undisturbed, in -other cases removing all or part of them--we have noticed spilt yoke at -the entrance. It would appear difficult, in these domed nests, for the -young cuckoos to eject their pseudo-brothers and sisters; but this -detail of their life-history remains, as yet, unsolved. - -CROSSBILLS.--Nature delights in presenting phenomena which no tangible -cause appears to warrant. Such were the thrice-repeated invasions of -Europe by "Tartar hordes"--they were only sand-grouse--that occurred -during the past century (in 1863, 1872, and 1888); and in 1909 an -analogous problem, though on minor scale, was offered by crossbills. -From north to extreme south of our Continent these small forest-dwellers -precipitated themselves bodily westwards. This was in July. All the -west-European countries, from Norway to Spain, recorded an unwonted -irruption. In Andalucia (at Jerez) crossbills were first noticed about -mid-July, and their appearance so impressed country-folk little -accustomed to discriminate small birds, as to suggest to them the idea -that the strangers must have fled from Morocco to avoid the fighting -then raging around Melilla! But in Spain a further and anomalous -complexity followed. For the Spanish specimens we sent home, on being -submitted to Dr. Ernst Hartert, proved to belong to a purely Spanish -subspecies--a race distinguishable by its weaker mandibles and other -minor variations. Hence the movement in Spain had been purely internal, -and it became difficult to suppose that (although simultaneous) it could -have been predisposed and actuated by precisely the same motives as -those which compelled a more extensive exodus farther north. Thus -results the curious issue--that presumably different causes, operating -over a wide geographical area, produced similar and simultaneous -effects. These immigrant crossbills disappeared from Andalucia at the -end of August. - -[Illustration: CROSSBILLS, ADULT AND YOUNG (_Loxia curvirostra_.) - -JEREZ, July 1910.] - -Crossbills we used to observe in winter in our pine-forests of Doñana; -but owing to local causes they have now missed several years. Their -migrations within Spain are rather on the vertical than the horizontal -plane--that is, merely seasonal movements between the higher lands and -the lower. In Spain, denuded of natural forest, the habitat of such -birds is narrowly restricted. Hence their sudden appearance in new -areas (such as this, at forestless Jerez) is at once conspicuous. - -GLOSSY IBIS (_Plegadis falcinellus_).--Birds, as a rule, are strict -geographists. They recognise fixed range-boundaries and abide thereby. -But exceptions occur, and an instance has been offered by the glossy -ibis. This bird has always been a conspicuous member of the teeming -_pajaréras_, or mixed heronries, of our wooded swamps of Andalucia. But -it was only as a spring-migrant that the ibis was known. It arrived in -April and departed, after nesting, in September. A diluvial winter in -1907-8, however, apparently induced it to reconsider its "standing -orders." Already, that autumn, the ibises had departed--as usual. But in -December (the whole country meanwhile having been inundated) they -suddenly reappeared. Small parties distributed themselves over the -marismas, and with them came an unwonted profusion of other waders, -stilts and curlews, whimbrels and godwits, the latter a month or two -before their usual date. All availed the occasion to frequent far-inland -spots, normally dry bush and forest, _nota quae sedes fuerat columbis_, -and one saw flights of waders and even ducks, such as teal and shoveler, -circling over flooded forest-glades. - -The changed quarters evidently met with approval, for each succeeding -year since then we have had the company of ibises _during winter_. - -An immature ibis, shot January 30, otherwise in normal plumage, had the -head and neck brownish grey with curlew-like striations. - -SLENDER-BILLED CURLEW (_Numenius tenuirostris_).--Years ago we wrote in -our wrath, moved thereto by the constant misuse of the term, that such a -thing as a "rare bird" does not exist, save only in a relative sense. Go -to its proper home, wherever that may be, and the supposed rarity is -found abundant as its own utility and nature's balances permit. Should -some lost wanderer straggle a few hundred miles thence, it is proclaimed -a "rare bird." - -Against this, our old mentor, Howard Saunders, wrote across the -proof-sheet: "There ARE rare birds, some nearly extinct"; and the above -species affords an admirable example of these exceptions to the general -rule. - -No one at present knows the true home of the slender-billed curlew, nor -the points (if any) where it is common, nor where it breeds. In southern -Spain it appears every year during February and at no other season; -while even then its visits are confined to a few days and to certain -limited areas. The photo at p. 250 shows a beautiful pair shot February -5, 1898. When met with, they are rather conspicuous birds, -distinguishable from whimbrel by their paler colour--indeed, on rising, -the "slender-bills" look almost white. A specially favoured haunt in the -Coto Doñana is the bare sandy flat in front of Martinazo. - -When we first studied ornithology there still remained whole categories -of birds (many of them abundant British species) whose breeding-places -were utterly unknown. - -One by one they have been removed from the list of "missing," forced to -surrender their secrets by the resistless, world-scouring energy of -ornithologists (mostly British). The year 1909 saw but ONE species yet -undiscovered--our present friend, the slender-billed curlew. - -While we are yet busy with this book, the eggs of the slender-billed -curlew have been found--in Siberia!--the ultimate answer in all such -cases. The first was exhibited by Mr. H. E. Dresser at the meeting of -the British Ornithologists' Club on December 15, 1909, having been taken -by Mr. P. A. Schastowskij on the shores of Lake Tschany, near -Taganowskiye, in Siberia on the 20th of May preceding. - -Yes, there _do_ exist "rare birds," and in Europe the slender-billed -curlew appears to be an excellent illustration of the fact. - -SANTOLALLA, _December 29, 1897_.--A wild night, black as ink, and a -whole gale blowing from the eastward; an hour's ride through the scrub, -and five guns silently distribute themselves along the shores. Strategic -necessity placed us to windward, so most fowl were bound to fall in the -water. As stars pale to the dawn the flight begins, the dark skies -hurtle with the rush of passing clouds, and for two hours a steady -fusillade startles the solitude. - -As ten o'clock approaches, one by one we seek the cork-oak, from beneath -whose canopy a welcome column of smoke has long announced that breakfast -was preparing. But considering the run of shooting we have heard, the -toll of game brought in seems humiliating. Each gunner, gloomily -depositing his fifteen or twenty, declares he has lost twice that number -in the open water!... Well, a list of "claims" being drawn up, it -appears that 205 duck are stated to have been shot, while only 120 can -be counted. In his inner conscience possibly each man regards the rest -as ... but, ere breakfast is over, here come the keepers. They have -ridden round the lee-shores and islets, and bring in another 114! - -The bag after all sums up to 234, or actually nineteen more than the -sum-total of claims that we had been laughing at as extravagant. This is -the list:-- - - 2 geese - 8 mallard - 53 wigeon - 152 teal - 4 gadwall - 2 shoveler - 3 pochard - 9 tufted duck - -There were also shot two cormorants (mistaken for geese in the -half-light), a marsh-harrier, two great crested grebes, and several -coots. - -The incident illustrates an instance of scrupulous honesty. - - -OTHER COUNTRIES, OTHER STANDARDS - -(A Sentiment about Wildfowl) - -(_January 1909._) - -A wet winter and flooded marisma--under our eyes float wildfowl in -league-long lengths; countless, but far out in open water. By experience -we know them to be unassailable. Yet these hosts seem to throw down the -gauntlet of defiance at our very doors; and under the reproach of that -unspoken challenge experience succumbs. That night we arranged to -dispose our six guns over a two-league triangle before the morrow's -dawn. After every detail had been fixed, to us our trusted pessimist, -Vasquez: "Ni por aqui ni por alli, ni por este lado ni por el otro, ni -por ninguna parte cualquiera, no harémos _náda_ por la mañana"--"Neither -on this side nor on that, neither to east nor west, nor at any other -point whatever, shall we do the slightest good to-morrow!" - -On reassembling for breakfast, the result worked out as follows: 2 -geese, 3 mallard, 29 wigeon, 26 teal, 7 gadwall, 4 shovelers, 1 marbled -and 1 tufted duck. Total, 73 head before ten o'clock, besides a curlew -and several golden plover, godwits and sundries. - -We felt fairly satisfied; yet Vasquez's comment ran: "Seventy head among -six guns, _eso no es náda_ = that is nothing!" - - NOTE.--The writer had in his pocket a letter from home: "We put in - six days' punt-gunning at the New Year. Frost severe and all - conditions favourable. My bag, 4 brent-geese, 2 mallard, 3 wigeon, - and a northern diver.--E. H. C." - - - - -Appendix - -A SPECIFIC NOTE ON THE WILD-GEESE OF SPAIN - - -The Greylag Goose (_Anser cinereus_) is the only species we need here -consider. For of the many hundreds of wild-geese that we have shot and -examined during the eighteen years since the publication of _Wild -Spain_, every one has proved to be a Greylag. This is the more -remarkable inasmuch as an allied form, the Bean-Goose, was supposed in -earlier days to occur in Spain, though relatively in small numbers. Col. -Irby estimated the Bean-Geese as one to 200 of the Greylags; but no such -proportion any longer exists, at least in the delta of the Guadalquivir, -where, during eighteen years, hardly a single Bean-Goose has been -obtained.[72] - -This abandonment of southern Spain by the Bean-Goose (presuming it was -ever found therein) appears inexplicable. The species has lately been -recognised as divisible into various races or subspecies (differing -chiefly in the form and colour of the beak),[73] for which reason it may -here be recorded that of the few Bean-Geese examined twenty years ago in -Spain, the beak was invariably dark to below the nasal orifice, with a -dark tip, and an intermediate band of rufous-chestnut. - -Of the other three members of the genus, the Pink-footed Goose (_Anser -brachyrhynchus_) has never occurred in Spain; while neither the -white-fronted nor the lesser white-fronted species (_A. albifrons_ and -_A. erythropus_, L.) have ever been recorded save in an isolated -instance in either case. We have never met with any one of them--indeed, -the only wild-goose in our records, other than Greylag and half-a-dozen -Bean-Geese, is a single Bernacle (_Bernicla leucopsis_), one of three -that was shot at Santolalla by our late friend Mr. William Garvey. - -Of the Greylags that winter in Andalucia, the great majority are -adults--that is (presuming our diagnosis to be correct), scarcely one in -four is a gosling of the year. The adult geese we distinguish by the -spur on the wing-point of the ganders and generally by their larger size -and heavier build. Their undersides, moreover, are more or less spotted -or barred with black--some wear regular "barred waistcoats," whereas the -young birds are wholly plain white beneath. The legs and feet of the -latter are also of the palest flesh-colour (some almost white), rarely -showing any approximation to a pink shade, and their beaks vary from -nearly white to palest yellow; whereas in the older, mostly -"spot-breasted," geese the beak is deep yellow to orange, and their legs -and feet are distinctly pink--some as pronouncedly so as in _A. -brachyrhynchus_. These "soft parts" are, however, subject to infinite -variation, and the above definition is a careful deduction from the -results of many years' observation.[74] - -On several occasions we have examined from a dozen to a score of geese -without finding a single _gosling_ among them. The largest proportion of -the latter so recorded was on January 29, 1907, when of sixteen geese -shot, five (or possibly six) were young birds of the year before. All -these sixteen showed some white feathers on the forehead, and the -heaviest pair (two old ganders) weighed together 18-1/2 lbs. - -As regards their weights, the following notes show the variation:-- - -During the severe drought of 1896, six geese weighed on November 26, -when almost starving for food and water, ranged from 6-1/4 to 7-3/4 lbs. -A month later, when rains had fallen, weights had increased to 8-1/4 to -9-1/4 lbs. - -_December 28, 1899._--The heaviest of 29 scaled 9-1/4 lbs. - -_January 30, 1905._--The geese this dry season are in fine condition. An -old gander, shot at Martinazo, exceeded 10-1/2 lbs., another pair, shot -right and left, scaled 9-1/2 and 10 lbs. - -_February 4, 1907._--Two geese, the heaviest of eleven shot this -morning, weighed over 9 lbs. each, the pair scaling 18-1/4 lbs. It was a -severe frost, the shallows being covered with ice, and as each goose -fell, two bits of solid ice, in form as it were a pair of sandals, were -found lying alongside it, these having been detached by the fall from -the feet of the bird. - - * * * * * - -_1906. November 28._--Two pure white geese observed on Santolalla to-day -and on subsequent occasions. Though usually seen flying in company with -packs of normally coloured geese, the white pair always kept together. - -_1907. January 25._--After a month's bitterly cold and dry weather with -few geese, the wind to-day shifted to east, with heavy rain. All day -long a continuous entry of geese took place from the south-westward, in -frequent successive packs--sometimes two or three lots in sight at once. -A sense of movement was perceptible over the whole marisma. Next morning -these newcomers were sitting in ranks of thousands by the "new water" -all along the verge of the marisma--a wondrous sight. - - -NOTES ON SOME WILDFOWL THAT NEST IN SOUTHERN SPAIN - - -WILD-DUCKS - -PINTAIL (_Dafila acuta_).--In wet years a considerable number of -pintails remain to nest in the marismas of Guadalquivir, and by August -the broods (together with those of garganey, marbled duck, etc.) -assemble on the only waters that then remain--such as the Lagunas de -Santolalla, etc. - -In 1908, a very wet spring, almost as many pintails bred here as -mallards, and in eight nests observed the maximum number of eggs was -nine. They resemble those of mallards, consisting of twigs with a few -feathers placed on the mud, and easily seen through the open clump of -samphire which shelters them.[75] - -MALLARD (_Anas boschas_), in the marisma, nest in precisely similar -situations, but their eggs number twelve or fourteen. Elsewhere their -nests (being among bush or reedbeds) are less easily seen. - -WIGEON (_Mareca penelope_) never breed, though chance birds (and some -greylags also) remain every summer--possibly wounded. - -GADWALL (_Anas strepera_) do not nest in the open marisma, but many -pairs retire to the rush-fringed inland lagoons, such as Zopiton and -Santolalla. They lay nine to twelve eggs about mid-May, usually at a -short distance from the water. - -TEAL (_Nettion crecca_) remain quite exceptionally. Even in that wet -spring, 1908, only a single nest was found. There were eight eggs laid -on bare mud, with hardly any nest, beneath a samphire bush. Though quite -fresh, and placed at once under a hen, these eggs did not hatch. - -GARGANEY (_Querquedula circia_) breed among the samphire in the open -marisma--in wet seasons quite numerously. Seven young, caught newly -hatched in 1908 and kept alive at Jerez, showed no distinctive sexual -coloration all that autumn or up to February 1909. Early in March three -drakes became distinguishable, the most advanced being complete in -feather by the 15th, and all three perfect by April 1. - -Young pintails, on the other hand, acquire complete sexual dress in the -autumn, as mallards do, by November. - -Garganey also nest in large numbers on the lagoons of Daimiel in La -Mancha. - -MARBLED DUCK (_Querquedula angustirostris_).--This is one of the most -abundant of the Spanish-breeding ducks, nesting both in the marisma and -along the various channels of the Guadalquivir. Their nests, -substantially built of twigs of samphire, dead reeds, and grass, lined -with down, are carefully concealed among covert, usually on dry ground. -Some are approached by a sort of tunnel. Exceptionally we have seen a -nest built a foot high in the branches of a samphire bush with a clear -space beneath, and overhanging shallow water. The eggs, laid at the end -of May, vary from twelve to fourteen, and in one instance -twenty--possibly the produce of two females. We find these the most -difficult of all the ducks to rear in confinement. Probably their food -is quite different, anyway they are very bad eating. - -Marbled ducks are unknown at Daimiel. - -SHOVELERS (_Spatula clypeata_) only breed exceptionally and in wet -seasons; we found one nest at Las Nuevas in 1908. Though abundant in -winter, does not breed at Daimiel. - -FERRUGINOUS DUCKS (_Fuligula nyroca_), like all the diving tribe, breed -only on deep and permanent lakes, such as those of Medina and Daimiel, -where they abound all summer. None nest in the marisma, which in summer -is largely dry. Nests, mid-May; eggs, nine or ten. - -POCHARD (_Fuligula ferina_).--Though we have not found it ourselves, one -of our fowlers (Machachado) tells us that pochards breed on the lakes, -and even more in Las Nuevas, laying but few eggs--five to seven. - -RED-CRESTED POCHARD (_Fuligula rufila_).--This is the characteristic -breeding-duck at Daimiel in La Mancha, as well as on the Albufera of -Valencia, at both of which points it abounds. Yet curiously it is all -but unknown on the Bætican marismas. Among the thousands of ducks we -have shot therein, but a single example of the red-crested pochard -figures--a female killed January 19, 1903. - -TUFTED DUCK (_Fuligula cristata_).--None remain, though abundant in -winter. - -WHITE-FACED DUCK (_Erismatura leucocephala_).--This species, known as -_Bamboléta_ or _Malvasía_, arrives in spring and breeds commonly on -every deep pool and reed-girt lagoon in Andalucia. - -SHELDUCKS (_Tadorna cornuta_), we are assured (though this we have not -proved), breed in the marisma in hollows (_hoyos_)--such as the -cavernous footprints made by cattle in the soft mud in winter. Common in -dry winters. - -RUDDY SHELDUCK (_Tadorna casarca_).--These are seen here all summer, yet -we have failed to discover their breeding-places. They are common, old -and young, on the Laguna de Medina in August and September. This is a -striking species of stately flight and clear-toned ringing -cry--_H[=a][=a]-[)a][)a]_--thrice repeated. - - -WAGTAILS - -PIED WAGTAIL (_Motacilla lugubris_).--This familiar British species -occurs rarely in S. Spain--we have but four records, all in winter. In -the reverse, the WHITE WAGTAIL (_M. alba_) abounds--ploughed lands -sometimes look _grey_ with it; and it is here, in winter, as tame and -familiar as one sees it in Norway and Iceland in summer. Yet midway -between the two, _i.e._ in the British Isles, we have seen it but -thrice! There it may indeed be termed a "rare bird." The explanation -seems to be that (like the two southern wheatears) these two wagtails -are not specifically distinct, but merely a dimorphic form. This year -(June 1910) we found the white wagtail breeding commonly in North -Estremadura. - -During a northerly hurricane on February 7, 1903, we observed an -assemblage of many hundreds of white wagtails on the barren sand-dunes -of Majada Real--a second crowd, as numerous, a mile away. Both were -migrating bands arrested by the gale. This is merely one example out of -scores that have come under our notice of the magical apparition of -birds from the clouds, caused by a sudden change of wind. Specially -notable, besides wagtails, are swallows, wheatears, pipits and larks. - -The GREY WAGTAIL (_M. melanope_), though occasionally seen in winter, is -most conspicuous about mid-February, when it passes several days on our -lawn at Jerez. It has not then acquired the black throat of spring; but -two months later we have found it nesting on mountain-burns of the -sierras--precisely such situations as it frequents among the -Northumbrian moors. - -The YELLOW WAGTAIL (_M. flava_; the Continental form, _cinereocapilla_) -appears on the lawn a week or so after the grey species has disappeared; -but this remains throughout the spring, nesting in wet meadows and -marshes, laying during the last week of April. - -The British form (_M. raii_) also occurs during spring, but rarely and -on passage only, none remaining to nest. - - -RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION - -ROOK (_Corvus frugilegus_).--There is a certain limited stretch--say a -league or so, on the foreshores of the marisma--whither each winter come -a few scores of rooks. At that one spot, and nowhere else within our -knowledge, are rooks to be found in southern Spain. - -MAGPIE (_Pica caudata_).--On the western bank of Guadalquivir this bird -abounds to a degree we have seen surpassed nowhere else on earth. But -cross that river, and never another magpie will you see for a hundred -miles to the eastward. For it the lower Bætis marks a frontier. Over the -rest of Spain its distribution is normal and regular. - -A similar remark would almost hold good of the Jackdaw (_Corvus -monedula_). - -The AZURE-WINGED MAGPIE (_Cyanopica cooki_) abounds in central Spain and -in the Sierra Moréna. But its southern range stops dead at the little -village of Coria del Rio just below Sevilla. 'Tis but a few miles -beyond, yet in Doñana we have never seen so much as a straggler. The -Azure-wing does not straggle. - -From Spain (as elsewhere stated) you must travel to China and Japan ere -you see another azure-winged magpie. - -JAYS (_Garrulus glandarius_) in Spain confine themselves to -mountain-forests, eschewing the lowland woods which in other lands form -their home. - - - - -Index - - -Absenteeism, 12 - -Accentor, alpine, 222, 316 - -Africa, 29, 40, 41, 67, 91, 111, 112, 381, 383; - bird natives of, 272 - -Africa, British East, 272, 295 - -African bush-cuckoo, 400 _n._ 1 - -Agriculture, Moorish, 9-10; - Spanish, 11 - -Alagon River, 232 and _n._ 1, 233, 295 - -Albufera Lake, 321-4, 410 - -Alfonso XII., 37, 190, 292 - -Alfonso XIII., 19, 26, 31, 37, 72, 131, 140, 190, 206, 292, 336 - -Algamita, Sierra of, 176 - -Algeciras, 295 - -_Alimañas_, 28, 42, 337-46 - -Almanzór, Plaza de, 140, 213, 216, 217, 286 - -Almonte, village of, 82 _et seq._ - -Almoraima, 363 - -Alpuxarras, the, 142, 302, 305 - -_Alquerías_ (Las Hurdes), 235, 236, 241 - -America, flamingoes in, 273 - -_Anatidae_, 40; - distribution of, in S. Spain, 136 - -Andalucia, 2, 4, 10, 351, 393, 401, 402, 403; - bandits in, 175 _et seq._; - big game of, 54 _et seq._; - birds of, 40 _et seq._, 222, 393-5, 403 - -Ant-lion (_Myrmeleon_), 36 - -Arabs. _See_ Moors - -Arahal, Niño de, bandit, 176 _et seq._ - -_Armajo_ (samphire), 89-90, 91, 106, 114 - -Asturias, the, 294 _et seq._; - chamois in, 283-93 - -Avila, 213, 219 - -Avocet, 268, 385 - - -Badger, 337, 344, 345 - -Bandits, 174 _et seq._ - -Barbary stag, 43, 44 - -Barbel, 298-9, 393 - -Basques, the, 5 - -Bear, 289, 298; - brown, 4, 29, 294 - -Bear-hunting, 296-7 - -Bee-eater, 41, 209, 211, 226, 393 - -Bernicle goose, 191, 407 - -Bewick's swan, 375 - -Bharal, 26 - -Bidassoa River, 2 - -Big game in Spain, 6, 28-9, 54 _et seq._, 148 _n._ 1, 303 - -Bird-life on the marisma, 40-42, 91 _et seq._, 114 _et seq._, 138 _n._ 1, - 265-71, 376, 381-91, 408, 409 - -Bird-migration, 29, 40, 41-2, 91-2, 99 and _n._ 1, 103-4, 111, 376-80, 389-90, - 401-3 - -Blackbird, 223 - -Black-chat, 222, 230, 319, 353 _n._ 1, 367 - -Blackstart, 313, 318, 352, 362, 367 - -Boar, wild, 29, 42, 47, 68-9, 70 _et seq._, 147, 161, 171, 191, 229, 238, 289, - 353, 365-6, 396 - -Boar-hunting, 70 _et seq._ - -_Boga_, 299 - -Bombita I., matador, 199 - -Bombita II. (Ricardo Torres), 199, 205 - -Bonaparte, Joseph, 196-7 - -Bonelli's eagle, 28, 289, 355, 362, 366, 394-5 - -Bonelli's Warbler, 232, 318, 393 - -Bonito, 300 - -Brambling, 62 - -Breeding-places of flamingoes, 265-71 - -Bull, the Spanish fighting, breeding and training of, 200-204; - breeds of, 88, 204, 208 - -Bull-fight, the Spanish, 8, 15, 192-9 - -Bull-fighters, famous, 195-9 - -Bull-frog, 392 - -Bustard, 212, 226, 227, 232; - great, 4, 11, 24, 29, 119, 209, 242-64; - lesser (_Otis tetrax_), 29, 262-4, 328, 392 - -Bustard-shooting, 244 _et seq_. - -Butterflies, 62, 313 - _Lycaena telicanus_, 62 - _Megaera_, 62 - _Thaïs polyxena_, 62, 394 - _Vanessa polychloros_, 394 - -Buzzard, 228, 342, 397 - - -_Cabrestos_, 371-3, 379 - -Caceres, province, 228 _n._ 1 - -_Caciquismo_, 175, 180-81, 240 - -_Cactus_ (prickly-pear), 9 - -Caldereria, 324-7 - -Camels, wild, on the marisma, 36, 40, 275-82 - -Cantabria, 4, 28, 29, 298; - mountains of, 286 - -Cape de Verde Islands, 266, 271 _n._ 1 - -Capercaillie, 4, 29, 294, 298 - -Cares River, 284, 296 - -Castile, 5, 29 - -Catalonia, 5 and _n._ 1 - -Cavestany, Sr. D. A., Spanish poet laureate, 164 - -Central Asia, wild camels in, 276 - -Cervantes, 183 - -Cetti's warbler, 61, 393 - -Chaffinch, 164, 319 - -Chameleon, 394 - -Chamois, 4, 29; - in the Asturias, 283-93, 294; - preservation of, 142 - -Chamois-shooting, 286 _et seq._ - -Chapman, Mr. F., 273 - -Chapman, Mr. J. Crawhall, 280 - -Charles V., Emperor, 194 - -Chough, 222, 309, 319, 353, 355, 358, 366, 367 - -Ciguela River, 185 - -Cinco Lagunas, Las, 141, 215 - -Cirl-bunting, 319, 348 - -Cistus (_Helianthemum_), 37, 50, 62 - -Climate of Spain, effects of, 2-4 - -Coot, 186, 188, 207, 326, 384, 387, 388, 399; - crested, 399 - -Cormorant, 186 - -_Corros_, 376-80 - -Cortez, 231 - -_Corvidae_, 401 - -_Corvus cornix_, 401 _n._ 1 - -Costillares, bull-fighter, 196 - -Coto Doñana, 30 _et seq._, 58, 59, 74, 78, 89, 122, 332, 343, 402, 404; - fauna of, 38 _et seq._ - -Crag-martin, 319, 366, 367, 368 - -Crake, 39 - -Crane, 40, 392 - -Crossbill, 351; - migrations of, 401-3 - -Cuckoo, 313, 393; - great spotted, 41, 400-401 - -Curlew, 403; - slender-billed, 392, 403-4; - stone-, 227, 232, 343 - -Cushat, 396 - - -Daimiel, lagoons of, 185-91, 324, 409, 410; - town of, 191 - -Dampier, 266, 271 _n._ 1 - -Dartford Warbler, 61, 223, 353 _n._ 1 - -Date-palm, 4 - -Deer, 94, 148, 161, 171, 333, 343; - fallow, 28, 148 and _n._ 1, 228 and _n._ 1; - red, 42 _et seq._, 147, 155-6, 158 and _n._ 1, 228, 238,; _tables_, 170-3; - roe-, 165, 229, 298, 353, 363 - -Deer-shooting ("driving"), 44, 156 _et seq._ - -Deer-stalking, 44 _et seq._, 60 - -Despeñaperros, 149 - -Deva River, 284, 296 - -Dipper, 211, 319 - -Diving ducks, 101, 112, 138 _n._ 1, 324 - -Don Quixote, country of, 183, 228 - -Dormice, 396 - -Dove, 209, 226, 393, 396; - turtle, 212, 331 - -"Driving" (_see also Monteria_), 44, 47 _et seq._, 59 _et seq._, 115, 116-22, - 248-55, 286 _et seq._, 338-40, 360-62 - -Duck, 40, 41, 95, 96, 99, 102, 186-90, 322, 324 _et seq._, 375 - _n._ 1, 383, 388, 403; - habits of, 106, 110-11, 187; - ferruginous, 101, 186, 190, 409; - marbled, 101, 112, 135, 383, 389, 409; - tufted, 101, 138 _n._ 1, 186, 410; - white-faced, 384, 386-7, 410 - -Duck-hawk, 102, 186 - -Duck-shooting, 108, 187-90 - -Dunlin, 63 _n._ 1 - -Dwarf-juniper, 315 - - -Eagle, 38, 222, 228, 333, 334, 342, 363; - Bonelli's, 28, 289, 355, 362, 366, 394-5; - booted, 396; - golden, 28, 153, 156, 317, 353-5, 362; - imperial, 28, 258-9, 396-7; - spotted, 398; - white-tailed or sea-, 397-8 - -Eagle-owl, 343, 368, 370, 395 - -Egret, 186, 382, 385, 392 - -Espinosa, Pedro, 37 - -Estepa, 175 _n_. 1. - -Estremadura, 80, 225-33; - climate of, 230; - fauna of, 29, 43, 226, 228 - - -Falcon, 334; - peregrine, 135, 317, 398 - -Fantail warbler, 61 - -Ferdinand VII., 195, 197 - -Firecrest, 352 - -Flamingo, 25 and _n._ 1, 40, 94-5, 100-101, 134, 186, 191, 327, 382, 383; - breeding-places of, 265-74; - _Phoenicopterus minor_, 272 _n._ 1; - _Phoenicopterus ruber_, 273 - -"Flighting," 122-4, 136 - -Fly-catcher, 41; - pied, 232, 319; - spotted, 232 - -Foumart, 341 - -Fowling, Spanish modes of, 371-5, 379 - -Fox, 46, 60, 129, 226, 277, 317, 333, 334, 337 _et seq._ - -Francolin, 321 - -Frascuelo, bull-fighter, 197-8 - -Fuen-Caliente, 142, 149-50, 171 - - -Gadwall, 101, 111, 384, 409 - -Gaëtanes, 2 - -Galicia, 4 - -Game preservation in Spain, 335-6 - -Garganey, 112, 190, 384, 409 - -Gecko, lobe-footed, 394 - -Genet, 171, 334, 337, 395 - -Gibraltar, 355 - -Godoy, 196 - -Godwit, 42, 63 _n._ 1, 134, 392, 403,; - bartailed, 389; - black-tailed, 390 - -Goose, bean, 407; - bernicle, 191, 407; - black (_Ganzos negros_), 186; - greylag, 31, 32-3, 92, 95, 102, 114 _et seq._, 120, 125, 127, 191, 373, 375 - _n._ 1, 407-8; - pink-footed, 407 - -Goths, the, 229, 231 - -Granada, 10, 301 - -Granadilla, 232 and _n._ 1, 233 - -Grasshopper (_Cigarras panzonas_), 259 - -Grebe, 186, 190; - eared, 387 - -Grédos, Circo de, chief features of, 141, 213-15 - -Greenshank, 390 - -Griffon. _See under_ Vulture - -Guadalete, battle of, 7, 229 - -Guadalquivir River, 30, 35, 299, 374, 391, 411; - marismas of, 88 _et seq._, 114, 190, 265, 408, 409 - -Guadiana River, 185 - -Guerra, Rafael, bull-fighter, 198 - -Gull, 41, 186, 384; - black-backed, 107; - British black-headed (_L. ridibundus_), 391; - Mediterranean black-headed (_Larus melanocephalus_), 268, 390-91 -slender-billed (_Larus gelastes_), 268 - -Gum-cistus (_see also_ Cistus), 160, 225, 235 - - -Hare, 226, 238, 328, 330, 331, 334 - -Hawfinch, 61, 362 - -Hawk, 333 - -Hazel-grouse, 4, 29, 298 - -Heron, 41, 186, 190, 382 - buff-backed, 385 - purple, 267, 388 - squacco, 389 - -Hobby, 397 - -Hoopoe, 41, 62, 184, 226, 230, 313, 319, 393 - -Humming-bird hawk-moth, 62 - -Hunting dogs, 159, 164, 328, 340 - -Hurdanos, the, 5, 234 _et seq._ - - -Ibex, Spanish (_Capra hispánica_), 15, 26, 29, 43, 139-46, 149, 156, 210, 287, - 303 _et seq._, 317, 321-2, 352, 360 and _n._ 1, 362; - distribution of, 142, 303, 305; - habits of, 144-6, 152, 153, 360; - heads, _Table of_, 157; - preservation of, 139-42 - -Ibex-hunting, 216-24, 304 _et seq._ - -Ibis, 41, 382 - glossy, 403 - -Inns (_posada_), 18, 19 _et seq._ - -Irrigation, neglect of, 12, 230 - -Isabel I. (_la Católica_), 194 - -Isabella II., 323 - - -James I., 321 - -Janda, Laguna de, 375 _n._ 1 - -Jay, 164, 362, 411 - -Jerez, 347, 392, 401, 403 - - -Kestrel, 164, 212, 226, 230, 319, 396 - lesser, 355, 395 - -Kite, 211, 333, 334, 342, 396 - red, 397 - -Kitty-wren, 348 - -Knot, 42, 63 _n._ 1, 389 - - -Lagartijo, bull-fighter, 197-8 - -Laguna de Grédos, 219, 220 - -La Mancha, 183-91, 409, 410 - -Lammergeyer, 26-7, 149, 217-8, 314-5, 353, 357, 358-9, 360, 362, 367, 368 - -Land-tortoise, 343 - -Lanjarón, 306 - -Lark, 41, 212, 226, 232 - Calandra, 209 - crested, 209, 319 - short-toed, 319 - sky-, 312 - wood-, 313, 319, 348, 352, 353 _n._ 1, 367 - -Las Hurdes, 5, 233 _et seq._ - -Las Nuevas, 99 _et seq._, 280 - -Lemming, 210 _n._ 1 - -León, 5; - Cortes de, 6 - -Lilford, Lord, 265 - -Linnet, 319 - -Lizard, 333, 334, 355 - _Blanus cinereus_, 393 - -Locusts, 226, 227 - -Lugar Nuevo, 172 - -Lynx, 33, 46, 60, 68, 76-7, 155, 171, 317, 333, 334, 337 _et seq._, 398 - - -Madoz, Pascual, on the Hurdanos, 239 and _n._ 1, 240, 241 - -Magpie, 226, 232, 333, 401, 411 - Spanish azure-winged, 29, 164, 184, 209, 225, 226, 411 - -Mallard, 186, 188, 190, 326, 327, 384, 389, 392, 409 - -_Manzanilla_ (camomile), 111 - -Maria, José, bandit, 174, 181 - -Marisma, the, 35-6, 88 _et seq._, 190; - bird-life in, 40-42, 91 _et seq._, 114 _et seq._, 138 _n._ 1, 265-71, 376, - 381-91, 408, 409; - plant-life in, 89-90, 115; - wild camels on, 36, 40, 275-82; - wildfowl shooting in, 95 _et seq._, 105-13, 115 _et seq._, 371-75 - -Marmot, 210 _n._ 1 - -Marsh-harrier, 38, 102, 107, 135, 387, 388, 392, 399 - -Marsh-tern, 384 - -Marten, 171, 317, 319 - -Martin, 355 - -Mazzantini, Luis, bull-fighter, 198-9 - -Merida, 229, 230 - -Mezquitillas, 167, 170, 171 - -Migration of wildfowl. _See_ Bird-migration - -Missel-thrush, 212, 318 - -"Miura question," 192, 204-7 - -Mole-cricket, 392 - -Monachil River, 314, 316, 317, 318, 319 - valley, 311 - -Mongoose, 163, 171, 333, 334, 337, 339, 341, 344, 364 - -_Montería_, 157, 158 _et seq._, 283, 296 - -Montes, Francisco, bull-fighter, 197 - -Moorish domination, traces of, 7 _et seq._, 37, 232-3, 295 - origin of bull-fight, 8, 193-4 - -Moors, the, 149, 229 - -Mosquito, 62 - -Mudéla, estate, 335 - -Mulahacen, 312, 315 - -Mullet, grey, 299 - - -Naranjo de Bulnes, 291-2 - -National characteristics, 5, 12 _et seq._, 19 - types, 4-5 - -Navarre, 6 - -_Neophron_, 319, 366, 368, 395 - -Nightingale, 232, 318, 393 - -Nightjar, 41, 396 - -_Nucléo central_, 140 - -Nuthatch, 223, 232 - - -Oleander, 160, 166 and _n._ 1 - -Orange, cultivation of, 9 - -Oriole, 393 - golden, 41, 232 - -Orphean warbler, 393, 396 - -Ortolan, 319 - -Osprey, 191 - -Otter, 337 - -_Ovis bidens_, 352-3 - -Owl, 396 - little, 319 - white, 230 - - -Paris, Comtes de, 278-9 - -Partridge, 15, 30, 32, 164, 226, 238, 331, 332-3, 335-6, 362, 363, 398 - grey, 28, 298 - redleg, 15, 29, 184, 319, 328, 329 - -Peewit, 267 - -Pelayo, 7 - -Pelican, Danish, 276 - -Peñones, the, 314, 315 - -Pepe-Illo, bull-fighter, 196 - -Peregrine falcon, 135, 317, 398 - -Perez, Gregorio, 292, 293 - -Pernales, bandit, 174 _et seq_. - -Petroleum, 347 _n._ 1 - -Phillip II., 195 - -Phillip III., 195, 323 - -Phillip IV., 37, 195 - -Phillip V., 195 - -_Pica mauretanica_, 401 _n._ 1 - -Picos de Europa, 142, 144, 283, 285, 292, 302 - -Pig, 298, 363 - -Pilgrimages to Rocio, 82 _et seq._ - -"Pincushion" gorse, 314, 352 - -Pine (_Pinus pinaster_), 319, 361 - -Pinsapo pine (_Abies pinsapo_), 349-52 and _notes_, 360, 362 - -Pintail, 94, 97, 101, 110, 111, 186, 188, 326, 408, 409 - -"Piorno" (_Spartius scorpius_), 352 - -Pipit, alpine, 222 - tawny, 319, 353 _n._ 1, 367 - -Pius V., Pope, 194 - -Pizarro, 231 - -Plant-life in the marisma, 89-90, 115 - -Plover, golden, 63 _n._ 1, 331 - grey, 42, 134, 389 - Kentish, 267, 382 - -Pochard, 101, 138 _n._ 1, 186, 188, 324, 327, 384, 410 - red-crested (_Pato colorado_), 186, 188, 190, 327, 410 - white-eyed, 138 _n._ 1, 384 - -Polyglotta warbler, 393 - -Pratincole, 268, 382 and _n._ 1 - -Praying mantis, 394 - -Préjavalsky, Russian explorer, 276 - -Ptarmigan, 4, 29, 298 - -_Pterostichus rutilans_, 314 - -Puerta de Palomas, 367-70 - -Puntales del Peco, 167 - -Pyrenean musk-rat, 29 - -Pyrenees, 28, 29, 298, 302; - ibex in, 142, 143-4 - - -Quail, 29, 328, 330 - - -Rabbit, 330, 338, 341 - -Rail, 39 - -"Rare birds," 403, 404 - -Raven, 209, 222, 309, 319, 366, 395 - -_Reclamo_ (call-bird), 328-9 - -Redondo, José, bull-fighter, 197 - -Redshank, 267, 268, 379 - -Redstart, 223 - -Redwing, 164, 362 - -Reed-climbers, 39, 61 - -Ribbon-grass (_canaliza_), 115 - -Rice-grounds, 322, 323, 324-5 - -Ring-dotterel, 390 - lesser, 393 - -Ring-ouzel, 222, 309, 316, 353 _n._ 1 - -Ring-plover, 238 - -Riscos del Fraile, 141, 211, 214, 221 - -Robin, 232, 318 - -Rocio, shrine at, pilgrimages to, 82 _et seq._ - -Rock-bunting, 313, 319, 348, 367 - -Rock-climbing, 144 - -Rock-sparrow, 319, 355 - -Rock-thrush, 222, 313, 318, 353 _n._ 1, 366, 367, 368 - blue, 230, 365 - -Roderick, King of the Goths, 7 - -Roe-deer, 165, 229, 298, 353, 363 - -Roller, 226, 393 - -Romans, the, in Spain, 6, 229, 232 - -Romero, Francisco, bull-fighter, 195 - -Romero, Pedro, bull-fighter, 196 - -_Ronda_, _Caceria á la_, 80-1 - -Rook, 411 - -Rota, 299 - -Rudolph, late Crown Prince of Austria, 266 - -Ruff, 63 _n._ 1, 134 - -Rufous warbler, 232, 318, 393 - - -Salmon, 295-6 - -San Cristobal, 347, 349, 351, 352, 353 - -Sanderling, 390 - -Sand-grouse, 4, 29, 186, 209, 227, 382, 401; - black-bellied, 232 - -Sand-hills and wild geese, 125-32 - -Sand-lizard, 62 and _n._ 1 - -Sand-piper, 211, 389 - curlew, 42, 389 - green, 390, 392 - -Sardinian warbler, 164, 393 - -Saunders, Howard, 265, 403 - -Schastowskij, Mr. P. A., 404 - -Sedge-warbler, great, 387 - -Serin, 311, 313, 319, 348, 393 - -Serpent-eagle, 209, 396 - -Serranía de Ronda, 2, 267, 347-59, 360 _et seq._; - flora of, 348 _et seq._, 360, 361; - ibex in, 142 - -Shad, 299 - -Shelduck, 101, 112, 191, 327, 410 - ruddy, 410 - -Shoveler, 97, 101, 111, 112, 186, 188, 327, 403, 409 - -Shrike, great grey (_Lanius meridionalis_), 62, 63 _n._ 2, 212, 393 - _Lanius excubitor_, 63 _n._ 2 - -Siberia, 404 - -Sierra Bermeja, 349, 360-63 - -Sierra de Gata, 227, 235 - -Sierra de Grédos, 140, 208 _et seq._, 302; - ibex in, 142, 145, 210 _et seq._, 352 - -Sierra de Guadalupe, 227 and _n._ 1 - -Sierra de Jerez, 363-7 - -Sierra Moréna, 29, 411; - fauna of, 42, 142, 147 _et seq._; - flora of, 160, 225 - -Sierra Nevada, 301 _et seq._, 355; - birds of, 311-16. 318-19; - ibex in, 142, 148-9, 303, 317 - -Sierra de las Nieves, 349 - -Sierra Quintana, 149-53, 171 - -Silk manufacture, Moorish, 9-10 - -Small-game shooting, 328-36 - -Snake, 334 - coluber, 393 - -Snipe, 327, 330, 331, 392 - -Snow-finch, 316, 318 - -Soldier-ants, 61 - -Spear-grass, 90, 92, 95, 115 - -Spectacled warbler, 232, 396 - -Sphinx moth (_S. convolvuli_), 62 - -Spoonbill, 327, 383 - -"Still-hunting," 54 _et seq._, 60 - -Stilt, 190, 267, 268, 385, 392, 403 - -Stint, little, 390 - -Stonechat, 209, 211, 319 - -Stone-curlew, 227, 232, 343 - -Stork, 40, 230, 392 - -Subalpine warbler, 232, 396 - -Sugar-cane, 4, 9 - -Swan, wild, 375; Bewick's, _ib._ - -Swift, alpine, 355 - - -Tagus River, 228 _n._ 1; - valley of, 210 - -Tarifa, 300 - -Tarik, Arab chief, 7 - -Tato, El, bull-fighter, 197 - -Teal, 91, 97, 101, 111, 126, 134, 188, 327, 373, 399, 403, 409 - marbled, 186 - -Tench, 295 - -Tern, 41; - gull-billed (_Sterna anglica_), 268; - whiskered, 389 - -Thistle, Spanish, 248, 262 - -Thrush, 164, 223; - blue, 222, 313, 318, 319, 353 _n._ 1, 362, 367 - -Tit, blue, 319, 352; - cole, 319, 352, 367; - great, 319; - long-tailed, 232, 348, 367 - -Toledo, Montes de, 147, 148 and _n._ 1, 184, 227 _n._ 1 - -Tormes River, 221, 223 - -Tree-creeper, 367 - -Trout, 15-16, 294-5, 309, 317 - -Trujillo, 227, 229, 230-31, 295 - -Tumbler-pigeons, 126 - -Tunny, 299-300 - - -Valdelagrana, 172 - -Valencia, 2, 4, 187; - ibex in, 142; - wildfowl in, 321-7, 410 - -Veleta, Picacho de la, 312 _et seq._ - -_Vetas_, 88-9, 90, 115, 122 - -Villarejo, 221 - -Villaviciosa, Don Pedro Pidal, Marquis de, 292, 296 - -Vivillo, El, bandit, 175 _et seq._, 181-2 - -Vulture, 67, 228, 356 and _n._ 1, 362, 366, 367-8 - black, 221-2 - griffon, 163, 222, 315, 319, 359, 364, 367, 369, 370, 397 - -Waders, 41, 382, 403 - -Wagtail, grey, 318, 348, 410 - pied, 410 - white, 232, 237, 410 - yellow, 410-11 - -Warblers. _See_ under names - -Water-hen, purple (_Porphyrio_), 388 - -Water-shrew, 103, 166 - -Wheatear, 41, 184, 211, 223, 312, 313, 318, 353 _n._ 1 - black-throated, 318 - eared, 318 - -Whimbrel, 390, 392, 403, 404 - -Whitethroat, 232, 318 - -Wigeon, 97, 101, 110, 111, 186, 188, 327, 380, 399, 409 - -Wild-cat, 165, 167, 226, 317, 333, 334, 337 _et seq._ - -Wildfowl at Daimiel, 186-91, 409, 410 - of marisma, 40-2, 91 _et seq._, 114 _et seq._, 381-91, 408, 409 - shooting, 95 _et seq._, 105-13, 115 _et seq._, 131-2, 254, 323-7, 371-5, 379 - in Valencia, 321 _et seq._ - -Wild-thyme (_Cantuéso_), 225 - -Willow-warbler, 232 - -Wolf, 147, 154, 156, 164, 171, 229, 238, 289, 306, 317, 319, 334 - -Woodchat, 41, 318, 393, 396 - -Woodcock, 331 - -Wood-pecker, 396 - great black, 298 - green, 68 and _n._ 2, 164, 232 - spotted, 367 - -Wood-pigeon, 362, 367 - -Wren, 282, 318 - -Wryneck, 311 - - -Yna de la Garganta, 355-7 - - -Zamujar, 172 - -Zaragoza, Cortes of, 6 - -THE END - -_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_. - - * * * * * - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Catalonia was a separate State, under independent rulers, the Counts -of Barcelona, until A.D. 1131, when it was merged in the Kingdom of -Arragon. - -[2] The term "Moor" has always seemed to us a trifle unfortunate, as -tending to indicate that the conquering race came from Morocco--"Turks" -or "Arabs" would have been a more appropriate title. For fifty years -after the conquest Spain was governed by Emirs subject to the Kaliphs of -Damascus, the first independent power being wielded by the Emir -Abderahman III. who, in 777, usurped the title of Kaliph of Cordoba. -That kaliphate, by the way, during its earlier splendours, became the -centre of universal culture, Cordoba being the intellectual capital of -the world, with a population that has been stated at two millions. - -[3] For the information of readers who have not studied the subject, it -may be well to add that, during the early years of the seventeenth -century, something like a million of Spanish Moors--the most industrious -of its inhabitants--were either massacred in Spain or expelled from the -country. - -[4] At a big hotel the menu on May 26 included (as usual) "partridges." -We emphasised a mild protest by refusing to eat them; but the landlord -scored with both barrels. On opening our luncheon-basket next day (we -had a twelve-hours' railway journey), there were the rejected redlegs! -We had to eat them then--or starve! - -[5] We have seen an exception to this in the mountain villages of the -Castiles, where on _fiesta_ nights a sort of rude valse is danced in the -open street. - -[6] By their peculiar style of aviation these birds, swaying up and down -and swerving on zigzag courses, alternately expose a scintillating -crimson mass suddenly flashing into a cloud of black and rosy -white--according as their brilliant wing-plumage or their white bodies -are presented to the eye. "A flame of fire" is the Arab signification of -their name _flamenco_. - -[7] No offence to our scientific friends aforesaid. We recognise their -argument and respect its thoroughness, though regarding it as -occasionally misdirected. Possibly in their splendid zeal they overlook -the danger of reducing scientific classification to a mere monopoly -confined to a few score of professors, specialists, and -cabinet-naturalists, instead of serving as an aid and general guide (as -is surely its true intention) to thousands of less learned students. -Over-elaboration is apt to beget chaos. - -[8] We have known the spoor of a wounded stag pass beneath strong -interlacing branches so low that, in following, we have had to wriggle -under on hands and knees. The spoor showed there had been no such -cervine necessity. - -[9] Weight, clean, two days killed, 78 kilos = 180 lbs. - -[10] There are sand-lizards identical in colour with the sand -itself--pale yellow or drab, adorned with wavy black lines closely -resembling the wind-waves on the sand. - -[11] There are, of course, exceptions, such as golden plovers, ruffs, -dunlin, godwits, knots, that do assume a vernal dress. - -[12] This, the southernmost form of the green woodpecker, has much the -most ringing voice. The closely allied northern form, _G. canus_, that -one hears constantly in Norway, utters but a sharp monosyllabic note. A -second curious fact may here be mentioned: that the great grey shrike, -just named, _Lanius meridionalis_, is resident in Spain throughout the -year, while the closely allied and almost identical _L. excubitor_ -breeds exclusively in the far north (chiefly within the Arctic) and only -descends to England in winter. Besides the harsh note mentioned above, -the southern shrike, in spring, utters a piping whistle not unlike a -golden plover. - -[13] This is only the second instance in thirty or forty years of a -wounded or "bayed" stag killing a dog. In the Culata del Faro, we -remember, many years ago, a stag shot through the lungs, and which was -brought to bay close behind the writer's post, tossing a _podenco_ clean -over its head, and so injuring it that the dog had to be destroyed at -once. - -[14] The initials are those of our late friend Colonel Brymer of -Ilsington, Dorset, formerly M.P. for that county, and who was a frequent -visitor to Spain, where, alas! his death occurred while we write this -chapter (May 1909). A unique exploit of the Colonel's during his last -shooting-trip may fitly be recorded. On February 5, 1909, at the Culata -del Faginado, four big stags broke in a clump past his post on a -pine-crowned ridge in the forest. Two he dropped right and left; then -reloading one barrel, killed a third ere the survivors had vanished from -sight. These three stags carried thirty-four points, the best head -taping 30-1/2 inches by 27 inches in width, and 4-1/2 inches basal -circumference. - -[15] Not a single accident, great or small, has occurred during the -authors' long tenure of the Coto Doñana. - -[16] See _On Safari_, by Abel Chapman, pp. 216-17. The Spanish term -_Ronda_ may roughly be translated as "rounding-up." - -[17] At the date in question (end of November) it is, of course, -possible that this immigration was proceeding, not from the north, but -from the south. That is, that these were fowl which, on their first -arrival in Spain in September and October, had found the _marisma_ -untenable from lack of water, and had in consequence passed on into -Africa, whence they were now returning, on the changed weather. But be -that as it may, the route above indicated is that invariably followed by -the north-bred wildfowl on their first arrival in Spain. - -[18] This was in earlier days. Later on we developed a flotilla of -flat-bottomed canoes expressly adapted to this service. A photo of one -of these is annexed. - -[19] See _Instructions to Young Sportsmen_, by P. Hawker, second edition -(1816), pp. 229, 230. - -[20] In the big and deep lucios no plant-life exists, nor could -surface-feeding ducks reach down to it even if subaquatic herbage of any -kind did grow there. - -[21] We have here in our mind's eye our own shooting-grounds in the -Bætican marismas. But there are other regions in Andalucia where geese -feed on open grassy plains on which shelter of some sort is often -available. It may be but a clump of dead thistles or wild asparagus; but -at happy times a friendly ditch or dry watercourse will yield quite a -decent hollow where one can hide in comparative comfort and security. On -the day here described no such "advantage" befriended. - -[22] The scarcity of diving-ducks is explained by these having all been -shot in the shallow, open marisma. In the deeper waters, such as -Santolalla, common and white-eyed pochards, tufted ducks, etc., abound. - -[23] The Montes de Toledo comprise some of the best big-game country in -Spain and include several of her most famous preserves; such, for -example, as the Coto de Cabañeros belonging to the Conde de -Valdelagrana, El Castillo, a domain of the Duke of Castillejos, and -Zumajo of the Marques de Alventos. The Duke of Arión possesses a wild -tract inhabited by fallow-deer. - -[24] Thirteen wolves were killed thus (and recovered) on the property of -the Marquis del Mérito in the winter of 1906-7. - -[25] Similarly the half-wild cattle of Spain leave their new-born calves -concealed in some bush or palmetto, the mother going off for a whole day -and only returning at sunset. - -[26] Photos given in _Wild Spain_. - -[27] We exclude from consideration all deer that are winter-fed or -otherwise assisted, and of course all that have been "improved" by -crosses with extraneous blood. These mountain deer of Spain are true -native aborigines, unaltered and living the same wild life as they lived -here in Roman days and in ages before. - -[28] We here use the term hound or dog indiscriminately as, in the -altering circumstances, each is equally applicable and correct - -[29] I never myself count shots, hits or misses--_horas non numero_. The -above record is solely due to the inception by our gracious hostess at -Mezquitillas of a pretty custom, namely, that for every bullet fired, a -small sum should be payable by the sportsman towards a local charity. - -[30] The oleander is poisonous to horses and other domestic animals, and -is instinctively avoided by both game and cattle. During the Peninsular -War it is recorded that several British soldiers came by their deaths -through this cause. A foraging party cut and peeled some oleander -branches to use as skewers in roasting meat over the camp-fires. Of -twelve men who ate the meat, seven died. - -[31] Pernales was born at Estepa, province of Sevilla, September 3, -1878, a ne'er-do-weel son of honest, rural parents. By 1906 he had -become notorious as a determined criminal. His appearance and -Machiavellian instincts were interpreted as indicating great personal -courage, and, united with his physique, combined to present a repulsive -and menacing figure. A huge head set on broad chest and shoulders, with -red hair and deep-set blue eyes, a livid freckled complexion, thin -eyebrows, and one long tusk always visible, protruding from a horrid -mouth, made up a sufficiently characteristic ensemble. - -[32] The authors personally assisted at this _toilet_, Talavera, May -1891. - -[33] The oft-described details of the bull-fight we omit; but should any -reader care to peruse an impartial description thereof, written by one -of the co-authors of the present work, such will be found in the -_Encyclopædia of Sport_, vol. i. p. 151. - -[34] In particular, remembering an incident that had occurred here in -1891, and recorded in _Wild Spain_, p. 147, we were anxious to ascertain -if the lemming, or any relative of his, still survived in these central -Spanish cordilleras. The marmot is another possible inhabitant. - -[35] For these, as well as graphic notes on the subject, we are indebted -to Sr. D. Manuel F. de Amezúa, the most experienced and intrepid -explorer of the Sierra de Grédos. - -[36] This range is, in fact, a northern outspur of the Montes de Toledo, -which occupy the whole space betwixt Tagus and Guadiana. Its highest -peak, La Cabeza del Moro, reaches 5110 feet. - -[37] Wild fallow-deer are indigenous among the infinite scrub-clad hills -that fringe the course of the Tagus, as well as in various _dehesas_ in -the province of Caceres--those of Las Corchuelas and de Valero may be -specified. The wild fallow are larger and finer animals than the others. - -[38] Immediately adjoining the south approach to the bridge over the -Alagón is sculptured on the bluff a heraldic device representing a -figure plucking a pomegranate (_Granada_) from a tree--the arms of -Granadilla. There is an inscription, with date, beneath; but these we -failed to decipher. - -[39] _Diccionario geografico, estadistico, y historico de España_, by -Pascual Madoz (Madrid, 1845). - -[40] A later Spanish work, the _Diccionario enciclopedico -hispano-americano_ (Barcelona, 1892), regards some of Pascual Madoz's -descriptions as over-coloured and exaggerated. Our own observation, -however, rather tended to confirm his views and to show that subsequent -amelioration exists rather in name than in fact. - -[41] The Hurdanos, we were told, make bad soldiers. Being despised by -their comrades, they are only employed on the menial work of the -barracks. Many, from long desuetude, are unable to wear boots. - -[42] The white on a bustard's plumage exceeds in its intensity that of -almost any other bird we know. It is a dead white, without shade or the -least symptom of any second tint so usual a feature in white. - -[43] _Avetarda_ is old Spanish, the modern spelling being _Abutarda_. - -[44] A large number of horsemen inevitably excites suspicion in game -unaccustomed to see more than three or four men together. - -[45] The horses, if ground permits, may be utilised as "stops" to -extreme right and left of the drive, otherwise they must be concealed in -some convenient hollow in charge of a boy or two. - -[46] We know of no other bird that increases thus in weight anticipatory -of the breeding-season, nor are we at all sure that it is the swollen -neck that explains that increase. - -[47] We have never succeeded in inducing our tame bustards to breed in -captivity. - -[48] Dampier, _New Voyage round the World_, 2nd ed., i. p. 71; London, -1699. - -[49] Dampier's visit to the Cape de Verde Islands took place in -September, when, of course, flamingoes would not be nesting. - -[50] We also observed in Equatoria a second species, smaller and red all -over, _Phoenicopterus minor_. This, however, was far less numerous; the -great bulk of East-African flamingoes were the common _Ph. roseus_. - -[51] It is right to add that in America the growth of mangrove and other -bushes, sometimes in close proximity to the nests, offers facilities to -the photographer that are wholly wanting in Spain, where the flamingo -only nests in perfectly open waters devoid of the slightest covert or -means of concealment. - -[52] _Gaitero_ is the word used. The _gaita_ is a musical instrument -which we may translate as bagpipes. - -[53] For notes on these subjects, we are indebted to Mr. Carl D. -Williams. - -[54] Boabdil, we read, was a keen hunter, and during his sojourn at -Besmer frequently spent weeks at a time among the mountains with his -hawks and hounds. - -[55] _La Alpujarra_, by Don Pedro A. de Alarcón (4th edition, Madrid, -1903). - -[56] Several of these animals, moreover, yield excellent fur. - -[57] These mountains are believed to overlie vast store of subterranean -wealth in the form of petroleum. Geologists seem agreed upon that; but -they differ as to the precise locality of the treasure or whence it may -most conveniently be exploited. - -[58] We have a number of pinsápos growing in Northumberland. They were -planted some ten years ago on a cold northern exposure, and are now -flourishing vigorously, some having reached a height of eight or ten -feet. Nearly all tend to throw up numerous "leaders" as described. - -[59] Pinsápo timber is fairly hard, but too "knotty" for general -purposes, and it is useless for charcoal. Yet these glorious forests are -being sacrificed wholesale because the wood affords "good kindling" for -the charcoal-furnace--can wasteful wantonness further go? That the only -existing forests of the kind on earth should be ruthlessly destroyed for -no single object but to provide _kindling_ passes understanding. - -[60] We mention, parenthetically, certain birds observed at end of March -on that alpine meadow (4800 feet), as follows:--One ring-ouzel, a pair -of common wheatears, woodlarks, and Dartford warblers--all, no doubt, on -migration--besides, of course, blackchats, blue thrushes, etc. A month -later the beautiful rock-thrush had come to grace the desolation with -lilting flight and song, and tawny pipits ran blithely among the rocks. - -[61] Note that the pellets or "castings" thrown up by vultures are -chiefly formed of grass cut up into lengths and compacted with saliva, -evidently digestive. We have frequently seen vultures carrying a wisp of -grass in their beaks. - -[62] The Spanish name of the ibex, _Cabra montés_, signifies, not as -might appear, "mountain-goat," but _scrub-goat_; and may have originated -in this region, or at least from a habit which prevails here though -obsolete everywhere else. - -[63] Similar results followed on the Laguna de Janda. That great shallow -lake abounds in winter with both ducks and geese; but differs from the -marismas in being sweet water, hence is not frequented by flamingoes. -Another point of difference is that its shores are occupied by wild -bulls instead of brood-mares; hence the _cabresto_-pony is not -available. Wildfowl here also proved inaccessible to a gunning-punt on -open waters; while wherever reeds or sedge promised some "advantage," in -such places the depth of water was always insufficient to float the -lightest of craft within range. The best shot made during four seasons -realised but twenty-three (seven geese and sixteen duck)--a paltry -total. Occasionally a great bustard was shot from the gunboat. - -[64] The word "_Corro_" applies in Spanish to any noisy group--say a -knot of people discussing politics in the street! - -[65] One feels convinced, while lying listening, that these exuberant -fowl invent and formulate a series of new notes and cries special to the -occasion and outside their normal vocabulary. Hence, possibly, -originated the use of the term "_Corro_." - -[66] _Corros_ usually consist (especially the earlier assemblies) of one -root-species--others merely "edge in." The later _corros_, however, are -much mixed. They vary in numbers: one may contain but 200 pairs, another -within half-a-mile as many thousands. - -[67] Pratincoles cast themselves down flat on the dry mud, fluttering as -though in mortal agony--or, say, like a huge butterfly with a pin -through its thorax! The device is presumably adopted in order to decoy -an intruder away from their eggs or young. This year, however, the -pratincoles still practised it, although they had neither eggs nor young -at all. One day (May 12) a gale of wind blew some of the deceivers -bodily away. - -[68] In none were the generative organs more than slightly developed, -and in most the plumage was full of new blood-feathers, showing that the -summer change was not yet complete. The date, May 10-15. Another drawing -is given at p. 42. - -[69] Common British birds we exclude from notice, or might fill a page -with swarming goldfinches, robins, wrens, chaffinch, blackbird, -stonechat, whitethroats, tree-pipits, titlarks (the last three on -passage), blackcap, garden-warbler, whinchat, redstart, and a host more. - -[70] The African bush-cuckoos, or coucals (_Centropus_), certainly build -their own nests; but they are only related nominally, and the connection -is remote. - -[71] In Egypt the hooded crow (_Corvus cornix_) is invariably the -cuckoo's dupe; in Algeria, _Pica mauretanica_. - -[72] We find a note that one Bean-Goose was shot on November 27, -1896--weight 5-1/4 lbs. - -[73] See the elaborate monograph on _The Geese of Europe and Asia_, by -M. Serge Alphéraky of St. Petersburg (London, Rowland Ward). - -[74] One such note may be given as an example:-- - -"1903.--Examined 40 geese shot January 1 and 2. Legs varied from white -and pale flesh-colour to pale yellowish and pink, adults all of the -latter colour. Beaks vary from whitish or flesh-colour, through yellow, -up to bright orange. A few of the geese, mostly the smaller, young -birds, were nearly pure white below: others heavily spotted or barred -with black: nearly all (old and young) show signs of a 'white-front.'" - -[75] In Jutland we found some pintails' nests rather cunningly concealed -in holes upon open grassy islets in marine lagoons not unlike our -Spanish marismas; others were on bare ground, though occasionally hidden -among thistles. Here also the eggs numbered eight or nine. See _Ibis_, -1894, p. 349. - - * * * * * - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -averge depth=> average depth {pg 302} - -produces these montrosities=> produces these monstrosities {pg 348} - -secured a specimen of two=> secured a specimen or two {pg 360} - -are always strictly cleanly=> are always strictly clean {pg 368} - -Préjavelsky, Russian explorer, 276=> Préjavalsky, Russian explorer, 276 -{index} - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Unexplored Spain, by -Abel Chapman and Walter J. 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Buck - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Unexplored Spain - -Author: Abel Chapman - Walter J. Buck - -Illustrator: Joseph Crawhall - E. Caldwell - -Release Date: December 10, 2012 [EBook #41593] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNEXPLORED SPAIN *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<table summary="note" border="4" cellpadding="10" style="background-color: #ffffff; -margin-right:auto;margin-left:auto;max-width:50%;"> - <tr> - <td valign="top">Every attempt has been made to replicate the original book as printed. -Some typographical errors have been corrected (<a href="#TRNS">see the list here</a>). No attempt has been -made to correct or normalize the printed accentuation or spelling of Spanish names or words. Click on any image -to see it enlarged. (etext transcriber's note)</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/cover_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="356" height="550" alt="image of the book's cover" /></a> -</p> - -<p class="cb">UNEXPLORED SPAIN</p> - -<div class="bboxx"> -<p class="cb">ABEL CHAPMAN’S WORKS</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<b>BIRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS</b>. First Edition, 1889;<br /> - —— ——, Second Edition, 1907.<br /> - -<b>WILD SPAIN</b>. (<span class="smcap">With W. J. B.</span>) 1893.<br /> - -<b>WILD NORWAY</b>. 1897.<br /> - -<b>ART OF WILDFOWLING</b>. 1896.<br /> - -<b>ON SAFARI</b> (<span class="smcap">In British East Africa</span>). 1908.<br /> - -<b>UNEXPLORED SPAIN.</b> (<span class="smcap">With W. J. B.</span>) 1910.<br /> -</p> -</div> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/frontispiece_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/frontispiece_sml.jpg" width="418" height="581" alt="H.M. King Alfonso XIII spearing a boar." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">H.M. King Alfonso XIII spearing a boar.</span> -</p> - -<h1> -UNEXPLORED<br /> -SPAIN</h1> - -<p class="cb">BY<br /> -ABEL CHAPMAN<br /> -<small>AUTHOR OF ‘WILD SPAIN,’ ‘WILD NORWAY,’ ‘ON SAFARI,’ ETC.</small><br /> -<br /> -<small>AND</small><br /> -<br /> -WALTER J. BUCK<br /> -<small>BRITISH VICE-CONSUL AT JEREZ<br /> -AUTHOR OF ‘WILD SPAIN’</small><br /> -<br /><br /><br /> -<small>WITH 209 ILLUSTRATIONS BY<br /> -JOSEPH CRAWHALL, E. CALDWELL, AND ABEL CHAPMAN<br /> -AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS</small><br /> -<br /><br /><br /> -NEW YORK<br /> -LONGMANS, GREEN & CO.<br /> -LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD<br /> -1910</p> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<p class="cb"> -<small>INSCRIBED<br /> -<br /> -BY GRACIOUS PERMISSION<br /> -TO THEIR MAJESTIES<br /> -<br /> -<big>KING ALFONSO XIII.</big><br /> -<br /> -HIMSELF AN ACCOMPLISHED SPORTSMAN<br /> -<br /> -AND<br /> -<br /> -<big>QUEEN VICTORIA EUGENIA OF SPAIN</big><br /> -<br /> -WITH DEEP RESPECT<br /> -BY THEIR MAJESTIES’ GRATEFUL AND DEVOTED SERVANTS<br /> -<br /> -THE AUTHORS</small></p> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<h2><a name="Preface" id="Preface"></a>Preface</h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> undertaking of a sequel to <i>Wild Spain</i>, we are warned, is -dangerous. The implication gratifies, but the forecast alarms not. -Admittedly, in the first instance, we occupied a virgin field, and -naturally the almost boyish enthusiasm that characterised the earlier -book—and probably assured its success—has in some degree abated. But -it’s not all gone yet; and any such lack is compensated by longer -experience (an aggregate, between us, of eighty years) of a land we -love, and the sounder appreciation that arises therefrom. Our own -resources, moreover, have been supplemented and reinforced by friends in -Spain who represent the fountain-heads of special knowledge in that -country.</p> - -<p>No foreigners could have enjoyed greater opportunity, and we have done -our best to exploit the advantage—so far, at least, as steady plodding -work will avail; for we have spent more than two years in analysing, -checking and sorting, selecting and eliminating from voluminous notes -accumulated during forty years. The concentrated result represents, we -are convinced, an accurate—though not, of course, a -complete—exposition of the wild-life of one of the wildest of European -countries.</p> - -<p>No, for this book and its thoroughness neither doubt nor fear intrudes; -but we admit to being, in two respects, out of touch with modern -treatment of natural-history subjects. Possibly we are wrong in both; -but it has not yet been demonstrated, by Euclid or other, that a -minority even of two is necessarily so? Nature it is nowadays customary -to portray in somewhat lurid and sensational colours—presumably to -humour a “popular taste.†Reflection might suggest that nothing in -Nature is, in fact, sensational, loud, or extravagant; but the lay -public possess no such technical training as would enable them to -discern the line where Nature stops and where fraud and “faking†begin. -At any rate we frequently read purring approval of what appears to us -meretricious imposture, and see writers lauded as constellations whom we -should condemn as charlatans. Beyond the Atlantic President Roosevelt -(as he then was) went bald-headed for the “Nature-fakers,†and in -America the reader has been put upon his guard. If he still likes -“sensations‗well, that’s what he likes. But he buys such fiction -forewarned.</p> - -<p>In the illustration of wild-life our views are also, in some degree, -divergent from current ideas. Animal-photography has developed with such -giant strides and has taught us such valuable lessons (for which none -are more grateful than the Authors), that there is danger of coming to -regard it, not as a means to an end but as the actual end itself. While -photography promises uses the value of which it would be difficult to -exaggerate, yet it has defects and limitations which should not be -ignored. First as regards animals in motion; the camera sees too -quick—so infinitely quicker than the human eye that attitudes and -effects are portrayed which we do not, and cannot see. Witness a -photograph of the finish for the Derby. Galloping horses do not figure -so on the human retina—with all four legs jammed beneath the body like -a dead beetle. No doubt the camera exhibits an unseen phase in the -actual action and so reveals its process; but that phase is not what -mortals see. Similarly with birds in flight, the human eye only catches -the form during the instantaneous arrest of the wing at the end of each -stroke—in many cases not even so much as that. But the camera snaps the -whirling pinion at mid-stroke or at any intermediate point. The result -is altogether admirable as an exposition of the mechanical processes of -flight; but it fails as an illustration, inasmuch as it illustrates a -pose which Nature has expressly concealed from our view.</p> - -<p>Secondly, in relation to still life. Here the camera is not only too -quick, but too faithful. A tiny ruffled plume, a feather caught up by -the breeze with the momentary shadow it casts, even an intrusive bough -or blade of grass—all are reproduced with such rigid faithfulness and -conspicuous effect that what are in fact merest minute details assume a -wholly false proportion, mislead the eye, and disguise the whole -picture. True, these things are actually there; but the human eye enjoys -a faculty (which the camera does not) of selecting its objective and -ignoring, or reducing to its correct relative value each extrinsic -detail; of looking, as it were, through obstacles and concentrating its -power upon the one main subject of study.</p> - -<p>The portrayal of wildfowl presents a peculiar difficulty. This group -differs in two essential characters from the rest of the bird-world. -Though clad in feathers, yet those feathers are not “feathery.†Rather -may they be described as a steely water-tight encasement, as distinct -from the covering, say of game-birds as mackintosh differs from satin. -Each plume possesses a compactness of web and firmness of texture that -combine to produce a rigidity, and this, it so happens, both in form and -colour. For in this group the colours, too, or patterns of colour, are -clean-cut, the contrasts strong and sharply defined. The plumage of -wild-fowl, in short, is characterised by lack of subdued tints and -half-tones. That is its beauty and its glory; but the fact presents a -stumbling-block to treatment, especially in colour.</p> - -<p>The difficulty follows consequentially. Subjects of such character and -crude coloration defy accustomed methods. That is not the fault of the -artist; rather it reveals the limitations of Art. Just as in landscape -distance ever demands an “atmosphere†more or less obliterative of -distinctive detail afar (though such detail may be visible to -non-artistic eyesight miles away), so in birds of sharply contrasted -colouring the needed effect can only (it would appear) be attained by -processes of softening which are not, in fact, correct, and which ruin -the real picture as designed by Nature.</p> - -<p>No wild bird (and wildfowl least of all) can be portrayed from captive -specimens—still less from bedraggled corpses selected in Leadenhall -market. In the latter every essential feature has disappeared. The -ruffled remains resemble the beauty of their originals only as a -dish-clout may recall some previous existence as a damask serviette. -Living captives at least give form; but that is all. The loss of -freedom, with all its contingent perils, involves the loss of character, -the pride of life, and of independence. Once remove the first essential -element—the sense of instant danger, with all that the stress and -exigencies of wild-life import—and with these there vanish vigilance, -carriage, sprightliness, dignity, sometimes even self-respect.</p> - -<p>Not a man who has watched and studied wild beasts and wild birds in -their native haunts, glorified and ennobled by self-conscious aptitude -to prevail in the ceaseless “struggle for existence,†but instantly -recognises with a pang the different demeanour of the same creatures in -captivity, albeit carefully tended in the best zoological gardens of the -world.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>To Mr. Joseph Crawhall (cousin of one author) we and our readers are -indebted for a series of drawings that speak for themselves.</p> - -<p>Further, we desire most heartily to thank H.R.H. the Duke of Orleans for -notes and photographs illustrative both of Baetican scenery and of the -wild camels of the marisma; also the many Spanish and Anglo-Spanish -friends whose assistance is specifically acknowledged, <i>passim</i>, in the -text.</p> - -<p>Should some slight slip or repetition have escaped the final revision, -may we crave indulgence of critics? ‘Tis not care that lacks, but sheer -mnemonics. In a work of (we are told) 150,000 words the mass of -manuscript appals, and to detect every single error may well prove -beyond our power. We have lost, moreover, that guiding eye and -pilot-like touch on the helm that helped to steer our earlier venture -through the shoals and seething whirlpools that ever beset voyages into -the unknown.</p> - -<p class="r"> -A. C.<br /> -W. J. B.</p> - -<p class="hang"><small><span class="smcap">British Vice-Consulate</span>, <span class="smcap">Jerez</span>,<br /> -<i>December 1910</i>.</small></p> - -<h2><a name="Contents" id="Contents"></a>Contents</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="margin-top:1%;margin-bottom:1%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;border:none;text-align:left; -max-width:75%;"> -<tr><td align="right"><small>CHAP</small>.</td><td> </td><td align="right"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></td><td> Unexplored Spain: Introductory </td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_001">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td><td> <span class="ditto">"</span> <span class="ditto">"</span> <span class="ditto">"</span> (<i>Continued</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_017">17</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td><td> The Coto Doñana: Our Historic Hunting-Ground (A Foreword<br /> -by Sir Maurice de Bunsen, P.C., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., British<br /> -Ambassador at Madrid)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_030">30</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td><td> The Coto Doñana: Notes on its Physical Formation, Fauna, -and Red Deer</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_035">35</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td><td> Andalucia and its Big Game: Still-Hunting</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_054">54</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td><td> <span class="ditto">"</span> <span class="ditto">"</span> <span class="ditto">"</span>Wild-Boar</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_070">70</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td><td>“Our Lady of the Dewâ€: The Pilgrimage to the Shrine Of -Nuestra Señora del RocÃo</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_082">82</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td><td> The Marismas of Guadalquivir</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_088">88</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td><td> Wildfowl-Shooting in the Marismas</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_105">105</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></td><td> Wild-Geese in Spain: Their Species, Haunts, and Habits</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_114">114</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></td><td> Wild-Geese on the Sand-Hills</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_125">125</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII.</a></td><td> Some Records in Spanish Wildfowling</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_133">133</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII.</a></td><td> The Spanish Ibex</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_139">139</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV.</a></td><td> Sierra Moréna: Ibex</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_147">147</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV.</a></td><td> <span class="ditto">"</span> <span class="ditto">"</span>Red Deer and Boar</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_158">158</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI.</a></td><td> Pernales</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_174">174</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">XVII.</a></td><td> La Mancha</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_183">183</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">XVIII.</a></td><td> The Spanish Bull-Fight</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_192">192</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">XIX.</a></td><td> The Spanish Fighting-Bull</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_200">200</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">XX.</a></td><td> Sierra de Grédos</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_208">208</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">XXI.</a></td><td> <span class="ditto">"</span> <span class="ditto">"</span>: Ibex-Hunting</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_216">216</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">XXII.</a></td><td> An Abandoned Province: Estremadura</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_225">225</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">XXIII.</a></td><td> Las Hurdes (Estremadura) and the Savage Tribes that -inhabit them</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_234">234</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">XXIV.</a></td><td> The Great Bustard</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_242">242</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">XXV.</a></td><td> <span class="ditto">"</span> <span class="ditto">"</span> (<i>Continued</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_256">256</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">XXVI.</a></td><td> Flamingoes</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_265">265</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">XXVII.</a></td><td> Wild Camels</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_275">275</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">XXVIII.</a></td><td> After Chamois in the Asturias</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_283">283</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">XXIX.</a></td><td> Highlands of Asturias</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_294">294</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">XXX.</a></td><td> The Sierra Neváda</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_301">301</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI">XXXI.</a></td><td> <span class="ditto">"</span> <span class="ditto">"</span> (<i>Continued</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_311">311</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXII">XXXII.</a></td><td> Valencia</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_321">321</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIII">XXXIII.</a></td><td> Small-Game Shooting in Spain</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_328">328</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIV">XXXIV.</a></td><td> Alimañas, or The Minor Beasts of Chase</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_337">337</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXV">XXXV.</a></td><td> Our “Home-Mountainsâ€: The SerranÃa de Ronda</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_347">347</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVI">XXXVI.</a></td><td> <span class="ditto">"</span> <span class="ditto">"</span> <span class="ditto">"</span> <span class="ditto">"</span> (<i>Continued</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_360">360</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVII">XXXVII.</a></td><td> A Spanish System of Wildfowling: The “Cabresto†or -Stalking-Horse</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_371">371</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVIII">XXXVIII.</a></td><td> The “Corrosâ€, or Massing of Wildfowl in Spring for their -Northern Migration</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_376">376</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIX">XXXIX.</a></td><td> Spring-Time in the Marismas</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_381">381</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XL">XL.</a></td><td> Sketches of Spanish Bird-life</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_392">392</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td><a href="#Appendix">Appendix</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_407">407</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td><a href="#Index">Index</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_413">413</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="margin-top:1%;margin-bottom:1%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;border:none;text-align:left; -max-width:70%;"> - -<tr><th align="center" colspan="2">List of Plates</th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">H.M. King Alfonso XIII. spearing a Boar</span></td><td align="right"><i>Frontispiece</i></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="right"><small>FACING PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Typical Landscape in Coto Doñana</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_030">30</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Egret Heronry at Santolalla, Coto Doñana</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_032">32</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Red Deer in Doñana.</span> From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_036">36</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Three Views in Coto Doñana: (1) Saharan Sand-Dunes; (2) Transport;<br /> -(3) a Corral, Or Pinewood Enclosed by Sand</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_040">40</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Red Deer.</span> From Drawings by Joseph Crawhall</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_046">46</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Inspiring Moments</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_051">51</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Gunning-Punt in the Marisma</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_090">90</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Wild-Goose Shooting on the Sand-hills</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_090">90</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Vasquez approaching Wildfowl with Cabresto-Pony</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_090">90</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Stancheon-Gun in the Marisma—Dawn</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_106">106</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Wild-Geese in the Marisma</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_122">122</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Spanish Ibex in Sierra de Grédos</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_140">140</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Heads of Spanish Ibex</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_152">152</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Red-Deer Heads, Sierra Moréna</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_156">156</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Wolf shot in Sierra Moréna, March 1909</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_158">158</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Huntsman with Caracola, Sierra Moréna</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_158">158</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Pack of Podencos, Sierra Moréna</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_158">158</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Wild-Boar, weighing 200 Lbs.</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_162">162</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Record Head (Red Deer), Sierra Moréna</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_162">162</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Red Deer.</span> From Drawings by Joseph Crawhall</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_166">166</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Red Deer.</span> From Drawings by Joseph Crawhall</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_170">170</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Wild-Boar.</span> From Drawings by Joseph Crawhall</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_170">170</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Red-Deer Heads, Sierra Moréna</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_172">172</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Bull-Fighting.</span> From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_194">194</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Bull-Fighting.</span> From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_198">198</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">After the Stroke.</span> From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_202">202</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Scenes in Sierra de Grédos</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_212">212</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">“At the Apex of all the Spainsâ€</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_216">216</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Two Spanish Ibex shot in Sierra de Grédos, July 1910</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_220">220</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Great Bustard</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_250">250</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Slender-billed Curlew</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_250">250</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Great Bustard “showing offâ€</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_260">260</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Flamingoes on their Nests</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_272">272</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Wild Camels</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_276">276</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Capturing a Wild Camel in the Marisma</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_280">280</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Home of the Chamois</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_286">286</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Peaks of Sierra Neváda</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_306">306</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Nest of Griffon</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_306">306</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Royal Shooting at the Pardo, near Madrid</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_334">334</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p> </p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><th align="center" colspan="2">Illustrations in the Text</th></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="right"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Lammergeyer (<i>Gypaëtus barbatus</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_003">3</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Woodchat Shrike (<i>Lanius pomeranus</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_007">7</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Griffon Vulture (<i>Gyps fulvus</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_009">9</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Wooden Plough-share</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_012">12</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Cetti’s Warbler (<i>Sylvia cettii</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_014">14</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Dartford Warbler (<i>Sylvia undata</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_016">16</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Fantail Warbler (<i>Cisticola cursitans</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_017">17</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Rock-Thrush (<i>Petrocincla saxatilis</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_018">18</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>A Village <i>Posada</i></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_020">20</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Serin (<i>Serinus hortulanus</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_023">23</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Bonelli’s Eagle (<i>Aquila bonellii</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_026">26</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Black Vulture (<i>Vultur monachus</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_027">27</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>White-Faced Duck (<i>Erismatura leucocephala</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_028">28</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Spanish Imperial Eagle</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_031">31</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Spanish Lynx</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_033">33</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Greenshank (<i>Totanus canescens</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_034">34</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Sketch-Map of Delta of Guadalquivir</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_035">35</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Marsh-Harrier (<i>Circus aeruginosus</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_038">38</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“Silent Songstersâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_039">39</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Blackstart (<i>Ruticilla titys</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_039">39</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Great Spotted Cuckoo (<i>Oxylophus glandarius</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_041">41</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“Globe-Spannersâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_042">42</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“Confidenceâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_043">43</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Abnormal Cast Antler</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_044">44</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Egret</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_045">45</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“Suspicionâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_049">49</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Altabaca (<i>Scrofularia</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_051">51</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Tomillo de Arena</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_051">51</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“What’s This?â€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_052">52</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Antlers</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_056">56</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Stag “taking the Windâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_057">57</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><i>Sylvia melanocephala</i></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_060">60</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Reed-Climbers</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_061">61</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Great Grey Shrike (<i>Lanius meridionalis</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_062">62</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Spanish Green Woodpecker (<i>Gecinus sharpei</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_063">63</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Tarantula</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_064">64</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Stag—as he fell</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_067">67</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Hoopoes at Jerez, March 19, 1910</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_069">69</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“Room for Twoâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_071">71</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Wild-Boar—at bay</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_073">73</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Wild-Boar—“Bolted pastâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_079">79</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Wild-Boar</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_081">81</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Praying Mantis</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_087">87</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Avocet</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_088">88</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Samphire</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_090">90</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Greylag Geese</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_092">92</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>White-Eyed Pochard (<i>Fuligula nyroca</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_094">94</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“Flamingoes overâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_095">95</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Pochard (<i>Fuligula ferina</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_096">96</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Flight of Flamingoes</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_097">97</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Wild-Geese alighting</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_098">98</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Wildfowl in the Marisma</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_101">101</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Flamingoes</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_102">102</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Stilt</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_105">105</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Godwits</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_113">113</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Root of Spear-Grass</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_115">115</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>System of driving Wild-Geese</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_117">117</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Shelters for driving Wild-Geese</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_118">118</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Godwits</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_124">124</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Wild-Geese alighting on Sand-Hills</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_129">129</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Wild-Geese</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_133">133</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Godwits</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_134">134</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Sketch-Map of the <i>Nucléo Central</i> of Grédos</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_141">141</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Grey Shrike</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_162">162</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Azure-Winged Magpie</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_163">163</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Sardinian Warbler</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_164">164</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Griffon Vulture</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_166">166</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Pair of Antlers</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_167">167</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Stag—“picking his way up a Rock-Staircaseâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_168">168</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“The Hart bounced, full-broadside, over the Passâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_169">169</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Pernales</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_175">175</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Sparrow-Owls (Athene noctua) and Moths</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_182">182</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Hoopoes</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_183">183</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Woodchat Shrike and its “Shamblesâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_184">184</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Desert-loving Wheatears</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_185">185</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Red-crested Pochard (<i>Fuligula rufila</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_186">186</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Red-crested Pochards</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_190">190</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“Minor Gameâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_210">210</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Southern Grey Shrike</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_212">212</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Griffon Vulture and Nest</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_215">215</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“The Way of an Eagle in the Air†(<i>Lammergeyer</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_218">218</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Black Vulture (<i>Vultur monachus</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_222">222</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Roller (<i>Coracias garrula</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_226">226</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Trujillo</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_227">227</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“Scavengersâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_228">228</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Wolf-proof Dog-Collar</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_231">231</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Woodlark</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_232">232</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Sketch-Map of Las Hurdes</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_234">234</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>White Wagtail</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_238">238</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Wolf-proof Sheepfold</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_239">239</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>The Great Bustard</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_243">243</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Well on Andalucian Plain</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_244">244</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Calandra Lark</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_246">246</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Spanish Thistle and Stonechat</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_248">248</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Bustards—“Swerve asideâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_252">252</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Bustards passing full broadside</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_254">254</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Imperial Eagle—“Hurtling through Spaceâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_258">258</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Draw-Well with Cross-Bar</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_259">259</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“<i>Hechando la Rueda</i>â€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_260">260</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Tail-Feathers of Great Bustard</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_261">261</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Little Bustard</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_263">263</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Stilts in the Marisma</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_265">265</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Flamingoes</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_266">266</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Stilts disturbed at Nesting-Place</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_268">268</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Flamingoes and their Nests</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_269">269</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Flight of Flamingoes</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_270">270-1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Head of Flamingo</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_273">273</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Little Gull and Tern</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_274">274</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Flamingoes</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_277">277</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“The Camels a-comingâ€</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_281">281</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Chamois</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_283">283</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>A Chamois Drive—Picos de Europa</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_288">288</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Hoopoe</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_293">293</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Lammergeyer (<i>Gypaëtus barbatus</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_303">303</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“Unemployedâ€: Bee-eaters on a Wet Morning</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_311">311</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Woodlark (<i>Alauda arborea</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_313">313</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Lammergeyer</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_314">314</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Soaring Vulture</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_315">315</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Golden Eagle Hunting</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_317">317</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Rock-Thrush</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_318">318</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Spanish Sparrow</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_320">320</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Imperial Eagle Passing Overhead</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_342">342</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Pinsápo Pine (<i>Abies pinsapo</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_347">347</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Rock-Bunting (<i>Emberiza cia</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_348">348</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Pinsápo Pines</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_350">350</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Crossbill</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_351">351</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Lammergeyer Overhead</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_353">353</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Golden Eagle Hunting</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_354">354</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Vultures</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_356">356</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Lammergeyer entering Eyrie</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_358">358</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Lammergeyer</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_361">361</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Griffon Vultures</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_368">368</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Reed-Bunting</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_378">378</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Grey Plover</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_381">381</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Head of Crested Coot</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_384">384</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Avocets Feeding</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_385">385</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>White-Faced Duck (<i>Erismatura leucocephala</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_387">387</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Purple Heron (<i>Ardea purpurea</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_389">389</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Grey Plovers</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_390">390</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Orphean Warbler</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_391">391</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Savi’s Warbler (<i>Sylvia savii</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_393">393</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Unknown Insect</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_394">394</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Bonelli’s Eagles</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_395">395</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Great Spotted Cuckoo (<i>Oxylophus glandarius</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_400">400</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Crossbills (<i>Loxia curvirostra</i>)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_402">402</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><a name="page_001" id="page_001"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I<br /><br /> -UNEXPLORED SPAIN<br /><br /> -<small>INTRODUCTORY</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> Spain that we love and of which we write is not the Spain of tourist -or globe-trotter. These hold main routes, the highways from city to -city; few so much as venture upon the bye-ways. Our Spain begins where -bye-ways end. We write of her pathless solitudes, of desolate steppe and -prairie, of marsh and mountain-land—of her majestic sierras, some -well-nigh inaccessible, and, in many an instance, untrodden by British -foot save our own. Lonely scenes these, yet glorified by primeval beauty -and wealth of wild-life. As naturalists—that is, merely as born lovers -of all that is wild, and big, and pristine—we thank the guiding destiny -that early directed our steps towards a land that is probably the -wildest and certainly the least known of all in Europe—a land worthy of -better cicerones than ourselves.</p> - -<p>Do not let us appear to disparage the other Spain. The tourist enjoys -another land overflowing with historic and artistic interest—with -memorials of mediæval romance, and of stirring times when wave after -wave of successive conquest swept the Peninsula. Such subjects, however, -fall wholly outside the province of this book: nor do they lack -historians a thousand-fold better qualified to tell their tale.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>The first cause that differentiates Spain from other European countries -of equal area is her high general elevation. This fact must jump to the -eye of every observant traveller who books his seat by the Sûd-express -to the Mediterranean. Better still, for our purpose, let him commence -his journey, say at the Tweed. From Berwick southwards through the heart -of England to London: from London to Paris, and right across France—all -the<a name="page_002" id="page_002"></a> way he traverses low-lying levels; fat pastures, fertile and tilled -to the last acre. His aneroid tells him he has seldom risen above -sea-level by more than a few hundred feet; and never once has his train -passed through mountains—hardly even through hills; he can scarce be -said to have had a real mountain within the range of his vision in all -these 1200 miles.</p> - -<p>Now he crosses the Bidassoa ... the whole world changes! At once his -train plunges into interminable Pyrenees, and ere it clears these, he -has ascended to a permanent highland level—a tawny treeless steppe that -averages 2000-feet altitude, and sometimes approaches 3000, traversed by -range after range of rugged mountains that arise all around him to four, -five, or six thousand feet. Railways, moreover, avoid mountains (so far -as they can). Our traveller, therefore, must bear in mind that what he -actually sees is but the mildest and tamest version of Spanish sierras. -There are bits here and there that he may have thought anything but -tame—only tame by comparison with those grander scenes to which we -propose guiding him.</p> - -<p>For the next 500 miles he never quits that austere highland altitude nor -ever quite loses sight of jagged peaks that pierce the skies—peaks of -that hoary cinder-grey that shows up almost white against an azure -background. Never does he descend till, after leaving behind him three -kingdoms—Arragon, Navarre, and Castile—his train plunges through the -Sierra Moréna, down the gorges of Despeñaperros, and at length on the -third day enters upon the smiling lowlands of Andalucia. Here the -aneroid rises once more to rational readings, and fertile <i>vegas</i> spread -away to the horizon. But our traveller is not even now quite clear of -mountains. Whether he be booked to Malaga or to Algeciras, he will -presently find himself enveloped once more amidst some fairly stupendous -rocks—the Gaëtánes or SerranÃa de Ronda respectively.</p> - -<p>Spain is, in fact, largely an elevated table-land, 400 miles square, and -traversed by four main mountain-ranges, all (like her great rivers) -running east and west. The only considerable areas of lowland are found -in Andalucia and Valencia.</p> - -<p>Naturally such physical features result in marked variations of climate -and scene, which in turn react upon their productions and denizens, -whether human or of savage breed. We take three examples.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_001_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_001_sml.jpg" width="397" height="371" alt="Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -LAMMERGEYER (Gypaëtus barbatus) - -Whose home is in the wildest Sierras—a weird dragon-like bird-form; -expanse, 9 feet. - -[Formerly reputed to carry off babies to its eyrie.]" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Types of Spanish Bird-Life<br /> -LAMMERGEYER (Gypaëtus barbatus)<br /> -Whose home is in the wildest Sierras—a weird dragon-like bird-form; -expanse, 9 feet.<br /> -[Formerly reputed to carry off babies to its eyrie.]</span> -</p> - -<p>The central table-lands, subject all summer to solar rays that<a name="page_003" id="page_003"></a> burn, in -winter shelterless from biting blasts off snow-clad sierras, present -precisely that landscape of desperate desolation that always results -from a maximum of sunshine combined with a minimum of rainfall. A -desiccated downland, khaki-colour or calcareous by turn, but bare (save -for a few weeks in spring) of green thing, naked of bush or shrub, -innocent even of grass. Not a tree grows so far as eye can reach, not a -watercourse but is stone-dry and leaves the impress that it has been so -since time began. Oh, it is an unlovely landscape, that central plateau. -‘Twere ungrateful, nevertheless (and unjust too), to forget that here we -are journeying in a glory of atmosphere, brilliant in aggressive -radiance that annihilates distance and revels in space. Though patches -of vine-growth be lost in the monotony of tawny expanse, mud-built -hamlet and village church indistinguishable<a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a> amidst a universal khaki, -yet this is, in truth, a kingdom of the sun. The great bustard maintains -a foothold on these arid uplands, but the fauna is best exemplified by -the desert-loving sand-grouse (<i>Pterocles arenarius</i>).</p> - -<p>Precisely the reverse of all this is Cantabria—the Basque provinces of -the north, with Galicia and the Asturias. There, bordering on the -Biscayan Sea, you find a region absolutely Scandinavian in -type—pinnacled peaks, precipitous beyond all rivals even in Spain, with -deep-rifted valleys between, rushing salmon-rivers and mountain-torrents -abounding in trout. Here the fauna is alpine, if not subarctic, and -includes the brown bear and chamois, the ptarmigan, hazel-grouse, and -capercaillie.</p> - -<p>Cantabria is a region of rock, snow, and mist-wraith; of birch and -pine-forest—the very antithesis of the third region, that next concerns -us, the smiling plains of Andalucia and Valencia nestling on -Mediterranean shore. Here for eight months out of the twelve one lives -in a paradise; but the summer is African in its burden of heat and -discomfort. Every green thing outside the vineyard and irrigated garden -is burnt up by a fiery sun, a sun that changes not, but, day following -day, grips the land in a blistering embrace. Climatic conditions such as -these reacting on a race already infused with Arab blood naturally -conduce to Oriental modes of life. Yet even here we have examples of the -curious contradictions that characterise this <i>pays de l’imprévu</i>. Thus -within sight of one another, there flourish on the <i>vega</i> below the -date-palm and sugar-cane, while the ice-defying edelweiss embellishes -the snows above—arctic and tropic in one.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Such extremes of climate react, as suggested, upon the character of the -human inhabitants of a land which includes within its boundaries nearly -all the physical conditions of Europe and North Africa. From the north, -as might be expected, comes the worker—the sturdy laborious Galician, -disdained and despised by his Andalucian brother, regarded as lacking in -dignity—the very name <i>Gallego</i> is a term of reproach. But he is a -happy and contented hewer of wood and drawer of water, that Gallego: -throughout Spain he carries the baskets, bears the burdens, cleans the -floors; and finally returns, a rich man, to his barren hills of Galicia.</p> - -<p>The Andalucian will condescend to tend your cattle or garden,<a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a> to drive -your horses or ponies: and such offices he will perform well; but -anything menial, or what he might regard as derogatory, he -prefers—instinctively, not offensively—to leave to the Galician. From -Castile and Navarre comes a different caste, stately and aristocratic by -nature, yet with fiery temperament concealed beneath subdued -exterior—honestly, we prefer both the preceding exemplars. The Catalan -comes next, pushing and effervescent, all for his own little corner, his -factories and his trade—impregnated, every man, with a sort of -cinematograph of advanced views on social and political questions of the -day—borrowed mostly from his up-to-date neighbours beyond the Pyrenees, -yet grafted on to old-world <i>fueros</i>, or franchises, that date back to -the times of the Counts of Barcelona.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> Perhaps the most perfect -example of contemporary natural nobility is afforded by the -peasant-proprietor of pastoral León; then there is the Basque of Biscay, -Tartar-sprung or Turanian, Finnic, or surviving aboriginal—let -philologists decide. Among Spain’s manifold human types, we suggest to -ethnologists (and suggested before, twenty years ago) the study of a -surviving remnant that still clings secreted, lonely as lepers, in the -far-away mountains of Northern Estremadura—the Hurdes. These wild -tribes of unknown origin (presumed to be Gothic) live apart from Spain, -four thousand of them, a root-grubbing race of <i>homo sylvestris</i>, -squatted in a land without written history or record, where all is -traditional even to the holding of the soil. Not a title-deed or other -document exists; yet this is a region of considerable extent—say fifty -miles by thirty. A recent pilgrimage to these forgotten glens enables us -to give, in another chapter, some contemporary facts about “Las Hurdes.â€</p> - -<p>Throughout Spain the people of the “lower orders‗the peasantry—strike -those who leave the beaten tracks by their independence and manly -bearing. North or south, east or west, an infinite variety of races -differing in habit and character, even in tongue, yet all agreeing in -their solid manliness, in straight-forward honesty, in what the Romans -entitled <i>virtus</i>—fine types save where contaminated by <i>empléomania</i>, -call that “officialdom†(one of the twin curses of Spain). Largely there -exists here ground-work for the rebuilding of Spanish greatness—such a -land<a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a> awaits but the wand of a magician to recall its people to front -rank. Neither by despotic methods nor by the power that is only -demonstrated by violence will the change be brought about, but by the -enlightenment that has learnt to leave unimitated the follies of the -past, and unused the forces of coercion.</p> - -<p>Such a leader, we believe, to-day wields that wand. May he be spared to -restore the destinies of his country.</p> - -<p>It was in Spain, remember, that, more than 2000 years ago, the fate of -Carthage and, later, that of Rome was decided. To the latter Imperial -city Spain had given poets, philosophers, and emperors. It was in Spain -that there dawned the earlier glimmerings of popular liberties, as such -are now understood. Self-government with municipal rights were -recognised by the Cortes of León previous to our Magna Charta. -Individual guarantees, freedom of person and contract, and the -inviolability of the home were granted by the Cortes of Zaragoza in -1348—more than three centuries before our Habeas Corpus was signed in -1679. A land with such traditions and achievements, with its twenty -millions of inhabitants, cannot long be held back outside the trend of -liberal expansion.</p> - -<p>The pursuit of game, alike with other aspects of Spanish things, is not -exempt from startling surprises. A ramble through the cistus-scrub, with -no more exciting object than shooting a few redlegs, may result in -bagging a lynx; or a handful of snipe from some cane-brake be augmented -by the addition of a wild-boar. It is not that game abounds, but that -the country is wide and wild, abandoned to natural state and combining -conditions congenial to animal-life. Of the big-game that is obtained or -of its habitats, there is no approximate estimate, nor do precise -knowledge or records exist. Each village in the sierra or higher -mountain-region lives its own life apart. Communication with other -places is rare and difficult, nor is it sought. One must go oneself to -the spot to ascertain with any sort of accuracy what game has been, or -may be obtained thereat. This means finding out every fact at -first-hand, for no reliance can be placed on reports or hearsay -evidence. Nor does this remark apply to game alone: it applies -universally in wilder Spain. The Englishman straying in these lone -scenes finds himself amongst a kindly but independent people where -sympathy and a knowledge of the language carry him further<a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a> than money. -Where all are <i>Caballeros</i>, neither titles nor wealth impress or subdue. -The wanderer is free to join his new-made friends in the chase, taking -equal chance with keen sportsmen and on terms of equality. He will find -his nationality a passport to their liking, and soon discover that Arab -hospitality has left an abiding impress in these wild regions; as, -indeed, Moorish domination has done on every Spanish thing.</p> - -<p>That last sentence sums up an ever-present and essential factor. In any -description of this country, however superficial, this Oriental heritage -must always be borne in mind as an influence of first importance. -Previous to the Arab inrush, Spain had enjoyed practically no organic -national existence. The Peninsula was occupied by a cluster of separate -kingdoms, not united nor even homogeneous, and usually one or another at -war with its neighbour. Neither Roman nor Goth had fused the Spanish -races into a concrete whole during their eight centuries of -overlordship. In <small>A.D.</small> 711 occurred a decisive day. Then, on Guadalete’s -plain, below the walls of Jerez, that impetuous Arab chieftain Tarik -overthrew the Gothic King Roderick and with him the power of Spain. Like -an overwhelming flood, the Arabs swept across the land. Within two years -(by 713) the insignia of the Crescent floated above every castle and -tower, and Moslem rule was absolute throughout the country—excepting -only in the wild northern mountains of Asturias, whence the tenacity of -the mountaineers, guided by the genius of Pelayo, flung back the tide of -war.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 268px;"> -<a href="images/ill_002_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_002_sml.jpg" width="268" height="177" alt="Types of Spanish Bird-Life -WOODCHAT SHRIKE (Lanius pomeranus)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Types of Spanish Bird-Life<br /> -WOODCHAT SHRIKE (Lanius pomeranus)</span> -</div> - -<p>Spanish history for the next seven centuries (711-1492) records “Moorish -domination.†Now history, as such, lies outside our scope; but we become -concerned where Arab systems, and their methods of colonisation, have -altered the face of the earth and left enduring marks on wilder Spain. -And we may,<a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a> beyond that, be allowed to interpolate a remark or two in -elucidation of what sometimes appear popular misconceptions on these and -subsequent events. Thus, during the period denominated “domination,†the -Arab conquerors enjoyed no peaceful or undisputed possession. During all -those centuries there continued one long succession of -wars—intermittent attempts, successful and the reverse, at reconquest -by the Christian power. Here a patch of ground, a city, or a province -was regained; presently, perhaps, to be lost a second or a third time. -Never for long was there a final acceptance of the major force. But -during the interludes, the periods of rest between struggles, the two -contending races lived in more or less friendly intercourse, exchanging -courtesies and even maintaining a stout rivalry in those warlike forms -of sport which in mediæval times formed but a substitute for war. It was -thence that the custom of bull-fighting took its rise. If not fighting -Arabs, fight bulls, and so prepare for the more strenuous contest. Such -conditions could not but have tended towards greater coherence among the -various elements on the Christian side, except for the incessant -internecine rivalries between the Christians themselves. A Spanish -knight or kinglet would invoke the aid of his nation’s foe to -consolidate or establish his own petty estate. Christians with Moslem -auxiliaries fought Moslems reinforced by Christian renegades.</p> - -<p>The Moorish invader had to fight for his possession—every yard of it. -Yet despite that, this energetic race found time to colonise, to develop -and enrich the subjugated region with a thoroughness the evidence of -which faces us to-day. We do not refer to their cities or to such -monuments in stone as the Mezquita or Alhambra, but to their -introduction into rural Spain of much of what to-day constitutes chief -sources of the country’s wealth, and which might have been enormously -increased had Moorish methods been followed up. The Koran expressly -ordains and directs the introduction of all available fruits or plants -suitable to soil that came, or comes, under Moslem dominion. “The man -who plants or sows the seed of anything which, with the fruit thereof, -gives sustenance to man, bird or beast does an action as commendable as -charity‗so wrote one of their philosophers. “He who builds a house and -plants trees and who oppresses no one, nor lacks justice, will receive -abundant reward from the Almighty.†There you have the religion both of -the good man<a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a> and the good colonist. These precepts the Moors habitually -and energetically carried out to the letter. Arboriculture was -universal: the provinces of Valencia, Cordoba, and Toledo they filled -with trees—fruit-trees and timber. In the warm valleys of the coast and -in the sheltered glens of the mountains they acclimatised exotic fruits, -plants, and vegetables hitherto restricted to the more benign climes of -the East or to Afric’s scorching strand. Sugar-cane flourished in such -luxuriance as to leave available a heavy margin for export. The fig-tree -and carob, quince and date-palm, the cotton-plant and orange, with other -aromatic and medicinal herbs, together with aloes and the -anachronous-looking prickly-pear (<i>Cactus</i>), its amorphous lobes -reminiscent of the Pleistocene, were all brought over for the use and -benefit, the delight and profit of Europe. Of these, the orange to-day -forms one of Spain’s most valuable exports, representing some three -millions sterling per annum.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_003_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_003_sml.jpg" width="413" height="311" alt="Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -GRIFFON VULTURE (Gyps fulvus) - -Abounds all over Spain: sketched while drying his wings after a -thunderstorm, in the Sierra de San Cristobal, Jerez." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Types of Spanish Bird-Life<br /> -GRIFFON VULTURE (Gyps fulvus)<br /> -Abounds all over Spain: sketched while drying his wings after a<br /> -thunderstorm, in the Sierra de San Cristobal, Jerez.</span> -</p> - -<p>Silk and its manufacture represented another immense source<a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a> of wealth -and industry introduced into Spain—to-day extinct. The Moors covered -Andalucia with mulberry-groves: in Granada alone ran 5000 looms for the -weaving of the fibre, and the streets of the Zacatin and the AlcarcerÃa -became world-markets, where every variety of costly stuffs were bought -and sold—tafetans, velvets, and richest textures that surpassed in -quality and brilliancy of tint even the far-famed products of Piza, -Florence, and the Levantine cities which since Roman days had -monopolised the silk-supply of the world. These now found their wares -displaced by Spanish silks; even the sumptuous “creations†of Persia and -China met with a dangerous rivalry.</p> - -<p>Such was the technical skill and success of the Moors in agriculture and -acclimatisation that, on the eventual conquest and final expulsion of -their race from Spain, overtures were made with a view of inducing a -certain proportion to remain, lest Spain might lose every expert she -possessed in these essential pursuits. Six families in every hundred -were promised amnesty on condition of remaining, but none accepted the -offer. Deep as was their love for Spain—so deep that the departing -Moors are related to have knelt and kissed its strand ere embarking, -broken-hearted, for Africa—yet not a man of them but refused to remain -as vassals where, for centuries, they had lived as lords.</p> - -<p>Such were the Moors—strong in war, yet equally strong in all the arts -and enterprises of peace, filled with energy, an industrious and a -practical race. It is safe to say that under their regime the resources -of this difficult land were being developed to their utmost capacity.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p>Of the final expulsion of the Moors (and that of the Jews was analogous) -‘tis not for us to write. Yet, for Spain, both events proved momentous, -and, along with the antecedent practices of the Moriscos, provide -side-lights on history that are worth consideration.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - -<p><a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a></p> - -<p>The subjoined statistics give the state of Spanish agriculture at the -present day, the total acreage being taken as 50,451,688 hectares (2½ -acres each):—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right">Hectares.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Cultivated</td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right">21,702,880</td></tr> -<tr><td>Uncultivated:—</td></tr> -<tr><td> Pasture, scrub, and wood </td><td align="right">24,055,547</td><td align="right"> </td></tr> -<tr><td> Unproductive</td><td align="right">4,693,261</td><td align="right"> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">Total</td><td align="right" class="bt"> </td><td align="right">28,748,808</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">Grand Total</td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right" class="bt">50,451,688</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>These figures demonstrate precisely the extent of the authors’ -condominium in Spain—well over one-half the country! With the area -under cultivation (say 43 per cent), we have but one concern—the Great -Bustard. The remaining 57 per cent pertain absolutely to our -province—Wilder Spain. The term scrub or brushwood (in Spanish -<i>monte</i>), though by a sort of courtesy it may be ranked as -“pasture‗and parts of it do support herds of sheep and goats—implies -as a rule the wildest of rough covert and jungle, rougher far than a -Scottish deer-forest; and this <i>monte</i> clothes well-nigh one-half of -Spain.</p> - -<p>Such figures may appear to infer considerable apathy and lack of effort -as regards agriculture. ‘Twere, nevertheless, a false assumption to -conclude that Spanish mountaineers are an idle race—quite the reverse, -as is repeatedly demonstrated in this book. In the hills every acre of -available soil is utilised, often at what appears excessive -labour—maybe it is a patch so tiny as hardly to seem worth the tilling, -or so terribly steep that none save a <i>serrano</i> could keep a foothold, -much less plough, sow, and reap.</p> - -<p>The main explanation of the immense percentage of waste lies in the fact -first set forth—the high general elevation of Spain; and, secondly, in -her mountainous character.</p> - -<p>Whether these or any other extenuating circumstances apply to the -corn-lands, we are not sufficiently expert in such subjects as to -express a confident opinion. But we think not. So antiquated, wasteful, -and utterly inefficient have been Spanish methods of agriculture, that a -land which might be one of the granaries of Europe is actually to some -extent dependent on foreign grain, and that despite an import-duty! A -distinct movement is, nevertheless, perceptible in the direction of<a name="page_012" id="page_012"></a> -employing modern agricultural machinery, chemical manures, and -such-like. Irrigation in a land whose head-waters can be tapped at 2000 -feet and upwards could be carried out on a larger scale and at cheaper -rates than in any other European country—yet it is practically -neglected; no considerable extension has been made to the two million -acres of irrigated lands that existed when we last wrote, twenty years -ago, although the ruined aqueducts of Roman, Goth, and Moor are ever -present to suggest the silent lesson of former foresight and prosperity.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_004_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_004_sml.jpg" width="335" height="216" alt="WOODEN PLOUGH-SHARE - -(As still commonly used.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WOODEN PLOUGH-SHARE<br /> -(As still commonly used.)</span> -</p> - -<p>One incidental circumstance of rural Spain, the fatal effects of which -are all-penetrating (though it will never be altered), is absenteeism on -the part of landowners. Not even a tenant-farmer will live on his -holding. No, he must have his town-house, and employ an administrator or -agent to superintend the farm, only visiting it himself at rare -intervals. Oh! that hideous nightmare, the hireling, how his dead-weight -of apathy and dishonesty at secondhand crushes out every spark of -interest and enterprise, and breeds in their stead a rampant crop of all -the petty vices and frauds that prey on industry. But that evil can -hardly be eradicated.</p> - -<p>What we British understand by the expression “country life†totally -fails to commend itself to the more gregarious peoples of the south. -Rich and poor alike, from grandee to day-labourer, the Spanish ignore -and disdain the joys of the country. They call it the <i>campo</i> and the -<i>campo</i> they detest. Each nightfall<a name="page_013" id="page_013"></a> must see every man of them, -irrespective of class, assembled within the walls of their beloved town -or city, irresistibly attracted to street-girt abode—be it humblest cot -or sumptuous palace (and one stands next door to the other). Even -suburban existence is eschewed. There are no outer fringes to a Spanish -town. No straggling “villa residences,†no Laburnum Lodge or River-View -“ornament†the extramural solitude. Back at dusk all hie, crowding to -the <i>paséo</i>, to club or casino, to social gathering and games of chance -or (more rarely) of skill. That ubiquitous term “<i>animacion</i>,†which may -be translated gossip, chatter, light-hearted intercourse, fulfils the -ideals of life. Its more serious side—reading, study, scientific -pursuit—have little place; seldom does one see a library in any Spanish -home, urban or rural.</p> - -<p>None can accuse the authors of desiring to use a comparison -(proverbially odious) to the detriment of our Spanish friends. The above -is merely a record of patent facts that must quickly become obvious to -the least observant. It is but a definition of divergent idiosyncrasies -as between different human genera. And remember that we in England have -recently been told that our rural system is fraught with unseen and -unsuspected evil. Into those wider questions we have no intention of -entering. But at least our impressions are based upon personal -experience of both lines of life, while much of the vituperation -recently poured upon rural England is derived from a view of but one, -and not a very clear view at that.</p> - -<p>Where the owner—big or little, but the more of them the better—lives -on the land, that land and the country at large benefit to a degree that -is demonstrated with singular clearness by seeing the converse system as -it is practised in Spain to-day. Here no one, owner or tenant—still -less the hireling—takes any living interest (to say nothing of pride) -in his possession or occupation beyond that very short-sighted -“interest†of squeezing the utmost out of it from day to day. Ancient -forests are cut down and burnt into charcoal, and rarely a tree -replanted or a thought given to the resulting effects on rainfall or -climate. As to beauty of landscape—what matter such æsthetic notions -when the owner lives a hundred miles away? The collateral fact that, to -a great extent, nature’s beauty and nature’s gifts are analogous and -interdependent is ignored. Such simple issues are too<a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a> insignificant, -and too little understood, for frothy rhetoricians to reflect upon: the -latter, moreover, like Gallio (and Pontius Pilate) care for none of -these things.</p> - -<p>A characteristic that differentiates the Spaniard, north or south, from -other (more modern) nationalities, is a comparative indifference in -money matters. Now a Spaniard requires money for his daily needs as much -as the others; yet he never sinks to the level of total absorption in -his pursuit of the dollar. Put that down to apathy, if you will—or to -pride; at least there is dignity in the attribute. The leading Spanish -newspapers quote the various market fluctuations and changes in value -from day to day. Sometimes, possibly, the report may read <i>sin -operaciones</i>, but never will you see conspicuously protruded, as a main -item in the morning’s news, the headline “Wall Street.†There is (or -was) dignity in commerce, and there may yet be readers in England who -silently wish that such matters were relegated to their proper -position—the monetary columns.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_005_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_005_sml.jpg" width="332" height="282" alt="Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -CETTI’S WARBLER (Sylvia cettii) - -A winter songster, abundant but rarely seen, skulking in densest -brakes." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Types of Spanish Bird-Life<br /> -CETTI’S WARBLER (Sylvia cettii)<br /> -A winter songster, abundant but rarely seen, skulking in densest -brakes.</span> -</p> - -<p>The chief financial flutter that interests is the Government lottery -which is held every fortnight, and at which all classes lose their -money; but the National Treasury profits to the tune<a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a> of three millions -sterling yearly. Spain is the home of “chanceâ€: that element appeals to -Spanish character. Thus in bull-fighting (the one popular pastime) the -name applied to each of its formulated exploits is <i>suerte</i>—chance.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>S<small>PAIN</small> is frequently accused of being a land of <i>mañana</i>. Hardly can we -call to mind a book on the country in which some play on that word does -not figure. But procrastination is not confined to any one country, and -in this case the accusers are quite as likely to be guilty as the -accused. A characteristic that strikes us as more applicable is rather -the reverse—that of taking no thought for the morrow. Let us take an -example or two. It is not the custom to repair roads. When, from long -use, a road has gradually passed from bad to worse, till at length it -has virtually ceased to exist, then it is “reconstruction†that is the -remedy. Annual repairs, one may presume, would cost, say half the -amount, would preserve continuous utility, and avoid that slowly -aggravated destruction that ends finally in a hiatus. But that is not -the Spanish way. “Reconstruction†is preferred. The ruthless cutting -down of her forests without replanting a single tree has already been -quoted. Next take an example or two of the things that lie most directly -under the authors’ special view, such as game. The ibex—a unique asset, -restricted to Spain, and of which any other country would be proud—has -been callously shot down without thought for to-morrow, extirpated for -ever in a dozen of its former habitats. The redleg—under the murderous -system of shooting, year in and year out, over decoy-birds—would be -exterminated within three or four years in any other country save this. -It is merely the incredible fecundity of the bird and the vast area of -waste lands that preserves the breed. Partridge in Spain are like -rabbits in Australia—indestructible. The trout affords another example. -Everywhere else on earth the trout is prized as one of nature’s valued -gifts—hard to over-appreciate. Fully one-half of Spain is expressly -adapted to its requirements. Trout were intended by nature to abound -over the northern half of Spain—say down to the latitude of Madrid, and -even in the extreme south where conditions are favourable, as in the -Sierra Neváda. Trout might abound in Spain to the full as they abound in -Scotland or Norway, adding value to every river and<a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a> a grace to country -life. But what is the treatment meted out to the trout in Spain? No -sooner is its presence detected than the whole stock—big and little -alike, even the spawn—is blown out of existence with dynamite, poisoned -by quicklime, or captured wholesale (regardless of season or condition) -in nets, cruives, funnel-traps, and every other abomination. Kill and -eat, big or little, breeding female or immature—it matters not; kill -all you can to-day and leave the morrow to itself. True, there are -game-laws and close-seasons, but none observe them.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_006_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_006_sml.jpg" width="327" height="207" alt="Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -DARTFORD WARBLER (Sylvia undata) - -Resident. Frequents deep furze-coverts, seldom seen (as we are -constrained to represent it) in separate outline." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Types of Spanish Bird-Life<br /> -DARTFORD WARBLER (Sylvia undata)<br /> -Resident. Frequents deep furze-coverts, seldom seen (as we are<br /> -constrained to represent it) in separate outline.</span> -</p> - -<p>We have selected these examples because we know and can speak with -absolute authority. Presumption and analogy will naturally suggest that -the same intelligence, the same blind improvidence will apply equally in -other and far more important matters. Not one of our Spanish friends -with whom we have discussed these subjects time and again but agrees to -the letter with the above conclusions and most bitterly regrets them.<a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II<br /><br /> -UNEXPLORED SPAIN (<i>Continued</i>)<br /><br /> -<small>ON TRAVEL AND OTHER THINGS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>RAVEL</small> in all the wilder regions of Spain implies the saddle. Our Spain -begins, as premised, where roads end. For us railways exist merely to -help us one degree nearer to the final plunge into the unknown; and not -railways only, but roads and bridges soon “petter out†into trackless -waste, and leave the explorer face to face with open -wilds—<i>despoblados</i>, that is, uninhabited regions—with a route-map in -his pocket that is quite unreliable, and a trusty local guide who is -just the reverse.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 215px;"> -<a href="images/ill_007_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_007_sml.jpg" width="215" height="258" alt="Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -FANTAIL WARBLER (Cisticola cursitans) - -Resident: builds a deep purse-like nest supported on long grass or -rushes." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Types of Spanish Bird-Life<br /> -FANTAIL WARBLER (Cisticola cursitans)<br /> -Resident: builds a deep purse-like nest supported on long grass or -rushes.</span> -</div> - -<p>Riding light, with the “irreducible minimum†stowed in the saddle-bags, -one may traverse Spain from end to end. But it is only a hasty and -superficial view that is thus obtainable, and except for those who love -roughing it for roughness’ sake, even the freedom of the saddle presents -grave drawbacks in a land where none live in the country and none travel -off stated tracks. In the <i>campo</i>, nothing—neither food for man nor -beast—can be obtained, and no provision exists for travellers where -travellers never come. The little<a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a> rural hostelry of northern lands has -no place; there is instead a <i>venta</i> or <i>posada</i> which may too often be -likened to a stable for beasts with an extra stall for their riders. It -is a characteristic of pastoral countries everywhere that their rude -inhabitants discriminate little between the needs of man and beast.</p> - -<p>But even towns of quite considerable size—when far removed from the -track—are totally devoid of inns in our sense. Inns are not needed. The -few Spanish travellers who, greatly daring, venture so far afield, -usually bespeak beforehand the hospitality of some local friend or -acquaintance.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 285px;"> -<a href="images/ill_008_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_008_sml.jpg" width="285" height="338" alt="Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -ROCK-THRUSH (Petrocincla saxatilis) - -A beautiful spring-migrant to the highest sierras. Colours of male: -opal, orange, and black, with a white “mirror†in centre of back. -Female, yellow-brown barred with black." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -ROCK-THRUSH (Petrocincla saxatilis) - -A beautiful spring-migrant to the highest sierras. Colours of male: -opal, orange, and black, with a white “mirror†in centre of back. -Female, yellow-brown barred with black.</span> -</div> - -<p>Incidentally it may be added that a visit to one of these -out-of-the-world cities—asleep most of them for the last few -centuries—is a pleasing and restful change amidst the racket of -exploration. One breathes a mediæval atmosphere and marvels at the -revelation, enjoying prehistoric peeps in lost cities replete for the -antiquary with historic memorial and long-forgotten lore. No one cares.</p> - -<p>Yet in those bygone days of Spain’s world-power these somnolent spots -produced the right stuff,—a minority, no doubt, belonged to the type -satirised by Cervantes,—but many more strong in mind as in muscle, who -went forth, knights-errant, Paladins and Crusaders, to conquer and to -shape the course of history. Is the old spirit extinct? Our own -impression is that the material is there all right ready to spring to -life like the<a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a> stones of Deucalion, so soon as Spain shall have shaken -off her incubus of lethargy and the tyranny that clogs the wheels of -progress. Nor need the interval be long.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>That sound human material continues to exist in rural Spain we have had -recent evidence during the calling-out of levies of young troops ordered -abroad to serve their country in Morocco. None could witness the -entrainment at some remote station of a detachment of these fine lads -without being struck by their bearing, their set purpose, and above all -their patriotism. With such material, with a well cared-for, contented, -and loyal army and a broadening of view, wisely graduated but equally -resolute, Spain moves forward. Alfonso XIII. is a soldier first—No! -Above that he is a king by nature, but his care for his army and its -well-being has already borne fruits that are making and will make for -the honour, safety, and advancement of his country.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>To resume our interrupted note on travel: whether you are riding across -bush-clad hills, over far-spread prairie, or through the defiles of the -sierra, as shadows lengthen the problem of a night’s lodging obtrudes. -There is a variety of solutions. At a pinch—as when belated or -benighted—one may, in desperate resort, seek shelter in a <i>choza</i>. Now -a <i>choza</i> is the reed-thatched hut which forms the rural peasant’s -lonely home. Assuredly you will be made welcome, and that with a grace -and a courtesy—aye, a courtliness—that characterises even the humblest -in Spain. The best there is will be at your disposal; yet—if -permissible to say so in face of such splendid hospitality (and in the -hope that these good leather-clad friends of ours may not read this -book)—the open air is preferable. There exists in a <i>choza</i> absolutely -no accommodation—not a separate room; a low settee running round the -interior, or a withy frame, forms the bed; those kindly folk live all -together, along with their domestic animals—and pigs are reckoned such -in Spain. Let us gratefully pay this due tribute to our peasant -friends—but let us sleep outside.</p> - -<p>At each village will usually be found a <i>posada</i>. These differ in -degree, mostly from bad downwards. The lowlier sort—little better than -the <i>choza</i>—is but a long, low, one-storeyed barn which you share with -fellow-wayfarers, and your own and their<a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a> beasts, or any others that may -come in, barely separated by a thatched partition that is neither -noise-proof nor scent-proof. We can call instances to mind when even -that small luxury was lacking, and all, human and other, shared alike. -There are no windows—merely wooden hatches. If shut, both light and air -are excluded; if open, hens, dogs, and cats will enter with the -dawn—the former to finish what remains of supper. The cats will at -least disperse the regiment of rats which, during the night, have -scurried across your sleeping form.</p> - -<p>Here we relate, as a specific example, a night we spent this last spring -in northern Estremadura:—</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_009_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_009_sml.jpg" width="362" height="194" alt="A VILLAGE POSADA" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A VILLAGE POSADA</span> -</p> - -<p>Owing to a miscalculation of distance, it was an hour after sundown ere -we reached our destination, a lonely hamlet among the hills. Our good -little Galician ponies were dead-beat, for we had been in the saddle -since 5 <small>A.M.</small>, and it was past eight ere we toiled up that last steep, -rock-terraced slope. We were a party of three, with a local guide and -our own Sancho Panza—faithful companion, friend, and servant of many -years’ standing. At a dilapidated hovel, the last in the village and -perched on a crag, we drew rein, and after repeated knocks the door was -opened by a girl—she had set down a five-year-old child among the -donkeys while she drew the bolt, the ground-floor being (as usual) a -stable. To our inquiry as to food—and the hunger of the lost was upon -us—our hostess merely shrugged her shoulders, and with an expressive -gesture of open hands, answered “Nada‗nothing! Sancho, however, was -equal to the occasion. Within two minutes,<a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a> while we yet stood -disconsolate, he returned with a cackling cockerel in his arms. “Stew -him quick before he crows,†he adjured the girl, and turned to unload -the ponies.</p> - -<p>What an age a cockerel takes to cook! It was midnight ere he smoked on -the board and, hunger satisfied, we could turn in. In an upper den were -two alcoves with beds, or rather stone ledges, ordinarily used by the -family, and which were assigned to us, the luckless No. 3 by lot having -to make shift (in preference to sleeping on a filthy floor) with three -cranky tables of varying heights, and whose united lengths proved a foot -too short at either end!</p> - -<p>Oh, the joy of the morning’s dawn and delicious freshness of the -mountain air, as we turned out at five o’clock for yet another -ten-league spell to our next destination. Two nights later we slept in -the gilded luxury of Madrid! But how we abused our previous neglect in -not having brought a camp-outfit.</p> - -<p>The above, however, presents the gloomier side of the picture, and there -is a reverse, even in <i>posadas</i>. We cannot better describe the latter -side than in our own words from <i>Wild Spain</i>:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">A Night at a <i>Posada</i> (Andalucia)</span></p> - -<p>The wayfarer has been travelling all day across the scrub-clad -wastes, fragrant with rosemary and wild thyme, without perhaps -seeing a human being beyond a stray shepherd or a band of nomad -gypsies encamped amidst the green palmettos. Towards night he -reaches some small village where he seeks the rude <i>posada</i>. He -sees his horse provided with a good feed of barley and as much -broken straw as he can eat. He is himself regaled with one -dish—probably the <i>olla</i> or a <i>guiso</i> (stew) of kid, either of -them, as a rule, of a rich red-brick hue, from the colour of the -red pepper or capsicum in the <i>chorizo</i> or sausage, which is an -important (and potent) component of most Spanish dishes. The -steaming <i>olla</i> will presently be set on a table before the large -wood-fire, and with the best of crisp white bread and wine, the -traveller enjoys his meal in company with any other guest that may -have arrived at the time—be he muleteer or hidalgo. What a fund of -information may be picked up during that promiscuous supper! There -will be the housewife, the barber, and the padre of the village, -perhaps a goatherd come down from the mountains, a muleteer, and a -charcoal-burner or two, each ready to tell his own tale, or to -enter into friendly discussion with the “Ingles.†Then, as you -light your <i>breva</i>, a note or two struck on the guitar falls on -ears predisposed to be pleased.<a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a></p> - -<p>How well one knows those first few opening notes: no occasion to -ask that it may go on: it will all come in time, and one knows -there is a merry evening in prospect. One by one the villagers drop -in, and an ever-widening circle is formed around the open hearth, -rows of children collect, even the dogs draw around to look on. The -player and the company gradually warm up till couplet after couplet -of pathetic <i>malagueñas</i> follow in quick succession. These songs -are generally topical, and almost always extempore; and as most -Spaniards can—or rather are anxious to—sing, one enjoys many -verses that are very prettily as well as wittily conceived.</p> - -<p>But girls must dance, and find no difficulty in getting partners to -join them. The <i>malagueñas</i> cease, and one or perhaps two couples -stand up, and a pretty sight they afford! Seldom does one see -girl-faces so full of fun and so supremely happy as they adjust the -castanets, and one damsel steps aside to whisper something sly to a -sister or friend. And now the dance begins; observe there is no -slurring or attempt to save themselves in any movement. Each step -and figure is carefully executed, but with easy, spontaneous grace -and precision both by the girl and her partner.</p> - -<p>Though two or more pairs may be dancing at once, each is quite -independent of the others, and only dance to themselves; nor do the -partners ever touch each other.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> The steps are difficult and -somewhat intricate, and there is plenty of scope for individual -skill, though grace of movement and supple pliancy of limb and body -are almost universal, and are strong points in dancing both the -<i>fandango</i> and <i>minuet</i>. Presently the climax of the dance -approaches. The notes of the guitar grow faster and faster; the -man—a stalwart shepherd-lad—leaps and bounds around his -pirouetting partner, and the steps, though still well ordered and -in time, grow so fast that one can hardly follow their movements.</p> - -<p>Now others rise and take the places of the first dancers, and so -the evening passes; perhaps a few glasses of <i>aguardiente</i> are -handed round—certainly much tobacco is smoked—the older folks -keep time to the music with hand-clapping, and all is good nature -and merriment.</p> - -<p>What is it that makes the recollection of such evenings so -pleasant? Is it merely the fascinating simplicity and freedom of -the dance, or the spectacle of those weird, picturesque groups, -bronze-visaged men and dark-eyed maidens, all lit up by the blaze -of the great wood-fire on the hearth, and low-burning oil-lamps -suspended from the rafters? Perhaps it is only the remembrance of -many happy evenings spent among these people since our boyhood. -This we can truly say, that when at last you turn in to sleep you -feel happy and secure among a peasantry with whom politeness and -sympathy are the only passports required to secure to you<a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a> both -friendship and protection if required. Nor is there a pleasanter -means of forming acquaintance with Spanish country life and customs -than a few evenings spent thus at a farm-house or village inn in -any retired district of laughter-loving Andalucia.</p></div> - -<p>For rough living we are of course prepared, and accept the necessity -without demur or second thought while travelling. But when more serious -objects are in hand—say big-game or the study of nature, objects which -demand more leisurely progress, or actually encamping for a week or more -at selected points—then we prefer to assure complete independence of -all local assistance and shelter.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 234px;"> -<a href="images/ill_010_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_010_sml.jpg" width="234" height="239" alt="Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -SERIN (Serinus hortulanus) - -A true European canary, but its song is harsh and hissing." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Types of Spanish Bird-Life<br /> -SERIN (Serinus hortulanus)<br /> -A true European canary, but its song is harsh and hissing.</span> -</div> - -<p>An expedition on this scale involves an amount of care and forethought -that only those who have experienced it would credit. For in Spain it is -an unknown undertaking, and to engineer something new is always -difficult. Quite an extensive camping-trip can be organised in Africa, -where the system is understood, with less than a hundredth part of the -care needed for a comparatively short trip in Spain where it is not. The -necessary bulk of camp-outfit and equipment requires a considerable -cavalcade, and this mule-transport (since no provender is obtainable in -the country) involves carrying along all the food for the animals—the -heaviest item of all. Naturally the cost of such expeditions works out -to nearly double that of simple riding.</p> - -<p>But, after all, it is worth it! Compare some of the miseries we have -above but lightly touched upon—the dirt and squalor, the nameless -horrors of <i>choza</i> or <i>posada</i>—with the sense of joyous exhilaration -felt when encamped by the banks of some babbling trout-stream or in the -glorious freedom of the open hill. Casting back in mental reverie over a -lengthening vista of years, we certainly count as among the happiest -days of life those spent<a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a> thus under canvas—whether on the sierras and -marismas of Spain, on high field or dark forest in Scandinavia, or on -Afric’s blazing veld.</p> - -<p>Should some remarks (here or elsewhere in this book) appear -self-contradictory the reason will be found rather in our inadequate -expression than in any confusion of idea. We love Spain primarily -because she is wild and waste; but, loving her, are naturally desirous -that she should advance to that position among nations that is her due. -Such material development, nevertheless, need not—and will not—imply -the total destruction of her wild beauties. Development on those lines -would not consist with the peculiar genius of the Spanish race, and, -while we trust the development will come, we fear no such collateral -results. Take, for instance, the corn-lands. There the great bustard is -alike the index and the price of vast, unwieldy farms unfenced and but -half tilled, remote from rail, road, or market. That condition we -neither expect nor hope to see exchanged for smug fields with a network -of railways. For “three acres and a cow†is not the line of Spanish -regeneration; it is rather a claptrap catch-word of politicians—a -murrain on the lot of them!</p> - -<p>True, the plan seems to answer in Denmark, and if the Danes are -satisfied, well and good—that is no business of ours. But no such -mathematical and Procrustean restriction of vital energies and ambitions -will subserve our British race, nor the Spanish. In Spanish sierra may -the howl of the wolf at dawn never be replaced by blast from factory -siren, nor the curling blue smoke of the charcoal-burner in primeval -forest be abolished in favour of black clouds belching from bristling -chimneys that pierce a murky sky. Either in such circumstance would be -misplaced.</p> - -<p>Similarly, when the engineer shall have been turned loose in the Spanish -marismas, he can, beyond all doubt, destroy them for ever. His straight -lines and intersecting canals, hideous in utilitarian rectitude, would -right soon demolish that glory of lonely desolation—those leagues of -marshland, samphire, and glittering <i>lucio</i>. And all for nothing! Since -the desecration will not “pay†financially—the reason we give in detail -elsewhere—and you sacrifice for a shadow some of the grandest bits of -wild nature that yet survive—the finest length and breadth of utter -abandonment that still enrich a humdrum Europe. Should “progress†only -advance on these lines no scrap of that continent<a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a> will be left to -wanderer in the wilds—no spot where clanging skeins of wild-geese serry -the skies, and the swish of ten thousand wigeon be heard overhead; or -that marvellous iridescence—as of triple flame—the passing of a flight -of flamingoes, be enjoyed.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p> - -<p>That national progress and development may come, for Spain’s sake, we -earnestly pray. But does there exist inherent reason why progress, in -itself, should always come to ruin natural and racial beauties? Progress -seems nowadays to be misunderstood as a synonym for uniformity—and -uniformity to a single type. Disciples of the cult of insensate haste, -of self-assertion and advertisement, have pretty well conquered the -civilised world; but in Spain they find no foothold, and we glory to -think they never will. Spain will never be “dragooned†into a servile -uniformity. There remain many, among whom we count our humble selves, -who bow no knee to the modern Baal, and who (while conceding to the -“hustling†crowd not one iota of their pretensions to fuller efficiency -in any shape or form) are proud to find fascination in simplicity, a -solace in honest purpose and in old-world styles of life—right down (if -you will) to its inertia.</p> - -<p>Yes, may progress come, yet leave unchanged the innate courtesy, the -dignity and independence of rural Spain—unspoilt her sierras and -glorious heaths aromatic of myrtle and mimosa, alternating with natural -woods of ilex and cork-oak—self-sown and park-like, carpeted between in -spring-time with wondrous wealth of wild flowers. There is nothing -incongruous in such aspiration. Incongruity rather comes in with -misappreciation of the fitness of things, as when a coal-mine is planked -down in the midst of sylvan beauties, to save some hypothetic -penny-a-ton (as per Prospectus); where pellucid streams are polluted -with chemical filth and vegetation blasted by noisome fumes; or where -God’s fairest landscapes are ruined by forests of hideous smoke-stacks.</p> - -<p>If vandalisms such as these be progress then we prefer Spain as she is.<a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a></p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">A Note on the Spanish Fauna</span></p> - -<p>After all, it is less with the human element that this book is concerned -than with the wild Fauna of Spain; a brief introductory notice thereof -cannot, therefore, be omitted.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_011_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_011_sml.jpg" width="332" height="270" alt="BONELLI’S EAGLE (Aquila bonellii) - -A pair disturbed at their eyrie." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BONELLI’S EAGLE (Aquila bonellii)<br /> -A pair disturbed at their eyrie.</span> -</p> - -<p>As head of the list must stand the Spanish Ibex (<i>Capra hispánica</i>), a -game-animal of quite first rank, peculiar to the Iberian Peninsula, and -whose nearest relative—the Bharal (<i>Capra cylindricornis</i>)—lives 2500 -miles away in the far Caucasus. In Spain the ibex inhabits six great -mountain-ranges, each covering a vast area but all widely separated. -After a crisis that five years ago threatened extermination, this grand -species is now happily increasing under a measure of protection and the -ægis of King Alfonso. Next—a notable neighbour of the ibex (and -practically extinct in central Europe)—we place the lone and lordly -Lammergeyer. A memorable spectacle it is to watch the huge <i>Gypaëtus</i> -sweeping through space o’er glens and corries of the sierra in striking -similitude to some weird flying dragon of Miocene age—a vision of -blood-red irides set on a cruel head with bristly black beard, of hoary -grey plumage and golden breast. Watch him for half an hour—for half a -day—yet never will you discern a sign<a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a> of force exerted by those 3-yard -pinions. With slightly reflexed wings he sinks 1000 feet; then, shifting -course, rises 2000, 3000 feet till lost to sight over some appalling -skyline. You have seen the long cuneate tail deflected ever so -slightly—more gently than a well-handled helm—but the wide lavender -wings remain rigid, not an effort that indicates force have you -descried. Yet the power (so defined as “horse-powerâ€) required to raise -a deadweight of 20 lbs. through such altitudes can be calculated by -engineers to a nicety—how is it exerted? That the power is there is -conspicuous enough, and at least it serves to explain fabled traditions -of giant lammergeyers hurling ibex-hunter from perilous hand-hold on the -crag, to feast on the remains below; or, in idler moment, bearing off -untended babes to their eyries—alas! that the duty of nature-students -involves dissipating all such romance.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_012_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_012_sml.jpg" width="408" height="346" alt="Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -BLACK VULTURE (Vultur monachus) - -Nests in the mountain-forests of Central Spain, and winters in -Andalucia. Sketched in Cote Doñana—“Getting under way.â€" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Types of Spanish Bird-Life<br /> -BLACK VULTURE (Vultur monachus)<br /> -Nests in the mountain-forests of Central Spain, and winters in<br /> -Andalucia. Sketched in Cote Doñana—“Getting under way.â€</span> -</p> - -<p>Spain, as geologically designed, being, as to one-half of her<a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a> -superficies, either a desert wilderness or a mountain solitude, -naturally lends congenial conditions of life to the predatory forms that -rely on hooked bill, on tooth and claw, fang and talon, to ravage their -more gentle neighbours. Savage raptores, furred and feathered, -characterise her wilder scenes. Wherever one may travel, a day’s ride -will surely reveal huge vultures and eagles circling aloft, intent on -blood. Throughout the wooded plains the majestic Imperial Eagle is -overlord—you know him afar in sable uniform, offset by snow-white -epaulets. Among the sierras a like condominium is shared by the Golden -and Bonelli’s Eagles—and they have half-a-dozen rivals, to say nothing -of lynxes and fierce wolves (we give a photo of one, the gape of whose -jaws exceeds by one-half that of an African hyaena). Then there patrol -the wastes a horde of savage night-rovers, denominated in Spanish -<i>Alimañas</i>, to which a special chapter is devoted.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_013_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_013_sml.jpg" width="396" height="228" alt="Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -WHITE-FACED DUCK (Erismatura leucocephala) - -Bill much dilated, waxy-blue in colour. Wings extremely short; a sheeny -grebe-like plumage, and long stiff tail, often carried erect." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Types of Spanish Bird-Life<br /> -WHITE-FACED DUCK (Erismatura leucocephala)<br /> -Bill much dilated, waxy-blue in colour. Wings extremely short; a sheeny<br /> -grebe-like plumage, and long stiff tail, often carried erect.</span> -</p> - -<p>In Estremadura, where man is a negligible quantity, and along the wild -wooded valley of the Tagus, roams the Fallow-deer in aboriginal purity -of blood—whether any other European country can so claim it, the -authors have been unable to ascertain. In Cantabria and the Pyrenees the -Chamois abounds.</p> - -<p>Of the big game (the list includes red, roe, and fallow-deer,<a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a> -wild-boar, ibex, chamois, brown bear, etc.), we treat in full detail -hereafter.</p> - -<p>As regards winged game, this south-western corner of Europe, is -singularly weak. There exists but a single resident species of true -game-bird—the redleg. Compare this with northern Europe, where, in a -Scandinavian elk-forest, we have shot five kinds of grouse within five -miles; while southwards, in Africa, francolins and guinea-fowl are -counted in dozens of species. True, there are ptarmigan in the Pyrenees, -capercaillie, hazel-grouse, and grey partridge in Cantabria, but all -these are confined to the Biscayan area. Nor are we overlooking the -grandest game-bird of all, the Great Bustard, chiefest ornament of -Spanish steppe, and there are others—the lesser bustard, quail, -sand-grouse, etc.—but these hardly fall within our definition. As for -the teeming hosts of wildfowl and waterfowl that throng the Spanish -marismas (some coming from Africa in spring, the bulk fleeing hither -from the Arctic winter), all these are so fully treated elsewhere as to -need no further notice here.</p> - -<p>Spain boasts several distinct species peculiar to her limits. Among such -(besides the ibex) are that curious amphibian, the Pyrenean musk-rat -(<i>Myogale pyrenaica</i>), not again to be met with nearer than the eastern -confines of Europe. Birds afford an even more striking instance. The -Spanish azure-winged magpie (<i>Cyanopica cooki</i>) abounds in Castile, -Estremadura, and the Sierra Moréna, but its like is seen nowhere else on -earth till you reach China and Japan!<a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III<br /><br /> -THE COTO DOÑANA: OUR HISTORIC HUNTING-GROUND</h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="c">A Foreword by <span class="smcap">Sir Maurice de Bunsen</span>, G.C.M.G., British Ambassador -at Madrid.</p></div> - -<p class="nind">A<small>mong</small> my recollections of Spain none will be more vivid and delightful -than those of my visits to the Coto Doñana. From beginning to end, -climate, scenery, sport, and hospitable entertainment combine, in that -happy region, to make the hours all too short for the joys they bring. -Equipped with Paradox-gun or rifle, and some variety of ammunition, to -suit the shifting requirements of deer and boar, lynx, partridge, -wild-geese and ducks, snipe, rabbit and hare, nay, perhaps a chance shot -at flamingo, vulture, or eagle, the favoured visitor steps from the -Bonanza pier into the broad wherry waiting to carry him across the -Guadalquivir, a few miles only from its outflow into the Atlantic. In -its hold the first of many enticing <i>bocadillos</i> is spread before him. -Table utensils are superfluous luxuries, but, armed with hunting blade -and a formidable appetite, he plays havoc with the red mullet, -<i>tortilla</i>, and <i>carne de membrillo</i>, washed down with a tumbler of -sherry which has ripened through many a year in a not far distant -<i>bodega</i>.</p> - -<p>In half an hour he is in the saddle. Distances and sandy soil prohibit -much walking in the Coto Doñana.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_015a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_015a_sml.jpg" width="733" height="217" alt="Sand Waste in Coto Doñana." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Sand Waste in Coto Doñana.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_015b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_015b_sml.jpg" width="732" height="176" alt="Sand Waste in Coto Doñana." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Landscape in Coto Doñana, with Marisma in background.<br /> -FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY H.R.H. PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS.</span> -</p> - -<p>Marshalled by our host, the soul of the party, the cavalcade canters -lightly up the sandy beach of the river. Thence it strikes to the left -into the pine-coverts, leading in five hours more to the friendly roof -of the “Palacio.†A picturesque group it is with Vazquez, Caraballo, and -other well-known figures in the van, packhorses loaded with luggage and -implements of the chase, and lean, hungry <i>podencos</i> hunting hither and -thither for a stray rabbit on the way. The views are not to be -forgotten, the<a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a> distant Ronda mountains seen through a framework of -stone-pines, across seventy miles of sandy dunes, marismas, and -intervening plains. After a couple of hours we skirt the famous -sandhills, innocent of the slightest dash of green, which for some -inscrutable reason attract, morning after morning, at the first tinge of -dawn, countless greylag geese to their barren expanse and on which, <i>si -Dios quiere</i>, toll shall be levied ere long. The marismas and long -lagoons are covered here and there with black patches crawling with -myriads of waterfowl, to be described after supper by the careful -Vazquez as <i>muy pocos, un salpicon</i>—a mere sprinkling. Their names and -habits, are they not written, with the most competent of pens, in this -very volume? We stop, perhaps, for a first deer-drive on our line of -march. How thrilling that sudden rustle in the brushwood! Stag is it, or -hind, or grisly porker? As we approach the “Palacio†we see the -spreading oak on which perched, contemptuous and unsuspecting, the -imperial eagle, honoured this year by a bullet from King Alfonso’s -unerring rifle. As we<a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a> ride through the scrub the whirr of the -red-legged partridge sends an involuntary hand to the gun. They may -await another day. At dusk we ride into the whitewashed <i>patio</i>, just in -time to sally forth and get a flighting woodcock between gun and -lingering glow of the setting sun.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_014_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_014_sml.jpg" width="325" height="354" alt="SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE</span> -</p> - -<p>For no precious hours are wasted in the Coto Doñana. Next day at early -dawn, maybe, if the lagoon be our destination, or at any rate after a -timely breakfast, off starts again the eager cavalcade, be it in quest -of red deer or less noble quarry. Then all day in the saddle, from drive -to drive, dismounting only to lie in wait for a stag, or trudge through -the sage-bushes after partridge, or flounder through the boggy <i>soto</i>, -beloved of snipe, with intervening oases for the unforgotten -<i>bocadillo</i>.</p> - -<p>If Vazquez be kind, he will take you one day to crouch with him behind -his well-trained stalking-horse, drawing craftily nearer and nearer to -where the duck sit thickest, till, straightening your aching back, you -have leave to put in your two barrels, as Vazquez lays low some twenty -couples with one booming shot from his four-bore, into the brown.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_016a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_016a_sml.jpg" width="730" height="213" alt="Egret-Heronry at Santolalla, Coto Doñana. - -(THE FOREGROUND IS SAND.) - -FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY H. R. H. PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS." /></a> -<a href="images/ill_016b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_016b_sml.jpg" width="731" height="178" alt="Egret-Heronry at Santolalla, Coto Doñana. - -(THE FOREGROUND IS SAND.) - -FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY H. R. H. PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Egret-Heronry at Santolalla, Coto Doñana.<br /> -(THE FOREGROUND IS SAND.)<br /> -FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY H. R. H. PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS.</span> -</p> - -<p>But one morning surely a visit must be paid to the sandhills. Caraballo -will call you at 4 <small>A.M.</small>, and soon after you will be jogging over the six -or eight miles which separate the “Palacio†from that morning -<i>rendezvous</i> of the greylag. The stars still shine brightly as you -dismount at the foot of the long stretch of dunes. A few minutes’ trudge -will deposit you in a round hole dug deep in the dazzling white expanse -the day before; for a hole too freshly dug will expose the damp brown -sand from below, staining the spotless surface with a warning blotch, -and causing the wary geese to swerve beyond the range of your No. 1 -shot. It is still dark as you drop into your hole. Gradually the sky -grows greyer and lighter, till the sun rises from the round yellow rim -of the blue morning sky. Who shall describe the magic thrill of the -first hoarse notes falling on your straining ear? The temptation to peep -out is strong, but crouching deep down, you wait till the mighty pinions -beat above you, and the first wedge of eight or ten sails grandly away -in the morning sun. You judge them out of shot. But surely this second -batch is lower down? Are they not close upon you? Why then no response -to your two barrels? Was the emotion too great, or have you misjudged -the speed of that easy flight or its distance<a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a> through the crystal -air? All the keener is the joy when, with heavy thump, your first goose -is landed on the sand amid the tin decoys. When three or four lie there, -Vazquez will send his fleet two-legged “water-dog†to set them up with -twigs supporting their bills, to beguile more of their kind into line -with the barrels. If the day be propitious, the sky will be dotted at -times with geese in all directions. Now and again they will give you a -shot, the expert taking surely three or four to the tyro’s one. It is -half-past eight, and you have sat in your hole close on two hours before -Vazquez comes to gather the slain, to which he will add two or three -more, marked down afar, and picked up as dead as the rest. Never have -two of your waking hours passed so quickly. What would you not give to -live them over again and undo some of those inexplicable misses? But one -goose alone would amply repay that early start. Even four or five are -all you can carry, and the twenty or thirty that our expert [who must be -nameless] would have shot, will live to stock the world afresh.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_016_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_016_sml.jpg" width="306" height="232" alt="SPANISH LYNX" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SPANISH LYNX</span> -</p> - -<p>Among the fauna of the Coto Doñana, a word must be given to the lynx. -Never can I forget sitting one afternoon, Paradox in hand, on the fringe -of a covert. I was waiting for stag, rather drowsily, for the beat was a -long one and the sun hot, when my eyes suddenly rested on a lynx -standing broadside among the bushes, beyond a bare belt of sand, some -fifty yards off. Fain would I have changed my bullet for slugs, but -those<a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a> sharp ears would have detected the slightest click; so I loosed -my bullet for what it was worth.</p> - -<p>The lynx was gone. When the beat came at last to an end, I thought I -would just have a look at his tracks. He lay stone-dead behind a bush, -shot through the heart.</p> - -<p>The eventful days are all too soon over. But the recollection remains of -happy companionship and varying adventure, of easy intercourse between -Spaniard and Englishman, with the echo of many a sporting tale, mingled -with sage discourse from qualified lips on the habits of bird and beast. -Who can tell you more about them than that group of true sportsmen and -lovers of nature whose names, Garvey, Buck, Gonzalez, and Chapman, are -indissolubly linked with the more modern history of the famous Coto -Doñana?</p> - -<p class="r"><span class="smcap">Maurice de Bunsen.</span></p> - -<p class="hang"><span class="smcap">British Embassy, Madrid</span>,<br /> -<i>July 1910</i>.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_017_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_017_sml.jpg" width="236" height="210" alt="GREENSHANK (Totanus canescens)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GREENSHANK (Totanus canescens)</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV<br /><br /> -THE COTO DOÑANA<br /><br /> -<small>NOTES ON ITS PHYSICAL FORMATION, FAUNA, AND RED DEER</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> great river Guadalquivir, dividing in its oblique course seawards -into double channels and finally swerving, as though reluctant to lose -all identity in the infinite Atlantic, practically cuts off from the -Spanish mainland a triangular region, some forty miles of waste and -wilderness, an isolated desert, singular as it is beautiful, which we -now endeavour to describe. This, from our having for many years held the -rights of chase, we can at least undertake with knowledge and affection.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 179px;"> -<a href="images/ill_018_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_018_sml.jpg" width="179" height="180" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Its precise geological formation ‘twere beyond our power, unskilled in -that science, to diagnose. But even to untaught eye, the existence of -the whole area is obviously due to an age-long conflict waged between -two Powers—the great river from within, the greater ocean without. The -Guadalquivir, draining the distant mountains of Moréna and full 200 -miles of intervening plain, rolls down a tawny flood charged with yellow -mud till its colour resembles <i>café au lait</i>. Thus proceeds a ceaseless -deposit of sediment upon the sea-bed; but the external Power forcibly -opposes such infringement of its area. Here the elemental battle is -joined. The river has so far prevailed as to have grabbed from the sea -many hundred square miles of alluvial plain, that known as the marisma; -but at this precise epoch, the Sea-Power appears to have called -checkmate by interposing a vast barrier of sand along the whole -battle-front. The net result<a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a> remains that to-day there is tacked on to -the southernmost confines of Europe a singular exotic patch of African -desert.</p> - -<p>This sand-barrier, known as the Coto Doñana, occupies, together with its -adjoining dunes on the west, upwards of forty miles of the Spanish -coast-line, its maximum breadth reaching in places to eight or ten -miles. The Coto Doñana is cut off from the mainland of Spain not only by -the great river, but by the marisma—a watery wilderness wide enough to -provide a home for wandering herds of wild camels. (See rough sketch-map -above.)</p> - -<p>Sand and sand alone constitutes the soil-substance of Doñana, overlying, -presumably, the buried alluvia beneath. Yet a wondrous beauty and -variety of landscape this desolate region affords. From the river’s -mouth forests of stone-pine extend unbroken league beyond league, hill -and hollow glorious in deep-green foliage, while the forest-floor revels -in wealth of aromatic shrubbery all lit up by chequered rays of dappled -sunlight. Westward, beyond the pine-limit, stretch regions of Saharan -barrenness where miles of glistening sand-wastes devoid of any vestige -of vegetation dazzle one’s sight—a glory of magnificent desolation, the -splendour of sterility. To home-naturalists the scene may recall St. -John’s classic sandhills of Moray, but magnified out of recognition by -the vastly greater scale, as befits their respective creators—in the -one case the 100-league North Sea, here the 1000-league Atlantic. Rather -would we compare these marram-tufted, wind-sculptured sand-wastes with -the Red Sea litoral and the Egyptian Soudan, where Osman Digna led -British troops memorable dances in the ‘nineties—alike both in their -physical aspect and in their climate, red-hot by day, yet apt to be -deadly chilly after sundown. Resonant with the weird cry of the -stone-curlew and the rhythmic roar of the Atlantic beyond, these seaward -dunes are everywhere traced with infinite spoor of wild beasts, and -dotted by the conical pitfalls dug by ant-lions (<i>Myrmeleon</i>).</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_018a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_018a_sml.jpg" width="408" height="512" alt="In Doñana." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">In Doñana.</span> -</p> - -<p>Between these extremes of deep forest and barren dune are interposed -intermediate regions partaking of the character of both. Here the -intrusive pine projects forest-strips, called <i>Corrales</i>, as it were -long oases of verdure, into the heart of the desert, hidden away between -impending dunes which rear themselves as a mural menace on either hand, -and towering above the<a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a> summits of the tallest trees. Nor is the -menace wholly hypothetic; for not seldom has the unstable element -shifted bodily onwards to engulf in molecular ruin whole stretches of -these isolated and enclosed <i>corrales</i>. Noble pines, already half -submerged, struggle in death-grips with the treacherous foe; of others, -already dead, naught save the topmost summits, sere and shrunk, protrude -above that devouring smiling surface, beneath which, one assumes, there -lie the skeletons of buried forests of a bygone age.</p> - -<p>All along these lonely dunes there stand at regular intervals the grim -old watch-towers of the Moors, reminiscent of half-forgotten times and -of a vanished race. Arab telegraphy was neither wireless nor fireless -when beacon-lights blazing out from tower to tower spread instant alarm -from sea to sierra, seventy miles away.</p> - -<p>In contrast with the scenery of both these zones, shows up the landscape -of a third region, on the west—that of scrub. Here, one day later in -geological sense, the eye roams over endless horizons of rolling -grey-green brushwood, the chief component of which is cistus -(<i>Helianthemum</i>), but interspersed in its moister dells with denser -jungle of arbutus and lentisk, genista, tree-heath, and giant-heather, -with wondrous variety of other shrubs; the whole studded and ornamented -by groves of stately cork-oaks or single scattered trees. All these, -with the ilex, being evergreen, one misses those ever-changing autumnal -tints that glorify the “fall†in northern climes. Here only a sporadic -splash of sere or yellow relieves the uniform verdure.</p> - -<p>Obviously regions of such physical character can ill subserve any human -purpose. As designed by nature, they afford but a home for wild beasts, -fowls of the air, and other <i>ferae</i> which abound in striking and -charming variety. For centuries the Coto Doñana formed, as the name -imports, the hunting-ground of its lords, the Dukes of Medina Sidonia, -and to not a few of the Spanish kings—from Phillip IV. in the early -part of the seventeenth century (as recorded by the contemporary -chronicler, Pedro Espinosa) to Alfonso XII. in 1882, and quite recently -to H.M. Don Alfonso XIII. For five-and-twenty years the authors have -been co-tenants, previously under the aforesaid ducal house; latterly -under our old friend, the present owner.</p> - -<p>The sparse population of Doñana includes a few herdsmen<a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a> (<i>vaqueros</i>) -who tend the wild-bred cattle and horses that in semi-feral condition -wander both in the regions of scrub and out in the open marisma. Nomadic -charcoal-burners squat in the forests, shifting their reed-built wigwams -(<i>chozas</i>) as the exigencies of work require; while the gathering of -pine-cones yields a precarious living to a handful of <i>piñoneros</i>. -Lastly, but most important to us, there are the guardas or keepers, -keen-eyed, leather-clad, and sun-bronzed to the hue of Red Indians. -There are a dozen of these wild men distributed at salient points of the -Coto, most of them belonging to families which have held these posts, -sons succeeding fathers, for generations. Of three such cycles we have -ourselves already been witnesses.</p> - -<p>Briefly to summarise a rich and heterogeneous fauna is not easy; a -volume might be devoted to this region alone. Elsewhere in this book -some few subjects are treated in detail. Here we merely attempt an -outline sketch.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 293px;"> -<a href="images/ill_019_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_019_sml.jpg" width="293" height="160" alt="MARSH-HARRIER (Circus aeruginosus)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">MARSH-HARRIER (Circus aeruginosus)</span> -</div> - -<p>Throughout the winter (excepting only the wildfowl) there exists no such -conspicuous ornithic display as appeals to casual eye or ear—those, -say, of the average traveller. Ride far and wide through these wild -landscapes in December or January, and you may wonder if their -oft-boasted wealth of bird-life be not exaggerated. You see, perhaps, -little beyond the ubiquitous birds-of-prey. These are ever the first -feature to strike a stranger. Great eagles, soaring in eccentric -circles, hunt the cistus-clad plain; the wild scream of the kite rings -out above the pines, and shapely buzzards adorn some dead tree. Over -rush-girt bogs soar weird marsh-harriers—three flaps and a drift as, -with piercing sight, they scan each tuft and miss not so much as a frog -or a wounded wigeon. All these and others of their race are naturally -conspicuous. But, though unseen, there lurk all around other forms of -equal beauty and interest, abundant enough, but secretive and apt to be -overlooked save by closest scrutiny. That, however,<a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a> is a characteristic -of winter in all temperate lands. Birds at that season are apt to be -silent and elusive, but their absence is apparent rather than real.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 219px;"> -<a href="images/ill_020a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_020a_sml.jpg" width="219" height="278" alt="“SILENT SONGSTERSâ€" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“SILENT SONGSTERSâ€</span> -</div> - -<p>All around you, in fact, forest and jungle, scrub, sallow, and -bramble-brake abound with minor bird-forms—with our British summer -visitors, here settled down in their winter quarters; with charming -exotic warblers and silent songsters—all off work for the season. Where -nodding bulrush fringes quaking bog, or miles of tasselled cane-brakes -border the marsh, there is the home of infinite feathered amphibians, -crakes and rails, of reed-climbers and bush-skulkers, all for the nonce -silent, shy, reclusive.</p> - -<p class="figcenter" style="clear:both;"> -<a href="images/ill_020b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_020b_sml.jpg" width="319" height="262" alt="BLACKSTART (Ruticilla titys) - -Abundant in winter; retires to the sierra to nest." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BLACKSTART (Ruticilla titys)<br /> -Abundant in winter; retires to the sierra to nest.</span> -</p> - -<p>Their portraits, roughly caught during hours of patient waiting,<a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a> may be -found (some of them) scattered through these chapters. But the present -is not the place for detail.</p> - -<p>The land-birds in winter you hardly see, for they “take cover.â€</p> - -<p>Diametrically different—in cause and effect—is the case of wildfowl. -These, by the essence of their natures and by their economic -necessities, are always conspicuous, for they inhabit solely the open -spaces of earth—the “spaces†that no longer exist at home: shallows, -wastes, and tidal flats devoid of covert. Wildfowl, for that reason, -have long learnt to discard all attempt at concealment, to rely for -safety upon their own eyesight and incredible wildness. No illusory idea -that security may be sought in covert abuses their keen and receptive -instincts. Probably it never did. Nowadays, at any rate, they openly -defy the human race with all its brain-begotten devices. There, in -“waste places,†wildfowl sit or fly—millions of them—conspicuous and -audible so far as human sense of sight and sound can reach, and there -bid defiance to us all. Much of these wastes are not (in the cant of a -hypocritical age) “undeveloped,†but rather, as means exist, incapable -of development. Such spectacles of wild life as these Andalucian -marismas to-day present are probably unsurpassed elsewhere in Europe—or -possibly in the world. In foreground, background, and horizon both earth -and sky are filled with teeming, living multitudes; while the shimmering -grey monotony of the marisma, tessellated with its grey armies of the -<i>Anatidae</i>, is everywhere brightened and adorned by rosy battalions of -flamingoes. And out there, far beyond our visible horizon, there wander -in that watery wilderness the wild camels, to which we devote a separate -chapter.</p> - -<p>Flamingoes ignore the limits of continents, and shift their mobile -headquarters between Europe and Africa as the respective rainfall in -either happens to suit their requirements. Hence, whether by day or -night, the sight or sound of gabbling columns of flamingoes passing -through the upper air is a characteristic of these lonely regions, -irrespective of season. Cranes also in marshalled ranks, and storks, -continually pass to and fro. The African coast, of course, lies well -within their range of vision from the start.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_021a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_021a_sml.jpg" width="412" height="126" alt="(1) SAHARAN SAND-DUNES." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">(1) SAHARAN SAND-DUNES.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_021b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_021b_sml.jpg" width="413" height="178" alt="(2) TRANSPORT." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">(2) TRANSPORT.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_021c_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_021c_sml.jpg" width="413" height="165" alt="(3) A CORRAL, OR PINE-WOOD ENCLOSED BY SAND. - -Three Views in Coto Doñana." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">(3) A CORRAL, OR PINE-WOOD ENCLOSED BY SAND.<br /> -Three Views in Coto Doñana.</span> -</p> - -<p>Then as winter merges into spring—what time those clanging crowds of -wild-geese and myriad north-bound ducks depart—there<a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a> pours into -Andalucia an inrush of African and subtropical bird-forms. The sunlit -woodland gleams with brilliant rollers and golden orioles, while -bee-eaters, rivalling the rainbow in gorgeous hues, poise and dart in -the sunshine, and their harsh “chack, chack,†resounds on every side. -Woodchats, spotted cuckoos, hoopoes, and russet nightjars appear; lovely -wheatears in cream and black adorn the palm-clad plain. With them comes -the deluge—no epitomised summary is possible when, within brief limits, -the whole feathered population of southern Europe is metamorphosed. The -winter half has gone north; its place is filled by the tropical inrush -aforesaid. Warblers and waders, larks, finches, and fly-catchers, -herons, ibis, ducks, gulls, and terns—all orders and genera pour in -promiscuously, defying cursory analysis.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_021_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_021_sml.jpg" width="282" height="251" alt="GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO (Oxylophus glandarius)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO (Oxylophus glandarius)</span> -</p> - -<p>A single class only will here be specifically mentioned, and that -because it throws light on climatic conditions. Among these vernal -arrivals come certain raptores in countless numbers—all those which are -dependent on reptile and insect food. For even in sunny Andalucia the -larger reptiles and insects hibernate; hence their persecutors -(including various eagles, buzzards, and harriers, with kites and -kestrels in thousands) are driven to seek winter-quarters in Africa.</p> - -<p>Another phenomenon deserves note. Weeks, nay months, after this great -vernal upturn in bird-life has completed its revolution, and when the -newcomers have already half finished the duties of incubation, then in -May suddenly occurs an utterly belated little migration quite -disconnected from all the rest. This is the passage, or rather -through-transit, of those far-flying cosmopolites of space that make the -whole world their home. They have been wintering in South Africa and -Madagascar, in<a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a> Australia and New Zealand, and are now returning to -their summer breeding-grounds in farthest Siberia, beyond the Yenisei. -Thus some morning in early May one sees the marismas filled with godwits -and knots, curlew-sandpipers and grey plovers, all in their glorious -summer-plumage. But these only tarry here a few days. A short week -before they had thronged the shores of the southern hemisphere—far -beyond the zodiac of Capricorn. A week hence and they are at home in the -Arctic.</p> - -<p>Andalucia possesses a feathered census that approaches 400 species; but -of these hardly a score are permanently resident throughout the year.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_022_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_022_sml.jpg" width="395" height="200" alt="“GLOBE-SPANNERS†- -Rest twelve hours in Spain on the journey—Australia to Siberia." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“GLOBE-SPANNERSâ€<br /> -Rest twelve hours in Spain on the journey—Australia to Siberia.</span> -</p> - -<p>Four-footed creatures are less difficult of diagnosis than are birds. By -nature less mobile, they are infinitely less numerous specifically. -Relatively the Spanish census is long, and includes, locally, quite a -number of interesting beasts that are “lumped together†as -<i>Alimañas</i>—to wit, lynxes, wild-cats, genets, mongoose, foxes, otters, -badgers, of which we treat separately. The two chief game-animals of the -Coto Doñana are the red deer and the wild-boar. These two we here -examine from the sportsman’s point of view as much as from that of the -naturalist.</p> - -<p>The Spanish red deer are specifically identical with those of Scotland -and the rest of Europe, and are distributed over the whole southern half -of the Iberian Peninsula—say south of a line drawn through Madrid. -Their haunts, as a rule, are restricted to the -mountain-ranges—especially the Sierra Moréna, where they<a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a> attain their -highest development. That red deer should be found inhabiting lowlands -such as the Coto Doñana is wholly exceptional. In Estremadura, it is -true, there are wild regions (in Badajoz and Cáceres) where deer are -spread far and wide over wooded and scrub-clad plains, all these, -however, being subjacent to neighbouring sierras, which refuges are -available for retreat in case of need. Nowhere else in Spain, save here -in the Coto Doñana only, are red deer restricted exclusively to -lowlands.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_023_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_023_sml.jpg" width="279" height="384" alt="CONFIDENCE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">CONFIDENCE</span> -</p> - -<p>This South-Spanish race (the southernmost of all if we except the -distinct but limited breed that yet maintains a foothold in North -Africa, the Barbary stag, which is white-spotted) differs from Scotch -types in their longer faces and slim necks unadorned with the hairy -“ruff†of harsher climes. Beyond a doubt, when our species-splitting -friends arrive in Spain, they will differentiate her red deer (and ibex -also) in various species or subspecies, each with a Latin trinomial. -Such energies, however, may easily be<a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a> superfluous, even where not -actually mischievous. For practical purposes there exists but one -European species, though it has, even within Spain, its local varieties; -while, further afield, geographical and climatic divergencies naturally -tend to increase.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> - -<p>We cannot claim for our lowland deer of Doñana a high standard of -comparative quality; they are, in fact, the smallest race in Spain, -almost puny as compared with her mountain breed—smaller also than the -Barbary stag. Clean weights here rarely exceed 200 lbs., while a 30-in. -head must be accounted beyond the average. The general type, both of -horn and body, is illustrated by various photos and drawings in this -book.</p> - -<p>Deer-shooting in Spain takes place in the winter. The rutting season -commences at the end of August, terminating early in October, and stags -have recovered condition by the end of November.</p> - -<p>The habits of red deer being, here as elsewhere, strictly nocturnal, and -the country densely clad with bush, it follows that these animals are -seldom seen amove during daylight. Hence deer-stalking, properly so -called, is not available, nor is the method much esteemed in Spain. In -Scotland one may detect deer, though it be but a tip of an antler, when -couched in the tallest heather or fern. Here, where heather grows six or -eight feet in height with a bewildering jumble of other shrubbery of -like proportions, no such view is possible. Hence “driving†is in Spain -the usual method of deer-shooting, whether in mountain or lowland.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 188px;"> -<a href="images/ill_024_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_024_sml.jpg" width="188" height="173" alt="ABNORMAL CAST ANTLER - -(Picked up in Doñana.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ABNORMAL CAST ANTLER - -(Picked up in Doñana.)</span> -</div> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 171px;"> -<a href="images/ill_025_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_025_sml.jpg" width="171" height="213" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>There is, nevertheless, one opportunity of stalking which (though not -regarded with favour) has yet afforded us delightful mornings, and to -which a few lines of description are due. The plan is based upon -cutting-out the deer as they return from their<a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a> nocturnal pasturages at -daybreak. As the last watch of night wears on towards the dawn, the -deer, withdrawing from their feeding-grounds on open strath or marsh, -slowly direct a course covertwards, lingering here and there to nibble a -tempting genista, or to snatch up a bunch of red bog-grass on their -course. We have reached a favourite glade, often used by deer. It is not -yet light—rather it might be described as nearly dark—when the -splashing of light hoofs through water puts us on the alert. A few -moments suffice to gain a bushy point beyond; whence presently six or -eight nebulous forms emerge from deceitful gloom. Of course there is not -a horn among them, bar a little yearling, for good stags never come thus -in troops, and with all due caution, so as to avoid alarming these, we -hurry away to try another likely spot. Time is of the essence of this -business, for light is now strengthening, and in another half-hour the -deer will all have gained their coverts and the chance will be past. -Again groups of hinds and small beasties meet our gaze; but some -distance beyond are a couple of stags. It is light enough now, by aid of -the glass, to count their points—only eight apiece, no use. While yet -we watch, a pack of graceful white egrets alight close around the nearer -deer—some dart actively between the grazing animals picking flies and -insects from their legs and stomachs; two actually perching, -cavalier-like, on their withers to search for ticks—magpies, on -occasion, we have observed similarly employed. The sun’s rim now peers -from out the watery wastes in front; nothing worth a bullet has -appeared, and our morning’s work looks as good as lost when my -companion, Pepe, detects two really good stags which, though already -within the shelter of fringing pines, yet linger in a lovely glade, -tempted for fatal minutes by a clump of flowering rosemary. The wind -demands a considerable detour; yet the pair still dally while we gain -the deadly range, and a second later the better of the two drops amidst -the ensnaring blue blossoms. Pepe’s half-soliloquising comment precisely -interprets the Spanish estimate<a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a> of stalking:—“The first stag I ever -saw shot with his head down!†Other countries, other standards; but -there is a ring of sterling chivalry in it too. The idea conveyed is -that the noble stag should meet his death, only when duly forewarned of -danger and bounding in wild career o’er bush and brake.</p> - -<p>Without unduly trespassing on our Spanish friends’ susceptibilities, we -have nevertheless enjoyed such mornings as this. To begin with, that -hour of breaking day is ever delicious to spend afield. Therein one -observes to best advantage the wild beasts, undisturbed and following -their secret, solitary lives—one learns more in that hour than in all -the other twenty-three. One seems almost to associate with deer, so near -can the troops of hinds and small staggies be approached; and, moreover, -there may be afforded the advantage of selecting some splendid head -afar, and thus commencing a stalk which, believe me, does not always -prove easy. Yonder comes a fox, trotting straight in from his night’s -hunting in the distant marisma. Let him come on within fifty yards, and -then give him a bit of a fright—it is a wild goose he drops as he turns -to fly! A single glint of something ruddy catches the eye; this the -glass shows to be a sunray playing on the pelt of a prowling lynx, -hateful of daylight and hurrying junglewards. Rarely are these -nocturnals seen thus, after sun-up, and not for many seconds will the -spectacle last; for no animal is more intensely habituated to -concealment, or hates so much to move even a few yards in the open.</p> - -<p>Following are two or three incidents selected as illustrative of this -matutinal work:—</p> - -<p>...A really fine stag—already against the glory of the eastern light, I -have counted thirteen points and there may be more. Half an hour later -we have gained a position—not without infinite manÅ“uvres, including -a crawl absolutely flat across forty yards of bog and black mire—a -position that in five more minutes should secure to us that trophy. The -five hinds that, before it was fully light, had been in the Royal -company, have already, long ago, passed away in the scrub on our right, -and give us now no further concern. Never should hinds be thus lightly -regarded! The slowly approaching stag stops to nibble a golden broom. He -is already almost within shot—seconds must decide his fate—when a -triple bark, petulant and defiant, breaks the silence behind. Those five -<a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a>hinds, sauntering round, have gone under our wind, and now ... the -landscape is vacant.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_026_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_026_sml.jpg" width="396" height="304" alt="April." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">April.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_026b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_026b_sml.jpg" width="395" height="327" alt="June." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">June.</span> -</p> - -<p>“Hinds only bark at a <i>persona</i>,†remarks Dominguez, as we turn -homewards, “never at any other <i>bicho</i>.†The stag knew that too. But it -was a curious way of putting it.</p> - -<p>...We are too early; it is still pitch-dark; no sign of dawn beyond a -slight opalescence low on the eastern horizon. Moreover, an icy wind -rustles across the waste, and for dreary minutes we seek shelter, -squatting beneath some friendly gorse. Presently a strange sound—a -distinct champing, and close by—strikes our ears. “Un javato comiendo†-= “a boar feeding,†whispers Dominguez, and creeping a few yards towards -an open strath, we dimly descry a dusky monster. At the moment his snout -is buried deep in the soil, up to the eyes, and the tremendous muscular -power exerted in uprooting bulbs of palmetto arrests attention even in -the quarter-light. Now he stands quiescent, head up, and the champing is -resumed—a rare scene. The distance is a bare fifteen yards, and all the -while my companion insists on hissing in my ear, “tiré-lo, tiré-lo†= -“shoot, shoot.†Presently up goes the boar’s muzzle; straight and -steadfastly he gazes in our direction, but his glance seemed to pass -high over our heads. I don’t think he saw us; yet a consciousness of -danger had got home—in two bounds he wheeled and disappeared, headlong, -amid the bush beyond.</p> - -<p>...Far and wide the bosky glade is furrowed with sinuous trenches, and -infinite turrets stand erect as where children build sand-castles on the -beach. Last night a troop of wild-pig have sought here for -mole-crickets—small fry, one may think; yet even worms they don’t -despise, for we have seen masses of these reptiles (some still alive) in -the stomach of a newly-shot boar. Follow the spoor onwards, and where it -enters a pine-grove, you notice splintered cones and scattered seed. -Thus wild-beasts are assisting to fulfil nature’s plan, and if you care -to advance it another stage, turn some soil over those overlooked -pine-nuts, and some day forest-monarchs will result to reward another -generation.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Such matutinal forays are, however, but an incident. The main system of -dealing with the deer is by driving. For this purpose both the fragrant -solitudes of pine and far-stretched wilds of bending cistus are mentally -mapped out by the forest-guards<a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a> into definite “beats,†each of which -has its own name; though to a casual visitor (since guns are necessarily -placed differently day by day according to the wind) the actual -boundaries may appear indefinite enough.</p> - -<p>On lowlands such as the Coto Doñana, which is more or less level and -open, the use of far-ranging rifles is necessarily restricted by -considerations of safety. Obviously no shot, on any pretext whatever, -may be fired either into the beat or until the game has passed clear of -and well outside the line of guns. In every instance, as a gun is -placed, the keeper in charge indicates by lines drawn in the sand or -other unmistakable means the limits within which shooting is absolutely -prohibited. The result, it follows, not only increases the prospective -difficulty of the shot, but gives fuller scope to the instinctive -intelligence of the game. For deer, unlike some winged game, do not, -when driven, dash precipitately straight for illusory safety, but retire -slowly and with extreme circumspection; all old stags, in particular, -fully anticipate hidden dangers to lie on their line of flight, and -narrowly scrutinise any suspicious feature ahead before taking risks. -The gunner will therefore be wise to occupy the few minutes that remain -available in so arranging both himself and his post as to be -inconspicuous; and also in an accurate survey of his environment with -its probable chances, thereby minimising the danger of being taken by -surprise. The cunning displayed by an old stag when endeavouring to -evade a line of guns at times approaches the marvellous. Thus, on one -occasion, the writer was warned of the near approach of game by a single -“clink‗a noise which deer sometimes make, probably unintentionally, -with the fore-hoof—yet seconds elapsed, and neither sight nor sound -were vouchsafed. Then the slightest quiver of a bough beneath caught my -eye. A big stag with antlers laid flat aback, and crouching to half his -usual height, though going fairly fast, was slipping, silent and -invisible, through thick but low brushwood immediately beneath the -little hillock whereon I lay. On examining the spot, the spoor showed -that he had passed thus through openings barely exceeding two feet in -height, though he stood himself forty-six inches at the withers. The -feat appeared impossible.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<p><a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_027_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_027_sml.jpg" width="305" height="380" alt="SUSPICION" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SUSPICION</span> -</p> - -<p>In thick forest or brushwood that limits the view it may be advisable to -sit with back towards the beat, relying on ears to indicate the approach -or movements of game. While sitting thus, it will occur that you become -aware of the arrival of an animal, or of several animals, immediately -behind you. The natural inclination to look round is strong; but ‘twere -folly to do so—fatal to success. This is the critical moment, when a -few seconds of rigid stillness will be rewarded by a shot in the open. -But that stillness must be statuesque, as of a stone god. For piercing -eyes are instantly studying each bush and bough, and analysing at close -quarters the least symptom of danger ahead.</p> - -<p>Should a good stag break fairly near, it is advisable to allow it to -pass well away before moving a muscle. For should the game be -prematurely alarmed—say by your missing exactly upon the firing-line, -or otherwise by its detecting your movement of preparation—that stag -will instantly bounce back again into the<a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a> beat. Then, assuming that the -sportsman is a tyro, or subject to “emotions†or buck-fever, there is -danger of his forgetting for one moment his precise permitted line of -fire; in which case a perilous shot must result. Once allowed to pass -<i>well outside</i>, the stag will usually continue on his course.</p> - -<p>In this, as in every form of sport, “soft chances†occasionally occur. -More often, the rifle will be directed at a galloping stag crashing -through bush that conceals him up to the withers; or, it may be, -bounding over inequalities of broken ground or brushwood, or among -timber, at any distance up to 100 yards, sometimes 150, while, should he -have touched a taint in the wind, his pace will be tremendous.</p> - -<p>Although to casual view a plain of level contours this country is -undulated to an extent that deceives a careless eye—the more -accentuated by the monotone of cistus-scrub that appears so uniform. In -reality there traverse the plain glens and gently graded hollows the -less apt to be noticed, inasmuch as the scrub in moister dell grows -higher.</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Far through the marish green and still the watercourses sleep.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Inspiring moments are those when—before the beat has commenced—your -eye catches on some far-away skyline the broad antlers of a stag. This -animal has perhaps been on foot and alert, or maybe has taken the “wind†-from the group of beaters wending a way to their points far beyond. For -three seconds the antlers remain stationary, then vanish into some -intervening glen. A glance around shows your next neighbour still busy -completing his shelter—meritorious work if done in time—and you have -strong suspicion that the man beyond will just now be lighting a -cigarette! Such thoughts flash through one’s mind; the dominant question -that fills it is: “Where will that great stag reappear?†But few seconds -are needed to solve it. Perhaps he dashes, harmless, upon the careless, -perhaps upon the slow—lucky for him should either such event befall! On -the other hand, those moments of glorious expectancy may resolve in a -crash of brushwood hard by, in a clinking of cloven hoofs, and a noble -hart with horns aback is bounding past your own ready post. What -proportion, we inwardly inquire, of the stags that are killed by -craftsmen has already, just before, offered first chance to the careless -or the slovenly?<a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_028_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_028_sml.jpg" width="395" height="544" alt="“Inspiring Moments.†- -(NEITHER CAUGHT NAPPING.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“Inspiring Moments.â€<br /> -(NEITHER CAUGHT NAPPING.)</span> -</p> - -<p>We may conclude this chapter with an independent impression.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Lying hidden in one of these lonely <i>puestos</i>—writes J. C. -C.—ever induces in me a powerful and sedative sense of -contemplation and reflection, though fully alert all the time. -While thus waiting and watching, I can’t but marvel, first at -nature’s wondrous plan of waste—a scheme here without apparent -object or promise of fulfilment. Where I lie the prospect comprises -nothing but melancholy and unutterably silent solitudes of sand, -droughty wastes with but at rare intervals some starveling patch of -scant weird shrub destined either to shrivel in summer’s sun or -shiver in winter’s winds. But, lying in that environment, one -marvels yet more at the extreme caution displayed by wild animals; -one has exceptional opportunity of admiring the exquisitive gifts -bestowed by nature upon her <i>ferae</i>. Here is a young stag coming -straight along, down-wind, ere yet the beat has begun, and in a -desolate spot which to human sense could betray absolutely no -feature or taint of danger. Suddenly he becomes rigid, arrested in -mid-career—sniffing at a pure untainted air, yet conscious somehow -of something wrong somewhere! It is a miraculous gift, though one -cannot but feel grateful that we humans are devoid of senses that -ever keep nerves in highest tension. Here is a sketch of a -non-shootable stag thus suddenly statuetted thirty yards from me -snugly hidden well down-wind, and so intensely interested that -<i>something else</i> (a very old pal) well-nigh escaped notice.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_029_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_029_sml.jpg" width="406" height="263" alt="ALTABACA (Scrofularia) - -The starveling shrub that grows in sand." /></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="" -class="caption"> -<tr valign="bottom" align="center"><td>ALTABACA (Scrofularia)<br /> -The starveling shrub that grows in sand.</td> -<td>TOMILLO DE ARENA<br /> -Another sand-plant (in spring has a<br /> -lovely pink bloom like -sea-thrift).</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>That something was our good friend Reynard—<i>Zorro</i> they style him -out here—whose proverbial cunning exceeds all other cunnings. He -has<a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a> come down to my track and there stopped dead, expressing in -every detail the very essence of doubly-distilled subtlety and -craft. At those footprints he halts, sniffs the wind, curls his -brush dubiously—as a cat will do when pleased—but not sure yet of -his next move. One second’s consideration decides him and it is -executed at once—he is off like a gust of wind. But a Paradox ball -at easy range in the open broke a hind-leg, and it was curious to -note his evolutions—he, poor fellow, not realising what had -occurred, flung himself round and round in rapid gyrations, the -while biting at his own hind-leg. Needless to say not an instant -passed ere a second ball terminated his sufferings. To observe the -beautiful traits in the habits of wild beasts is to me quite as -great a joy as adding them to my score and immensely augments the -enjoyment of a big-game drive.</p></div> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_030_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_030_sml.jpg" width="261" height="364" alt="“WHAT’S THIS?â€" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“WHAT’S THIS?â€</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a></p> - -<p class="sbhead">RED DEER HEADS—<i>COTO DOÑANA</i>.</p> - -<p class="c">This list is neither comprehensive nor consecutive, but merely a record -of such good and typical heads as we happened to have within reach.</p> - -<p class="c"><i>For Table of Heads of Mountain-Deer see Chapter on Sierra Moréna.</i></p> - -<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td rowspan="2"> </td><td rowspan="2" align="center">Length.<br /> -(Inches.)</td> -<td colspan="2" align="center">Widest.</td> -<td rowspan="2" align="center">Circum-<br />ference.</td> -<td rowspan="2" align="center">Points.</td> -<td rowspan="2" align="center">Remarks.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Tips.</td> -<td align="center">Inside.</td></tr> - -<tr><td>W. I. B. </td><td align="center">32¼ </td><td align="center">30 </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> 13 </td><td align="left"> </td></tr> -<tr><td> Do. </td><td align="center">31 + 30¼ </td><td align="center">32â… </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> 10 </td><td align="left">No bez.</td></tr> -<tr><td>P. Garvey </td><td align="center"> 31 </td><td align="center">28 </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> 4â… </td><td align="center"> 15 </td><td align="left"> </td></tr> -<tr><td>Col. Brymer </td><td align="center">30½ + 28 </td><td align="center">27 </td><td align="center">23 </td><td align="center"> 4¼ </td><td align="center"> 10 </td><td align="left">No bez.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Col. Echagüe </td><td align="center">30â…› + 28½ </td><td align="center">20 </td><td align="center">18 </td><td align="center"> 4½ </td><td align="center"> 14 </td><td align="left">4 on each top.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Villa-Marta, </td><td align="center">29¾ + 29½ </td><td align="center">31¼ </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> 4½ </td><td align="center"> 13 </td><td align="left">4 on each top,</td></tr> -<tr><td> Marquis </td><td align="center"> </td><td align="center"> </td><td align="center"> </td><td align="center"> </td><td align="center"> </td><td align="left"> but 1 bez wanting.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Segovia, Gonzalo<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> </td><td align="center">29¾ + 29½ </td><td align="center">39½ </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> 5¼ </td><td align="center"> 10 </td><td align="left">No bez.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Arión, Duke of </td><td align="center">29 + 28 </td><td align="center">30 </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> 14 </td><td align="center"> </td></tr> -<tr><td>A. C. </td><td align="center">29 + 28¼ </td><td align="center">25 </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> 5 </td><td align="center"> 12 </td><td align="center"> </td></tr> -<tr><td> Do. </td><td align="center">28½ </td><td align="center">26½ </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> 5â…› </td><td align="center"> 13 </td><td align="center"> </td></tr> -<tr><td>P. N. Gonzalez </td><td align="center">28½ </td><td align="center">25 </td><td align="center">22 </td><td align="center"> 5 </td><td align="center"> 12 </td><td align="center"> </td></tr> -<tr><td>Arión, Duke of </td><td align="center">28¼ </td><td align="center">23 </td><td align="center">21½ </td><td align="center"> 4â…› </td><td align="center"> 10 </td><td align="left">No bez.</td></tr> -<tr><td>F. J. Mitchell </td><td align="center">28 + 27 </td><td align="center">30½ </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> 14 </td><td align="left">4 on each top.</td></tr> -<tr><td>A. C. </td><td align="center">27 + 26¾ </td><td align="center">24 </td><td align="center">24 </td><td align="center"> 4¼ </td><td align="center"> 10 </td><td align="center"> </td></tr> -<tr><td> Do. </td><td align="center">25½ </td><td align="center">28¼ </td><td align="center">24 </td><td align="center"> 4â…• </td><td align="center"> 11 </td><td align="left">At British Museum.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Williams, Alex.</td><td align="center">25½ </td><td align="center">27¾ </td><td align="center">23¼ </td><td align="center"> 4¼ </td><td align="center"> 12 </td><td align="center"> </td></tr> -<tr><td>B. F. B. </td><td align="center">25¾ + 24 </td><td align="center">27¼ </td><td align="center">22¾ </td><td align="center"> 4¼ </td><td align="center"> 12 </td><td align="center"> </td></tr> -<tr><td>De Bunsen, Sir M. </td><td align="center">25½ + 25 </td><td align="center">27 </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> 4½ </td><td align="center"> 11 </td><td align="center"> </td></tr> -<tr><td>B. F. B. </td><td align="center">24½ + 24½ </td><td align="center">27½ </td><td align="center"> ... </td><td align="center"> 4½ </td><td align="center"> 12 </td><td align="center"> </td></tr> -<tr><td>J. C. C. </td><td align="center"> 23 </td><td align="center">29½ </td><td align="center">22½ </td><td align="center"> 4â…› </td><td align="center"> 12 </td><td align="center"> </td></tr> -<tr><td>B. F. B. </td><td align="center">22½ </td><td align="center">21½ </td><td align="center">19 </td><td align="center"> 4¼ </td><td align="center"> 12 </td><td align="center"> </td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Ordinary Royals (by which we mean full-grown stags in their first prime) -average 24 or 25 inches in length of horn. Heads of 26 to 28 inches -belong to rather older beasts which have continued to improve. Anything -beyond the latter measurement is quite exceptional, and is often due, -not so much to fair straight length of the main beam as to an abnormal -development of one of the top tines—usually directed backwards. There -are, however, included in our records two or three examples of long -straight heads which fairly exceed the 30-inch length.<a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V<br /><br /> -ANDALUCIA AND ITS BIG GAME<br /><br /> -<small>STILL-HUNTING (RED DEER)</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> line of least resistance represents twentieth-century -ideals—maximum results for the minimum of labour or technical skill. In -the field of sport, wherever available, universal “driving†supersedes -the arts of earlier venery—the pride of past generations.</p> - -<p>In Spain, more leisurely while no less dignified, there survive in -sport, as in other matters, practices more consonant with the dash and -chivalry popularly ascribed to her national character. Such, for -example, is the attack, single-handed, on bear or boar with cold -steel—<i>á arma blanca</i>, in Castilian phrase. Here we purpose describing -the system of “Still-hunting†(<i>Rastreando</i>) as practised in Andalucia -with a skill that equals the best of the American “Red Indian,†and is -only surpassed, within our experience, by Somalis and Wandorobo savages -in East Africa.</p> - -<p>Before day-dawn we are away with our two trackers. Maybe it is a lucky -morning, and as the first streaks of light illumine the wastes, they -reveal to our gaze a first-rate stag. In that case the venture is vastly -simplified. It is merely necessary to allow time for the stag to reach -his lie-up, and the spoor can be followed at once. But barring such -exceptional fortune, it is necessary to find, or rather to select from -amidst infinity of tracks crossing and recrossing hither and thither in -bewildering profusion the trail of such a master-beast as clearly is -worthy the labour of a long day’s pursuit. Twice and again we follow a -spoor for 100 yards or more over difficult ground before finally -deciding that its owner is not up to our standard of quality, and the -interrupted search is resumed. Once found, there is rarely room for -mistake with a really big spoor. The breadth of heel, the length and -deep-cut prints of the cloven toes attest both weight<a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a> and quality. The -ground is open, soft, and easy. The big new track, with its spurts of -forward-projected sand, are visible yards ahead. We follow almost at a -run—how simple it seems! But not for long. Soon comes check No. 1. A -dozen other deer have followed on the same line, and the original trail -is obliterated. The troop leads on into a region of boundless bush, -shoulder-high, where the ground is harder and the trackers spread out to -right and left, backing each other with silent signals. Their skill and -patience fascinate; but it is to me, in the centre, that after a long -hour’s scrutiny, falls the satisfaction of rediscovering that big track -where it diverges alone on the left. Half a mile beyond, our erratic -friend has passed through water. For a space a broken reed here or -displaced lilies there help us forward; then the deepening water, all -open, bears no trace. The opposite shore, moreover, is fringed by a -200-yard belt of bulrush and ten-foot canes, and beyond all that lies -heavy jungle.</p> - -<p>You give it up? Admittedly these are no lines of least resistance, but -we will cut the unpopular part as short as may be and merely add that it -was high noon ere, after three hours’ work—puzzling out problems and -paradoxes, now following a false clue, anon recovering the true -one—that at last the big spoor on dry land once more rejoiced our -sight. More than that, it now bears evidence—to eyes that can -read—that our stag is approaching his selected stronghold. He goes -slowly. Here he has stopped to survey his rear—there he has lingered to -nibble a genista, and the spoor zigzags to and fro. Now it turns at -sharp angle, following a cheek-wind, and a suggestive grove of cork-oaks -embedded in heavy bush lies ahead. One hunter opines the stag lies up -here: the other doubts. No half-measures suffice. We turn down-wind, -detouring to reach the main outlet (<i>salida</i>) to leeward; here I remain -hidden, while my companions, separating on right and left, proceed to -encircle the <i>mancha</i>. Two hinds break hard by, and presently Juan -returns with word that the stag has passed through the covert—better -still, that a second big beast has joined the first, and that the double -spoor, moving dead-slow and three-quarters up wind, proceeds due north. -Another mile and then right ahead lies heavy covert, but long and -straggling, and the halting trail indicates this as a certain find.</p> - -<p>The strategic position is simple, but tactics, for a single gun,<a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a> leave -endless scope for decision. Our first rule in all such cases is to get -<i>close in</i>, risk what it may. Hence, while my companions separated, as -before, to encircle the covert from right and left, the writer crept -forward yard by yard till a fairly broad and convenient open suggested -the final stand.</p> - -<p>Not ten minutes had elapsed, nor had a sound reached my ears, when as by -magic the figure of a majestic stag filled a glade on the left—what a -picture, as with head erect he daintily picked his unconscious way! -Clearly he suspected nothing <i>here</i>; but, having got sense, sight, or -scent of Juan far beyond, was astutely moving away, with intelligent -anticipation, to safer retreat. The shot was of the simplest, and merely -black antlers crowned with triple ivory tips marked the fatal point -among deep green rushes.</p> - -<p>Now when two big stags fraternise, as they frequently do, it usually -happens that, when pressed, both animals will finally seek the same -exit, even though a shot has already been fired there. I had accordingly -instructed the keepers that in the event of my firing, each should -discharge his gun in the air, at the same time loosing one dog. The -expected shots now rang out, presently followed by a crashing in the -brushwood. This proved to be caused by a handful of hinds with, alas! -the loose dog baying at their heels. The adverse odds had fallen to -zero, till Juan, divining what had occurred, fired again and slipt the -other dog. Anxious minutes slowly passed while my two biped -sleuth-hounds on the other side gradually, yard by yard, made good their -advance; for the wit and wiles, the practised cunning of an old stag -when thus cornered, need every scrap of our human skill to out-general, -and nothing to spare at that. But that skill was not at fault to-day, -and in the thick of the <i>mancha</i>, Manuel presently “jumped†the recusant -hart from almost beneath his feet, and his view-halloa reached expectant -ears.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 107px;"> -<a href="images/ill_031_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_031_sml.jpg" width="107" height="164" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Then, within a few yards of the spot where No. 1 had silently appeared, -out bounced No. 2, but in widely different style. In huge bounds, with -head and neck horizontal and antlers laid flat aback, he covered the -open like a racer. The first shot got in too far back, but the second -went right, and the two friends lay not divided in death. Both were -<i>coronados</i> (triple-crowned), indeed the second carried<a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a> four-on-top in -double pairs as sketched—a not uncommon formation—but being very old, -lacked bez tines.</p> - -<p>Very nearly five hours had elapsed since we had first struck the spoor, -five hours of concentrated attention, crowned by the final assertion of -human “dominion.†And during these moments of permissible expansion, -there was impressed on our minds the fact that such success involves -mastery of a difficult craft.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_032_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_032_sml.jpg" width="275" height="376" alt="“TAKING THE WIND†- -(A stag, on recognising human scent, will give a bound as though a knife -had been plunged into his heart.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“TAKING THE WINDâ€<br /> -(A stag, on recognising human scent, will give a bound as though a knife<br /> -had been plunged into his heart.)</span> -</p> - -<p>Illustrative of how astutely a cornered stag will exploit every device -and avenue of escape, an excellent instance is given in <i>Wild Spain</i>, p. -434.</p> - -<p>Skilled deer-driving is a different undertaking from the <i>force majeure</i> -by which pheasants and such-like game may be pushed over a line of guns. -For deer do not act on timid impulse, but on practical instinct. Scent -is their first safeguard when danger<a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a> threatens and their natural flight -is up-wind. But as it is obviously impossible to place guns to windward, -the operation resolves itself into moving the game—dead against its -instinct and set inclination—down-wind, or at least on a “half-wind.†-The latter is easier as an operation, but less effective in result: -since the guns must be posted in echelon—otherwise each “gives the -wind†to his next neighbour below. Consequently the firing-zone of each -is greatly circumscribed.</p> - -<p>In practice, therefore, the game has to be moved or cajoled—it can -hardly be said to be “driven‗into going, at least so far, down-wind by -skilled handling of the driving-line and by intelligent co-operation on -the part of each individual driver. In the great mountain-drives of the -sierras (elsewhere described) packs of hounds, being carefully trained, -perform infinite service. Always under control of their huntsman, they -systematically search out thickets impenetrable to man and push all game -forward. In the Coto Doñana, our scratch-pack of <i>podencos</i> and mongrels -of every degree, run riot unchecked at hind, hare, or rabbit, giving -tongue in all directions at once, and probably do as much harm as good.</p> - -<p>Our mounted keepers, however, expert in divining afar the yet unformed -designs of the game ahead, are quick to counter each move by a feint or -demonstration behind; and when desirable, to forestall attempted escape -by resolute riding. The Spanish are a nation of horsemen, and a fine -sight it is to see these wild guardas galloping helter-skelter through -scrub that reaches the saddle—especially the way they ride down a -wounded stag or boar with the <i>garrocha</i>—a long wooden lance.</p> - -<p>Despite it all, however, many stags break back. Riding with the beaters -it is instructive to watch the manÅ“uvres of an old stag as, sinking -from sight, he couches among quite low scrub on some hillock, or stands -statuesque with horns aback hiding behind a clump of tall -tree-heaths—alert all the while, stealthily to shift his position as -yapping <i>podencos</i> on one side or the other may suggest—and watching -each opportunity to evade the encompassing danger. Now a stretch of -denser jungle obstructs the advancing line. The beaters are forced apart -to pass it, and a gap or two yawns in the attack. Instantly that -introspective wild beast realises his advantage—he springs to sight, -ignores Spanish expletives that scorch the scrub, and in giant bounds<a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a> -breaks back in the very face of encircling foes. Within thirty seconds -he has regained security amid leagues of untrodden wilds.</p> - -<p>Some years ago we tried the plan of placing one (or two) guns with the -driving-line; but the experiment proved impracticable. Obviously only -the coolest and most reliable men could be trusted in an essay which -otherwise involved danger. Unfortunately—and it is but human -nature—every one considers himself equally cool and reliable. Hence the -breakdown and abandonment of the practice. For the long line of beaters, -struggling at different points through obstacles of varying difficulty, -necessarily loses precise formation; it becomes more or less broken and -scattered. Here and there a man may get “stuck†and left a hundred yards -behind the general advance. The risk in “firing back†is obvious. The -writer remembers being one of two guns with the beaters, when a pair of -stags, jumping up close ahead, bolted straight back, passing almost -within arm’s length. As the second carried a fairly good head, I -dismounted and shot it, but was then horrified to discover that my -companion-gun had (contrary to all rules) gone back in that very -direction to shoot a <i>woodcock</i>!</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Driving Big Game</span></p> - -<p>On “driving†as such we do not propose to enlarge. The system is simple -though the practice is subject to variation. On the gently undulated -levels of Doñana, for example, the latter (as already indicated) is -widely differentiated from the systems practised in mountainous -countries—whether in Scotland or the Spanish sierras—where shots can -safely be accepted at incoming or at passing game. Guns are there -protected from danger by intervening ridges, crags, and piled-up rocks -that flank each “pass.†Here the game must be left to pass well through -and outside the line of guns before a shot is permissible.</p> - -<p>Our “drives,†whether in forest or scrub, seldom exceed a couple of -miles in extent; but in wild regions where isolated patches of covert -are scattered, inset amid wastes of sand, the area may be extended to -half a day’s ride. These long scrambling drives gain enhanced interest -to a naturalist in precisely inverse ratio with their probability of -success.</p> - -<p>In a big-game drive the first animals to come forward are,<a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a> as a rule, -foxes and lynxes—creatures which move on impulse, and instantly quit a -zone where danger threatens. Both, however, will certainly pass unseen -should there be any scrub to conceal their retreat. The lynx especially -is adept at utilising cover, however slight. Should open patches or -sandy glades occur among the bush, foxes will be viewed bundling along, -to all appearance quite carelessly. Here in Spain foxes are merely -“verminâ€; but it is a mistake to shoot them, owing to the risk of -thereby turning back better game. Neither lynx nor fox, by the way, are -accounted <i>caza mayor</i> unless killed with a bullet.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_033_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_033_sml.jpg" width="372" height="254" alt="SYLVIA MELANOCEPHALA - -(Sardinian warbler; conspicuous by its strong colour-contrasts.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SYLVIA MELANOCEPHALA<br /> -(Sardinian warbler; conspicuous by its strong colour-contrasts.)</span> -</p> - -<p>As elsewhere mentioned, there is always a considerable possibility at -the earlier period of a “drive†(and even <i>before</i> the operation has -actually commenced) of some old and highly experienced stag attempting -to slip through the line in the calculated hope (which is often well -founded) that he will thereby take most of the guns by surprise and so -escape unshot at. Never be unready.</p> - -<p>Although in “driving,†that element of ceaseless personal effort, -observation and self-reliance that characterise stalking, still-hunting, -or spooring, is necessarily reduced, yet it is by no means eliminated. -Nor are there lacking compensating charms in those hours of silent -expectancy spent in the solitude of jungle or amid the aromatic -fragrance of pine-forest. Every<a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a> sense is held in tension to mark and -measure each sign or sound; ‘tis but the fall of a pine-cone that has -caught your ear, but it might easily have been a single footfall of -game. The wild-life of the wilderness pursues its daily course around -unconscious of a concealed intruder in its midst. Overhead, busy -hawfinches wrestle with ripening cones, swinging in gymnastic attitude. -These are silent. You have first become aware of their presence by a -shower of scales gently fluttering down upon the shrubbery of genista -and rosemary alongside, amidst the depths of which lovely French-grey -warblers with jet-black skull-caps (<i>Sylvia melanocephala</i>) pursue -insect-prey with furious energy—dashing into the tangle of stems -reckless of damage to tender plumes. There are other bush-skulkers -infinitely more reclusive than these—some indeed whose mere existence -one could never hope to verify (in winter) save by patience and these -hours of silent watching. Such are the Fantail, Cetti’s, and Dartford -warblers, while among sedge and cane-brake alert reed-climbers beguile -and delight these spells of waiting. Soldier-ants and horned beetles -with laborious gait, but obvious fixity of purpose, pursue their even -way, surmounting all obstruction—such as boot or cartridge-bag. Earth -and air alike are instinct with humble life.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 253px;"> -<a href="images/ill_034_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_034_sml.jpg" width="253" height="348" alt="REED-CLIMBERS" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">REED-CLIMBERS</span> -</div> - -<p>To a northerner it is hard to believe that this is mid-winter, when -almost every tree remains leaf-clad, the brushwood green and -flower-spangled. Arbutus, rosemary, and tree-heath are already in bloom, -while bees buzz in shoulder-high heather and suck honey from its -tricoloured blossoms—purple, pink, and<a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a> violet. Strange diptera and -winged creatures of many sorts and sizes, from gnat and midge to savage -dragon-flies, rustle and drone in one’s ear or poise on iridescent wing -in the sunlight, and the hateful hiss of the mosquito mingles with the -insect-melody. Over each open flower of rock-rose or cistus hovers the -humming-bird hawk-moth with, more rarely, one of the larger sphinxes -(<i>S. convolvuli</i>), each with long proboscis inserted deep in tender -calyx. Not even the butterflies are entirely absent. We have noticed -gorgeous species at Christmas time, including clouded yellows, painted -lady and red admiral, southern wood-argus, Bath white, <i>Lycaena -telicanus</i>, <i>Thäis polyxena</i>, <i>Megaera</i>, and many more. On the warm sand -at midday bask pretty green and spotted lizards,<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> apparently asleep, -but alert to dart off on slightest alarm, disappearing like a thought in -some crevice of the cistus stems.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 286px;"> -<a href="images/ill_035_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_035_sml.jpg" width="286" height="175" alt="GREAT GREY SHRIKE (Lanius meridionalis)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GREAT GREY SHRIKE (Lanius meridionalis)</span> -</div> - -<p>Hard by a winter-wandering hoopoe struts in an open glade, prodding the -earth with curved bill and crest laid back like a “claw-hammerâ€; from a -tall cistus-spray the southern grey shrike mumbles his harsh soliloquy, -and chattering magpies everywhere surmount the evergreen bush. Where the -warm sunshine induces untimely ripening of the tamarisk, some brightly -coloured birds flicker around pecking at the buds. They appear to be -chaffinches, but a glance through the glass identifies them as -bramblings—arctic migrants that we have shot here in midwinter with -full black heads—in “breeding-plumage†as some call it, though it is -merely the result of the wearing-away of the original grey fringe to -each feather, thus exposing the glossy violet-black bases.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_036_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_036_sml.jpg" width="380" height="328" alt="SPANISH GREEN WOODPECKER (Gecinus sharpei) -(1) Alighting. -(2) Calling." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SPANISH GREEN WOODPECKER (Gecinus sharpei)<br /> -(1) Alighting. <span style="margin-left: 5em;">(2) Calling.</span></span> -</p> - -<p>Birds, as a broad rule, possess no “breeding-plumage.†They only renew -their dress once a year, in the autumn, and breed the<a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a> following spring -in the worn and ragged plumes. It’s not poetic, but the fact.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> This -is not the place to enumerate all the characteristic forms of bird-life, -and only one other shall be mentioned, chiefly because the incident -occurred the day we drafted this chapter. One hears behind the rustle of -strong wings, and there passes overhead in dipping, undulated flight a -green woodpecker of the Spanish species, <i>Gecinus sharpei</i>. With a -regular thud he alights on the rough bark of a cork-oak in front, clings -in rigid aplomb while surveying the spot for any sign of danger, then -projects upwards a snake-like neck and with vertical beak gives forth a -series of maniacal shrieks that resound through the silences.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> By all -means watch and study every phase of wild-life<a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a> around you—the habit -will leave green memories when the keener zest for bigger game shall -have dimmed—but never be caught napping, or let a silent stag pass by -while your whole attention is concentrated on a tarantula!</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 181px;"> -<a href="images/ill_037_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_037_sml.jpg" width="181" height="137" alt="A TARANTULA" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A TARANTULA</span> -</div> - -<p>By way of illustrating the practice of “driving,†we annex three or four -typical instances:—</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Las Angosturas</span>, <i>February 5, 1907</i>.—The writer’s post was in a green -glade surrounded by pine-forest. A heavy rush behind was succeeded (as -anticipated) by the appearance of a big troop of hinds followed by two -small staggies. A considerable distance behind these came a single good -stag, and already the sights had covered his shoulder, when from the -corner of an eye a second, with far finer head, flashed into the -picture, going hard, and I decided to change beasts. It was, however, -too late. Half automatically, while eyes wandered, fingers had closed on -trigger. At the shot the better stag bounded off with great uneven -strides through the timber, offering but an uncertain mark. Both -animals, however, were recovered. The first, an eleven-pointer, lay dead -at the exact spot; the second was brought to bay within 300 yards, a -fine royal.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Los Novarbos</span>, <i>January 9, 1903</i>.—My post was among a grove of -pine-saplings in a lovely open plain surrounded by forest. Two good -stags trotted past, full broadside, at 80 yards. The first dropped in a -heap, as though pole-axed, the second receiving a ball that clearly -indicated a kill. While reloading, noticed with surprise that No. 1 had -regained his legs and was off at speed. A third bullet struck behind; -but it was not till two hours later, after blood-spooring for half a -league, that we recovered our game. The first shot had struck a horn (at -junction of trez tine) cutting it clean in two. This had momentarily -stunned the animal, but the effect had passed off within<a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a> ten seconds. -Both were ten-pointers, with strong black horns, ivory-tipped. During -that afternoon I got & big boar at Maë-Corra; and B., who had set out at -4 <small>A.M.</small>, twenty-three geese at the Cardo-Inchal.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Far North</span>, <i>January 31, 1907</i>.—First beat by the “Eagles’ Nest†(in the -biggest cork-oak we ever saw, the imperial bird soaring off as we rode -up). Brushwood everywhere tall and dense, giving no view. On placing me -the keeper remarked, “By this little glade (<i>canuto</i>) deer <i>must</i> break, -but amidst such jungle will need <i>un tiro de merito</i>!†Four stags broke, -two were missed, but one secured—seven points on one horn, the other -broken. So dense is the bush here that a lynx ran almost over the -writer’s post, yet had vanished from sight ere gun could be brought to -shoulder. In the next beat, La Querencia del Macho (again all dense -bush), B. shot two really grand companion stags, but again one of these -had a broken horn. This animal while at bay so injured the spine of one -of our dogs that it had to be killed two days later.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> A third beat -added one more big stag, and the day’s result—four stags with only two -“heads‗is so curious that we give the detail:—</p> - -<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="center"> Length.</td><td align="center"> Breadth.</td><td align="center"> Points.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">W. E. B.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></td><td align="center"> 23½ â€</td><td align="center"> (One horn)</td><td align="left"> 7 × 2</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">W. J. B. (No. 1)</td><td align="center"> 28â€</td><td align="center"> Do.</td><td align="left"> 6 × 2</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">W. J. B. (No. 2)</td><td align="center"> 25â€Ã— 25â€</td><td align="center"> 25â€</td><td align="left"> 7 × 6 = 13</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">A. C.</td><td align="center"> 26â€Ã— 24â€</td><td align="center"> 20½ â€</td><td align="left"> 6 × 5 = 11</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Amidst forest or in dense jungle (such as last described) where no -distant view is possible, it is usually advisable to watch -outwards—that is, with back towards the beat, relying on <i>ears</i><a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a> to -give notice of the movements of game within. But in (more or less) open -country where a view, oneself unseen, can be obtained afar, the -situation is modified. The following is an example:—</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Corral Quemado</span>, <i>February 1, 1909</i>.—The authors occupied the two -outmost posts on a high sand-ridge which commanded an introspect far -away into the heart of the covert. Already before the distant signal had -announced that the converging lines of beaters had joined, suddenly an -apparition showed up. Some 300 yards away a low pine-clad ridge -traversed the forest horizon, and in that moment the shadows beneath -became, as by magic, illumined by an inspiring spectacle—the tracery of -great spreading antlers surmounting the sunlit grey face and neck of a -glorious stag. For twenty seconds the apparition (and we) remained -statuesque as cast in bronze. Then, with the suddenness and silence of a -shifting shadow, the deep shade was vacant once more. The stag had -retired. It boots not to recall those agonies of self-reproach that -gnawed one’s very being. Suffice it, they were undeserved; for five or -six minutes later that stag reappeared, leisurely cantering forward. -Clearly no specific sign or suspicion of danger ahead had struck his -mind or dictated that retirement. But his course was now, by mere chance -and uncalculated cunning, 300 yards outside the sphere of your humble -servants, the authors. That stag was now about to offer a chance to gun -No. 3, instead of, as originally, to Nos. 1 and 2. Eagerly we both -watched his course, now halting on some ridge to reconnoitre, gaze -shifting, and ears deflecting hither and thither, anon making good -another stage towards the goal of escape. A long shallow <i>canuto</i> -(hollow) concealed his bulk from view, but we now saw by the bunchy -“show†on top that this was a prize of no mean merit. Then came the -climax. Rising the slope which ended the <i>canuto</i>, in an instant the -stag stopped, petrified. Straight on in front of him, not 100 yards -ahead, lay No. 3 gun, and the fatal fact had been discovered. It may -have been an untimely movement, perhaps a glint of sunray on exposed -gun-barrel, or merely the outline of a cap three inches too high—anyway -the ambush had been detected, and now the stag swung at right angles and -sought in giant bounds to pass behind No. 2. It was a long<a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a> shot, very -fast, and intercepted by intervening trees and bush—the second barrel -directed merely at a vanishing stern. Yet such was our confidence in the -aim—in both aims—that not even the subsequent sight of our antlered -friend jauntily cantering away down the long stretch of Los Tendidos -impaired by one iota its self-assurance. For a mile and more we followed -that bloodless spoor, far beyond the point whereat the keeper’s solemn -verdict had been pronounced, “No lleva náda—that stag goes scot-free.†-As usual, that verdict was correct.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_038_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_038_sml.jpg" width="247" height="382" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p>An incident worth note had occurred meanwhile. On the extreme left of -our line, a mile away, two stags out of four that broke across the -sand-wastes had been killed; and these, while we yet remained on the -scene (though a trifle delayed by fruitless spooring) had already been -attacked and torn open by a descending swarm of vultures. That, in -Africa, is a daily experience, but never, before or since, have we -witnessed such unseemly voracity in Europe.<a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Majada Real.</span>—This is the one lowland covert where shots are permissible -at incoming game. Being flanked on the west by gigantic sand-dunes, the -guns (under certain conditions) may be lined out a couple of miles away, -along the outskirts of the next nearest covert—the idea being to take -the stags as they canter across the intervening dunes. The conditions -referred to are (1) a straight east wind, and (2) reliable guns. -Obviously the element of <i>danger</i> under this plan is vastly increased, -and as the keepers are responsible for any accident, they are reluctant -to execute the drive thus save only when their confidence in the guns is -complete.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> A careless man on a grouse-drive is dangerous enough; but -here, with rifle-bullets, a reckless shot may spell death. The -“in-drive,†nevertheless, is both curious and interesting. A spectacle -one does not forget is afforded when the far-away skyline of dazzling -sand is suddenly surmounted by spreading antlers, and some great hart, -perhaps a dozen of them, come trotting all unconscious directly towards -the eager eyes watching and waiting. The effect of a shot under these -conditions is frequently to turn the game off at right angles. The deer -then hold a course parallel with the covert-side, thus running the -gauntlet of several guns, and the question of “first blood†may become a -moot point—easily determined, however, by reference to the spoor. Boar -naturally are averse to take such open ground; but when severely -pressed, we have on occasion seen them scurrying across these Saharan -sands, a singular sight under the midday sun.</p> - -<p>To introspective minds two points may have showed up in these rough -outline illustrations. First, that the best stags are ever the earliest -amove when danger threatens. These not seldom escape ere a slovenly -gunner is aware that the beat has begun. The moral is clear. Secondly, -as these bigger and older beasts exhibit fraternal tendencies, it -follows that a first chance (whether availed or bungled) need not -necessarily be the last.</p> - -<p>Besides deer, it is quite usual that wild-boar, as well as lynxes and -other minor animals, come forward on these “drives.†The divergent -nature of pig, however, renders a<a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a> more specialised system advisable -when wild-boar only are the objective. For whereas the aboriginal stag -seeking a “lie-up†wherein to pass the daylight hours was satisfied by -any sequestered spot that afforded shelter and shade from the sun, that -was never the case with the jungle-loving boar. To the stag strong -jungle and heavy brushwood were ever abhorrent, handicapping his light -build and branching antlers. Clumps of tall reed-grass or three-foot -rushes, a patch of cistus or rosemary, amply fulfilled his diurnal -ideals and requirements. Nowadays, it is true, the expanded sense of -danger, the increasing pressure of modern life—even cervine life—force -him to select strongholds which offer greater security though less -convenience. The wild-boar, on the reverse, with lower carriage and -pachydermatous hide, instinctively seeks the very heaviest jungle within -his radius—the more densely briar-matted and impenetrable the better he -loves it.</p> - -<p>Many such holts—some of them may be but a few yards in extent—are -necessarily passed untried both by dogs and men when engaged in -“driving†extended areas, sometimes miles of consecutive forest and -covert. The somnolent boar hears the passing tumult, lifts a grisly -head, grunts an angry soliloquy, and goes to sleep again, secure. -Another day you have returned expressly to pay specific attention to -him. In brief space he has diagnosed the difference in attack. Instantly -that boar is alert, ready to repel or scatter the enemy, come who may, -on two legs or four.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_039_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_039_sml.jpg" width="328" height="154" alt="HOOPOES - -On the lawn at Jerez, March 19, 1910." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">HOOPOES - -On the lawn at Jerez, March 19, 1910.</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /><br /> -ANDALUCIA AND ITS BIG GAME (<i>Continued</i>)<br /><br /> -<small>WILD-BOAR</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">F<small>ROM</small> one’s earliest days the wild-boar has been invested with a sort of -halo of romance, identified in youthful mind with grim courage and brute -strength. Perhaps his grisly front, the vicious bloodshot eyes, savage -snorts, and generally malignant demeanour, lend substance to such idea. -But even among adults there exists in the popular mind a strange mixture -of misconception as between big game and dangerous game—to hundreds the -terms are synonymous. Thus a lady, inspecting our trophies, exclaimed, -“Oh, Mr.——, aren’t these beasts very treacherous?†which almost -provoked the reply, “You see, we are even more treacherous!â€</p> - -<p>In sober truth, nevertheless, a big old boar when held up at bay, or -charging in headlong rushes upon the dogs, his wicked eyes flashing -fire, and foam flying from his jaws as tushes clash and champ, presents -as pretty a picture of brute-fury and pluck as even a world-hunter may -wish to enjoy.</p> - -<p>Yet among hundreds of boars that we have killed or seen killed (though -dogs are caught continually, and occasionally a horse), there has never -occurred a serious accident to the hunter, and only a few narrow -escapes.</p> - -<p>As an example of the latter: the keeper, while “placing†the writer -among bush-clad dunes outside the Mancha of Majada Real, mentioned that -a very big boar often frequented some heavy rush-beds on my front. -“Should the dogs give tongue to pig at that point, your Excellency will -at once run in to the function.†Such were his instructions.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_040_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_040_sml.jpg" width="267" height="377" alt="ROOM FOR TWO" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ROOM FOR TWO</span> -</p> - -<p>At the point indicated the dogs bayed unmistakably, and seizing a light -single carbine, ·303 (as there was a stretch of heavy<a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a> sand to cover) I -ran in. Arriving at the covert and already close up to the music, -suddenly the “bay†broke, and I felt the bitter annoyance of being -twenty seconds too slow. I had entered by a narrow game-path, and was -still hurrying up this when I met the flying boar face to face. By -chance he had selected the same track for his retreat! As we both were -moving, and certainly not six yards apart, there was barely time to pull -off the carbine in the boar’s face and throw myself back against the -wall of matted jungle on my left. Next moment the grizzly head and -curving ivories flashed past within six inches of my nose! The spring he -had given carried the boar a yard past me, and there he stopped, -stern-on, champing and grunting, both tushes visible—I could see them -in horrid projection, on either side of the snout! I had brought the -empty carbine to the “carry,†so as to use it bayonet-wise, to ward the -brute off my legs; but he remained stolidly where<a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a> he had stopped, and, -as may be imagined, I stood stolid too. As it proved, the bullet, -entering top of shoulder, had traversed the vitals—hence the cessation -of hostilities. A few moments later the arrival of the dogs terminated -an untoward interval.</p> - -<p>On another occasion at the Veta de las Conchas, amidst the lovely -<i>pinales</i>, just as the beat was concluded, there dashed from a small -thicket a troop of a dozen pig, making direct for the solitary pine -behind which the writer held guard. Passing full broadside, at thirty -yards the biggest dropped dead on the sand, and, just as the troop -disappeared in a donga, a second, it seemed, was knocked over. On the -beaters approaching I walked across to see, and there, in the hollow, -lay the second pig apparently dead enough. Having picked up my -field-glasses, cartridge-pouch, etc., I stood close by awaiting the -keeper’s arrival. Three or four dogs, however, following on the spoor, -arrived first; and on their worrying the deceased, it at once sprang to -its feet, gazed for one instant, and charged direct. Never have I seen -an animal cover twenty yards more quickly! Dropping the handful of -<i>chismes</i> aforesaid, I pulled off an unaimed cartridge in my assailant’s -face and a lucky bullet struck rather below the eyes. This is not a dead -shot, but the shock at that short distance proved sufficient.</p> - -<p>An amusing incident, not dissimilar, occurred at Salavar. A youthful -sportsman was approaching a boar which had fallen and lay apparently -dead, when it, too, suddenly sprang up and charged. Our friend turned -and fled; but, tripping over a fallen branch, fell headlong amidst the -green rushes. There, face-downwards, he lay, preferring, as he explained -later, “to receive his wound behind rather than have his face messed -about by a boar!†Luckily the animal, on losing sight of its flying foe, -pulled up and stood, grunting surprise and disapproval.</p> - -<p>A similar experience befell King Alfonso XIII. in this Mancha of -Salavar, December 29, 1909. We need not tell English readers that His -Majesty proved equal to this, as to every occasion, and dropped his -adversary at arm’s length.</p> - -<p>When one reads (as we do) descriptions of big-game hunting, a recurring -expression gives pause—that of “charging.†A recent discussion in a -sporting paper turned on the question of “the best weapon for a charging -boar.†Now such a thing as a “charging boar†has never, in a long -experience, occurred<a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a> to the authors—that is, a boar charging -deliberately, and of its own initiative, upon human beings; and we do -not believe in the possibility of such an event. Of course should a boar -(or any other savage animal) be disabled, or in a corner, that is a -different matter—then a wild-boar will fight, and right gallantly too.</p> - -<p>The nearest approach to a “charge†(though it wasn’t one really) -occurred at the Rincon de los Carrizos. Towards the end of the beat the -dogs ran a pig, and, seeing it was a big one, the writer followed, and -after a spin of 300 yards overtook the boar at bay in a deep water-hole. -The place was all overhung with heavy foliage and thick pines above, -giving very poor light. Though the boar’s snout pointed straight towards -me about ten yards away, I imagined (wrongly) that his body stood at an -angle—about one-third broadside: hence the bullet (aimed past the ear), -splashed harmlessly in the water, and next moment the pig was coming -straight as a die, apparently meaning mischief. When within five yards, -however, he jinked sharply to right, passing full broadside, when I -killed him <i>á-boca-jarro</i>, as the phrase runs, “at the mouth of the -spout.â€</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 291px;"> -<a href="images/ill_041_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_041_sml.jpg" width="291" height="267" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>That idea of “charging at large†is so splendidly romantic, and fits in -so appropriately with preconceived ideas, that we almost regret to -disturb its semi-fossilised acceptance. But, in mere fact, neither boars -nor any other wild beasts “charge†at sight—always and only excepting -elephant and rhinoceros, either of which <i>may</i> (or may not) do so, -though previously unprovoked. It would, at least, be unwise entirely to -ignore the contingency of either of these two so acting.</p> - -<p>There exist, nevertheless, old and evil-tempered boars that<a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a> are quite -formidable adversaries. We have many such in our Coto Doñana—boars -that, having once overmastered our hounds, practically defy us. Each of -these old solitary tuskers occupies some densely briared stronghold—it -may be but an isolated patch of jungle, scarce half an acre in extent, -or alternatively, a little sequence of similar thickets, each connected -by intervals of lighter bush. Such spots abound by the hundred, but once -the lair of our bristled friend is found, then there is work cut out for -man, horse, and hound. For long-drawn-out minutes the silence of the -wilderness re-echoes with doubly concentrated fury—frantic hound-music -mingled with lower accompaniment of sullen, savage snorts and grunts and -the champing of tusks; then a sharp crunch of breaking boughs ... and -the death-yell of a <i>podenco</i> tells that <i>that</i> blow has got home. But -the seat of war remains unchanged—the same rush and the same fatal -result are repeated. Presently some venturous hound may discover an -entry from behind. The enemy’s flank is turned, and with a crash that -seems to shake the very earth, our boar retreats to a second stronghold -only twenty yards away. All this is occurring within arm’s length; one -hears, can almost feel, the stress of mortal combat, but one sees -nothing inside the mural foliage, nor knows what moment the enemy may -sally forth. Such moments may even excite what are termed in Spanish -phrase “emotions.â€</p> - -<p>In his second “Plevna†our boar is secure, and he knows it. With rear -and flanks protected by a <i>revêtement</i> of gnarled roots and a labyrinth -of stems, he fears nothing behind, while the furiously baying hounds on -his front he now utterly despises. Blank shots fired in the air alarm -him not, nor will Pepe Espinal—in a service of danger—succeed in -dislodging him with a <i>garrocha</i>, after a perilous climb along the -briar-matted roof. That boar is victor—master of a stricken field.</p> - -<p>One human resource remains, to go in <i>á arma blanca</i>—with the cold -steel. There are dashing spirits who will do this—in Spain we have seen -such. But to crawl thus, prostrate, into the dark and gloomy tunnels -that form a wild-boar’s fortress, intercepted and obstructed on every -side, there to attack in single combat a savage beast, still unhurt and -in the flush of victory, pachydermatous, and whose fighting weight far -exceeds your own—well, <i>that</i> we place in the category of pure -recklessness.<a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a> Courage is a quality that all admire, though one may -wonder if it is not sometimes over-esteemed, when we find it possessed -in common, not only by very many wild-beasts, but even by savage races -of human kind—races which we regard as “lower,†yet not inferior in -that cherished quality of “pluck.â€</p> - -<p>Before you crawl in there, stop to think of the annoyance the act may -cause not merely to our hunt, but possibly to a wife, otherwise to -sisters, friends, or hospital nurses, even, it may be, to an -undertaker—though he will not object.</p> - -<p>Once victorious over canine foes, it will be a remote chance indeed that -that boar, unless caught by mishap in some carelessly chosen lair, will -ever again show up as a mark for the fore-sight of a rifle.</p> - -<p>After one such rout, we remember finding our friend the Reverend Father, -who had sallied forth with us for a mild morning’s shooting, perched -high up among the branches of a thorny <i>sabina</i> (a kind of juniper), -whence we rescued him, cut and bleeding, and badly “shaken in nerve!â€</p> - -<p>We add the following typical instances of boar-shooting:—</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Salavar</span>, <i>February 1, 1900</i>.—A lovely winter’s morn, warm sun and dead -calm. The distant cries of the beaters (nigh three miles away) had just -reached my ears, when a nearer sound riveted attention—the soft patter -of hoofs upon sand. Then from the forest-slope behind appeared a -pig—big and grey—trotting through deep rushes some forty yards away. -Already the fore-sight was “touching on†its neck, when a lucky -suspicion of striped piglings following their mother arrested the ball. -Next came along a gentle hind with all her infinite grace of contour and -carriage. At twenty-five yards she faced full round, and for long -seconds we stared eye to eye. Curious it is that absolute quiescence -will puzzle the wildest of the wild! Hardly had she vanished ‘midst -forest shades, than once again that muffled patter—this time an -unmistakable tusker. But, oh! what an abominable shot I made—too low, -too far back—and onwards he pursued his course. By our forest laws it -was my <i>deber</i> (bounden duty) to follow the stricken game. All that -noontide, all the afternoon—through bush and brake, by dell and dusky -defile—patiently, persistently, did Juanillo Espinal and I follow every -twist and turn of that unending spoor. There was blood to help us at -first, none thereafter. Through the thickets of<a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a> Sabinal, then back on -the left by Maë-Corra, forward through the Carrizal, thence crossing the -Corral Grande, and away into the great <i>pinales</i> beyond—away to the -Rincon de los Carrizos, three solid leagues and a bit to spare! That was -the price of a bungled shot.</p> - -<p>Here at last we have tracked him to his lair. Within that sullen -fortress of the Rincon lies our wounded boar. How to get him out is a -different problem. Though wounded, he is in no way disabled, and is -ready, aye “spoiling,†to put up a savage fight for his life. Having -precisely located him in a dense tangle of lentisk and briar, our single -dog, Careto, a tall, shaggy <i>podenco</i>, not unlike a deerhound, but on -smaller scale, is let go. Up a gloomy game-path he vanishes, and in a -moment fierce music startles the silent woods. The boar refused to move. -But one resource remained. We must go in to help Careto, crawling up a -briar-laced tunnel. It was horribly dark at first, and I began to think -of ... when, fortunately, the light improved, and a few yards farther in -a savage scene was enacting in quite a considerable open. Beneath its -brambled roof we could stand half upright. In its farthest corner stood -our boar at bay, a picture of sullen ferocity. Upon Juanillo’s -appearance the scene changed as by magic—there was a rush and -resounding crash. Precisely what happened during the three succeeding -seconds deponent could not see, it being so gloomy, and Juanillo on my -front. Ere a cartridge could be shoved into the breech the great boar -was held up, Careto hanging on to his right ear, and Juanillo, springing -over the dog, had seized the grisly beast by both hind-legs—at the -hocks—and stepping backward, with one mighty heave flung the boar -sidelong on the earth. Next moment I had driven the knife through his -heart.</p> - -<p>Though the method described is regularly employed by Spanish hunters to -seize and capture a wounded or “bayed†boar—and we have seen it -executed dozens of times—yet seldom in such a spot as this, cramped in -space, handicapped by bad light and intercepting boughs and briars. It -was a dramatic scene, and a bold act that bespoke cool head and brawny -biceps.</p> - -<p>The head of this boar hangs on our walls to commemorate an event we are -not likely to forget.</p> - -<p>We remember following a wounded lynx into a similar spot—a deep -hollowed jungle. A pandemonium of savage snarling<a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a> and spitting, barks -and yowls greeted our ears as we crawled in, while on reaching the -cavern the green eyes of the lynx flashed like electric lights from a -dark recess. Though one hind-leg had been broken and the other damaged -by a rifle-ball, yet she held easy mastery over five or six dogs. -Sitting bolt upright, she kept the lot at bay with sweeping half-arm -blows. Not a dog dared close, and the brave feline had to be finished -with the lance.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mancha del Milagro</span>, <i>February 4, 1908</i>.—The covert, we knew by spoor, -held a first-rate boar, and his most probable <i>salida</i> (break-out) was -at the foot of a perpendicular sand-wall, within fifty yards of which -the writer held guard. Within brief minutes the music of the pack -corroborated what had been foretold by spoor. Twice the boar with -crashing course encircled the <i>mancha</i> within, passing close inside my -post. Each moment I watched for his appearance at the expected point on -the right. Then, without notice or sound of broken bough, suddenly he -stood outside on the left—almost beneath the gun’s muzzle—not eight -feet away. Luckily (as he stood within my firing-lines) the boar -steadfastly gazed in the opposite direction, nor did I seek by slightest -movement to attract attention to my presence. For some seconds we both -remained thus, rigid. Then with sudden decision the boar bounded off, -flying the gentle slope in front, and ere he had passed a yard clear of -the firing-line, fell dead with a bullet placed in the precise spot.</p> - -<p>Weight, 164 lbs. clean, and grey as a donkey.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>A wounded boar should always be approached with caution. Remember he is -a powerful brute, very resolute, and furnished with quite formidable -armament, which, while life remains, he will use. One of the biggest, -after receiving a bullet slightly below and behind the heart, went -slowly on some fifty yards, when he subsided, back up, among some green -iris. Half an hour later the writer silently approached from directly -behind. At ten yards the heaving flanks showed that plenty of life -remained, and beautiful scimitar-like tushes were conspicuous enough on -either side. I therefore quietly withdrew. On a keeper presently riding -up, the boar at once dashed on a dog, flung him aside (laying open half -his ribs), and charged the horse. The latter was smartly handled and -cleared, when the boar instantly turned on<a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a> me. The dash of that onset -was splendid to watch. Luckily he had a yard or two of soft bog to get -through, but it was necessary to stop him with another bullet.</p> - -<p>Impressive is the mental sensation aroused when any savage -wild-beast—normally the object of pursuit—suddenly turns the tables -and becomes the aggressor. The actual incident is necessarily but -momentary, yet its effect remains graven on the tablets of memory. Pity -‘tis so rare.</p> - -<p>Again we conclude with an independent impression by J. C. C.:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Never a visit to the Coto Doñana but brings some separate -experience—possibly more pleasurable in retrospect than reality! I -will instance my first interview with wild-boars. Now, of course, I -know more about them and can almost regard them with serenity; but -at that time, believe me, it was not so. That first encounter at -really close quarters occurred at the close of a long day’s work. -My post was behind a twelve-inch pine on an otherwise bare hill, -the reverse slope of which dipped down to dense bamboo-thickets -just out of my sight, though close by. Within a few minutes -commenced and continued the hullabaloo of hounds. Close glued to my -pine-trunk I listened in tense excitement. Suddenly, ere I had -quite realised such possibility, there rushed into view on the -ridge, not twenty paces distant, a great shaggy grey boar. He had -dashed up the steep bank beyond and was now making direct for my -legs. This is not the confession of a nervous man, but it did occur -to me that truer safety lay in the <i>fork</i> of my tree! but B. was -the next gun, only sixty or seventy yards away, and keenly -interested. In a moment I was myself again; but the interval had -been, to say the least, painfully enthralling. I had, of course, to -wait till the great “Havato†had crossed my “firing-lines.†He -certainly saw <i>something</i>, for he paused momentarily, took rapid -counsel, and bolted past. Nerves were steady now, and once across -the line the boar had my right in the ribs, left in flank. I -actually saw blood spurt—hair fly—at each shot, yet the boar -followed on his course unmoved. Pachydermatous pig! I pondered -while reloading. Ten seconds later on my boar’s sleuth follows -<i>Boca-Negra</i>, a veritable Beth Gelert. Utterly ignoring me, he -passes away into gloom and silence; but shortly I see him coming -back, blood-stained and satiated, and my self-respect returns. Ten -minutes later, a second tusker gallops along the hollow behind. Him -also my right caught fair in the ribs—only a few inches left of -the heart, yet again without visible result. The second bullet, -however, broke his spine as he ascended the sand-bank beyond, and -he fell stone dead. When the beat was over we followed No. 1. He -also lay still, 200 yards away—a pair of first-rate tuskers.<a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a></p> - -<p>I remember, during the gralloch, some dreadfully poor -charcoal-burners appearing on the scene to beg for food. This, of -course, was gladly conceded; but so famished were those poor -creatures that old women filled their aprons with reeking viscera, -while it was with difficulty that children could be prevented from -starting at once on raw flesh and liver. Truly it was a grievous -spectacle, and filled the homeward ride with sad reflections on the -awful hardships such poor folk are destined to endure.</p></div> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_042_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_042_sml.jpg" width="356" height="288" alt="BOLTED PAST" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BOLTED PAST</span> -</p> - -<p>In days of rapid change, when, in our own generation, sporting weapons -have been at least thrice utterly metamorphosed, it is unwise to be -dogmatic. Yet we may summarise our personal experience that the most -efficient weapon for all such purposes as here described is that known -as the “Paradox,†or at least of the Paradox type. The old “Express -rifle†(the best in its day, less than a score of years ago, but now -mere “scrapâ€) was also useful. But it always fell second to the Paradox, -as the latter (being really a shot-gun, equally available for small -game, snipe, duck, or geese) came up quicker to the eye for -snap-shooting with ball.</p> - -<p>The invention of the Paradox type of gun has practically introduced a -third style of shooting where there previously existed only two, to -wit:—<a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a></p> - -<p>(1) Gun-shooting with <i>shot</i> where any “aim†or even an apology for an -aim is fatal to modern maximum success.</p> - -<p>(2) Rifle-shooting proper, which must be mechanical and deliberate—the -more so, the more effective.</p> - -<p>(3) Thirdly, we have this new system intermediate between the -two—“gun-shooting with ball.â€</p> - -<p>Using the Paradox as a rifle, an alignment <i>must</i> be taken; but it may -be taken as with a <i>gun</i>, and not necessarily the deliberate and -mechanical alignment essential with a rifle, properly so called.</p> - -<p>In short, with a Paradox, always glance along the sights. You will -nearly always find that some “refinement†of aim is required. More words -are useless.</p> - -<p>One word as to the “forward allowance†needed after the rough alignment -(as explained) has been effected. At short snapshot ranges none is -required. At a galloping stag at 50 yards, the sights should clear his -chest; at 100 yards, half-a-length ahead, and double that for 150 yards. -At these longer ranges one instinctively allows for “drop†by taking a -fuller sight. For standing shots, of course, the back-sights can be -used.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Boar-Hunting by Moonlight</span> (<span class="smcap">Estremadura</span>)<br /> -“<i>Caceria á la Ronda.</i>â€</p> - -<p>This picturesque and altogether break-neck style of hunting the boar—a -style perhaps more consonant than “driving†with popular notions of the -dash and chivalry of Spanish character—still survives in the wild -province of Estremadura. No species of sport in our experience will -compare with the <i>Ronda</i> for danger and sheer recklessness unless it be -that of “riding lions†to a stand, as practised on British East African -plains.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p> - -<p>Years ago we described this system of the <i>Ronda</i> in the “Big-Game†-volumes of the Badminton Library, and here write a new account, -correcting some slight errors which had crept into the earlier article.</p> - -<p>This sport is practised by moonlight at that period of the autumn called -the <i>Montanera</i>, when acorns and chestnuts fall<a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a> from the trees, and -when droves of domestic swine are turned loose into the woods to feed on -these wild fruits. At that date the wild-boars also are in the habit of -descending from the adjacent sierras, and wander far and wide over the -wooded plains in search of that favourite food.</p> - -<p>When the acorns fall thus and ripe chestnuts strew the ground in these -magnificent Estremenian forests, the young bloods of the district -assemble to await the arrival of the boars upon the lower ground. Two -kinds of dog are employed: the ordinary <i>podencos</i>, which run free; and -the <i>alanos</i>, a breed of rough-haired “seizers,†crossed between -bull-dog and mastiff—these latter being held in leash.</p> - -<p>Sallying forth at midnight, so soon as the <i>podencos</i> give tongue, the -<i>alanos</i> are slipped in order to “hold-up†the flying boar till the -horsemen can reach the spot.</p> - -<p>Then for a while hound-music frightens the darkness and shocks the -silence of the sleeping woods; there is crashing among dry forest-scrub, -a breakneck scurry of mounted men among the timber, until the furious -baying of the hounds and the noisy rush of the hunters converge towards -one dark point among the shadows, and in the half-light a great grisly -tusker dies beneath the cold steel, but not before he has written a -lasting record on the hide of some luckless hound.</p> - -<p>A stiff neck and bold heart are essential to these dare-devil gallops, -where each horse and horseman vie in reckless rivalry, flying through -bush and brake, and under overhung boughs difficult to distinguish amid -moon-rays intercepted by foliage above. Accidents of course occur—an -odd collar-bone or two hardly count, but what does annoy is when by -mistake some wretched beast of domestic race is found held up by the -excited pack.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_043_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_043_sml.jpg" width="215" height="119" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII<br /><br /> -“OUR LADY OF THE DEWâ€<br /><br /> -<small>THE PILGRIMAGE TO THE SHRINE OF NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL ROCÃO</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">P<small>ILGRIMAGES</small> by the pious to distant shrines are a well-known phase in -the faith both of the Moslem and of the Romish Church, and require no -definition by us; but one that is yearly performed to a tiny and -isolated shrine not a dozen miles from our shooting-lodge of Doñana -deserves description.</p> - -<p>First as to its origin. Twelve hundred years ago when Arab conquerors -overran Spain much treasure of the churches, with many sacred emblems, -relics, etc., were hurriedly concealed in places of safety. But not -unnaturally, since Moorish domination extended over 700 years, all trace -or record of such hiding-places had long been lost, and it was merely by -chance and one by one that, after the Reconquest, the hidden treasures -were rediscovered.</p> - -<p>The story of the recovery of our Lady of the Dew is related to have -occurred in this wise. A shepherd tending his flocks in the -neighbourhood of Almonte was induced by the strangely excited barking of -his dog to force a way into the dense thickets known as La Rocina de la -Madre (a wooded swamp, famous as a breeding-place of the smaller herons, -egrets, and ibises), in the midst of which the dog led him to an ancient -hollowed tree. Here, half-hidden in the cavernous trunk, the shepherd -espied the figure of “a Virgin of rare beauty and of exquisite carving,†-clothed in a tunic of what had been white linen, but now stained dull -green through centuries of exposure to the weather and dew (<i>rocÃo</i>).</p> - -<p>Overjoyed, the shepherd, bearing the Virgin on his shoulders, set out -for Almonte, distant three leagues; but being overcome by fatigue and -the weight of his burden, he lay down to rest by<a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a> the way and fell -asleep. On awakening he found the Virgin had gone—she had returned to -her hollow tree. Having ascertained this, and being now filled with -fear, he proceeded alone to Almonte, where he reported his discovery. At -once the Alcalde and clergy accompanied him to the spot, and finding the -image as related, a vow was then and there solemnised that a shrine, -dedicated to N. S. del RocÃo, should be erected at the very spot.</p> - -<p>On its being discovered that this Virgin was able to perform miracles -and to grant petitions, her fame soon spread afar, and religious fervour -waxed strong. Thus during the plague of 1649-50, the Virgin having been -removed to Almonte as a safeguard, the inhabitants of that place were -immune from the pestilence, though every other hamlet was decimated. A -second miracle was attributed to the Virgin. Hard by the shrine at RocÃo -was a spring of water, but of such poor supply that ordinarily a single -man could empty it within two hours: yet during the three days of the -pilgrimage thousands of men and their horses could all assuage their -thirst.</p> - -<p>Owing to these manifestations devout persons endowed the Virgin of RocÃo -with considerable sums of money, with which a larger shrine was built, -while sumptuous garments, laces, and embroidery, with jewelry and -precious stones, were provided for her adornment. In addition to this, -Replicas of the original effigy were made and distributed around the -villages of the neighbourhood, particularly the following:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="left"> </td><td align="center">Kilos.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Palma,</td><td align="center">distant </td><td align="left">32</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Moguer</td><td align="center">"</td><td align="left">30</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Umbrete</td><td align="center">"</td><td align="left">45</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Huelva</td><td align="center">"</td><td align="left">65</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Triana</td><td align="center">"</td><td align="left">76</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Rota</td><td align="center">"</td><td align="left">55</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">San Lucar</td><td align="center">"</td><td align="left">45</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Villamanrique</td><td align="center">"</td><td align="left">18</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Pilas</td><td align="center">"</td><td align="left">23</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Almonte</td><td align="center">"</td><td align="left">17</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Coria</td><td align="center">"</td><td align="left">44</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>At each of these and other places, “Brotherhoods†(<i>Hermandades</i>), -affiliated to the original at RocÃo, were established to guard these -effigies; and it is from these points that every Whitsuntide the various -pilgrim-fraternities journey forth across the wastes towards RocÃo, each -Brotherhood bringing its own carved replica to pay its annual homage to -its carved prototype.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>In the spring of 1910 the authors attended the <i>Fiesta</i>. Already, the -night before, premonitory symptoms—the tuning-up<a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a> of fife and drum—had -been audible, and during the twelve-mile ride next morning fresh -contingents winding through the scrub-clad plain were constantly -sighted, all converging upon RocÃo. It was not, however, till reaching -that hamlet that the full extent of the pilgrimage became apparent, and -a striking and characteristic spectacle it formed. From every point of -the compass were descried long files of white-tilted -ox-waggons—hundreds of them—slowly advancing across the flower-starred -plain; the waggons all bedecked in gala style, crammed to the last seat -with guitar-touching girls, with smiling duennas and attendant squires; -the ox-teams gaily caparisoned, and escorted by prancing cavaliers, many -with wife or daughter mounted pillion-wise behind, while younger -pilgrims challenged impromptu trials of speed—a series of minor -steeplechases. There were four-in-hand brakes, mule-teams and -donkey-carts, pious pedestrians—a motley parade enveloped in clouds of -dust and noise, but all in perfect order.</p> - -<p>The following quaint description was written down for us by a Spanish -friend who accompanied us:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>It is at the entry of the various processions that the most -striking and picturesque effects are produced by the cavalcade. -Here one sees displayed the grace and ability of the Amazon—the -robust and comely Andalucian maiden, carried <i>á ancas</i> -(pillion-wise) at the back of his saddle by gallant cavalier proud -of his gentle companion, and exhibiting to advantage his skill in -horsemanship. The noble steed, conscious of its onerous part, -carries the double burden with care and spirit, being trained to -curvet and rear in all the bravery of mediæval and Saracenic age.</p></div> - -<p>About 4 <small>P.M.</small>, while the converging caravans were yet a mile or so -afield, all halted, each to organise its own procession, and each headed -by the waggon bearing its own Virgin bedecked in gorgeous apparels of -silk and silver braid. Then to the accompaniment of bands and -bell-ringing, hand-clapping and castanets, drum, tambourine, and guitar, -with flags flying and steeds curvetting, this singular combination of -religious rite with musical fantasia resumed its advance into the -village.</p> - -<p>Despite the dust and crush not a unit but held its assigned position, -and thus—one long procession succeeding another—the whole concourse -filed into the village, crossed its narrow green, and sought the shrine -where, within the open doors, the Virgin of RocÃo, removed from the -altar, was placed to receive the<a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a> homage of the Brotherhoods. As each -Replica reached the spot, its bearers halted and knelt, while expert -drivers even made their ox-teams kneel down in submission before the -“Queen of Heaven and Earth.†There was but a moment’s delay, nor did -castanets and song cease for an instant. Later in the evening came the -processions of the Rosario, when each of the visiting Brotherhoods make -a ceremonious call upon the Senior Brother—that is, the Hermit of -RocÃo—after which each confraternity, with less ceremony but more -joviality, visited the camps of the others. This last was accompanied by -bands, massed choirs, and <i>fireworks</i>. Then the festival resolved -itself, so far as we could judge, into a purely secular -affair—feasting, merry-making, dancing, till far on in the night.</p> - -<p>Rain had set in at dusk and was now falling fast. RocÃo is but a tiny -hamlet—say two score of humble cots—yet to-night 6000 people occupied -it, the womenfolk sleeping inside their canvas-tilted ox-waggons, the -men lying promiscuously on the ground beneath.</p> - -<p>Sunday is occupied with religious ceremonies, beginning with High Mass. -These we will not attempt to describe—nor could we if we would. The -Spanish friend who at our request jotted down some notes on the <i>Fiesta</i> -uses the following expressions:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The days of the RocÃo are days of expansion, merry-making, -animation. Never, throughout the festival, ceases the laughter of -joyous voices, the clang of the castanets, the melody of guitar and -tambourine. Dances, song, and music, with jovial intercourse and -good fellowship, all unite to preserve unflagging the rejoicing -which is cultivated at that beautiful spot. At this festival many -traders assist with different installations, including jewellers in -the porch of the church, vendors of medallions, photographs, -coloured ribbons, and other articles dedicated to the patroness of -a festival which is well worthy a visit for its originality and -bewitchment.</p></div> - -<p>On the Monday morning, after joint attendance of all the Brotherhoods at -Mass, followed by a sermon, the image of the Virgin is formally replaced -upon the altar (the feet resting upon the same hollow trunk in which the -figure was first found), then the processions are reformed and the long -homeward journey to their respective destinations begins.</p> - -<p>Although many thousands of people yearly attend this festival, all -entirely uncontrolled by any authority, yet quarrels and disturbance are -unknown. The mere cry of “viva la<a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a> Virgen†suffices at once to appease -incipient angers, should such arise. Thousands of horses and donkeys, -moreover, are allowed to roam about untended and unguarded, as there is -no danger of their being stolen.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>The Virgin of the RocÃo, it appears, specialises in accidents, and many -votive pictures hung within the shrine illustrate the nature of her -miracles. One man is depicted falling headlong from a fifth-storey -window, another from a lofty pine, a third drowning in a torrential -flood; a lady is thrown by a mule, another run over by a cart, a lad -caught by an infuriated bull; a beatific-looking person stands harmless -amidst fiery forked lightning—apparently enjoying it. From all these -and other appalling forms of death, the survivors, having been saved by -the Virgin’s miraculous interposition, have piously contributed -pictorial evidence of the various occurrences.</p> - -<p>A somewhat gruesome relic records the incident that a mother having -vowed that should her daughter be restored to life, she should walk to -RocÃo in her grave-clothes—and there the said clothes lie as evidence -of that miracle.</p> - -<p>The festival above described is celebrated each spring at Pentecost. -There is, however, a second yearly pilgrimage into RocÃo which -originated in this wise.</p> - -<p>In 1810 when the French occupied this country, the village of Almonte -was held by two troops of cavalry who were engaged in impressing -recruits from among the neighbouring peasantry. These naturally objected -to serve the enemy, but many were terrorised into obedience. Bolder -spirits there were, however, and these, to the number of thirty-six, -resolved to strike a blow for freedom. Having assembled in the thick -woods outside Almonte, at two o’clock one afternoon they fell upon the -unsuspecting French and, ere these could defend themselves, many were -killed and others made prisoners. Finally the French commander was shot -dead on his own doorstep. “The villagers of Almonte were horrified at -what had occurred, for, although they had had no hand in the matter, -they felt sure they would have to bear the blame‗so runs a Spanish -account.</p> - -<p>The few French troopers who had escaped fled to Seville, reported the -affair, and (wrongly) incriminated the villagers of Almonte—precisely -as those worthies had foreseen. The General<a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a> commanding at Seville -ordered that Almonte should be razed to the ground and its inhabitants -beheaded—that being the penalty decreed by Murat for any shedding of -French blood. A detachment of dragoons, despatched to Almonte, had -already taken prisoner the mayor, the priests, and all the chief -inhabitants preparatory to their execution. In this grave situation they -bethought themselves to pray to the Virgin of RocÃo, promising that if -she would rescue them from their deadly peril, they would institute a -new pilgrimage to her shrine for thanksgiving.</p> - -<p>Already the detachment of French soldiers detailed to carry out the -executions had reached Pilas, a village within six leagues of Almonte, -when, by mere coincidence, a handful of Spanish troops flung themselves -against the French positions at Seville. The French, thinking that their -assailants must be the forerunners of a larger army, hurriedly recalled -all their outposts, including those commissioned to destroy Almonte!</p> - -<p>Thus the wretched Alcalde and his fellow-prisoners were saved; for, -their innocence of the “crime†being presently established, the town was -let off with a fine. Since then, in accordance with the promise made 100 -years ago, the whole of Almonte repairs every 7th of August to the -shrine of Nuestra Señora del RocÃo.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_044_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_044_sml.jpg" width="311" height="224" alt="PRAYING MANTIS (Mantis religiosa)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">PRAYING MANTIS (Mantis religiosa)</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /><br /> -THE MARISMAS OF GUADALQUIVÃR<br /><br /> -<small>THE DELTA</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">F<small>ROM</small> Seville to the Atlantic the great river GuadalquivÃr pursues its -course through seventy miles of alluvial mud-flats entirely of its own -construction. The whole of this viewless waste (in winter largely -submerged) is technically termed the marisma; but its upper regions, -slightly higher-lying, have proved amenable to a limited dominion of -man, and nowadays comprise (besides some rich corn-lands) broad -pasturages devoted to grazing, and which yield <i>Toros bravos</i>, that is, -fighting-bulls of breeds celebrated throughout Spain, as providing the -popular champions of the Plaza.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 220px;"> -<a href="images/ill_045_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_045_sml.jpg" width="220" height="236" alt="AVOCET" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">AVOCET</span> -</div> - -<p>It is not of these developed regions that we treat, but of the Lower -Delta, which still remains a wilderness, and must for centuries remain -so—a vast area of semi-tidal saline ooze and marsh, extending over some -forty or fifty miles in length, and spreading out laterally to untold -leagues on either side of the river.</p> - -<p>This Lower Delta, the marisma proper, while it varies here and there by -a few inches in elevation, is practically a uniform dead-level of -alluvial mud, only broken by <i>vetas</i>, or low grass-grown ridges seldom -rising more than a foot or two above the<a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a> flat, and which vary in extent -from a few yards to hundreds of acres. The precise geological cause of -these <i>vetas</i> we know not; but the calcareous matter of which they are -composed—the debris of myriad disintegrated sea-shells, mostly -bivalves—proves that the ocean at an earlier period held sway, till -gradually driven backwards by the torrents of alluvial matter carried -down by the river, and finally forced behind the vast sand-barrier now -known as the Coto Doñana—the buffer called into being whilst age-long -struggles raged between these two opposing forces. The fact is further -evidenced by the salt crust which yearly forms on the surface of the -lower marisma when the summer sun has evaporated its waters.</p> - -<p>In summer the marisma is practically a sun-scorched mud-flat; in winter -a shallow inland sea, with the <i>vetas</i> standing out like islands.</p> - -<p>There are, as already stated, slight local variations in elevation. -Naturally the lower-lying areas are the first to retain moisture so soon -as the long torrid summer has passed away and autumn rains begin. -Speedily these become shallow lagoons, termed <i>lucios</i>—similar, we -imagine, to the <i>jheels</i> of India—and a welcome haven they afford to -the advance-guard of immigrant wildfowl from the north.</p> - -<p>Plant-life in the marismas is regulated by the relative saltness of the -soil. In the deeper <i>lucios</i> no vegetation can subsist; but where the -level rises, though but a few inches, and the ground is less saline, the -hardy samphire (in Spanish, <i>armajo</i>) appears, covering with its small -isolated bushes vast stretches of the lower marisma.</p> - -<p>The <i>armajo</i>, which is formed of a congeries of fleshy twigs, leafless, -and jointed more like the marine <i>algae</i> than a land-plant, belongs to -three species as follows:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -class="tleft"> -<tr><td>(1) <i>Salicornea herbacea</i>, marsh-samphire; in Spanish, <i>Sapina</i>.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">(2) <i>Arthraenimum fruticosum</i><br /> -(3) <i>Suaeda fruticosa</i></td><td align="left"> </td> -<td align="left" valign="middle"> </td><td align="left" class="bl">—in Spanish, <i>Armajo</i>.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>All three belong to the natural order <i>Chenopodiaceae</i> (or “Goose-foot†-family).</p> - -<p>The <i>armajo</i> is the typical plant of the marisma, flourishing even where -there is a considerable percentage of salt in the soil. This aquatic -shrub increases most in dry seasons, a series of wet winters having a -disastrous effect on its growth. The <i>Sapina</i>,<a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a> above mentioned, has a -curious effect when eaten by mares (which is often the case when other -food is scarce) of inducing a form of intoxication from which many die. -Indeed, the deaths from <i>Ensapinadas</i> represent a serious loss to -horse-breeders whose mares are sent to graze in the marismas. Cattle are -not affected.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 82px;"> -<a href="images/ill_046_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_046_sml.jpg" width="82" height="207" alt="SAMPHIRE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SAMPHIRE</span> -</div> - -<p>Formerly the <i>Sapina</i> possessed a commercial value, being used (owing to -its alkaline qualities) in the manufacture of soap. Nowadays it is -replaced by other chemicals.</p> - -<p>Here and there, owing to some imperceptible gradient, the marisma is -traversed by broad channels called <i>caños</i>, where, by reason of the -water having a definite flow, the soil has become less saline. The -<i>armajo</i> at such spots becomes scarce or disappears altogether, its -place being taken by quite different plants, namely: Spear-grass -(<i>Cyperus</i>), <i>Candilejo</i>, <i>Bayunco</i>, the English names of which we do -not know.</p> - -<p>Efforts have been made from time to time to reclaim and utilise portions -of the marisma by draining the water to the river; but failure has -invariably resulted for the following reasons:</p> - -<p>(1) The intense saltness of the soil.</p> - -<p>(2) That the marisma lies largely on a lower level than the river banks.</p> - -<p>(3) The river being tidal, its water is salt or brackish.</p> - -<p>There are vast areas of far better land in Spain which might be -reclaimed with certainty and at infinitely less cost.</p> - -<p>The only human inhabitants of the marisma are a few herdsmen whose -reed-built huts are scattered on remote <i>vetas</i>. There are also the -professional wildfowlers with their <i>cabresto</i>-ponies; but this class is -disappearing as, bit by bit, the system of “preservation†extends over -the wastes. Though the climate is healthy enough except for a period -just preceding the autumn rains, yet our keepers and most of those who -live here permanently are terrible sufferers from malaria. Quinine, they -tell us, costs as much as bread in the family economy.</p> - -<p>We quote the following impression from <i>Wild Spain</i>, p. 78:—</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_047a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_047a_sml.jpg" width="322" height="233" alt="Gunning-punt in the Marisma. - -(NOTE THE HALF-SUBMERGED SAMPHIRE-BUSHES.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Gunning-punt in the Marisma.<br /> -(NOTE THE HALF-SUBMERGED SAMPHIRE-BUSHES.)</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_047b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_047b_sml.jpg" width="399" height="221" alt="Wild-Goose shooting on the Sandhills. - -(NOTE TIN DECOYS, ALSO SOME NATURAL GEESE.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Wild-Goose shooting on the Sandhills.<br /> -(NOTE TIN DECOYS, ALSO SOME NATURAL GEESE.)</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_047c_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_047c_sml.jpg" width="414" height="241" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The utter loneliness and desolation of the middle marismas call -forth sensations one does not forget. Hour after hour one pushes -forward<a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a> across a flooded plain only to bring within view more -and yet more vistas of watery waste and endless horizons of tawny -water. On a low islet at farthest distance stand a herd of -cattle—mere points in space; but these, too, partake of the -general wildness and splash off at a gallop while yet a mile away. -Even the wild-bred horses and ponies of the marisma revert to an -aboriginal anthropophobia, and become as shy and timid as the -<i>ferae naturae</i> themselves. After long days in this monotony, -wearied eyes at length rejoice at a vision of trees—a dark-green -pine-grove casting grateful shade on scorching sands beneath. To -that oasis we direct our course, but it proves a fraud, one of -nature’s cruel mockeries—a mirage. Not a tree grows on that spot, -or within leagues of it, nor has done for ages—perhaps since time -began.</p></div> - -<p>Such is the physical character of the marisma, so far as we can describe -it. The general landscape in winter is decidedly dreary and somewhat -deceptive, since the vast areas of brown <i>armajos</i> lend an appearance of -dry land where none exists, since those plants are growing in, say, a -foot or two of water—“a floating forest paints the wave.†The monotony -is broken at intervals by the reed-fringed <i>caños</i>, or sluggish -channels, and by the <i>lucios</i>, big and little—the latter partially -sprinkled with <i>armajo</i>-growth, the bigger sheets open water, save that, -as a rule, their surface is carpeted with wildfowl.</p> - -<p>Should our attempted description read vague, we may plead that there is -nothing tangible to describe in a wilderness devoid of salient feature. -Nor can we liken it with any other spot, for nowhere on earth have we -met with a region like this—nominally dry all summer and inundated all -winter, yet subject to such infinite variation according to varying -seasons. It is not, however, the marisma itself that during all these -years has absorbed our interest and energies—no, that dreary zone would -offer but little attraction were it not for its feathered inhabitants. -These, the winter wildfowl, challenge the world to afford such display -of winged and web-footed folk, and it is these we now endeavour to -describe.</p> - -<p>By mid-September, as a rule, the first signs of the approaching invasion -of north-bred wildfowl become apparent. But if, as often happens, the -long summer drought yet remains unbroken, these earlier arrivals, -finding the marisma untenable, are constrained to take to the river, or -to pass on into Africa.</p> - -<p>Should the dry weather extend into October, the only ducks to remain -permanently in any great numbers are the teal, the<a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a> few big ducks then -shot being either immature or in poor condition, from which it may be -inferred that the main bodies of all species have passed on to more -congenial regions.</p> - -<p>About the 25th September the first greylag geese appear. These are not -affected by the scarcity of water in any such degree as ducks, since -they only need to drink twice a day, morning and evening, and make shift -to subsist by digging up the bulb-like roots of the spear-grass with -their powerful bills.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_048_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_048_sml.jpg" width="303" height="155" alt="GREYLAG GEESE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GREYLAG GEESE</span> -</p> - -<p>But so soon as autumn rains have fallen, and the whole marisma has -become supplied with “new water,†it at once fills up with -wildfowl—ducks and geese—in such variety and prodigious quantities as -we endeavour to describe in the following sketches.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Wildfowl—‘twixt Cup and Lip</span></p> - -<p>Wildfowl beyond all the rest of animated nature lend themselves to -spectacular display. For their enormous aggregations (due as much to -concentration within restricted haunts, as to gregarious instinct, and -to both these causes combined) are always openly visible and conspicuous -inasmuch as those haunts are, in all lands, confined to shallow water -and level marsh devoid of cover or concealment.</p> - -<p>Thus, wherever they congregate in their thousands and tens of thousands, -wildfowl are always in view—that is, to those who seek them out in -their solitudes. This last, however, is an important proviso. For the -haunts aforesaid are precisely those areas of the earth’s surface which -are the most repugnant to man, and least suited to his existence.</p> - -<p>In crowded England there survive but few of those dreary<a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a> estuaries -where miles of oozy mud-flats separate sea and land, treacherous of -foot-hold, exposed to tide-ways and to every gale that blows. Such only -are the haunts of British wildfowl, though how many men in a million -have ever seen them? To wilder Spain, with its 50 per cent of waste, and -its vast irreclaimed marismas, come the web-footed race in quantities -undreamt at home.</p> - -<p>We have before attempted to describe such scenes, though a fear that we -might be discredited oft half paralysed the pen. An American critic of -our former book remarked that it “left the gaping reader with a feeling -that he had not been told half.†That lurking fear could not be better -explained. A dread of Munchausenism verily gives pause in writing even -of what one has seen again and again, raising doubts of one’s own -eyesight and of the pencilled notes that, year after year, we had -scrupulously written down on the spot.</p> - -<p>The Baetican marisma has afforded many of those scenes of wild-life -that, for the reason stated, were before but half-described. With fuller -experience we return to the subject, though daring not entirely to -satisfy our trans-Atlantic friend.</p> - -<p>The winter of 1896 provided such an occasion. It was on the 26th of -November that, under summer conditions, we rode out, where in other -years we have sailed, across what should have been water, but was now a -calcined plain.</p> - -<p>November was nearly past; autumn had given place to winter, yet not a -drop of rain had fallen. Since the scorching days of July the fountains -of heaven had been stayed, and now the winter wildfowl from the north -had poured in only to find the marisma as hard and arid as the deserts -of Arabia Petraea. Instinct was at fault. True, each to their appointed -seasons, had come, the dark clouds of pintail, teal, and wigeon, the -long skeins of grey geese. Where in other years they had revelled in -shallows rich in aquatic vegetation, now the travellers find instead -nought but torrid plains devoid of all that is attractive to the tastes -of their tribe. For the parched soil, whose life-blood has been drained -by the heats of the summer solstice, whose plant-life is burnt up, has -remained panting all the autumn through for that precious moisture that -still comes not. The carcases of horses and cattle, that have died from -thirst and lack of pasturage, strew the plains; the winter-sown wheat is -dead ere germination is complete.<a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a></p> - -<p>In such years of drought many of the newly arrived wildfowl, especially -pintails, pass on southwards (into Africa), not to return till February. -The remainder crowd into the few places where the precious -element—water—still exists. Such are the rare pools that are fed from -quicksands (<i>nuclés</i>) or permanent land-springs (<i>ojos</i>) and a few of -the larger and deeper <i>lucios</i> of the marisma.</p> - -<p>Riding through stretches of shrivelled samphire we frequently spring -deer, driven out here, miles from their forest-haunts, by the eager -search for water.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_049_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_049_sml.jpg" width="352" height="222" alt="WHITE-EYED POCHARD (Fuligula nyroca)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WHITE-EYED POCHARD (Fuligula nyroca)</span> -</p> - -<p>Approaching the first of the great <i>lucios</i>, or permanent pools, a -wondrous sight lay before our eyes. This water might extend for three or -four miles, but was literally concealed by the crowds of flamingoes that -covered its surface. For a moment it was difficult to believe that those -pink and white leagues would really be all composed of living creatures. -Their identity, however, became clear enough when, within 600 yards, we -could distinguish the scattered outposts gradually concentrating upon -the solid ranks beyond. Disbelieve it if you will, but four fairly sane -Englishmen estimated that crowd, when a rifle-shot set them on wing, to -exceed ten thousand units—by how much, we decline to guess.</p> - -<p>The nearer shores, with every creek and channel, were darkened<a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a> by -masses of ducks, huddled together like dusky islets; while further away -several army-corps of geese were striving, with sonorous gabble, to tear -up tuberous roots of spear-grass (<i>castañuela</i>) from sun-baked mud.</p> - -<p>It was a rifle-shot at these last that finally set the whole host on -wing—an indescribable spectacle, hurrying hordes everywhere outflanked -by the glinting black and pink glamour of flamingoes. Then the -noise—the reverberating roar of wings, blending with a babel of croaks -and gabblings, whistles and querulous pipes, punctuated by shriller -bi-tones, ... we give that up.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_050_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_050_sml.jpg" width="392" height="331" alt="“FLAMINGOES OVERâ€" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“FLAMINGOES OVERâ€</span> -</p> - -<p>A long ride in prospect precluded serious operations to-night, but -towards dusk we lined out our four guns, and in half an hour loaded up -the panniers of the carrier-ponies with nearly three score ducks and -geese.</p> - -<p>An hour before the morning’s dawn we were in position to await the -earliest geese. Experience had taught the chief flight-lines, and these, -over many miles of marsh, were commanded by lines of sunken tubs. These, -however, the exceptional conditions had rendered temporarily useless. -Our tubs lay miles<a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a> from water; hence each man had to hide as best he -could, prostrate behind rush-tuft or twelve-inch samphire.</p> - -<p>This morning, however, the greylags flew wide and scattered, in strange -contrast with their customary regularity. We noticed the change, but -knew not the cause. The geese did. The barometer during the night -(unnoticed by us at 4 <small>A.M.</small>) had gone down half an inch, and already, as -we assembled for breakfast at ten o’clock, rain was beginning to -fall—the first rain since the spring! The wind, which for weeks had -remained “nailed to the North—<i>norte clavado</i>,†in Spanish phrase—flew -to all airts, and a change was at hand. By eleven there burst what the -Spanish well name a <i>tormenta</i>; lightning flashed from a darkened sky, -while thunder rolled overhead, and rain drove horizontal on a living -hurricane. An hour later the heavens cleared, and the sun was shining as -before. That short and sudden storm, however, had marked an epoch. The -whole conditions of bird-life in the marisma had been revolutionised -within a couple of hours.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_051_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_051_sml.jpg" width="290" height="239" alt="POCHARD (Fuligula ferina)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">POCHARD (Fuligula ferina)</span> -</p> - -<p>In other years, under such conditions as this morning had promised, we -have records of sixty and eighty greylags brought to bag, and it was -with such anticipation that we had set out to-day. The result totalled -but a quarter of such numbers.</p> - -<p>Ducks came next in our programme, and the writer, being the last gun by -lot, had several miles to ride to his remote post at El Hondón. The -scenes in bird-life through which we rode<a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a> amazed even accustomed eyes. -At intervals as we advanced across mud-flats clad in low growth of rush -and samphire, rose for a mile across our front such crowds of wigeon and -teal that the landscape ahead appeared a quivering horizon of wings that -shimmered like a heat-haze.</p> - -<p>Crouching behind a low breastwork, before me lay a five-acre pool which -no amount of firing ever kept quite clear of swimming forms, so fast did -thirsty duck, teal, and geese keep dropping in, since behind for twenty -leagues stretched waterless plain.</p> - -<p>Merely to make a bag under such conditions means taking every chance, -firing away till barrels grow too hot to hold. Here, however, that -nature-love that overrides even a fowler’s keenness stepped in. With -half the wildfowl of Europe flashing, wheeling, and alighting within -view—many, one fondly imagined, likely to be of supreme interest—the -writer cannot personally go on taking single mallards, teal, or wigeon, -one after another in superb but almost monotonous rapidity. For the -moment, in fact, the naturalist supplants the gunner. True, this may be -sacrificing the mutton to the shadow, and this afternoon no special -prize rewarded self-denial in letting pass many a tempting chance.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_052_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_052_sml.jpg" width="347" height="182" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p>For gratifying indeed to fowler’s pride it is to pull down in falling -heap the smart pintails and brilliant shovelers, to bring off a -right-and-left at geese, though, it may be, one had first to let a cloud -of wigeon pass the silent muzzle. Such is individual taste, nor will the -memory of that afternoon ever fade, although my score, when at 3.30 <span class="smcap">P.M</span>. -I was recalled, only totalled up to seventy-four ducks and four greylag -geese.</p> - -<p>The recall was imperative, and I obeyed, though not without hesitation -and doubt. Could earth provide a better place?<a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a> “Yes,†replies Vasquez, -“in one hour the geese will be streaming in clouds up the Algaidilla and -Caño Juncero. Come! there’s no time to lose.†Within an hour we had -reached the spot. The water was four inches deep, with low cover of -rushes. The revolving stool stood too high, so I knelt in the shallow, -and within three minutes the first squad of geese came in quite -straight. One I took kneeling, but had to jump for the second. Just as -No. 2 collapsed, No. 1 caught me full amidships, knocking me sidelong -and, rebounding, upset the stool and the bag of cartridges thereon! A -nice mess, occurring at the very outset of one of those ambrosial -half-hours seldom realised outside of dreams. Quickly I dried the -cartridges as well as circumstances would admit, for pack after pack of -geese hurled themselves gaggling and honking right in my face, and -during the few brief minutes of the southern twilight, I reckoned I had -twenty-three down—seven right-and-lefts—though in the darkness only -seventeen could be gathered, the winged all necessarily escaping.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_053_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_053_sml.jpg" width="322" height="245" alt="WILD GEESE ALIGHTING AT FIFTEEN YARDS - -(Take the upper pair right-and-left, leaving the nearer geese for second -gun.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WILD GEESE ALIGHTING AT FIFTEEN YARDS<br /> -(Take the upper pair right-and-left, leaving the nearer geese for second -gun.)</span> -</p> - -<p>Within thirty-six hours we had secured sixty-two geese and over two -hundred ducks. For four guns, under favouring conditions, this would -have been no very special result; but to-day the fowl were all alert and -restless at the prospect of a coming change. The keynote had already -been sounded that first day, when the <i>tormenta</i> burst, and when the -long drought ended on the very<a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a> morning we had selected to commence our -operations. Had the weather held for a single week ... but why dwell on -it? The point must be clear enough. No more geese were got that year. -Let us conclude with a few ornithological observations made during -succeeding days. On November 30, after three days of stormy weather, -with tremendous bursts of rainfall, there commenced one of the most -remarkable bird-migrations we have witnessed. From early morn till night -(and all the following day) cloud upon cloud of ducks kept streaming -overhead from the westward. Frequently a score of packs would be in view -at once—never were the heavens clear; and all coming from precisely the -same direction and travelling in parallel lines to the east. Their -course seemed to indicate that these migrants (avoiding the overland -route across Spain which would involve passing over her great -cordilleras, say 10,000 feet) had travelled south by the coast-line as -far as the latitude of Cape St. Vincent. Thence they “hauled their wind†-and bore up on an easterly course which brought them direct into the -great marismas of the Guadalquivir.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Las Nuevas</span></p> - -<p>We had acquired this waste of marsh and mud-flat and were keen to “go -and possess it.†Initial difficulties arose to confront us. Though the -whole region now belonged to us (<i>i.e.</i> the rights of chase, and it -boasts but little other value) yet our possession was to be met by some -opposition.</p> - -<p>It was all very natural, delightfully human, and despite the annoyance, -captivated our sympathy. Local fowlers, accustomed from immemorial times -to earn a scant living by shooting for market the wildfowl of the -wilderness, resented this acquisition of exclusive rights. Our scattered -guards were overawed, our reed-built huts were burned, and threats -reached us—not to mention a casual bullet or two ricochetting in wild -bounds across the watery waste. That one quality, however, above -mentioned—sympathy—is the passport to Spanish hearts, and<a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a> thereby, -together with courtesy and fair-dealing, the erstwhile insurgents in -brief time became the best of friends.</p> - -<p>For the moment, however, we found ourselves hutless, and constrained to -encamp two leagues away on the distant <i>terra firma</i>, this involving an -extra couple of hours’ work in the small dark hours.</p> - -<p>As before 4 <small>A.M.</small> we rode, beneath a pouring rain, “path-finding,†in -blind darkness across slimy ooze and shallow—not to mention deeper -channels that reached to the girths,—a nightjar circled round our -cavalcade—true, a very small event, but recorded because it is quite -against the rules for a nightjar to be here in December. Only three guns -braved this adventure, and by 5.45 we occupied each his allotted post. -These could not be called comfortable, since the positions in which we -had to spend the next six or eight hours were quite six inches deep in -water, and the only covert a circle of samphire-bush barely a foot above -water-level—that being the utmost height allowed by the keen sight of -flighting fowl. Each man had an armful of cut brushwood to kneel on, -besides another bundle on which cartridge-bags might be supported clear -of the water.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p> - -<p>Rain descended in sheets. Before it was fully light—indeed the average -human being of diurnal habit would probably swear it was still quite -dark—the swish of wings overhead foretold the coming day. Then with a -roar the whole marisma bursts into life as though by clock-work. -Thrice-a-minute, and oftener, sped bunches of duck right in one’s face, -at times a hurricane of wings. Not seeing them till quite close in, but -one barrel can be emptied each time, yet soon a score of beautiful -pintail and wigeon formed the basis of a pile.</p> - -<p>Behind, in the gloom to westward, a sense of movement has developed. At -first it might have been but the drift of night-clouds, but as light -broadens, form and colour evolve and the phenomenon shapes itself into -vast bodies of flamingoes, sprawling, as it were, on the face of heaven -in writhing, scintillating confusion. After infinite evolutions, the -amorphous mass resolves itself into order; files and marshalled -phalanxes serry the sky—those weird wildfowl, each with some six foot -of rigid extension, advancing direct upon our posts. Their armies have -spent the night on the broad<a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a> <i>lucios</i> of El Desierto, and now head away -towards feeding-grounds outside. Arrayed line beyond line in echelon, -ten thousand pinions beat, in unison—beat in short, sharp strokes from -the elbow. The fantasy of form amazes; the flash of contrasted colour as -the first sun-rays strike on black, white, and vermilion. One may have -witnessed this spectacle a score of times, yet never does it pall or -leave one without a sense that here nature has treated us to one of her -wildest creations. No rude sketch of ours—possibly not the best that -art can produce—will ever convey the effect of these quaint forms in -vast moving agglomeration. Long after they have vanished in space, one -remains entranced with the glamour of the scene.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_054_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_054_sml.jpg" width="310" height="154" alt="WILDFOWL IN THE MARISMA" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WILDFOWL IN THE MARISMA</span> -</p> - -<p>The flamingoes have passed away, but the lightening skies are still -streaked and serried. Most numerous are the wigeon, millions of them in -hurrying phalanxes, white specks flanged with dark wings, too well known -to describe; pintails (this wet winter hardly less numerous), readily -distinguishable by their longer build and stately grace of flight; the -dark heads and snowy necks of the drakes conspicuous afar. The -arrow-like course of the shoveler, along with his vibrant wing-beats and -incessant call, “zook, zook, tsook, tsook,†identify that species; while -gadwall, more sombre in tone than the mallards, “talk†in distinctive -style; and mob-like masses of teal and marbled ducks sweep along the -open channels. Then there are the diving-ducks with harsh corvine -croaks, pochards, ferruginous, and tufts, just as swift as the rest, -though of apparently more laboured flight; occasionally a string of -shelducks, conspicuous by size and contrasted<a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a> colouring, and among them -all, swing along with leisurely wing-beats but equal speed, wedge-like -skeins of great grey-geese. A single morning’s bag may include seven or -eight different species, sometimes a dozen.</p> - -<p>Now the rim of the sun shows over the distant sierra, and one begins to -see one’s environment and to realise what Las Nuevas is like. Of Mother -Earth as one normally conceives it not a particle is in sight, beyond -such low reeds and miles of samphire-tops as break the watery surface, -and a vista of this extends to the horizon.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_055_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_055_sml.jpg" width="355" height="254" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p>Behind our positions stretched a <i>lucio</i> of open water. Upon this, a -mile away, stood an army of flamingoes, whose croaks and gabblings -filled the still air. During a quiescent interval I examined these with -binoculars. Thereupon I discovered that the whole <i>lucio</i> around them -and stretching away, say a league in length, was carpeted with legions -of duck, which had not been noticed with the naked eye. The discovery -explained also a resonant reverberation that, at recurring intervals, I -had noticed all the morning, and which I had attributed to the gallant -Cervera’s squadron at quick-firing gun-practice away in Cádiz Bay. Now I -saw the cause; it was due to the duck-hawks and birds-of-prey! Twice -within ten minutes a swooping marsh-harrier aroused that host on -wing—or, say, half-a-mile of them—to fly in terror; but only to settle -a few hundred yards<a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a> farther away. The harrier’s hope was clearly to -find a wounded bird among the crowd—the massed multitude none dared to -tackle.</p> - -<p>It is nine o’clock, the pile of dead has mounted up, but the “flight†is -slackening. Already I see our mounted keepers (who have hitherto stood -grouped on an islet two miles away) separate and ride forth to set the -ducks once more in motion. At this precise moment one remembers two -things—both that wretched breakfast at 3 <small>A.M.</small>, and the luxuries that -lie at hand, almost awash among the reeds. Ducks pass by unscathed for a -full half-hour, while such quiet reigns in “No. 1†that tawny -water-shrews climb confidingly up the reeds of my screen.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the efforts of our drivers were becoming apparent in a renewal -of flighting ducks; but we would here emphasise the fact that these -second and artificially-produced flights are never so effective from a -fowler’s point of view as the earlier, natural movements of the game. -For the ducks thus disturbed come, as the Spanish keepers put it, -<i>obligados</i> and not of their own free-will. Hence they all pass -high—many far above gunshot—and not even the attraction that our fleet -of “decoys†(for we have now stuck up the whole of the morning’s spoils -to deceive their fellows) will induce more than a limited proportion, -and those only the smaller bands, to descend from their aërial altitude.</p> - -<p>The “movement†of these masses nevertheless affords another of those -spectacular displays that we must at least try to describe. For though -none of their sky-high armies will pass within gunshot—or ten -gunshots—yet one cannot but be struck with amazement when the whole -vault of heaven above presents a quivering vision of wings—shaded, -seamed, streaked, and spotted from zenith to horizon. Then the -multiplied pulsation of wings is distinctly perceptible—a singular -sensation. One remembers it when, perhaps an hour later, you become -conscious of its recurrence. But now the heavens are clear! Not a single -flight crosses the sky—not one, that is, within sight. But up above, -beyond the limits of human vision, there pass unseen hosts, and <i>theirs</i> -is that pulsation you feel.</p> - -<p>The passage of these sky-scrapers is actuated by no puny manÅ“uvre of -ours. They are travellers on through-routes. Perhaps the last land (or -water) they touched was Dutch or<a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a> Danish; and they will next alight -(within an hour) in Africa. Already at their altitude they can see, -spread out, as it were, at their feet, the marshes and meres of Morocco.</p> - -<p>Although nominally describing that first day in Las Nuevas (and, so far -as facts go, adhering rigidly thereto), yet we are endeavouring to -concentrate in fewest words the actual lessons of many subsequent years -of practical experience. Thus the pick-up on that day (though it may -have numbered a couple of hundred ducks) we refrain from recording in -this attempt to convey the concrete while avoiding detail.</p> - -<p>Back again, splash, splosh, through mud and mire, two hours’ ride to our -camp-fire—a picturesque scene with our marsh-bred friends gathered -round, their tawny faces lurid in the firelight as flames shoot upwards -and pine-cones crack like pistol-shots; and over the embers hang a score -of teal each impaled on a supple bough. Away beyond there loom like -spectres our horses tethered when silvery moonlight glances through -scattered pines. Things would have been pleasant indeed had the rain but -stopped occasionally. True we had our tents; but our men slept in the -open, each rolled in his cloak, beneath some sheltering bush.<a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX<br /><br /> -WILDFOWL-SHOOTING IN THE MARISMA<br /><br /> -<small>ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">V<small>AST</small> as their aggregations may be, yet wildfowl do not -necessarily—merely by virtue of numbers—afford any sort of certainty -to the modern fowler. Half-a-million may be in view day by day, but in -situations or under conditions where scarce half-a-score can be killed. -This elementary feature is never appreciated by the uninitiated, nor -probably ever will be since Hawker’s terse and trenchant prologue failed -to fix it.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p> - -<p>What “the Colonel†wrote a century ago stands equally good to-day; and -<i>mutatis mutandis</i> will probably stand good a century hence.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 146px;"> -<a href="images/ill_056_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_056_sml.jpg" width="146" height="189" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Long before the authors had appeared on the scene with -breech-loaders—even before the epoch of Hawker with his copper-caps and -detonators—the Spanish fowlers of the marisma had already devised means -of their own whereby the swarming wildfowl could be secured by -wholesale. As a market venture, their system of a stalking-horse (called -a <i>cabresto</i>) was deadly in the extreme and interesting to boot, -affording unique opportunity of closely approaching massed wildfowl -while still unconscious of danger. We have spent delightful days -crouching behind these shaggy ponies, and describe the method later. But -this is not a style that at all subserves the aspirations of the modern -gunner, and we here study the problem from his point of view.<a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a></p> - -<p>The essence of success lies in ascertaining precisely the exact areas -where fowl in quantity are “strongly haunted,†by day and night, -together with their regular lines of flight thence and thereto. -Obviously such exact knowledge in these vast marismas, devoid of -landmarks, demands careful observation, and it must be remembered that -these things change with every change of weather and water. Having -located such well-frequented resorts or flight-lines, the degree of -success will yet depend on the <i>strength</i> of the “haunt.†It may happen -(despite all care) that the partiality of the fowl for that special spot -or route is merely superficial and evanescent. A dozen shots and they -have cleared out, or altered their course. In the reverse case, so -strong may be their “haunt†that no amount of disturbance entirely -drives them away, and even those that have already been scared by the -sound of shooting will yet return again and again.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>By night ducks feed in the slobby shallows and oozes, but concealed by -the samphire-growth which flourishes in such places. Hence the use of -the stancheon-gun is not here available as in the case of bare, -plant-free, tidal flats at home and elsewhere.</p> - -<p>In the dusk the ducks have arrived at these feeding-grounds in quite -small trips or bunches. But as the stars pale towards the dawn, they -depart in larger detachments, often numbering hundreds in a pack. Still, -such are their enormous numbers that, even so, their shifting armies -form an almost continuous stream in the direction whither they take -their course. But where is that? That is the problem on the solution of -which the fowler’s success depends. We will presume that you have so -solved it. In that case, you will have witnessed, between an hour before -sun-up and half-an-hour thereafter, as marvellous a procession as the -scheme of bird-life can afford.</p> - -<p>Let us follow the fowl throughout that matutinal flight. Away through -leagues of empty space they hold their course, now high in air where -vistas of brown samphire loom like land and might conceal a lurking foe, -anon lowering their flight where sporadic sheets or lanes of open water -break the tawny monotony. Beyond all this, stretching away in open -waters like an inland sea, lies a big <i>lucio</i>. That is their goal. One -by one, or in dozens and scores, the infinite detachments re-unite to -splash<a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a> down upon that glassy surface. Within brief minutes the whole -expanse is darkened as with a carpet.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_057_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_057_sml.jpg" width="565" height="370" alt="The Stancheon-Gun in the Marisma—dawn." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The Stancheon-Gun in the Marisma—dawn.</span> -</p> - -<p>Upon this <i>lucio</i> the assembled ducks command a view for miles around. -Hardly could a water-rat approach unseen. If the fowl persisted in -passing the entire day thereon, no human power would avail to molest -them—they could bid defiance to fowlers of every race and breed. Two -circumstances, however, favour their human foes. The first is the -perpetual disturbance created among those floating hosts by -birds-of-prey. These—chiefly marsh-harriers, but including also the -great black-backed gulls—execute perpetual “feints†at the swimming -ducks, sections of which (often thousands strong) are compelled to rise -on wing by the menacing danger. The dominant idea actuating the raptores -(since they are unable to attack the main bodies) is to ascertain if one -or more wounded ducks remain afloat after their sound companions have -cleared—the cripples, of course, affording an easy prey. The disturbed -fowl will not fly far, perhaps half-a-mile, unless indeed they happen -during that flight to catch sight of an attractive fleet of “decoys†-moored in some quiet creek a mile or so away.</p> - -<p>The second favouring circumstance arises from a difference in habit -between ducks in Spain and their relatives (even con-specific) -inhabiting British waters. For whereas the latter, as a rule, will -remain quiescent in their selected resting-places the livelong day, in -Spain, on the contrary, by about 11 <small>A.M.</small>, the force of hunger begins -visibly to operate—not in all, but in sections, which, rising in -detachments, separate themselves from the masses and commence -exploratory cruises among the smaller and shallower <i>lucios</i> where food -may be found.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> This intermittent flight slackens off for an hour or -so at midday, is renewed in the afternoon, and stops dead one hour -before sun-down.</p> - -<p>To exploit the advantage offered by these habits it is necessary to -ascertain to which of the innumerable minor <i>lucios</i> these -“hunger-marchers†are resorting. Observation will have decided that -point, and our expert gunner now (at 11 <small>A.M.</small>) be concealed with -scrupulous care, and his fleet of, say, fifty decoys set out in lifelike -and (or) attractive attitudes, exactly in<a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a> the centre of the particular -lagoon, whither, of recent days, the ducks have been observed to resort -in greatest abundance from noon onwards.</p> - -<p>The gunner lies expectant on the cut rushes which strew the -bottom-boards of his <i>cajon</i>—a box-shaped punt some 7 feet long by -2½ broad, which is concealed by being thrust bodily in the midst of -the biggest samphire bush available. The craft nevertheless is still -afloat and, though flat-bottomed, is yet terribly crank, and any sudden -movement to port or starboard threatens to capsize the entire outfit.</p> - -<p>To allay the tense suspicion of flighting wildfowl, several of the -adjacent bushes for fifty yards around have been heightened by the -addition of a cut bough or two—the idea being to induce a theory among -passing ducks merely that this particular spot seems peculiarly -favourable to samphire-growth—that and nothing more.</p> - -<p>In setting up decoys, while many are posed in lifelike attitudes, it is -advisable to hang a few (especially white-plumaged species, such as -pintail, shoveler, and wigeon-drakes) in almost vertical positions, in -order to induce a belief among hungry incomers that these birds are -“turning-up†to feast on abundant subaquatic plants beneath.</p> - -<p>This intermittent flight is naturally irregular, hunger affecting -greater or less numbers on different days; but when it comes off in -force affords the cream of wildfowling from before noon till the sun -droops in the west. During the last hour before he dips not a wing -moves.</p> - -<p>Duck-shooting thus resolves itself into two main systems: (1) -intercepting the fowl on flight at dawn, and later (2) awaiting their -incoming at expected points.</p> - -<p>A good shoot may sometimes be engineered by cutting a broad “ride†-through the samphire along some flight-line, thereby forming an open -channel between two <i>lucios</i>. Ducks which have hitherto flown sky-high -in order to cross the danger-zone will now pass quite low along the new -waterway, and even prefer it to crossing the cover at hazard, however -high.</p> - -<p>A typical day’s fowling in mid-marisma may be described. The night has -been spent in a reed-built hut charmingly situate on a mud-islet -half-an-acre in extent, and commanding unequalled views of flooded and -featureless marisma. At 4 <small>A.M.</small> we<a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a> turn out and by the dim light of a -lantern embark in a <i>cajon</i> (punt), serenaded by the croaks and gabbling -of flamingoes somewhere out in the dark waters. My wild companion, -Batata, kneeling in the bows and grasping a punt-pole in either hand, -bends to his work, and away we glide—into the unknown.</p> - -<p>A weird feeling it is squatting thus at water-level and watching the -wavelets dance by or dash over our two-inch free-board. We make but -three miles an hour, yet seem to fly past half-seen water-plants. A -myriad stars are reflected on the still surface ahead, and it is by a -single great <i>Lucero</i> (planet) that our pilot is now steering his -course.</p> - -<p>Batata presently remarks that we have “arrived.†One takes his word for -this. Still that verb does conditionally imply some place or spot of -arrival. Here there was none—none, at least, that could be -differentiated from any other point or spot in many circumambient -leagues. But this was not an hour for philological disquisition, so we -mentally decide that we have reached “nowhere.†A few hours later when -daylight discovers our environment, that negation appears sufficiently -proved. There are visible certain objects on the distant horizon. -One—that behind us—proves to be the roof of the <i>choza</i> wherein we had -spent the night—“hull-down†to the eastward. The others a lengthened -scrutiny with prism-binoculars shows to be a trio of wild camels feeding -knee-deep in water. Now where you see such signs you may conclude you -are nowhere.</p> - -<p>We skip a few hours, since we have no intention of inflicting on the -reader the details of a morning’s flight-shooting. Suffice that at 9 -<small>A.M.</small> B. reappears poling up in his punt, the spoils are collected -(forty-nine in all, mostly wigeon and teal, with a few pintail and -shoveler and one couple of gadwall), and the plan for the day discussed. -To remain where we were (as this <i>lucio</i> had yesterday attracted a -fairly continuous flight of ducks) had been our original idea. But a -shift of the wind had rendered a second <i>lucio</i>, distant two miles, a -more favourable resort for to-day, and thither accordingly we set out. -Here a new <i>puesto</i> is promptly prepared and the forty-nine decoys -deftly set out, each supported by a supple wand stuck in the mud below. -Hardly had these preparations been completed, than the intermittent (or -secondary) flight had commenced, file after file of ducks heading up -from distant space, wheeling over or dashing<a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a> past the seductive decoys. -At recurring moments during the next three or four hours (with blank -intervals between) I enjoyed to the full this most delightful form of -wildfowling, so totally different in practice to all others.</p> - -<p>Such is the speed of flighting fowl, such their keenness of vision and -instant perception of danger, that but a momentary point of time—say -the eighth of a second—is available fully to exploit each chance. -Should the gunner rise too quick, the ducks are beyond the most -effective range; yet within a space not to be measured by figures or -words, they will have detected the fraud, and in a flash have scattered, -shooting vertically upwards like a bunch of sky-rockets.</p> - -<p>Two features in the life-history of the duck-kind become apparent. The -first points to the probability that adults pair for life, and that the -mated couples keep together all winter even when forming component units -in a crowd. For when an adult female is shot from the midst of a pack, -the male will almost invariably accompany her in her fall to the very -surface of the water, and will afterwards circle around, piping -disconsolately, and even return again and again in search of his lost -partner. This applies chiefly to wigeon, but we have frequently observed -the same trait in pintail and occasionally in other species. It is only -the drakes that display this constancy; a bereaved female continues her -flight unheeding.</p> - -<p>The feature is most conspicuous when awaiting ducks at their -feeding-grounds (<i>comederos</i>), but it also occurs when shooting on their -flight-lines (<i>correderos</i>) between distant points.</p> - -<p>The second singular habit is the custom, particularly among wigeon, to -form what are termed in Spanish <i>magañonas</i>—little groups of four to a -dozen birds consisting of a single female with a bevy of males in -attendance, flying aimlessly hither and thither in a compact mass, the -drakes constantly calling and the one female twisting and turning in all -directions as though to avoid their attentions. The <i>magañonas</i> appear -blind to all sense of danger, and will pass within easy range even -though a gunner be fully exposed. Not only this, but a first shot may -easily account for half-a-dozen, and should the hen be among the fallen, -the survivors will come round again and again in search of her. We have -known whole <i>magañonas</i> to be secured within a few minutes.<a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a></p> - -<p>Other species also form <i>magañonas</i>, but more rarely and never in so -conspicuous a manner as the wigeon. The habit certainly springs from -what we have elsewhere termed a “pseudo-erotic†instinct (see <i>Bird-life -of the Borders</i>, 2nd ed., pp. 208, 234-5), and is probably the first -pairing of birds which have just then reached full maturity.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>From mid-February to the end of March ducks are constantly departing -northwards whenever conditions favour, to wit, a south-west wind in the -afternoon, which wind is a feature of the season. Their vacant places -are at once filled by an equally constant succession of arrivals from -the south (Africa), easily recognised by rusty stains on their lower -plumage (denoting ferruginous water) which they lose here within a few -days.</p> - -<p>Ducks at this season can find food everywhere in the <i>manzanilla</i>, or -camomile, which now grows up from the bottom and in places covers the -shallows with its white, buttercup-like flowers. Having food everywhere -there is less necessity to fly in search of it. It is, however, a -curious feature of the season that, after the morning-flight (which is -shorter than in mid-winter), ducks practically suspend all movement -from, say, 8 <small>A.M.</small> till the daily sea-breeze (<i>Viento de la mar</i>) springs -up about 1 <small>P.M.</small> During these five hours not a wing moves, but no sooner -has the sea-breeze set in than constant streams of ducks fly in -successive detachments from the large open <i>lucios</i> to the shallower -feeding-grounds. Thus we have known a late February “bag,†which at 2 -<small>P.M.</small> had numbered but a miserable half-score, mount up before dusk to -little short of a hundred.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Wigeon arrive from the end of September onwards, the great influx -occurring during the first fortnight of November. They commence leaving -from mid-February, and by the end of March all (save a few belated -stragglers) are gone.</p> - -<p>The same remarks apply equally to pintail, shoveler, and teal, though, -as before remarked, pintail often appear exceptionally early—in -September,—and are again extremely conspicuous (after being scarce all -winter) on their return journey—<i>de vuelta paso</i>, as it is called—in -February.</p> - -<p><a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a>Gadwall, preferring deep waters, are not numerous in the shallow -marisma. A big bag therein, nevertheless, will always include a few -couples of this species.</p> - -<p>Shoveler are so numerous that we have known over eighty bagged by one -gun in a day.</p> - -<p>Garganey chiefly occur in early autumn and again <i>de vuelta paso</i> in -March. They winter in Africa.</p> - -<p>Marbled duck breed here, and in September large bags may be made; but in -mid-winter (when they have retired to Africa) it is rare to secure more -than half-a-dozen or so in a day. They are very bad eating.</p> - -<p>Shelduck only occur in dry seasons. They fall easy victims to any sort -of “decoy†provided it is <i>white</i>. A local fowler told us he had killed -many by substituting (in default of natural decoys) the dry bones and -skulls of cattle! Ruddy shelduck do not frequent the marisma, preferring -the sweeter waters and shallows adjoining Doñana.</p> - -<p>Diving-ducks avoid the marisma except only in the wettest winters.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>An hour before sun-down, as above stated, all bird-movement ceases. For -a brief space absolute tranquillity reigns over the illimitable marisma. -The dusky masses that cover the <i>lucios</i> seem lulled to sleep and -silence. But the interlude is very temporary. Hardly has night thrown -her mantle across the wastes, than all that tremendous, eager, vital -energy is reawakened to fresh activities. A striking and a memorable -experience will be gained by awaiting that exact hour at some favourite -feeding-ground. Within a few minutes, as darkness deepens, the ambient -air fairly hisses and surges with the pulsation of thousand strong -pinions hurtling close by one’s ear, and with the splash of heavy bodies -flung down by fifties and hundreds in the shallows almost within -arm’s-length—the nearest approximation that occurs to us is a -bombardment of pompoms. Yet, for all that, night-flighting in the -marisma (having regard to the quantities concerned) produces but -insignificant results. The ducks come in so low and so direct—no -preliminary circling overhead—and at such velocity that this -flight-shooting may be likened to an attempt to hit cannon-balls in the -dark. Our expert shots score, say, eight or ten, but what is that? The -nocturnal disturbance, moreover, may be (and usually<a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a> is) prejudicial to -the next day’s operations, and it is clearly not worth the risk, for -half-a-dozen shots in the twilight, to discount a hundred at dawn.</p> - -<p>The fewer shots ducks hear, the better. Never disturb them unless you -have every reasonable prospect of exacting a proportionate toll.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_058_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_058_sml.jpg" width="333" height="140" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X<br /><br /> -WILD-GEESE IN SPAIN<br /><br /> -<small>THEIR SPECIES, HAUNTS, AND HABITS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>O</small> Spain, as to other lands that remain unaltered and “unimproved,†-resort the greylag geese in thousands to pass the winter.</p> - -<p>In our marismas of the Guadalquivir they appear during the last days of -September, but it is a month later ere their full numbers are made up, -and from that date until the end of February their defiant multitudes -and the splendid difficulties of their pursuit afford a unique form and -degree of wild sport perhaps unknown outside of Spain.</p> - -<p>Ride through the marisma in November; it is mostly dry, and autumn rains -have merely refreshed the sun-baked alluvia and formed sporadic -shallows, or <i>lucios</i> as they are here termed. That <i>lucio</i> straight -ahead is a mile across, yet it is literally tessellated with a sonorous -crowd. With binoculars one distinguishes similar scenes beyond; the -intervening space—and indeed the whole marisma—is crowded with geese -as thickly as it is on our immediate front. To right and left rise fresh -armies hitherto concealed among the <i>armajo</i>, till the very earth seems -in process of upheaval, while the air resounds with a volume of -voices—gabblings, croaks, and shrill bi-tones mingled with the rumble -of beating wings.</p> - -<p>Amid the islands of the Norwegian Skaargaard one can see geese in bulk, -but there their numbers are distributed over a thousand miles of coast. -Here we have them all—or a large proportion—concentrated in what is by -comparison but a narrow space.</p> - -<p>In their life-habits these geese are strictly diurnal, that is, they -feed by day—chiefly in the early morning and again towards afternoon, -with a mid-day interval of rest. The night they spend<a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a> asleep on some -broad <i>lucio</i> or other bare open space. That habit, however, is subject -to modification during the periods of full moon, when many geese avail -themselves of her brilliant light to feed in even greater security than -they can enjoy by day. Their food consists exclusively of vegetable -substances—at first of the remnants of the summer’s herbage, such as -green ribbon-grass (<i>canaliza</i>), and other semi-aquatic plants; their -main sustenance in mid-winter consists of the tuber-bearing roots of -spear-grass (<i>Cyperus longus</i> and <i>C. rotundus</i>) which they dig up from -the ground.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 100px;"> -<a href="images/ill_059_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_059_sml.jpg" width="100" height="375" alt="ROOT OF SPEAR-GRASS" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ROOT OF SPEAR-GRASS</span> -</div> - -<p>When autumn rains are long delayed, their voracious armies will already -have consumed every green thing that remains in the parched marismas -long before the “new water†from the heavens shall have furnished new -feeding-grounds. In such cases the geese are forced to depart, and do -so—so far as our observation goes—in the direction of Morocco; -returning thence (within a few hours) immediately after rain has fallen. -Their entry, on this second arrival, is invariably from the south and -south-west—that is, from the sea.</p> - -<p>There are three methods of shooting wild-geese in the Spanish marismas -which may here be specified, to wit:—</p> - -<p>(1) Morning-flight, when the geese habitually come to “take sand†at the -dawn. See next chapter.</p> - -<p>(2) “Driving†during the day (available only in dry years).</p> - -<p>(3) Awaiting their arrival at dusk at their <i>dormideros</i>, or -sleeping-places, see pp. 97, 98.</p> - -<p>An all-important factor in their pursuit arises from an economic -necessity with wild-geese constantly to possess, and frequently to -renew, a store of sand or grit in their gizzards. To obtain this they -resort every morning to certain sandy spots in the marismas (hereinafter -described, and which are known as <i>vetas</i>); or failing that, when the -said <i>vetas</i> are submerged, to the sand-dunes outside. Although great -numbers of geese resort<a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a> each morning to these spots, yet those numbers -are but a small proportion of their entire aggregate, for no individual -goose needs to replenish his supply of sand or grit more often than -perhaps once a week, or even less frequently. Hence at each dawn it is a -fresh contingent of geese that comes in <i>para arenárse</i> = to “sand -themselves,†as our keepers put it.</p> - -<p>One other quality in the natural economy of wild-geese requires -mention—that is, their sense of scent. This defence wild-geese possess -in equal degree with wild-ducks and most other wild creatures; but each -class differ in their modes of utilising it.</p> - -<p>For whereas ducks on detecting human scent will take instant alarm and -depart afar on that indication alone; yet geese, on the other hand, -though their nostrils have fully advised them of the presence of danger, -will not at once take wing, but remain—with necks erect and all eyes -concentrated towards the suspect point—awaiting confirmation by sight -what they already know by scent.</p> - -<p>That such is the case we ascertained in the days (now long past) when we -ventured to stalk geese with no more covert than the low fringe of rush -that borders the marisma. “<i>Gatiando</i>†= cat-crouching, our keepers term -the method—laborious work, creeping flat for, it may be, 200 yards, -through sloppy mud with less than two-foot of cover. Should it become -necessary during the stalk to go directly to windward of the fowl, one’s -presence (though quite unseen) would be instantly detected. The geese, -ceasing to feed or rest, all stood to attention, while low, rumbling -alarm-signals resounded along their lines. But they did not take wing. -Presently, however, one reached a gap in the thickly growing rushes—it -might not extend to a yard in width, yet no sooner was but a glimpse -available to the keen eyes beyond, than the whole pack rose in -simultaneous clatter of throats and wings. They had merely waited that -scintilla of ocular confirmation of a known danger.</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Driving</span>†(<span class="smcap">in a Dry Season</span>)</p> - -<p>For four months no rain had fallen. The parched earth gaped with -cavernous cracks; vegetation was dried up; starving cattle stood about -listless, and every day one saw the assembled vultures devouring the -carcases of those already dead.<a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a></p> - -<p>From the turrets of our shooting-lodge one’s eye surveyed—no longer an -inland sea, but a monotone of sun-baked mud; inspection through -binoculars revealed the fact that this whole space was dotted with -troops of ... well, a friend who was with us thought they were sheep; -but which, in fact, were bands of greylag geese.</p> - -<p>The fluctuations of Spanish seasons—varying from Noachian deluge to -Saharan drought—necessarily react upon the habits of wildfowl. These -changes are one of the charms of the country; at any rate, they “stretch -out†the fowler to devise some new thing.</p> - -<p>Those battalions of greylags posted out there on a vantage-ground where -a mouse might be a prominent object at 100 yards, how can they be -reduced to possession? Our friend aforesaid replies that the undertaking -appears humanly impossible. We have, nevertheless, elaborated a system -of driving, by which in dry years the greylag geese may be obtained with -some degree of certainty.</p> - -<p>This morning (the last of January) we rode forth, four guns and four -keepers, across that plain. Upon approaching the pack of geese selected, -one keeper rides to a position rather above the “half-wind†line, and -there halts as a “stop.†The remaining seven ride on till, at a silent -signal, No. 1 gun, without checking his horse, passes the bridle forward -and rolls out of the saddle with gun and gear, lying at once flat as a -flounder on the bare dry mud. At intervals of eighty yards each -successive gun does the same, the four being now extended in a half-moon -that commands nearly a quarter-mile of space. The three keepers (leading -the other horses) continue riding forward in circular course till a -second “stop†is placed in the right flank corresponding with the one -already posted on the left. The last pair now complete the circuit by -riding round to windward of the game, separating by 200 yards as that -position is attained. (See diagram.)</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 242px;"> -<a href="images/ill_060_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_060_sml.jpg" width="242" height="190" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>How are these four guns to conceal themselves on perfectly<a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a> bare ground -from the telescopic sight of wild-geese? Occasionally, some small -natural advantage may be found—such as tufts of rushes—and these are -at once availed of. But this morning there is no such aid. Not a rush -nor a mole-hill breaks that dead-level monotone for miles; and in such -condition a human being, however flat he may lie, is bound to be -detected by the keen-eyed geese long ere they arrive within shot.<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> A -dozen twigs of tree-heath, dipped in wet mud and then allowed to dry, so -as to harmonise in colour with the surroundings, may be utilised; but -the annexed sketch shows better than words a portable screen we have -devised and which fulfils this purpose. It consists of four bamboo -sticks two feet long, sharpened at the point, and connected by four or -five strings with one-foot intervals. This when rolled up forms a bundle -no thicker than an umbrella. On reaching one’s post the bundle unrolls -of itself, the sharpened points are stuck into the ground at an angle -sloping towards the prostrate gun, a few tufts of dead grass (carried in -one’s pocket) are woven through the strings and the shelter is complete. -Needless to say, these preparations must be carried out with the minimum -of movement in face of such vigilant foes. Some assistance, however, -accrues from the geese continuing to watch the moving file of horsemen -while the prostrate gunner erects his screen.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_061_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_061_sml.jpg" width="371" height="140" alt="SHELTERS FOR DRIVING WILD-GEESE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SHELTERS FOR DRIVING WILD-GEESE</span> -</p> - -<p>Well, the circle being complete, all four drivers (distant now, say, -1000 yards) converge on the common centre. The watchful geese have -ceased grubbing up the spear-grass, and now stand<a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a> alert with a forest -of necks erect, while an increasing volume of gabbling attests their -growing suspicion. Presently, with redoubled outcry, they rise on wing, -and now commences the real science of our Spanish fowlers. The guns, -after all, command but a small segment of the circle—anywhere else the -geese can break out scathless—and this mischance it is the object of -our drivers and flankers to avert. No sooner does the gaggling band -shift its course to port or starboard than the “stop†on that side is -seen to be urging his horse in full career to intercept their flight, -yet using such judgment as will neither deflect their course too much or -turn them back altogether. Sometimes both flankers and drivers are seen -to be engaged at once, and a pretty sight it is to the prostrate gunners -to watch the equestrian manÅ“uvres.</p> - -<p>Presently the whole band head away for what appears the only available -outlet, and should they then pass directly over one or other of the -guns, are seldom so high but that a pair should be secured -right-and-left.</p> - -<p>In strong gales of wind the geese, on being driven, are apt, instead of -taking a direct course, to circle around in revolving flight, gaining -altitude at each revolution; and in such case not only come in very high -but at incredible speed—<i>mas lejeros que zarcetas</i>—swifter than teal, -as Vasquez puts it.</p> - -<p>The first essential of success in driving wild-geese (and the same -applies to great bustard and all large winged game) is to instal the -firing-line as near as may be without disturbing the fowl. The more -remote the guns the greater the difficulty in forcing the game through -the crucial pass.</p> - -<p>To manÅ“uvre single bands of geese as above, three or four guns at -most, with the same number of drivers, are best. A great crowd of -horsemen (such being never seen in these wilds) unduly arouses -suspicions already acute enough. With any greater number of guns, it is -advisable to extend the field of operations to, say, two or three miles, -thereby enclosing several troops of geese—this requiring a large force -of drivers. It does not, however, follow that each of these enclosed -troops will “enter†to the guns; for should one pack come in advance, -the firing will turn back the others. This mischance—or rather -bungle—may be averted (or may not) by the leading driver firing a blank -shot behind so soon as the first geese are seen to have taken wing. -Needless to remark, once a shot has been fired<a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a> ahead, it becomes -tenfold harder to force the remaining geese to the guns.</p> - -<p>Each gun should hold his fire till the main bodies of geese are well on -wing and seen to be heading in towards the shooting-line. The “best -possible†chances are thus secured, and not for one gun only, but quite -possibly for all, as several hundred geese pass down the line. A -premature shot, on the contrary, will ruin the best-planned drive, and -bring down merited abuse from the rest of the party with scathing -contempt from the drivers.</p> - -<p>Taking single troops at a time, as many as six or eight separate drives -may be worked into a long day. Our first drive to-day produced three -geese, the second was blank, while five greylags rewarded the third -attempt. In the last instance three of the guns received welcome aid -from a string of <i>ojos</i>, or land-springs, around which grew a fringe of -green rushes, affording excellent cover.</p> - -<p>By four o’clock we had secured, in five drives, eleven geese and a -wigeon. We then, on information received, changing our plan, rode off to -a point which the keeper of that district had noted was being used by -the geese as a <i>dormidero</i>, or sleeping-place; and here, as dusk fell, -an hour’s “flighting†added six more greylags to that day’s total.</p> - -<p>The above may be put down as a fair average day’s results in a dry -season. From a dozen to a score of driven geese (and occasionally many -more) represent, with such game as greylags, a degree and a quality of -sport that is ill-represented by cold numerals.</p> - -<p>There are spots in the marisma where the configuration of the shore-line -enables the flight of the geese, when disturbed, to be foretold with -certainty. For geese will not cross dry land: their retreat is always to -the open waters. In such situations excellent results accrue from -placing the gun-line at a <i>right angle</i> to the expected line of flight, -while all the “beaters,†save one or two to flush the fowl, are -stationed as “stops†between the geese and their objective. On rising, -the birds thus find themselves confronted by a long line of horsemen who -intercept their natural retreat, and, in effect, force them back towards -the land. Should the operation be well executed, the landmost gun will -probably be the first to fire; while the geese<a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a> thereafter pass down the -entire line of guns, possibly affording shots to each in turn.</p> - -<p>Two guns can then be effectively brought into action. Needless to add, -the second must be handled with the utmost rapidity.</p> - -<p>In wet winters, when the marisma is submerged, “driving†is not -available. Obviously you cannot place a line of guns, however keen, in -six inches of water, much less in half-a-yard.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>My first impression of wild-goose driving (writes J.) was one of -wonder that such intensely astute and wide-awake fowl would ever -fly near, much less over so obvious a danger as the little loose -semicircle of rosemary twigs behind which I lay prone on the barest -of bare mud. Peering through between their naked stalks, I could -plainly see the geese some half-mile away, and it seemed incredible -that I should not be equally visible to them. Possibly the brown -leaves on top of the twigs may have concealed me from the loftier -anserine point of view, and the equestrian manÅ“uvres beyond no -doubt greatly aided the object. Anyway, the whole pack—three or -four hundred, and proportionally noisy—<i>did</i> come right over me, -and a wildly exciting moment it was, I can assure you! We had six -or seven drives that day, and bagged twenty-eight splendid great -grey geese, of which eight fell to my lot.</p> - -<p>I may perhaps be allowed to add (since such details are taken for -granted, or regarded as unworthy of note by regular gunners of the -<i>marisma</i>) that to-day we had no less than six times to cross and -recross a broad marsh-channel called the <i>Madre</i>—floundering, -splashing, slithering, and stumbling through 100 yards of mud and -water full three-foot deep. It may be nothing (if you’re used to -it), yet twice I’ve seen horses go down, and their riders take a -cold bath, lucky if they didn’t broach their barrels! To follow -Vasquez about the <i>marisma</i> is a job that requires special -qualities that not all of us possess or (perchance fortunately?) -require to possess.</p></div> - -<p>The following instructions may be worth the attention of new -beginners:—</p> - -<p>(1) Never fire till you are fairly certain to kill at least one.</p> - -<p>(2) Never rise or even move in your “hide†till the beat is entirely -finished.</p> - -<p>(3) Reload at once; when big lots are being moved, two, three, or more -chances may offer quite unexpectedly.</p> - -<p>(4) Wear suitably coloured clothes and head-gear, and never let the sun -glint on the gun-barrels.</p> - -<p>(5) After firing, watch the departing geese till nearly out of<a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a> sight. -Though apparently unhurt, one of their company may turn over, -stone-dead, in the distance.</p> - -<p class="sbhead">“<span class="smcap">Flighting</span>‗<span class="smcap">an Incident of a Dry Season</span></p> - -<p>The day above described was selected, not only because it affords a -typical illustration of our theme, but also because there had occurred -during its course an extraneous incident which serves to amplify this -exposition of the pursuit of the greylag goose.</p> - -<p>Riding across the marisma, certain signs at once filled both our minds -with fresh ideas. All around the ground was littered with cast feathers -and other evidence proclaiming that this special spot was a regular -resort of geese. We were crossing one of those slightly raised ridges of -sand and grit which here and there intersect the otherwise universal -dead-level of alluvial mud, and which ridges are known locally as -<i>vetas</i>—tongues.</p> - -<p>Now the nutritive economy of wild-geese, as already explained, requires -a frequently replenished store of sand or grit. In wet seasons (the -marisma being then submerged) the geese resort to the adjoining -sand-dunes of Doñana to secure these supplies. But in dry winters they -are enabled to obtain the necessary sand from these <i>vetas</i>; and it was -to this particular spot that, to the number of many hundreds, the geese -were evidently resorting at this period.</p> - -<p>At once the measure of opportunity was gauged, and the arrangements -necessary for its exploitation were made. Within three minutes a -messenger was galloping homewards to summon a couple of men with spades -and buckets to prepare a hole wherein one of us might lie concealed at -daybreak. A pannier-mule to carry away the excavated material was also -requisitioned, since the least visible change in the earth’s surface -would instantly be recognised by the geese as a danger-signal. Within a -few minutes we had resumed our course, to continue the day’s sport.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_062_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_062_sml.jpg" width="666" height="274" alt="Wild-Geese in the Marisma." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Wild-Geese in the Marisma.</span> -</p> - -<p>Next morning half an hour before dawn the writer reached the spot. It -was pitch-dark and a dense fog prevailed. By what mental process my -guides directed an unerring course to that lonely hole in the midst of a -pathless and practically boundless waste passes understanding. Such -piloting (without aid of compass or even of the heavenly bodies—the -usual index on<a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a> which marshmen rely) seems to indicate a point where -intellect and instinct touch; or perhaps rather a survival of the latter -quality which, in modern races, has become obsolete through disuse. -Among savage races that faculty of instinct is markedly prominent, -indeed the master-force; but there it has been acquired (or retained) at -the cost of intellect, which is not the case with our Spanish -friends—they possess both qualities. But place the best intellects of -Madrid, or Paris, or London in such conditions—in darkness, or fog, or -in viewless forest—and not one could hold a straight course for -half-a-mile. Within ten minutes each man would be lost, devoid of all -sense of direction. That is part of the price of the higher -civilisation—the loss of a faculty which need not clash with any other. -Of course where people live with a telephone at their ear, with electric -trams and “tubes†close at hand, where a whistle will summon an -attendant hansom and two a taxi-meter—or, as <i>Punch</i> suggested, three -may bring down an airship—well, in such case, those modern “advantages†-may be held to outweigh the loss of a primitive natural faculty.</p> - -<p>Hardly had a tardy light begun to strengthen to the dawn than the soft, -soliloquising “Gagga, gagga, gagga,†with alternatively the raucous -“Honk-honk,†resounded afar through the gloom. From seven o’clock -onwards geese were flying close around—so near that the rustling of -strong wings sounded almost within arm’s-length; but that opaque fog -held unbroken and nothing could be seen. Long before eight I resolved to -quit and leave the fowl undisturbed for another morning rather than open -fire at so late an hour. Having a compass, I steered a good line to the -point where the horses awaited me, a mile away.</p> - -<p>The following morning again broke foggy, though not quite so thick; -still I had only five geese at eight o’clock, when three packs coming -well in, in rapid succession, afforded three gratifying doubles. Total, -eleven geese.</p> - -<p>Leaving the geese a few mornings’ peace, on February 5 the authors -together occupied that hole at dawn. It proved a brilliant morning with -a fine show of geese. As each pack came in, we took it in turns to give -the word whether to fire or not. In the negative case, our eyes sank -gently below the surface of the earth, and crouching down we heard the -rush of wind-splitting pinions pass over and behind—probably to offer<a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a> -a fairer mark when they next wheeled round. Then two, and often three, -great geese came hurtling downwards, to fall with resounding thuds -behind. Few mistakes occurred this morning and scarce a chance was -missed. But never could we succeed in working-in the two doubles at -once! The cramped space forbade that. The hole, having been dug for one, -gave no freedom of action for two guns; its floor, moreover, had now -become a compound of sticky glutinous clay a foot deep, and that further -hampered movements. Only one gun could work the second barrel.</p> - -<p>After each shot, one of us jumped out and propped up the fallen geese as -decoys. To leave them lying about all-ends-up has a disastrous effect.</p> - -<p>Ere the “flight†ceased we had five-and-twenty greylags down around our -hide, besides several others that had fallen at some distance, duly -marked by the keepers who now galloped off to gather these—say two -mule-loads of geese. The discovery of that lonely “sanding-place†had -had a concrete reward.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_063_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_063_sml.jpg" width="336" height="232" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI<br /><br /> -WILD-GEESE ON THE SAND-HILLS</h2> - -<p class="nind">F<small>LANKING</small> the marisma and separating it from the dry lands of Doñana, -there rises rampart-like a swelling range of dunes—the biggest thing in -the sand line we have seen on earth. For miles extend these mountains of -sand, unbroken by vestige of vegetation or any object to relieve one’s -eyesight, dazzled—aye, blinded—by that brilliantly scintillating -surface, set off in vivid contrast by the azure vault above.</p> - -<p>Should a stranger, on first seeing those buttressed dunes, be seriously -informed that their naked summits constitute a favourite resort of -wild-geese, he might reasonably suspect his informant’s sanity, or at -least wonder whether his own credulity were not being tested. Yet such -is the fact—one of the surprises that befall in Spain, the <i>pays de -l’imprévu</i>.</p> - -<p>The paradox is explained by the stated necessity in wild-geese to -furnish their gizzards with store of grit or sand for digestive -purposes.</p> - -<p>This supply, so long as the marisma is dry, they are able to obtain from -those raised ridges of calcareous debris (already described, and known -locally as <i>vetas</i>) which here and there outcrop from the alluvial -wastes. But when winter rains and floods have submerged the whole region -and thus deprived the fowl of that local resource, they are forced to -rely upon the sand-dunes aforesaid and to substitute pure sea-sand for -their former specific of calcareous grit or disintegrated shells. To the -sand-dunes, therefore, in the cold bright mornings between October and -February, the skeins of greylag geese may be seen directing their course -in successive files, in order, as the Spanish put it, “to sand -themselves†(<i>arenárse</i>).</p> - -<p>A notable fact (and one favourable to the fowler) is that, though these -dunes extend for miles, yet the geese select<a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a> certain limited areas—or, -to be precise, the summits of two particular hills—for alighting, and -this despite their being regularly shot thereat, year after year.</p> - -<p>With the first sign of dawn the earlier arrivals will be heard -approaching; but the bulk of the geese come in about sun-up and onwards -till 9 <small>A.M.</small> Geese arriving high (having come presumably from a distance) -will sometimes, after a preliminary wheel, suddenly collapse in mid-air, -diving and shooting earthwards in a score of curving lines—as teal do, -or tumbler-pigeons; but with these heavy fowl the manÅ“uvre is -executed with surprising grace and command of wing. Their numbers vary -on different mornings without any apparent cause; but it may be laid -down as a general rule that more will come on clear bright mornings than -when the dawn is overcast, while rain proves (as in all wildfowling) an -upsetting factor. Sometimes, even on favourable mornings, no geese -appear. Occasionally, in small numbers, they may visit the sand in -afternoon.</p> - -<p>To exploit the advantage afforded by this habit of the geese, it is -necessary that the fowler be concealed before dawn in a hole dug for the -purpose in the sand—care being taken to utilise any natural -concealment, such as a depression flanked by a steep sand-revetment; so -that, at least from one quarter, the geese may perceive no danger till -right over the gun. The hole (or holes, but <i>one</i> is best) must be dug -at least twelve hours before, or the newly turned sand will show up -dark. Were it not for the risk of wind filling them up with driving sand -(a matter of an hour or two), the holes might well be prepared two or -even three days beforehand. The excavated material is piled up around -the periphery and flattened down smooth, thus forming a raised rampart -which screens the suspicious darkness of the interior. Needless to say, -the fewer human footprints around the spot, the better.</p> - -<p>Such is the inability exhibited by many sportsmen (not being -wildfowlers) to conceal their persons—or even to recognise the virtue -of concealment—that, for such, the holes are apt to be made too big, -and the geese swerve off at sight of those gaping pits. This indeed is a -form of sport that none save wildfowlers need essay—others merely -succeed in thwarting the whole enterprise.</p> - -<p>However carefully prepared and skilfully occupied, these holes<a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a> (dug in -naked sand) must obviously be visible enough to the keen sight of -incoming greylags. One such hole (when backed up by well-placed decoys) -the geese may almost ignore; two they distrust; while three inspire -something approaching panic. Consequently a single craftsman who knows -his business and bides his time will shoot, under the most favourable -circumstances, at almost every successive band of geese that means -alighting. Two guns, in <i>full sympathy</i> with each other, may effectually -combine by occupying holes dug at some fifty yards apart and with a -single set of decoys set midway between for mutual use. Thus there can -be secured fair, frequent, and almost simultaneous shots.</p> - -<p>It is essential to bear in mind the fact that the geese have come with -the intention (unless prematurely alarmed) of <i>alighting</i>. Hence, as -they often circle two or three times around before finally deciding, a -judicious refusal of all uncertain chances has a concrete reward when, a -few seconds later, the pack sweep overhead at half gunshot. The first -element of success lies in concealment; the second in ever allowing the -geese to come in to such close quarters as renders the shot a certainty.</p> - -<p>Greylag geese are, of course, huge birds, very strong, and impenetrable -as ironclads. But to tyros (and many others) in the early light they are -apt to appear much larger, and consequently much nearer, than is -actually the case. All this has, the night before, been impressed upon -our friend, the tyro, in solemn, even tragic tones. The urgency of the -thing seems to have been graven deep on the very tissues of his brain, -and he promises with earnest humility to bear the lesson in mind when -the vital moment shall arrive; to deny himself all but point-blank shots -well within thirty yards, whereby he will not only himself assist to -swell the score, but enable his companion to do likewise.</p> - -<p>Words fail to describe that companion’s frame of mind at the dawn, when, -despite over-night exhortations and assurances, he sees to his horror -pack after pack of incoming geese (some of which he has himself let pass -within forty yards) “blazed at†at mad and reckless ranges by that -wretched scarecrow who never ruffles a feather and afterwards tries to -excuse his failure by enlarging on “the extreme height the geese came in -at!â€</p> - -<p>These goose-hills, it may here appropriately be stated, lie<a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a> midway -between our two shooting-lodges and distant between two and three hours’ -ride from either. Thus every morning’s goose-shooting presupposes some -fairly arduous work. It means being in the saddle by 4 <small>A.M.</small> with its -resultant discomforts and a long scrambling ride in the dark. Hence the -disgust is proportionate when all that work is thrown away in such -insane style. Never again for any tyro on earth, though he be our -clearest friend, never will the authors turn out at 3 <small>A.M.</small>, abusing with -clattering hoof the silence and repose of midnight watch and the hours -designed for rest—never again, unless alone or with a known and -reliable companion.</p> - -<p>A word now as to the “decoys.†These, in design, are American—first -observed and brought across from Chicago—cut out of block-tin, formed -and painted to resemble a grey-goose. Geese being gregarious by nature -are peculiarly susceptible to the attractions of decoys. Hence these tin -geese have a marvellous effect when silhouetted on the skyline of a -sand-ridge, being conspicuous for enormous distances and the only -“living†objects on miles of desert. They are <i>most</i> deadly before -sunrise, after which they are apt to glint too much despite a coating of -dried mud. As daylight broadens, incoming geese are apt to be -disconcerted at losing sight of their supposed friends, which event must -occur as each decoy falls end-on—one can interpret the hurried queries -and expletives of the puzzled phalanx at that mysterious disappearance! -For these reasons it is desirable as soon as possible to supplement the -decoys with, and finally to substitute for them, the real article, that -is, the newly shot geese, set up in life-like attitudes by aid of twigs -brought for the purpose. Fallen birds must, in any case, be set up as -fast as gathered; if left spread-eagled as they fell, inevitably the -next comers are scared. The more numerous and life-like the decoys, the -more certain are the geese to come in with confidence and security.</p> - -<p>Naturally great care must be used in getting into and out of one’s hide -to avoid breaking down its loose and crumbling substance. But it is of -first importance quickly to gather and prop up the dead. A winged goose -walking away should be stopped with a charge of No. 6 in the head.</p> - -<p>As illustrating the life-like effect produced by our tin decoys, on one -occasion a friend, after firing both barrels, was watching<a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a> a wounded -goose, when a strange sound behind attracted his attention. On looking -round, a fox was seen to have sprung upon one of the tin geese! That a -fox, with his keen intuition and knowledge of things, should have -considered it worth his while to stalk wild-geese (even of flesh and -blood) on that naked expanse seems incredible. The fact remains that he -did it!</p> - -<p>Strange indeed are the sensations evoked by that silent watch before -day-dawn, in expectation of what truly appears incredible! Buried -virtually in a desert of sand the fowler has nothing in sight beyond the -dark dunes and a star-spangled sky overhead. For his hide is cunningly -hidden in a slight depression with a hanging buttress on two sides.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_064_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_064_sml.jpg" width="436" height="264" alt="WILD-GEESE ALIGHTING ON THE SAND-HILLS" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WILD-GEESE ALIGHTING ON THE SAND-HILLS</span> -</p> - -<p>Several hundred yards away, concealed under stunted pines, stand our -horses, while the men cower round a small fire, for we have had a biting -cold two-hours’ ride, and freezing to boot. Half-a-mile away on the -other side—the east—begins the marisma, though hidden from view by the -waves of rolling sand that intervene.</p> - -<p>Now a faint glint of light gleams on the tin decoys and foretells the -<a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a>coming dawn. Five more minutes elapse, and then ... that low deep-toned -anserine call-note, instinct with concentrated caution—“Gagga, gagga, -gagga, gagga‗sets pulses and nerves on fuller stretch. This pack -proves to be but an advance-guard; for this is one of those -thrice-blessed mornings for which we pray! The geese come in thick and -fast in successive bands of six or eight to a score, and all beautifully -timed, with exactly the correct interval between. The fowler is a -craftsman, a master of his art, and, moreover, he is all alone. Hence he -can to-day await the psychological moment with patience and absolute -confidence. Rarely in such circumstances is trigger touched in vain; not -seldom has the second gun been brought into action with good, thrice -with double effect. No simple achievement is this, when fowl vanish -swift and ghost-like into space; for, remember, guns must be exchanged -with due deliberateness else shifting sand in an instant fills the -breech and clogs the actions. Thrice has the double <i>carambola</i> been -brought off, and now comes the prettiest shot of all—five geese swing -past, head up for the decoys, and pass full broadside at deadliest -range; they are barely twenty yards away. In all but simultaneous pairs -fall four of their company on the sand—all four stone dead; and but a -single survivor wings away to bear news of the catastrophe to his -fellows in the marisma!</p> - -<p>It is 8 <small>A.M.</small>, and the tin decoys are now entirely replaced by geese of -flesh and feather, with the fatal result that each successive pack now -enters with fullest confidence, so that by doubles and trebles the score -mounts fast during the fleeting minutes that yet remain.</p> - -<p>Before nine o’clock the flight has ceased. It only remains to gather -those birds which have fallen afar—and which have been marked by the -keepers from their points of vantage—and to follow by their spoor on -the sand such winged geese as may have departed on foot. Some of these -will be overtaken, those that have concealed themselves in the nearest -rush-beds; but should any have passed on and gained the stronghold of -the marisma, they are lost.</p> - -<p>Such is an ideal morning’s work, one of those rare rewards of patience -and skill that occur from time to time. Far differently may the event -fall out. There are mornings when scarce once will that weird -forewarning note, “Gagga, gagga,†rejoice the expectant ear with harsh -music, when no chain-like skeins dot and serry the eastern skies, or -ever a greylag appears<a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a> to remember his wonted haunts. We do not -complain, much less despair. Such are the underlying, fundamental -conditions of wildfowling in all lands. To a nature-lover the wildness -of the scene, with its unique conditions and environment are ever -sufficient reward.</p> - -<p>Roughly speaking, from a dozen to a score of geese may be reckoned as a -fair average morning’s work for one gun. The following figures, selected -from our game-books, indicate the degree of success that rewards -exceptional skill. In each instance they apply to but one fowler, though -two guns (12-bores) may have been employed.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="center">1903.</td><td align="left"> </td><td align="left"> Remarks.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Dec. 4.</td><td align="left">29 geese.</td><td align="left">Later in day, shot 46 ducks in the <i>marisma</i> close by.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Dec. 5.</td><td align="left">51 geese.</td><td align="left">Later, shot 25 ducks, 16 snipe.—B. F. B.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">1904.</td><td align="left"> </td><td align="left"> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Nov. 27.</td><td align="left">27 geese.</td><td align="left">(A second gunner shot but three.)</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Nov. 30.</td><td align="left">52 geese.</td><td align="left"> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">1903.</td><td align="left"> </td><td align="left"> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Jan. 9.</td><td align="left">23 geese.</td><td align="left">Westerly gale kept filling hole with sand; half my time<br /> -spent in new excavation.—W. J. B.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">1908.</td><td align="left"> </td><td align="left"> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Dec. 7.</td><td> </td><td align="left">Three guns on sand-hills, 4 + 7 + 22 = 33 geese.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Dec. 10.</td><td align="left">42 geese.</td><td align="left">Shots fired, 44. Later in day, shot 55 ducks, 3 snipe = 100 -head.—B. F. B.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">1909.</td><td align="left"> </td><td align="left"> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Jan. 8.</td><td align="left">38 geese.</td><td align="left"> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Jan. 19.</td><td align="left">59 geese.</td><td align="left">The record.—(B. F. B.)</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Dec. 29.</td><td> </td><td align="left">H.M. King Alfonso XIII., 6 geese; Marq. de Viana, 5 = 11 -geese (an unfavourable morning).</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">1910.</td><td align="left"> </td><td align="left"> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Jan. 7.</td><td> </td><td align="left">Two guns (second at Caño de la Casquera), 12 + 28 = 40 geese.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Jan. 8.</td><td align="left">23 geese.</td><td align="left"> </td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Possibly the larger totals are unsurpassed in the world’s records. By -way of contrast we append what may perchance be discovered in the -note-book of the veracious tyro:—</p> - -<p>Went out three mornings at three, emptied three cartridge-bags at -ridiculous ranges, fluked three geese, and scared three thousand.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Instructions in shooting Wild-Geese</span></p> - -<p>Where the main object is <i>close quarters</i>, ordinary 12-bore guns -suffice. But since geese are very strong and heavily clad, large shot is -a necessity, say No. 1.</p> - -<p>Thirty to thirty-five yards should be regarded as the outside range, -with forty yards as an extreme limit. The latter, however,<a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a> should only -be attempted in exceptional cases, and never when shooting in company.</p> - -<p>Should two guns be employed, the case of the second is, of course, -different. It may be loaded with larger shot—say AAA—which is -effective up to fifty yards.</p> - -<p>The speed of geese (like that of bustards) is extremely deceptive—as -much so as their apparent nearness when really far out of shot. When in -full flight geese travel as fast as ducks or as driven grouse, though -their relatively slow wing-beats give a totally false impression -thereof. It is a safe rule for beginners to allow <i>double</i> that forward -swing of the gun that may appear needful to inexpert eyes.</p> - -<p>Even when geese are slowing down to alight, the impetus of their flight -is still far greater than it appears.</p> - -<p>It is a mistake to suppose (as many urge) that geese cannot be killed -coming in, that the shot then “glances off their steely plumage,†or -that you “must let them pass over and shoot from behind,†etc., etc. The -cause of all these frequent misapprehensions is—the old, old -story—<i>too far back!</i> Hold another foot ahead—or a yard, according to -circumstance—and this dictum will be handsomely proved.</p> - -<p>Never deliberately try to kill two at one shot; it results in killing -neither. But by shooting well ahead of <i>one</i> goose that is seen to be -aligned with another beyond, <i>both</i> may thus be secured.<a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII<br /><br /> -SOME RECORDS IN SPANISH WILDFOWLING</h2> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 215px;"> -<a href="images/ill_065a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_065a_sml.jpg" width="215" height="169" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="nind">E<small>L</small> T<small>RAVIERSO</small>, <i>February 9, 1901.</i>—An hour before dawn we (five guns) -lay echeloned obliquely across a mile of water, the writer’s position -being the second out. No. 1 squatted (in six inches of water) between me -and the shore; but, being dissatisfied, moved elsewhere shortly after -day-break, leaving with me two geese and about a dozen ducks. These, -with thirty-six of my own, I set out as decoys. Shortly thereafter I -heard the gaggle of geese, and two, coming from behind, were already so -near that there was only time to change <i>one</i> cartridge to big shot. The -geese passed abeam, quite low and within thirty yards, but six feet -apart—impossible to get them both. Held on; upon seeing that the decoys -were a fraud, the geese spun up vertically, and that <i>one</i> cartridge -secured both. The incident gives opportunity to introduce two rough -sketches pencilled down at the moment. During this day there were -recurrent periods when for ten or fifteen, minutes ducks flew extremely -fast and well—<i>revoluciones</i>, our keepers term these sporadic -intermittent<a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a> movements; then for a full hour or more might follow a -spell of absolute silence and an empty sky. Almost the whole of these -successive flights concentrated on No. 2—such is fowler’s luck,—so -that by dusk I had gathered 105 ducks, 3 geese, 3 flamingoes, and 4 -godwits; total, 115. The next gun (J. C. C.), though only 200 yards -away, in No. 3, had but 30 ducks; while the others had practically had -no shooting all day. Bertie, however, two miles away at the Desierto, -added 65—bringing the day’s total to 268 ducks, 8 geese, etc. Three -guns left to-night.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 269px;"> -<a href="images/ill_065b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_065b_sml.jpg" width="269" height="171" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Next day at the Cañaliza, Bertie and I had 70 ducks by noon, when (by -reason of intense sun-glare at the point) I shifted back to my -yesterday’s post—two hours’ tramp through sticky mud and water, with a -load of cartridges, ducks, etc. Thereat in one hour (4 to 5 <small>P.M.</small>) I -secured 56 ducks, bringing my total for the two days—a record in my -humble way, but surpassed threefold, as will be seen on following -pages—to over 200 head, and for the party, to precisely 500 (491 ducks -and 9 geese), besides flamingoes, ruffs, grey-plover, etc.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 285px;"> -<a href="images/ill_066_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_066_sml.jpg" width="285" height="94" alt="GODWITS" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GODWITS</span> -</div> - -<p> </p> - -<p>A curious incident occurred on February 11 (1907). But few ducks—and -they all teal—had “flighted†early, and a strong west wind having -“blown†the water, my post was left near dry. Just as I prepared to move -300 yards eastward, a marvellous movement of teal commenced. On the far -horizon appeared three whirling clouds, each perhaps 100 yards in length -by 20 in depth, and all three waltzing and wheeling in marshalled -manÅ“uvres down channel towards me. To right and left in rhythmical -revolutions swept those masses, doubling again and again upon themselves -with a precision of movement that passes understanding. Each unit of -those thousands, actuated by simultaneous impulse, changed course while -moving at lightning speed; and with that changed course they changed -also their colour, flashing in an instant from dark to silvery white, -while the roar of wings resembled an earthquake.</p> - -<p>All three clouds had already passed along the deeper water<a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a> beyond my -reach when there occurred this strange thing. A peregrine falcon had for -some time been hanging around studying with envious eye the dozen or two -dead ducks stuck up around my post; now he swept away, as it were, to -intercept that feathered avalanche on my right, with the result that the -third and last cloud, being cut off, doubled back in tumultuous -confusion right in my face—what a spectacle! The puny twelve-bore -brought down a perfect shower of teal—probably 30 or more fell all -around me. I gathered 18 as fast as the sticky mud allowed; others -fluttered here and there beyond reach; how many in all escaped to feed -marsh-harriers none can tell.</p> - -<p>Another incident with peregrine:—I had just taken post for -night-flighting at the Albacias, when, as dusk fell, a big bird appeared -in the gloom making, with laboured flight, directly towards me. Thinking -(though doubtfully) that it was a goose, I fired. The stranger proved to -be a beautiful adult peregrine, carrying in its claws a marbled duck, -and the pair are now set up in my collection.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Figures such as the following are apt to provoke two sentiments: (1) -that they are not true, or that (2), being true, such results must be -easy of attainment. The first we pass over. As regards the second, the -assumption ignores the nature and essential character of wildfowl.</p> - -<p>These, being cosmopolitans, remain precisely the same wherever on the -earth’s surface they happen to be found. It is their sky they change, -not their natural disposition or their fixed habits, when wildfowl shift -their homes. The difficulty is that not half-a-dozen men in a thousand -understand wildfowl or the supreme difficulty which their pursuit -entails, whether in Spain, England, or elsewhere.</p> - -<p>In England, it is true, such results are out of the question, simply -because the country is highly drained, cultivated, and populous. Were it -desired to recover for England those immigrant hosts—the operation -would not be impossible—break down the Bedford Level and flood five -counties! Then you might enjoy in the Midlands such scenes as to-day we -see in Spain.</p> - -<p>As a matter of simple fact—and this we state without suspicion of -egotism, or careless should such uncharitably be imputed—the results -recorded below represent even for Spain<a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a> something that approaches the -human maximum alike in wild-fowling skill, in endurance, and in deadly -earnest.</p> - -<p>That test of individual skill has, it may go without saying, been -demonstrated during all these years times without number. There are not, -within the authors’ knowledge, a score of men who have fairly gathered -to their gun in one day 100 ducks in the open marisma. Again, while one -such gun, who is thoroughly efficient, will secure his century, others -(including excellent game-shots) will fail to bag one-tenth of that -number. There can be no question here of “luck†in that long run of -years.</p> - -<p>A feature, more valuable than the figures themselves, is the light they -throw upon the varying distribution of the <i>Anatidae</i> (both specifically -and seasonably) in the south of Spain.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">1897. <i>November 10.</i>—One Gun (W. J. B.)</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Dawn at El Puntal</td><td align="left">6 geese</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Forenoon at Santolalla</td><td align="left">128 ducks</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Afternoon <span class="ditto">â€</span> <span class="ditto">â€</span></td><td align="left">2 stags</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="c">1897. <i>November 25.</i>—Las Neuvas (C. D. W. and B. F. B.) -307 ducks, 53 geese -(Geese, all the afternoon, came well in to decoys)</p> - -<p class="c">1898. <i>January</i> 29, 30, and 31.—Two Guns (W. D. M. and W. J. B.) -437 ducks, 17 geese</p> - -<p class="c">1903.<i>January 18.</i>—<span class="smcap">Flight-Shooting with 12-bore at Caño Dulce</span> (<span class="smcap">one Gun</span>)</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="right">139</td><td align="left">Wigeon</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">32</td><td align="left">Pintail</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">20</td><td align="left">Teal</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">22</td><td align="left">Shovelers</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">10</td><td align="left">Gadwall</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">1</td><td align="left">Mallard</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">3</td><td align="left">Greylag Geese</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Total, 224 ducks and 3 <i>geese</i>. About one-half shot on natural flight -before 11 <small>A.M.</small>; the rest later, over “decoys.†Nice breeze all day.</p> - -<p class="c">1903. <i>February.</i>—Three Consecutive Days’ Flighting (one Gun)</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td align="right"> </td> -<td align="center">February 22.</td> -<td align="center">February 23.</td> -<td align="center">February 24.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Pintaila</td><td align="right">49</td><td align="right">39</td><td align="right">68</td></tr> -<tr><td>Wigeon</td><td align="right">17</td><td align="right">18</td><td align="right">5</td></tr> -<tr><td>Shovelers</td><td align="right">41</td><td align="right">70</td><td align="right">2</td></tr> -<tr><td>Teal</td><td align="right">10</td><td align="right">17</td><td align="right">2</td></tr> -<tr><td>Gadwall</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">3</td></tr> -<tr><td>Marbled Duck</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">0</td></tr> -<tr><td>Garganey</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">0</td></tr> -<tr><td>Mallard</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">1</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td align="right" class="bt">120</td><td align="right" class="bt">145</td><td align="right" class="bt">81</td><td>= 346</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a></p> - -<p>On the 24th a succession of pintails came in, all <i>in pairs</i>. Almost the -entire bag of that species was made in double shots.</p> - -<p class="c">1903. <i>March 4.</i>—<span class="smcap">Beyond Desierto, Flighting</span> (<span class="smcap">one Gun</span>)</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td align="right">124</td><td>Teal</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">7</td><td>Pintail</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">2</td><td>Mallard</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">4</td><td>Shovelers</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Put away many thousands of teal early. These kept coming back in small -lots all day. But the wind held wrong all through, and the <i>Viento de la -mar</i> (= sea-breeze) did not blow up till 5 <small>P.M.</small> Nine camels passed close -by.</p> - -<p class="c">1904. <i>November 8.</i>—<span class="smcap">Laguna de Santolalla</span> (<span class="smcap">one Gun</span>)</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">102</td><td>Teal</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">14</td><td>Pochard</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">3</td><td>Gadwall</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">7</td><td>Mallard</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">3</td><td>Shovelers</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">6</td><td>Ferruginous Duck</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">25</td><td>Marbled Duck</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">Total </td><td align="right" class="bt">159</td><td>Ducks</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="c">1905. <i>November 8.</i>—(<span class="smcap">P. Garvey</span>, C. D. W., and B. F. B.)</p> - -<p class="c">Santolalla 264 ducks</p> - -<p class="c">1905. <i>December 3.</i>—<span class="smcap">Caño Dulce</span> (<span class="smcap">one Gun</span>)</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">3</td><td>Greylag Geese</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">121</td><td>Wigeon</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">47</td><td>Teal</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">3</td><td>Pintail</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">3</td><td>Shovelers</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="right">1</td><td>Flamingo</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">Total </td><td align="right" class="bt">178</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="c">1905-6. <span class="smcap">Two Days at Caño Dulce</span> (<span class="smcap">one Gun</span>)</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td> </td><td align="center">Dec. 17, 1905.</td><td align="center">Feb. 17, 1906.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Wigeon</td><td align="right">235</td><td align="right">47</td></tr> -<tr><td>Shovelers</td><td align="right">10</td><td align="right">13</td></tr> -<tr><td>Pintail</td><td align="right">18</td><td align="right">62</td></tr> -<tr><td>Gadwall</td><td align="right">6</td><td align="right">0</td></tr> -<tr><td>Teal</td><td align="right">2</td><td align="right">6</td></tr> -<tr><td>Marbled Duck</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">0</td></tr> -<tr><td>Geese</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">2</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td align="right" class="bt">273</td><td align="right" class="bt">130</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>The total on December 17 represents the “Record,†and was made (as was -that with geese, see p. 131) by B. F. B.</p> - -<p>The whole of the above records refer to flight-shooting with a 12-bore -gun.<a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a></p> - -<p>Following is a list of the different ducks shot by one gun during two -consecutive seasons:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td> </td><td align="right">1902-3.</td><td align="right">1903-4.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Wigeon</td><td align="right">277</td><td align="right">230</td></tr> -<tr><td>Pintail</td><td align="right">267</td><td align="right">28</td></tr> -<tr><td>Mallard</td><td align="right">9</td><td align="right">42</td></tr> -<tr><td>Gadwall</td><td align="right">21</td><td align="right">36</td></tr> -<tr><td>Shovelers</td><td align="right">195</td><td align="right">32</td></tr> -<tr><td>Teal</td><td align="right">276</td><td align="right">269</td></tr> -<tr><td>Garganey</td><td align="right">2</td><td align="right">1</td></tr> -<tr><td>Marbled Duck</td><td align="right">4</td><td align="right">51</td></tr> -<tr><td>Pochard<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">0</td></tr> -<tr><td>Pochard, Crested</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">0</td></tr> -<tr><td>Tufted Duck</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">1</td></tr> -<tr><td>White-faced Duck</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">1</td></tr> -<tr><td>Unenumerated</td><td align="right">191</td><td align="right">0</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td align="right" class="bt">1244</td><td align="right" class="bt">726</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII<br /><br /> -THE SPANISH IBEX</h2> - -<p class="nind">I<small>N</small> the Spanish ibex Spain possesses not only a species peculiar to the -Peninsula, but a game-animal of the first rank.</p> - -<p>Fortunate it is that this sentence can be written in the present tense -instead of (as but a few years ago appeared probable) in the past.</p> - -<p>Since we first wrote on this subject in 1893 the Spanish ibex has passed -through a crisis that came perilously near extirpation. Up to the date -named, and for several years later, none of the great landowners of -Spain, within whose titles were included the vast sierras and -mountain-ranges that form its home, had cherished either pride or -interest in the Spanish wild-goat. Some were dimly conscious of its -existence on their distant domains: but that was all. Not a scintilla of -reproach is here inferred. For these mountain-ranges are so remote and -so elevated as often to be almost inaccessible—or accessible only by -organised expedition independent of local aid. Their sole human -inhabitants are a segregated race of goat-herds, every man of them a -born hunter, accustomed from time immemorial to kill whenever -opportunity offered—and that regardless of size, sex, or season. That -the ibex should have survived such persecution by hardy mountaineers -bespeaks their natural cunning. Their survival was due to two -causes—first, the antiquated weapons employed, but, more important, the -astuteness of the game and the “defence†it enjoyed in the stupendous -precipices and snow-fields of those sierras, great areas of which remain -inaccessible even to specialised goat-herds, save only for a limited -period in summer.</p> - -<p>But no wild animal, however astute or whatever its “defence,†can -withstand for ever perpetual, skilled human persecution. During the -early years of the present century the Spanish<a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a> ibex appeared doomed -beyond hope. Private efforts over such vast areas were obviously -difficult, if not impossible.</p> - -<p>We rejoice to add that at this eleventh hour a new era of existence has -been secured to <i>Capra hispánica</i> at that precise psychological moment -when its scant survivors were struggling in their last throes. The -change is due to graceful action by the landowners in certain great -mountain-ranges; and if our own explorations and our writings on the -subject have also tended to assist, none surely will grudge the authors -this expression of pride in having helped, however humbly, to preserve -not only to Spain, but to the animal-world, one of its handsomest -species.</p> - -<p>This new era took different forms in different places. In certain -sierras—those of less boundless area—the owners have undertaken the -preservation of the ibex partly from their realising the tangible asset -this game-beast adds to the value of barren mountain-land, and partly in -view of the legitimate sport that an increase in stock may hereafter -afford.</p> - -<p>But the main factor which has assured success (and which in itself led -up to the private efforts just named) took origin in the great Sierra de -Grédos. This elevated region is the apex of the long cordillera of -central Spain, the Carpeto-Vetonico range, which extends from Moncayo, -east of Madrid, for some 300 miles through the Castiles and Estremadura, -forming the watershed of Tagus and Douro. It separates the two Castiles, -and passing the frontier of Portugal is there known as the Serra da -Estrella, which, with the Cintra hills, extends to the Atlantic -sea-board. Along all this extensive cordillera there is no more favoured -resort of ibex than its highest peak, the Plaza de Almanzór, of 2661 -metres altitude (= 8700 feet) above sea-level.</p> - -<p>In 1905, when the ibex were about at their last gasp, the proprietors of -the <i>Nucléo central</i>, which we may translate as the <i>Heart</i> of Grédos, -of their own initiative, ceded to King Alfonso XIII. the sole -rights-of-chase therein, and His Majesty commissioned the Marquis of -Villaviciosa de Asturias to appoint an adequate force of guards.</p> - -<p>Six guards were selected from the self-same goat-herds who, up to that -date, had themselves been engaged in hunting to extermination the last -surviving ibex of the sierra, and whom we had ourselves employed during -various expeditions therein.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_067_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_067_sml.jpg" width="393" height="565" alt="ON THE RISCO DEL FRAILE. - -Spanish Ibex in Sierra de Grédos.." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ON THE RISCO DEL FRAILE.<br /> -Spanish Ibex in Sierra de Grédos..</span> -</p> - -<p>The ceded area comprised all the best game-country, defined<a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a> as the -“Circo de Grédos‗including the gorge of the Laguna Grande, the Risco -del Fraile, Risco del Francés, and that of Ameál de Pablo, together with -the wild valley of Las Cinco Lagunas—as shown on rough sketch-plan -annexed.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_068_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_068_sml.jpg" width="359" height="486" alt="SKETCH-MAP OF THE NUCLÉO CENTRAL OF GRÉDOS - -(A. Alto del Casquerázo. - -B. Riscos del Fraile, with the Hermanitos in front.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SKETCH-MAP OF THE NUCLÉO CENTRAL OF GRÉDOS<br /> -(A. Alto del Casquerázo. -<span style="margin-left: 4em;">B. Riscos del Fraile, with the Hermanitos in front.)</span></span> -</p> - -<p>In 1896 we estimated the stock of ibex at fifty head, and during the -following years it fell far below that—by 1905 almost to zero. In 1907, -after only two years of “sanctuary,†it was computed by the guards that -the total exceeded 300 head.</p> - -<p>In July 1910 we inquired if it were possible to estimate the<a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a> present -stock. In a letter (the composition of which would cost some anxiety) -the Guarda of the Madrigal de la Vera—one portion only of the -“sanctuary‗reports: “It is difficult to count the ibex. Sometimes we -see more, sometimes less. Yesterday on the Cabeza Neváda we counted 39 -rams and 22 females together. On the other side we counted 29 in one -troop, 19 in another, 12 in another, besides smaller lots. We probably -saw 160 or 170, and we could not see all. Some of the old rams are very -big, and it would be advisable that some be shot.†Another report (at -same date) from the “Hoyos del Espino,†estimates the ibex there to -exceed 200 head. The two reports go to show that the continuity of the -race is fairly secured.</p> - -<p>[A similar cession of sole hunting-rights to the King was simultaneously -made by the owners of the “Central Group†of the Picos de Europa in -Asturias. There are no ibex in that Cantabrian range; the graceful act -was there inspired by a desire to preserve the chamois, animals with -which we deal in another chapter.]</p> - -<p>The Spanish ibex is found at six separate points in the Peninsula, each -colony divided from its fellows as effectually as though broad oceans -rolled between. The six localities are:—</p> - -<p>(1) The Pyrenees—which we have not visited.</p> - -<p>(2) Sierra de Grédos, as above defined, and as described in greater -detail hereafter.</p> - -<p>(3) Sierra Moréna, a single isolated colony near Fuen-Caliente, now -preserved (see next chapter).</p> - -<p>(4) Sierra Neváda and the Alpuxarras (cf. <i>infra</i>).</p> - -<p>(5) The mountains along the Mediterranean, which are properly western -outliers of Neváda, but which are usually grouped as the “Serrania de -Ronda,†some lying within sight of Gibraltar. Several of the most -important ranges are now preserved by their owners (cf. <i>infra</i>).</p> - -<p>(6) Valencia, Sierra Martés. This forms a new habitat hitherto -unrecorded, and of which we only became aware through the kindness of -Mr. P. Burgoyne of Valencia, who has favoured us with the annexed photo -of an ibex head killed (along with a smaller example) at Cuevas Altas in -the mountain-region known as Peñas Pardas in that province, February 22, -1909. The dimensions read as follows:—<a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td>Length along front curves</td><td align="right">21¾</td><td align="center">inches</td></tr> -<tr><td>Circumference at base</td><td align="right">7â…ž</td><td align="center">"</td></tr> -<tr><td>Widest span</td><td align="right">16â…œ</td><td align="center">"</td></tr> -<tr><td>Tip to tip</td><td align="right">17</td><td align="center">"</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Our informant has reason to believe that ibex also exist (or existed -within recent years) in the rugged mountains of Tortosa, farther east in -Catalonia.</p> - -<p>In the form of its horns the Spanish ibex differs essentially from the -typical ibex of the Alps—now, alas, exterminated save only in the King -of Italy’s preserved ranges around the Val d’Aosta. In the true ibex the -horns bend regularly backwards and downwards in a uniform, scimitar-like -curve. In the Spanish species, after first diverging laterally, the -horns are recurved both inward and finally upward. That is, in the first -case they follow a simple semicircular bend, while in the Spanish goats -they form almost a spiral.</p> - -<p>A minor point of difference lies in the annular rings or notches which -in the true ibex are rectangular, encircling the horn in front like -steps in a ladder, while in <i>Capra hispánica</i> they rather run obliquely -in semi-spiral ascent. These annulations indicate the age of the -animal—one notch to each year—but the count must stop where the spiral -ends. Beyond that is the lightly grooved tip, which does not alter.</p> - -<p>The horns of old rams (which are often broken or worn down at the tips) -average 26 to 28 inches, specially fine examples reaching 29 inches or -more. The females likewise carry horns, but short and slender, only -measuring 6 or 7 inches.</p> - -<p>The six isolated colonies of ibex, separated from each other during -ages, live under totally different natural conditions. For while some, -as stated, exist at 8000, 10,000, or 12,000 feet altitude, others occupy -hills of much more moderate elevations—say 4000 to 6000 feet, some of -which are bush-clad to their summits. Under such circumstances there -have naturally developed divergencies not only in habits, but in form -and size. Particularly does this apply to the horns, and for that reason -we give a series of photos of typical examples from various points.</p> - -<p>The ibex of the Pyrenees is certainly the largest race, and has been -entitled by scientists <i>Capra pyrenaica</i>; those of the centre and south -of Spain being differentiated as <i>C. hispánica</i>.<a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a> We attach less -importance to specific distinctions, but leave the illustrations of -specimens to speak for themselves. It may, however, be remarked that -examples from the two outside extremes (Pyrenees and Neváda) most -closely assimilate in their flattened and compressed form of horn.</p> - -<p>Neither in Grédos nor Neváda are the rock-formations so precipitous as -in the Picos de Europa in Asturias—described later in this book. They -present, nevertheless, difficulties possibly insuperable to mere hunters -unskilled in the technique of climbing. Rock-climbing forms a recognised -branch of “mountaineering,†but of that science the authors (with sorrow -be it confessed) have never been enamoured. To us, mountains, merely as -such, have not appealed. But they form the home of alpine creatures, the -study and acquisition of which were objects that no terrestrial obstacle -could entirely forbid, and we enjoy retrospective pride in having so far -surmounted those antecedent terrors as to have secured a few specimens -of this, the most “impossible†of European trophies—the Spanish ibex.</p> - -<p>An awkward situation is a subrounded wall of rough granulated granite -blocking our course and traversed obliquely by an up-trending fissure -barely the breadth of hempen soles, its inclination outward, and the -“tread†carpeted with slippery wet moss still half frozen. It is seldom -what one can <i>see</i> that gives pause, but the fear of the unseen. Here we -hesitate by reason of the uncertainty of what may confront beyond that -grim curve. The fissure might cease; to turn back would clearly be -impossible. Impatient of delay our crag-born guide—a <i>homo rupestris</i>, -prehensile of foot—seized the gun, and with a muttered ejaculation that -might have included scorn, in three strides had skipt around the dreaded -corner—of course we followed.</p> - -<p>Snow-slopes tipped at steep angles never inspire confidence in the -unaxed climber, especially when the surface is half melted, revealing -green ice beneath, and when the disappearing curve conceals from view -what dangers may lurk below. Again a suddenly interrupted ledge—say -where some great block has become disintegrated from the hanging -face—necessitates a sort of nervy jump quite calculated to shorten -one’s days, even if it does not precipitately terminate them.</p> - -<p>The ibex is always nocturnal. On the great cordilleras it spends its day -asleep on some rock-ledge isolated amidst snow-fields,<a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a> its security -doubly assured by sentinels, whenever such are deemed necessary: or, -lower down, in the caves of a sheer precipice. Only after sun-down do -the ibex descend, and never, even then, so far as timber-line. On these -loftier sierras their home by day is confined to rock and snow; by night -to that zone of moss, heath, and alpine vegetation that intervenes -between the snow-line and topmost levels of scrub and conifer.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Such are the ibex of the loftier ranges—Grédos and Neváda. But in the -south, wild-goats are found on mountains of inferior elevation, 4000 to -6000 feet, many of which are jungled—some even forested—to their -summits, and there they cannot disdain the shelter of the scrub. We have -hunted them (within sight of the Mediterranean) in ground that appeared -more suitable to roe-deer, and have seen the “rootings†of wild-pig -within the ibex-holding area.</p> - -<p>In such situations the wild-goats take quite kindly to the scrub, -forming regular “lairs†wherein they lie-up as close as hares or roe. -Amidst the brushwood that clothes the highland—heaths and broom, -genista, rhododendron, lentiscus, and a hundred other shrubs—they rest -by day and browse by night without having to descend or shift their -quarters at all. On these lower hills the ibex owe their safety, and -survival, to the vast area of covert, and, in less degree, to their -comparatively small numbers. So few are they and so big their home, they -are considered “not worth hunting.â€</p> - -<p>During summer the ibex feed on the mountain-grasses, rush, and flowering -shrubs which at that season adorn the alpine solitudes; later, on the -berries and wild-fruits of the hill. By autumn they attain their highest -condition—the beards of the rams fully developed and their brown pelts -glossy and almost uniform in colour. At this period (September to -October) the rutting season occurs and fighting takes place—the -champions rearing on hind-legs for a charge, and the crash of opposing -horns resounds across the corries of the sierra. Even in spring memories -of the combative instinct survive, for we have watched, in April, a pair -of veterans sparring at each other for half an hour.</p> - -<p>The young are born in April and soon follow their dams—graceful -creatures with unduly large hind-legs, like brown lambs.<a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a> One is the -usual number, though two are not infrequent. The kid remains with its -dam upwards of a year—that is, till after a second family has been -born.</p> - -<p>At that season (April to May) the ibex are changing their coats. The -males lose the flowing beard and assume a hoary piebald colour, -contrasting with the dark of legs and quarters. The muzzle is warm cream -colour and the lower leg (below knee) prettily marked with black and -white. On the knee is a callosity, or round patch of bare hardened skin. -The horns of yearling males are thicker and heavier than those of adult -females.</p> - -<p>Though the hill-shepherds in summer drive out their herds of goats to -pasture on the higher sierra, where they may come in contact with their -wild congeners, yet no interbreeding has ever been known; nor can the -wild ibex be domesticated. Wild kids that are captured invariably die -before attaining maturity. The horns of the herdsmen’s goats differ in -type from those of the ibex, which can never have been the progenitor of -the race of goats now domesticated in Spain.</p> - -<p>Though the personal aroma of an ibex-ram is strong—rather more -offensive than that of a vulture—yet no trace of this remains after -cooking. The flesh is brown and tough, but devoid of any special flavour -or individuality—that is, when subjected to the rude cookery of the -camp.<a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV<br /><br /> -SIERRA MORÉNA<br /><br /> -<small>IBEX</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> tourist speeding along the Andalucian railways and surveying from -his carriage-window the olive-clad and altogether mild-looking slopes of -the Sierra Moréna, will form no adequate, much less a romantic, -conception of that great mountain-system of which he sees but the -southern fringe. Yet, in fact, the train hurries him past within a few -leagues of perhaps the finest big-game country in Spain—of -mountain-solitudes and a thousand jungled corries, wherein lurk fierce -wolves and giant boars, together with one of the grandest races of red -deer yet extant in Europe.</p> - -<p>True, the Sierra Moréna lacks both the altitudes and the stupendous -rock-ridges that characterise all other Spanish sierras—from Neváda and -Grédos to the Pyrenees. It consists rather of a congeries of jumbled -mountain-ranges of no great elevations, but of infinite ramification, -and lacking (save at two points only) those bolder features that most -appeal to the eye. Were the Spanish ranges all of the contour of Moréna, -the name “Sierra†would not have applied. It is, moreover, a unilateral -range—a buttress, banked up on its northern side by the high-lands of -La Mancha, resembling in that respect the well-known Drakensberg of the -Transvaal.</p> - -<p>The Sierra Moréna, typical yet apart, divides for upwards of 300 miles -the sunny lowlands of Andalucia from the bare, bleak uplands of La -Mancha on the north. And in vertical depth (if we may include the -contiguous Montes de Toledo) the range extends but little short of 150 -miles.</p> - -<p>As a homogeneous mountain-system, Moréna thus covers a space equal to -the whole of England south of the Thames, with<a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a> a central northern -projection which would embrace all the Midland Counties as far as -Nottingham!</p> - -<p>[In any survey of the Sierra Moréna, it is appropriate to include the -adjoining Montes de Toledo. They, as just stated, form a north-trending -pyramidal apex based on the main chain and presenting identical -characteristics, both physical and faunal, though of lower general -elevation. The Montes de Toledo, in short, are an intricate complication -of low subrounded hills—rather than mountains—tacked on to the north -of Moréna, all scrub-clad and inhabited by the same wild beasts. Toledan -stags exhibit the same magnificent cornual development, and there is -evidence of seasonal intermigration as between two adjacent regions only -divided by the valley of the Guadiana—a shortage in one area being -sometimes found to be compensated by a corresponding increase in the -other. Roe-deer are more abundant in the lower range; but the sole -clean-cut faunal distinction lies in the presence of wild fallow-deer in -the Montes de Toledo—these animals being quite unknown in Moréna.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a>]</p> - -<p>May we digress on a cognate subject? The Sierra Neváda, though so near -(at one point the two ranges are merely separated by a narrow gap yclept -Los Llanos de Jaén), yet presents totally divergent natural phenomena.</p> - -<p>There are points in Moréna—say from the heights above -Despeñaperros—whence the two systems can be surveyed at once. Behind -you, on the north, roll away, ridge beyond ridge, the endless rounded -skylines of Moréna—colossal yet never abrupt. In front, to the -south—apparently within stone’s-throw—rise the stupendous snow-peaks -of Neváda—jagged pinnacles piercing the heavens to nigh 12,000 feet.</p> - -<p>These peaks may appear within stone’s-throw, or say an easy day’s ride, -though that is an optical illusion. But narrow as it is, that gap of -Jaén divides two mountain-regions utterly dissimilar in every attribute, -whether as to the manner of their birth in remote ages and the -landscapes they present to-day.</p> - -<p>Faunal distinctions are also conspicuous. In Neváda there are found -neither deer of any kind (whether red, roe, or fallow)<a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a> nor wild-boar, -whereas it forms the selected home of ibex and lammergeyer, both of -which are conspicuous by their absence from Moréna, save for a single -segregated colony of wild-goats near Fuen-Caliente.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Although the Sierra Moréna partakes rather of massive than of abrupt -character, yet there occur at a couple of points outcrops of naked rock -of real grandeur. Such, for example, is Despeñaperros, through whose -gorges the Andalucian railway threads a semi-subterranean course. The -very name Despeñaperros signifies in that wondrously adaptive Spanish -tongue nothing less than that its living rocks threaten to hurl to death -and destruction even dogs that venture thereon.</p> - -<p>Another interpretation suggests that in olden days, such were the -pleasantries of the Moors, it was not dogs, but Christians (since to a -Moor the terms were synonymous) that were hurled to their death from the -<i>riscos</i> of Despeñaperros.</p> - -<p>These rock-formations are superbly abrupt. Great detached crags, massive -and moss-marbled, jut perpendicular from ragged steeps, or vast -monoliths protrude, each in rectilineal outline so exact that one -wonders if these are truly of nature’s handiwork, and not some fabled -fortalice of old-time Goth or Moor. Despite its striking contour, -however, its crags and precipices are too scattered and detached (with -traversable intervals between) to attract such a rock-lover as the ibex, -and no wild-goat has ever occupied the gorges of Despeñaperros.</p> - -<p>A similar rock-region, but more extensive and continuous, is found near -Fuen-Caliente—by name the Sierra Quintána. This range, though its -elevations barely exceed 7000 feet, forms the only spot in the Sierra -Moréna at which the Spanish ibex retains a foothold.</p> - -<p>Thereat the writer in 1901 endured one of those evil experiences which -from time to time befall those who seek hunting-grounds in the wilder -corners of the earth. It was in mid-February that, forced by bitter -extremity of weather, we fain sought refuge in the hamlet of -Fuen-Caliente clinging at 5700 feet on the steep of the sierra, as -crag-martins fix their clay-built nests on some rock-face. Fuen-Caliente -dates back to Roman days. Warm springs, as its name implies, here burst -from riven rock, and stone baths, built by no modern hand,<a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a> attest a -bygone enterprise. To this day, we are told, the baths of Fuen-Caliente -attract summer-visitors; we trust their health benefits thereby. Surely -some counter-irritation is needed to balance the perils of a sojourn -within that unsavoury eyrie. We write feelingly, even after all these -years, and after suffering assorted tribulations in many a rough -spot—Fuen-Caliente is bad to beat.</p> - -<p>Having tents and full camp-outfit, we had thought to live independent of -the village <i>posada</i>. One night, however, as we climbed the rising -ground that leads to the higher sierra there burst in our faces an -easterly gale (<i>levante</i>), with driving snow-storms that even a mule -could not withstand. Nothing remained but to seek shelter in the village -below.</p> - -<p>Here my bedroom measured twelve feet by four, with a door at each end. -The door proper was reached by a vertical ladder; the second might -perhaps be differentiated as a window, but could only be distinguished -as such by its smaller size—both being made of solid wood. Thus, were -the window open, snow swirled through as freely as on the open sierra; -if shut, we lived in darkness dimly relieved by the flicker of a -<i>mariposa</i>, that is, a cotton-wick reposing in a saucer of olive-oil. -Under such conditions, with other nameless horrors, we passed three days -and nights while gales blew and snow swirled by incessant.</p> - -<p>On the fourth morning the wind fell, and snow had given place to fine -rain. These <i>levantes</i> usually last either three or nine days; so, -thinking this one had blown itself out, we packed the kit and set out in -renewed search of ibex, Caraballo, with accustomed forethought, buying a -bunch of live chickens, which hung by their legs from the after-pannier -of the mule. On the limited area of Quintána, ibex offer the best chance -of stalking.</p> - -<p>Mules are marvellous mountaineers. The places that animal surmounted -to-day passed belief. Two donkeys that belonged to the local hunters, -Abad and Brijido, who accompanied us, soon got stuck, and had to be left -below.</p> - -<p>By three o’clock we, mule and all, had reached the highest ridge of -Quintána, and encamped within a few hundred feet of its top-most -<i>riscos</i>.</p> - -<p>To set up a tent among rocks is never easy; even specially made iron -tent-pegs find no hold, and guy-ropes have to be made fast, as securely -as may be, to any projecting point.<a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a></p> - -<p>Hardly had the sun gone down, than the easterly gale blew up again with -redoubled force. All night it howled through our narrow gorge and around -its pinnacled rock-minarets, with the result that at 11 <small>P.M.</small> the -ill-secured guys gave way, and down came our tent with a crash. Two -hours were spent (in drenching rain) remedying this; and when day broke, -an icy <i>neblina</i> (fog) enveloped the sierra, shutting out all view -beyond a few yards. The cold was intense, and a little dam we had -engineered the night before was frozen thick. The fog held all that day -and the next. Nothing could be done, though we persisted in going out -each day, as in duty bound, for a few hours’ turn among the crags—how -we prayed for <i>one</i> hour’s clear interval that might have given that -glorious sight we sought! At dusk the second night snow fell heavily, -and later on a thunderstorm added to our joys. Frequent and vivid -flashes of lightning lit up the darkness, and caused the surviving -chickens (which in common charity we had had tethered inside the tent) -to crow so incessantly that sleep was impossible. Presently we noticed a -sharp fall in temperature—the men had brought in a cube of ice, the -solidified contents of one of our camp-buckets, which they proposed to -melt at a little fire kept burning in the tent! But this was too much, -even though it meant “no coffee for breakfast.â€</p> - -<p>The frost and fog continuing, on the third morning the men proposed we -should move lower down the hill, to some <i>cortijo</i> they knew of, thereat -to await milder weather.</p> - -<p>By this time, however, the cold had penetrated deep into throat and -chest, which felt raw and inflamed, leaving the writer almost -speechless. We therefore decided to abandon the whole venture, and -struck camp, still wrapt in that opaque shroud of driving sleet.</p> - -<p>Crossing over the highest ridge of the sierra, between crags of which -only the bases were visible, we descended on the south side; here we -organised a “drive†amid the jungles that clothe the lower slopes. Two -lynxes and three pigs were reported as seen by the beaters. Only one of -the latter, however, came to the gun, and proved to be a sow, bigger by -half than any wild-pig we had then seen in Spain. We regretted having no -means of weighing this beast, which we estimated at well over 200 lbs. -clean. A remarkable cast antler picked up at this spot<a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a> carried four -points on the main beam, as well as four on top—length 34â…› inches, -by 5¾ inches basal circumference.</p> - -<p>The “defences†of the ibex in the Sierra Quintána lie among some fairly -big crags forming the eastern and southern faces of the range. The -shooting at that time was free; hence the goats were never left in peace -by the mountaineers, who all carried guns, and used them whenever a -chance presented itself. The result was that the few surviving goats had -become severely nocturnal in habit, spending the entire day in caves and -crevices in the faces of sheer and naked precipices.</p> - -<p>Some of their eyries appeared absolutely inaccessible to any creature -unendowed with wings. One cave, though it had no visible approach, was -situate only some eight or ten feet above a ledge in the perpendicular -rock-face. One morning at dawn two ibex having been seen to enter this -cave, at once a couple of the wiry goat-herds thought to reach them from -the ledge below, one lad actually climbing on to the other’s shoulders -as he stood on that narrow shelf. In its rush to escape, however, the -leading ibex upset the precarious balance, and the poor lad was -precipitated among the tumbled rocks in the abyss below.</p> - -<p>Riding homewards through inhospitable brush-clad hills towards the -railway (forty miles away), we put up one night at a village named, with -unconscious irony, Cardeña Real. In the small hours broke out another -terrific disturbance—shrieks, squeals, barking—all the dogs gone mad. -The night was pitch-dark with rain falling in torrents; but next morning -we ascertained that a pack of wolves had carried off the landlord’s pigs -from their stye, not fifteen yards away—indeed, three mangled porkers -lay piled up against the wall of our hovel.</p> - -<p>The contingency of pigs being worse off than ourselves had not -previously occurred to us. Thus ended, in a cycle of catastrophe, our -first wrestle with <i>Capra hispánica</i> in Moréna; but initial failure only -served to stimulate further efforts later on. Winter, moreover, is no -season for camping in these high sierras; May is more favourable, but -the early autumn is best of all.</p> - -<p>At this period (1901) the surviving ibex had fallen to a mere handful. -Fortunately here, as elsewhere in Spain, there was aroused, within the -next five years, the tardy interest of Spanish landowners to save them.<a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_069a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_069a_sml.jpg" width="491" height="168" alt="" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">(A) Sierra de Grédos—Madrigal de la Vera.<br /> -Length 26½ in. Circum. 10â…› in. Tips, 22â…› in.</span></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_069b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_069b_sml.jpg" width="471" height="153" alt="" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">(B) Sierra Nevada.<br /> -Length 29¾ in. Circum. 8â…› in. Tips, 20â…ž in. </span></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_069c_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_069c_sml.jpg" width="463" height="260" alt="" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption"> -(C) Sierra de Grédos, Bohoyo. 29â…› in. -<span style="margin-left: 4em;">(D) Valencia, Sierra Martes. 21¾ in.</span> -<br /> -HEADS OF SPANISH IBEX.</span></p> -<p>The owner of the sierras above mentioned (the Marquis del Mérito) has -favoured us with latest details respecting both the ibex and other wild -beasts therein.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The wild-goat (he writes) is the most difficult of all game to -shoot, proof of which is afforded by the fact that in the lands -which I hold in the Sierra Quintána (although until recent years -these were unpreserved and in the neighbourhood of a village where -every man was a hunter) yet the local shooters had not succeeded in -exterminating the species. Its means of defence, over and above its -keen sight and scent, consist chiefly in the inaccessible natural -caves of those mountains, in which the wild-goats invariably seek -refuge the moment they find themselves pursued. In these caves the -goats were accustomed to pass the entire day, never coming out to -feed except during the night.</p> - -<p>To-day (since free shooting has ceased) they begin to show up a -little during daylight, and in other ways demonstrate a returning -confidence. Nevertheless they display not the slightest inclination -to abandon their old tendency to betake themselves, immediately on -the appearance of danger, to the vast crags and precipices which -lie towards the east of the sierra, and which crags afford them -almost complete security. The most effective method of securing a -specimen to-day is, as you know, by stalking (<i>resécho</i>). For this -animal, when it finds itself suddenly surprised by a human being, -is less startled than deer, or other game, and usually allows -sufficient time for careful aim to be taken—indeed, it seems to be -the more alarmed when it has lost sight of the intruder.</p> - -<p>The rutting season occurs in November and December, and the kids, -usually one or two in number, are born in May, the same as domestic -goats. These kids have a terrible enemy in the golden eagles, since -their birth coincides with the period when these rapacious birds -have their own broods to feed, and when they become more savage -than ever. To reduce the damage thus done, I am now paying to the -guards a reward for every eagle destroyed, and this last spring -took myself a nest containing one eaglet, shooting both its -parents.</p> - -<p>The dimensions of horns I am unable to put down with precision, but -there was killed here an ibex (which was mounted by Barrasóna at -Córdoba) measuring 85 centimetres in length (= 33½ inches). Of -the last, which was killed by Lord Hindlip, as shown in photo I -send, the length of horns was 68 centimetres (= 26¾ inches).</p></div> - -<p>The dimensions of the best ibex head obtained by us in this sierra were: -Length, 28 inches; basal circumference, 8¼ inches.<a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a></p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Wolves</span></p> - -<p>These animals, which perpetrate incredible destruction to game, are very -abundant in Moréna, yet rarely shot in the <i>monterÃas</i> -(mountain-drives). This is not due to any special astuteness of the -wolf, but simply because, while waiting for deer, sportsmen naturally -lie very low, thus giving opportunity to wolves to pass unseen; while, -on the other hand, when boars only are expected, and sportsmen therefore -remain less concealed, the wolf is apt to detect the danger before -arriving within shot.</p> - -<p>In May and June the she-wolves produce their young; but it is difficult -to discover these broods, since at that period they betake themselves to -remote regions far away from the haunts frequented in normal times.</p> - -<p>There is, however, one method of discovering them which is known to the -mountaineers as the <i>otéo</i>, or watching for them over-night, thus noting -precisely where each she-wolf gives tongue. If on the following morning -the howl is repeated at the same spot, it is a practical certainty that -that wolf will have her brood in that immediate neighbourhood.</p> - -<p>Thereupon at daybreak the hunters proceed to examine every bush and -brake in the marked spot, which invariably consists either of strong -brushwood or broken rocks. All around the actual lair for a hundred -yards the ground is traced with footprints and scratchings, which -usually lead to its discovery; but should it not be found that day, it -is completely useless to seek for it on the following, since the moment -that a she-wolf perceives that her whelps are being sought, she at once -removes them far away. To exterminate wolves, strychnine is extensively -used, giving positive results.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> At the same time it is always better -to supplement its use by searching out with practical men the broods of -wolf-cubs at their proper season.</p> - -<p>The photo facing p. 158 shows a magnificent old dog-wolf, scaling 93 -lbs. dead-weight, which we obtained in the Sierra Moréna, near Córdoba, -in March 1909.<a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a></p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Lynx, or <i>Gato Cerval</i></span></p> - -<p>This animal breeds in April and May, and the number of young is -generally two. If captured, the majority of the young lynxes die at the -period when they change from a milk diet to solid food, and one may -imagine that the same thing happens in the case of the wild lynxes, -since otherwise it is difficult to explain why an animal, whose only -enemy is mankind, should remain so scarce. Their food consists of -partridges, rabbits, and other small game.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Red Deer</span></p> - -<p>With the red deer of these mountains, as elsewhere in Spain, the rut -(<i>celo</i>) depends upon the autumn, which season may be earlier or later; -but the <i>celo</i> always takes place between mid-September and mid-October. -The calves are born at end of May or early in June, and suckled by their -mothers till the following autumn.</p> - -<p>The casting of the horns, together with the change of hair, varies in -date, depending on the state of health in each individual. It generally -occurs in May, but in very robust animals we have seen cases in April, -and in the <i>barétos</i>, or stags of one year, in March. The development of -the new horn is complete by the end of July, and in August occurs the -shedding of the velvet. The horn at first is of a white bone-colour, but -gradually darkens, the final colour depending on the nature of the bush -frequented, the blackest being found in those stags which inhabit the -gum-cistus (<i>jarales</i>).</p> - -<p>Although it is currently believed among country folk that the age of a -stag can be determined by the number of his points, this is incorrect, -the horn development depending solely on the robustness of the animal. -It frequently happens that a stag carries fewer points than he did the -year before.</p> - -<p>When the hinds are about to bring forth, they isolate themselves, -seeking spots where the brushwood is less dense, and leaving the calf -concealed in some bush. The habits of a hind when giving her offspring -its first lessons in the arts of concealment and caution are interesting -to watch. Shortly after daybreak the mother suddenly performs a series -of wild, convulsive<a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a> bounds, leaping away over the bush as though in -presence of visible peril, thus alarming the youngster and teaching it -to seek cover for itself. This performance is repeated at intervals -until the calf has learnt to lie-up, when the hind will do the same, but -at some distance, although in view. She only allows her progeny to -accompany her when it has acquired sufficient strength and agility to -follow, which is the case some twenty or thirty days after birth.</p> - -<p>Having noted the spoor of a single hind at the breeding-time, one may -follow to the spot where she is suckling her young. But so soon as one -observes the prints of these spasmodic jumps with which the mother -instils into her offspring a sense of caution (as above described), one -may then begin leisurely to examine every bush round about. In one of -these the calf will be found lying curled up without a bed and with its -nose resting on its hip.<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> It will at first offer some slight -resistance, but once captured, may be set free with the certainty that -it will not make any attempt to escape.</p> - -<p>The only enemies the full-grown stag has to fear are mankind and the -wolf, but chiefly the latter, since not only do single wolves destroy in -this sierra large numbers of the newly born calves, but, worse still, -when a troop of wolves have once tasted venison they commence habitually -to hunt both hinds and even the younger stags, which they persistently -follow day after day till the deer are absolutely worn out. They then -pull them down, the final scene usually occurring in some deep ravine or -mountain burn.</p> - -<p>The calves of red deer, as happens with ibex kids, are also preyed upon -by golden eagles.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Deer-Shooting</span></p> - -<p>As regards sport, the best results are only attainable by <i>monterÃas</i>, -or extended drives, assuming that the district is thickly jungled, and -generally of elevated situation. There is also a system of shooting at -the “roaring-time,†but that is uncertain owing to the rapidity of the -stag’s movements, the thick bush, and the risk of his getting the wind. -Practised<a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a> trackers are in the habit of hunting <i>á la greña</i>, which -consists in observing the deer at daybreak, selecting a good stag, and -afterwards following his spoor at midday (at which hour deer, while -enjoying their siesta, are quite apt to lie close) and shooting as he -springs from his lair (<i>al arrancár</i>).</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<span class="caption">RED DEER HEADS, SIERRA MORÉNA.</span> -<br /> -<a href="images/ill_070a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_070a_sml.jpg" width="436" height="266" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="2" summary="" - class="caption"> -<tr align="center"><td>Zamujak, Jaën.<br /> -Points 16. Length 38¾ in.</td> -<td>Valdelagrana.<br /> -Points 16. Length 40â… in.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_070b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_070b_sml.jpg" width="436" height="297" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="2" summary="" - class="caption"> -<tr align="center"><td>Sierra Quintana.<br /> -Points 15. Length 37½ in.</td> -<td>Risquillo.<br /> -Points 14. Length 36¾ in.</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p>A really big stag is nearly always found alone, or should he have a -companion, the second will also be an animal of large size. Such stags -are never seen with hinds, excepting in the autumn (<i>celo</i>).</p> - -<p>The system of the <i>monterÃa</i>, or mountain-drive, is described in detail -in the following chapter.</p> - -<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><th colspan="6" align="center" -style="border:0;">TABLE OF SPANISH IBEX HEADS<br /> -Measured by the Authors, or other stated Authority.</th></tr> -<tr align="center"><td rowspan="2">Locality.</td> -<td rowspan="2">Length.</td> -<td colspan="2">Width.</td> -<td rowspan="2">Circum-<br /> -ference.</td> -<td rowspan="2">Authority.</td></tr> -<tr align="center"><td>Tips.</td> -<td>Inside.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="center"> ins.</td><td align="center"> ins.</td><td align="center"> ins.</td><td align="left"> ins.</td><td align="left"></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Moréna</td><td align="left"> 33½</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> Marq. Mérito (p. 158).</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Pyrenees</td><td align="left"> 31</td><td align="left"> 26½</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 8¾</td><td align="left"> Sir V. Brooke.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Neváda</td><td align="left"> 29¾</td><td align="left"> 22¼</td><td align="left"> 20â…ž</td><td align="left"> 8¼</td><td align="left"> At Madrid.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Grédos<a name="FNanchor_26a_26a" id="FNanchor_26a_26a"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></td><td align="left"> 29¼</td><td align="left"> 23¼</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 9½</td><td align="left"> Authors.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center"> Do.</td><td align="left"> 29â…›</td><td align="left"> 23â…›</td><td align="left"> 21</td><td align="left"> 9â…ž</td><td align="left"> M. Amezúa.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center"> Do.</td><td align="left"> 29</td><td align="left"> 22½</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 9¼</td><td align="left"> Authors.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Pyrenees</td><td align="left"> 29</td><td align="left"> 23</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 10</td><td align="left"> Sir V. Brooke.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Neváda<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></td><td align="left"> 29</td><td align="left"> 23</td><td align="left"> 18¾</td><td align="left"> 9</td><td align="left"> Authors.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center"> Do.</td><td align="left"> 28¼</td><td align="left"> 24½</td><td align="left"> 22</td><td align="left"> 9â…Ÿ<sub>16</sub></td><td align="center"> Do.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Moréna</td><td align="left"> 28½</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 8¼</td><td align="center"> Do.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Bermeja</td><td align="left"> 28</td><td align="left"> 19</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 8¼</td><td align="center"> Do.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Moréna</td><td align="left"> 26¾</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> Lord Hindlip.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Grédos</td><td align="left"> 26½</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 22â…›</td><td align="left"> 10â…›</td><td align="left"> At Madrid.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Pyrenees</td><td align="left"> 26</td><td align="left"> 21</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 10</td><td align="left"> Sir V. Brooke.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Sa. Blanca</td><td align="left"> 26</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 8¾</td><td align="left"> P. Larios.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Grédos</td><td align="left"> 24â…›</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 8¼</td><td align="left"> Authors.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Pyrenees</td><td align="left"> 22¾</td><td align="left"> 18¾</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 9½</td><td align="left"> E. N. Buxton.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Sa. Blanca</td><td align="left"> 22</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 14</td><td align="left"> 7¾</td><td align="left"> P. Larios.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Valencia</td><td align="left"> 21¾</td><td align="left"> 16â…œ</td><td align="left"> 17</td><td align="left"> 7â…ž</td><td align="left"> P. Burgoyne.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV<br /><br /> -SIERRA MORÉNA (<i>Continued</i>)<br /><br /> -<small>RED DEER AND BOAR</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> mountain deer of the Sierra Moréna are the grandest of their kind in -Spain, and will compare favourably with any truly wild deer in -Europe.<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> The drawings, photographs, and measurements given in this -chapter prove so much, but no mere numerals convey an adequate -conception of these magnificent harts, as seen in the full glory of life -bounding in unequal leaps over some rocky pass, or picking more -deliberate course up a stone stairway.</p> - -<p>Massive as they are in body (weighing, say, 300 lbs. clean), yet even so -the giant antlers appear almost disproportionate in length and -superstructure.</p> - -<p>The whole Sierra Moréna being clad with brushwood and jungle, thicker in -places, but nowhere clear, shooting is practically confined to “driving†-on that extensive scale termed, in Spanish phrase, <i>monterÃa</i>.</p> - -<p>Before describing two or three typical experiences of our own in this -sierra, we attempt a sketch of the system of the <i>monterÃa</i> as practised -throughout Spain.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_071a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_071a_sml.jpg" width="419" height="369" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr align="center" class="caption"><td><span class="smcap">Wolf shot Sierra Moréna.<br /> -March, 1909—weight 93 lb.</span></td> -<td> </td> -<td><span class="smcap">Huntsman with Caracola,<br /> -Sierra Moréna.</span></td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_071b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_071b_sml.jpg" width="417" height="292" alt="" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Pack of Podencos, Sierra Moréna.</span> (<span class="smcap">Coupled in pairs.</span>)</span> -</p> - -<p>The area of operations being immense and clad with almost continuous -thicket, it is customary to employ two or three separate packs (termed -<i>reháles</i>, or <i>recóbas</i>), counting in all as many as seventy or eighty -hounds. The extra packs—beyond that belonging to the host—are brought -by shooting guests, and each pack has its own huntsman (<i>perréro</i>), whom -alone his own<a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a> hounds<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> will follow or recognise. The huntsmen -(though not the beaters) are mounted, and each carries a musket and a -<i>caracóla</i>, or hunting-horn formed of a big sea-shell. The forelegs of -the horses, where necessary—especially in Estremadura—are enveloped in -leather sheaths (<i>fundas de cuero</i>) to protect them from the terrible -thorns and the spikes of burnt cistus which pierce and cut like knives. -The best dogs are <i>podencos</i> of the bigger breeds, also crosses between -<i>podencos</i> and mastiffs, and between mastiffs and <i>alanos</i>, the latter a -race of rough-haired bull-dogs largely used in Estremadura for -“holding-up†the boar.</p> - -<p>The huntsmen with their packs, and the beaters, usually start with the -dawn, sometimes long before, dependent on the distance to be traversed -to their points, which may be ten or twelve miles. Till reaching the -cast-off, hounds are coupled up in pairs: a collar fitted with a bell -(<i>cencerro</i>) is then substituted, and the alignment being -completed—each pack at its appointed spot—at a given hour the beat -begins.</p> - -<p>On every occasion when a game-beast is raised a blank shot is fired to -encourage the hounds, and the who-hoops of the huntsmen behind resound -for miles around. Should the animal hold a forward course (as desired), -the hounds are shortly recalled by the <i>caracólas</i>, or hunting-horns -aforesaid, and the beat is then reformed and resumed.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile—far away at remote posts prearranged—the firing-line -(<i>armáda</i>) has already occupied its allotted positions; the guns most -often disposed along the crests of some commanding ridge, sometimes -defiled in a narrow pass of the valley far below.</p> - -<p>Should the number of guns be insufficient to command the whole front, -the expedient of placing a second firing-line (termed the <i>travérsa</i>), -projected into the beat, and at a right angle from the centre of the -first line, is sometimes effective.</p> - -<p>It may occur to those accustomed to deal with mountain-game on a large -scale that the chance of moving animals with any sort of accuracy -towards a scant line of guns scattered over vast areas must be remote. -True, the number of guns—even ten or twelve—is necessarily -insufficient, but here local knowledge and the skill of Spanish -mountaineers (by nature among the best<a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a> <i>guerrilleros</i> on earth) comes -effectively into play. In practice it is seldom that the best “passes†-are not commanded.</p> - -<p>In the higher ranges skylines are frequently pierced by nicks or -“passes†(termed <i>portillas</i>) sufficiently marked as to suggest, even to -a stranger possessed of an eye for such things, the probable lines of -retreat for moving game. But “passes†are not always conspicuous, nor -are all skylines of broken contour. On the contrary, there frequently -present themselves long summits that to casual glance appear wholly -uniform. Here comes to aid that local intuition referred to, nor will it -be found lacking. Many a long hill-ridge apparently featureless may (and -often does) include several well-frequented passes. Some slight sense of -disappointment may easily lurk in one’s breast in surveying one’s -allotted post to perceive not a single sign of “advantage†within its -radius—or “jurisdiction,†as Spanish keepers quaintly put it. Yet it -may be after all—and probably is—the apex of a congeries of converging -watercourses, glens, or other accustomed <i>salidas</i> (outlets), all of -which are invisible in the unseen depths on one’s front; but which -salient points in cynegetic geography are perfectly appreciated by our -guide.</p> - -<p>The brushwood of Moréna consists over vast areas—many hundreds of -square miles—of the gum-cistus, a sticky-leaved shrub that grows -shoulder-high on the stoniest ground. Wherever a slightly more generous -soil permits, the cistus is interspersed and thickened with -rhododendron, brooms, myrtle, and a hundred cognate plants. On the -richer slopes and dells there crowd together a matted jungle of lentisk -and arbutus, white buck-thorn and holly, all intertwined with vicious -prehensile briar and woodbine, together with heaths, genista, giant -ferns, and gorse of a score of species. Watercourses are overarched by -oleanders, and the chief trees are cork-oak and ilex, wild-olive, -juniper, and alder, besides others of which we only know the Spanish -names, quejigos, algarrobas, agracejis, etc.</p> - -<p>Naturally, in such rugged broken ground as the sierras, where the guns -are protected by intervening heights, shooting is permissible in any -direction, whether in front or behind, and even sometimes along the line -itself. A survival of savage days, when beaters didn’t count, is -suggested by a refrain of the sierra:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Más vale matár un Cristiano<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Que no dejár ir una res—<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p><a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">(Rather should a Christian die<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Than let a head of game pass by.)<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>A word here as to the game and its habits. The lairs of wild-boar are -invariably in the densest jangle and on the shaded slope where no sun -ever penetrates. There is always at hand, moreover, a ready <i>salida</i>, or -exit, along some deep watercourse or by a rocky ravine or gully—rarely -do these animals show up in the open, or even in ground of scanty -covert. It is usually the strongest arbutus-thickets (<i>madronales</i>) that -they select for their quarters.</p> - -<p>It is seldom that wild-boar are “held-up†by the dogs during a beat—the -old tuskers never.</p> - -<p>Deer, on the contrary, avoid the denser jungle, lying-up in more open -brushwood and invariably on the sunny slope. Though their “beds†-(<i>camas</i>) may be on the lower ground, they invariably seek the heights -when disturbed, and then select a course through the lighter -cistus-scrub or across open screes, knowing instinctively that thus they -can travel fastest and best throw off the pursuing pack.</p> - -<p>Owing to the wide areas of each beat, a <i>monterÃa</i> in the sierras is -confined to a single drive each day, the guns usually reaching their -posts about eleven o’clock, and remaining therein till late in the -afternoon. In the lowlands, as already described, four, five, and even -six <i>batidas</i> (drives) are sometimes possible during the day.</p> - -<p class="sbhead">A <span class="smcap"><i>MonterÃa</i> at Mezquitillas</span> (<span class="smcap">Province of Córdoba</span>)</p> - -<p>A glorious ride amid splendid mountain scenery all lit up with southern -sunshine—the narrow bridle-track now forms a mere tunnel hewn out of -impending foliage; anon it descends abrupt rock-faces, in zigzags like a -corkscrew, apt to make nerves creep, when one false step would -precipitate horse and rider into a half-seen torrent hundreds of feet -below. Some eight miles of this, and by eleven o’clock we have reached -our positions at Los Llanos del Peco.</p> - -<p>These positions extend for over a league in length (there are twelve -guns), occupying the crests and “passes†of a lofty ridge whence one -enjoys a bird’s-eye view of a world of wild mountain-land.</p> - -<p>My own post commanded a panorama of almost the whole<a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a> day’s operation, -excepting only that on my immediate front there yawned a deep ravine -(<i>cañada</i>) into the full depth of which I could not see.</p> - -<p>Already within a few minutes one had become aware, by a far-distant -shot, and by the echoing note of the bugle faintly borne on a gentle -northerly breeze, that the beat had begun. At dawn that morning the four -huntsmen, each with his pack, had left the lodge, and are now encircling -some seven or eight miles of covert on our front, two-thirds of which -lay beneath my gaze.</p> - -<p>For five hours I occupied that <i>puesto</i> sitting between convenient -rocks, and hardly a measurable spell of the five hours but I was held -alert, either by the actual sight of game afoot—far distant, it is -true—or by the shots and bugle-calls of the hunters and the music of -their packs—all signs of game on the move.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 136px;"> -<a href="images/ill_072_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_072_sml.jpg" width="136" height="212" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>It is instructive, though rarely possible, watch wild game thus, when -danger threatens, and to observe the wiles by which they seek -escape—doubling back on their own tracks till nearly face to face with -the baying <i>podencos</i>, and then, by a smart flank-movement, skirting -round behind the pack, till actually between the latter and the -following huntsmen; then lying flat, awaiting till perchance the latter -has gone by! That is our stag’s plan—bold and comprehensive—yet it -fails when that huntsman, biding his time, perceives that his pack have -overrun the scent and recalls them to make quite sure of that -intervening bit of bush—poor staggie! Rarely indeed, even in -mountain-lands, do such chances of watching the whole play (and -bye-play) occur as those we enjoyed to-day on the Llanos del Peco. Shots -are apt to be quite difficult, as all bushes and many trees are in full -leaf (January) and the <i>rayas</i>, or rides cut out along the -shooting-line, barely twenty yards broad. To-day, moreover, the wind -shifting from north to east operated greatly to our -disadvantage—practically, in effect, ruined the plan.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_073a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_073a_sml.jpg" width="374" height="260" alt="" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Wild-Boar—weight 200 lbs., clean.</span></span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_073b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_073b_sml.jpg" width="415" height="289" alt="" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Record Head—43 inches—Lugar Nuevo, Nov. 14, 1909.</span> -<br />SIERRA MORÉNA.</span> -</p> -<p>The first stag that came my way had already touched the tainted breeze -ere I saw him—being slightly deaf (the effects of quinine) I had not -heard his approach. Instantly he crossed the<a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a> <i>raya</i>, 100 yards away, -in two enormous bounds. There was just time to see glorious antlers with -many-forked tops ere he dived from sight, plunging into ten-foot scrub.</p> - -<p>I had fired both barrels, necessarily with but an apology for an aim and -the second purely “at a venture.†Three minutes later resounded the -tinkling <i>cencerros</i> (bells) of the <i>podencos</i>, and when two of these -hounds had followed the spoor ahead, all <i>mute</i>, then I knew that both -bullets had spent their force on useless scrub.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_074_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_074_sml.jpg" width="345" height="193" alt="AZURE-WINGED MAGPIE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">AZURE-WINGED MAGPIE</span> -</p> - -<p>Fortune favoured. Half an hour afterwards, a second stag followed. This -time a gentle rustle in the bush, and one clink of a hoof on rock had -caught my faulty ear. Then coroneted antlers showed up from the depths -below, and so soon as the great brown body came in view, a bullet on the -shoulder at short range dropped him dead. This was an average stag, -weighing 255 lbs. clean, but although “royal,†carried a smaller head -than that first seen. Later, two other big stags descended together into -the unseen depths on my front, but whither they subsequently took their -course—<i>quien sabe?</i> I saw them no more.</p> - -<p>The only other animal that crossed my line during the day was a -mongoose, but objects of interest never lacked. Close behind my post, a -huge stick-built nest filled a small ilex. This was the ancestral abode -of a pair of griffons, and its owners were already busy renewing their -home, though my presence sadly disconcerted them. Hereabouts these -vultures breed regularly <i>on trees</i>, a most unusual habit, due -presumably to the lack of<a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a> suitable crags which elsewhere form their -invariable nesting-site. Cushats and robins lent an air of familiarity -to the scene, while azure-winged magpies—a species peculiarly -Spanish—hopped and chattered hard by, curiosity overcoming fear. There -were also pretty Sardinian warblers, with long tails and a white nuchal -spot like a coal-tit. Other birds seen in this sierra include merlin and -kestrel, green woodpecker, jay, blackbird, thrush, redwing, woodlark, -and chaffinch; and on off-days we shot a few red-legged partridges.</p> - -<p>The two packs employed to-day numbered forty—twenty-four big and -sixteen small <i>podencos</i>, all yellow and white, the larger having a -cross of mastiff. That evening two of the best in the pack were -missing—“Capitan,†killed by a boar in the <i>mancha</i>; the other returned -during the night, fearfully wounded, one foreleg almost severed.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 206px;"> -<a href="images/ill_075_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_075_sml.jpg" width="206" height="151" alt="SARDINIAN WARBLER" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SARDINIAN WARBLER</span> -</div> - -<p>The head-keeper told us that these <i>podencos</i> fear the he-wolf. They -will run keenly on his scent, but never dare to close with him as they -do with boar. Yet curiously they have been known to fraternise with the -she-wolf, and in no case will they attack, but rather incline to caress -her.</p> - -<p>It was estimated by the drivers that eighty head of big-game (<i>reses</i>) -were viewed to-day. Thirty-two shots were fired, but only my one stag -was killed. Had the wind held steady, much better results were -probable.<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> Included among the guests at Mezquitillas—and they -represented rank and learning, arms, State, and Church—was a genial and -imposing personality in the poet laureate of Spain, Sr. D. Antonio -Cavestany, who celebrated this delightful if somewhat unlucky day in a -series of graceful couplets. We are wholly unequal to translate, but -copy two or three which readers who understand Spanish will -appreciate:—<a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Del Poeta al arma no dieron<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Las Musas mucha virtud:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Cuatro ciervos le salieron ...<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Y los cuatro se le fueron<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Rebosantes de salud!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Suya fue la culpa toda:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Con la escopeta homicida<br /></span> -<span class="i0">à apuntar no se acomoda ...<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Si les dispara una oda<br /></span> -<span class="i0">No escapa ni uno con vida!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Sin duda no plugo á Dios<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Que del ganado cervuno<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Fueran las Parcas en pos<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Total; tiros, treinta y dos<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Yvenados muertos, uno!!!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">¿Quien realizó tal hazaña?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Verguenza de humillacion,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Mi frente al decirlo baña.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Fue el Ingles ... la rubia Albion<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Quedó esta vez sobre España!!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Resumen: luz, embeleso,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Panoramas, maravillas,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Bosques, arroyos, cantuéso ...<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Lo dice junto todo eso<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Solo al decir “Mezquitillas.â€<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Y bondad, afecto, agrado,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Gracia que ingenio revela,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Hospitalidad, cuidado ...<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Todo eso esta compendiado<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Condecir “Juan y Carmela.â€<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>The next day’s operations precisely reversed those of to-day, the guns -being placed along the depths of a valley, while the beaters brought -down the whole mountain-slopes above. Thus each post, though it -commanded a “pass,†gave no such wonderful view beyond as had been the -feature of yesterday’s <i>monterÃa</i>. It will, in fact, be obvious that in -a big mountain-land no two beats are ever alike nor the conditions -equal. Every day presents fresh problems. That is one of the charms.</p> - -<p>To-day, several stags and a pig were killed, besides one roe-deer and an -enormous wild-cat that scaled 7¾ kilos (over 17 lbs.).</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_076_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_076_sml.jpg" width="277" height="407" alt="GRIFFON VULTURE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GRIFFON VULTURE</span> -</p> - -<p>Towards noon, the sun-heat in the gorge being intense, I had<a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a> cautiously -shifted my post to the banks of a mountain-burnlet that, embowered in -oleanders,<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> gurgled hard by. In those glancing streams, while I sat -motionless, a pair of water-shrews were also busied with their -lunch—dipping and diving, turning over pebbles, and searching each nook -and cranny of the crystal pool. Lovely little creatures they -were—velvety black with snow-white undersides, which showed -conspicuously on either flank; but the curious feature was the silver -sheen caused by infinite air-bubbles that still adhered to the fur while -they swam beneath the surface. They recalled a similar scene in an -elk-forest of distant Norway; but never in Spanish sierras have<a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a> we -noticed water-shrews except on this occasion. While yet watching the -water-fairies, another movement caught the corner of one eye; with slow -sedate steps, a grey wild-cat was descending the opposite slope. She saw -nothing, yet the foresight of the ·303 carbine was recusant, it declined -to get down into the nick, and a miss resulted. But what a bound the -feline gave as an expanding bullet (at 2000 feet a second velocity) -shattered the sierra half an inch above her back!</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_077a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_077a_sml.jpg" width="413" height="307" alt="Roaring September." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Roaring September.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_077b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_077b_sml.jpg" width="416" height="315" alt="“Habet.â€" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“Habet.â€</span> -</p> - -<p>An incident occurred near this point (though in another year) with a -stag. Two shots had been fired on the left, when the slightest sound -behind and above inspired a prepared glance in that direction—and only -just in time, for three seconds later a glorious pair of antlers showed -up on the nearest bush-clad height, and the easiest of shots yielded a -35-inch trophy.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 180px;"> -<a href="images/ill_078_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_078_sml.jpg" width="180" height="146" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>The annexed drawing shows a 14-pointer, which was killed here the -following year by our host, Sr. Don Juan Calvo de León of Mezquitillas. -In mere inches the measurements may be surpassed by others, but no head -that we have seen excels this in extraordinary boldness of curve and -symmetry of form. This stag was shot on the Puntales del Peco, January -17, 1908, and in the same beat Sr. Juan Calvo, Junr., secured another -fine 14-pointer, as below:—</p> - -<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="center">Points.</td><td align="center">Length.</td><td align="center">Widest Tips.</td><td align="center">Widest Inside.</td><td align="center">Circ. above Bez.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">No. 1</td><td align="right"> 14</td><td align="center">38¾â€</td><td align="center"> 39¼â€</td><td align="center"> 33¼â€</td><td align="center"> 6¼â€</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">No. 2</td><td align="right"> 14</td><td align="center">36¼â€</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> 25¾â€</td><td align="center"> ...</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Less rosy on that occasion was the writer’s own luck. My post in Los -Puntales was in a narrow neck or “pass†in the knife-edged ridge of a -mountain-spur, the rock-strewn ground, overgrown with cistus -shoulder-high, falling sharply away both before and behind. In front I -looked into a chasm probably 1500 feet in depth, the hither slope being -invisible, so sharp was<a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a> the drop; the opposite side, however (probably -2000 feet high), lay spread out as it were a perpendicular map. From -leagues away beyond its apex the beaters were now approaching. From -early in the day great fleecy cloud-masses had rolled by, and these -gradually grew denser till the whole sierra was enveloped in viewless -fog. Hark! some animal is escalading my fortress; one cannot see fifteen -yards—tantalizing indeed. Yet so well has the <i>puesto</i> been chosen that -presently the intruder gallops almost over my toes—a yearling pig or -<i>lechon</i>, not worth a bullet.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_079_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_079_sml.jpg" width="344" height="465" alt="PICKING HIS WAY UP A ROCK STAIRCASE - -(A 40-inch head.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">PICKING HIS WAY UP A ROCK STAIRCASE<br /> -(A 40-inch head.)</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_080_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_080_sml.jpg" width="333" height="462" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p>Later, during a clearer interval, I descried a stag picking a slow and -deliberate course down the opposite escarpment. In the abyss below he -was long lost to sight but presently reappeared, coming fairly straight -in. Seldom have I felt greater confidence in the alignment than when I -then fired. Yet the result was a clean miss. While pressing trigger, -another shot rang out half-a-mile beyond and the stag swerved sharply; -still I had another barrel, and the second bullet “told†loudly enough -as the hart bounced, full-broadside, over the pass. Then he swerved to -take the rising ground beyond and, crossing the skyline, displayed the -grandest pair of antlers I have seen alive—<a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a>the great yard-long horns -with their branching tops seemed too big even for that massive body.</p> - -<p>On examination blood was found at once, and on both sides—that is, the -bullet had passed right through.</p> - -<p>In the fog I had under-estimated the distance and the hit was low and -too far back. With two trackers I followed the spoor while daylight -served and through places that any words of mine must fail to describe; -but from the first the head-keeper had foretold the result: “Eso no se -cobra—va léjos‗“that stag you will not recover; he goes far, but -wherever he stops, he dies. See here! the dogs have run his spoor all -along, but have not yet brought him to bay.â€</p> - -<p>The indications left by the stag on brushwood and rock conveyed to the -trackers’ practised eyes, as clear as words, the precise position of the -wound; and, as foretold, those coveted antlers were lost, to perish -uselessly.</p> - -<p>The pack of Mezquitillas was on this occasion reinforced by those of the -Duke of Medinaceli and of the Marquis of Viana—bringing the total up to -seventy hounds. Thus, in Spain, do the Grandees of a big land, when -guests at a <i>monterÃa</i>, bring with them their huntsmen, kennelmen, and -their packs of hounds—a system that breathes a comforting sense of -space.</p> - -<p>Next day being hopelessly wet, I took opportunity of measuring three of -the trophies which adorn the hall at Mezquitillas:—</p> - -<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td align="center"> </td><td align="center">Points.</td><td align="center"> Length.</td><td align="center">Widest Tips.</td><td align="center">Circ. above Bez.</td><td align="center"> Circ. below Corona.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">A</td><td align="center"> 15</td><td align="right"> 38¼â€</td><td align="right"> 38¾â€</td><td align="right"> 6½â€</td><td align="center"> ...</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">B</td><td align="center"> 14</td><td align="right"> 38â€</td><td align="right"> 29½â€</td><td align="right"> 6¼â€</td><td align="center"> 7½ â€</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">C</td><td align="center"> 14</td><td align="right"> 37¾â€</td><td align="right"> 33½â€</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Roebuck</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="right"> 8½â€</td><td align="right"> 3¼â€</td><td align="center"></td><td align="center"></td></tr> -</table> - -<p>It will be observed that the stag shot a day or two before, and -illustrated above (<a href="#page_167">p. 167</a>), tops the best of these by half an inch. The -somewhat abnormal curve, however, partly explains this.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_081a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_081a_sml.jpg" width="389" height="363" alt="July." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">July.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_081b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_081b_sml.jpg" width="364" height="223" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p>We must record yet one more memorable day on this estate of -Mezquitillas. This <i>monterÃa</i> (in January 1910) covered the region known -as the Leoncillo. Upwards of twenty big stags<a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a> passed the firing-line, -and every gun enjoyed his chance—several more than one. In the result, -six stags were killed—three by our host, one by his son. Though -carrying 12, 11, 10, and 10 points respectively, none of these four were -of exceptional merit, and the best, a 14-pointer, fell to the Duke of -Medinaceli.</p> - -<p>The clean weight of these, the largest stags, is usually between 11½ -and 12 arrobas, or 287 to 300 lbs. English. One exceptionally heavy stag -killed by our host’s son, Juan Calvo, Junr., and which had received some -injury in the <i>testes</i>, resulting in a malformation of the horn, weighed -no less than 16½ arrobas, or 412 lbs. English.</p> - -<p>Full-grown wild-boars at Mezquitillas average about 7 arrobas, or 175 -lbs., clean—one specially big boar reached 8 arrobas, or 200 lbs. -Wolves, though abundant, are but rarely shot in <i>monterÃas</i> for the -reasons already given. During the period covered by these notes only two -were killed in <i>monterÃas</i>—one by Sr. Calvo, Junr., the other by -Colonel Barrera. Wild-pigs breed as a rule in March, and to some extent -<i>gregatim</i>, or in little colonies, which is supposed to be as a -protection against the wolves; the lair <i>(cama)</i> being a regular nest -made among thick scrub, and roofed over by the foliage. Lynxes, like -wolves, are rarely seen. This year, four (a female, with three -full-grown cubs) were held-up by the dogs, and all killed in one -thicket.</p> - -<p>Mongoose and genets are numerous on these brush-clad hills, and martens -<i>(Mustela foina)</i> breed in the crags.</p> - -<p>Stags roar from mid-September, chiefly by night. Their summer coat is -darker rather than redder than that of winter.</p> - -<p>Farther east in Moréna, near Fuen-Caliente, already mentioned, very fine -heads are also obtained. The same systems prevail, and the following -measurements have been given us by the Marquéz del Mérito, taken from -two stags shot at Risquillo in his forests of the Sierra Quintána, -season 1906-7.</p> - -<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td> </td> -<td>Length.</td> -<td>Widest Inside.</td> -<td>Circ. at Burr.</td> -<td>Circ. above Bez.</td> -<td>Brow-Antler.</td></tr> -<tr><td>No. 1</td><td align="center"> 36¾â€</td><td align="center"> 35â€</td><td align="center"> 8¾â€</td><td align="center"> 5½ â€</td><td align="center"> 12â€</td></tr> -<tr><td>No. 2</td><td align="center"> 40¼â€</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> 8¾â€</td><td align="center"> 6â€</td><td align="center"> 12â€</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>No. 1 carried 7 + 7 = 14 points, and weighed 224 lbs. clean.</p> - -<p>No. 2 carried 8 + 7 = 15 points, besides several knobs.<a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a></p> - -<p>Both are shown in photos annexed.</p> - -<p>In the extreme east of the Sierra Moréna another culminating point of -excellence appears to be attained—at Valdelagrana and Zamujar in the -neighbourhood of Jäen—at least it is from that region that two of the -largest examples came that we have yet seen in Spain. Both the -magnificent heads below described were carefully measured by -ourselves:—</p> - -<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr align="center"><td> </td> -<td>Points.</td> -<td>Length. </td> -<td>Widest<br /> -Tips. </td> -<td>Widest -Inside.</td> -<td>Circ. at<br /> -Base.</td> -<td>Circ. above<br /> - Bez.</td> -<td>Circ. below<br /> - Corona.</td></tr> -<tr><td>No. 1</td><td align="center"> 16</td><td align="center">40â…â€</td><td align="center">40½â€</td><td align="center"> 31½â€</td><td align="center"> 7½â€</td><td align="center"> 5â… â€</td><td align="center"> 7¼â€</td></tr> -<tr><td>No. 2</td><td align="center"> 16</td><td align="center">38¾â€</td><td align="center">33½â€</td><td align="center"> 28½â€</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> 5¾ â€</td><td align="center"> 7â…›â€</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>No. 1 was shot at Valdelagrana, Jäen, by Sr. D. Enrique Parladé, has -five on each top, all strong points, brow-antler 14¼ inches. Both -horns precisely equal, 40â… inches.</p> - -<p>No. 2 shot at El Zamujar, Jäen, by the Marquéz de Alvéntos, the whole -head massive and rugged, and all the sixteen points well developed.</p> - -<p>The only Spanish stag within our knowledge which exceeds these -dimensions was shot at Ballasteros in the Montes de Toledo by Sr. D. I. -L. de Ybarra, the measurements of which, though not taken by ourselves, -we accept without reserve as follows:—Length, 41 inches; breadth, -36½ inches; circumference below corona, 8¼ inches. (See photo.)</p> - -<p>Since writing the foregoing, a head much exceeding the above records has -been obtained at Lugar Nuevo, near Andujar, in the eastern sierra, and -which measures no less than 43 inches. Photographs, with measurements -taken by Messrs. Rowland Ward (both of this and another good head -secured at Fontanarejo), have been sent us by the fortune-favoured -sportsman, Mr. J. M. Power of Linares, and will be found subjoined. For -convenience of reference we put the whole record in tabular form.<a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<span class="caption">RED DEER HEADS, SIERRA MORÉNA.</span> -<br /> -<a href="images/ill_082a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_082a_sml.jpg" width="448" height="189" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" summary="" class="caption"> -<tr align="center"><td>Risquillo.<br /> -Points 15, plus knobs. Length 40¼ in. -</td><td> </td> -<td>Marmolejos.<br /> -A Twenty-four Pointer.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_082b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_082b_sml.jpg" width="446" height="219" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" summary="" class="caption"> -<tr align="center"><td>Fontanarejo.<br /> -Points 16. Length 32½ in. -</td><td> </td> -<td>Montes de Toledo.<br /> -Points 14. Length 41.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr align="center"><th colspan="7" -style="border:0;">RECORD OF RED DEER HEADS—SIERRA MORÉNA</th></tr> - -<tr align="center"><td rowspan="2"> </td><td rowspan="2">Length<br /> -outside<br /> -Curve. </td> - -<td colspan="2">Widest.</td> - -<td rowspan="2">Circum-<br /> -ference<br /> -above<br /> -Bez.</td> -<td rowspan="2">Points.</td> -<td rowspan="2">Locality.</td></tr> - -<tr align="center"><td>Tips.</td> -<td>Inside.</td></tr> - -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="center"> in.</td><td align="center"> in.</td><td align="center"> in.</td><td align="center"> in.</td><td align="center"></td><td align="center"></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">J. M. Power</td><td align="left">43</td><td align="left">35</td><td align="left"> 33½</td><td align="left"> 5½</td><td align="left"> 6 + 6</td><td align="left">Lugar Nuevo.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">I. L. de Ybarra</td><td align="left">41</td><td align="left">36½</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left">Ballasteros, Montes de Toledo.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">E. Parladé</td><td align="left">40â…</td><td align="left">40½</td><td align="left"> 31½</td><td align="left"> 5â…</td><td align="left"> 8 + 8</td><td align="left">Valdelagrana.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Marq. Mérito</td><td align="left">40¼</td><td align="center">...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 6</td><td align="left"> 7 + 7</td><td align="left">Risquillos.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Authors</td><td align="left">40</td><td align="left">36½</td><td align="left"> 32</td><td align="left"> 5¼</td><td align="left"> 9 + 8</td><td align="left">(<i>Wild Spain</i>.)</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Marq. Alvéntos</td><td align="left">38¾</td><td align="left">33½</td><td align="left"> 28½</td><td align="left"> 5¾</td><td align="left"> 8 + 8</td><td align="left">Zamujar, Jäen.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">J. Calvo de León</td><td align="left">38¾</td><td align="left">39¼</td><td align="left"> 33¼</td><td align="left"> 6¼</td><td align="left"> 7 + 7</td><td align="left">Mezquitillas.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Do.</td><td align="left">38¼</td><td align="left">38¾</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 6½</td><td align="left"> 8 + 7</td><td align="center"> Do.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Do.</td><td align="left">38</td><td align="left">29½</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 6¼</td><td align="left"> 7 + 7</td><td align="center"> Do.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Do.</td><td align="left">38</td><td align="left">33½</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 7 + 7</td><td align="center"> Do.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Authors </td><td align="left">37½</td><td align="left">34½</td><td align="left"> 29¼</td><td align="left"> 5</td><td align="left"> 8 + 7</td><td align="left">(<i>Wild Spain</i>.)</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Marq. Mérito</td><td align="left">36¾</td><td align="center">...</td><td align="left"> 35</td><td align="left"> 5½</td><td align="left"> 8 + 7</td><td align="left">Risquillos.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">J. Calvo, hijo</td><td align="left">36¼</td><td align="center">...</td><td align="left"> 25¾</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 7 + 7</td><td align="left">Mezquitillas.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Authors</td><td align="left">35</td><td align="left">32½</td><td align="left"> 28</td><td align="left"> 5¾</td><td align="left"> 6 + 6</td><td align="center"> Do.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center"> Do.</td><td align="left">34â…›</td><td align="left" colspan="2"> (cast antler)</td><td align="left"> 5¾</td><td align="left"> 8 + 0</td><td align="left">Sa. Quintána.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">J. M. Power</td><td align="left">32½</td><td align="center">...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="left"> 5½</td><td align="left"> 8 + 8</td><td align="left">Fontanarejo.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI<br /><br /> -PERNÃLES</h2> - -<p class="nind">A <small>COUNTRY</small> better adapted by nature for the success of the enterprising -bandit cannot be conceived. The vast <i>despoblados</i> = uninhabited wastes, -with scant villages far isolated and lonely mountain-tracts where a -single desperado commands the way and can hold-up a score of passers-by, -all lend themselves admirably to this peculiar form of industry. And up -to quite recent years these natural advantages were exploited to the -full. Riding through the sierras, one notes rude crosses and epitaphs -inscribed on rocks recording the death of this or that wayfarer. Now -travellers, as a rule, do not die natural deaths by the wayside; and an -inspection of these silent memorials indicates that each occupies a site -eminently adapted for a quiet murder. Fortunately, during the last year -or two, the extension of the telegraph and linking-up of remote hamlets -has aided authority practically to extinguish brigandage on the grander -scale. Spain to-day can no longer claim a single artist of the Jack -Sheppard or Dick Turpin type; not one heroic murderer such as José Maria -(whose safe-conduct was more effective than that of his king), Vizco el -Borje, Agua-Dulce, and other <i>ladrones en grande</i> whose life-histories -will be found outlined in <i>Wild Spain</i>.</p> - -<p>The two first-named represent a type of manhood one cannot but -admire—admire despite oneself and despite its inconvenience to -civilisation. These were men ignorant of fear, who, though themselves -gentle, were yet able, by sheer force of iron will, to command and -control cut-throat gangs which set authority at defiance, and who -subjected whole districts to their anarchical aims and orders. The -outlaw-overlords ever acted on similar lines. Respecting human life as, -in itself, valueless, they commandeered real value by an adroit -combination of liberally subsidising the peasantry while yet terrorising -all by the certainty of swift and<a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a> merciless retribution should the -least shade of treachery befall—or rather what to the brigand-crew -represented treachery. Human life was otherwise safe. Two points in this -connection demand mention. Besides direct robberies, the brigands -battened upon a tribute exacted from landowners and paid as a ransom to -shield themselves and their tenants from molestation. Secondly, their -safety and continued immunity from capture was largely due to that -secret influence—quite undefinable, yet potent to this day—known as -“Caciquismo.†That influence was exerted on behalf of the outlaws as -part of the ransom arrangement aforesaid.</p> - -<p>Neither for robber-chieftains of the first water, such as these, nor for -brigandage as a scientific business, is there any longer opportunity in -modern Spain, any more than for a Robin Hood at home. Lesser lights of -the road, footpads and casual <i>sequestradores</i>, will survive for a -further space in the wilder region; but the real romance of the industry -ceased with the new century.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 194px;"> -<a href="images/ill_083_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_083_sml.jpg" width="194" height="190" alt="PERNALES" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">PERNALES</span> -</div> - -<p>Its first decade has nevertheless produced a brace of first-rate -ruffians who, though in no sense to be compared with the old-time -aristocracy of the craft, at least succeeded in setting at naught the -civil power, and in pillaging and harassing rural Andalucia during more -than two years.</p> - -<p>The original pair were known as Pernáles and El Vivillo, the latter a -man of superior instincts and education, who, under former conditions, -would doubtless have developed into the noble bandit. Vivillo on -principle avoided bloodshed; not a single assassination is laid to his -charge during a long career of crime. Pernales, on the contrary, -revelled in revolting cruelties, and rated human life no higher than -that of a rabbit. At first this repulsive ruffian, as hateful of aspect -as of character,<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> acted as<a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a> a sort of lieutenant to Vivillo, but the -partnership was soon renounced by the latter consequent on a cowardly -crime perpetrated by Pernales in the Sierra of Algamita. At a lonely -farm lived an elderly couple, the husband an industrious, thrifty man, -who had the reputation of being rich among his fellows. Their worldly -possessions in actual fact consisted of some 2000 reales = £20. Pernales -was not likely to overlook a hoard so ill-protected, and one night in -November 1906 insisted, at the muzzle of his gun, on the savings being -handed over to him. A lad of fourteen, however, had witnessed the -transaction, and on perceiving him (and fearing he might thus be -denounced) Pernales plunged his knife in the boy’s breast, killing him -on the spot. Vivillo, on hearing of this insensate murder by his second, -insisted on the restitution of their money to the aged pair, expelled -Pernales from his gang, and threatened him with death should he dare -again to cross his path.</p> - -<p>Pernales now formed a fresh partnership with a desperado of similar -calibre to himself, a soulless brute, known as the Niño de Arahál, whose -acquaintance he had made at a village of that name. This pair, along -with a gang of ruffians who acclaimed them as chiefs, were destined to -achieve some of the worst deeds of violence in the whole annals of -Spanish <i>Bandolerismo</i>. For two years they held half Andalucia in awe, -terrorised by the ferocity of their methods and merciless disregard of -life. None dared denounce them or impart to authority a word of -information as to their whereabouts, even though it were known for -certain—such was the dread of vengeance.</p> - -<p>Innumerable were the skirmishes between the forces of the law and its -outragers. An illustrative incident occurred in March 1907. A pair of -Civil Guards, riding up the Rio de los Almendros, district of Pruna, -suddenly and by mere chance found themselves face to face with the men -they “wanted.†A challenge to halt and surrender was answered by instant -fire, and the outlaws, wheeling about, clapped spurs to their horses and -fled. Now for the Civil Guards as brave men and dutiful we have the -utmost respect; but their marksmanship on this occasion proved utterly -rotten, and an easy right-and-left was clean missed twice and thrice -over! The fugitives, moreover, outrode pursuit, and the fact illustrates -their cool, calculating nonchalance, that so soon as they reckoned on -having gained a forty-five minutes<a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a>’ advantage, the pair paid a quiet -social call on a well-to-do farmer of Morón, enjoyed a glass of wine -with their trembling host, and then (having some fifteen minutes in -hand) rode forward. Now comes a point. On arrival of the pursuers, that -farmer (though not a word had been said) denied all knowledge of his -new-gone guests. Pursuit was abandoned.</p> - -<p>For eight days the bandits lay low. Then Pernales presented himself at a -farm in Ecija with a demand for £40, or in default the destruction of -the live-stock. The bailiff (no farmer lives on his farm) despatched a -messenger on his fleetest horse to bring in the ransom. As by the -stipulated hour he had not returned, Pernales shot eight valuable mules! -Riding thence to La Coronela, a farm belonging to Antonio Fuentes, the -bull-fighter, a similar message was despatched. Pending its reply our -outlaws feasted on the best; but instead of bank-notes, a force of Civil -Guards appeared on the scene. That made no difference. The terrified -farm-hands swore that the bandits had ridden off in a given direction, -and while the misled police hurried away on a wild-goose chase, our -heroes finished their feast, and late at night (having loaded up -everything portable of value) departed for their lair in the sierra.</p> - -<p>During the next two months (May and June 1907) only minor outrages and -robberies were committed, but that quiescence was enlivened by two feats -that set out in relief the coolness and unflinching courage of these -desperados. In May they moved to the neighbourhood of Córdoba, and among -other raids pulled off a good haul in bank-notes, cash, and other -valuables at Lucena, an estate of D. Antonio Moscoso, following this up -by a report in their “Inspired Press†that the brigands had at last fled -north-wards with the view of embarking for abroad at Santander! A few -days later, however (May 31), they had the effrontery to appear in -Córdoba itself at the opening of the Fair, but, being early recognised, -promptly rode off into the impending Sierra Moréna. On their heels -followed the Civil Guard. Finding themselves overtaken, our friends -faced round and opened fire, but the result was a defeat of the bandit -gang. One, “El Niño de la Gloria,†fell dead pierced by three bullets; -two other scoundrels—Reverte and Pepino—were captured wounded, while -in the mêlée the robbers abandoned four horses, a rifle, and a quantity -of jewelry—the product of recent raids. Pernales himself and the<a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a> rest -of his crew escaped, and found shelter in the fastnesses of the Sierra -Moréna—thence returning to their favourite hunting-grounds nearer -Seville.</p> - -<p>Riding along the bye-ways of Marchena, disguised as rustic travellers, -on June 2 they demanded at a remote farm a night’s food and lodging. -Half-concealed knives and revolvers proved strong arguments in favour of -obedience, and, despite suspicion and dislike, the bailiff acceded. This -time the Civil Guard were on the track. At midnight they silently -surrounded the house, communicated with the watchful bailiff, and -ordered all doors to be locked. The turning of a heavy key, however, -reached Pernales’ ear. In a moment the miscreants were on the alert. -While one saddled-up the horses, the other unloosed a young farm mule, -boldly led him across the courtyard to the one open doorway, and, -administering some hearty lashes to the animal’s ribs, set him off in -full gallop into the outer darkness. The police, seeing what they -concluded was an attempted escape, first opened fire, then started -helter-skelter in pursuit of a riderless mule! The robbers meanwhile -rode away at leisure.</p> - -<p>Five days later, on June 7, both bandits attacked a <i>venta</i>, or country -inn, near Los Santos, in Villafranca de los Barrios, carrying off £200 -in cash, six mules, with other valuables, and leaving the owner for -dead. This particular crime, for some reason or other, was more noised -abroad than dozens of others equally atrocious, and orders were now -issued jointly both by the <i>Ministro de Gobernacion</i>, the -Captain-General of the district, and the Colonels commanding the Civil -Guard throughout the whole of the harassed regions, that at all hazards -the murderous pair must be taken at once, dead or alive. This peremptory -mandate evolved unusual activities; the whole of the western sierra was -reported blockaded. Pernales, nevertheless, receiving warning through -innumerable spies of the police plans, succeeded in escaping from the -province of Seville into that of Córdoba, where the pair pursued their -career of crime, though now under conditions of increased hazard and -difficulty. Sometimes for days together they lay low or contented -themselves with petty felonies.</p> - -<p>Then suddenly in a new district—that of Puente-Genil—burst out a fresh -series of the most audacious outrages. Big sums of money, with -alternative of instant death, were extorted<a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a> from farmers and -landowners. These exploits, together with an odd murder or two, spread -consternation throughout the new area, and in all Puente-Genil, Pernales -and the Niño de Arahal became a standing nightmare. So soon as checked -here by the police, the robbers once more moved west, again “inspiring†-the press with reports of a foreign destination—this time viâ Cádiz. A -few days later, Málaga was named as their intended exit. Yet on July 16 -they were to the north of Seville, and had another rifle-duel with the -Guards, again escaping scatheless at a gallop.</p> - -<p>Persecution was now so keen that the wilds of the Sierra Moréna afforded -their only possible hope, and by holding the highest passes the outlaws -reached this refuge, being next reported at Venta de Cardeñas, 160 miles -north of Córdoba. A cordon of police was now drawn along the whole -fringe of the sierra from Vizco del Marquéz to Despeñaperros. The -position of the hunted couple became daily more precarious, their scope -of activity more restricted, and robberies reduced to insignificant -proportions. Nevertheless, on July 22, with consummate audacity and -dash, they raided the farm of Recena belonging to D. Tomas Herrera, -carrying off a sum of £160, with which they remained content till August -18, when they attacked the two farms of Vencesla and Los Villares, but, -being repulsed, fled northwards towards Ciudad Real. On September 1 they -entered the province of La Mancha, apparently seeking shelter in the -deep defiles of the Sierra de Alcaráz, for that morning a Manchegan -woodcutter was accosted by two mounted wayfarers who inquired the best -track to Alcaráz. The woodman innocently gave directions which, if -exactly followed, would much shorten the route. While thanking his -informant, Pernales—apparently out of sheer bravado—revealed his -identity, introducing himself to the astonished woodcutter as the Fury -who was keeping all authority on the jump and the country-side ablaze. -Straightway the man of the axe made for the nearest guard-station, and a -captain with six mounted police, reinforced by peasants, followed the -trail. As dusk fell the pursuers perceived two horses tethered in a -densely wooded dell, while hard by their owners sat eating and -drinking—the latter imprudence perhaps explaining why the brigands were -at last caught napping. To the challenge “Alto á la Guardia Civil!†came -the usual prompt response—the<a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a> vibrant whistle of rifle-balls. Pernales -managed to empty the magazine of his repeater, killing one guard -outright and wounding two more. Though himself hit, he yet stood erect, -and was busy recharging his weapon when further shots brought him to -earth. On seeing his chief go down the Niño de Arahal sprang to the -saddle, but the opposing rifles were this time too many and too near. -The bandit, fatally wounded, was pitched to earth in death-throes, while -the poor beast stumbled and fell in its stride a few paces beyond. An -examination of the bodies showed that Pernales had been pierced by -twenty-two balls, his companion by ten.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Caciquismo</span></p> - -<p>Doubtless the thought may have occurred to readers that some -interpretation is necessary to explain how such events as these -(extending over a series of years) are still possible in Spain—in a -country fully equipped not only with elaborate legal codes bristling -with stringent penalties both for crime and its abettors, but also with -magistrates, judges, telegraphs, and an ample armed force, competent, -loyal, and keen to enforce those laws. Without assistants and -accomplices (call their aiders and abettors what you will) the Pernales -and Vivillos of to-day could not survive for a week. The explanation -lies in the existence of that inexplicable and apparently ineradicable -power called Caciquismo—fortunately, we believe, on the decline, but -still a force sufficient to paralyse the arm of the law and arrest the -exercise of justice. Ranging from the lowest rungs of society, -Caciquismo penetrates to the main-springs of political power. A secret -understanding with combined action amongst the affiliated, it secures -protection even to criminals with their hidden accomplices, provided -that each and all yield blind obedience to their ruling Cacique, social -and political. The Cacique stands above law; he is a law unto himself; -he does or leaves undone, pays or leaves unpaid as may suit his -convenience—conscience he has none. At his own sweet will he will -charge personal expenses—say his gamekeepers’ wages or the cost of a -private roadway—to the neighbouring municipality. None dare object. -Caciquismo is no fault of the Spanish people; it is the disgrace of the -Caciques, who, as men of education, should be ashamed of mean and -underhand practices that recall, on a petty scale, those of the Tyrants -of Syracuse.<a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a> Should any of these sleek-faces read our book, they may be -gratified to learn that no other civilised country produces parasites -such as they.</p> - -<p>Not a foreign student of the problems of social life in Spain with its -conditions but has been brought to a full stop in the effort to diagnose -or describe the secret sinister influence of Caciquismo. Our Spanish -friends—detesting and despising the thing equally with ourselves—tell -us that no foreigner has yet realised either its nature or its scope. -Certainly we make no such pretension, nor attempt to describe the thing -itself—a thing scarce intelligible to Saxon lines of thought, a baneful -influence devised to retard the advance of modern ideas of freedom and -justice, to benumb all moral yearnings for truth and honesty in public -affairs and civil government. Caciquismo may roughly be defined as the -negation and antithesis of patriotism; it sets the personal influence of -one before the interest of all, sacrificing whole districts to the -caprice of some soul-warped tyrant with no eyes to see.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>A word in conclusion on Vivillo. Neither ignorance nor necessity -impelled Joaquin Camargo, nicknamed El Vivillo (the Lively One), to -embark, at the age of twenty-five, on a career of crime. Rather it was -that spirit of knight-errantry, of reckless adventure, that centuries -before had swept the Spanish Main, and that nowadays, in baser sort, -thrives and is fostered by a false romance—as Diego Corrientes, the -bandit, was reputed to be “run†by a duchess, as the “Seven Lads of -Ecija†terrorised under the ægis of exalted patronage, and José Maria, -the murderer of the Sierra Moréna, was extolled as a melodramatic hero -by novelists all over Spain. On such lines young Camargo thought to -gather fresh glories for himself. He early gained notoriety by a smart -exploit in holding-up the diligence from Las Cabezas for Villa Martin -just when the September Fair was proceeding at the latter place. The -passengers, mostly cattle-dealers, were relieved of bursting purses—no -cheques pass current at Villa Martin—to the tune of £8000. After that, -for several years, Vivillo ruled rural Andalucia, and his desperate -deeds supplied the papers with startling head-lines. When pursuit became -troublesome he embarked for Argentina, and soon his name was forgotten. -His retreat, however, was discovered,<a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a> and Vivillo was brought back, -landing at Cádiz February 19, 1908. Since that date he has lived in -Seville prison—a man of high intelligence, of reputed wealth, and the -father of two pretty daughters. For reasons unexplained (and into which -we do not inquire) his trial never comes on. Vivillo keeps a stiff lip -and enjoys ... nearly all he wants.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_084_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_084_sml.jpg" width="338" height="338" alt="A SUMMER EVENING—SPARROW-OWLS (Athene noctua) AND -MOTHS" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A SUMMER EVENING—SPARROW-OWLS (Athene noctua) AND -MOTHS</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII<br /><br /> -LA MANCHA<br /><br /> -<small>THE LAGOONS OF DAIMIEL</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">I<small>MMEDIATELY</small> to the north of our “Home-Province†of Andalucia, but -separated therefrom by the Sierra Moréna, stretch away the uplands of La -Mancha—the country of Don Quixote. The north-bound traveller, ascending -through the rock-gorges of Despeñaperros, thereat quits the mountains -and enters on the Manchegan plateau. A more dreary waste, ugly and -desolate, can scarce be imagined. Were testimony wanting to the -compelling genius of Cervantes, in very truth La Mancha itself would -yield it.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 222px;"> -<a href="images/ill_085_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_085_sml.jpg" width="222" height="252" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Yet it is wrong to describe La Mancha as barren. Rather its central -highlands present a monotony of endless uninteresting cultivation. -League-long furrows traverse the landscape, running in parallel lines to -utmost horizon, or weary the eye by radiating from the focal point as -spokes in a wheel. But never a break or a bush relieves one’s sight, -never a hedge or a hill, not a pool, stream, or tree in a long day’s -journey. Oh, it is distressing, wherever seen—in Old World or New—that -everlasting cultivation on the flat. True, it produces the necessary -fruits of the earth—here (to wit) corn and wine.<a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a></p> - -<p>Farther north, where the Toledan mountains loom blue over the western -horizon, La Mancha refuses to produce anything.</p> - -<p>The unsympathetic earth, for 100 miles a sterile hungry crust, stony and -sun-scorched, obtrudes an almost hideous nakedness, its dry bones -declining to be clad, save in flints or fragments of lava and splintered -granite. Wherever nature is a trifle less austere, a low growth of dwarf -broom and helianthemum at least serves to vary the dreariness of dry -prairie-grass. There, beneath the foothills of the wild Montes de -Toledo, stretch whole regions where thorn-scrub and broken belts of open -wood vividly recall the scenery of equatorial Africa—we might be -traversing the “Athi Plains†instead of European lands. Evergreen oak -and wild-olive replace mimosa and thorny acacia—one almost expects to -see the towering heads of giraffes projecting above the grey-green bush. -In both cases there is driven home that living sense of arid sterility, -the same sense of desolation—nay, here even more so—since there is -lacking that wondrous wild fauna of the other. No troops of graceful -gazelles bound aside before one’s approach; no herds of zebra or -antelope adorn the farther veld; no galloping files of shaggy gnus spurn -the plain. A chance covey of redlegs, a hoopoe or two, the desert-loving -wheatears—birds whose presence ever attests sterility—a company of -azure-winged magpies chattering among the stunted ilex, or a -woodchat—that is all one may see in a long day’s ride.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_086_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_086_sml.jpg" width="281" height="181" alt="WOODCHAT SHRIKE AND ITS “SHAMBLES†(Sketched in La -Mancha)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WOODCHAT SHRIKE AND ITS “SHAMBLES†(Sketched in La -Mancha)</span> -</p> - -<p>Another feature common to both lands—and one abhorrent to northern -eye—is the absence of water, stagnant or current.<a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a> Never the glint of -lake or lagoon, far less the joyous murmur of rippling burn, rejoice eye -or ear in La Mancha.</p> - -<p>Alas, that to us is denied the synthetic sense! In vain we scan -Manchegan thicket for compensating beauties, for the Naiads and Dryads -with which Cervantes’ creative spirit peopled the wilderness; no vision -of lovely Dorotheas laving ivory limbs of exquisite mould in sylvan -fountain rewards our searching (but too prosaic) gaze—that may perhaps -be explained by the contemporary absence of any such fountains. Nor have -other lost or love-lorn maidens, Lucindas or Altisidoras from enchanted -castle, aided us to add one element of romance to purely faunal studies. -Castles, it is true, adorn the heights or crown a distant skyline; nor -are Dulcineas of Toboso extinct or even in the <i>posada</i> at Daimiel, -while excellent specimens graced the twilight <i>paséo</i> of Ciudad Real or -reclined beneath the orange-groves of its <i>alameda</i>.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 238px;"> -<a href="images/ill_087_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_087_sml.jpg" width="238" height="163" alt="DESERT-LOVING WHEATEARS" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">DESERT-LOVING WHEATEARS</span> -</div> - -<p>We have animadverted upon the absence of water in La Mancha. Yet there -is no rule but has its exception, and it is, in fact, to the existence -of a series of most singular Manchegan lagoons, abounding in bird-life, -that this venturesome literary excursion owes its genesis.</p> - -<p>In the midst of tawny table-lands, well-nigh 200 miles from the sea and -upwards of 2000 feet above its level, nestle the sequestered Lagunas de -Daimiel extending to many miles of mere and marsh-land. These lakes are, -in fact, the birthplace of the great river Guadiana, the head-waters -being formed by the junction of its nascent streams with its lesser -tributary the Ciguela.</p> - -<p>In the confluence of the two rivers mentioned it is the Guadiana that -chiefly lends its serpentine course to the formation of a vast series of -lagoons, with islands and islets, cane-brakes and shallows overgrown by -reeds, sedge, and marsh-plants, all traversed in every direction by open -channels (called <i>trochas</i>), the whole constituting a complication so -extensive that none save experienced boatmen can thread a way through -its labyrinths.<a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a></p> - -<p>Isolated thus, a mere speck of water in the midst of the arid -table-lands of central Spain, yet these lagoons of Daimiel constitute -not only one of the chief wildfowl resorts of Spain, but possibly of all -Europe. Upon these waters there occur from time to time every species of -aquatic game that is known in this Peninsula, while in autumn the -duck-tribe in countless hosts congregate in nearly all their European -varieties. Those which are found in the greatest numbers include the -mallard, pintail, shoveler, wigeon, gargany, common and marbled teal, -ferruginous duck, tufted duck, pochard, and (in great abundance) the -red-crested pochard or <i>Pato colorado</i>. Coots also frequent the lagoons, -but in smaller numbers. There also appear at frequent intervals -flamingoes and black geese (<i>Ganzos negros</i>), whose species we have not -been able to identify, sand-grouse of both kinds, sea-gulls, duck-hawks, -grebes, and occasionally some wandering cormorants. Herons and egrets in -their different varieties haunt the shores and the shallows.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_088_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_088_sml.jpg" width="393" height="319" alt="RED-CRESTED POCHARD (Fuligula rufila)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">RED-CRESTED POCHARD (Fuligula rufila)</span> -</p> - -<p>Lest any far-venturing fowler be induced by this chapter<a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a> to pack his -12-bore and seek the nearest Cook’s office, it should at once be stated -that the rights-of-chase (as are all worth having, alike in Spain, -Scotland, or England) are in private hands—those of the Sociedad de las -Lagunas de Daimiel, a society which at present numbers five members, all -of ducal rank, and to one of whom we are indebted for excellent -descriptive notes. The lakes are guarded by keepers who have held their -posts for generations—the family of the Escudéros.</p> - -<p>To claim for these far-inland lagoons a premier place among the great -wildfowl resorts of Europe may seem extravagant—albeit confirmed by -facts and figures that follow. But the lakes, be it remembered, are -surrounded by that cultivation afore described—100 mile stubbles and so -on. Another fact that well-nigh struck dumb the authors (long accustomed -to study and preach the incredible mobility of bird-life) was that ducks -shot at dawn at Daimiel are found to be cropful of <i>rice</i>. Now the -nearest rice-grounds are at Valencia, distant 180 miles; hence these -ducks, not as a migratory effort, but merely as incidental to each -night’s food-supply, have sped at least 360 miles between dusk and dawn.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>As autumn approaches (we quote from notes kindly given us by the -Duke of Arión), so soon as the keepers note the arrival of incoming -migrants, their first business consists in observing the points -which these select for their assemblage. Then with infinite -patience, tact, and skill, the utmost advantage is seized of those -earlier groups which have chosen haunts nearest to points where -guns may be placed most effectively. These favoured groups are left -rigorously alone to act as decoys, while by gentleness and least -provocative methods, the keepers induce other bands which have -settled in less appropriate positions to unite their forces with -the elect. Thus within a few days vast multitudes, scattered over -wide areas, have been unconsciously concentrated within that -“sphere of influence†where four or five guns may act most -efficaciously.</p> - -<p>The supreme test of the keepers’ efficiency is demonstrated when -this concentration is limited to some particular area designated -for a single day’s shooting.</p> - -<p>The night preceding the day fixed for shooting, so soon as the -ducks have already quitted the lagoons and spread themselves afar -over the surrounding cornlands on their accustomed nocturnal -excursions in search of food, the posts of the various gunners are -prepared. This work involves cutting a channel through some -islanded patch of reeds situate in the centre of open water. The -channel is merely wide enough to admit the entrance of the punt -from which the gunner shoots,<a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a> the cut reeds being left to remask -the opening so soon as the punt has entered.</p> - -<p>Somewhere between three and four o’clock in the morning the -sportsmen sally forth from the shooting-lodge (situate on the Isla -de los Asnos), each in his punt directing a course to the position -he has drawn by lot. In the boat, besides guns, cartridges, and -loader (should one be taken), are carried thirty or forty -decoy-ducks fashioned of wood or cork and painted to resemble in -form and colour the various species of duck expected at that -particular season.</p> - -<p>Each of these decoys is furnished with a string and leaden weight -to act as an anchor. A fixed plummet directly beneath the floating -decoy prevents its being blown over or upset.</p> - -<p>Generally speaking, the sportsman awaits the dawn in the same boat -in which he has reached his position, but should shallow water -prevent this, either a lighter punt, capable of being carried by -hand, or some wooden boards are substituted as a seat. Having set -out his decoys, and arranged his ammunition, each gunner awaits in -glorious expectancy the moment when the first light of dawn shall -set the aquatic world amove.</p> - -<p>Singly they may come, or in bands and battalions—soon the whole -arc of heaven is serried with moving masses. Should the day prove -favourable, firing continues practically incessant till towards ten -o’clock. From that hour onwards it slackens perceptibly, ducks -flying fewer and fewer and at increasing intervals up to noon or -thereby, when spoils are collected and the day’s sport is over.</p> - -<p>There are at most but four or five <i>puestos</i>, or gun-posts, at -Daimiel, and that only when ducks are in their fullest numbers.</p> - -<p>Under such conditions, and when all incidental conditions are -favourable, a bag of over 1000 ducks in the day has not -infrequently been registered. On such occasions it follows that -individual guns must gather from 200 to 300 ducks apiece.</p> - -<p>Almost incredible as are the results occasionally obtained under -favouring conditions, yet the duck-shooting at Daimiel is -nevertheless subject to considerable variation in accordance with -the sequence of the season. The biggest totals are usually recorded -during the months of September, October, and November in dry years. -The bags secured at such periods are apt to run into extraordinary -numbers, but with this proviso, that quality is then sometimes -inferior to quantity. For the chief item at these earlier shoots -consists of teal, with only a sprinkling of mallard, wigeon, and -shoveler, and, in some years, a few coots. But at the later -<i>tiradas</i> (shootings), although game is usually rather less -abundant, it is then entirely composed of the bigger ducks—beyond -all in numbers being the mallard, pintail, wigeon, and red-crested -pochard, while an almost equal number of shovelers and common -pochards are also bagged.<a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a></p> - -<p>At these earlier <i>tiradas</i> a good gun should be able, with ease, to -bring down, say, 400 ducks, although this number dwindles sadly in -the pick-up, since but few of those birds will be recovered that -fall outside the narrow space of open water around each “hide.†One -may say roughly that at least one-fourth are lost. For, although -each post be surrounded by open water, yet many ducks must fall -within the encircling canes, while even those that fall in the -open, if winged and beyond the reach of a second barrel, will -inevitably gain the shelter of the covert, and all these are -irrecoverable. Others, again, carrying on a few yards, may fall -dead in open water, but at a distance the precise position of which -is difficult to fix by reason of intervening cane-brakes. Thus -between those that are lost in the above ways and others that may -be carried away by the wind or the current (besides many that are -devoured by hawks and eagles under the fowler’s eye but beyond the -range of his piece) it is no exaggerated estimate that barely -three-fourths of the fallen are ever recovered.</p></div> - -<p>To the above description another Spanish friend, Don Isidoro Urzáiz, -adds the following:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>In the year 1892 I fired at ducks in a single morning at Daimiel -one thousand and ten cartridges. This was between 6.30 and 10.30 -<small>A.M.</small> I gathered rather over two hundred, losing upwards of a -hundred more. I shot badly; it being my first experience with duck, -I had not learnt to let them come well in, and often fired too -soon.</p> - -<p>In subsequent <i>tiradas</i> I have never enjoyed quite so much luck, -although never firing less than 400 to 500 cartridges. In spite of -the difficulty of recovering dead game, I have always on these -occasions gathered from one hundred upwards—the precise numbers I -have not recorded. Some of the <i>puestos</i> have a very small extent -of open water around them, and in these a greater proportion of the -game is necessarily lost. For example, in a single quite small -clump of reeds I remember marking not less than thirty ducks fall -dead, yet of these I recovered not one. The sharp-edged leaves of -the sedge (<i>masiega</i>) cut like a knife, and the boatman who entered -the reeds to collect the game returned a few minutes later without -a bird, but with hands, arms, and legs bleeding from innumerable -cuts and scratches, which obliged him to desist from further -search. This is but one example of the difficulty of recovering -fallen game.</p></div> - -<p>As examples of the totals secured individually in a day may be quoted -the following. At the first shooting in 1908 the Duke of Arión gathered -251 ducks, and at the second shoot, 245, the Duke of Prim, 197. The -record bag was made some ten or twelve years ago by a Valencian -sportsman, Don Juan Cistel,<a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a> who brought in no less than 393 ducks in -one day! His late Majesty, King Alfonso XII., comes second with 381 -ducks shot in three hours and a half. On his second visit, on hearing -that he had secured his century, His Majesty stopped shooting, being -more interested to watch the fowl passing overhead. His total was 127. -King Alfonso XIII. had an unlucky day here—rain and storm—hence he -only totalled ninety odd. Many years ago, our late friend, Santiago -Udaëta, was credited with 270 ducks to his own gun in one day.</p> - -<p>These bags are truly enormous, for, big as it is, Daimiel is not a patch -in size as compared with our own marismas of the Guadalquivir. There is -here, on the other hand, abundant cover to conceal the guns, which is -not the case with us.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_089_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_089_sml.jpg" width="371" height="212" alt="RED-CRESTED POCHARD—AN IMPRESSION AT DAIMIEL" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">RED-CRESTED POCHARD—AN IMPRESSION AT DAIMIEL</span> -</p> - -<p>It was at Daimiel that we first made acquaintance with the red-crested -pochard—a handsome and truly striking species, smart in build, colour, -action, and every attribute. A bushy red head outstretched on a very -long neck contrasts with the jet-black breast, while the white -“speculum†on the wings shows up conspicuous as a transparency, -especially when a band passes over-head in the azure vault, or splashes -down on reed-girt shallow—one actually seems to see through the gauzy -texture of their quills. These ducks breed in numbers at Daimiel, as do -also mallards, garganey, and ferruginous ducks, together with stilts, -grebes, and herons of all denominations. Greatly do we regret that our -experience at Daimiel does not include the spring-season with all its -unknown ornithological possibilities. An unfortunate<a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a> accident prevented -our spending a week or two at Daimiel in May of the present year.</p> - -<p>Ospreys visit the lakes in autumn, preying on the abundant carp and -tench; and wild-boars, some of great size, coming from the bush-clad -Sierra de Villarubia on the south, frequent the cane-brakes. Shelducks -of either species appear unknown; but grey geese (as well as flamingoes) -make passing calls at intervals, a small dark-coloured goose (possibly -the bernicle) is recorded to have been shot on two or three occasions, -and wild swans once.</p> - -<p>The little country-town of Daimiel, situate six or eight miles from the -lakes, was recently the scene of an extraordinary tragedy. We copy the -account from the Madrid newspaper, <i>El Liberal</i>, February 20, 1908:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Telegraphing from Daimiel, it is announced that yesterday a gang of -masked men forced their entrance into the Council-Chamber while the -Council were holding a meeting under the presidency of the Mayor.</p> - -<p>The masked men, who numbered six or eight, came fully armed with -guns and rifles which they discharged in the very face of the -Mayor, who fell dead, riddled with bullets.</p> - -<p>The assembled Councillors, seized with panic, fled.</p> - -<p>The murdered Mayor was a Conservative, and the only member of that -party who held a seat in the Corporation. It is believed that the -assassination was perpetrated in obedience to political motives.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII<br /><br /> -THE SPANISH BULL-FIGHT<br /><br /> -<small>ITS ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">P<small>ERHAPS</small> no other contemporary spectacle has been oftener and more -minutely described by writers who—censors and enthusiasts -alike—possess neither personal nor technical qualification, for the -work. Impressions, once the Pyrenees are passed, grow spontaneously -deeper and stronger in inverse ratio with experiences. And the majority -of descriptions confessedly prejudge the scene in adverse sense—the -writer (sometimes a lady) going into wild hysterics after half-seeing a -single bull killed.</p> - -<p>We have not the slightest intention of entering that arena of ravelled -preconceptions and misconceptions, nor are we concerned either to uphold -or to condemn. A greater mind has satirised the human tendency to -“condone the sins we are inclined to, by damning those we have no mind -to,†and we are content to leave it at that.</p> - -<p>In this chapter we purpose to glance at the subject from three points of -view.</p> - -<p>(1) The origin of bull-fighting, 500 years ago, and its subsequent -development.</p> - -<p>(2) The modern system of breeding and training the fighting bull.</p> - -<p>(3) The “Miura question‗an incident of to-day.</p> - -<p>As a Spanish institution, bull-fighting dates back to the Reconquest or -shortly thereafter. When that abounding vigour and virility that had -animated and sustained Spanish explorers and warriors—the sailors and -adventurers who, following in the wake of the caravels of Columbus, -opened up a new world to Spain and carried the purple banner of Castile -to the ends of the earth—when that vigour had spent its fiery force and -grown<a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a> anæmic, there still remained (as always) a residue of bold -spirits who, scorning decadent circumstance, turned intuitively to that -virile and dangerous exercise left them as a heritage by the vanished -Moors.</p> - -<p>For it was the Arab conquerors, the so-called Moors, who first practised -this form of vicarious warfare. It was, however, in no sense as a -sport—far less as a popular pastime—that the fierce Arab had risked -equal chances with the fiercest wild beast of the Spanish plain. No, it -was strictly as a substitute and a preparation for the sterner realities -of war that, during the intervals of peace, the Moors “kept their hands -in†by fighting bulls.</p> - -<p>The object was to keep themselves and their chargers fit, their eyesight -true, and muscles toughened for the further struggles that all knew must -follow. But during those intervals of peace, the rival knights, -Christian and Moslem, met in keen competition with lance and sword on -the enclosed arena of the bull-ring. The conclusion of a truce was -frequently celebrated by holding a joint <i>fiesta de toros</i>.</p> - -<p>No trace, however, exists in Arab writings to show that these people -possessed any innate love of bull-fighting as a sport, or ever practised -it save only as an accessory to the art of war.</p> - -<p>No other people of ancient race have had exhibitions of this kind—that -is, where the skill of man was invoked to incite a beast to attack in -certain desired modes; while the performer escaped the onset, and -finally slew his adversary, by preconceived forms of defence governed by -set rules—a spectacle wherein the assembled crowd could, each according -to his light, estimate both the skill of the man and the fighting -quality of the beast. That the blood of many a gladiator dyed the Roman -arena at the horns of bulls is certain: but no artistic embellishments -of attack or defence added to the joy of the Roman holiday. The mere -mechanical instinct of self-preservation may inadvertently have -suggested to individual combatants certain combinations in the conflict -that in later days have been utilised by modern matadors; but it seems -hardly possible to suppose that Roman gladiators saved themselves by -methods of prescribed art. Contemporary records, together with the -scenes depicted on coinage, represent rather a mere massacre of men by -brute force; and such cannot bear any relation to the conditions that -govern the national <i>fiesta</i> of Spain to-day.<a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a></p> - -<p>The actual origin in Spain of the <i>Corrida de Toros</i> must thus be traced -to the Spanish Arabs, who, to exercise themselves and their steeds -during intermittent periods of peace, adopted this dangerous pastime -with the view of fortifying and invigorating personal valour, so -necessary in times of constant strife.</p> - -<p>The Arab’s spear and charger were opposed to the wild bull of the -Spanish plain under conditions many of which are analogous to these in -vogue to-day.</p> - -<p>In those earlier ages it was permitted to an unhorsed cavalier to accept -protection from the horns of his enemy at the hands of his personal -retainers, who not infrequently sacrificed their own lives in devotion -to their chief.</p> - -<p>At this period (during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries) the -knight who, lance in hand, had been hurled from the saddle might draw -his sword and kill the bull, his vassals being allowed to assist in -placing the animal (by deft display of coloured cloaks) in a position to -facilitate the death-stroke. Here, doubtless, originated the art of -“playing†the bull, and incidentally sprang the professional -bull-fighter.</p> - -<p>For as these servants became experts, and by reason of their prowess -gained extra wages, so proportionately such skill became of pecuniary -value. Mercenaries of this sort were, nevertheless, despised—to risk -their lives in return for money was regarded as an infamous thing. But -at least they had inaugurated the regime of the highly paid matador of -to-day.</p> - -<p>During the first century after the Reconquest bull-fighting was opposed -by several powerful influences, but each in turn it survived and set at -naught. Isabel la Católica, horrified by the sight of bloodshed at a -bull-fight which she personally attended, decided to prohibit all -<i>corridas</i>; but that, she found, lay beyond even her great influence. -Next, in 1567, the power of the Papacy was invoked in vain.</p> - -<p>Pope Pius V., by a <i>bula</i> of November 20, forbade the spectacle under -pain of excommunication, the denial of Christian burial, and similar -ecclesiastical penalties; but he and his <i>bula</i> had likewise to go under -in face of the national sentiment of Spain.</p> - -<p>A noble bull fell to the lance of Isabel’s grandson, H.M. the Emperor -Charles V., in the Plaza Mayor of Valladolid amidst acclamation of -countless admirers. This occurred during the<a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a> festivals held to -celebrate the birth of his eldest son, afterwards Phillip II.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_090_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_090_sml.jpg" width="662" height="417" alt="Bull-Fighting. From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Bull-Fighting. From a Drawing by Joseph Crawhall</span> -</p> - -<p>In 1612 bull-fighting first assumed a financial aspect. Phillip III. -conceded to one Arcania Manduno the emoluments accruing during the term -of three lives from the <i>corridas de toros</i> in the city of Valencia. -Charities and asylums benefited under this fund, but the bulk went in -payment for professional services in the Plaza.</p> - -<p>During the reign of Phillip IV.—that king being skilled in the use of -lance and javelin (<i>rejón</i>), and frequently himself taking a public -part—the <i>fiesta</i> advanced enormously in national estimation. English -readers may recall the sumptuous <i>corrida</i> which marked the arrival of -Charles I., with the Duke of Buckingham, at Madrid.</p> - -<p>Later, during the reigns of the House of Austria, to face a bull with -bravery and skill and to use a dexterous lance was the pride of every -Spanish noble.</p> - -<p>Phillip V., however, would have none of the spectacle, and then the -nobility held aloof from the <i>corridas</i>; but their example proved no -deterrent. For the hold of the national pastime on the Moro-hispanic -race was too firm-set to be swept aside by alien influence, however -strong; and when thus abandoned by the patricians, the hidalgos and -grandees of Spain, the sport of bull-fighting (hitherto confined -exclusively to the aristocracy) was taken up by the Spanish people. A -further impulse was generated later on under Ferdinand VII., who -obtained a reversal of the anathema of the Church on condition that some -of the pecuniary profits of the <i>corridas</i> should swell the funds of the -hospitals.</p> - -<p>It was, however, during the first half of the eighteenth century that -bull-fighting on a popular basis, as understood and practised at the -present day, took its start. Then there stepped upon the enclosed arena -the first professional <i>Toréro</i> amidst thrilling plaudits from tier -above tier of encircling humanity. Never before had the bull been taken -on by a single man on foot armed only with his good sword and scarlet -flag—with these to pit his strength and skill against the weight and -ferocity of a <i>toro bravo</i>—alone and unaided to despatch him. Such a -man was Francisco Romero, erewhiles a shoemaker at Ronda—<small>A.D.</small> -1726—first professional <i>lidiador</i>. On his death at an advanced age, he -left<a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a> five sons, all craftsmen of repute, who, in honour of their sire, -formed a bull-fighting guild still known as the Rondénean -School—distinguished from the later Sevillian cult by its more serious -and dignified attack as compared with the prettiness and “swagger†of -the Sevillano.</p> - -<p>In that generation Francisco’s son, Pedro Romero, appeared in rivalry -with PEPE-ILLO, the new-risen star in the Sevillian firmament. It was, -by the way, the master-mind of the latter which completed and perfected -the reorganisation on popular lines of the national <i>fiesta</i> after -Bourbon influence had alienated the aristocracy from their ancient -diversion. The rivalry between these competing exponents of the two -styles commenced in 1771, the pair representing each a supreme mastery -of their respective schools, and only terminated with the death of -Pepe-Illo in the Plaza of Madrid, May 11, 1801. The Sevillian style has -since attained pre-eminence, appealing more to the masses by its -nonchalance and apparent disregard of danger. When the best features of -both schools are combined—as has been exemplified in more than one -brilliant exponent of the art—then the letters of his name are writ -large on the <i>cartels</i>.</p> - -<p>One other famous name of that epoch demands notice—that of Costillares, -who introduced the flying stroke distinguished as the <i>suerte de -volapié</i>. Hitherto all <i>lidiadors</i> had received the onset of the bull -standing—the <i>suerte de recibir</i>. In the <i>volapié</i> the charging bull is -met half-way, an exploit demanding unswerving accuracy, strength of arm, -and exact judgment of distance, since the spot permissible for the sword -to enter, the target on the bull’s neck, is no bigger than an orange.</p> - -<p>The normal difficulty of sheathing the blade at that exact point on a -charging bull is great enough; but is vastly increased in the <i>volapié</i>, -or flying stroke, and the effect produced on the spectators emotional in -the last degree.</p> - -<p>Costillares also formalised the costumes of the different classes of -bull-fighters. He flourished in 1760, and died of a broken heart owing -to his right arm being injured, which incapacitated him from further -triumphs. About that period Martinho introduced the perilous pole-jump, -and José Candido stood out prominent for skill and extraordinary -resource.</p> - -<p>Intermediate episodes of minor importance we must briefly note. Thus -Godoy in 1805 stopped bull-fights, but Joseph<a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a> Bonaparte in 1808 -re-established the spectacle, in vain hope—a sop to Cerberus—of -attaching sympathy to his dynasty.</p> - -<p>On the return of Fernando VII. in 1814, he also prohibited the shows, -only to re-authorise them the following year, while in 1830 he founded a -school of Toromaquia in Seville. One famous <i>toréro</i>, matriculating -thereat, inaugurated a new epoch. Francisco Montes carried popular -enthusiasm to its highest apex. Joy bordering on madness possessed the -Madrilenean ring when Montes handled the <i>muleta</i>. Yet as a matador he -had serious defects.</p> - -<p>In 1840 Cuchares appeared on the scene, and two years later the great -disciple of Montes, José Redondo. The rivalry of these notable -contemporaries lifted the <i>toréo</i> once more to a level of absorbing -national interest. It will have been seen that whenever two brilliant -constellations flash forth simultaneously, their very rivalry commands -the sympathy and supreme interest of the Spanish people.</p> - -<p>From 1852 El Tato stood out as a type of elegance and valour, the idol -of the masses, till on June 7, 1859, a treacherous bull left him -mutilated in the arena. Antonio Carmóna (El Gordito), commenced his -career in 1857, alternating in the ring with El Tato and later with -Lagartijo, the latter a brilliant <i>toréro</i> (or player of bulls) as -distinguished from a matador. Consummate in every feint and artifice, -Lagartijo could befool the animals to the top of his bent, yet as a -matador, the final and supreme executor, he failed.</p> - -<p>For twenty years (1867-87) the Spanish public were divided in their keen -appreciation of contemporaneous masters, Lagartijo and Frascuelo. The -latter, whose iron will and courage made amends for certain personal -defects in the lighter role, had marvellous security in the final -stroke.</p> - -<p>Lagartijo and Frascuelo accentuate an era well remembered by enthusiasts -in the Classic School of the <i>Toréo</i>. In their day all Spaniards were -devoted, aye, passionate adherents of one or the other: all Spain was -divided into two camps, that of Lagartijo and that of Frascuelo. The -actual supporters of the ring were probably no more numerous then than -to-day; but toreadors breathed that old-fashioned atmosphere in which a -love of the profession was supreme—an heroic unselfishness, personal -skill, and valour were the ruling motives. Pecuniary interest was a -thing apart.<a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a></p> - -<p>The career of the bull-fighter to-day is absolutely wanting in such -virtue. Lagartijo and Frascuelo staked their lives each afternoon, -through a love of their art, by the impress of honest nature, perhaps by -inspiration of a woman’s eyes. Into their calculations, ideas of lucre -did not enter, money had no value.</p> - -<p>Then came on the scene (1887) that bright particular star, Rafael Guerra -(Guerrita) celebrated and admired—and with justice. But his coming -destroyed for ever the legend of the disinterested <i>toréro</i>. The lover -of the art for its own sake was no more, Guerrita was a mercenary of the -first water. Admittedly first of modern bull-fighters, the aspiration of -his soul was the possession of bank-notes, to be the clipper of many -coupons! Neither passion, nor blood, nor favour of the fair inspired his -sordid soul. At the supreme moment of danger, money, only money, was the -motive which actuated him. In his desire for wealth, he succeeded. His -unexpected retirement from the arena in the very apogee of his glory, -and carrying away the accumulation of his thrift, was a shock to this -warm-hearted people. Every vestige of the romantic halo with which -personal prowess and graceful presence had surrounded him was destroyed. -Guerrita as a player of bulls (<i>toréro</i>) was the first in all the -history of the ring. As a “matador†also he was the most complete and -certain. Unlike the majority of his compeers, he was reserved in his -habits, and lived apart from the bizarre and tempestuous life of the -ordinary bull-fighter, with its feminine intrigues and excitements. For -that reason he had many enemies amongst his set; but of his claim to be -in the very first rank there has never been a question. To see Guerrita -wind the silken sash around his ribs of steel, as he attired himself for -the arena, was a sight his patrons considered worth going many a mile to -witness.<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a></p> - -<p>Since his retirement, the show has fallen greatly, in the quality of the -bull-fighter.</p> - -<p>Luis Mazzantini created a temporary revolution in the annals of -toromaquia (1885), lighting up anew the enthusiasm for the <i>fiesta</i>. He -came not of the usual low, half-gipsy caste, but of the class which -entitled him to the <i>Don</i> of gentle birth. Don Luis Mazzantini, the only -professional bearing such a prefix, acquired at an unusually late period -of life sufficient technical knowledge of bull-fighting to embolden him -to enter the lists in<a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a> competition with professionals. He was thirty -years of age when the heavy pay of the matador induced him to risk his -life in the arena.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_091a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_091a_sml.jpg" width="345" height="357" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_091b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_091b_sml.jpg" width="415" height="289" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p>Whatever may be said of his failing as an artistic exponent of the art -of Cucháres, he killed his bulls in a resolute manner, and re-animated -the interest in the <i>corrida</i>, but his example was a bad one. Several -men emulating his career have endeavoured to become improvised -<i>toréros</i>, and, like him, to avoid the step-by-step climb to matador’s -rank. All have been failures. They wanted to begin where the -bull-fighter of old left off.</p> - -<p>Mazzantini has retired, unscathed, from his twenty years of perilous -experience in the arena, and is now a civic light in the local -government of the city of Madrid.</p> - -<p>Since Guerrita, not a single matador of leading light has arisen. -Reverte (1891), Antonio Fuentes (1893), and Bombita (1894) all attracted -a numerous public; and after them we arrive at the lesser lights of the -present day, Bombita II. and Machaquito.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding its present decadence in all the most essential -qualities, yet the <i>fiesta de toros</i> is still, if not the very -heartthrob of the nation, at least the single all-embracing symbol of -the people’s taste as distinguished from that of other lands. Racing has -been tried and failed; there are no teeming crowds at football, nor -silent watchers on the cricket-field. <i>La Corrida</i> alone makes the -Spanish holiday.<a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX<br /><br /> -THE SPANISH FIGHTING-BULL<br /><br /> -<small>HIS BREEDING AND TRAINING</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> normal British idea of a bull naturally derives colour from those -stolid animals one sees at home, some with a ring through the nose, and -which are only kept for stud purposes, but occasionally evince a latent -ferocity by goring to death some hapless herdsman.</p> - -<p>Between such and the Spanish <i>Toro de Plaza</i> there exists no sort of -analogy. The Spanish fighting-bull is bred to fight, and the keen -experience of centuries is brought to bear on the selection of the -fittest—that, moreover, not only as regards the bulls, for the cows -also are tested both for pluck and stamina before admission to the -herd-register. The result, in effect, assures that an animal as fierce -and formidable as the wildest African buffalo shall finally face the -matador.</p> - -<p>The breeding of the fighting-bull forms in Spain a rural industry as -deeply studied and as keenly competitive as that of prize-cattle or -Derby winners in England.</p> - -<p>At the age of one year preliminary tests are made, and promising -youngsters branded with the insignia of the herd. But it is the -completion of the second year that marks their critical period; for then -take place the trials for pluck and mettle. The brave are set aside for -the Plaza, the docile destroyed or gelded; while from the chosen lot a -further selection is made of the sires for future years.</p> - -<p>At these two-year-old trials, or <i>Tentaderos</i>, it is customary for the -owner and his friends to assemble at the sequestered <i>rancho</i>—the event -indeed becomes a rural fête, a bright and picturesque scene, typical of -untrodden Spain and of the buoyant exuberance and dare-devil spirit of -her people.<a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a></p> - -<p>Nowhere can the exciting scenes of the <i>Tentadero</i> be witnessed to -greater advantage than on those wide level pasturages that extend from -Seville to the Bay of Cádiz. Here, far out on spreading <i>vega</i> ablaze -with wild flowers, where the canicular sun flashes yet more light and -fire into the fiery veins of the Andaluz—here is enacted the first -scene in the drama of the <i>Toréo</i>. For ages these flower-strewn plains -have formed the scene of countless <i>tentaderos</i>, where the young bloods -of Andalucia, generation after generation, rival each other in feats of -derring-do, of skill, and horsemanship.</p> - -<p>The remote <i>estancia</i> presents a scene of unwonted revelry. All night -long its rude walls resound with boisterous hilarity—good-humour, -gaiety, and a spice of practical joking pass away the dark hours and by -daylight all are in the saddle. The young bulls have previously been -herded upon that part of the estate which affords the best level ground -for smart manÅ“uvre and fast riding, and the task of holding the -impetuous beasts together is allotted to skilled herdsmen armed with -long <i>garrochas</i>—four-yard lances, with blunt steel tip. All being -ready, a single bull is allowed to escape across the plain. Two horsemen -awaiting the moment, spear in hand, give chase, one on either flank. The -rider on the bull’s left assists his companion by holding the animal to -a straight course. Presently the right-hand man, rising erect in his -stirrups, plants his lance on the bull’s <i>off-flank</i>, near the tail, and -by one tremendous thrust, delivered at full speed, overthrows him—a -feat that bespeaks a good eye, a firm seat, and a strong arm. Some young -bulls will take two or more falls; others, on rising, will elect to -charge. The infuriated youngster finds himself faced by a second foe—a -horseman armed with a more pointed lance and who has been riding close -behind. This man is termed <i>el Tentador</i>. Straightway the bull charges, -receiving on his withers the <i>garrocha</i> point; thrown back thus and -smarting under this first check to his hitherto unthwarted will, he -returns to the charge with redoubled fury, but only to find the horse -protected as before. The pluckier spirits will essay a third or a fourth -attack, but those that freely charge <i>twice</i> are passed as fit for the -ring.</p> - -<p>Should a young bull <i>twice</i> decline to charge the <i>Tentador</i>, submitting -to his overthrow and only desiring to escape, he is condemned—doomed to -death, or at best to a life of agricultural toil.<a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a></p> - -<p>Not seldom a bull singled out from the <i>rodéo</i> declines to escape, as -expected; but, instead, charges the nearest person, on foot or mounted, -whom he may chance to espy. Then there is a flutter in the dovecotes! -Danger can only be averted by skilled riding or a cool head, since there -is no shelter. Spanish herdsmen, however (and amateurs besides), are -adepts in the art of giving “passes†to the bull—a smart fellow, when -caught thus in the open, can keep a bull off him (using his jacket only) -for several moments, giving time for horsemen to come up to his rescue. -Even then it is no uncommon occurrence to see horseman, horse, and bull -all rolling on the turf in a common ruin. Seldom does it happen that one -of these trial-days passes without broken bones or accidents of one kind -or another.</p> - -<p>For four to five more years, the selected bulls roam at large over the -richest pasturages of the wide unfrequented prairies. Should pasture -fail through drought or deluge, the bulls are fed on tares, vetch, or -maize, even with wheat, for their début in public must be made in the -highest possible condition. The bulls should then be not less than five, -nor more than seven years old.</p> - -<p>The <i>tentadero</i> at the present day brings together aristocratic -gatherings that recall the tauromachian tournaments of old. Skill in -handling the <i>garrocha</i> and the ability to turn-over a running bull are -accomplishments held in high esteem among Spanish youth. Even the -Infantas of Spain have entered into the spirit of the sport, and have -been known themselves to wield a dexterous lance.</p> - -<p>At length, however, the years spent in luxurious idleness on the silent -plain must come to an end. One summer morning the brave herd find -grazing in their midst sundry strangers which make themselves extremely -agreeable to the lordly champions, now in the zenith of magnificent -strength and beauty. These strangers are the <i>cabrestos</i> (or -<i>cabestros</i>, in correct Castilian), decoy-oxen sent out to fraternise -for a few days with the fighting race preparatory to the <i>Encierro</i>, or -operation of convoying the latter to the city whereat the <i>corrida</i> is -to take place. Each <i>cabresto</i> has a cattle-bell suspended round its -neck in order to accustom the wild herd to follow the lead of these base -betrayers of the brave. Thus the noble bulls are lured from their native -plains through country tracks and bye-ways to the entrance of the fatal -<i>toril</i>.<a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_092_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_092_sml.jpg" width="730" height="409" alt="After the Stroke." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">After the Stroke.</span> -</p> - -<p>An animated spectacle it is on the eve of the <i>corrida</i> when, amidst -clouds of dust and clang of bells, the tame oxen and wild bulls are -driven forward by galloping horsemen and levelled <i>garrochas</i>. The -excited populace, already intoxicated with bull-fever and the -anticipation of the coming <i>corridas</i>, line the way to the Plaza, -careless if in the enthusiasm for the morrow they risk some awkward rips -to-day.</p> - -<p>Once inside the lofty walls of the <i>toril</i> it is easy to withdraw the -treacherous <i>cabestros</i>, and one by one to tempt the bulls each into a -small separate cell, the <i>chiquero</i>, the door of which will to-morrow -fall before his eyes. Then, rushing upon the arena, he finds himself -confronted and encircled by surging tiers of yelling humanity, while the -crash of trumpets and glare of moving colours madden his brain. Then the -gaudy horsemen, with menacing lances, recall his day of trial on the -distant plain—horsemen now doubly hateful in their brilliant glittering -tinsel.</p> - -<p>What a spectacle is presented by the Plaza at this moment!—one without -parallel in the modern world. The vast amphitheatre, crowded to the last -seat in every row and tier, is held for some seconds in breathless -suspense; above, the glorious azure canopy of an Andalucian summer sky; -below, on the yellow arena, rushes forth the bull, fresh from his -distant prairie, amazed yet undaunted by the unwonted sight and -bewildering blaze of colour which surrounds him. For one brief moment -the vast mass of excited humanity sits spell-bound; the clamour of -myriads is stilled. Then the pent-up cry bursts forth in frantic volume, -for the gleaning horns have done their work, and <i>Buen toro! buen toro!</i> -rings from twice ten thousand throats.</p> - -<p>We have traced in brief outline the life-history of our gallant bull; we -have brought him face to face with the matador and his Toledan -blade—there we must leave him.<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> In concluding this chapter, may we -beg the generous reader, should he ever enter the historic precincts of -the Plaza, to go there with an open mind, to form his own opinion -without prejudice or bias. Let him remember that to untrained eyes there -must ever fall unseen many of the finer “passes,†much of the skilled -technique and science of tauromachian art. The casual spectator -necessarily<a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a> loses that; he perceives no more difficulty in the perilous -<i>suerte de vol-á-pié</i> than in the simpler but more attractive <i>suerte de -recibir</i>, and a hundred similar details. Finally, before crystallising a -judgment, critics should endeavour to see a few second-or third-rate -<i>corridas</i>. It is at these that the relative values of the forces -opposed—brute strength and human skill—are displayed in truer and more -speaking contrast. At set bull-fights of the first-class, the latter -quality is often so marked as partly to obscure the difficulties and -dangers it surmounts. Watch <i>toréros</i> of finished skill and the game -seems easy—as when some phenomenal batsman, well set, knocks the best -bowling in England all over the field. Yet that bowling, the expert -knows, is not easy. Nor are the bulls. At second-rate fights the forces -placed face to face are more evenly balanced; and there it is often the -bull that scores.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">The Miura Question</span></p> - -<p>A raging controversy, illuminative of Tauromachia, has recently split -into two camps the bull-fighting world and agitated one-half of Spain. -The breeding of the fighting-bull is in this country a semi-æsthetic -pursuit, analogous to that of short-horns or racehorses in England, and -the possession of a notable herd the ambition of many of the grandees -and big landowners of Spain.</p> - -<p>Among the various crack herds that of Don Eduardo Miura of Sevilla had -always occupied a prominent rank; while during recent years the power -and dashing prowess of the <i>Miureno</i> bulls had raised that breed almost -to a level apart, invested with a halo of semi-mysterious quality. -Captures occurred at every <i>corrida</i>; man after man had gone down before -these redoubted champions, and the minds of surviving -matadors—saturated one and all with gipsy-sprung superstition—began to -attribute secret or supernatural powers to the dreaded herd. Not a -swordsman but felt unwonted qualm when meeting a <i>Miureno</i> on the sanded -arena. Showy players with the <i>capa</i> and the banderillos proved capable -of giving attractive exhibitions, but it was another matter when the -matador stood alone, face to face with his foe. Even second-class -<i>toréros</i> can, with almost any bull, show off their accomplishments in -these lighter séances; but in the<a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a> supreme rôle—that of killing the -bull as art demands—there is no room for half-measures or deceptions. -To valour, ability must be united. When those two qualities are not both -coupled and balanced, then one of two things happens: Either the scene -becomes a dull one, a mixture of funk and feebleness made patent all -round; or disaster is at hand. This one hears forecast in the strange -cries of this meridional people—from all sides come the shouts of -“<i>Hule! Hule!</i>†Now <i>Hule</i> is the name of the material with which the -stretchers for the killed and wounded are covered!</p> - -<p>At this period (summer of 1908) a combination of the bull-fighting craft -attempted a boycott of the Miura herd, or at least double pay for -killing them. This was done secretly at first, since neither would open -confession redound to the credit of the “pig-tail,†nor did it promise -favourable reception by the public.</p> - -<p>At this conjuncture a notable <i>corrida</i> occurred at Seville—six -<i>Miurenos</i> being listed for the fight. Ricardo Torres (Bombita II.) -despatched his first with all serenity and valour; with his second, a -magnificent animal worthy of a royal pageant, he would doubtless have -comported himself with equal skill but for an extraneous incident. Upon -rushing into the arena this bull had at once impaled a foolhardy amateur -named PepÃn Rodriguez who (quite against all recognised rule) had madly -sprung into the ring. The poor fellow was borne out only in time to -receive the last religious rite.</p> - -<p>At the precise moment when Ricardo stepped forth to meet his foe, the -murmur reached his ear—PepÃn was dead, and his superstitious soul sank -down to zero at that whisper from without. When the critical moment -arrived—the popular matador stood pale, nerveless, incapable. Then the -scorn of the mighty crowd burst forth in monstrous yells. Ricardo Torres -had fallen from the pinnacle of fame to the level of a clumsy beginner. -In a moment he was disgraced, his increasing reputation ruined for ever -under the eyes of all the world—and that by a <i>Miureno</i> bull. From that -moment the fallen star organised his colleagues in open rebellion -against the victorious breed.</p> - -<p>The line of action adopted was to abuse and libel the incriminated herd. -It was urged that the bulls lacked the true qualities of dash and valour -and only scored by treachery; and especially insinuated that the young -bulls were expressly taught at their <i>tentaderos</i>, or trials on the open -plains, to discriminate between<a name="page_206" id="page_206"></a> shadow and substance—in other words, -to seek the man and disdain the lure—this naturally making the rôle of -matador more dangerous, and double pay was demanded. To outsiders it -would appear that on the day when bulls learn this, bull-fighting must -cease.</p> - -<p>A storm burst that raged all winter—all classes taking part. Spain was -rent in twain; press and people, high and low, joined issue in this -unseemly wrangle. We cannot here enter into detail of the various -schemes, fair and unfair, whereby the bull-fighters’ guild sought to -justify their action and their demands and to prejudice the terrible -<i>Miurenos</i> in the public eye. They were seconded by most professionals -of renown, and soon all but seven had joined the league. But the -squabble with its resultant lawsuits and sordid financial aspect finally -disgusted the public.</p> - -<p>Needless to add, a counter-association of bull-breeders had been forced -into existence, which eventually, despite varied and particular personal -interests unworthy of definition, united the opposition. Oh! it was a -pretty quarrel and one in its essence peculiar to Spain. But it held the -whole country engaged all winter in the throes of a semi-civil war!</p> - -<p>At the first <i>corrida</i> of the following season—held at Alicante January -18, 1909, and graced by the presence of King Alfonso XIII. in -person—the public delivered their verdict, filling the Plaza to -overflowing, although the whole of the six champions were of the -condemned Miura breed and the matadors, Quinito and Rerre, belonged to -the recalcitrant Seven. The bull-fighters’ guild had received a fatal -blow.</p> - -<p>Such was the situation, the mental equilibrium between the fiercely -contending factions, as the crucial period approached—the Easter -<i>corridas</i> at Seville. The <i>impresarios</i> of that function, having full -grip of the circumstance, engaged matadors of minor repute—Pepete, -Moréno de Alcalá, and Martin Vasquez. All three, although but of second -rank, were popular and regarded as coming men.</p> - -<p>Flaming posters announced that six champions of the Miura breed would -face the swordsmen.</p> - -<p>The occasion was unique, and D. Eduardo Miura rose to meet it, -presenting six bulls of incomparable beauty, magnificent in fine lines, -in dash, brute-strength, and valour, yet utterly devoid (as the event -proved) of guile or lurking treachery. Such<a name="page_207" id="page_207"></a> animals as these six -demanded a Romero, a Montes, or a Guerrita as equals; instead, these -young <i>Toréros</i> who faced them, courageous though they were, lacked -calibre for such an undertaking. This <i>corrida</i> marked an epoch, but it -acquired the proportions of a catastrophe. The bye-word that “where -there are bulls there are no matadors†became that afternoon an axiom.</p> - -<p>A <i>gettatura</i>, or atmosphere of superstition, surrounded the bulls and -unnerved or confounded their opponents. Pepete was caught by the first -bull, Moréno de Alcalá by the fourth, while Martin Vasquez (already -thrice caught) succumbed to the fifth.</p> - -<p>The sixth bull thus remained unopposed champion of the Plaza—not a -matador survived to face him, and it became necessary to entice an -unfought bull (by means of trained oxen) to quit the arena—an event -unprecedented in the age-long annals of Tauromachy!</p> - -<p>A typical incident, trivial by comparison, intervened. A youthful -spectator, frenzied to madness by the scene, had seized a sword, leapt -into the ring, and ... promptly met his death.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Every contention of the bull-fighters’ guild had been falsified, and the -association collapsed. A Sevillian paper summed up the event thus:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The six bulls were each worthy to figure in toromaquian annals for -their beautiful stamp, their lines, weight, bravery, and caste. We -witnessed a tragedy when, on the death of the fifth bull, not a -matador remained. But had that tragedy been caused by malice, -wickedness, or treachery on the part of the bulls, surely a -declaration of martial law in this city would have been demanded by -not a few! But that was not so; each of the six competed in the -qualities of bravery, nobility, and adaptability—such bulls are -worthy of better swordsmen.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_208" id="page_208"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX<br /><br /> -SIERRA DE GRÉDOS</h2> - -<p class="nind">W<small>E</small> met, our trio, on the platform of Charing Cross—not classic but -perhaps historic ground, since so many notable expeditions have started -therefrom, with others of less importance.</p> - -<p>The heat in Madrid towards the end of August (1896) was not -excessive—less than we had feared. We enjoyed, that Sunday, quite an -excellent bull-fight, although the bulls themselves had been advertised -as of “only one horn†apiece (<i>de un cuerno</i>). There was no sign, -however, of any cornual deficiency as each magnificent animal dashed -into the arena, although with binoculars one could detect a slight -splintering of one horn-point, a defect which had caused the rejection -of that animal from the herd-list. For these bulls were, in fact, of -notable blood—that of Ybarra of Sevillian <i>vegas</i>—and none bearing -that name appear in first-class <i>corridas</i> save absolutely perfect and -unblemished.</p> - -<p>The point illustrates the keen appreciation of quality in the -fighting-bull, which in Spain goes without saying, yet may well deceive -the casual stranger. Thus an American party who breakfasted with us -(always keen to get the best, but not always knowing where to find it) -despised the “Unicorns†and reserved themselves instead for the opera. -We enjoyed an excellent fight with dashing bulls—two clearing the -barrier and causing a fine stampede among the military, the police, and -crowds of itinerant fruit-and water-sellers who occupy the -<i>Entre-barreras</i>.</p> - -<p>These “Unicorns†proved really better bulls than at many of the formal -<i>corridas</i>. Three young and rising matadors despatched the animals—two -each. They were Galindo, Gavira, and Parrao—both the latter excellent. -Gavira looked as if he might take first rank in his order, while Parrao -displayed a coolness in the <i>lidia</i> such as we had seldom before -seen—even to stroking the bull<a name="page_209" id="page_209"></a>’s nose—while in the final scene he -went in to such close quarters, “passing†the animal at half -arm’s-length, that the whole 10,000 in the Plaza held their breath. -Parrao will become a first-flighter, unless he is caught, which -certainly seems the more natural event.</p> - -<p>That evening we were hospitably entertained at the British Embassy, -where our host, the Chargé d’Affaires, regretted that the short -fourteen-days’ Ortolan season had just that morning expired. Thus, quite -unconsciously, was an ornithological fact elucidated.</p> - -<p>Next morning we were away by an early train, and after five hours’ -journey joined our staff, as prearranged. But here we committed the -mistake of quartering in a country-town on the banks of the Tagus, -instead of encamping in the open country outside. Bitterly did we regret -having allowed ourselves to be thus persuaded. Long summer heats and -parching drought had destroyed what primitive system of natural drainage -may have existed in Talavera de la Reina and produced conditions that we -revolt from describing. Oh! those foul effluvia amidst which men live, -and feed, and sleep!</p> - -<p>With intense delight, but splitting headaches, we left the plague-spot -at earliest dawn and set out for the mountain-land. For thirty odd miles -our route traversed a highland plateau; a group of five great bustard, -gasping in the noon-day heat, lay asleep so near the track that we tried -a shot with ball. Farther north, near Medina del Campo, we had also -observed these grand game-birds feeding on the ripening grapes in the -vineyards. Packs of sand-grouse (<i>Pterocles arenarius</i>) with musical -croak flew close around. Spanish azure magpies abounded wherever our -route passed through wooded stretches, and we also observed doves, -bee-eaters, stonechats, crested and calandra larks, ravens, and over -some cork-oaks wheeled a serpent-eagle showing very white below.</p> - -<p>Towards evening the track began to ascend through the lower defiles of -the great cordillera that now pierced the heavens ahead. Presently we -entered pinewoods, resonant at dusk with the raucous voices of millions -of wingless grasshoppers or locusts (we know not their precise name) -that live high up in pines. Never before had we heard such strident -voice in an insect.<a name="page_210" id="page_210"></a></p> - -<p>At 4000 feet we encamped beneath the pines by a lovely trout-stream. -This was the rendezvous whereat by arrangement we met with our old -friends the ibex-hunters of Almanzór—savage perhaps to the eye, yet -beyond all doubt radiantly glad to welcome back the foreigners after a -lapse of years. No mere greed of dollars inspired that enthusiasm, but -solely the bond of a common passion that bound us all—that of the -hunter. It was, however, but sorry hearing to listen to the reports they -told us around the camp-fire. Everywhere the ibex were yearly growing -scarcer, dwindling to an inevitable vanishing-point, former haunts -already abandoned—or, we should rather say, swept clean. Where but a -score of years before, 150 ibex had been counted in a single <i>monterÃa</i>, -our friends reckoned that exactly a dozen survived. One remark -especially struck us. “There remained,†with glee our friends assured -us, “one magnificent old goat, a ram of twelve years, out there on the -crags of Almanzór.†<i><span class="smcap">One</span>!</i> To <i>one</i> sole big head had it dwindled?</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 159px;"> -<a href="images/ill_093_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_093_sml.jpg" width="159" height="124" alt="“MINOR GAMEâ€" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“MINOR GAMEâ€</span> -</div> - -<p>The valley of the Tagus divides two geological periods, and perhaps at -one time divided Europe from a retiring Africa. Marked differences -distinguish the fauna on either side of the river, and that of the north -(with its 10,000 feet altitude) promised reward worthy the labours of -investigation. Not a yard of that great mountain-land of Grédos has been -trodden by British foot (save our own) since the days of Wellington. -Hence it was an object with us to secure, not only ibex heads, but -specimens of the smaller mammalia that dwell in those heights. Our -mountain friends assembled round the camp-fire—twenty-five in all—each -promised to take up this unaccustomed quest and to regard as game every -hitherto unconsidered <i>bicho</i> of the hills, whether feathered, furred, -or scaled. If ibex failed us, at least a harvest in such minor game we -meant to assure.<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></p> - -<p>Three o’clock saw us astir, bathing in the dark burn while moonlight -still streamed through sombre pines. Camp meanwhile<a name="page_211" id="page_211"></a> was broken up; -tents and gear packed on ponies and mules, breakfast finished—we were -off, heavenwards. Then, just as the laden pack-animals filed through the -burn, there rode up a man—he had ridden all night—and bore a message -that changed our exuberant joy to grief—bad news from home.</p> - -<p>There could be no doubt—the writer must return at once. Within five -minutes I had decided to make for a point on the northern railway beyond -the hills and distant some sixty miles as the crow flies. Baggage and -battery were abandoned; a handbag with a satchel of provisions and a -wine-skin formed my luggage, and, leaving my companions in this wild -spot, I set forth in the grey dawn on a barebacked mule devoid of -saddle, bridle, or stirrups, and accompanied by two of our hill-bred -lads, one riding pillion behind or running alongside in turn.</p> - -<p>Where the grey ramparts of the Risco del Fraile and the Casquerázo frown -on a rugged earth below I parted with my old pals, they to continue the -ibex-hunt, I on my mournful homeward way.</p> - -<p>Bee-eaters poised and chattered, brilliant butterflies (whose names I -forgot to note), abounded as we rode along those fearful edges and -boulder-studded steeps. Six hours of this brought us to a rock-poised -hamlet of the sierra. The landlord of the <i>posada</i> was also the -<i>Alcalde</i> (mayor) of the district, and even then presiding over a -meeting of the council (<i>ayuntamiento</i>). Amidst dogs, children, fleas, -and dirt, along with my two goat-herd friends, we made breakfast.</p> - -<p>Thence over the main pass of Navasomera—no road, not the vestige of a -track, and a tremendous ravine stopped us for hours, and for a time -threatened to prove impassable. By patience and recklessness we lowered -mule and ourselves down scrub-choked screes, and after some of the -roughest work of my life gained a goat-herd’s track which led upwards to -the pass. After clearing the reverse slope we traversed for twenty miles -a dreary upland (6000 feet) till we struck the head-waters of the -Albirche river, where my lads tickled half-a-dozen trout and a <i>frog</i>! -Kites beat along the stony hills, where wheatears and stonechats -fluttered incessant, with dippers and sandpipers on the burn below.</p> - -<p>We halted at a lonely <i>venta</i> (wayside wine-shop), where assembled -goat-herds courteously made room, and passed me their wine-skin. -Presently one of them asked whither I went, remarking,<a name="page_212" id="page_212"></a> “Your Excellency -is clearly not of this province.†Three or four skinny rabbits hung on -the wall, and the landlord, after inquiring what his Excellency would -eat, assured me he had plenty of everything, was yet so strong in his -commendation of <i>rabbit</i> that I knew those wretched beasties were the -only food in the place. Presently with my two lads, and surrounded by -mules, cats, dogs, poultry, wasps, and fleas, we sat down to dine on -trout, rabbits-<i>á-pimiento</i>, and <i>chorizo</i> (forty horse-power sausage). -I believe my boys also ate the frog!</p> - -<p>Two hours after dark we were still dragging along the upland, while the -outlines of the jagged cordillera behind had faded in gathering night. I -could scarce have sat much longer on that bony saddleless mule when a -light was descried far below, and, on learning that we were still twenty -miles from our destination, I decided to put up for the night at that -little <i>venta</i> of Almenge, sleeping on bare earth alongside my boys, and -close by the heels of our own and sundry other mules.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 189px;"> -<a href="images/ill_094_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_094_sml.jpg" width="189" height="190" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>At breakfast there sat down, besides ourselves and hostess, sundry -muleteers, all sympathetic and commiserate since my mission had become -known. I was hurrying homewards to distant Inglaterra—so Juanito had -explained—because my brother was <i>poco bueno</i>—not very well. The -hostess looked hard, and said, “Señor, it must be <i>muy grave</i> (very -serious), or they would not have telegraphed for the <i>caballero</i> to -return.â€</p> - -<p>Many more hours of tedious mule-riding followed ere at last from -lowering spurs we could see the end of the hills and the white track -winding away till lost to view across the plain below.</p> - -<p>Here in the highest growth of trees were grey shrikes (<i>Lanius -meridionalis</i>), adults and young, besides missel-thrushes, turtle-doves, -etc. On the level corn-lands below, which we now traversed for miles, we -observed bustards (these, we were told, retired to lower levels in -September)—nothing else beyond the usual larks and kestrels common to -all Spain.<a name="page_213" id="page_213"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<span class="caption">SCENES IN SIERRA DE GRÉDOS.</span> -<br /> -<a href="images/ill_095a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_095a_sml.jpg" width="392" height="246" alt="" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">MOREZÓN. CUCHILLAR DE NAVÃJAS. ALMANZÓR.<br /> -<span class="smcap">The Circo de Grédos.</span></span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_095b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_095b_sml.jpg" width="472" height="403" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" summary="" class="caption"> -<tr align="center"><td>Laguna de Grédos.<br /> -A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW—SHOWS THE AMEÃL AND<br /> -CUCHILLAR DEL GUETRE. -</td> -<td>Looking south across Laguna.<br /> -HERMANITOS—<br /> -CASQUERÃZO.</td></tr></table> - -<p>It was past noon ere the long ride was completed, and we entered the -ancient city that boasts bygone glories, splendid temples, and memories -of mediæval magnificence, but which is now ... well, Avila. But one -feature of Avila demands passing note—its massive walls, withstanding -the centuries, full forty feet in height by fifteen feet broad. An hour -later the Sûd-express dashed up whistling into the station, to the -genuine alarm of my leather-clad mountain-lads, who recoiled in fear -from an unwonted sight. They, noticing that the officials of the train -also spoke a foreign tongue (French), asked me if such things (<i>i.e.</i> -railway trains) were “only for your Excellencies‗meaning for -foreigners, <i>vos-otros</i>.</p> - -<p>At Paris a reassuring telegram filled me with joy indescribable, but in -London and at York further messages intensified anxiety. On August 29 I -reached home, and on the evening of September 3 doubts were resolved, -and the silver cord was loosed.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>The Plaza de Almanzór, with its immediate environment, presents a -panorama of mountain-scenery unrivalled, not only in the whole -cordillera of Grédos, but probably in all Spain—it may be questioned if -the world itself contains a more striking landscape than that known as -the “Circo de Grédos.†Briefly put, a vast central amphitheatre of -rock—really four-square (though known as the “Circoâ€) in the depths of -which nestle an alpine lake—is enclosed by stupendous rock-walls and -precipices of granite; some of these smooth and sheer, others rugged and -disintegrated or broken up by snow-filled gorges of intricacies that -defy the power of pen to describe. Three of these vast mural ramparts -stand almost rectangular, the fourth shoots out obliquely, traversing -the abysmal <i>enclave</i> and all but closing the fourth side of its -quadrilateral. The rough sketch-map at p. 141 shows the configuration -better than written words, while the photos convey, so far as such can, -some idea of the scenery.<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p> - -<p>The actual peak of Almanzór which dominates the whole “Circo,†as viewed -from the north, culminates in a flattened cone, the summit being split -into two huge rock-needles or pinnacles separated by an unfathomed -fissure between. Only one of these needles—and that the lower—has yet -been scaled. The loftier of the pair, though it only surpasses its -fellow by a<a name="page_214" id="page_214"></a> few yards in height, is so sheer, its surface so devoid of -crevice or hand-hold, that the ascent (without ropes and other -appliances) appears quite impracticable.</p> - -<p>Will the reader seat himself in imagination at the spot marked (*) on -the map. Surveying the scene from this point, the whole opposite horizon -is filled by the Altos de Morezón—a jagged and turreted escarpment -pierces the sky, while its frowning walls dip down, down in endless -precipices to the inky-black waters of the Laguna far below.</p> - -<p>Towards the left one’s view is interrupted by an extraordinary mass of -upstanding granite, disintegrated and blackened by the ages, known as -the Ameál de Pablo—in itself a virgin mountain, as yet untrodden by -human foot. This colossus, glittering with snow-striæ, surmounts the -oblique ridge aforesaid, that of the Cuchillar del Guetre, which -traverses two-thirds of the “Circo,†leaving but a narrow gap between -its own extremity and the opposite heights of Morezón.</p> - -<p>Continuing towards the right, there rises to yet loftier altitudes the -black contour of the Risco del Fraile, beloved of ibex; while adjacent -on the north-west, but on slightly lower level, uprear from the -snow-flecked skyline three more unscaled masses—rectangular monoliths -like giant landmarks. This trio is distinguished as Los Hermanitos de -Grédos, their abruptness of outline almost appalling as set off by an -azure background.</p> - -<p>Farther to the right (in the angle of the square) two more -mountain-masses—knife-edged, jagged, and embattled along the -crests—frown upon one another across a gorge rent through their very -bowels. These two are the Alto del Casquerázo and the Cuchillar de las -Navájas, while the interposed abyss—the Portilla de los Machos—cuts -clean through the great cordillera, forming a natural gateway between -its northern and its southern faces. As the name implies, this gorge is -the main route of the ibex from their much-loved Riscos del Fraile to -their second chief resort, the Riscos del Francés, which occupy the -southern face of the sierra whose snowfields defy even the heats of -August.</p> - -<p>From our present standpoint the southern wall of the Circo—the -Cuchillar de las Navájas—is not visible. This section of the -quadrilateral is equally abrupt and intricate, dropping in massive -bastions towards the level of the lake. Just beyond the Plaza de<a name="page_215" id="page_215"></a> -Almanzór a second deep gorge or “pass‗the Portilla Bermeja—unites the -northern and the southern faces.</p> - -<p>Behind where we sit lies yet another panorama of terrible wildness, -again dominated by rock-walls of fantastic contour—the valley of Las -Cinco Lagunas. But right here our rock-descriptive powers give out—we -can only refer to the map.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_096_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_096_sml.jpg" width="317" height="437" alt="GRIFFON VULTURE AND NEST" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GRIFFON VULTURE AND NEST</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_216" id="page_216"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI<br /><br /> -SIERRA DE GRÉDOS (<i>Continued</i>)<br /><br /> -<small>IBEX-HUNTING</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">W<small>HY</small> try to describe the distress of that morning or the efforts it cost, -during fourteen hours, to gain the summits of Grédos? Again and again -what we had taken for our destination proved to be some intervening -ridge with another desperate gorge beyond. Suffice it that it was an -hour after dark ere we finally lifted the cargoes from the dead-beat -beasts. Presently the moon arose, and against her pale effulgence -towered the gnarled and pinnacled peaks of Almanzór, piercing the very -skies—a lovely but to me an appalling scene. Their altitude is 8800 -feet.</p> - -<p>Our whole plan and ambitions in this expedition were to find and stalk -the ibex—the very undertaking which had proved beyond our powers during -two strenuous efforts in former years as readers of <i>Wild Spain</i> already -know.</p> - -<p>Now in all stalking it must be obvious even to non-technical readers -that the first essential is to bring under survey of the binoculars a -very considerable extent of game-country every day; but here, in the -chaotic jumble of perpendicular or impending precipice or smooth -rock-faces inclined at angles that we dare not traverse, any such -extensive survey is a sheer impossibility. Alpine climbers or others in -the fullest enjoyment of youth and activity might get forward at a -reasonable speed. To us, already past that stage, the feat was -impossible, <i>i.e.</i> by our own sole exertions. That we, of course, knew -in advance; but our plan was to supplement our own powers by availing -the splendid rock-climbing abilities of our friends, the goat-herds of -Almanzór, on whom we relied for at least finding the game in the first -instance.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_097_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_097_sml.jpg" width="390" height="575" alt="“At the Apex off All the Spains.†- -(IBEX ON THE PLAZA DE ALMANZÓR.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“At the Apex off All the Spains.â€<br /> -(IBEX ON THE PLAZA DE ALMANZÓR.)</span> -</p> - -<p>Ramón and Isidóro were away by the first glint of dawn,<a name="page_217" id="page_217"></a> disappearing -in opposite directions so as to encompass both the surrounding -rock-ranges and to mark ibex in stalkable positions. We awaited their -return in camp, not only with anxiety, but with some impatience, since -the temperature had fallen so low that no wraps or blankets served to -keep us warm while inactive.</p> - -<p>After a fruitless search of four hours, the scouts returned; no better -results attended a second morning and a third—nor our impatience. -Clearly the second resource, that of “driving,†must now be tried. It -was only ten o’clock that third morning, and already the drivers, who -had left at dawn so as to reach agreed positions in case of the failure -of resource No. 1, would be approaching the fixed points four miles away -on the encircling heights, whereat, by signal, they would know whether -to proceed with the “drive†or to return by the circuitous route they -had gone. Meanwhile we have ourselves to reach the “passes†in the -heights above, and the scramble and struggle which that ascent involved -we must leave readers to imagine. Bertram gets through such work fairly -well, but the writer, a generation older, is fain to choose a lower -place, reputed a likely “pass.†Here, after waiting an hour, we descried -the drivers showing-up at different points of those encircling Riscos de -Morezón, climbing like flies down perpendicular faces, disappearing in -gorges, and doing all that specialised hunters can. But not an ibex came -our way. When we reassembled, it proved that three goats had been seen, -one a ram. Thus ended that day—cruel work amidst lovely though terrible -scenery—and never a wild-goat within our sight.</p> - -<p>On the morrow our selected positions were to be yet nearer the heavens -above than those of yesterday—along the highest skylines of Grédos, -between the Plaza de Almanzór and the Ameál. From our camp my own post -was pointed out, a niche in that far-away impossible ridge. How long, I -asked Ramón, do you imagine it will take me to reach it? Our friends, -who, lean and lythe of frame, a specialised race of mountaineers, mock -mountain-heights and appreciate too little (though they recognise) our -relative weakness, reply, “Two hours.†But at that precise moment, while -I yet scanned with binoculars the scene of this supreme effort, -examining in a species of horror that infinity of piled rock-masses, -their details cruelly developed in a blazing sunlight, just then, across -the field of the glass soared a single lammergeyer. Now I know that -these giant birds-of-prey span<a name="page_218" id="page_218"></a> some ten feet from wing to wing, and the -tiny speck that this one, reduced by distance, appeared on the -object-glass helped me to gauge what lay before us.</p> - -<p>A black point that from camp I had mentally noted as a landmark proved -to be a mass of dolomite seamed with interjected striæ of glistening -felspar, big as a village church!</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_098_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_098_sml.jpg" width="421" height="326" alt="“THE WAY OF AN EAGLE IN THE AIR†- -(Lammergeyer—Gypaëtus barbatus)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“THE WAY OF AN EAGLE IN THE AIR†- -(Lammergeyer—Gypaëtus barbatus)</span> -</p> - -<p>I had demanded four hours, and precisely within that period reached my -celestial pinnacle. Bertram was beyond and higher still—where, I could -not see. But my own post seemed to me as sublime as even an ibex-hunter -could desire, at the culminating apex of the Spains and the centre of -dispersal of four giant gorges each bristling with bewildering chaos of -crags and rock-ruin, while above, to right and left, towered yet loftier -<i>riscos</i>.</p> - -<p>At these serene altitudes life appeared non-existent. The last signs of -a cryptogamic vegetation we had left below, and I could now see eagles -or vultures soaring almost perpendicularly beneath and reduced by -distance to moving specks.</p> - -<p>Yet shortly before reaching our posts, along one of those<a name="page_219" id="page_219"></a> awesome -shelves with a 500-feet drop below, a touch from Ramón drew my attention -to a truly magnificent old ibex-ram in full view, quietly skipping from -crag to crag some 300 yards above. So slow and deliberate were his -movements, with frequent halts to gaze, that time was allowed to gain a -rational position and to enjoy for several minutes a glorious view -through binoculars. Twice he halted in front of small snow-slopes, -against which those curving horns were set off in perfect detail. Then -with measured movements, making good each foot-hold, alternated by -marvellous bounds to some rock-point above, the grand wild-goat vanished -from view. His course led into a rock-region that already our drivers -were encompassing, hence we had strong hopes that we might not have seen -the last of him.</p> - -<p>Two herds of ibex, it transpired, were enclosed in this beat; one -comprising nine females and small beasts, the second two with a -two-year-old ram; but our big friend was seen no more.</p> - -<p>I had, however, enjoyed a scene that went far to compensate for the -tribulations it had cost.</p> - -<p>Late that night the two lads who had accompanied A. returned to camp. -After riding fifteen hours on Wednesday, he could do no more, slept at a -<i>venta</i>, and reached Avila (which he considers twenty leagues from -Ornillos, the spot where he left us) at noon on Thursday, where he -caught the Sûd-express, and to-night will be in Paris. He sent us a few -pencilled words, urging us to utmost endeavours with the wild-goats, as -this will be in all probability our <i>last chance</i>. I agree, for the -natives kill off male and female alike, only a few wily old rams remain, -a mere fraction of the stock which formerly existed. The shepherds who -come to these high tops to pasture their herds for a few weeks each -summer have chances to kill the ibex which they do not neglect. When Don -Manuel Silvela, the statesman, was here twenty years ago, some 150 ibex -were driven past his post above the Laguna de Grédos. Not a quarter of -that number now survive in all the range.</p> - -<p><i>August 26.</i>—Everything outside the tents was frozen solid last night, -but with sunrise the temperature goes up with a bound. We had trout for -breakfast, caught by hand from the burn below. To-day the work was -easier, for the two beats were both small and more or less on the same -level as our camp. The first lasted five hours, but gave no result. We -then moved to<a name="page_220" id="page_220"></a> the west, always rising till we found ourselves on the -summit of another ridge looking down into a mighty gorge and upon the -mysterious rock-cradled Cinco Lagunas de Grédos. The plains of Castile -lay beneath us like a map, towns and villages distinguishable through -the glass though not without. Bertram was placed in a “pass,†about 100 -yards wide, piercing the topmost peaks, myself in a similar <i>portilla</i> -rather lower down. An hour later Dionýsio, who had climbed the crag -above me, whence he could see into the abyss beneath, signalled as he -hung over the edge of his eyrie that something was coming. Then he slid -down to my side to tell me that three goats were moving slowly up the -gorge. Dionýsio returned to his ledge, and for half an hour I enjoyed -that state of breathless suspense when one expects each moment to be -face to face with a coveted trophy. The three goats, I perceived, must -pass through this <i>portilla</i> on one side or the other of the rock behind -which I lay expectant. At last there caught my ear the gentle patter of -horned hoofs on rocks, but oh!... it was succeeded by the bang of a gun. -Dionýsio had fired from his ledge twenty yards above me. The three ibex -had come on to within ten yards of where I lay, looking, as it were, -down a tunnel. The wind had been right enough, but it appeared an -erratic puff had elected to blow straight from us to them. They caught -it, and in a flash disappeared down the ravine, Dionýsio, as he hung -from the ledge, giving them a parting shot. That was friend Dionýsio’s -version of the event. What actually occurred, all who are experienced in -this wild-hunting will divine without our telling. I ran from my post -along the lip of the abyss—luckily there was a bit of fairly good -going—hoping to get a chance as the game turned upwards again; for at -once, on hearing a shot, the beaters far below joined in a chorus of -wild yells to push them upwards. This they succeeded in doing, but the -goats passed beyond my range. I now saw there were four in all—three -females and a handsome ram. Dionýsio made a further effort to turn them, -which so far succeeded that the ram separated and bounded up the rocks -towards the higher pass, where he ran the gauntlet of Bertram within -thirty yards. Now the whole stress and burden of a laborious expedition -fell upon the youngest shoulders, for B. was barely out of his teens, -and more skilled with shot-gun than with ball. The responsibility proved -almost too great—almost,<a name="page_221" id="page_221"></a> but not quite; for one bullet had taken -effect, and the rocks beyond the little “pass†were sprinkled with -blood. The late hour, 4 <small>P.M.</small>, and the long scramble campwards forbade -our following the spoor that night, but the ram was recovered some two -miles beyond the point where we had last seen him—horn measurements -24â…› inches, by 8¼ inches basal circumference.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_099_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_099_sml.jpg" width="612" height="411" alt="Two Spanish Ibex shot in Sierra de Grédos, July, 1910. - -MARQUÉS DE VILLAVICIOSA DE ASTEREAS. -MARQUÉS DE VIANA. -Two Spanish Ibex Shot in Sierra de Grédos, July, 1910." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption"> -<span style="margin-right: 6em;">MARQUÉS DE VILLAVICIOSA DE ASTEREAS.</span> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">MARQUÉS DE VIANA.</span><br /> -Two Spanish Ibex Shot in Sierra de Grédos, July, 1910.</span> -</p> - -<p>The beaters reported having seen several ibex during this drive, two -small rams, females, and kids—thirteen in all. We devoted a couple more -days to this section of the sierra, but both proved unsuccessful so far -as regards the one grand ibex-ram which we had seen. Here, on the Riscos -del Fraile, and later on at Villarejo, we each spared small beasts; but -at last were fain to be content with a three-year-old goat, whose head -adorns our walls.</p> - -<p>Before daylight we were aroused by the breaking-up of camp, and by seven -o’clock had taken a downward course from that lofty eyrie which we had -occupied for ten days. It was a lovely ride with bright sunlight -lighting up every detail of the mountain scenery, while every mile -brought evidence of the lowering altitude—first, in green herbage, then -in brushwood and stunted trees, till at mid-day we reached the region of -pines in the cool valley of the river Tormes. Here we halted, and while -lunch was being prepared, enjoyed a swim in those crystal torrents. That -afternoon was devoted to trout, but with meagre results. The stream -gleamed like polished steel, everything that moved in the waters could -be seen, and doubtless its denizens enjoyed a similar advantage as -regards things in the other element. At any rate, none save the smaller -trout would look at a fly; so we continued our journey, following the -river-side in the direction of the mountains of Villarejo.</p> - -<p>Dionýsio and Caraballo had gone to a hamlet lower down for bread and -wine. There was no bread, and having to wait till it was baked, delayed -the march. Meanwhile, we wandered on through pine-woods with the -beautiful stream fretting and foaming, and collecting a few -bird-specimens, though none of much interest. We did, however, come -across two gigantic nests of the black vulture, flat platforms of -sticks, each superimposed on the summit of a lofty pine. Even in these -uplands the black vulture nests in March, when the whole land is yet -enveloped in snow, and while frequent snowstorms sweep down the valleys. -So closely<a name="page_222" id="page_222"></a> does the parent vulture incubate, that she allows herself to -be completely buried on her nest beneath the drifting snow. On these -hanging steeps the eyries are overlooked from above, yet not a vestige -of the sitting vulture can be seen until she is disturbed by a blow from -an axe on the trunk, or by a shot fired—then off she goes, dislodging a -cloud of snow from her three-yard wings as she launches into space.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_100_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_100_sml.jpg" width="335" height="390" alt="BLACK VULTURE (Vultur monachus)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BLACK VULTURE (Vultur monachus)</span> -</p> - -<p>The black vulture lays but one huge egg, often boldly marked and -suffused with dark-brown and rusty blotches and splashes, in contrast -with the eggs of the griffon vulture, which are usually colourless or, -at most, but faintly shaded.</p> - -<p>The latter, so abundant in Andalucia, is remarkably scarce in Grédos, -where we saw rather more eagles than vultures. The chief bird-forms of -the high sierra were ravens and choughs, ring-ouzels, rock-thrush and -black-chat (<i>Dromolaea leucura</i>). The alpine accentor (<i>Accentor -collaris</i>) and alpine pipit (<i>Anthus<a name="page_223" id="page_223"></a> spipoletta</i>) also reach to the -highest summits; the blue thrush lower down.</p> - -<p>In the valley of the Tormes and among the pines many British species -were at home, such as blackbirds and thrushes, redstarts, nuthatches, -and Dartford warblers; besides the two southern wheatears, since found -to be but <i>one</i> dimorphic form!</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">The Riscos de Villarejo</span></p> - -<p>Three hours later the mule-train overtook us, and we pursued the track -upwards towards the Riscos de Villarejo till darkness obliged us to -encamp. The jagged outline ahead, marking our destination, looked far -away; we could go no nearer to-night, and outspanned on a tiny lawn on -the mountain-slope. Once more we had left tree and shrub far below, but -the dry <i>piorno</i>-scrub made fire enough to cook a frugal supper. The -hunters, with their stew-pots balanced on stones, sat round us in a -circle.</p> - -<p>Next morning we were alert, as usual, before the dawn—called at 4 -<small>A.M.</small>—and off again on another terrible climb towards the summits. It is -no mild trudge through turnips this 1st of September, but one more -effort to interview in his haunts the Spanish mountain-ram.</p> - -<p>At 6000 feet we reached a point beyond which no domestic beast can go. -Here, leaving our own men to encamp, the upward climb with the hunters -begins. This day and each of the two following were devoted solely to -stalking, each of us separately with his guide taking a diverging course -along two of the lower ridges of the sierra. Two female ibex were -descried in a position which might without difficulty have been stalked. -These, however, we left in peace; though, as it proved, they were the -only animals seen before we regained camp, an hour after dark, tired out -and empty-handed once more. On the fourth day we drove this same -rock-region, but without success, only two goats, both small males, -being seen. The entire failure of this venture was a disappointment, as -ibex were known to frequent these reefs. An explanation was suggested -that a herd of domestic goats had approached too near their exclusive -wild congeners, which had fled to a neighbouring mountain. That -mountain, we arranged, should be explored at daylight on the morrow by -two of our<a name="page_224" id="page_224"></a> hunters. The cold at night in camp was intense, and our -Andalucian retainers complained bitterly, although they kept an enormous -fire going; yet during the day the heat had been excessive, and the sun -burns terribly at these altitudes.</p> - -<p>The following morning we tried a comprehensive drive encompassing two -gorges composed of sublimely grand rocks. As I look over the edge of the -black pinnacle that forms my post the sheer drop below is appalling, and -above me tower similar masses in rugged and frowning splendour. But not -a goat was seen till quite late in the afternoon, when two females -slowly approaching were descried. For a mile we watched them, so -deliberate was their progress, till they disappeared through the very -“pass†where A. had shot his some five years before.</p> - -<p><i>September 6.</i>—Our scouts returned last night, having failed to locate -ibex on the opposite mountain; so we made a final effort on the Riscos -of Villarejo—again blank. Well! we have done our best for six days on -those terrible rocks, on which we must now turn our backs for the -present.</p> - -<p>At the village of Arénas de San Pedro we bade good-bye to all our -people; even their wives (clad in the same short skirts of greens and -other brilliant hues we had noticed in ’91, for fashions change slowly -in the sierra) came down from Guisando to say farewell to the Ingléses. -Here Ramón brought in the head of Bertie’s ibex shot the week before; -Ramón presented me with his powder-horn and bullet-pouch as a keepsake, -and Juanito with a mountain-staff. Our visit had marked an epoch in the -simple annals of the sierra and of its honest and primitive inhabitants.</p> - -<p class="c">. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . .</p> - -<p>To-day we rejoice to add that, as already fully set forth at pp. -141-142, wild-goats may be counted in troops on the erewhiles -ibex-denuded crags of Almanzór.<a name="page_225" id="page_225"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII<br /><br /> -AN ABANDONED PROVINCE<br /><br /> -<small>(ESTREMADURA)</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">C<small>AN</small> this really be Europe—crowded Europe? For four long days we have -traversed Estremenian wilds, and during that time have scarce met a -score of folk, nor seen serious evidence of effective human occupation. -At first our northward way led through rolling undulations, the western -foothills of the long Sierra Moréna, clad with the everlasting -gum-cistus, with euonymus, a few stunted trees, and the usual aromatic -brushwood of the south. Only at long intervals—say a league or two -apart—would some tiny cot, of woodcutter perhaps, or goat-herd, gleam -white amidst the rolling green monotone. Here and there wild-thyme -(<i>cantuéso</i>) empurpled the slopes as it were August heather, but the -chief beauty-spot was the rose-like flower of the cistus, now (May) in -fullest bloom—waxy white, with orange centre and a splash like black -velvet on each petal. Next, for a whole day we ride through open forest -of evergreen oak and wild-olive, the floor carpeted with tasselled -grasses, tufty broom, and fennel. We encamp where we list and cut -firewood, none saying us nay or inquiring by what authority we do these -things.</p> - -<p>One evening while we investigated an azure magpie’s nest in an ilex hard -by the tents, four donkey-borne peasants appeared. Though they rode -close by, yet they showed no sign, passing silent and incurious. The few -natives we met hereabouts all seemed listless, apathetic, -uncommunicative, in striking contrast with their sprightly southern -neighbours beyond the hills in Andalucia. We read that Estremadura is a -“paludic†province and unhealthy; possibly the malarial microbe has -sapped energy.</p> - -<p>To forest, next day succeeded more rolling hills with ten-foot bush and -scattered trees. From a crag-crowned ridge, the culminating<a name="page_226" id="page_226"></a> point of -these, there fell within view three human habitations—<i>three</i>, in a -vista of thirty miles—two tall castles perched in strong places, the -third apparently a considerable farm. The landscape is often lovely -enough, park-like, with infinite sites for country halls; yet all, all -seems abandoned by man and beast. The few wild creatures observed -included common and azure magpies, hoopoes, and bee-eaters, rollers, -doves, kestrels, with a sprinkling of partridge and an occasional hare.</p> - -<p>A landowner in this province (Badajoz) endeavoured to preserve the game -on his estate. At first all went well. As their enemies decreased, -partridge rapidly multiplied. But thereupon occurred an influx of -extraneous vermin (foxes and wild-cats) from adjacent wilds, and Nature -restored her former exiguous balance of life.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_101_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_101_sml.jpg" width="285" height="148" alt="ROLLER (Coracias garrula)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ROLLER (Coracias garrula)</span> -</p> - -<p>The scene changes. For the next twenty miles there is not a tree or a -bush, hardly a living thing on those dreary levels save larks and -bustards. The hungry earth shows brown and naked through its scanty -herbage, stript by devouring locusts.</p> - -<p>Travelling by rail the abandonment seems yet more striking, since thus -we cover more ground. True, along the line cluster some slight attempts -at cultivation elsewhere absent; but these amount to nothing—a few -patches of starveling oats, six to eighteen inches high, with scarce a -score of blades to the yard! Two men are reaping with sickles. Each has -his donkey tethered hard by, and at nightfall will ride to his distant -village, a league away maybe, hidden in some unnoticed hollow. Scarce a -village have we seen.</p> - -<p>The monotony wearies. The abject barrenness of Estremadura, its -lifelessness, is actually worse, more pronounced and depressing, than we -had anticipated. Now the far horizon on the north<a name="page_227" id="page_227"></a> bristles with -battlements, towers, and spires—that is Trujillo, an old-world fortress -of the Caesars, crowning a granite koppie in yon everlasting plain. The -ten leagues that yet intervene recall, in colour and contour, a -mid-Northumbrian moor, wild and bleak—here the home of bustards, -stone-curlew, sand-grouse, ... and of locusts.</p> - -<p>From the topmost turrets of Trujillo let us take one more survey of this -Estremenian wilderness ere yet we pronounce a final judgment.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_102_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_102_sml.jpg" width="377" height="247" alt="TRUJILLO" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">TRUJILLO</span> -</p> - -<p>Ascend the belfry of Santa Maria la Mayor and you command an unrivalled -view. Spread out beneath your gaze stretch away tawny expanses of waste -and veld to a radius averaging forty miles, and everywhere girt-in by -encircling mountains. To the north Grédos’ snowy peaks pierce the -clouds, 100 kilometres away, with the Sierra de Gata on their left, -Bejar on the right. To the eastward the Sierra de Guadalupe,<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> -far-famed for its shrine to Our Lady of that ilk, closes that horizon; -while to westward the ranges of Sta. Cruz and Montánches shut in the -frontier of Portugal. What a panorama—a circle eighty miles across!</p> - -<p>Yet in all that expanse you can detect no more evidence of<a name="page_228" id="page_228"></a> human -presence than you would see in equatorial Africa—surveying, let us say, -the well-known Athi Plains from the adjoining heights of Lukénia.</p> - -<p>We are aware that already, in describing La Mancha, we have employed an -African simile; but here, in Estremadura, the comparison is yet more -apposite and forceful than in the wildest of Don Quixote’s country. We -will vary it by likening Estremadura rather to the highlands of -Transvaal—the land of the back-veld Boer—than to Equatoria. Here, as -there, rocky koppies stud the wastes, and (differing from La Mancha) -water-courses traverse them, with intermittent pools surviving even in -June, stagnant and pestilent. Such in Africa would be -jungle-fringed—worth trying for a lion! Here their naked banks scarce -provide covert for a hare.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 238px;"> -<a href="images/ill_103_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_103_sml.jpg" width="238" height="255" alt="“SCAVENGERSâ€" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“SCAVENGERSâ€</span> -</div> - -<p>An index of the poverty-stricken condition of Estremadura is afforded by -the comparative absence of the birds-of-prey. Never do the soaring -vultures—elsewhere so characteristic of Spanish skies—catch one’s eye, -and very rarely an eagle or buzzard. A province that cannot support -scavengers promises ill for mankind.</p> - -<p>In his mirror-like “Notes from Spain,†Richard Ford suggested that the -vast unknown wildernesses of Estremadura would, if explored, yield store -of wealth to the naturalist, and each succeeding naturalist (ourselves -included) followed that clue. Therein, however, lurked that old human -error, <i>ignotum pro mirabili</i>. Deserted by man, the region is equally -avoided by bird and beast. We write generally and in full sense of local -exceptions—that wild fallow-deer, for example, find here one, possibly -their only European home;<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> that red deer of superb<a name="page_229" id="page_229"></a> dimensions, roe, -wolves, and wild-boars abound on Estremenian sierra and <i>vega</i>. Then, -too, there may well be isolated spots of interest in 20,000 square -miles, but which escaped our survey. Yet what we write represents the -essential fact—Estremadura is a barren lifeless wilderness and offers -no more attraction to naturalist than to agriculturist.</p> - -<p>The cause of all this involves questions not easily answered. In earlier -days the case may have been different. Obviously the Romans thought -highly of Estremadura and meant to run it for all it was worth. The -Caesars were no visionaries, and such colossal works as their reservoirs -and aqueducts at Merida, the massive amphitheatre and circus at the same -city (a half-completed bull-ring stands alongside in pitiful contrast), -besides their construction of a first-class fortress at Trujillo, all -attest a matured judgment. After the Romans came the Goths, and they, -too, have left evidence of appreciation (though less conspicuous) alike -in city and country. Four hundred years later the Arabs overthrew the -Goths on Guadalete (<small>A.D.</small> 711), and within two years had overrun -two-thirds of Spain. But the Moor (so far as we can see) despised these -barren uplands, or perhaps assessed them at a truer value—a single -strong outpost (Trujillo) in an otherwise worthless region.</p> - -<p>Much or little, however, each of those successive conquerors found -<i>some</i> use for Estremadura. A totally different era opened with the fall -of Moslem dominion. After the <i>Reconquista</i> and subsequent extermination -of the Moors (seventeenth century), Estremadura was utterly abandoned, -by Cross and Crescent alike, till the highland shepherds of the Castiles -and of León, looking down from its northern frontier, saw in these -lower-lying wastes a useful winter-grazing. Then commenced seasonal -nomadic incursions thereto, pastoral tribes driving down each autumn -their flocks and herds, much as the Patriarchs did in Biblical days—or -the Masai in East Africa till yesterday.</p> - -<p>Though the land itself was ownerless, shadowy prescriptive rights -gradually evolved, and under the title of <i>Mestas</i> continued to be -recognised by the pastoral nomads till abolished by Royal Decree in the -sixteenth century. From that date commenced the subdivision of -Estremadura into the present large private estates—again recalling the -back-veld Boers, who hate to live one within sight of another, except -that here owners are non-resident.<a name="page_230" id="page_230"></a></p> - -<p>All this may explain superficially the existing desolation. The -essential causes, however, are, we believe, (1) barrenness of soil; and -(2) an enervating climate, fever-infected by stagnant waters, dead -pools, and ubiquitous shallow swamps that poison the air and produce -mosquitoes in millions.</p> - -<p>Gazing in reflective mood upon those magnificent memorials of Roman rule -at Merida, one is tempted to wonder whether, after all, the silent ruins -(with a stork’s nest on each parapet) do not yet point the true way to -Estremenian prosperity—<span class="smcap">IRRIGATION</span> (plus energy—a quality one misses in -Estremadura).</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Trujillo</span></p> - -<p>Founded 2000 years back (by Augustus Caesar), this out-of-the-world city -has a knack of periodically dropping out of history—skipping a few -centuries at a time—meanwhile presumably dragging on its own dreamy -unrecorded existence, “by the world forgot,†till some fresh incident -forces it on the stage once more. There were stirring times here while, -for near a thousand years, the upland vegas were swept and ravaged by -three successive waves of foreign invasion. Then Trujillo relapsed into -trance, skipped the middle ages, and awoke to find at its gates another -foreign foe—this time the French.</p> - -<p>And the city reflects these vicissitudes. The Roman fortress, -magnificent in extent and military strength, completely covers the -rugged granite heights, imposing still in crumbling ruin. Forty-foot -ramparts with inner and outer defences, bastions and flanking towers, -machicolated and pierced for arrow fire, crown the whole circuit of the -koppie. Signs of ancient grandeur everywhere meet one’s eye; but -contrasts pain at every turn. For filthy swine to-day defile palaces; -donkeys are stalled in sculptured <i>patios</i> whence armoured knight on -Arab steed once rode forth to clatter along the stone-paved ravelins -that led to the point of danger. From mullioned embrasures above, whence -the Euterpes and Lalagés of old waved tender adieux, now peer slatternly -peasants; crumbling battlements form homes for white owls and bats, -kestrels, hoopoes, and a multitude of storks such as can nowhere else be -seen congregated in a single city. The sense of desolation is -accentuated by finding such feathered recluses as blue rock-thrush and -blackchat actually nesting in the very citadel itself.<a name="page_231" id="page_231"></a></p> - -<p>The citadel marks the era of war. The Goths followed and despised -fortifications. Their ornate palaces, enriched with escutcheons and -sculptured device, lie below, outside the Roman walls.</p> - -<p>After the Goths and after the Moors, Trujillo enjoyed a transient -awakening when Pizarro, son of an Estremenian swine-herd, with Cortez -(also born hard by), swept the New World from Mexico to the Andes, and -the glory of her sons, with the gold of the Incas, poured into the city. -Thereafter destiny altered. Instead of consolidating new-won dominions -by fostering commerce, exploiting their resources by establishing forts -and factories, plantations, harbours, and the like, Spain directed her -energies to missionising. Instead of commercial companies with fleets of -merchantmen, she sent out sacred Brotherhoods, friars of religious -orders, and studded the New World with empty names, all acts right -enough and laudable in their own proper time and place.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Trujillo boasts an industry in the manufacture of a rough red-brown -earthenware, chiefly tall water-jars, amphora-shaped, which damsels -carry upright on their heads with marvellous balance; and iron-spiked -dog-collars as here represented. These are not suitable for lap-dogs, -but for the huge mastiffs employed in guarding sheep and which, without -such protection, would be devoured by wolves!</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 149px;"> -<a href="images/ill_104_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_104_sml.jpg" width="149" height="106" alt="WOLF-PROOF DOG-COLLAR - -(Six-inch diameter.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WOLF-PROOF DOG-COLLAR<br /> -(Six-inch diameter.)</span> -</div> - -<p>Hitherto our journeys have led us chiefly through the Estremenian plain, -but after passing Plasencia the country changes. We enter the outliers -of those great sierras that shut out Estremadura from León and Castile, -from Portugal—and the world! Here one quickly perceives signs of -greater prosperity, due in part to the heavier rainfall from the hills, -to a slightly richer soil, but mainly to the superior energy of -hill-folk. Wherever the soil warrants it, cultivation is pushed right up -amidst the jungled slopes of the hills.</p> - -<p>In the folds of the sierra grow magnificent woods of Spanish chestnut -with some walnut trees, and among these we observed<a name="page_232" id="page_232"></a> many fresh species -of birds, including:—nuthatch (not seen elsewhere in Spain), green -woodpecker, common (but no azure) magpies, golden orioles, pied and -spotted fly-catchers, grey and white wagtails (breeding), whitethroats -and nightingales, longtailed tits, woodlarks, corn-buntings, -rock-sparrows, and quite a number of warblers (spectacled, rufous, and -subalpine, Bonelli’s and melodious willow-warblers), besides the usual -common species—serins, chaffinches, robins, wrens, and so on. On the -sterile upland plateaux, both here and in Castile, the black-bellied -sand-grouse breeds, as well as stone-curlew, bustard, and the usual -larks and chats.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_105_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_105_sml.jpg" width="235" height="132" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Granadilla</span></p> - -<p>At the extreme northern verge of the plain one encounters a singular -survival of long-past and forgotten ages, the “fenced city†of -Granadilla, so absolutely unspoilt and unchanged by time that one -breathes for a spell a pure mediæval air. Granadilla is mentioned in no -book that we possess; but it stands there, nevertheless, perched on a -rocky bluff above the rushing Alagón, and entirely encompassed by a -thirty-foot wall. Not a single house, not a hut, shows up outside that -rampart, and its single gate is guarded by a massive stone-built tower.</p> - -<p>This tower, we were told by a local friend, was erected after the -“Reconquest†(which here occurred about 1300), but the bridge which -spans the Alagón, immediately below, is attributed to the Romans—more -than a thousand years earlier! and the town itself to the Moors—a -pretty tangle which some wandering archaeologist may some day -unravel.<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> That the Moors established a settlement here, or hard by, -we are confident owing to the<a name="page_233" id="page_233"></a> existence of extensive <i>huertas</i> -(plantations) a few miles up the banks of Alagón. This is just one of -those <i>enclaves</i> of rich soil for which the Arabs always had a keen eye; -and ancient boundary-walls, with evidence of extreme care in irrigation -and cultivation, all bespeak Moorish handiwork. These <i>huertas</i> are -planted with fig, pomegranate, cherry, and various exotic fruit-trees, -besides cork-oak and olive; every tree displaying signs of extreme old -age—though that strikes one in most parts of Spain. Never have we seen -more luxuriant crops of every sort than in those ancient <i>huertas</i>. Yet -they are inset amid encircling wastes!</p> - -<p>Granadilla (its name surely suggests cherished memories in its founders -of the famous Andalucian <i>vega</i>) lies at the gate of that strange wild -mountain-region called Las Hurdes.<a name="page_234" id="page_234"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII<br /><br /> -LAS HURDES (ESTREMADURA) AND THE SAVAGE TRIBES THAT INHABIT THEM</h2> - -<p class="nind">I<small>SOLATED</small> amidst the congeries of mountain-ranges that converge upon -León, Castile, and Estremadura, lies a lost region that bears this name. -The Hurdes occupy no small space; they represent no insignificant nook, -but a fair-sized province—say fifty miles long by thirty broad—severed -from the outer world; cut off from Portugal on the one side, from Spain -on the other; while its miserable inhabitants are ignored and despised -by both its neighbours.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_106_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_106_sml.jpg" width="369" height="188" alt="SKETCH-MAP OF LAS HURDES" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SKETCH-MAP OF LAS HURDES</span> -</p> - -<p>Who and what are these wild tribes (numbering 4000 souls) that, in a -squalor and savagery incredible in modern Europe, cling, in solitary -tenacity, to these inhospitable fastnesses?</p> - -<p>Possibly they are the remnants of Gothish fugitives who, 1200 years ago, -sought shelter in these hills from Arab scimitars; other theories trace -their origin back to an earlier era. But whether Goths or Visigoths, -Vandals or other, these pale-faced Hurdanos are surely none of swarthy -Arab or Saracenic blood;<a name="page_235" id="page_235"></a> and equally certainly they are none of Spanish -race. The Spanish leave them severely alone—none dwell in Las Hurdes. -Being neither ethnologists nor antiquaries, nor even sensational -writers, the authors confine themselves to their personal experience, -stiffened by a study of what the few Spanish authorities have collated -on the subject.</p> - -<p>Whatever their origin may have been, the Hurdanos of to-day are a -depraved and degenerate race, to all intents and purposes savages, lost -to all sense of self-respect or shame, of honesty or manliness. Too -listless to take thought of the most elementary necessities of life, -they are content to lead a semi-bestial existence, dependent for -subsistence on their undersized goats and swine, on an exiguous and -precarious cultivation, eked out by roots and wild fruits such as -acorns, chestnuts, etc., and on begging outside their own region.</p> - -<p>First, as to their country. Picture a maze of mountains all utterly -monotonous in uniform configuration—long straight slopes, each skyline -practically parallel with that beyond, bare of trees, but clad in -shoulder-high scrub. On approaching from the south, the hills are lower -and display delightful variety of heaths (including common heather); but -as one penetrates northwards, the bush is reduced to the everlasting -gum-cistus, and elevations become loftier and more precipitous till they -culminate in the sheer rock-walls of the Sierra de Gata. Here, in remote -glens, one chances on groves of ilex and cork-oak, whose gnarled boles -attest the absence of woodcutters, while huge trunks lie prostrate, -decaying from sheer old age. Here and there one sees an ilex enveloped -to its summit in parasitic growths of creepers and wild-vine, whose -broad, pale-green leaves contrast pleasingly with the dusky foliage and -small leaf of its host.</p> - -<p>In the deep gorges or canyons of these mountains are situate the -settlements, called <i>AlquerÃas</i>, of the wild tribes, most of them -inaccessible on horseback. That of Romano de Arriba, for example, is -plunged in such an abyss that from November to March no ray of sunshine -ever reaches it. A similar case is that of Casa Hurdes, which, as seen -from the bridle-track leading over the Sierra de Portéros into Castile, -appears buried in the bottom of a crevasse. Others, in the reverse, are -perched on high, amidst crags that can only be surmounted by a severe -scramble up broken rock-stairways.<a name="page_236" id="page_236"></a></p> - -<p>These <i>alquerÃas</i>—warrens we may translate the word—consist of -den-like hovels straggling without order or huddled together according -as the rock-formation may dictate—some half-piled one on another, -others separate. Many are mere holes in the earth—lairs, shapeless as -nature left their walls, but roofed over with branches and grass held in -place by schistose slabs that serve for slates. Hardly, in some cases, -can one distinguish human dwellings from surrounding bush, earth, or -rock. As our companion, a civil guard, remarked of one set of eyries -that adhered to a cliff-face, they rather resembled “the nests of -crag-martins†(<i>nidos de vencéjos</i>) than abodes of mankind.</p> - -<p>Within are two tiny compartments, the first occupied by goats or swine, -the second littered with bracken on which the whole family sleep, -irrespective of age or sex. There is no light nor furniture of any -description; no utensils for washing, hardly even for cooking. True, -there is in some of the lairs a hollowed trunk which may serve as a bed, -but its original design (as the name <i>batane</i> imports) was for pressing -the grapes and olives in autumn. No refuse is ever thrown out; even the -filthy ferns are retained for use as manure for the orchards—in a word, -these poor creatures habitually sleep on a manure-heap. Even wild -beasts, the wolves and boars, are infinitely more attentive to domestic -cleanliness and purity.</p> - -<p>Another <i>alquerÃa</i> visited by the authors, that of Rubiáco, consisted of -a massed cluster of sties embedded on the slopes of a low ridge bordered -on either side by crystal-bright mountain streams. So timid and shy are -the natives that several were descried actually taking to the hill on -our appearance. A distribution of tobacco, with coloured handkerchiefs -for the women, restored a measure of confidence, and we succeeded in -collecting a group or two for the camera. The day, however, was dull and -overcast, and rain, unluckily, fell at that precise moment.</p> - -<p>These people, clad in patch-work of rags, leather and untanned skins, -were undersized, pallid of complexion, plain (though we would scarce say -repulsive) in appearance, with dull incurious eyes that were instantly -averted when our glances met. The men, otherwise stolid and -undemonstrative, affected a vacuous grin or giggle, but utterly devoid -of any spark of joy or gladness. Many (though by no means all) displayed -distinctly flattened noses, somewhat of the Mongolian type; and not even -among<a name="page_237" id="page_237"></a> the younger girls could a trace of good looks be detected. All -went bare-foot, indeed bare-legged to the knee.</p> - -<p>On opening the door of a den—an old packing-case lid, three feet high, -secured by a thong of goatskin—two pigs dashed forth squealing, and at -the first step inside the writer’s foot splashed in fetid moisture -hidden beneath a litter of green fern. It being dark within, and too low -to stand upright, I struck a match and presently became aware of a -living object almost underfoot. It proved to be a baby, no bigger than a -rabbit, and with tiny black bead-like eyes that gleamed with a wild -light—never before have we seen such glance on human face. While -examining this phenomenon, a sound from the inner darkness revealed a -second inmate. We crept into this lair, scrambling up two steps in the -natural rock, and from the fern-litter arose a female. She stood about -three feet high, had the same wild eyes, unkempt hair, encrusted brown -with dirt, hanging loose over her naked shoulders—a merciful darkness -concealed the rest. She appeared to be about ten years old, and dwarfed -and undersized at that; yet she told us she was fourteen, and the mother -of the rabbit-child, also that its father had deserted her a month -ago—ten days before its birth. The lair contained absolutely no -furniture, unless dead fern be so styled. Can human misery further go?</p> - -<p>The next hovel did contain a <i>batane</i>, or hollowed tree, in which lay -some scanty rags like fragments of discarded horse-cloths. So lacking -are these poor savages in any sufficient clothing, whether for day or -night, that the children, we were assured, were habitually laid to sleep -among the swine, in order to share the natural warmth of those beasts. -In one abode only did we discover such convenience as a wooden chest. It -contained a handful of potatoes, some chestnuts, and a broken iron -cooking-pot. We examined another den or two—practically all were alike. -If anything was there that escaped our attention we had an excuse—the -aroma (personal, porcine, and putrid) was more than the strongest could -endure for many minutes on end.</p> - -<p>We turned away. Mingled feelings of loathing, of pity, and of despair at -the utter hopelessness of it all filled our minds. There, not a hundred -yards away, a contrasted sight met our eyes, one of humbler nature’s -most perfect scenes: a fledgeling brood of white wagtails tripped gaily -along the burnside—types of pure spotless beauty, overflowing with high -spirits and the joy<a name="page_238" id="page_238"></a> of life. A few minutes later, and a pair of -ring-plovers (<i>Aegialitis curonica</i>) on the river accentuated the same -pitiful contrast.</p> - -<p>Such small cultivation as exists in the Hurdes is carried on under -supreme difficulty. The hills themselves are uncultivable, and the only -opportunities that present themselves are either chance open spaces -amidst interminable rock, or such rare and narrow strips of soil as can -exist between precipitous slopes and the banks of the streams. Here -little garden-patches, thirty or forty feet long by a dozen in width, -are reclaimed; but the very earth is liable to be swept away by -winter-floods pouring down the mountain-sides, and has to be replaced by -fresh soil carried—it may be long distances—on men’s shoulders. Here a -few potatoes may be raised and in the broader valleys scant crops of -rye. The few fruit trees are neglected, and therefore give short yield, -though what little is produced is of exquisite flavour, comprising figs, -cherries, a sort of peach (<i>pavia</i>), olives, and vines. All crops are -subject to the ravages of wild-boars, which roam in bands of a dozen to -a score, fearless of man and molested by none; while wolves take toll of -the flocks.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_107_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_107_sml.jpg" width="240" height="124" alt="WHITE WAGTAIL" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WHITE WAGTAIL</span> -</p> - -<p>Red deer also wander freely and unpreserved over these ownerless -hills—possibly the only place in Europe where such is the case. We -inquired whether many were shot, but were told that such an event -occurred rarely, though the Hurdano gunner might often approach within -close range. “We are not <i>enseñados</i> [instructed] in the arts of chase,†-explained our informant. A few partridges and hares are found, with -trout in the upper waters.</p> - -<p>Despite their degradation, the Hurdanos, we were assured, display no -criminal taint such as is inherent among Gipsies.<a name="page_239" id="page_239"></a></p> - -<p>As regards the habits and customs of these people, we here roughly -transcribe from the work of Pascual Madoz<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> some selected extracts -that appear to be as accurate to-day as when they were written some -sixty years ago.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The food of the Hurdanos is as noxious as it is scanty. The potato -is the general stand-by, either boiled or cooked with crude goat’s -suet; sometimes beans fried in the same grease, and lastly the -leaves of trees, boiled; with roots, the stalks of certain wild -grasses, chestnuts, and acorns. Bread is practically unknown—all -they ever have is made of coarse rye and such crusts as they obtain -by begging outside their district. Only when at the point of death -is wheaten bread provided.</p> - -<p>Their clothing consists of a shapeless garment reaching from the -hip to the knee, a shirt without collar, fastening with one button, -and a sack carried over the shoulder. They have no warm clothing -and all go bare-foot. The women are even less tidy and dirtier than -the men. Never have they a vestige of anything new—nothing but -discarded garments obtained by begging, or in exchange for -chestnuts, at the distant towns. Their usual “fashion†is never to -take off, to mend, or to wash any rag they have once put on—it is -worn till it falls off through sheer old age and dirt. They never -wash nor brush their hair, and go bare-legged like the men.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_108_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_108_sml.jpg" width="334" height="215" alt="A WOLF-PROOF SHEEPFOLD ON THE ALAGÓN, NORTH -ESTREMADURA - -Walls 10 feet high: note the shepherd’s dwelling alongside. Within -are sheep." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A WOLF-PROOF SHEEPFOLD ON THE ALAGÓN, NORTH -ESTREMADURA - -Walls 10 feet high: note the shepherd’s dwelling alongside. Within -are sheep.</span> -</p> - -<p>These, moreover, are the richest; the majority being clad in -goatskins (untanned) that they kill or that die. These skins the -men fix round<a name="page_240" id="page_240"></a> their necks, girt at waist and round the knees with -straps; the women merely an apron from the waist downward.</p> - -<p>Men and women alike are dwarfed in stature and repugnant in -appearance, augmented by their pallor and starveling look. On the -other hand, they are active and expert in climbing their native -mountains. There is no outward difference in the sexes as regards -their lives and means of subsistence.</p> - -<p>All their environment tends to make them untractable and savage -(<i>sylvaticos</i>), shunning contact with their kind, even fleeing at -sight and refusing to speak. They have no doctors nor surgeons, -relying on certain herbs for medicines; yet they live long lives. -They only recognise the passing seasons by the state of vegetation -and of the atmosphere. They sow and reap according to the phases of -the moon, of which they preserve an accurate observation. Religion -and schools alike are unknown. They glory in their freedom from all -moral suasion, and rejoice in the most brutal immorality and -crime—including parricide and polygamy. There are <i>alquerÃas</i> -wherein no priest has set foot, nor do they possess the faintest -sense of Christian duties.</p> - -<p>It seems incredible that in the midst of two provinces both wealthy -and well reputed there should exist a plague-spot such as we have -painted, unknown as the remotest kraals of Central Africa.</p></div> - -<p>Thus Pascual Madoz in 1845, and but little external change has become -apparent in sixty-five subsequent years.<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> Churches, it is true, have -been erected, priests and schoolmasters appointed. Amelioration, -however, by such means can only come very slowly—if at all. The -physical and domestic status of these poor savages must first be raised -before they are mentally capable of assimilating the mysteries of -religion. Spain, however, owes them something. They are heavily -taxed—beyond their power to pay in cash. Thus they are cast into the -power of usurers. In each <i>alquerÃa</i>, we were told, is usually found one -man more astute than the rest, and he, in combination with some sordid -scoundrel outside, exploits the misery of his fellows. A species of -semi-slavery is thus established—in some ways analogous to the baneful -system of <i>Caciquismo</i> outside.</p> - -<p>The Hurdanos are also subject to the conscription and furnish forty to -fifty recruits yearly to the Spanish army. Curiously, time-expired men -all elect to return to their wretched lot in the<a name="page_241" id="page_241"></a> mountains. On our -asking one of these (he had served at Melilla), “Why?†his reply was, -“for liberty.â€<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a></p> - -<p>There is a villainous custom in vogue that hurls these poor wretches yet -farther down the bottomless pit. This abomination rages to-day as it did -a hundred years ago: we therefore again leave old Pascual Madoz to tell -the tale in his own words:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Many women make a miserable livelihood—it is indeed their only -industry—by rearing foundling infants from the hospitals of Ciudad -Rodrigo and Placencia. So keen are they of the money thus obtained -that one woman, aided by a goat, will undertake to rear three or -four babes—all necessarily so ill-tended and ill-fed as rather to -resemble living spectres than human beings. Cast down on beds of -filthy ferns and lacking all maternal care, the majority perish -from hunger, cold, and neglect. The few that reach childhood are -weaklings for life, feeble and infirm.</p></div> - -<p>This repulsive “industry†continues to-day, a sum of three dollars a -month being paid by the authorities of the cities named to rid -themselves of each undesired infant. The effect—direct and -incidental—upon morals and sexual relationship in the <i>alquerÃas</i> of -the Hurdes may (in degree) be deduced—it cannot be set down in words. -Thus the single point of contact with civilisation serves but to -accentuate the degradation.<a name="page_242" id="page_242"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV<br /><br /> -THE GREAT BUSTARD</h2> - -<p class="nind">O<small>VER</small> the vast expanse of those silent solitudes, the corn-growing -steppes of Spain—all but abandoned by human denizens—this grandest and -most majestic of European game-birds forms the chief ornament. When the -sprouting grain grows green in spring, stretching from horizon to -horizon, you may form his acquaintance to best advantage. And among the -things of sport are few more attractive scenes than a band of great -bustards at rest. Bring your field-glass to bear on the gathering which -you see yonder, basking in the sunshine in full enjoyment of their -mid-day siesta. There are five-and-twenty of them, and immense they look -against the green background of corn that covers the landscape—well may -a stranger mistake the birds for deer or goats. Many sit turkey-fashion, -with heads half sunk among back-feathers; others stand in drowsy yet -ever-suspicious attitudes, their broad backs resplendent with those -mottled hues of true game-colour, their lavender necks and well-poised -heads contrasting with the snowy whiteness of the lower plumage.<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> The -bustard are dotted in groups over an acre or two of gently sloping -ground, the highest part of which is occupied by a single big -<i>Barbudo</i>—a bearded veteran, the sentinel of the pack. From that -elevated position he estimates what degree of danger each living thing -that moves on the open region around may threaten to his company and to -himself. Mounted men cause him less concern than those on foot. A -horseman slowly directing a circuitous course may even approach to -within a couple of hundred yards ere he takes alarm. It was the head and -neck of this sentry that first appeared to our distant view and -disclosed the<a name="page_243" id="page_243"></a> whereabouts of the game. He, too, has seen us, and is -even now considering whether there be sufficient cause for setting his -convoy in motion. If we disappear below the level of his range, he will -settle the point negatively, setting us down as merely some of those -agricultural nuisances which so often cause him alarm but which his -experience has shown to be generally harmless—for attempts on his life -are few and far between.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_109_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_109_sml.jpg" width="356" height="228" alt="THE GREAT BUSTARD" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE GREAT BUSTARD</span> -</p> - -<p>Another charming spectacle it is in the summer-time to watch a pack of -bustard about sunset, all busy with their evening feed among the -grasshoppers on a thistle-clad plain. They are working against time, for -it will soon be too dark to catch such lively prey. With quick darting -step they run to and fro, picking up one grasshopper after another with -unerring aim, and so intent on pursuit that the best chance of the day -is then offered to a gunner, when greed for a moment supplants caution -and vigilance is relaxed. But even now a man on foot stands no chance of -coming anywhere near them. His approach is observed from afar, all heads -are up above the thistles, every eye intent on the intruder; a moment or -two of doubt, two quick steps and a spring, and the broad wings of every -bird in the pack flap in slowly rising motion. The tardiness and -apparent difficulty in rising from the ground which bustards exhibit is -well expressed in their Spanish name <i>Avetarda</i><a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> and recognised in -the scientific cognomen<a name="page_244" id="page_244"></a> of <i>Otis tarda</i>. Once on the wing the whole -band is off with wide swinging flight to the highest ground in the -neighbourhood.</p> - -<p>The chase of the great bustard presents characteristics and attractions -peculiar to itself and differing from that of all other winged game. -Rather it resembles the scientific pursuit of big game; for this is a -sport in which the actual shot becomes of secondary importance, merely a -culminating incident—the consummation of previous forethought, -fieldcraft, and generalship. Success in bustard-shooting—alike with -success in stalking—is usually attributable to the leader, who has -planned the operation and directed the strategy, rather than to the man -who may have actually killed the game. We here refer exclusively to what -we may be permitted to call the scientific aspect of this chase, as -practised by ourselves and as distinguished from other (and far more -deadly) methods in vogue among the Spanish herdsmen and peasantry. -Before describing the former system, let us glance at native methods of -securing the great bustard.</p> - -<p>During the greater part of the year bustard are far too wary to be -obtained by the farm-hands and shepherds who see them every day—so -accustomed are the peasantry to the sight of these noble birds that -little or no notice is taken of them and their pursuit regarded as -impracticable. There is, however, one period of the year when the great -bustard falls an easy prey to the clumsiest of gunners.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 129px;"> -<a href="images/ill_110_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_110_sml.jpg" width="129" height="137" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>During the long Andalucian summer a torrid sun has drunk up every brook -and stream that crosses the cultivated lands; the chinky, cracked mud, -which in winter formed the bed of shallow lakes and lagoons, now yields -no drop of moisture for bird or beast. The larger rivers still carry -their waters from sierra to sea, but an adaptive genius is required to -utilise these for purposes of irrigation. All water required for the -cattle is drawn up from wells; the old-world lever with its bucket at -one end and counterpoise at the other has to provide for the needs of -all. These wells are distributed all over the plains. As the herdsmen -put the primitive contrivance into operation and swing up bucketful -after bucketful of cool water, the cattle crowd around, impatient to -receive it as it rushes down the stone troughing. The thirsty<a name="page_245" id="page_245"></a> animals -drink their fill, splashing and wasting as much as they consume, so that -a puddle is always formed about these <i>bebideros</i>. The moisture only -extends a few yards, gradually diminishing, till the trickling streamlet -is lost in the famishing soil.</p> - -<p>These moist places are a fatal trap to the bustard. Before dawn one of -the farm-people will conceal himself so as to command at short range all -points of the miniature swamp. A slight hollow is dug for the purpose, -having clods arranged around, between which the gun can be levelled with -murderous accuracy. As day begins to dawn, the bustard will take a -flight in the direction of the well, alighting at a point some few -hundred yards distant. They satisfy themselves that no enemy is about, -and then, with cautious, stately step, make for their morning draught. -One big bird steps on ahead of the rest; and as he cautiously draws -near, he stops now and again to assure himself that all is right and -that his companions are coming too—these are not in a compact body, but -following at intervals of a few yards. The leader has reached the spot -where he drank yesterday; now he finds he must go a little nearer to the -well, as the streamlet has been diverted; another bird follows close; -both lower their heads to drink; the gunner has them in line—at twenty -paces there is no escape; the trigger is pressed, and two magnificent -bustards are done to death. Should the man be provided with a second -barrel (which is not usual), a third victim may be added to his -morning’s spoils.</p> - -<p>Comparatively large numbers of bustard are destroyed thus every summer. -It is deadly work and certain. Luckily, however, the plan enjoys but a -single success, since bands, once shot at, never return.</p> - -<p>A second primitive method of capturing the great bustard is practised in -winter. The increased value of game during the colder months induces the -bird-catchers, who then supply the markets with myriads of ground-larks, -linnets, buntings, etc., occasionally to direct their skill towards the -capture of bustard by the same means as prove efficacious with the small -fry—that is, the <i>cencerro</i>, or cattle-bell, combined with a dark -lantern.</p> - -<p>As most cattle carry the cencerro around their necks, the sound of the -bell at close quarters by night causes no alarm to ground-birds. The -bird-catcher, with his bright lantern gleaming before its reflector and -the cattle-bell jingling at his wrist, prowls nightly around the -stubbles and wastes in search of roosting birds.<a name="page_246" id="page_246"></a> Any number of -bewildered victims can thus be gathered, for larks and such-like birds -fall into a helpless state of panic when once focussed in the rays of -the lantern.</p> - -<p>When the bustard is the object of pursuit, two men are required, one of -whom carries a gun. The pack of bustard will be carefully watched during -the afternoon, and not lost sight of when night comes until their -sleeping-quarters are ascertained. When quite dark, the tinkling of the -<i>cencerro</i> will be heard, and a ray of light will surround the devoted -bustards, charming or frightening them—whichever it may be—into still -life. As the familiar sound of the cattle-bell becomes louder and -nearer, the ray of light brighter and brighter, and the surrounding -darkness more intense, the bustards are too charmed or too dazed to fly. -Then comes the report, and a charge of heavy shot works havoc among -them. As bands of bustards are numerous, this poaching plan might be -carried out night after night; but luckily the bustards will not stand -the same experience twice. On a second attempt being made, they are off -as soon as they see the light approaching.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_111_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_111_sml.jpg" width="337" height="214" alt="CALANDRA LARK - -A large and handsome species characteristic of the corn-lands." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">CALANDRA LARK - -A large and handsome species characteristic of the corn-lands.</span> -</p> - -<p>The third (and by far the most murderous) means of destruction is due, -not so much to rural peasantry as to <i>cazadores</i>—shooters from -adjoining towns—men who should know better, and whom, in other -respects, we might rank as good sportsmen; but who, alas! can see no -shame in shooting the hen-bustards with their half-fledged broods in the -standing corn during June and July—albeit the deed is done in direct -contravention of the game-laws! Dogs,<a name="page_247" id="page_247"></a> especially pointers, are employed -upon this quest when the mother-bustards, being reluctant to leave their -young, lie as close as September partridges in a root-crop; while the -broods, either too terrified or too immature to fly, are frequently -caught by the dogs. We regret that there are those who actually descant -with pride upon having slaughtered a dozen or more of these helpless -creatures in a day; while others are only restrained from a like crime -by the scorching solar heats of that season.</p> - -<p>More bustards are killed thus than by all the other methods combined—a -hundred times more than by our scientific and sportsmanlike system of -driving presently to be described.</p> - -<p>Except for this unworthy massacre of mothers with their broods in -summer, and the two clumsy artifices before mentioned, the bustards are -left practically unmolested—their wildness and the open nature of their -haunts defy all the strategy of native fowlers. The hen-bustard deposits -her eggs—usually three, but on very rare occasions four—among the -green April corn; incubation and the rearing of the young take place in -the security of vast silent stretches of waving wheat. The young -bustards grow with that wheat, and, ere it is reaped (unless prematurely -massacred), are able to take care of themselves. A somewhat more -legitimate method of outwitting the great bustard is practised at this -season. During harvest, while the country is being cleared of crops, the -birds become accustomed to see bullock-carts daily passing with creaking -wheel to carry away the sheaves from the stubble to the <i>era</i>, or -levelled threshing-ground, where the grain is trodden out, Spanish -fashion, by teams of mares. The loan of a <i>carro</i> with its pair of oxen -and their driver having been obtained, the cart is rigged up with -<i>estéras</i>—that is, esparto-matting stretched round the uprights which -serve to hold the load of sheaves in position. A few sacks of straw -thrown on the floor of the cart save one, in some small degree, from the -merciless jolting of this primitive conveyance on rough ground. Two or -three guns can find room therein, while the driver, lying forward, -directs the team with a goad.</p> - -<p>This moving battery fairly resembles a load of sheaves, and well do we -remember the terrible, suffocating heat we have endured, shut up for -hours in this thing during the blazing days of July and August. The -result, nevertheless, repays all suffering. We refer to no mere -cynegetic pride but to the enduring joy of<a name="page_248" id="page_248"></a> observing, at close quarters -and still unsuspicious, these glorious game-birds at home on their -private plains. The local idea is to fire through a slit previously made -in the <i>estéras</i>; but somehow, when the cart stops and the game -instantly rises, you find (despite care and practice) that the birds -always fly in a direction you cannot command or where the narrow slit -forbids your covering them. Hence we adopted the plan of sliding off -behind as the cart pulled up, thus firing the two barrels with perfect -freedom. We have succeeded by this means in bringing to bag many pairs -of bustard during a day’s manÅ“uvring.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_112_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_112_sml.jpg" width="288" height="310" alt="SPANISH THISTLE AND STONECHAT" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SPANISH THISTLE AND STONECHAT</span> -</p> - -<p>We now come to the system of bustard-driving, which we regard as -practically the only really legitimate method of dealing with this grand -game. From the end of August onwards the young bustards are perfectly -capable of taking care of themselves. The country is then cleared of -crops, and while this precludes the birds being “done to death†as in -the weeks immediately preceding, yet the ubiquitous thistles (often of -gigantic size, ten or twelve feet in height), charlock, and <i>viznagas</i> -provide welcome covert for concealing the guns, while the heat still -renders the game somewhat more susceptible to the artifices of the -fowler. This is the easiest period.<a name="page_249" id="page_249"></a></p> - -<p>As the season advances the hunter’s difficulties increase. The brown -earth becomes daily more and more naked, while files of slow-moving -ox-teams everywhere traverse the stubble, ploughing league-long furrows -twenty abreast. These factors combine to aid the game and stretch to its -utmost limit the venatic instincts of the fowler.</p> - -<p>Let us now attempt to describe a day’s bustard-driving on scientific -lines. The district having being selected, it is advisable to send out -the night before a trustworthy scout who will sleep at the <i>cortijo</i> and -be abroad with the dawn in order to locate precisely the various -<i>bandadas</i>, or troops of bustard, in the neighbourhood. The -shooting-party (three or four guns for choice, but in no case to exceed -six<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a>) follow in the morning—riding, as a rule, to the rendezvous; -though should there be a high-road available it is sometimes convenient -to drive (or nowadays even to motor), having in that case sent the -saddle-horses forward, along with the scout, on the previous day.</p> - -<p>Arrived at the <i>cortijo</i>, the scout brings in his report, and at once -guns and drivers, all mounted, proceed towards the nearest of the marked -<i>bandadas</i>. Not only are the distances to be covered so great as to -render riding a necessity, but the use of horses has this further -advantage that bustard evince less fear of mounted men and thus permit -of nearer approach. The drivers should number three—the centre to flush -the birds, two flankers to gallop at top speed in any direction should -the game diverge from the required course or attempt to break out -laterally.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes’ ride and we are within view of our first <i>bandada</i> still a -mile away. They may be feeding on some broad slope, resting on the crest -of a ridge, or dawdling on a level plain; but wherever the game may -be—whatever the strategic value of their position—at least the -decision of our own tactics must be clinched at once. No long lingering -with futile discussion, no hesitation, or continued spying with the -glass is permissible. Such follies instil instant suspicion into the -astute brains on yonder hill, and the honours of the first round pass to -the enemy.</p> - -<p>For this reason it is imperative to appoint one leader vested<a name="page_250" id="page_250"></a> with -supreme authority, and whose directions all must obey instantly and -implicitly.</p> - -<p>Needless to say, that leader must possess a thorough knowledge both of -the habits of bustard and the lie of a country—along with the rather -rare faculty of diagnosing at a glance its “advantages,†its dangers, -and its salient points over some half-league of space. None too common -an attribute that, where all the wide prospect is grey or green, varying -according to ever-changing lights, and the downlands so gently graded as -occasionally to deceive the very elect. Much of the bustard-country -appears all but flat, so slight are its folds and undulations; while -even the more favouring regions are rarely so boldly contoured as -Salisbury Plain. The leader must combine some of the qualities of a -field-marshal with the skill of a deer-stalker, and a bit of red-Indian -sleuth thrown in. Luckily, such masters of the craft are not entirely -lacking to us.</p> - -<p>The thoughts revolving in the leader’s mind during his brief survey -follow these general lines: First, which is (<i>a</i>) the favourite and -(<i>b</i>) the most favourable line of flight of those bustards when -disturbed; secondly, where can guns best be placed athwart that line; -thirdly, how can the guns reach these points unseen? A condition -precedent to success is that the firing-line shall be drawn around the -bustards fairly close up, yet without their knowledge. Now with -wild-game in open country devoid of fences, hollows, or covert of any -description that problem presents initial difficulties that may well -appear insuperable. But they are rarely quite so. It is here that the -fieldcraft of the leader comes in. He has detected some slight fold that -will shelter horsemen up to a given point, and beyond that, screen a -crouching figure to within 300 yards of the unconscious <i>bandada</i>. -Rarely do watercourses or valleys of sufficient depth lend a welcome -aid; recourse must usually be had to the reverse slope of the hill -whereon the bustards happen to be. Without a halt, the party ride round -till out of sight. At the farthest safe advance, the guns dismount and -proceed to spread themselves out—so far as possible in a -semicircle—around the focal point.<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> At 80 yards apart, each lies -prone on earth, utilising such shelter<a name="page_251" id="page_251"></a> (if any) as may exist on the -naked decline—say skeleton thistles, a tuft of wild asparagus, or on -rare occasion some natural bank or tiny rain-scoop.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<span class="caption">Great Bustard—young.</span> -<br /> -<a href="images/ill_113a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_113a_sml.jpg" width="366" height="213" alt="" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">(1) As Hatched.</span> -</p> -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_113b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_113b_sml.jpg" width="461" height="245" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" summary="" class="caption"> -<tr align="center"><td>(2) At Twenty Days Old.</td> -<td>(3) AT ONE MONTH.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_113c_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_113c_sml.jpg" width="302" height="220" alt="" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris)<br /> -[See Chapter on “Bird-life,†<i>infra.</i>]</span> -</p> - -<p>Having now succeeded in placing his guns unseen and within a fatal -radius, the leader may congratulate himself that his main object has -been achieved. On the nearness of the line to the game, and on his -correct diagnosis of the bustards’ flight depends the issue.</p> - -<p>[It may be added that bustard are occasionally found in situations that -offer no reasonable hope of a successful drive. It may then (should no -others be known within the radius of action) become advisable gently to -“move†the inexpugnable troop; remembering that once these birds realise -that they are being “driven,†the likelihood of subsequently putting -them over the guns has enormously decreased. There accrues an incidental -advantage in this operation, for after “moving†them to more favouring -ground, it will not be necessary to line-up the guns quite so near as is -usually essential to success. For bustards possess so strong an -attachment to their <i>querencias</i>, or individual haunts, that they may be -relied upon, on being disturbed a second time, to wing a course more or -less in the direction of their original position. We give a specific -instance of this later.</p> - -<p>Each pack of bustard has its own <i>querencia</i>, and will be found at -certain hours to frequent certain places. This local knowledge, if -obtainable, saves infinite time and vast distances traversed in search -of game whose approximate positions, after all, may thus be ascertained -beforehand.]</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Now we have placed our guns in line and within that short distance of -the unsuspecting game that all but assures a certain shot. We cannot, -let us confess, recall many moments in life of more tense excitement -than those spent thus, lying prone on the gentle slope listening with -every sense on stretch for the cries of the galloping beaters as in wild -career they urge the huge birds towards a fatal course. Before us rises -the curving ridge, its summit sharply defined against an azure -sky—azure but empty. Now the light air wafts to our ear the tumultuous -pulsations of giant wings, and five seconds later that erst empty ether -is crowded with two score huge forms. What a scene—and what<a name="page_252" id="page_252"></a> commotion -as, realising the danger, each great bird with strong and laboured -wing-stroke swerves aside. One enormous <i>barbon</i> directly overhead -receives first attention; a second, full broadside, presents no more -difficulty, and ere the double thuds behind have attested the result, we -realise that a third, shying off from our neighbour, is also “our meat.†-This has proved one of our luckier drives, for the <i>bandada</i>, splitting -up on the centre, offered chances to both flanks of the blockading -line—chances which are not always fully exploited.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_114_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_114_sml.jpg" width="365" height="165" alt="SWERVE ASIDE TO RIGHT AND LEFT" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SWERVE ASIDE TO RIGHT AND LEFT</span> -</p> - -<p>We have stated, earlier in this chapter, that among the various -component factors in a bustard-drive the actual shot is of minor -importance. That is so; yet truly remarkable is the frequency with which -good shots constantly miss the easiest of chances at these great birds. -Precisely similar failures occur with wild-geese, with swans—indeed -with all big birds whose wing-action is deliberate and slow. Tardy -strokes deceive the eye, and the great bulk of the bustard accentuates -the deception—it seems impossible to miss them, a fatal error. As the -Spanish drivers put it: “Se les llenaron el ojo de carne,†literally, -“the bustards had filled your eye with meat‗the hapless marksmen saw -everything bustard! Yet geese with their 40 strokes fly past ducks at -120, and the bustard’s apparently leisured movement carries him in full -career as fast as whirring grouse with 200 revolutions to the minute. To -kill bustard treat them on the same basis as the smaller game that -appears faster but is not.</p> - -<p>Bustards being soft-plumaged are not hard to kill. As compared with such -ironclads as wild-geese, they are singularly<a name="page_253" id="page_253"></a> easily killed, and with -AAA shot may be dropped stone-dead at 80 and even at 100 yards. A pair -of guns may thus profitably be brought into action.</p> - -<p>Bustards seldom run, but they walk very fast, especially when alarmed. -Between the inception of a drive and the moment of flushing we have -known them to cover half a mile, and many drives fail owing to game -having completely altered its original position. Instances have occurred -of bustards walking over the dividing ridge, to the amazement of the -prostrate sportsmen on the hither slope. Strange to say, when winged -they do not make off, but remain where they have fallen, and an old male -will usually show fight. Of course if left alone and out of sight a -winged bustard will travel far.</p> - -<p>In weight cock-bustard vary from, say, 20 to 22 lbs. in autumn, up to 28 -to 30 lbs. in April. The biggest old males in spring reach 33 and 34 -lbs., and one we presented to the National Collection at South -Kensington scaled 37 lbs. The breast-bone of these big birds is usually -quite bare, a horny callosity, owing to friction with the ground while -squatting, and the heads and necks of old males usually exhibit gaps in -their gorgeous spring-plumage—indicative of severe encounters among -themselves. Hen-bustard seldom exceed 15 lbs. at any season.</p> - -<p>Bustard are usually found in troops varying from half-a-dozen birds to -as many as 50 or 60, and in September we have seen 200 together.</p> - -<p>Bustard-shooting—by which we mean legitimate driving during the winter -months, September to April—is necessarily uncertain in results. Some -days birds may not even be seen, though this is unusual, while on others -many big bands may be met with. Hence it is difficult to put down an -average, though we roughly estimate a bird a gun as an excellent day’s -work. A not unusual bag for six guns will be about eight head; but we -have a note of two days’ shooting in April (in two consecutive years) -when a party of eight guns, all well-known shots, secured 21 and 22 -bustard respectively, together with a single lesser bustard on each day. -This was on lands between Alcantarillas and Las Cabezas, but it is fair -to add that the ground had been carefully preserved by the owner and the -operation organised regardless of expense.</p> - -<p>A minor difficulty inherent to this pursuit is to select the<a name="page_254" id="page_254"></a> precise -psychological moment to spring up to shooting-position. This indeed is a -feature common to most forms of wild-shooting—such as duck-flighting, -driving geese or even snipe; in fact there is hardly a really wild -creature that can be dealt with from a comfortable position erect on -one’s legs. Imagine partridge-shooters at home, instead of standing -comfortably protected by hedge or butt, being told to hide themselves on -a wet plough or bare stubble. Here, in Spain, it may also be necessary -to conceal the gun under one’s right side (to avoid sun-glints), and -that also loses a moment.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_115_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_115_sml.jpg" width="385" height="164" alt="BUSTARDS PASSING FULL BROADSIDE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BUSTARDS PASSING FULL BROADSIDE</span> -</p> - -<p>All one’s care and elaborate strategy is ofttimes nullified through the -blunders of a novice. Some men have no more sense of concealment than -that fabled ostrich which is said to hide its head in the sand (which it -doesn’t); others can’t keep still. These are for ever poking their heads -up and down or—worse still—trying to see what is occurring in front. -We may conclude this chapter with a hint or two to new hands.</p> - -<p>Never move from your prone position till the bustard are in shot, and -after that, not till you are sure the whole operation is complete. There -may yet be other birds enclosed though you do not know it.</p> - -<p>Never claim to have wounded a bustard merely because it passed so near -and offered so easy a shot that you can’t believe you missed it. You did -miss it or it would be lying dead behind.</p> - -<p>All the same keep one eye on any bird you have fired at so long as it -remains in view. Bustards shot through the lungs will sometimes fly half -a mile and then drop dead.<a name="page_255" id="page_255"></a></p> - -<p>Wear clothes suited, more or less, to environment—<i>greenish</i>, we -suggest, for choice—but remember that immobility is tenfold more -important than colour. A pure white object that is quiescent is -overlooked, where a clod of turf that <i>moves</i> attracts instant -attention.</p> - -<p>In spring, when bustards gorge on green food, gralloch your victims at -once, otherwise the half-digested mass in the crop quickly decomposes -and destroys the meat.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Here is an example of an error in judgment that practically amounted to -a blunder. Before our well-concealed line stood a grand pack, between -thirty and forty bustard beautifully “horseshoed,†and quite unconscious -thereof. Momentarily we expected their entry—right in our faces! At -that critical moment there appeared, wide on the right flank and -actually behind us, three huge old <i>barbones</i> directing a course that -would bring them along close in rear of our line. No. 4 gun, on extreme -right, properly allowed this trio to pass; not so No. 3. But the -culprit, on rising to fire, had the chagrin to realise (too late) his -error. The whole superb army-corps in front were at that very moment -sweeping forward direct on the centre of our line! In an instant they -took it in, swerved majestically to the left, and escaped scot-free. -That No. 3 had secured a right-and-left at the adventitious trio in no -sort of way exculpated his mistake.<a name="page_256" id="page_256"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV<br /><br /> -THE GREAT BUSTARD (<i>Continued</i>)</h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> following illustrates in outline a day’s bustard-shooting and -incidentally shows how strongly haunted these birds are, each pack to -its own particular locality.</p> - -<p>On reaching our point (a seventeen-kilometres’ drive), the scouts sent -out the day before reported three bands numbering roughly forty, forty, -and sixteen—in all nearly a hundred birds. The nearest lot was to the -west. These we found easily, and B. F. B. got a brace, right-and-left, -without incident.</p> - -<p>Riding back eastwards, the second pack had moved, but we shortly -descried the third, in two divisions, a mile away. It being noon, the -bustards were mostly lying down or standing drowsily, and we halted for -lunch before commencing the operation.</p> - -<p>During the afternoon we drove this pack three times, securing a brace on -first and third drives, while on the second the birds broke out to the -side.</p> - -<p>Now bustards are, in Spanish phrase, <i>muy querenciosos</i>, <i>i.e.</i> attached -to their own particular terrain; and as in these three drives we had -pushed them far beyond their much-loved limit, they were now restless -and anxious to return.</p> - -<p>Already before our guns had reached their posts for a fourth drive, -seven great bustards were seen on the wing, and a few minutes later the -remaining thirty took flight, voluntarily, the whole phalanx shaping -their course directly towards us. The outmost gun was still moving -forward to his post under the crest of the hill, and the pack, seeing -him, swerved across our line below, and (these guns luckily having seen -what was passing and taken cover) thus lost another brace of their -number.</p> - -<p>The bustards shot to-day (January 16), though all full-grown males, only -weighed from 25½ to 26½ lbs. apiece. Two months<a name="page_257" id="page_257"></a> later they would -have averaged over 30 lbs., the increased weight being largely due to -the abundant feed in spring, but possibly more to the solid distention -of the neck.<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a></p> - -<p>This wet season (1908) the grass on the <i>manchones</i>, or fallows, was -rank and luxuriant, nearly knee-deep in close vegetation—more like -April than January. Already these bustards were showing signs of the -chestnut neck, and all had acquired their whiskers. The following winter -(1909) was dry and not a scrap of vegetation on the fallows. Even in -February they were absolutely naked and the cattle being fed on broken -straw in the byres.</p> - -<p>The quill-feathers are pale-grey or ash-colour, only deepening into a -darker shade towards the tips, and that only on the first two or three -feathers. The shafts are white, secondaries black, and bastard-wing -lavender-white, slightly tipped with a darker shade.</p> - -<p>In <i>Wild Spain</i> will be found described two methods by which the great -bustard may be secured: (A) by a single gun riding quite alone; and (B) -by two guns working jointly, one taking the chance of a drive, the other -outmanÅ“uvring the game as in plan (A). We here add a third plan which -has occasionally stood us (when alone) in good stead.</p> - -<p>On finding bustard on a suitable hill, leave your man to ride slowly to -and fro attracting the attention of the game till you have had time, by -hard running, to gain the reverse slope. The attendant then rides -forward, the whole operation being so punctually timed that you reach -the crest of the ridge at the same moment as the walking bustards have -arrived within shot thereof. Needless to add, this involves, besides -hard work, a considerable degree of luck, yet on several occasions we -have secured as many as four birds a day by this means.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 152px;"> -<a href="images/ill_116_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_116_sml.jpg" width="152" height="178" alt="“HURTLING THROUGH SPACEâ€" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“HURTLING THROUGH SPACEâ€</span> -</div> - -<p>The great bustard, one imagines, has few enemies except man, but the -following incident shows they are not entirely exempt from extraneous -dangers. In October, some years ago, the writer purposed spending a -couple of nights at a distant marsh in order to see whether any snipe -had yet come in. Our course led us through good bustard-country, and by -an early start<a name="page_258" id="page_258"></a> I had hoped to exploit this in passing. Hardly had we -entered upon the corn-lands than we espied fifteen bustard, a -quarter-mile away on the right. The rough bridle-track being worn -slightly hollow and no better cover appearing, I decided to “flatten†on -the spot, sending my two men to ride round beyond the game, which, being -in a dip, was now below my range of sight. In due course the bustards -appeared, winging directly towards me, but alighting in front when -already almost in shot. Feeling practically certain of them now, since I -could hear the shouts of the beaters beyond, I raised myself slightly, -only to see, to my utter chagrin, the bustards flying off in -diametrically the opposite direction while simultaneously a hissing -sound from behind and overhead caused me to glance upwards. A black -object hurtling earthward through space, shot diagonally past me—this I -mistook as merely a peregrine pursuing some hare that had been disturbed -by the beaters. But on hastening forward over the ridge, I perceived one -of the beaters riding up with a dead bustard across his saddle—a -female, with a great gaping gash in her side. The beaters reported that -just as they flushed the bustard a second time an eagle had swept down -upon them, knocked down this one, and sent the rest, scattered in wild -disorder, over their heads. Paco had then galloped up to within a few -yards before the eagle reluctantly abandoned its prize and sailed aloft. -Continuing our interrupted journey, half a mile ahead another pack of -bustard was descried, and while rapidly surveying the situation, yet -another lot appeared on wing, flying from the right. These last, we -instantly concluded both from their direction and also by the curiously -unsettled style of their flight, were a part of the band which had -recently been attacked by the eagle. Under such circumstances I realised -that (though I was mounted and in full view) they might yet pass within -shot, so, jumping from the horse, I fired at the nearest old -cock-bustard and distinctly saw blood spirt from his snow-white breast. -He flew slowly away with ever lowering flight, finally disappearing over -a crest close by the scene of our first drive. Confident of gathering -him, we<a name="page_259" id="page_259"></a> rode back, and on gaining the ridge witnessed this amazing -spectacle. In the hollow, 300 yards away, was a well with the usual -cross-bar and pulley for drawing water, and on the cross-bar sat an -eagle. Below on the ground stood the wounded bustard, facing-up to a -second great eagle, which kept flapping around him, apparently reluctant -to attack so huge a bird on the ground and in its then aggressive -attitude, and endeavouring to force it to fly.</p> - -<p>So absorbed were both eagles on their quarry that I rode up unnoticed to -within 100 yards, and was making ready to fire when the two great birds -rose, that from the cross-bar flying away, while the other, not content -to resign his prize, circled overhead. In hope that he might descend I -concealed myself behind the well, always keeping one eye on the wounded -bustard, but presently the eagle had become a mere speck in the heavens. -The bustard all this time had remained standing close by, but on my -approach it rose quite strongly on wing, and had I not been loaded, -might yet have escaped.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 235px;"> -<a href="images/ill_117_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_117_sml.jpg" width="235" height="208" alt="DRAW-WELL WITH CROSS-BAR" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">DRAW-WELL WITH CROSS-BAR</span> -</div> - -<p>The aggressors were imperial eagles, and in their second attack had no -doubt realised that the quarry was already wounded. The first victim had -been knocked down, stone-dead, when absolutely sound and strong.</p> - -<p>During summer these birds practically subsist on grasshoppers, -especially those in the heavy wingless stage known as <i>Cigarras -panzonas</i>. These disappear after July, being replaced by smaller and -more active varieties, which are equally relished. Once the females -commence laying among the spring corn (in April), the cock-bustards -assemble in widower packs (<i>toradas</i>) on the fallows, and especially on -<i>marismas</i> adjacent to corn-land. By September both sexes, with the -young, reunite on the stubbles, where we have seen as many as 200 -together.</p> - -<p>It is in April that the old <i>barbones</i> attain their full glory and<a name="page_260" id="page_260"></a> -pride of sexual estate—resplendent in fierce whiskers and gorgeous -chestnut ruffs all distended with the seasonal condition. Courtship -begins in March, when the weird eccentric performances of the males, -flashing alternately white and rich orange against their green -environment, lend a characteristic touch to the vernal <i>vegas</i>—white -specks that appear and disappear as the lovelorn monsters revolve and -display, somewhat in the frenzied style of the blackcock on our own -northern moorlands. <i>Hechando la rueda</i> the Spanish call it, as an old -<i>barbon</i> majestically struts around turning himself, as it were, inside -out before an assembled harem that, to all appearance, takes no manner -of interest in his fantastic performance—perhaps the gentler sex -dissemble their depth of feeling? Then occur ferocious duels between -rival paladins. Long sustained are these and conspicuous afar, albeit -not very deadly. No life-blood may flow, but feathers fly ere the point -of honour is settled and the victor left in proud possession.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 242px;"> -<a href="images/ill_118_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_118_sml.jpg" width="242" height="196" alt="“HECHANDO LA RUEDAâ€" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“HECHANDO LA RUEDAâ€</span> -</div> - -<p>These combats occur chiefly at break of day while tall herbage yet -remains soaked by nocturnal dews, and it occasionally happens that some -luckless champion, damaged and bedraggled, and with plumage saturated -through and through, when thus encountered, is found unable to fly and -so captured. Several such instances came under our notice years ago -and—rare though they may be—misled us in <i>Wild Spain</i> to conclude that -the incapacity arose from a spring-moult—similar to that of wild-geese -and of some ducks. That, however, was an error. The loss of flight-power -arises, as stated, from the damaged and dew-saturated state of the -primaries, as is concisely set forth in a letter from our friend D. José -Pan Elberto as follows:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Many persons undoubtedly believe (owing to bustards being captured -in spring unable to fly) that these birds moult all their quills at -once. That is not the case; but since in spring, when the -male-bustards engage<a name="page_261" id="page_261"></a> in continuous fighting, the corn-growth is -already quite tall, and in the early mornings all vegetation is -saturated with night-dews, it occasionally happens that a bustard -may be met with incapable by this cause of taking wing—that is, -that some of the flight-feathers are lost or broken and all -dew-soaked (<i>rociadas</i>). The bustard moults gradually and never -loses the power of flight.</p></div> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_119a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_119a_sml.jpg" width="271" height="230" alt="FIRST ATTITUDE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">First Attitude.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_119b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_119b_sml.jpg" width="437" height="226" alt="SECOND ATTITUDE. -THE SAME, BUT LOOKING UP AT A PASSING BIRD." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Second Attitude.</span> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">The Same, But Looking Up At A Passing Bird.</span></span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_119c_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_119c_sml.jpg" width="230" height="226" alt="Final Position. -Great Bustard “SHEWING-OFF‗FROM LIFE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Final Position.<br /> -Great Bustard “SHEWING-OFF‗From Life.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_120_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_120_sml.jpg" width="331" height="164" alt="TAIL-FEATHERS OF GREAT BUSTARD" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">TAIL-FEATHERS OF GREAT BUSTARD</span> -</p> - -<p>While never attaining the size of wild birds, yet bustards thrive well -in captivity—always assuming that they have been caught young. Old -birds brought home wounded never survive twenty-four hours, dying not -from the wound (which may be insignificant) but from <i>barinchin</i>, which -may be translated chagrin or a broken heart. Young bustards reared thus -become extremely tame, coming to call and feeding from the hand, though -when old the males are apt to grow vicious in spring, attacking savagely -children, dogs, and even women, especially those whom they see to be -afraid.<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> Tame as they are, they are always subject to strange alarms, -seemingly causeless. Suddenly they raise their wings, draw in their -heads, and dance around, jumping in air, and ever intently regarding the -heavens—sometimes dashing off under cover of bushes. One may connect -this exhibition with some speck in the sky, some passing eagle, more -often no motive is discernible. Bustard-chicks emit a plaintive whistle -so precisely similar to that of the kites that (when hatched out under a -domestic hen) the foster-mother has been so terrified as to desert her -brood. When adult, bustards are usually quite silent, save for a -grunting noise in spring—that is, in captivity. But on a hot day we -have heard the old males,<a name="page_262" id="page_262"></a> when passing on a drive, utter panting -sounds, and (as already mentioned) a winged <i>barbon</i> will turn to attack -with a sort of gruff bark—wuff, wuff—as his captor approaches.</p> - -<p>So retentive is their memory that each year as May comes round our tame -bustards keep constantly on the look-out for the first cart-load of -green cut grass brought into the stable-yard for the horses. They even -follow it right into the loose-box where it is stored, in order to feast -on the grasshoppers it conceals, climbing all over the mountain of -grass, but never scratching as hens or pheasants would do.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">The Little Bustard</span> (<span class="smcap"><i>Otis Tetrax</i></span>—<span class="smcap">Spanish</span>, <span class="smcap"><i>Sisón</i></span>)</p> - -<p>The little bustard may fairly claim the proud distinction that it alone -of all the game-birds on earth can utterly scorn and set at naught every -artifice of the fowler—modern methods and up-to-date appliances all -included. Here in Spain, though the bird itself is abundant enough (and -its flesh delicate and delicious), it so entirely defies every set -system of pursuit that no one nowadays attempts its capture. Practically -none are killed save merely by some chance or accidental encounter.</p> - -<p>True, during the fiery noontides of July and August even the little -bustard enjoys a siesta and may then be shot. It will, in fact, “lie -close†before pointers and cackle like a cock-grouse as it rises from -those desolate <i>dehesas</i> which form its home—vast stretches of rolling -veld where asphodel, palmetto, and giant thistles grow rampant as far as -eye can reach. But that scarce comes within our category of sport, since -a solar heat that can (even temporarily) tame a <i>sisón</i> is quite likely -to finish off a Briton for good and all. And with the advent of autumn -and a relatively endurable temperature, in a moment the <i>sisón</i> becomes -impossibly wild. Any idea of direct approach is simply out of the -question, but beyond that, this astute fowl has elaborated a -scheme—indeed a series of schemes—that nullifies even that one -remaining resource of baffled humanity, “driving.†You may surround his -company, “horse-shoe†them with hidden guns—do what you will, not a -single <i>sisón</i> will come in to the firing-line. You cannot diagnose -beforehand his probable line of flight, for he has none, nor can you -influence its subsequent direction. For the little bustard shuts off all -negotiation at its initiation by<a name="page_263" id="page_263"></a> springing vertically in air, soaring -far above gunshot, and there indulging in fantastic aerial evolutions -more in the style of wigeon or other wildfowl than of a true game-bird -as he is. Thus from that celestial altitude he spies out the country and -all terrestrial dangers, finally disappearing afar amidst the wastes of -atmospheric space. Frequently we have noticed the high-flying band, -after, say, twenty minutes of such display of wing-power, descend -directly to their original position at a safe interval after the drivers -had passed forward thereof! Thus do they scorn our efforts and add -insult to injury.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_121_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_121_sml.jpg" width="334" height="223" alt="LITTLE BUSTARD - -Summer plumage." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">LITTLE BUSTARD - -Summer plumage.</span> -</p> - -<p>In practice no <i>sisónes</i> whatever are killed in set drives, and for -twenty years we have abandoned the attempt as impossible. They -nevertheless—alike with every other fowl of the air—must, by -occasional mischance, fly into danger, and at such times, owing to their -habit of flying in massed formation, a heavy toll may be levied at a -single shot by a gunner who is alert to exploit the happy event. We have -ourselves, in this casual way, dropped from five to eight <i>sisónes</i> with -the double charge.</p> - -<p>Though frequenting the same open terrain as their big cousins, the -<i>sisónes</i> distinctly prefer the rough stretches of palmetto, thistles, -and other rank herbage to corn-land proper—in short, they prefer to sit -where they can never be seen on the ground. Conspicuous as their white -plumage and resonant wing-rattle makes them in air, we can hardly recall -a dozen instances of having detected a pack of little bustard at -rest—and then merely in<a name="page_264" id="page_264"></a> quite accidental and exceptional -circumstances. And even then (as indicated) the knowledge of their -precise position has seldom availed to their undoing.</p> - -<p>By April the males have assumed a splendidly handsome breeding-dress. -The neck, swollen out like a jargonelle pear, is clad in rich -velvet-black, the long plumes behind glossy and hackle-like, and adorned -with a double gorget of white. All this finery is lost by August. -Thenceforward the sexes are alike save for the larger size and brighter -orange of the males, the females being smaller and yellower. They are -strictly monogamous, yet the males “show-off†in the same fantastic way -as great bustard and blackcock. About mid-May the female lays four -(rarely five) glossy olive-green eggs in the thick covert of thistles or -palmettos.</p> - -<p>In summer the food of the little bustard consists of snails and small -grasshoppers, and on the table they are excellent, the breast being -large and prominent and displaying both dark and white flesh—the -latter, however, being confined to the legs.<a name="page_265" id="page_265"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI<br /><br /> -FLAMINGOES<br /><br /> -<small>THE QUEST FOR THEIR “INCUNABULAâ€</small></h2> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 264px;"> -<a href="images/ill_122_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_122_sml.jpg" width="264" height="205" alt="A TYPICAL SIGHT IN THE MARISMA" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A TYPICAL SIGHT IN THE MARISMA</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> flamingo stands in a class apart. Allied to no other -bird-form—hardly so much as related—it may be regarded almost as a -separate act of creation. Its nesting habits, and the method by which a -bird of such abnormal build could incubate its eggs, formed for -generations a “vexed question†in bird-life. The story of the efforts -made by British naturalists to solve the problem ranks among the -classics of ornithology. The marismas of Guadalquivir were early known -to be one of the few European <i>incunabula</i> of the flamingo; but their -vast extent—“as big as our eastern counties,†Howard Saunders -wrote—and the irregularity of the seasons (since flamingoes only remain -to nest in the wettest years) combined to frustrate exploration. First -in the field was Lord Lilford—as early as 1856; and both during that -and the two succeeding decades he and Saunders (who appeared on the -scene in 1864) undertook repeated journeys—all in vain. The record of -these makes splendid reading, and will be found as follows:—</p> - -<p>Lord Lilford, “On the Breeding of the Flamingo in Spain,†<i>Proceedings -Zoological Society of London</i>, 1880, pp. 446-50;<a name="page_266" id="page_266"></a> Howard Saunders, -<i>ibid.</i>, 1869, and the same authority in the <i>Ibis</i>, 1871, pp. 394 <i>et -seq.</i></p> - -<p>The late Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria, who visited Spain in May 1879, -likewise failed to reach the nesting spot—apparently through the usual -cause, not going far enough—though a few eggs were found scattered on -the wet mud of the marisma. (Recorded by Lord Lilford as above.)</p> - -<p>Thus the question remained unsettled till 1883, when a favouring season -enabled the present authors to succeed where greater ornithologists had -striven in vain.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_123_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_123_sml.jpg" width="345" height="196" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p>A venerable apologue attaches to the nesting habit of the flamingo. -Owing to the length of its legs, it was assumed that the bird could not -incubate in the ordinary manner of birds, and that, therefore, it stood -astraddle on a nest built up to the requisite height—a combination of -unproved assumption with inconsequential deduction. ‘Twere ungracious to -be wise after the event, yet, in fact, this fable passed current as -“Natural History†for precisely two centuries—from 1683, when Dampier -so described the nesting of flamingoes on the Cape de Verde Islands,<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> -till 1883, when the present authors had opportunity of observing a -flamingo-colony in southern Spain.</p> - -<p>Flamingoes do not nest every year in the Spanish marismas. Their doing -so depends on the season, and only in very wet years is the attempt -made. Rarely, even then, are young hatched off, so persistently are the -wastes raided by egg-lifters, who sweep up by wholesale every edible -thing, and to whom a “Flamingo<a name="page_267" id="page_267"></a> City,†with its hundreds of big eggs all -massed together—a boat-load for the gathering—represents an El Dorado. -As early as 1872 eggs were brought to us—taken by our own marshmen on -May 24—but it was not till 1883 that we enjoyed seeing an occupied -nest-colony ourselves.</p> - -<p>More than a quarter-century has sped since then, yet we cannot do better -than substantially transcribe the narrative as recorded in <i>Wild Spain</i>.</p> - -<p>During the month of April we searched the marismas systematically for -the nesting-places of flamingoes, but, though exploring large -areas—riding many leagues in all directions through mud and water -varying from a few inches to full three feet in depth—yet no sign of -nests was then encountered. Flamingoes there were in thousands, together -with a wealth of aquatic bird-life that we will not stop here to -describe. But the water was still too deep, the mud-flats and new-born -islets not yet sufficiently dried for purposes of nidification. The only -species that actually commenced to lay in April were the coots, purple -herons, peewits, Kentish plovers, stilts, redshanks, and a few more.</p> - -<p>April was clearly too early, and the writer lost nearly a week through -an attack of ague, brought on by constant splashing about in -comparatively cold water while a fierce sun always beat down on one’s -head. In May the luck improved. Far away to the eastward flamingoes had -always been most numerous, and once or twice we observed (early in May) -signs that resembled the first rude beginnings of architecture, and -encouraged us to persevere in what had begun to appear an almost -hopeless quest.</p> - -<p><i>May 9</i> (1883).—The effects of dawn over the vast desolations of the -marisma were specially lovely this morning. Before sunrise the distant -peaks of the SerranÃa de Ronda (seventy miles away) lay flooded in a -blood-red light, and appearing quite twice their usual height. Half an -hour later the mountains sank back in a golden glow, and long before -noon had utterly vanished in quivering heat-haze and the atmospheric -fantasies of infinite space. Amidst chaotic confusion of mirage effects -we rode out across the wilderness: at first over dry mud-flats sparsely -carpeted with dwarf scrub of marsh plants, or in places bare and naked, -the sun-scorched surface cracked into rhomboids and parallelograms, and -honeycombed with yawning cattle-tracks made long ago<a name="page_268" id="page_268"></a> when the mud was -moist and plastic; then through shallow marsh and stagnant waters -gradually deepening. Here from a patch of rush hard by sprang three -hinds with their fawns and splashed away through the shallows, their -russet pelts gleaming in the early sunlight. Gradually the water -deepened; “mucha agua, mucho fango!†groaned our companion, Felipe; but -this morning we meant to reach the very heart of the marisma, and before -ten o’clock were cooking our breakfast on a far-away islet whereon never -British foot had trod before, and which was literally strewn with -avocets’ eggs, while nests of stilts, redshanks, pratincoles, and many -more lay scattered around.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_124_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_124_sml.jpg" width="426" height="257" alt="STILTS DISTURBED AT THEIR NESTING-PLACE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">STILTS DISTURBED AT THEIR NESTING-PLACE</span> -</p> - -<p>During this day we discovered two nests of the slender-billed gull -(<i>Larus gelastes</i>), not previously known to breed in Spain; also, we -then believed, those of the Mediterranean black-headed gull (<i>L. -melanocephalus</i>), though the latter were afterwards ascribed by -oological experts (perhaps correctly) to the gull-billed tern (<i>Sterna -anglica</i>), a species whose eggs we also found by the dozen.</p> - -<p>The immense aggregations of flamingoes which, in wet seasons, throng the -middle marismas can scarce be described. Our bird-islets lay so remote -from the low-lying shores that no land whatever was in sight; but the -desolate horizon that surrounded them was adorned by an almost unbroken -line of pink and white<a name="page_269" id="page_269"></a> that separated sea and sky over the greater part -of the circle. On examining the different herds narrowly through -binoculars, an obvious dissimilarity was discovered in the appearance of -certain groups. One or two in particular seemed so much denser than the -others; the narrow white line looked three times as thick, and in the -centre gave the idea that the birds were literally piled upon each -other. Felipe suggested that these flamingoes must be at their -<i>pajeréra</i>, or breeding-place, and after a long wet ride we found that -this was the case. The water was very deep, the bottom clinging mud; at -intervals the laboured plunging of the mule was exchanged for an easier, -gliding motion—he was swimming. The change was a welcome relief to man -and beast; but the labours undergone during these aquatic rides -eventuated in the loss of one fine mule, a powerful beast worth £60.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_125_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_125_sml.jpg" width="340" height="193" alt="FLAMINGOES AND THEIR NESTS" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">FLAMINGOES AND THEIR NESTS</span> -</p> - -<p>On approach, the cause of the peculiar appearance of the flamingo city -from a distance became clearly discernible. Hundreds of birds were -sitting down on a low mud-island, hundreds more were standing erect -thereon, while others stood in the water alongside. Thus the different -elevations of their bodies formed what had appeared a triple or -quadruple line.</p> - -<p>On reaching the spot, we found a perfect mass of nests. The low, flat -mud-plateau was crowded with them as thickly as its space permitted. The -nests had little or no height above the dead-level mud—some were raised -an inch or two, a few might reach four or five inches in height, but the -majority were merely circular bulwarks of mud barely raised above the -general<a name="page_270" id="page_270"></a> level, and bearing the impression of the bird’s legs distinctly -marked upon the periphery. The general aspect of the plateau might be -likened to a large table covered with plates. In the centre was a deep -hole full of muddy water, which, from the gouged appearance of its -sides, had probably supplied the birds with building material.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_126_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_126_sml.jpg" width="362" height="231" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p>Scattered round the main colony were many single nests, rising out of -the water and evidently built up from the bottom. Here and there two or -three of these were joined together—“semi-detached,†so to speak. These -isolated nests stood some eight inches above water-level, and as the -depth exceeded a foot, their total height would be two feet or -thereabouts, and their width across the hollowed top, some fifteen -inches. None of the nests as yet contained eggs, and though we returned -to the <i>pajeréra</i> on the latest day we were in its neighbourhood (May -11), they still remained empty. On both occasions many hundreds of -flamingoes were sitting on the nests, and on the 11th we enjoyed -excellent views at close quarters. Linked arm-in-arm with Felipe, and -crouching low on the water to look as little human as possible, we had -approached within seventy yards before the sentries first showed signs -of alarm; and at that distance, with binoculars, observed the sitting -flamingoes as distinctly as one need wish. The long red legs doubled -under their bodies, the knees projecting slightly beyond the tail, and -the graceful necks neatly curled away among their back feathers<a name="page_271" id="page_271"></a> like a -sitting swan, some heads resting on the breasts—all these points were -unmistakable. Indeed, as regards the disposition of the legs in an -incubating flamingo, no other attitude was possible since, in the great -majority of cases, the nests were barely raised above the level of the -mud-plateau. To sit <i>astride</i> on a <i>flat</i> surface is out of the -question.</p> - -<p>Inexplicable it seems that the flamingo, a bird that spends its life -half knee-deep in water, should so long delay the period of incubation. -For long ere eggs could be hatched, and young reared, the full summer -heats of June and July would already have set in, water would have -utterly disappeared, and the flamingoes be left stranded in a scorching -desert of sun-baked mud.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_127_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_127_sml.jpg" width="411" height="204" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p>Being unable ourselves to return to the marisma, we sent Felipe back on -May 26, when he obtained eggs—long, white, and chalky, some specimens -extremely rugged. Two is the number laid in each nest. In 1872 we had -obtained six eggs taken on May 24, which may therefore, probably, be -taken as the average date of laying. There remains, nevertheless, the -bare possibility that eggs had been laid before our visit on May 9, but -swept up meanwhile by egg-raiders.</p> - -<p>The flamingo city “in being†above described was the first seen by -ornithologists, and the observations we were enabled to make settled at -last the position and mode of incubation of the flamingo.<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a></p> - -<p><a name="page_272" id="page_272"></a></p> - -<p>Science is impersonal, the impulsion of a naturalist springs from -devotion to his subject, and from no extrinsic motive—such as personal -kudos. Nevertheless, we make this categoric claim for ourselves simply -because the credit, <i>quantum valeat</i>, has since been (not claimed -straight away, but rather) insinuated on behalf of others who didn’t -earn it—analogous with the case of Dr. Cook and the North Pole.</p> - -<p>Where do these thousands of Spanish flamingoes breed, and how do they -maintain their numbers, when Spain, three years out of five, is <i>too -dry</i> for nesting purposes? The only obvious answer is, Africa. And, -though incapable yet of direct proof, that answer is clearly correct. -For flamingoes are essentially denizens of the tropic zone. The few that -ever overlap into southern Europe are but a fraction of their swarming -millions farther south. During our own expeditions into British East -Africa, we found flamingoes in vast abundance on all the equatorial -lakes we visited—Baringo, Nakuru, Elmenteita, Naivasha, and, -especially, Lake Hannington, where, during past ages, they have so -polluted the foreshores as to preclude human occupation. These were the -same flamingoes, a few of which “slop over†into Europe; we shot two -specimens with the rifle in Nakuru to prove that.<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a></p> - -<p>Flamingoes are not migratory in an ordinary sense—birds born on the -equator seldom are. Their movements have no seasonal character, but -depend on the rainfall and the varying condition of the lagoons at -different points within their range. Here, in Spain, we see them coming -and going, to and fro, at all seasons according to the state of the -marisma—and a striking colour-study they present when pink battalions -contrast with dark-green pine beneath and set off by deepest azure -above.</p> - -<p>In 1907 flamingoes attempted to establish a nesting-colony at a spot -called Las Albacias in the marisma of Hinojos. A mass of nests was -already half built, then suddenly abandoned. “If the shadow of a cloud -passes over them, they forsake,†say the herdsmen of the wilderness.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_128_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_128_sml.jpg" width="574" height="388" alt="Flamingoes on their Nests." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Flamingoes on their Nests.</span> -</p> - -<p>Quantities of drift grass and weed are always found floating where a -herd has been feeding, which at first led us to suppose that their food -consisted of water-plants (as with geese), but<a name="page_273" id="page_273"></a> that is not the case. -The floating grasses are only incidentally uprooted by the birds while -delving in the mud. The Spanish marshmen say flamingoes “live on mud,†-and truly an examination of their crops appears to confirm this. But the -mud is only taken in because of the masses of minute creatures -(<i>animalculae</i>) which it contains, and which form the food of the -flamingo. What precisely these living atoms are would require both a -microscopical examination and a knowledge of zoophites to determine. The -tongue of a flamingo is a thick, fleshy organ filling the whole cavity -of the mandibles, and furnished with a series of flexible bony spikes, -or hooks, nearly half an inch long and curving inwards. Flamingoes’ -tongues are said to have formed, an epicurean dish in Roman days. -However that may be, we found them, on trial, quite uneatable—tough as -india-rubber; even our dogs refused the “delicacy.†This bird’s flesh is -dark-red and rank, quite uneatable.</p> - -<p>In the New World the mystery of the nesting habits of the flamingo -(<i>Phoenicopterus ruber</i>) was solved just three years later, and in a -precisely similar sense.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 134px;"> -<a href="images/ill_129_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_129_sml.jpg" width="134" height="105" alt="HEAD OF FLAMINGO - -Showing the spikes on tongue and lamellae on mandibles. - -[The beak had to be forced open." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">HEAD OF FLAMINGO<br /> -Showing the spikes on tongue and lamellae on mandibles.<br /> -[The beak had to be forced open.]</span> -</div> - -<p>We will close this chapter with a reference to a recent and most -complete demonstration of our subject—that of our namesake, Mr. Frank -M. Chapman, of the American Museum, New York, in his <i>Camps and Cruises -of an Ornithologist</i>. Therein is set forth, in Chapter IV., the last -word on this topic. In America, as in Spain, the final solution of the -problem was only attained after years of patient effort and many -disappointments. With the thoroughness of thought and honesty of purpose -that marks our transatlantic progeny while treating of natural -phenomena, this book sets forth the life-history and domestic economy of -the flamingo, from egg to maturity, illustrated by a series of -photographs that are absolutely unique.<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> We conclude by quoting our -bird-friend’s opening sentence: “There are larger birds than the -flamingo, and birds with more brilliant plumage,<a name="page_274" id="page_274"></a> but no other large -bird is so brightly coloured, and no other brightly coloured bird is so -large. In brief, size and beauty of plume united reach their maximum -development in this remarkable bird, while the open nature of its haunts -and its gregarious habit seem specially designed to display its marked -characteristics of form and colour to the most striking advantage. When -to these superficial attractions is added the fact that little or -nothing has hitherto been known of its nesting habits, one may realise -the intense longing of a naturalist, not only to behold a flamingo -city—itself the most remarkable sight in the bird-world—but to lift -the veil through which the flamingo’s home-life has been but dimly -seen.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_130_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_130_sml.jpg" width="323" height="252" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_275" id="page_275"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII<br /><br /> -WILD CAMELS</h2> - -<p class="nind">I<small>T</small> was during these aquatic rides in search of the nesting-places of the -flamingo that we first fell in with wild camels.</p> - -<p>Vague yarns, more or less circumstantial, that such animals wandered -over the farther marismas, we remember as early as 1872. The thing, -however, had appeared too incredible for consideration—at any rate, we -gave it none. But in that spring of 1883 we one day found ourselves face -to face with two unmistakable camels. They stood gazing intently about -half a mile away—a huge, shaggy, hump-backed beast, accompanied by a -second not half its size. The pair wheeled and made off ere we had -approached within 400 yards, and something “game-like†in their style -prompted our first and last attempt at pursuit. The camels simply ran -away from us, splashing through slippery mud and water, two feet deep, -at double our horses’ speed, and raising in their flight a tearing trail -of foam as of twin torpedo-boats.</p> - -<p>Since then we have fallen in with camels on very many occasions, singly, -in twos and threes, or in herds of a dozen to twenty and upwards, old -and young together. It is, in fact, only necessary to ride far enough -into the marisma to make sure of seeing some of these extraordinary -monsters startling the desolate horizon, and silhouetted in incongruous -juxtaposition with ranks of rosy flamingoes and flotillas of swimming -waterfowl.</p> - -<p>The whole story of these wild camels and their origin has been narrated -in <i>Wild Spain</i>. Briefly summarised, the animals were introduced to -Spain in 1829 by the Marquis de Villafranca (House of Medina-Sidonia) -with the object of employing them in transport and agriculture, as they -are so commonly used on the opposite shores of Africa. But local -difficulties ensued—chiefly arising from the intense fear and -repugnance of horses towards camels, which resulted in numerous -accidents—and eventually<a name="page_276" id="page_276"></a> the bactrians were set free in the marisma, -wherein they have since lived at large and bred under wholly wild -conditions for well-nigh a century.</p> - -<p>We admit that a statement of the existence of wild camels in these -watery wildernesses of Spain—flooded during great part of the year—is -difficult to accept. The camel is inseparably associated with the most -arid deserts of earth, with sun-scorched Sahara, Arabia Petraea, and -waterless tropical regions. Its physical economy is expressly adapted -for such habitats—the huge padded feet and seven-chambered stomach that -will sustain it for days without drinking. Yet the reader was asked to -believe that this specialised desert-dweller had calmly accepted a -condition of life diametrically reversed, and not only lives, but breeds -and flourishes amidst knee-deep swamp.</p> - -<p>At the period of which we write the camel was not known to exist on -earth in a wild state, and physical disabilities were alleged which -would have precluded such a possibility. During historic times it had -never been described save only as a beast of burden, the slave of -man—and a savage, intractable slave at that. A little later, however, -the Russian explorer, Préjevalsky, met with wild camels roaming over the -Kumtagh deserts of Turkestan, and in Tibet Sven Hedin has since shown -the two-humped camel to be one of the normal wild beasts of the Central -Asian table-lands.</p> - -<p>Wild camels in Europe represented a considerable draft upon the -credulity of readers; and a chorus of ridicule was poured upon the -statement. Men who had “lived in Spain for years‗a foreign consul at -Seville, engineers employed in reclaiming marismas (somewhere else)—all -rushed into print to attest the absurdity of the idea. Limited -experience was mistaken for complete knowledge! Similar treatment was -accorded to our observation of pelicans in Denmark. Ornithologists of -Copenhagen insinuated we did not know pelicans from seagulls; yet the -Danish pelicans are as well known to the Jutlander fisher-folk as are -the Spanish camels to the herdsmen and fowlers of the marisma. Knowledge -is no monopoly of high places.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_131_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_131_sml.jpg" width="569" height="368" alt="Wild Camels." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Wild Camels.</span> -</p> - -<p>The Spanish camels spend their lives exclusively in the open marisma, -pasturing on the <i>vetas</i>, or higher-lying areas, and passing from islet -to islet, though the intervening water be three feet deep. We have -watched them grazing on subaquatic<a name="page_277" id="page_277"></a> herbage in the midst of what -appeared miles of open water; and, in fact, during wet winters there is -no dry land to be seen. Yet they never approach the adjacent dunes of -Doñana, though these would appear so tempting. By night, however, the -camels sometimes pass so near to our shooting-lodge that their scent, -when borne down-wind, has created panic among the horses, though the -stables are situate within an enclosed courtyard.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_132_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_132_sml.jpg" width="339" height="226" alt="" /></a> -</p> - -<p>Antonio Trujillo, formerly head-keeper of the Coto Doñana, some years -ago chanced on a camel that was “bogged†in a quicksand (<i>nuclé</i>). These -places are dangerous, and it was not till six days later that he was -enabled, by bringing planks and ropes, to drag the poor beast to firm -land. All round the spot where the camel had laid he found every root, -and even the very earth, eaten away. Yet the animal when set free -appeared none the worse, for it strolled away quite unconcerned, and -shortly commenced to browse while still close by.</p> - -<p>Young camels are born early in the year, about February, though whether -that is the exclusive period we have no means of knowing.</p> - -<p>A curious incident occurred one winter day when we had ridden out into -the marisma expressly in search of camels. It was an intensely cold and -dry season, almost unprecedented for the severity of the frost. When -several leagues from anywhere, a keen eye detected in the far distance a -roving fox. All dismounted, and letting the horses graze, hid behind -them and awaited his approach. Then with only a single <i>podenco</i>, or<a name="page_278" id="page_278"></a> -hunting-dog, <i>Frascuelo</i> by name, after a straight-away run of five or -six miles over the sun-dried plain, we fairly rode bold Reynard down and -killed him.</p> - -<p>Six months after the publication of <i>Wild Spain</i> we received the -following letter from H.R.H. the late Phillippe, Comte de Paris, the -owner of the adjoining Coto del Rey:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"><i>June 17, 1893.</i></p> - -<p>Having read with the greatest pleasure and interest your -description of the wild camels, it struck me that you may -appreciate a photograph taken from nature of one of these -independent inhabitants of the shores of Guadalquivir. I found that -one could only look at them from a distance, and therefore the -enclosed photographs may be of interest. They were taken three -months ago by my nephew, Prince Henry of Orleans. My keepers had in -the early morning separated this single animal from the herd, but -it escaped from them about Marilopez at noon, and when we met with -him near the Laguna de la Madre, and about a mile from the Coto del -Rey, we had only to give him a last gallop to catch him. These -camels spend great part of the year on ground of which I am either -the owner or the tenant, and I do my best to protect them from the -terrible poachers coming from Trebujena. In order to be able to do -this more effectually, I bought yesterday from the heirs of the -landowners who turned them out some seventy years ago, I think, all -the claims they can have on these animals.</p></div> - -<p>We have recently been favoured by the present Comte de Paris with the -latest details respecting the camels. In a note dated August 1910, -H.R.H. writes:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>For some time their numbers have been decreasing, and we no longer -see great troops of them as we used to do eighteen years ago. The -cause of their diminution is certainly the bitter war waged against -them by poachers. The parts of the marisma frequented by the wild -camels lie between the Coto del Rey on the north, the Coto Doñana -on the west, and the Guadalquivir on the south-east. The long deep -channels of La Madre, however, interfere with their reaching the -Coto Doñana, and they chiefly graze in the marismas of Hinojos and -Almonte. The plan pursued by the poachers is as follows:—Coming -down from some of the little villages, they cross the river in -small flat-bottomed boats in which they can creep along the shores -to points where they have seen either the spoor or the animals -themselves during the day. Then drawing near to the camels, under -cover of the waning light, they are able to kill one or sometimes -two, which they skin and disembowel on the spot. The flesh is cut -up into pieces, sewn up in the skin, and, on returning to the -riverbank, secreted beneath the flat bottom-boards of the boat, -thereby evading<a name="page_279" id="page_279"></a> detection by Civil Guards and douaniers. The men -then sail down the river and sell the meat at San Lucar as venison.</p> - -<p>When in the marisma in 1892 I met one day a troop of forty -animals—some old males, their huge bodies covered with thick hair -like blankets; there were also females followed by their -young—fantastic of appearance, owing to the disproportionate -length of their legs, but galloping and frisking around their -mothers as they had done since birth.</p> - -<p>Next day my companion and I took lassoes; we encountered a huge old -male, singly, which trotted and galloped round our horses, -terrifying the poor beasts to such an extent that we could not come -near the camel. At length after a fifty-minutes’ chase, in crossing -a part where the mud was soft and the surface much broken up by -cattle coming to drink, we overtook him. Thanks to my horse having -less fear than the other, I was presently able to throw a lasso -around the camel, my companion hauling taut the rope to hold the -prisoner fast. The great brute proved very active, defending -himself with his immense flat feet, which he used as clubs, and, -moreover, he bit, and the bite of a camel is venomous. Ultimately I -succeeded in getting a second rope around him and dragging him to -the ground, where he lay like the domestic camel. The photographs -illustrate this episode.</p> - -<p>Old males frequently have the hair very ragged and scant, -especially on hind-quarters, and on their knees are great -callosities. The truly wild camels of the marisma are fast -disappearing. A friend has furnished me with the approximate number -now remaining absolutely wild, viz. fifteen or sixteen near La -Macha fronting the Palace of Tisana, besides five enclosed in the -Cerrado de Matas Gordas, near the Palacio del Rey, and belonging to -Madame La Condesa de Paris.</p> - -<p>It was owing to the rapid decrease in their numbers, and in order -to save them from extinction, that the Condesa had these -enclosures, known as Matas Gordas, prepared. They contain excellent -pasturage, besides some extent of brushwood; yet the enclosed -camels do not flourish, nor have they ever bred. Big as the -enclosures are, yet the area may be too restricted for them; or it -may be the disturbance due to the presence of cattle and herdsmen -(since the cerrados are let for grazing) that explains this -failure; or possibly the camels resent being enclosed at all. At -any rate the spectacle of troops of camels rushing wildly forward -in all directions is passing away all too quickly, and soon nothing -but the legend will remain.</p> - -<p>Truly it is melancholy that the wild camels should be allowed -utterly to disappear, representing, as they do, so extraordinary a -fact in zoological science.</p></div> - -<p>Our friend Mr. William Garvey tells us that in the summer of 1907, while -returning from Villamanrique, crossing the dry marisma in his -automobile, he saw three camels. He drove<a name="page_280" id="page_280"></a> towards them, and when at 500 -or 600 yards, they turned and fled, he put on full speed (sixty miles an -hour), and within some ten minutes had all three camels completely -beaten, tongues hanging out, unable to go another yard!</p> - -<p>This will be the first occasion when wild camels have been run down, in -an open desert, by a motor-car!</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><i>February 9, 1903.</i>—This morning, shortly after daybreak, a big -single bull camel passed my “hide†in the Lucio de las Nuevas -within easy ball-shot. He was splashing through water about two -feet deep overgrown with samphire bushes, and “roared†at -intervals—a curious sort of ventriloquial “gurgle,†followed by a -bellow which I could still distinguish when he had passed quite two -miles away. With the binoculars I distinguished at vast distance -five other camels in the direction the single bull was taking.</p></div> - -<p>Here we insert a note received from the co-author’s brother, J. Crawhall -Chapman:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Oh, yes! I remember that camel-day—it’s never likely to die out of -my memory, for never did I endure a worse experience nor a harder -in all my sporting life. It promised to be a great duck-shoot on -the famous “Laguna Grandeâ€; but for me, at any rate, it began, -continued, and ended in misery! At 3.30 <small>A.M.</small>, on opening my eyes, I -saw Bertie already silently astir—probably seeking quinine or -other febrifuge, for we were “housed†(save the mark) in Clarita’s -<i>choza</i>, a lethal mud-and reed-thatched hut many a mile out in the -marisma. Nothing whatever lies within sight—nothing bar desolation -of mud and stagnant waters, reeds, samphire, and BIRDS, relieved at -intervals by the occasional and far-away view of a steamer’s -funnel, navigating the GuadalquivÃr Sevillewards.</p> - -<p>Well, we arose, looked at what was intended for breakfast, and -groped for our steeds. I was to ride an old polo-pony named -<i>Bufalo</i>, an evil-tempered veteran with a long-spoilt “mouth†that -ever resented the Spanish curb. Cold and empty we rode for two long -hours in the dark, always following the leader since otherwise -inevitable loss must ensue—splosh, splosh, through deep mud and -deeper water, never stopping, always stumbling, slipping, -slithering onwards. I feared it would never end; and, in fact, it -never did—that is, the bog. For when I was finally told “Abajo†-(which I understood to mean “get downâ€), and to squat in a miry -place so much like the rest of the swamp that it didn’t seem to -matter much where it really was—well, it was then only 6 <small>A.M.</small> and -horribly cold and desolate.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_133a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_133a_sml.jpg" width="417" height="190" alt="Wild Camels of the Marisma. - -PHOTOS BY H.R.H. PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS. - -CAPTURING A WILD CAMEL. - -THE CAPTIVE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Capturing A Wild Camel.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_133b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_133b_sml.jpg" width="414" height="294" alt="" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption"> -The Captive.<br /> -Wild Camels of the Marisma.<br /> -PHOTOS BY H.R.H. PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS.</span> -</p> - -<p>An hour later the sun began to rise. I had not fired a shot—nor<a name="page_281" id="page_281"></a> -had any of us. As a duck-shoot it was a dismal failure. By eight -o’clock the sun was quite hot, so I tried to find a stomach—for -breakfast. Failed again; but drank some sherry, and then lay down -till noon in decomposing and malodorous reed-mush and mud. Never a -duck came near, so shifted my stye to an old dry ridge—apparently -an antediluvian division between two equally noisome swamps. Here I -tried to sleep, but that was no good, for a headache had set -in—possibly the effects of sun and sherry combined! I felt the -sweeping wind of a marsh-harrier who had found me too suddenly and -was half a mile away ere I could get up to shoot.</p> - -<p>At four o’clock I signalled for <i>Bufalo</i> to take me back to our -hut, distant eight miles, the only guide being that morning’s -outward tracks.</p> - -<p>It was on this ride that there occurred the incident of the -day—thrilling indeed had it not been for the headache that left me -cheaper than cheap. Having traversed some three miles of mud and -water, suddenly I saw ahead the “camels a-coming!‗eleven of them -in line, the last a calf, and what a splash they made! Knowing how -horses hate the smell and sight of camels, and <i>Bufalo</i> being a -rearing and uncomfortable beast at best, I felt perhaps unduly -nervous. The camels were marching directly across my line of route -and up-wind thereof. If only I could pass that intersecting point -well before them, <i>Bufalo</i>, I hoped, might not catch the -unwholesome scent. I tried all I could, but the mud was too sticky. -The camel-corps came on, splashing, snorting, and striding at high -speed. <i>Bufalo</i> saw them quick enough, I can tell you—he stopped -dead, gazed and snorted in terror, spun round pirouetting -half-a-dozen times, reared, and would certainly have bolted but -that he stood well over his fetlocks in mud and nigh up to the -girths in water. I could not induce him to face them anyhow; but -remember, please, that I was handicapped by the mass of -accoutrements and luggage slung around both me and my mount, to -wit:—Several empty bottles and bags, remains of lunch, some 500 -cartridges, three dozen ducks, a Paradox gun, waders, and brogues!</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 224px;"> -<a href="images/ill_134_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_134_sml.jpg" width="224" height="135" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Meantime the camels passed my front within 100 yards and then -“rounded up.†Having loaded both barrels with ball, I felt safer, -and pushed <i>Bufalo</i> forwards—to fifty yards. Then the thought -occurred to me, “Do camels charge?†<i>Bufalo</i> reared, twisted, and -splashed about in sheer horror, and then—thank goodness—the -corps, with a parting roar, or rather a chorus of vicious gurgling -grunts, in clear resentment at my<a name="page_282" id="page_282"></a> presence on the face of the -water at all, turned and bolted out west at full speed. I was left -alone, and much relieved.</p> - -<p>The adult camels were of the most disreputable, not to say -dissolute appearance, great ugly tangled mats of loose hair hanging -from their shoulders, ribs, and flanks, their small ears laid -viciously aback, and with utterly disagreeable countenances. I half -wish now that I had shot that leading bull—he would never have -been missed! I don’t suppose that any one has been nearer to these -strange beasts than I was that day; certainly I trust never to see -them so near again—never in this world!</p></div> - -<p class="c">. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . .</p> - -<p>While preparing these pages for press we are grieved to hear of the -death of our friend Mr. William Garvey, whose adventure with the camels -is narrated above (<a href="#page_279">p. 279</a>). Mr. Garvey, who was in his eightieth year, -was a <i>Gentil Hombre de la Camara</i> to King Alfonso and had on various -occasions, with his nephew, Mr. Patrick Garvey, entertained the monarch -on his splendid domain.<a name="page_283" id="page_283"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII<br /><br /> -AFTER CHAMOIS IN THE ASTURIAS<br /><br /> -<small>PICOS DE EUROPA</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">A<small>T</small> the château of Nuévos, hidden away amidst Cantabrian hills, hard by -where the “Picos de Europa†form the most prominent feature of that -100-mile range, we were welcomed by the Conde de la Vega de Sella, whom -we had met the previous year in Norway, and his friend Bernaldo de -Quirós. Our host was a bachelor and the menage curiously mixed; there -was a wild Mexican-Indian servant, but more alarming still, a tame wolf -prowled free about the house—none too tame either, as testified by a -half-healed wound on his master’s arm. The bedrooms in the corridor -which we occupied had no doors, merely curtains hanging across the -doorway, and all night long that wolf pattered up and down the passage -outside. My own feelings will not be described—there was an ominous -mien in that wolf’s eye and in those immense jaws.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 164px;"> -<a href="images/ill_135_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_135_sml.jpg" width="164" height="225" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Beyond patches of maize and other minute crops grown in infinitesimal -fields divided by stone walls and surrounded by woods of chestnut and -hazel, the whole landscape surrounding the château was composed of -towering grey mountains. It was from this point that with our kind host -we had projected an expedition to form acquaintance with chamois, and to -see the system of a <i>monterÃa</i> as practised in the Biscayan mountains. -The month was September.<a name="page_284" id="page_284"></a></p> - -<p>The first stage—on wheels—brought us to the village of Arénas de -Cabrales, where a gipsy fair or <i>RomerÃa</i> was raging, affording striking -display of local customs and fashion. The girls, handsome though -somewhat stalwart, wearing on their heads bright-coloured kerchiefs -(instead of, as in Andalucia, flowers in the hair), danced strange steps -to the music of a drum and a sort of bagpipe called the <i>Gaita</i>. Cider -here replaced wine as a beverage, and wooden sabots are worn instead of -the hempen sandals of the south.</p> - -<p>Maize is the chief crop, and women work hard, doing, except the -ploughing, most of the field labour.</p> - -<p>The hill-country around belonged chiefly to our host, who was received -with a sort of feudal respect. Ancient rights included (this we were -told, but did not see enforced) the privilege of kissing all pretty -daughters of the estate. The region is primitive enough even for the -survival of so agreeable a custom. Such detail in a serious work must -appear frivolous by comparison, yet it reflects the <i>genius loci</i>.</p> - -<p>This was the point at which we had to take the hill.</p> - -<p>Our outfit was packed on ponies, and being joined by three of the -chamois-hunters, we set out, following the course of the river Cares. -This gorge of the Cares, along with its sister-valley the Desfiladero de -la Deva, form two of the most magnificent canyons in all the Asturias, -and perhaps have few equals in the wider world outside. The bridle-track -led along rock-shelves on the hanging mountain-side, presently falling -again till we rode close by the torrent of the Cares, here swirling in -foaming rapids with alternations of deep pools of such crystalline water -that trout could be discerned swimming twenty feet below the surface. -The water varied between a diamond-white and an emerald-green, according -as the stream flowed over the white limestone or rocks of darker shade.</p> - -<p>Approaching Bulnes, the track became absolutely appalling, zigzagging to -right and left up an almost perpendicular mountain. Riding was here out -of the question. It was giddy work enough on foot, rounding corners -where the outer rim overhung a sheer drop of hundreds of feet to the -torrent below, and with no protection to save horse or man in the event -of a slip or false step. Not without mental tremors we surmounted it and -reached Bulnes, a dozen stone, windowless houses clustered on an -escarpment. This is facetiously called the “Upper Town,†and we<a name="page_285" id="page_285"></a> -presumed that another group of hovels hidden somewhere beneath our sight -formed Lower Bulnes.</p> - -<p>We entered the best looking of these stone-age abodes, and discovered -that it formed the presbytery of the Cura of Bulnes, a strange mixture -of alpine hut with Gothic hermitage. Slabs of rough stone projecting -from unhewn walls served as tables, while rudely carved oak-chests did -double duty as seats or wardrobes in turn. The Cura’s bed occupied one -corner, and from the walls hung gun and rifle, together with -accoutrements of the chase—satchels, belts, and pouches, all made of -chamois-skin. At first sight indeed the whole presbytery reeked rather -of hunting than of holiness—it is scarce too strong to say it smelt of -game. An inner apartment, windowless and lit by the feeble flicker of a -<i>mariposa</i>, that recalled the reed-lights of mediaeval history (and to -which, by the way, access was only gained past other cells which -appeared to be the abode of cows and of the cook respectively), was -assigned to us.</p> - -<p>The Padre himself was away on the cliffs above cutting hay, for he -combines agriculture with the care of souls, owns many cows, and makes -the celebrated cheese known as “Cabrales.†Presently he joined us in his -stone chamber, and at once showed himself to be, by his frank and -genuine manner, what later experience proved him, a true sportsman and a -most unselfish companion. His Reverence at once set about the details of -organising our hunt, sent his nephew to round-up the mountain lads, some -being sent off at once to spend that night, how, we know not, in crags -of the Peña Vieja, while others were instructed to join us there in the -morning.</p> - -<p>While we dined on smoked chamois and rough red wine he busied himself -arranging weapons, ammunition, and mocassins for a few days’ work on the -crags. Our arrival having been prearranged, we were soon on our upward -way, by sinous tracks which lead to the summits of the Picos de Europa, -some altitudes of which are as follows: Peña Vieja, 10,046 feet; Picos -de Hierro, 9610 feet; Pico de San Benigno, 9329 feet. All heavy baggage -was left below; there only remained the tent, rugs, guns, and -cartridges, and these were got up, heaven knows how, to about half the -required height on the backs of two donkeys. For provisions we relied on -the milk and bread of the cheese-makers who live up there, much in the -style of the Norwegian peasants<a name="page_286" id="page_286"></a> at their <i>saeters</i>, or summer sheilings -on the fjeld. Hard by the <i>cabaña</i>, or cabin, of these honest folks, our -tent was pitched—altitude, 5800 feet.</p> - -<p>With the first of the daylight, after a drink of milk, we started -upwards, our host, the Cura, Bertie, and ourselves.</p> - -<p>With us were ten goat-herds who had to flank the drive; the others would -already be occupying allotted positions, we knew not where. Three hours’ -climbing—the usual struggle, only worse—took us to the first line of -“passes,†far above the last signs of vegetation and amidst what little -snow remains here in summer. This “drive†had been reckoned a certainty, -and four animals were reported seen in the mist, but no chamois came in -to the guns, and yet another two-hours’ climb had to be faced ere the -second set of posts was reached.</p> - -<p>This bit, however, definitely stopped for the moment my career as a -chamois-hunter, such was the slippery, perpendicular, and utterly -dangerous nature of the rocks. A fortnight before I had climbed the -Plaza de Almanzór in the Sierra de Grédos, but these pinnacles of the -Picos proved beyond my powers. The admission, beyond any words of mine, -bespeaks the character of these Cantabrian peaks. Here on a dizzy ledge -at 8000 feet I remained behind, while the rest of the party, filing up a -rock-stair, were lost to sight within fifteen yards.</p> - -<p>Before me stretched away peak beyond peak in emulating altitudes the -whole vast cordillera of Cantabria—a glory of mountain-forms.</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">...the things which tower, which shine,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Whose smile makes glad, whose frown is terrible.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p class="nind">In majestic array, pinnacles and crannied summits, flecked and streaked -with glistening snows, enthral and subdue. The giants Peña Vieja, -Urriales, Garnizo, lift their heads above the rest, piercing the blue -ether—fancied spires in some celestial shrine.</p> - -<p>This smiling noontide an all-pervading spirit of peace reigns; the -sublimity of solitude generates reverence and awe, the voice of the -Creator seems audible amidst encompassing silence.</p> - -<p>Far away below, as in another world, lie outspread champaigns; sunlit -stubbles, newly stripped of autumnal crops, form chequers of contrasted -colour that set off with golden background the dark<a name="page_287" id="page_287"></a> Asturian woods, -while fresh green pastures blend in harmony with the riant foliage of -the vine.</p> - -<p>Presently, following my companion, a goat-herd, who had been left with -me, by slow degrees we reached the spot appointed to await our party’s -return.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_136a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_136a_sml.jpg" width="414" height="235" alt="CHAMOIS FROM LIFE ON LA LLOROSA, PEÑA VIEJA." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">CHAMOIS FROM LIFE ON LA LLOROSA, PEÑA VIEJA.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_136b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_136b_sml.jpg" width="414" height="483" alt="El Corroble, Picos De Europa, Asturias. -The Home of the Chamois." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">El Corroble, Picos De Europa, Asturias.<br /> -The Home of the Chamois.</span> -</p> - -<p>Hours went by and six o’clock came before, on the skyline above, they -appeared, five of the <i>monteros</i> each bearing a chamois on his shoulder. -Then, in the 2000-feet ravine towards the north, a third drive was -attempted for my special benefit; but the day was far spent, and during -the crucial half-hour snow-clouds skurrying along the crests shut out -all chance of seeing game. The beaters reported enclosing quite forty -chamois, some of which broke downwards through the flankers, the rest -passing a trifle wide of the guns. This beat is termed “El Arbol.â€</p> - -<p>Long and weary was the descent, and fiendish places we had to pass ere -the welcome camp-fires loomed up through gathering darkness. Those who -wish to shoot chamois should commence the undertaking before they have -passed the half-century.</p> - -<p>The successful drive that was thus missed by No. 1 is hereunder -described by No. 2. We give the narrative in detail, inasmuch as this -day’s operation was typical of the system of chamois-shooting as -practised in the Asturian mountains.</p> - -<p>After leaving No. 1 as mentioned, and while proceeding to our next -position, a number of chamois were viewed scattered in three groups on -the hanging screes of a second gorge, a mile beyond that which we had -intended to beat. After consultation held, it was decided to alter the -plan and to send the guns completely round the outer periphery of -encircling heights so as to command the passes immediately above the -game. This involved two hours’ climbing and incidentally three detours, -scrambling each time down the precipitous moraine to avoid showing in -sight of the chamois.</p> - -<p>Upon reaching the reverse point, the Conde and I were assigned the most -likely posts; and these being also the highest, a final heart-breaking -climb up a thousand feet of loose rocks succeeded. Chamois, like ibex, -when disturbed instinctively make for the highest ground, hence our -occupation of the topmost passes. Cheered on by the Conde, himself as -hard as steel, the effort was accomplished, and I sank down, breathless, -parched, and exhausted, behind a big rock that was indicated as my -position.<a name="page_288" id="page_288"></a> The lower passes had meanwhile been occupied by the Padre and -by sundry shepherds armed with primitive-looking guns.</p> - -<p>On recovering some degree of breath and strength, I surveyed my -surroundings. We were both stationed on the topmost arête, in a nick -that broke for 80 or 100 yards the rim of a knife-edged ridge that -separated two stupendous gorges. On my right, while facing the beat, and -not 30 yards away, the nick was terminated by a rock-mass perpendicular -and four-square as a cathedral tower, that uprose some 100 feet sheer. -On the left also rose cliffs though not quite so abrupt. The position -was such that any game attempting to pass the nick must appear within 50 -or 60 yards—so, in our simplicity, we thought.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_137_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_137_sml.jpg" width="341" height="398" alt="A CHAMOIS DRIVE—PICOS DE EUROPA - -Diagram illustrative of text. Our positions on arête marked (1) and (2); -“Cathedral†on right. Valley beyond full of driving mist (passing our -power to depict)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A CHAMOIS DRIVE—PICOS DE EUROPA<br /> - -Diagram illustrative of text. Our positions on arête marked (1) and (2);<br /> -“Cathedral†on right. Valley beyond full of driving mist (passing our -power to depict).</span> -</p> - -<p>Behind us dipped away the long moraine of loose rocks by<a name="page_289" id="page_289"></a> which we had -ascended; while in front, by stepping but a few paces across the narrow -neck, we could look down into the depths of the gorge whence the quarry -was to approach, as we feebly attempt to show in diagram annexed.</p> - -<p>The panorama from these altitudes was superb beyond words. We were here -far above the stratum of mist which enshrouded our camp and the sierra -for some distance above it. We looked down upon a billowy sea of white -clouds pierced here and there by the summits and ridges of outstanding -crags like islands on a surf-swept coast.</p> - -<p>Of bird-life there was no sign beyond choughs and a soaring eagle that -our guides called aguila pintada (<i>Aquila bonellii</i>, immature). There -are wild-boar in the forests far below, with occasional wolves and yet -more occasional bear.</p> - -<p>Hark! the distant cries of beaters break the solemn silence and announce -that operations have begun. Almost instantly thereafter the rattle of -loose stones dislodged by the feet of moving chamois came up from -beneath our eyrie. So near was the sound that expectation waxed tense -and eyes scanned each possible exit.</p> - -<p>Then from the heights on the left, and already above us, sprang into -view a band of five chamois lightly skipping from ledge to ledge with an -agility that cannot be conveyed in words. The Conde and I fired -simultaneously. The beast I had selected pulled himself convulsively -together, sprang in air, and then fell backwards down the abyss whence -he had just emerged. So abrupt was the skyline that no second barrel was -possible; but while we yet gazed into space the rattle of falling stones -right <i>behind</i> attracted attention in that direction, and a chamois was -bounding across that loose moraine (or “canal†as it is here called) by -which we had ascended. He flew those jumbled rocks as though they were a -ballroom floor, offering at best but a snapshot, and the bullet found -the beast already protected by a rock. Hardly, however, had cartridges -been replaced than three more <i>Rebecos</i> followed along precisely the -same track, and this time each gun secured one buck.</p> - -<p>Note that all these last four animals had come in from our <i>right</i>, that -is, they had escaladed the “cathedralâ€; though by what earthly means -they could surmount sheer rock-walls devoid of visible crack or crevice -passes human comprehension. For<a name="page_290" id="page_290"></a> myself, having regarded the cathedral -as impassable, I had kept no watch on that side.</p> - -<p>For the next half-hour all was quiet. Then we heard again the rattle of -hoofs somewhere down under, and on the sound ceasing, had gently raised -ourselves to peer over into the eerie abyss in front, when a chamois -suddenly poked his head over the rocks within fifteen yards, only to -vanish like a flash.</p> - -<p>From this advanced position, in the far distance we could now -distinguish the beaters, looking like flies as they descended the -opposite circle of crests, and could hear their cries and the -reverberation of the rocks they dislodged to start the game. An extra -burst of clamour denoted game afoot, and a few seconds later another -chamois (having once more mocked the cathedral barrier) darted across -the moraine behind and fell within a score of yards of the previous -pair, though all three were finally recovered several hundred feet -below, having rolled down these precipitous screes. The first chamois I -had shot had fallen even farther—at one point over a sheer drop that -could not be less than 100 feet. His body was smashed into pulp, every -bone broken, but curiously the horns had escaped intact. We were much -struck by the clear emerald-green light in the eyes of newly killed -chamois.</p> - -<p>The beaters being now close at hand, we scrambled down to rejoin the -Padre who had occupied the <i>puesto</i> next below ours. We found that -worthy man very happy as he had succeeded in putting two slugs into a -chamois-buck, to which the <i>coup de grâce</i> had been given by Don Serafin -lower down.</p> - -<p>A curious incident occurred as we made our way to the next beat where -“No. 1â€was to rejoin us. Suddenly the rugged stones that surrounded us -were vivified by a herd of bouncing chamois—they had presumably been -disturbed elsewhere and several came our way. A buck fell to a long shot -of our host; while another suddenly sprang into view right under the -Padre’s feet. This, he averred, he would certainly have killed had he -been loaded with slugs (<i>postas</i>) instead of ball.</p> - -<p>The six chamois brought into camp to-night included four bucks and two -does. We had not ourselves found it possible to distinguish the sexes in -life, though long practice enabled the Conde to do so when within -moderate distance. All six were of<a name="page_291" id="page_291"></a> a foxy-red colour, and the horns -measured from seven to eight inches over the bend.</p> - -<p>Chamois are certainly very much easier to obtain than ibex. Not only are -they tenfold more abundant, but, owing to their diurnal habits, they are -easily seen while feeding in broad daylight (often in large herds) on -the open hillsides. They never enter caves or crevices of the rocks as -ibex habitually do.</p> - -<p>Chamois might undoubtedly be obtained by stalking, though that art is -not practised in Spain. The excessively rugged nature of the ground is -rather against it; for one’s view being often so restricted, there is -danger while stalking chamois, which have been espied from a distance, -of “jumping†others previously unseen though much nearer. Driving, as -above described, is the method usually adopted. Few beaters -comparatively are required; the positions of flankers and stops are -often clearly indicated by the natural configuration of the crests.</p> - -<p>Dogs are occasionally employed. The game, in their terror of canine -pursuers, will push forward into precipices whence there is no exit; and -then, rather than attempt to turn, will spring down to certain death.</p> - -<p>The best foot-gear is the Spanish <i>alpargata</i>, or hemp-soled sandal. -They will withstand two or three days’ wear on the roughest of rocks and -only cost some eighteenpence a pair. Nailed boots are useless and -dangerous.</p> - -<p>Similar days followed, some more successful, others less, but all -laborious in the last degree. Both limbs and lungs had well-nigh given -out ere the time arrived to strike camp and abandon our eyrie.</p> - -<p>During the descent to Bulnes we noticed a goat which, in feeding along -the crags, had reached a spot whence it could neither retreat nor -escape, and by bleating cries distinctly displayed its fear. Now that -goat was only worth one dollar, yet its owner spent a solid hour, -risking his own life, in crawling along ledges and shelves of a fearful -rock-wall (<i>pared</i>) to save the wretched animal. We looked on -speechless, fascinated with horror—at times pulses well-nigh stood -still; even our hunters recognised that this was a rash performance. Yet -that goat was reached, a lasso attached to its neck, and it was drawn -upwards to safety.</p> - -<p>This incident occurred on the Naranjo de Bulnes, a dolomite<a name="page_292" id="page_292"></a> mountain -which stands out like a perpendicular and four-square tower, in the -central group or <i>massif</i> of the Picos—that known as Urriales. The -actual height of the Naranjo is given as 9424 feet, which is exceeded by -those of either of the other two groups to east and west respectively. -But its abrupt configuration gives the Naranjo by far the most imposing, -indeed appalling appearance, far surpassing all its rivals, while its -lateral walls of sheer rock, some of which reach 1500 to 2000 feet -vertically, long lent this peak the reputation of being absolutely -unscalable. That feat has, however (after countless failures), been -accomplished, in the first instance by Don Pedro Pidal, Marquis de -Villaviciosa de Asturias, who was accompanied in the ascent by Gregorio -Perez, a famous chamois-hunter of Caïn.</p> - -<p>At Arénas de Cabrales we bade farewell to our kind host, despatched -Caraballo with the baggage to Santandér, thence to find his way to Jerez -as best he might, by sea; and ourselves drove off through the hills -forty miles to the railway at Cabezón de la Sal, there to entrain for -Bilbao, Paris, and London.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>On August 19, 1881, at a royal <i>monterÃa</i> above Aliva and Andara H.M. -Don Alfonso XII. recovered the same evening (lying dead around his post) -no less than twenty-one chamois. Thirteen more, which had fallen into -the abyss beneath, were brought in next morning, and nine others later, -making a total of forty-three chamois actually recovered, besides those -that had lodged in such inaccessible spots that their bodies could not -be reached.</p> - -<p>At another royal shoot held 1st and 2nd September 1905 H.M. King Alfonso -XIII. killed five chamois, the total bag on that occasion being -twenty-three.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">The Picos de Europa declared a Royal Preserve</span></p> - -<p>In 1905 the freeholders of those villages in the three provinces of -Santandér, León, and Asturias, which lie encircling the Picos de Europa, -offered to H.M. King Alfonso XIII. the exclusive rights of hunting the -chamois throughout the whole “Central Group.†His Majesty was pleased to -accept the offer, and in the following year commissioned the Marquis of -Villaviciosa de Asturias (the intrepid conqueror of the Naranjo) to -appoint guards to preserve the game.<a name="page_293" id="page_293"></a></p> - -<p>Five such guards were appointed in 1906, their chief being the -aforementioned Gregorio Perez, representing the region of Caïn, the -other four representing those of Bulnes, Sotres, Espiñama, and Valdeón.</p> - -<p>The chamois in the four regions named can be counted in thousands.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_138_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_138_sml.jpg" width="316" height="291" alt="Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -HOOPOE (Upupa epops) - -The crest normally folds flat, backwards (as shown at p. 69), but at -intervals flashes upright like a halo." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -HOOPOE (Upupa epops) - -The crest normally folds flat, backwards (as shown at p. 69), but at -intervals flashes upright like a halo.</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_294" id="page_294"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXIX<br /><br /> -HIGHLANDS OF ASTURIAS</h2> - -<p class="sbhead">(1) THE TROUT IN SPAIN</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> Asturian Highlands—a maze of mist-wreathed mountains forested with -birch and pine, the home of brown bear and capercaillie, and on whose -towering peaks roam herds of chamois by hundreds—form a region distinct -from the rest of Spain.</p> - -<p>Rushing rivers and mountain-torrents coursing down each rent in those -rock-ramparts attracted our earliest angling ambitions. Some of those -efforts—with rod and gun—are recorded in <i>Wild Spain</i>, and we purpose -attempting no more—whether with pen or fly-rod. For the Spanish trout -is given no sort of sporting chance, and lovely streams—a very epitome -of trouting-water—that might make the world a pleasanter planet (and -enrich their owners too) are abandoned to the assassin with dynamite and -quicklime, or to villainous nets, cruives, and other engines of -wholesale destruction with which we have no concern.</p> - -<p>Never since the date of <i>Wild Spain</i> have we cast line on Spanish -waters, nor ever again will we attempt it. Spain which, from her French -frontier in the Pyrenees right across to that of Portugal on the west, -might rival any European country in this respect stands well-nigh at the -foot of the list. Not in the most harassed streams of Norway, nor in her -hardest-“ottered†lakes, have the trout so damnable a fate dealt out to -them as in northern Spain, and for twenty years we have abandoned it as -an angling potentiality—or, to put it mildly, there are countries -infinitely more attractive to the wandering fisherman.</p> - -<p>The case of the Spanish trout as it stands to-day is summed up in the -following letter, dated April 1910, from our friend Capt. F. J. -Mitchell:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>I have tried a great many of the best rivers in northern Spain, -and<a name="page_295" id="page_295"></a> have come to the conclusion that for angling purposes they -have been hopelessly ruined—by dynamite, cloruro, lime, coca, and -various other things. There may be deep pools here and there where -fish have escaped, but they are very few. If your book is not -finished you can put this in, as it is accurate, and may save many -a disappointment to the free fisherman.</p></div> - -<p>Farther south, in León and northern Estremadura, are also rivers of -first-rate character. The Alagón, for example, with its tributaries, is -well adapted for trout—dashing streams with alternate stretches of pool -and rapid. These still hold trout in their head-waters among the -mountains; but lower down the speckled beauties are well-nigh -extirpated.</p> - -<p>In this region one frequently observes, not without surprise, evidence -of the introduction and acclimatisation of exotic products by old-time -Moors—often in most outlandish nooks, wherever their keen eyes had -spotted some fertile patch: probably, ere this, that energetic race -would have preserved and cultivated the trout! The success of such -enterprise in New Zealand and South Africa (it is even promising to -succeed under the Equator in B.E. Africa), and indeed in Spain itself -(at Algeciras), attests how easily these Iberian waters might be endowed -with a new interest and a new value.</p> - -<p>Such, however, is existent apathy that, although the local natives (N. -Estremadura) were aware of the presence of fish in their rivers, and -told us that some ran to 10 or 12 lbs. in weight (these were barbel), -yet they knew no distinctive names for the various species. All fish, -big or little, were merely <i>pesces—Muy buenas pesces</i>. None could -describe them, whether as to appearance or habit, nor did they know -whether some species were migratory or otherwise.</p> - -<p>The only angling we have seen practised in this province was at -Trujillo, where in some lakes adjoining that old-world city <i>Tencas</i> (we -presume tench) up to 5 or 6 lbs. are taken with bait.</p> - -<p class="sbhead">(2) <span class="smcap">Salmon</span></p> - -<p>To such an extent used these to abound in Asturian streams that -maid-servants stipulated on entering domestic service that they should -not be given salmon more than twice a week. At the present day the -pollution of rivers by coal-mining and other impurities has in some -cases banished the salmon entirely, in<a name="page_296" id="page_296"></a> others greatly reduced their -numbers. There yet remain, nevertheless, rivers in Asturias (such as the -Deva and Cares) where salmon abound, and where numbers are still -caught—chiefly by net, though rod-fishing is gradually extending its -popularity, “owing to the glorious emotions it excites.â€</p> - -<p>A local method deserves a word of description. In the crystal-clear -waters of N. Spain salmon are regularly captured by expert divers. Its -exact position having been marked, the diver, swimming warily up from -behind, slips a running noose over the salmon’s head. The noose draws -tight as the fish begins to run; an attached line is then hauled upon by -a second fisherman on the bank.</p> - -<p>The Marquis de Villaviciosa de Asturias writes us:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>It is a common practice with the fishermen to dive and capture -salmon in their arms (<i>á brazo</i>). My grandfather, the Marquis de -Camposagrado, caught twelve thus in a single morning in the river -Nalon in Asturias.</p></div> - -<p class="sbhead">(3) <span class="smcap">Bear-hunting in Asturias</span></p> - -<p>To the same nobleman (one of the first sportsmen of Spain) we are -indebted for the following note:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>As regards the chase of the bear in Asturias, where I have killed -four, I may say that it commences in September, at which period the -bears are in the habit of descending nightly from the higher -mountain-forests to the lower ground in order to raid the -maize-fields in the valleys. Expert trackers, sent out at daybreak, -spoor the bear right up to whichever covert he may have entered, -and from which no further tracks emerge beyond.</p> - -<p>The locality at which the animal has laid up being thus -ascertained, a <i>monterÃa</i> (mountain-drive) is organised—the -beaters being provided with crackers, empty tins, hunting-horns, -and every sort of ear-splitting engine—even the services of the -bagpiper<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> are requisitioned!</p> - -<p>Three or four guns are usually required, and are posted along the -line where the bear is most likely to break—such as where the -forest runs out to a point; or where it is narrowed by some -projecting spur of precipitous rocks; or a deep valley where the -covert is flanked by a mountain-torrent that restricts and defines -the probable line of escape.</p> - -<p>The bear (which is in the habit of attacking and destroying much<a name="page_297" id="page_297"></a> -cattle) comes crashing through the brushwood, breaking down all -obstacles, and giving ample notice by the noise of his advance. If -wounded he will attack the aggressor; but otherwise bears only -become dangerous when they have young or are hurt in some way. The -picturesque nature of these mountain-forests lends a further -fascination to the chase of the bear in Asturias. From twenty to -thirty bears are killed here every year.</p></div> - -<p>The following quaint paragraphs we extract from Spanish newspapers:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Fight with a Bear.</span>—In the mountains of the Province of Lerida -(Catalonia) a bear last week attacked and overpowered a muleteer, -intending to devour him. A shepherd who happened to be in the -neighbourhood, though at some little distance, witnessed the -occurrence. Hastening with his utmost speed to the spot, he threw -himself between the bear and its victim; and after a prolonged and -strenuous combat (<i>lucha larga y esforzada</i>), the shepherd -succeeded with his lance (<i>garrocha</i>) in killing the savage beast -(<i>fiera</i>).</p> - -<p>In his gratitude, the muleteer desired to present the shepherd with -the best horse of his cavalcade, but this the latter -declined.—<i>November 24, 1907.</i></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Incursion of a Bear.</span>—In the outskirts of the village of Parámo in -the Province of Oviedo (Asturias) there has within the last few -days made its presence felt an immense bear which continued to -execute terrible destruction among the cattle belonging to the -villagers. Fortunately the parish-priest, who is an expert shot, -succeeded in killing the depredator. It weighed 140 kilograms (= -300 lbs.).—<i>April 25, 1908.</i> [Two others are recorded to weigh 400 -and 440 lbs.]</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Chase of a She-Bear</span>—<span class="smcap">Santandér</span>, <i>February 1909</i>. From Molledo an -assemblage of the local peasantry, mustered for the purpose, and -bearing every kind of weapon, sallied forth, to give battle to a -bear which for some weeks had been working havoc among their flocks -and herds. After traversing the mountains in all directions without -result, they were already returning, dead-beat and disappointed, -towards their village, when they suddenly descried the bear -standing in the entrance to a cave. On observing the presence of -hunters, the animal disappeared within. A shepherd named Melchor -Martinez at once followed, penetrating the interior of the cavern -which extends far into the mountain-side. Presently on indistinctly -perceiving (<i>divisando</i>) the beast, Melchor gave it a shot—flying -out himself with hair all standing on end (<i>encrespados</i>) at the -roaring of the wild beast (<i>fiera</i>). Melchor, nevertheless, at once -entered the den again and fired a second shot—jumping out -immediately thereafter. After a short interval, the roars of the -<i>fiera</i> within having ceased, the hunters in a body entered the -cavern and found an enormous she-bear lying dead, together with -four young, alive, which they carried away.</p></div> - -<p>(Bravo, Melchor Martinez!)<a name="page_298" id="page_298"></a></p> - -<p class="sbhead">(4) <span class="smcap">Game-Birds of Cantabria</span></p> - -<p>Alike in its game-denizens with other physical features, Cantabria is -differentiated from the rest of Spain, approximating rather to a -north-European similitude. Thus the capercaillie is spread along the -whole Biscayan range though nowhere numerous, and in appearance less so -than in fact, owing to the density of these mountain-forests.</p> - -<p>During our long but fruitless rambles after bear we raised but four; -that, however, was in spring when these birds are apt to lie close.</p> - -<p>In the Pyrenees (where the capercaillie is known as <i>Gallo de Bosque</i>) a -certain number are shot every winter along with roebuck and pig in -mountain-drives (<i>monterÃas</i>); but in the Asturias the pursuit of the -<i>Gallo de Monte</i> is effected (as in Austria and northern Europe) during -its courting-season in May. The system is well known. The opportunity -occurs at dusk and dawn, the stalker advancing while the lovelorn male -sings a frenzied epithalamium, halting instantly when the bird becomes -silent.</p> - -<p>Ptarmigan are found in the Pyrenees, but seem to extend no farther west -than the Province of Navarre, which area also coincides roughly with the -southern distribution of the hazel-grouse (<i>Tetrao bonasia</i>) though we -had some suspicion (not since confirmed) that the latter may extend into -Asturias.</p> - -<p>Our common grey partridge, unknown in S. Spain, occurs all along the -Cantabrian highlands up to, but not beyond, the Cordillera de León. Here -it descends to the foothills in winter, but is never found on the -plains.</p> - -<p>A bird peculiar to this region, though not game, deserves remark, the -great black woodpecker, a subarctic species which we have observed in -the Picos de Europa.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Angling in River and Sea</span><a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a></p> - -<p>Nearly all the Spanish rivers when they leave the sierras and dawdle -through the plains degenerate into sluggish mud-charged streams; but -most of them are well stocked with barbel, which may be caught by -methods similar to those in vogue on the Thames, <i>i.e.</i> by float-fishing -or ledgering with fine but strong tackle, as the first rush of a barbel -is worthy of a trout. These<a name="page_299" id="page_299"></a> fish average about one pound in weight, but -in favourable spots, such as mill-tails, run up to 10 lbs. and upwards.</p> - -<p>The Spanish barbel has developed one trait in advance of its English -cousins, for it will rise to a fly, or at least to a grasshopper. Owing -to the abundance of these insects and of crickets along the river-banks -in summer, the barbel have acquired a taste for such delicacies, and a -hot June afternoon in Andalucia may be worse spent than in “dapping†-beneath the trees that fringe the banks of Guadalete and similar rivers.</p> - -<p>The <i>Boga</i>, a little fish of the roach or dace family, seldom exceeding -a quarter pound, will afford amusement in all the smaller trout-streams -of Spain and Portugal when trout are recusant. The <i>boga</i> is lured with -a worm-tail (on finest gut and smallest hook) from each little run or -cascade, whence five or six dozens may be extracted in an afternoon.</p> - -<p>The Grey Mullet (Spanish, <i>Lisa</i>) is a good sporting fish ranging from -half a pound up to four pounds weight, and caught readily in tidal -rivers as it comes up from sea on the flood. Native anglers are often -very successful, using long roach-poles and gear similar to that of the -roach-fisher at home. The bait is either lugworm or paste, and on -favouring days as many as two dozen mullet are landed during the run of -the flood-tide.</p> - -<p>The Shad (Spanish, <i>Sabalo</i>), though not only the handsomest but also -the best-eating of all tidal-river fish, is of no concern to the angler, -since it refuses to look at lure of any kind.</p> - -<p>The Tunny (Spanish, <i>Atun</i>) frequents the south-Spanish coasts and comes -in millions to the mouths of the big rivers (especially the -GuadalquivÃr) to spawn. The usual method of capture is by a huge fixed -net called the <i>almadrava</i>, extending three miles out to sea, and placed -at such an angle to the coast-line that the fish, on striking it, follow -along to the inshore end, where they enter a <i>corral</i> or enclosed space -about an acre in extent. Here the fishing-boats lie waiting, and when as -many as 500 huge tunnies (they average 300 lbs. apiece) are enclosed at -once, a scene of wild excitement and bloodshed ensues, the great fish -darting and splashing around their prison, sending spray flying -mast-high, while the fishermen yell and gaff and harpoon by turns.</p> - -<p>The most successful <i>almadrava</i> is situate at Rota, some seven miles -south of the mouth of GuadalquivÃr, the average catch for the season -(May 1 till August 1) being about 20,000 tunnies. A<a name="page_300" id="page_300"></a> canning factory -stands on the shore hard by, where the fish are boiled, potted, and -shipped to Italy, whence (the tins being labelled “Italian Tunnyâ€) they -are exported to all parts of the world! The flesh resembles veal, and is -much appreciated in South America.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Rod-Fishing for Tunny</span></p> - -<p>At this period, when the tunny go to spawn (exclusively larger fish), -they travel, as the Spaniards say, with their mouths shut, and nothing -will induce them to look at a bait. There occurs, however, in winter -(November to February) another “run†of smaller fish averaging 50 to 150 -lbs. apiece, and these are amenable to temptation. Tarifa, in the -Straits of Gibraltar, is a favourable point from which to attempt this -sport. The system is to cruise about in a falucho, or sailing-boat, -carrying a plentiful supply of sardines, mackerel, and other small fish -to serve as bait. These, on arrival at likely waters, are thrown -overboard one by one till at length they attract a roving tunny. The -operation is repeated till the quarry is enticed close up to the vessel. -A similar fish, impaled on a two-inch hook, is then offered him, -dangling on the surface, and will probably be seized. The tunny on -finding himself held, makes off in a bee-line at a mile a minute. -Needless to say, the strongest tackle must be used, together with some -hundreds of yards of line, and the fight will be severe and prolonged, -for the tunny is one of the swiftest and most active of fish, and he -weighs as much as an average man. Few amateurs have hitherto attempted -this sport; but as large numbers of tunny are caught thus by -professional fishermen with extremely coarse hand-lines, there seems to -be no reason why “big-game fishing†in Spain, if scientifically pursued, -might not rival that of California.</p> - -<p>The Bonito is another fine game-fish which may be caught at sunrise at -nearly any point on the Andalucian sea-board by trolling with a white -fly.<a name="page_301" id="page_301"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX<br /><br /> -THE SIERRA NEVÃDA</h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> Sierra Neváda with its striking skylines, crisp and clean-cut -against an azure background, is yearly surveyed by thousands of tourists -in southern Spain. The majority content themselves with the distant view -from the battlements of Alhambra or from the summer-palace of -Generalife. Few penetrate the alpine solitude or scale peaks that look -so near yet cost some toil to gain.</p> - -<p>We are not ashamed to admit that these glorious sierras have in -themselves possessed for us attractions that transcend in interest the -accumulated art-treasures, the store of historic and legendary lore that -illumine the shattered relics of Moslem rule—of an Empire City where -during seven centuries the power and faith of the Crescent dominated -south-western Europe and the focal point of mediaeval culture and -chivalry. None, nevertheless, can long sojourn in Granada wholly -uninfluenced by its stirring past, by the pathetic story of the fall of -Moorish dominion, and the words graven on countless stones till they -seem to represent the very spirit of this land, the words of the -founder, King Alhama: LA GALIB ILLA ALLAH = Only God is Victor.</p> - -<p>Abler pens have portrayed these things, and we will only pause to touch -on one dramatic episode—since its scene lies on our course to the “high -tops‗when Boabdil, last of the Caliphs, paused in his flight across -the <i>vega</i> to cast back a final glance at the scene of his former -greatness and lost empire. “You do well,†snarled Axia, his mother, “to -weep over your kingdom like a woman since you could not defend it like a -man.†That the maternal reproach was undeserved was proved by Boabdil’s -heroic death in battle, thirty years later, near Fez.<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a></p> - -<p><a name="page_302" id="page_302"></a></p> - -<p>From this spot—still poetically called El Ultimo Suspiro del Moro—the -Sierra Neváda stretches away some forty miles to the eastward with an -average depth of ten miles, and includes within that area the four -loftiest altitudes in all this mountain-spangled Peninsula of Spain. The -chief points in the Pyrenees, nevertheless, run them fairly close, as -shown in the following table:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Greatest Altitudes in Feet</span></td></tr> -<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>Sierra Neváda.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Mulahacen</td><td align="left">11,781</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Picacho de la Veleta</td><td align="left">11,597</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Alcazába</td><td align="left">11,356</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Cerro de los Machos</td><td align="left">11,205</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Col de la Veleta</td><td align="left">10,826</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>Pyrenees.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Pico de Nethou</td><td align="left">11,168</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Monte de Posets</td><td align="left">11,046</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Monte Perdido</td><td align="left">10,994</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>By way of comparison it may be added that the next greatest elevations -in Spain are:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td align="left">Picos de Europa (described in <a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIII">Chap. XXVIII</a>.)</td><td align="right">10,046</td><td align="center">feet</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Sierra de Grédos (already described)</td><td align="right">8,700</td><td align="center">"</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Curiously all the loftiest elevations occur outside the great central -table-lands of Spain, the highest point of which latter is the -last-quoted Sierra de Grédos.</p> - -<p>Adjoining the Sierra Neváda on the south, and practically filling the -entire space between it and the Mediterranean, lie the Alpuxarras, -covering some fourteen miles by ten. The Alpuxarras are of no great -elevation (4000 to 5000 feet), and are separated from their giant -neighbours by the Valle de Lecrin, the entrance to which bears the -poetic name of El Ultimo Suspiro del Moro, as just described.</p> - -<p>Here is a Spanish appreciation of Neváda:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Compare this with northern mountains—Alps or Pyrenees: the tone, -the colours, the ambient air differentiate this southern range. -Snow, it is true, surmounts all alike, but here the very sky -flashes radiant (<i>rutilante</i>) in its azure intensity contrasted -with the cold blue of glacier-ice. Here, in lower latitude, the -rocks appear rather scorched by a torrid sun than lashed by winter -rain and hibernal furies. The valleys present a semi-tropical -aspect, resulting from the industry of old-time Moors, who, ever -faithful to the precepts of the Koran, introduced every such -species of exotic fruit or herb as was calculated to flourish and -enrich the land.<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a></p></div> - -<p>The main chain of the Sierra Neváda constitutes one of the<a name="page_303" id="page_303"></a> strongholds -of the Spanish ibex; and, curiously, the ibex is the solitary example of -big game that these mountains can boast. Differing in geological -formation from other mountain-systems of southern Spain, the Sierra -Neváda shelters neither deer of any kind—red, fallow, or roe—nor -wild-boar. The ibex, on the other hand, must be counted as no mean -asset, and though totally unprotected, they yet hold their own—a fair -average stock survives along the line of the Veleta, Alcazába, and -Mulahacen. This survival is due to the vast area and rugged regions over -which (in relatively small numbers) the wild-goats are scattered; but -even more so to the antiquated muzzle-loading smooth-bores hitherto -employed against them. That moment when cheap, repeating cordite rifles -shall have fallen into the hands of the mountain-peasantry will sound -the death-knell of the ibex.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_139_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_139_sml.jpg" width="264" height="375" alt="LAMMERGEYER (Gypallus barbatus) - -A glorious denizen of Sierra Neváda." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">LAMMERGEYER (Gypallus barbatus) - -A glorious denizen of Sierra Neváda.</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_304" id="page_304"></a></p> - -<p>While writing the above we hear (from two sources) that the “Mauser†has -at last got into the hands of at least one local goat-herd, who last -summer killed four out of a band of five ibex—all sexes and sizes. -There is no mistaking the import of this. It signifies that the end is -in view unless prompt measures are taken to save the ibex of Neváda from -extirpation.</p> - -<p>So long as local hunters were restricted to their old ball-guns, the -contest was fairly equal and the game could hold its own. But neither -ibex nor any other wild beast on earth can withstand <span class="smcap"><i>FREE</i></span> shooting -(unlicensed and unlimited) with 1000-yard “repeaters.†Personally the -writer regards the use of repeating-rifles on game as sheer barbarism. -These are military weapons, and should be excluded from every field of -sport.</p> - -<p>A precisely analogous case is afforded by Norway and her reindeer. The -Mauser first appeared there in 1894. Three years later we pointed out, -both to the Norwegian Government and also in <i>Wild Norway</i>, that unless -steps were taken to regulate and limit the resultant massacre, the wild -reindeer would be extinct within five years. Our warnings passed -unheeded; but the prediction erred only on the side of moderation. For -only four years later (in 1901) the Norsk Government was forced to -<i>prohibit absolutely</i> all shooting for a period of seven years, and to -impose, on the expiry of that time, both licence-duties and limits, -alike on native as well as on foreign sportsmen.</p> - -<p>Free shooting, unregulated and unlimited, means with modern weapons -instant extermination—a matter of a few years. Then, after some -creature has perished off the face of the earth, we read a gush of -maudlin regret and vain disgust. It is too late; why do not these good -folk bestir themselves while there is time to safeguard creatures that -yet survive, though menaced with deadly danger? Warnings such as ours -pass unnoticed, and platonic tears are bottled-up for posthumous -exhibition.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>In winter the ibex are driven downwards by the snow. They first descend -southwards to the Trevenque—one of those abruptly peaked mountains that -“stretch out†even skilled climbers to conquer. A long knife-edged ridge -is Trevenque, culminating in a sheer pyramidal aiguille, its flanks -scarred by ravines with complication of scarp and counter-scarp, -upstanding crags and steep shale-shoots that defy definition by pen or -pencil.<a name="page_305" id="page_305"></a></p> - -<p>A main winter resort is supplied by the Alpuxarras, and, beyond the -dividing Valle de Lecrin, ibex are distributed along the whole series of -mountain-ranges that lie along the Mediterranean as far as the Sierras -Bermeja and Ronda.</p> - -<p>Among those subsidiary ranges, the following may here be specified as -ibex-frequented, to wit: the Sierras de Nerja and Lujar near Motril, -Sierra Tejáda lying south of the Vega de Granada (especially the part -called Cásulas, which, with most of the range, is private property and -preserved), Sierras de Competa and Alhama, and, nearer the sea, the -Sierra Frigiliana belonging to the late Duke of Fernan Nunez, who -secured trophies thereon exceeding thirty inches in length.</p> - -<p>Westward, in the Province of Malaga, lie the Sierra de Ojen, Sierra -Blanca, and Palmitera (a great area of these being now preserved by Mr. -Pablo Larios), and last the Sierra Bermeja, described in <i>Wild Spain</i>. -Several of these ranges are of bare rock, while others are covered to -their summits with gorse and other brushwood.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>The most enjoyable season for ibex-shooting (and on preserved ground the -most favourable) is during August and September, when the snow has -practically disappeared, except the permanent glaciers and stray patches -in some northern ravines. Camp-life is then delightful and exhilarating -and, given sound lungs and limbs, the game may be fairly stalked and -shot. The photo shows a typical trophy—a grand ibex ram shot years ago -on the Alcazába, horns 28¼ inches—another specimen measuring 29 -inches is figured in <i>Wild Spain</i>. Our own experiences with ibex, -however, are now rather remote and might appear out-of-date. We -therefore content ourselves with the following extract from our work -quoted.</p> - -<p>On a bitterly cold March morning we found ourselves, as day slowly -broke, traversing the outspurs of the sierra—on the scene of the great -earthquake of 1884, evidences of which were plentiful enough among the -scattered hill-villages. Already many mule-teams, heavily laden with -merchandise from the coast town of Motril, were wending their laborious -way inland. It is worth noting that in front of five or six laden mules -it is customary to harness a single donkey. This animal does little -work; but always passes approaching teams on the proper side, and, -moreover,<a name="page_306" id="page_306"></a> picks out the best parts of the road. This enables the driver -to go to sleep, and the plan, we were told, is a good one.</p> - -<p>At Lanjarón (2284 feet) we breakfasted at the ancient <i>fonda</i> of San -Rafael, where the bright and beautifully polished brass and copper -cooking utensils hanging on the walls were a sight to make a careful -housewife envious. We watched our breakfast cooked over the -charcoal-fire, and learned a good deal thereby. We were delayed here a -whole day by snow-storms. There is stabling under the <i>fonda</i> for 500 -pack-animals, for Lanjarón in its “season†is an important place, -frequented by invalids from far and near. Its mineral springs are -reputed efficacious; but the drainage arrangements are villainous in the -extreme, and altogether it seemed a village to be avoided. Sad traces of -the cholera were everywhere visible, many doors and lintels bearing the -ominous sign: it was curious that in so few cases had it been erased.</p> - -<p>We left before daybreak, and a few leagues farther on the ascent became -very steep and abrupt, the hill-crests whither we were bound within view -but wreathed in mist. Only one traveller did we meet in the long climb -from Orjiva to Capileira, and he bringing two mule-loads of dead and -dying sheep, worried by wolves just outside Capileira the night before. -Expecting that the wolves would certainly return, we prepared to wait up -that night for them; but were dissuaded, the argument being “that is -exactly what they will expect! No, those wolves will probably not come -back this winter.†But return they did, both that night and several -following. The night before we left Capileira on the return journey (a -fortnight later) they came in greater numbers than ever and killed over -twenty sheep.</p> - -<p>Capileira is the highest hamlet in the sierra and is celebrated for its -hams, which are cured in the snow. Here we put up for the night, -sleeping as best we could amidst fowls and fleas, after an amusing -evening spent around the fire, when one pot cooked for forty people -besides ourselves. The cold was intense, streams of fine snow whirling -in at pleasure through the crazy shutters, so we were glad to go to -bed—indeed I was chased thither by a hungry sow on the prowl, seeking -something to eat, apparently in my portmanteau.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_140a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_140a_sml.jpg" width="410" height="294" alt="ALCAZÃBA. MULAHACEN. -The Peaks of Sierra Nevada." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ALCAZÃBA. <span style="margin-left: 6em;">MULAHACEN.</span><br /> -The Peaks of Sierra Nevada.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_140b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_140b_sml.jpg" width="400" height="291" alt="Nest of Griffon." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Nest of Griffon.</span> -</p> - -<p>Heavy snow-falls that night and all next day prevented our advance; but -at an early hour on the following morning we were<a name="page_307" id="page_307"></a> under way—six of -us—on mules, though I would have preferred to walk, the snow being so -deep one could not see where the edges of the precipices were. No sooner -had I mounted than the mule fell down while crossing a hill-torrent, and -I was glad to find the water no deeper.</p> - -<p>After climbing steadily upward all the morning, the last two hours on -foot, the snow knee-deep, we at length sighted the cairn on the height -to which we were bound. Before nightfall we had reached the point, but -few of the mules accomplished the last few hundred yards. After bravely -trying again and again, the poor beasts sank exhausted in the snow, and -we had to carry up the impedimenta ourselves in repeated journeys. The -deep snow, the tremendous ascent, and impossibility of seeing a foothold -made this porterage most laborious, but we had all safely stowed in our -cave before sundown.</p> - -<p>The overhanging rock, which for the next ten or twelve days was to serve -as our abode, we found a mass of icicles. These we proceeded to clear -away, and then by a good fire to melt our ice-enamelled ceiling, -fancying that the constant drip on our noses all night might be -unpleasant. The altitude of our ledge above sea-level was about 8500 -feet, and our plateau of rest—our home, so to speak—measured just -seven yards by two.</p> - -<p>Early next morning we proceeded to erect snow-screens at favourable -“passes,†wherein to await the wild-goats as they moved up or down the -mountain-side at dawn and dusk respectively, their favourite food being -the rye-grass which the peasants from the villages below contrive to -grow in tiny patches—two or three square yards scattered here and there -amidst the crags. It is only by rare industry that even so paltry a crop -can be snatched at such altitudes, and during the short period when the -snow is absent from the southern aspects. At present it enveloped -everything—not a blade of vegetation nor a mouthful for a wild-goat -could be seen.</p> - -<p>Although during the day the snow was generally soft—the sun being very -hot—yet after dark we found the way dangerous, traversing a sloping, -slippery ice-surface like a huge glacier, where a slip or false step -would send one down half a mile with nothing to clutch at, or to save -oneself. Such a slide meant death, for it could only terminate in a -precipice or in one of those horrible holes with a raging torrent to -receive one in its dark abyss, and<a name="page_308" id="page_308"></a> convey the fragments beneath the -snow—where to appear next? Each step had to be cut with a hatchet, or -hollowed—the butt of a rifle is not intended for such work, but has had -to perform it.</p> - -<p>Every day we saw ibex on the snow-fields and towering rocks above our -cave. They were now of a light fawn-colour, very shaggy in appearance, -some males carrying magnificent horns. One old ram seemed to be always -on the watch, kneeling down on the very verge of a crag 500 or 600 yards -above us, and which commanded a view for miles—though <i>miles</i> read but -paltry words! From where that goat was he could survey half a dozen -provinces.</p> - -<p>These ibex proved quite inaccessible, and nearly a week had passed away -ere a wild-goat gave us a chance. One night shortly after quitting my -post, little better than a human icicle, and not without fear of -scrambling caveward in absolute darkness along the ice-slope, a little -herd of goats passed—mere shadows—within easy shot of where, five -minutes before, I had been lying in wait. On another morning at dawn the -tracks of a big male showed that he, too, must have passed at some hour -of the night within five-and-twenty yards of the snow-screen.</p> - -<p>But it was not till a week had elapsed that we had the ibex really in -our power. Just as day broke a herd of eight—two males and six -females—stood not forty yards from our cave-dwelling. The fact was -ascertained by one Estéban, a Spanish sportsman whom we had taken with -us. Silently he stole back to the cave, and without a word, or -disturbing the dreams of his still sleeping employers, picked up an -“Express†and went forth. Then the loud double report at our very -doors—that is, had there been a door—aroused us, only to find ... the -spoor of that enormous ram, the spot where he had halted, listening, -above the cave, and the splash of the lead on the rock beyond—<i>eighteen -inches</i> too low! an impossible miss for one used to the “Express.†Oh, -Estéban, Estéban! what were our feelings towards you on that fateful -morn!</p> - -<p>Life in a mountain-cave high above snow-level—six men huddled together, -two English and four Spaniards—has its weird and picturesque, but it -has also its harder side. Yet those days and nights, passed amidst -majestic scenes and strange wild beasts, have left nothing but pleasant -memories, nor have their hardships<a name="page_309" id="page_309"></a> deterred us from repeating the -experiment. These initial campaigns were too early in the season (March -and April).</p> - -<p>The only birds seen were choughs and ravens; ring-ouzels lower down. -There were plenty of trout, though small, in the hill-burns. On one -occasion a circular rainbow across a deep gorge perfectly reflected in -the centre our own figures on passing a given point. The ice-going -abilities of the mountaineers were marvellous—incredible save to an -eye-witness. Across even a north-drift, hard and “slape†as steel and -hundreds of yards in extent, these men would steer a sliding, slithering -course at top speed, directed towards some single projecting rock. To -miss that refuge might mean death; but they did not miss it, ever, in -their perilous course, making good a certain amount of forward movement. -At that rock they would settle in their minds the next point to be -reached, quietly smoking a cigarette meanwhile. How such performances -diminish one’s self-esteem! How weak are our efforts! Even on the softer -southern drifts, what balancing, what scrambling and crawling on hands -and knees are necessary, and what a “cropper†one would have come but -for the friendly arm of Enrique, who, as he arrests one’s perilous -slide, merely mutters, “Ave Maria purissima!â€</p> - -<p class="c">. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . .</p> - -<p>Now we have left the ice and snow and the ibex to wander in peace over -their lonely domains. To-night we have dined at a <i>table</i>; there is a -cheery fire in the rude <i>posada</i> and merry voices, contrasting with the -silence of our cave, where no one spoke above a whisper, and where no -fire was permissible save once a day to heat the <i>olla</i>. Now all we need -is a song from the Murillo-faced little girl who is fanning the charcoal -embers. “Sing us a couplet, Dolóres, to welcome us back from the snows -of Alpuxarras!â€</p> - -<p><i>Dolóres.</i> “With the greatest pleasure, <i>Caballero</i>, if José will play -the guitar. No one plays like José, but he is tired, having travelled -all day with his mules from Lanjarón.â€</p> - -<p><i>José.</i> “No, señor, not tired, but I have no soul to-night to play. This -morning they asked me to bring medicine from the town for Carmen, but -when I reached the house she was dead. I find myself very sad.â€</p> - -<p><i>Dolóres.</i> “Pero, si ya tiene su palma y su corona?†... = but as she -already has her palm and her crown?<a name="page_310" id="page_310"></a></p> - -<p><i>José.</i> “That is true! Bring the guitar and I will see if it will quit -me of this <i>tristeza</i>!â€</p> - -<p>Next morning the snow prevented our leaving; and the day after, while -riding away, we met some of the villagers carrying poor Carmen to the -burial-ground on the mountain-side. The body, plainly robed in white, -was borne on an open bier, the hands crossed and head supported on -pillows, thus allowing the long unfettered hair to hang down loose -below. It was an impressive and a picturesque scene, and as I rode on, -the rejoinder of Dolóres came to my mind, “Ya tiene su palma y su -corona<a name="page_311" id="page_311"></a>.â€</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXI" id="CHAPTER_XXXI"></a>CHAPTER XXXI<br /><br /> -IN THE SIERRA NEVÃDA (<i>Continued</i>)<br /><br /> -<small>ITS BIRD-LIFE IN SPRING-TIME</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> long snow-lines of the sierra had vanished behind whirling -cloud-masses, black and menacing. The green avenues of the Alhambra -seemed gloomier than ever under a heavy downpour, while troops of -rain-soaked tourists belied the glories of an Andalucian springtide.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 220px;"> -<a href="images/ill_141_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_141_sml.jpg" width="220" height="177" alt="“UNEMPLOYED†- -Bee-eaters on a wet morning." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“UNEMPLOYED†- -Bee-eaters on a wet morning.</span> -</div> - -<p>Serins sang in the elms, and wrynecks noisily courted, as we set forth -with a donkey-team for the sierra. On former occasions we had explored -northwards up the Darro towards Jaën, another year up the Genil, this -spring we had selected the valley of the Monachil. Hardly had we entered -the mountains than thunder crackled overhead, and then a rain-burst -drove us to shelter in a cave. Next day broke ominous enough, but we -rode on up the wild gorge of the Monachil, and after seven hours’ -hill-climbing reached the alpine farm of San Gerónimo, to the guarda of -which we had a recommendation. The house nestles beneath the serrated -ridge of the Dornájo, 6970 feet.</p> - -<p>With some dismay we found assembled at this outlandish spot quite a -small crowd of men, women, and children who, with dogs, pigs, hens, and -an occasional donkey, all appeared to inhabit a single smoke-filled -room. We were bidden to take seats amidst this company, and watched the -attempt to boil an<a name="page_312" id="page_312"></a> enormous pan of potatoes over a green brushwood -fire, while domestic animals (including cattle) passed freely through to -the byres beyond. These being on higher ground had created in front a -sort of quagmire, which was crossed by a plank-bridge. Rain was falling -smartly, and the writer’s spirits, be it confessed, sank to zero at the -prospect of a week or two in such quarters. Worse situations, however, -have had to be faced, and usually yield to resolute treatment. Thus when -a separate room—albeit but a dirty potato store—had been assigned to -us, trestle-beds and a table set up, the quality of comfort advanced in -quite disproportionate degree.</p> - -<p>Now the Sierra Neváda with its league-long lines of unbroken snow, -accentuated by the mystery of the towering Veleta, massive Mulahacen, -and the rest, presents an alpine panorama that is absolutely unrivalled -in all the Peninsula. But immediately below those transcendent -altitudes, in its middle regions the Sierra Neváda is lacking in many of -those attributes that charm our eyes—naturalists’ eyes. Over vast areas -and on broad shoulders of the hills the winter-snows linger so long that -plant-life, where not actually extinct, is scant and starved; while -these dreary inchoate stretches are strewn broadcast with a debris of -shale and schist that resembles nothing so much as one of nature’s giant -rubbish tips. True, there exists a sporadic brushwood, exiguous, -dwarfed, and intermittent; there are scattered trees, ilex and pinaster -(<i>Pinus pinaster</i>), up to about 7000 feet. But all seems barren by -comparison. One’s eye hungers for the deep jungles of Moréna, for the -dark-green <i>pinsapos</i> of San Cristobal, or the stately granite walls of -Grédos. Here all is on a big scale, the biggest in Spain; but size alone -does not itself constitute beauty, and the adornments of beauty are -lacking. We write of course not as mountaineers, but as naturalists.</p> - -<p>It boots not to tell of days when rain fell in sheets and an icy -<i>neblina</i> swept the hills, shrouding their summits from view. A single -ornithological remembrance shall be recorded—the abundance of certain -northern-breeding species on the middle heights, especially common -wheatears and skylarks. After watching these carefully, we were -convinced by their actions (their song, courting, and fluttering flight) -that both intended to nest here at 7000 feet, and dissection confirmed -that view. Time alone prevented our settling the point; but a month<a name="page_313" id="page_313"></a> -later (say early in June) an ornithologist could easily verify the fact.</p> - -<p>May the 1st broke bright and clear, not a cloud in the azure firmament. -The songs of hoopoes, serins, and a cuckoo resounded hard by, and from -our paneless window we watched three glorious rock-thrushes “displaying†-before their sober mates—as sketched at p. 18. Within sight among the -tumbled boulders were also a pair of blue thrushes, with a woodlark or -two, several black-starts, and rock-buntings.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_142_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_142_sml.jpg" width="296" height="234" alt="WOODLARK (Alauda arborea) - -Nests in Neváda up to 5000 feet, and in the pine-forests of Doñana at -sea-level." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WOODLARK (Alauda arborea)<br /> -Nests in Neváda up to 5000 feet, and in the pine-forests of Doñana at -sea-level.</span> -</p> - -<p>We bathed in an ice-cold burn with temperature little above freezing—at -dawn, indeed, the backwaters were ice-bound. Then, mounted on a donkey, -the writer alternately scrambled up the stony steeps or dragged the -sure-footed beastie behind. The gentler slopes were fairly clad with -yellow daffodil or narcissus, now just coming into bloom, and above 7000 -feet we entered a zone of dwarf-arbutus and ilex-scrub. The warm -sunshine brought out numerous butterflies—it seemed strange to see -these frail creatures fluttering across open snows! Most of those -recognised were tortoise-shells, rather paler than our own.</p> - -<p>Alas, before noon the icy mists once more swept up. In a crevice among -some rocks where we sought shelter at 8000 feet the skeleton of a -wheatear attested the cruel conditions of bird-life—death by -starvation. Here we separated, the writer going<a name="page_314" id="page_314"></a> for a snow-scramble, -following the dwindling Monachil to its source, where the nascent river -trickles in triple streamlets down black rock-walls mantled by impending -snow-fields. Here snow lay in scattered patches dotted with the -resurgent unkillable “pincushion†gorse (<i>Buphaurum spinosum</i>) and a -spiny broom that later develops a purple blossom, and separated by -intervals where the melting mantle had left Mother Earth viscous and -inchoate, heart-broken at the indignity of eight months in the arctic. -Higher up the snow became continuous, but seamed by innumerable rills, -each laughing and dancing as in delight at a new-found existence, or -converging to join streams in buoyant exuberance. Some leapt forward -through fringing margins of emerald moss; others ploughed sullen ways -beneath an overhung snow-brae. But no chirp or sound of bird-life broke -the silence, the only living creatures were ants and a bronze-green -beetle! (<i>Pterostichus rutilans</i>, Dej.)—not a sign of those alpine -forms we had specially come to seek.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 214px;"> -<a href="images/ill_143_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_143_sml.jpg" width="214" height="207" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>From 8500 feet the snow stretched upwards unbroken (save where some -sheer escarpment protruded), covering in purest white the vast shoulder -of the Veleta. The Picácho itself was to-day hidden amidst swirling -clouds, and only once did we enjoy a momentary glimpse of its great -scarped outline. Yet in three short weeks, say by May 20, all these -leagues of solid snow will have vanished.</p> - -<p>Facing this gorge of the Monachil, the opposite slope is crowned by the -conspicuous turreted crags known as the Peñones de San Francisco, 8460 -feet. To these L. had climbed, and though we both failed in finding the -chief of our special objects (the snow-finch) yet L. had enjoyed a -glimpse of another alpine species, new to us, and we decided to revisit -the spot on the morrow.</p> - -<p>That morning again broke fine, the precursor of a glorious day. Hardly -had we left our quarters than a lammergeyer soared overhead, then, -gently closing his giant wings, plunged<a name="page_315" id="page_315"></a> into a cavern above. Five -minutes later he reappeared and, after several aerial evolutions, -suddenly checked and, with indrawn pinions, swept downwards to earth. -Ere we could surmount an intervening ridge, the great dragon-like -<i>Gypaëtus</i> swept into view, his golden breast gleaming in the early -sunlight, and bearing in his talons a long bone with which he sailed -across the valley towards Trevenque; we watched to see the result, but, -so far as prism-glasses could reach, that bone was never dropped. -Probably he had some special spot habitually used for bone-breaking. -Later a griffon-vulture (a species rarely seen in Neváda) passed -overhead, and then a second lammergeyer sailed up the gorge of Monachil.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_144_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_144_sml.jpg" width="321" height="203" alt="SOARING VULTURE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SOARING VULTURE</span> -</p> - -<p>‘Tis a long up-grade grind to the Peñones, but repaid by magnificent -views of the Picácho de la Veleta—its scarped outline gloriously offset -against the deepest azure and its 1000-foot sheer drop vanishing to -unseen depths in the mysterious “corral†beneath—an inspiring scene.</p> - -<p>Beyond to the eastward towered the mountain-mass, -Mulahacen—perpetuating the name of that Moslem chief whose remains, so -tradition records, yet lie in some unknown glacial niche in this the -loftiest spot of all the Spains. There they were laid to rest by the -fond hands of Zoraya, at the dying request of her husband the -penultimate Moorish king, Muley-Hacen.</p> - -<p>Our upward course led through beds of dwarf-juniper, thick strong stems -all flattened down horizontally by the weight of winters’ snows, -precisely as one sees them on the high fjelds of<a name="page_316" id="page_316"></a> Norway. Here, both -to-day and yesterday, we observed ring-ouzels, doubtless nesting amid -the dense covert.</p> - -<p>We soon picked up our friends of yesterday—small hedge-sparrow-like -birds with blue-grey throat, striated back, and red patches on either -flank, the alpine accentor. At first they were fairly tame, allowing us -to watch and sketch them perched on lowly shrub or rock, warbling a -sweet little carol (louder, but otherwise resembling that of our -hedge-sparrow), or darting to pick up a straying ant. After a while that -confidence, though wholly unabused, vanished; they became wild and -cautious, refusing to allow us a single specimen! These birds were -evidently paired, but showed no signs of nesting. Alas, that a drawing -by Commander Lynes depicting the scene with the Picácho de la Veleta in -the background refuses to “reproduceâ€!</p> - -<p>These were the only accentors we saw, nor did we see to-day or any other -day a single snow-finch.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p><i>An Alpine Farm.</i>—The lands of San Gerónimo (where we were quartered) -extend up the Monachil to either watershed—a length of 4½ leagues, -while the breadth cannot average less than two. The acreage we leave to -be calculated by those who care for such detail. At this date (early -May) certainly one-half lay under snow, which still encumbered the -higher patches of cultivation—to-day we saw men unearthing last -autumn’s crop of potatoes well above the snow-line. At lower levels some -corn already stood six inches high, but many “fields†were necessarily, -as yet, unploughed. Fields, by the way, were separated not, as at home, -by hedges, but sometimes by a sheer drop of 500 or 1000 feet, elsewhere -by perpendicular rock-faces or by shale-shoots. But the laborious -cultivation missed not one level patch—nor unlevel either, since we saw -ox-teams ploughing where one wondered if even a cat could maintain a -footing.</p> - -<p>This is the highest farm in Neváda, possibly in all Spain. The house -stands at 6000 feet and the lands extend to the Veleta, 11,597 feet. It -provides grazing for goats and sheep, as well as a small herd of cattle, -and thus affords permanent employment to several herdsmen. But at -seed-time and harvest it employs as many as twenty or thirty men who, -with their dependents, live in rude esparto-thatched huts scattered over -the whole fifteen miles, and it was the numbers of these (assembled for -pay-day)<a name="page_317" id="page_317"></a> that had caused us some consternation on our first arrival! -The value of the farm, we were told, is put at £8000 Spanish, -representing some £400 as yearly rental.</p> - -<p>Two years before, wolves had become such a pest to the flocks that -strychnine was universally resorted to, with the result that to-day not -a wolf is to be seen in the whole sierra. Foxes also perished, and the -guarda, Manuel Gallegos, told us that he had thus obtained several -wild-cats (<i>Gatos montéses</i>) whose skins fetched 20 pesetas apiece as -ladies’ furs. The following day we chanced on a dead marten-cat, -evidently killed by poison; and on showing it to Manuel with the remark -that that was <i>not</i> a <i>gato montés</i>, he replied: “No, señor, that is a -<i>garduño; pero lo mismo da</i>†= “it’s all the same!†Accuracy in -definition is not a strong point with Manuel, nor indeed is it with any -of our Spanish friends.</p> - -<p>Martens are the commoner animal in Neváda; there may, nevertheless, be a -few true wild-cats, and there certainly are some lynxes. The four-footed -fauna of Neváda is sadly limited. There are neither deer of any -kind—red, roe, or fallow—nor wild-boar. Bare rocks afford no covert -for these: there is, of course, one compensating equivalent in the ibex. -Small game is equally conspicuous by its absence. Local <i>cazadores</i> -(each of whom, of course, possesses a decoy-bird—<i>reclamo</i>) enlarge on -the abundance of partridge and hares, yet we saw hardly any game whether -here on the Monachil, on the Genil, Darro, or at any of the points -whereon we have explored the Sierra Neváda. There must, however, be a -sprinkling to maintain the golden eagles and peregrines, both of which -birds-of-prey we observed.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 174px;"> -<a href="images/ill_145_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_145_sml.jpg" width="174" height="177" alt="GOLDEN EAGLE HUNTING" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GOLDEN EAGLE HUNTING</span> -</div> - -<p>There were small trout in the Monachil; but in Genil and Dilar (which -latter springs from the alpine Laguna de las Yeguas just under the -Picácho de la Veleta) trout ran up to a quarter-pound or thereby: the -method of capture is dynamite.</p> - -<p>Ibex at this season (May) frequent the southern slopes of the main -chain—looking down upon the Alpuxarras—a favourite resort being the -wild rocks of Alcazába, east of Mulahacen;<a name="page_318" id="page_318"></a> but in summer they are -distributed along the whole of the “high tops†and are still maintaining -their numbers as usual.</p> - -<p>We had cherished the hope of meeting with ptarmigan and other alpine -forms in these high sierras, especially during our earlier expeditions -after ibex. We are satisfied that ptarmigan at least do not exist, -having seen no trace of them at any point; but we never saw the -snow-finch either, and it is reported to exist in numbers.</p> - -<p>Oh! the wearying monotony of that long down-grade ride—the infinity of -vast subrounded mountains, all alike, all ugly, all sprinkled rather -than clad with low gorse and spiky broom, like millions of pincushions -with all points outwards. Then the shale—the very earth seemed -disintegrated. Red shale and blue, cinder-grey and lemon-yellow; some -schistose and sparkling, the bulk dull and dead. Here and there, amid -oceans of friable detritus, stand out great rocks of more durable -substance—solitary pinnacles, towers and turrets of fantastic form. Six -hours of this ere we reach the <i>Vega</i> of Granada.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Ornithology</span></p> - -<p>For ornithologists the following notes on birds observed and not already -mentioned may here be inserted:—</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 185px;"> -<a href="images/ill_146_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_146_sml.jpg" width="185" height="152" alt="ROCK-THRUSH" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ROCK-THRUSH</span> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Blue</i> and <i>Rock-thrushes</i>.—Neither abundant, but the former most -so in the rock-gorges of lower Monachil, nesting in “pot-holes†and -horizontal crevices of the crags. The rock-thrush is more alpine -and confined (here as elsewhere) exclusively to the higher sierra.</p> - -<p><i>Missel-thrushes</i> among ilex-trees at 7000 feet, apparently -nesting: a few <i>woodchats</i> observed at same points.</p> - -<p><i>Blackstart.</i>—Plentiful, though less so than on San Cristobal in -Sierra de Jerez (5000 feet). A nest in the crag over-hanging our -bathing-place in the burn at San Gerónimo contained five eggs on -April 28. We found others on Monachil, and <i>grey wagtails</i> were -also breeding at both places.</p> - -<p><i>Bonelli’s Warbler.</i>—Arrived, and preparing to nest, end of April: -a few <i>white-throats</i> and <i>rufous warblers</i> early in May. Robins -and wrens nesting, and <i>nightingales</i> abundant in lower -river-valley.</p> - -<p><i>Eared</i> and <i>Black-throated Wheatear</i>.—Ubiquitous but not -abundant. In both these forms (as well as in the Common Wheatear) -the males displayed a dual stage of plumage; some being completely -adult, while others retained an immature state somewhat resembling -their first dress (May).<a name="page_319" id="page_319"></a></p> - -<p><i>Stonechat.</i>—Four eggs, April 29.</p> - -<p><i>Blackchat</i> and <i>Crag-martin</i>.—Both conspicuous by their absence.</p> - -<p>[This applies to the higher sierra—both were observed in the lower -Monachil—say 4000 feet.]</p> - -<p><i>Ortolans</i> (apparently just arriving during early days of May), -with <i>cirl</i> and <i>rock-buntings</i>, were frequent up to the limits of -scrub-growth, say 7500 feet.</p> - -<p><i>Rock-sparrow.</i>—Breeding in crags on lower slopes.</p> - -<p><i>Woodlark.</i>—Lower hills: young on wing, end April.</p> - -<p><i>Short-toed Lark.</i>—Lower hills: about to nest here.</p> - -<p><i>Crested Lark.</i>—Lower hills: common.</p> - -<p><i>Tawny Pipit.</i>—Plentiful, scattered in pairs over the arid hills: -males singing tree-pipit fashion, soaring downwards with tail -spread overhead.</p> - -<p><i>Great</i>, <i>Blue</i>, and <i>Cole-tits</i>.—Common, the latter only among -the open woods of pine (<i>Pinus pinaster</i>).</p> - -<p><i>Raven</i> and <i>Chough</i>.—A few.</p> - -<p><i>Hoopoe</i>, <i>Kestrel</i>, and <i>Little Owl</i>.—A few.</p> - -<p><i>Partridge</i> (redleg).—Scarce: a pair and a single bird observed at -8000 feet among snow-patches and junipers.</p> - -<p><i>Chaffinches</i> and <i>Serins</i>.—First broods on wing, end April; nests -for second broods building early in May.</p> - -<p><i>Linnets.</i>—Common up to scrub-limit.</p> - -<p><i>Dippers.</i>—Observed on Genil, Darro, Monachil, and all the rivers -visited.</p> - -<p><i>Pied Flycatcher.</i>—A male observed on migration, April 30.</p> - -<p>In the stupendous rock-gorges which enclose the lower course and -outlet of Monachil (3500-5000 feet) are situate the breeding-places -of the few griffon-vultures which inhabit this sierra. With them -nest some Neophrons, and there is a “Choughery†at 4000 feet, while -crag-martins and blackchats (not observed elsewhere), with many -blue thrushes, find a congenial home among these giant crags.</p></div> - -<p>While lunching, our goat-herd guide was pointing out rock-crannies where -wolves, from lack of brushwood, used to lie up by day, and complaining -that he could not keep poultry by reason of the marten-cats. Suddenly he -broke out in shrill and altered tones: “Tell me, Caballero,†he -exclaimed, “tell me <i>why</i> you come here from lands afar to suffer -discomfort and hardship and to undergo all these labours—why do you do -this?†We endeavoured to explain. “You see, Gregorio, that God created -all manner of animals different one from another. So also He created -mankind in many different races—all brothers, yet differing as brothers -do. You Spanish belong to the Latin race. You have many fine qualities, -some of which we lack. But you rather concern yourselves with material -things and disregard platonic study. We of British race are imbued with -desire to learn all that can be traced of Nature and her ways. Some -examine the earth itself, its formations and transformations; others the -birds or the beasts. There are those who devote<a name="page_320" id="page_320"></a> their lives to studying -the beetles and ants, even the mosquitoes. Now in Spain you find none -who are interested in such matters.â€</p> - -<p>Gregorio sat silent and seemed impressed; but Caraballo interjected: -“Why waste time? These people are not concerned (<i>entrometidos</i>) in such -matters.†True; but Gregorio had appeared interested and intelligent? -“Si! but when folk spent lonely lives among the mountains and never see -but a petty hill-village once or twice a year, then intelligence goes to -sleep (<i>se pone dormido</i>).†Certainly five minutes later they were both -hammering away again at the customary small-talk of the by-ways.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_147_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_147_sml.jpg" width="273" height="206" alt="Types of Spanish Bird-Life - -SPANISH SPARROW (Passer hispaniolensis [sic" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Types of Spanish Bird-Life<br /> -SPANISH SPARROW (Passer hispaniolensis [sic, Temm.)</span></p> - -<p>A bird of the wild woods, never seen in towns; builds in foundations of -kites’ and eagles’ nests. Note that Temminck’s Latin seems a bit -“rocky.†The specific name might be <i>hispanicus</i>, or perhaps -<i>hispaniensis</i>, but <i>hispaniolensis</i> never. That adjective must date -from a newer era and from a world then unknown.]</p> - -<p><a name="page_321" id="page_321"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXII" id="CHAPTER_XXXII"></a>CHAPTER XXXII<br /><br /> -VALENCIA<br /><br /> -<small>TWO NOTABLE WILDFOWL RESORTS</small></h2> - -<p class="sbhead">(1) <span class="smcap">The Albufera</span></p> - -<p class="nind">F<small>OR</small> centuries this marine lagoon—the largest sheet of water in -Spain—has, along with the forests and wastes that formerly adjoined it, -been a stronghold of wild animal-life. As early as the thirteenth -century King James I., after wresting the Kingdom of Valencia from the -Moors, and dividing its castles and estates among his nobles and -generals, selected, with shrewd appreciation, the Albufera for his -personal share of the spoils of war. For not only did the great lake -with its wild appanages form a truly regal hunting-domain, but the broad -lands intervening between the Grao of Valencia, Cullera, and the -lake-shores possessed a fabled fertility.</p> - -<p>For six centuries the lands and waters of Albufera belonged to the -Spanish Crown. Though by edict in <small>A.D.</small> 1250 James I. granted free public -rights of fishing (reserving, however, one-fifth of the catch for royal -use), yet both he and succeeding monarchs ever continued to extend and -improve the amenities of the Crown Patrimony.</p> - -<p>In State-papers of James I.‘s time, where reference is made to the game, -there are expressly specified: “Deer, wild-boar, ibex, francolins, -partridges, hares, rabbits, otters, and wildfowl, besides the wealth of -fish†in the lake itself. Again, more than four centuries later, an -edict of October 31, 1671, expressly specified among resident game, -“deer, boar, ibex, and francolin.†Now the francolin, although to-day -extinct in Spain, is known to have existed on the Mediterranean till -quite within modern times, and the other animals named might well have -abounded in the wild forests of those days. But the specific mention of<a name="page_322" id="page_322"></a> -ibex (<i>twice</i>, with an interval of 400 years) appeared inexplicable; for -it was inconceivable that a wild-goat should ever have occupied the -low-lying <i>dehesas</i> of Albufera. The discovery of the actual existence -of ibex in the sierras of Valencia, however (as recorded above, p. 142), -explains the paradox and also throws light on the breadth of mediæval -ideas in hunting-boundaries; since the Sierra Martés lies some forty -miles inland of Albufera.</p> - -<p>Lying about seven miles south-east of Valencia, the lake has a -water-area some fourteen miles long by six or seven wide, its -circumference being over nine leagues. On the south, it is shut off from -the Mediterranean by a strip of pine-clad dunes—the deep green foliage -broken in pleasing contrast by intervals of bare sand, forming splashes -of gold amidst dark verdure. On all other sides the limits of the lake -are marked by yellow reeds which fringe its shores.</p> - -<p>Its waters, dotted with the white sails of <i>faluchos</i>, present the -appearance of a small sea, a resemblance which is accentuated in stormy -weather by the height of the waves.</p> - -<p>The lake connects by canals with various adjacent villages; while two -canals (Perillo and Perillonet) communicate with the sea, though their -mouths are blocked by locks. These locks are closed each year from -November 1 till January 1—thereby retaining the whole of the -river-waters from inland, in order to raise the interior water-level and -so flood the surrounding rice-fields.</p> - -<p>This artificial inundation—by disseminating alluvial matter brought -down by autumnal rains over the adjacent lands—has greatly extended the -area of rice-cultivation, and, of course, equally reduced the original -water-surface. The result has been, nevertheless, immensely to augment -the enormous numbers of wildfowl which had always made the Albufera -their winter home; for no food is so attractive to ducks as rice, while, -despite its reduction, the water-area is yet ample.</p> - -<p>During the direct tenure of the Crown, all taking of fish or fowl was -carried on subject to the regulations of successive kings and their -administrators. Ancient methods of fowling, however quaint, do not -concern us as natural historians; but two methods described in -multitudinous records throw light on altered conditions and sharpened -instincts. The first was to “push†the fowl by a line of boats towards -sportsmen in concealed posts among reeds,<a name="page_323" id="page_323"></a> the ducks either swimming -complacently forward or breaking back over the encircling flotilla, -when, in each case, large numbers were killed with crossbows. To -celebrate the nuptials of Phillip III., no less than 300 boats were thus -employed. The second plan involved persuading hosts of quietly paddling -ducks to swim forward into reed-beds through which winding channels had -been cut, and over which nets were spread.</p> - -<p>Needless to add, neither method would nowadays serve to outwit -twentieth-century wildfowl.</p> - -<p>By the beginning of last century (about 1830), owing to the destruction -of forests and reclamation of land for grazing or rice-cultivation, the -bigger game had already disappeared; but the flights of winter wildfowl -actually increased in proportion to the extended area of rice.</p> - -<p>The Albufera continued to be the property of the Crown of Spain from -1250 till May 12, 1865, when the Cortes decreed, and Queen Isabella II. -confirmed, its transference to the State.</p> - -<p>At the present day the shooting on Albufera is conducted on purely -commercial and up-to-date principles. The whole area is mapped out into -sections like a chessboard, and each considerable gun-post (or -<i>replaza</i>, as it is called) is sold by auction.</p> - -<p>These specially selected <i>replazas</i> number thirty, and are sold for the -entire season, the prices varying from £150 for No. 1 down to about £6 -for No. 30.</p> - -<p>These thirty “reserved stalls†having been disposed of in public -competition, the remaining mid-water positions (for which the charge is -a dollar or two per day) are then apportioned by drawing lots. Finally, -licences are issued at a few pesetas to shoot from the foreshores or -from small launches stationed among the reeds at specified spots, but -which the licensee must not quit during the shooting.</p> - -<p>The sum that finally filtered through to the State during forty years -varied between 7500 and 23,000 pesetas (say £300 to £900), a record -price being obtained in 1868, namely, 40,000 pesetas. The municipality -of Valencia is seeking to obtain the cession of the Albufera from the -State.</p> - -<p>The gun-posts used are either flat-bottomed boats which can be thrust -into a sheltering reed-bed; or, should no cover be available, sunken -tubs masked by reeds or rice-stalks. The posts are fixed nominally at a -rifle-shot (<i>tiro de bala</i>) apart—say 200 yards.<a name="page_324" id="page_324"></a></p> - -<p>Regular fixed shoots take place every Saturday throughout the season, -with, however, certain small exceptions, aimed partly at securing to the -fowl a period of rest and quiet on their first arrival, and partly due -to the festivals of St. Martin and St. Catherine being public days and -free to all.</p> - -<p>The species of ducks obtained on Albufera do not differ from those at -Daimiel. On these deeper waters pochards and the various diving-ducks -are more conspicuous than on the shallower rice-swamps of the -CaldererÃa.</p> - -<p class="sbhead">(2) <span class="smcap">The CaldereÃa</span></p> - -<p>In contrast with the Albufera (and with Daimiel) the CaldererÃa is not a -natural lagoon, but simply the artificial inundation of rice-grounds -(<i>arrozales</i>), such inundation being necessary for the cultivation of -that grain.</p> - -<p>The rice-grounds of the CaldererÃa belong to the three adjacent communes -of Sueca, Cullera, and Sollana—held in a joint peasant-proprietorship. -The flooding of the <i>arrozales</i> was commenced in 1850, the original -object being the cultivation of rice, combined with the taking of -wildfowl in nets (<i>paranses</i>). It was, however, early seen that the -enormous quantities of wild-ducks attracted to the spot were of almost -equal value with the grain-crop, and the fame of the CaldererÃa -attracted troops of sportsmen from all parts of Spain. This influx, for -some years, the local authorities endeavoured to check, with a view to -securing the sport for local residents—who, by the way, wanted to enjoy -this good thing at the price of a dollar a year! In 1880 it was decided -to put up to auction the different shooting-posts, or <i>replazas</i>, -without any restriction.</p> - -<p>The whole of the <i>arrozales</i> are accordingly divided into defined -sections called <i>replazas</i>, each perhaps 500 or 600 yards square, -forming roughly, as it were, a gigantic chessboard, though the various -<i>replazas</i> are quite irregular in shape and size. These are sold by -public auction at a fixed date. The best positions realise as much as, -say, £80 to £100. A large rental is thus obtained yearly, some villages -receiving as much as 6000 dollars.</p> - -<p>Since the whole shooting area is their common property, every peasant -and villager is personally interested in the value and success of the -shooting, and each thus becomes virtually a game-keeper.<a name="page_325" id="page_325"></a> Hence trespass -is impossible. During autumn and up to the first shoot never a human -form intrudes upon the deserted rice-grounds; and the enormous -assemblages of wildfowl which at that season congregate thereon enjoy -uninterrupted peace and security up to mid-November. More favourable -conditions it is impossible to conceive—on the Albufera, for example, -the fowl are liable to constant disturbance by passing boats, etc.</p> - -<p>The first shoot of the year takes place about the date just named, -November 15, and is repeated every eighth day thereafter up to the -middle of January, when the rice-grounds are run dry.</p> - -<p>Upon the completion of the auction sales there is announced a definite -day and hour at which (and at which <i>only</i>) the lessor is permitted to -enter the rice-grounds, in order to prepare his shelter. Should he omit -or neglect this opportunity, he is not afterwards allowed to touch it -until the actual morning of the shooting.</p> - -<p>Since there grows on rice-grounds no natural cover whatever, it is -essential to prepare some form of screen or shelter, and the reeds or -sedges required for the purpose must be brought from elsewhere.</p> - -<p>Across each <i>replaza</i>, or conceded space, is erected a double line of -screens, two yards apart and carefully masked by a fringe of reeds or -rice-stalks. In the intervening “lane†are fixed two or more sunken tubs -wherein the shooters can sit concealed.</p> - -<p>Hardly has midnight struck on that eventful morn than the world is -amove. Highways and byways, on land and water, are crowded by mobilising -forces; across the dark waters move forth whole squadrons of boats, -punts and launches, each one steering a course towards some far-away -<i>replaza</i>. Absolute silence reigns. No lights are allowed and no sound -shocks the mystery of night save the creaking of punt-pole or lapping of -wave—no human sound, that is, for “the night is filled with musicâ€; the -pall overhead, the unseen wastes on every side are vocal with wildfowl -cries. Continuously the still air is rent and cleft by the rush of -myriad pinions. From right and left, before and behind, pass hurrying -hosts, their violent flight resonant as the wash of an angry sea. But -never a shot is fired. That is against the rules.</p> - -<p>Shortly before sunrise the note of a bugle announces to hundreds of -impatient ears the signal “Open fire,†and in that instant the fusillade -from far and near rages like a battle. For a<a name="page_326" id="page_326"></a> solid hour, nay, for two -and sometimes three, fire continues incessant. First to become silent -are the distant guns along the shores; the minor <i>replazas</i> slacken down -next, and by noon all save two or three of the best posts are reduced to -a desultory and dropping fire.</p> - -<p>Then a second signal indicates that the “pick-up†may begin—up to that -moment not a gunner is permitted to leave his place. This gathering of -the game, stopping cripples, etc., induces a short renewal of the -fusillade; but soon all is silent once more, and at three o’clock a -third signal rings out, and at once every sportsman must quit the -shooting-ground.</p> - -<p>Besides the lessees of the auction-sold <i>puestos</i> (many of whom come -from Madrid and distant parts of Spain), there foregather on these -occasions all the local gunners; and far away beyond those sacred areas -secured by purchase there form up league-long lines of fowlers by the -distant shore; so that, between the private and privileged <i>puestos</i> and -the free public lines outside, there may assemble in all some 3000 -gunners. Hence these <i>tiradas</i> partake of the character of a popular -festival. Yet in spite of such numbers there is not the slightest -confusion or danger, so perfect are the rules and so scrupulously are -they observed.</p> - -<p>With so many guns scattered over wide areas no precise record of the -exact numbers secured are possible; but, according to the estimates of -those best calculated to judge, as many as 22,000 to 23,000 head (ducks -and coots) are obtained in a single morning.</p> - -<p>The records of individual guns in the best <i>replazas</i> run from 100 to -200 ducks gathered, and occasionally exceed those figures.</p> - -<p>At the first shoot of the year fully 25 per cent of the spoil are coots; -but at the later shoots ducks are obtained in greater proportion, as -coots then quit the rice-grounds. These later shoots do not produce -quite such stupendous totals; but still immense numbers are bagged—ten -or twelve thousand in a morning.</p> - -<p>As the majority of purchasers come from a distance and usually only -remain for one, or perhaps two, of the fixed shooting days, such prices -as £80 to £100 represent a fairly stiff rent.</p> - -<p>Few mallards are obtained at the first shoot, but their numbers increase -as the winter advances. The chief species are pintail,<a name="page_327" id="page_327"></a> wigeon, teal, -and shoveller, together with a few shelducks and many common and -red-crested pochards. Flamingoes and spoon-bills frequent the shallows -in small numbers.</p> - -<p>As individual instances; from a <i>replaza</i> that cost 900 pesetas (say -£40), and which was the <i>ninth</i> in point of price that year, one gun -fired 700 cartridges in a single morning.</p> - -<p>The best <i>replaza</i>—at least the most expensive (it cost 1500 -pesetas)—was tenanted last winter by friends from whose experiences, -not too encouraging, we gather: At the first shoot (November 13) the -post was occupied by a single gun, who, after firing 400 shots, was -compelled to desist owing to injury to his shoulder. “I believe,†he -writes, “I might have fired 1500 cartridges had I continued all day, but -was obliged to leave early. The boatmen had then gathered ninety—sixty -ducks, thirty coot—and expected to recover more.â€</p> - -<p>On November 28 the post was occupied by three guns: “No day for duck, a -blazing sun so hot that the reflection from the water blistered our -faces. The ducks mounted up high in air and mostly cleared early in the -proceedings, though some were attracted by our 100 decoys. We killed -ninety-six, mostly wigeon and pochard, a few mallard and teal, besides -twenty snipe. The desideratum is a really rough day, but that at -Valencia is past praying for.â€</p> - -<p>The <i>arrozales</i> are run dry (and of course the shooting stopped) by the -middle of January. The water, in fact, is only kept up so long solely -for the sake of the shooting. So soon as its level has fallen a couple -of inches the fowl all leave directly.<a name="page_328" id="page_328"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXXIII<br /><br /> -ON SMALL-GAME SHOOTING IN SPAIN</h2> - -<p class="nind">H<small>ARDLY</small> will one enter a village <i>posada</i> or a peasant’s lonely cot -without observing one inevitable sign. Among the simple adornments of -the whitewashed wall and as an integral item thereof hangs a caged -redleg. And from the rafters above will be slung an antediluvian -fowling-piece, probably a converted “flinter,†bearing upon its rusty -single barrel some such inscription—inset in gold characters—as, -“Antequera, 1843.†These two articles, along with a cork-stoppered -powder-horn and battered leathern shot-belt, constitute the -stock-in-trade and most cherished treasures of our rustic friend, the -Spanish cazador. Possibly he also possesses a <i>pachón</i>, or heavily built -native pointer; but the dog is chiefly used to find ground-game or -quail, since the redleg, ever alert and swift of foot, defies all -pottering pursuit. Hence the <i>reclamo</i>, or call-bird, is almost -universally preferred for that purpose.</p> - -<p>Red-legged partridges abound throughout the length and breadth of wilder -Spain—not, as at home, on the open corn-lands, but amidst the -interminable scrub and brushwood of the hills and dales, on the moory -wastes, and palmetto-clad prairie. On the latter hares, quail, and -lesser bustard vary the game.</p> - -<p>Thither have ever resorted sportsmen of every degree—the lord of the -land and the peasant, the farmer, the Padre Cura of the parish, or the -local medico—all free to shoot, and each carrying the traitor <i>reclamo</i> -in its narrow cage. The central idea is, of course, that the <i>reclamo</i>, -by its siren song, shall call up to the gun any partridge within -hearing, when its owner, concealed in the bush hard by, has every -opportunity of potting the unconscious game as it runs towards the -decoy—two at a shot preferred, or more if possible. ‘Twere unjust to -reproach the peasant-gunner for the deed; flying shots with his old -“flinter†would merely<a name="page_329" id="page_329"></a> mean wasted ammunition and an empty -pot—misfortunes both in his <i>res angustae domi</i>. We have ourselves, on -African veld, where dinner depends on the gun, meted out similar measure -to strings of cackling guinea-fowl without compunction; but in Spain we -have never tried the <i>reclamo</i>, nor wish to.</p> - -<p>That the race of redlegs should have survived it all—year in and year -out—bespeaks a wondrous fecundity, and has inspired new-born ideas of -“preservation,†which have been initiated in Spain with marked success. -To this subject we refer later.</p> - -<p>Though we have ourselves (maybe from “insular prejudiceâ€) systematically -refused to see the <i>reclamo</i> work his treacherous rôle, yet many Spanish -sportsmen are enthusiastic over the system, which they describe as <i>una -faena muy interesante</i>, and are as proud of their call-birds as we of -our setters. The <i>reclamos</i> may be of either sex. The cock-partridges -become past-masters of the art of calling up their wild rivals from -afar; and by a softer note the wild hen is also lured to her doom—for -the dual influences of love and war are both called into play. The male -hears the defiant challenge of battle and, all aflame, hurries by -alternative flights and runs to seek the unseen challenger. As distance -lessens the fire of each taunt increases, and, blind with passion, the -luckless champion dashes on to that fatal opening where he is aligned by -barrels peeping from the thicket. The female, with more tender purpose, -also draws near—the seductive love-note entices; but, oh! the wooing -o’t—a few pellets of lead end that idyll. It is then—when either rival -or lover, it matters not which, lies low in death alongside his -cage—that the well-constituted <i>reclamo</i> shows his fibre. So overcome -with savage joy, the narrow cage will scarce contain him as he bursts -into exultant pæons of victory. On the other hand, sullen disappointment -is exhibited by the decoy when his exploit has only resulted in a missed -shot.</p> - -<p>In the spring the female call-note is more effective than that of the -male.</p> - -<p>Well-trained <i>reclamos</i> may be worth anything from £2 up to £10. -Recently a yearly licence of ten shillings per bird has been levied. -This has either reduced their numbers, or perhaps caused them to be kept -more secretly. Formerly a <i>cicada</i> in a tiny cage and a <i>reclamo</i> in its -conical prison were contiguous objects in almost every doorway.</p> - -<p>Ground-game is the special favourite of the Spanish cazador.<a name="page_330" id="page_330"></a> He will -search hundreds of acres for a problematical hare, and a long day’s hunt -with his trusty <i>pachón</i> is amply rewarded by a couple or two of -diminutive rabbits about half the weight of ours, but whose speed verily -stands in inverse ratio. For the life of the Spanish rabbit is passed in -the midst of alarms; supremely conscious of soaring eagles and hawks -overhead, he never willingly shows in the open by daylight, or if forced -to it, then terror lends wings to his feet. The death of a hare, -however, represents to the cazador the climax of terrestrial triumph. In -those ecstatic moments the animal (average weight 4½ lbs.) is held -aloft by the hind-legs, a subject for admiration and self-gratulation; -mentally it is weighed again and again to a chorus of soliloquising -ejaculations, “Grande como un chivo†= as big as a kid!</p> - -<p>The quail, though extremely abundant at its passage-seasons (when in -September the Levante, or S.E. wind, blows for days together, blocking -their transit to Africa, Andalucia is crammed with accumulated quails), -yet represents but a small morsel in a culinary sense, and is swift of -wing to boot. Neither of these attributes commend its pursuit to our -friend with the rusty single-barrel; and similar reasons bear, with -increased force, on the case of snipe. These game-birds are left -severely alone—that is, with the gun.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bags of twenty brace of quail (and in former years of forty or -fifty brace) may then be made where, on the wind changing next day, -never a quail will be found.</p> - -<p>In spring, again, great numbers pass northward, but many remain to -nest on the fertile <i>vegas</i> of Guadalquivir and on the plains of -Castile. At that season quail are chiefly taken by nets; but on -systems so cunning and elaborate that we regret having no space for -descriptive detail. Put briefly, in Andalucia the fowler spreads a -gossamer-woven fabric loosely over the growing corn; then, lying -alongside, by means of a <i>pito</i> (an instrument that exactly -reproduces the dactylic call-note of the quarry) induces every -combative male within earshot either to run beneath or to alight -precisely upon the outspread snare. So perfect is the imitation -that quail will even run over the fowler’s prostrate form in their -search for the adversary. In Valencia living call-birds (hung in -cages on poles) are substituted for the <i>pito</i>, and the net is more -of a fixture—small patches of the previous autumn’s crop being -left uncut expressly to attract quail to definite points.</p> - -<p>The Andalucian quail frequents palmetto-scrub and is very -local—rarely can more than two or three couple be killed in a day, -and that<a name="page_331" id="page_331"></a> only in September. Some appear then to retire to Africa, -along with the turtle-doves—the latter a bird that surely deserves -passing note, since few are smarter on wing or afford quicker -snap-shooting while passing by millions through this country every -autumn.</p></div> - -<p>The conditions above indicated prevail over a vast proportion of rural -Spain, which thus presents small attraction to wandering gunner, however -humble his ideals.</p> - -<p>There are other regions where the landowners, though in no sense -“preserving,†yet prohibit free entry on their properties owing to -damage done—such as disturbing stock, stampeding cattle on to -cultivation in a land where no fences exist, and so on. Naturally such -ground carries more game, and subject to permission being received, fair -and sometimes excellent sport is attainable. Thus, on one such property -the tangled woods of wild olive abound with woodcock, though -difficulties are presented by the impenetrable character of the -briar-bound thickets. Were “rides†cut and clearings enlarged quite -large bags of woodcock might be secured. The rough scrubby hills -adjoining carry a fair stock of partridge, and we have often killed -forty or fifty snipe in the marshy valleys that intervene. The following -will serve as an example of three consecutive days’ shooting on such -unpreserved ground (two guns—<span class="smcap">S. D</span>. and <span class="smcap">B. F. B.</span>):—</p> - -<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td> </td><td align="center"> Nov. 13.</td><td align="center"> Nov. 14.</td><td align="center"> Nov. 15.</td><td align="center"> Total.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Snipe</td><td align="right"> 101</td><td align="right"> 32</td><td align="right"> 155</td><td align="right"> 288</td></tr> -<tr><td>Ducks and Teal</td><td align="right"> 2</td><td align="right"> 9</td><td align="right"> 3</td><td align="right"> 14</td></tr> -<tr><td>Wild-Geese</td><td align="right"> 3</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="right"> 3</td></tr> -<tr><td>Sundries</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="center"> ...</td><td align="right"> 4</td><td align="right"> 4</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td align="right"> 105</td><td align="right"> 41</td><td align="right"> 162</td><td align="right"> 309</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Three days in February on similar ground, but in an unfavourable season, -yielded 79 snipe, 5 woodcock, 19 golden plovers, 3 lesser bustard, a -hare, and a few sundries.</p> - -<p class="c"> -<span class="smcap">Lebrija</span>, <i>December</i> 1897.—<span class="smcap">Two Guns, C. D. W. and B. F. B. (Half-day)</span><br /> -117 snipe (mostly driven)<br /> -<br /> -<span class="smcap">Lebrija</span>, <i>November</i> 16, 1904.—<span class="smcap">Same Two Guns</span><br /> -112 snipe, 2 mallard, 1 curlew<br /> -<br /> -<span class="smcap">Casas Viejas</span>, <i>November</i> 19, 1906.—<span class="smcap">Three Guns (S. D., C. D. W., and B. F. B.)</span><br /> -123 snipe, 1 mallard, 5 teal<br /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_332" id="page_332"></a></p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Partridge-Shooting</span></p> - -<p>Passing from the use of the <i>reclamo</i>, of which we have no personal -experience, we turn to the system practised in the Coto Doñana. Here we -always have the marisma bordering, as an inland sea, our northern -frontage. Upon that fact the system known as “<i>averando</i>†is based.</p> - -<p>A line of six or eight guns, with sufficient beaters between, and -mounted keepers on either flank (the whole extending over, say, -half-a-mile of front), is formed up at a distance of a mile or two -inland from the marisma. On advancing, with the wings thrown forward, -and mounted men skirmishing ahead, a space comprising hundreds of acres -of scrub is thus enclosed. The partridge, running forward among the -cistus or rising far beyond gunshot, are gradually pushed down towards -the water; then, as the advancing line approaches the marisma, with the -belts of rush and sedge that border it, the work begins. The game, -unwilling to face the water, perforce come swinging back over the -shooting-line. Naturally on seeing encompassing danger in full view -behind and barring their retreat, the partridge spin up -heavenwards—higher and yet higher, till they finally pass over the guns -at a height and speed and with a pronounced curve that ensures the -maximum of difficulty in every shot offered.</p> - -<p>In this final stage of the operation grow cork-oaks whose bulk and -evergreen foliage add further complexity for the gunner.</p> - -<p>It illustrates the exertions made by the partridges to attain an -altitude and a speed sufficient to carry them safely over the -clearly-seen danger below, that should a bird which has succeeded in -thus running the gauntlet happen to be found after the beat is over, it -will often be too exhausted to rise again. Such tired birds are often -caught by the dogs.</p> - -<p>As many as six or eight <i>averos</i>, as they are termed, may be carried out -during a winter’s day. The walking in places is apt to be rough, through -jungle and bush—chiefly cistus and rosemary, but intermixed with -tree-heaths, brooms, and gorse—intercepted with stretches of water -which must be waded without wincing, for it is essential that each man -(gun or beater) maintains correctly his allotted position in the -advance.</p> - -<p>Naturally in a sandy waste, devoid of corn or tillage of any kind, -partridge cannot be numerous. They are, moreover, subject<a name="page_333" id="page_333"></a> to terrible -enemies in the eagles, kites, and hawks of every description; while -lynxes, wild-cats, foxes, and other beasts-of-prey take daily and -nightly toll; then in spring their eggs are devoured by the big lizards, -by harriers, mongoose, and magpies in thousands. We have recently -endeavoured to increase their numbers by grubbing up 300 acres of scrub -and cultivating wheat. But here again Nature opposes us. Deer break down -the fences, ignore our guards armed with lanterns and blank cartridge, -trample down more than they eat, and the rabbits finish the rest! -Moreover, in wet seasons the ground is flooded, the crops destroyed; -while, if too dry, the seed will not germinate, and all the time the -unkillable brushwood comes and comes again.</p> - -<p>Forty or fifty brace represent average days; though it is fair to add -that they are but few who fully avail the fleeting opportunities at -those back-swerving dots in the sky.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Rabbits</span></p> - -<p>The cistus plains abound with rabbits. One sees them by scores moving -ahead, but just beyond gunshot range, which they calculate to a nicety. -Others dart from underfoot to disappear in an instant in the cover. Few -are shot while walking; but some pretty sport is obtainable by short -drives, say a quarter-mile. The line of keepers and beaters ride round -to windward, encircling some well-stocked bush; then slowly and noisily, -with frequent halts, advance down-wind—the rabbit is as susceptible of -scent as a deer. Meanwhile the dogs are having a rare time of it -hustling the bunnies forward. The guns are placed each to command some -clear spot, for where scrub grows thick nothing can be seen. A momentary -glimpse is all one gets, and snap-shooting essential. The most -favourable spots are where a strip of open ground lies immediately -behind the guns. The rabbits fairly fly this, a dozen at a time, and at -speed that suggests some one having set fire to their tails.</p> - -<p>In days of phenomenal bags, our Spanish totals read humble enough. We -frequently kill a hundred or more rabbits in two or three short drives, -besides such partridge as may also have been enclosed. Were a whole day -devoted to rabbits alone, much greater numbers would of course result. -But having such variety of resource at disposal (to say nothing of -difficulty in disposing<a name="page_334" id="page_334"></a> of large quantities), the <i>conejete</i> rarely -receives more than an hour or two’s attention.</p> - -<p>Hares (<i>Lepus mediterraneus</i>), common all over Spain, are rather more -numerous in the marisma than on the drier grounds. They have indeed -developed semi-aquatic habits, in times of flood swimming freely from -island to island and making arboreal “forms†in the half-submerged -samphire-bush. Should the whole become submerged, the hares betake -themselves to the main shore, and on such occasions, with two guns, we -have shot a dozen or so on a drive. These small Spanish hares are -marvellously fleet of foot, especially when an almost equally -fleet-footed <i>podenco</i> is in full chase over ground as flat and bare as -a bowling-green.</p> - -<p>In these hares the females are larger and greyer in colour than the -males. Their irides are yellow, with a small pupil, whereas in the male -the eye is hazel and the pupil large. The fur of the latter is bright -chestnut in hue, especially on hind-quarters and legs, which frequently -show irregular splashes of white. The lower parts are purest white, and -along the clean-cut line of demarcation the colour contrasts are the -strongest. Long film-like hairs grow far beyond the ordinary fur on -their bodies, and the tails are longer and carried higher than in our -British species.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td align="center" colspan="7">Weights of Ten Spanish Hares, killed January 30, 1908</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Males</td><td align="left">4½</td><td align="left">4½</td><td align="left">4½</td><td align="left">4½</td><td align="left">4½</td><td align="left">lbs., deadweight</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Females</td><td align="left">4¾</td><td align="left">5</td><td align="left">5½</td><td align="left">5½</td><td align="left">5½</td><td align="left">lbs., deadweight</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="c">Weights of Spanish Rabbits (in Couples)</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td align="left">Ten couples</td><td align="left">3</td><td align="left">3</td><td align="left">3</td><td align="left">3¼</td><td align="left">3¼</td><td align="left">3¼</td><td align="left">3¼</td><td align="left">3½</td><td align="left">3½</td><td align="left">3¾</td><td align="left">lbs., clean</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="nind">These rabbits differ from the home-breed not only in their smaller size, -but in the colder grey of their fur and large transparent ears.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_148a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_148a_sml.jpg" width="414" height="279" alt="READY TO CAST OFF. THE PACK OF PODENCOS IN COUPLES." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">READY TO CAST OFF. THE PACK OF PODENCOS IN COUPLES.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_148b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_148b_sml.jpg" width="411" height="300" alt="THE DAY’S RESULTS. - -Royal Shooting at the Pardo, near Madrid." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE DAY’S RESULTS.<br /> -Royal Shooting at the Pardo, near Madrid.</span> -</p> - -<p>Hitherto shooting over great areas of rural Spain has been practised -under conditions absolutely natural—almost pristine. The game on -mountain, moor, or marsh is not only free to any hunter who possesses -the skill to capture it, but it is left to fight unaided its struggle -for existence against hosts of enemies, feathered, furred, and scaled, -the like of which has no equivalent in our crowded isles; and which work -terrible havoc, each in its own way, among the milder members of -creation. The presence of so many fierce raptorials, however (though it -ruin the “bagâ€),<a name="page_335" id="page_335"></a> adds for a naturalist an incomparable charm to days -spent in Spanish wilds. Alas! that even here those pristine conditions -should already appear to be doomed, that every savage spirit must be -quenched, till nothing save the utilitarian survive! The following notes -on game-preservation in Spain indicate the beginning of the change.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">On some great Sporting Estates of Spain</span></p> - -<p>Game-preservation, in the stricter sense in which it is practised in -England, was unknown in Spain till within our own earlier days. But now -many great estates yield bags of partridge that may challenge comparison -with results obtained elsewhere.</p> - -<p>Whether those results equal the best of the crack partridge-manors in -England or not we do not inquire. It is immaterial and irrelevant. No -comparison is either desirable or possible where natural conditions and -difficulties differ fundamentally. But the result at least throws a ray -of reflected light upon the energy and capacity of the Spanish -gamekeeper, who, under extraordinary difficulties, has aided and enabled -his employers to produce conditions which only a few years ago would -have appeared impossible. It should be added that these estates which -now realise surprising results have, in most instances, belonged to the -same owners during generations, though not till towards the end of last -century was any special care bestowed upon the game.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>The estate of Mudéla, in La Mancha, the property of the Marquis de -Mudéla, Count of Valdelagrana, stands unrivalled in a sporting sense. -Its extent is approximately 80,000 acres, and the whole abounds with -red-legged partridge, rabbits, and hares. A dozen consecutive -driving-days can be enjoyed, each on fresh ground, and 1000 partridges -are often here secured by seven guns, driving, in a day.</p> - -<p>There is here quite a small proportion of corn-land or tillage, the -greater portion consisting of the rough pasturage, interspersed with -patches of scattered brush and palmetto, which is characteristic of -southern Spain.</p> - -<p>The great results achieved (for 1000 partridges a day, all wild-bred -birds, can only so be described) are due to systematic<a name="page_336" id="page_336"></a> preservation, -including the trapping of noxious animals, furred or feathered, and the -payment of rewards to the peasantry for each nest hatched-off—in short, -by efficient protection of the game, with the destruction of its -enemies. In hot dry summers it is necessary to provide both water and -food to the game.</p> - -<p>Next to Mudéla, the most celebrated sporting properties include those of -Lachár and Tajarja, both in the province of Granada, and belonging to -the Duke of San Pedro de Galatino; Trasmulas in the same province -belonging to the Conde de Agrela, and Ventosilla, the property of the -Duke of Santona in the province of Toledo. There should also be named -Daranézas in the last-named province, the Marquis de la Torrecilla; and -Daramezán (Toledo), the Marquis de Alcanices.</p> - -<p>At Malpica in Toledo, the estate of the Duke of Arión, there were -killed, on the occasion of a visit of King Alfonso XIII., a total in one -day of 1655 head (partridges, hares, and rabbits), of which His Majesty -was credited with 600.</p> - -<p>We extract the following from the Madrid newspaper <i>La Epoca</i>, January -22, 1908:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>At El Rincon, Navalcarnero, near Madrid, the King, with thirteen -other guns, were the guests of the Marquesa de Manzanedo on January -20. Eight drives were completed, 350 beaters being employed. The -total recovered numbered 1400 head, of which 241 fell to the King’s -gun. His Majesty continued shooting with astonishing brilliancy -even while darkness was already setting in, and wound up with four -consecutive right-and-lefts when one could scarce see even a few -yards away. King Alfonso killed 97 partridge, 31 hares, 98 rabbits, -and 15 various—double the number that fell to the next highest -score.</p></div> - -<p>Most of the places named are capable of yielding from 500 to 800 and -even 1000 partridge in a day’s driving, besides other game.<a name="page_337" id="page_337"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXXIV<br /><br /> -ALIMAÑAS<br /><br /> -<small>THE MINOR BEASTS OF CHASE</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">W<small>E</small> have no British equivalent for this generic term, applied in Spain to -a group of creatures, chiefly belonging to the canine, feline, and -viverrine families, that deserve a chapter to themselves. The Spanish -word <i>Alimañas</i> includes the lynxes and wild-cats, foxes, mongoose, -genets, badgers, otters, and such like. It might therefore be rendered -as “vermin,†but surely only in the benevolent sense—as it were, a term -of endearment. We have preferred the expression “minor beasts of chase,†-though it may be objected that such are not, in fact, beasts of chase. -We reply that hardly any wild animals are harder to secure in fair -contest or more capable of testing the venatic resource of the hunter.</p> - -<p>For these animals are beasts-of-prey, and that fact alone implies -nothing less than that in their very nature and life-habits they must be -more cunning, more astute, than those other creatures (mostly game) on -which they are ordained to subsist. Moreover, being nocturnals, their -senses of sight, scent, and hearing all far exceed our own, and they -possess the enormous advantage that they see equally well in the dark.</p> - -<p>Wild Spain, with her 56 per cent of desert or sparsely peopled regions, -is a paradise for predatory creatures—alike the furred and the -feathered—and <i>alimañas</i> abound whether in the bush and scrub of her -torrid plains, or amid the heavier jungle of her mountain-ranges.</p> - -<p>Numerous as they are, yet these night-rovers rarely come in evidence -unless one goes expressly in search of them. In regular shooting, with -organised parties, they are more or less ignored, or rather they pass -unseen through the lines, moving so silently and stealthily and always -choosing the thickest covert. With<a name="page_338" id="page_338"></a> guns from 100 to 200 yards apart and -upwards, each intent on the larger game, the secretive <i>alimañas</i> easily -get through—indeed, wolves and even big boars, though the crash of -brushwood may be heard, often pass unseen.</p> - -<p>Many unconventional days have the authors enjoyed in express pursuit of -these keen-eyed creatures—call them vermin if you will. There are four -methods which we have found effective:</p> - -<p>1. Short drives of individual jungles where sufficient open spaces occur -to leeward to enable the game to be seen.</p> - -<p>2. Long drives of extensive jungles, converging on guns placed at points -that either command the probable lines of retreat, or cover some other -favourite resort wherein the quarry is likely to seek refuge.</p> - -<p>3. Calling—in Spanish, <i>chillando</i>.</p> - -<p>4. Watching at dawn or dusk, either with or without a “drag.â€</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>1. The first plan is, of course, the simplest; but it must be borne in -mind that this is essentially close-quarters’ work—hence the utmost -silence is necessary. Horses must be picketed at least a mile back, for -the clank of hoof on rock or the clashing of the bucket-like Spanish -stirrups in bush will awaken even a dormouse. All proceed on foot; and -the whole plan having been arranged beforehand, not a word need now be -spoken, each gun taking his allotted place in silence. Guns may be as -far as 100 yards apart (since mould-shot is effective up to nearly that -range) and each man should station himself looking into the beat, so as -to command the intervening “opens,†while himself absolutely concealed -and still as a stone god, since he is now competing with some of the -keenest eyes on earth. All the cats, moreover, come on so stealthily, -making good their advance yard by yard, that quite possibly a great -tawny lynx may be coolly surveying your position ere your eye has caught -the slightest movement ahead.</p> - -<p>Nothing emphasises the amazing stealth of these silent creatures more -than such incidents: when suddenly you find, within twenty yards, a wild -beast, standing nearly two feet at shoulder, slowly approaching through -quite thin bush; how, in wonder’s name, did it get so near unseen? -Foxes, as a rule, come bundling along with far less precaution and no -such vigilant look-out ahead, though they will instantly detect the -least <i>movement</i><a name="page_339" id="page_339"></a> in front. A fox will often appear so deep in thought -as to be absolutely thunderstruck when he finds himself face to face -with a gun at six yards distance. In direst consternation he fairly -bounds around, describing a complete circle of fur; whereas a cat in -like circumstance merely deflects her course with coolest deliberation -and never a sign of alarm or increase of speed. But within six more -yards she will have vanished from view—covert or none. Adepts all are -the cats, alike in appearing one knows not whence, and in disappearing -one knows not how.</p> - -<p>Yonder goes a fox, slowly trotting along below the crest, in his -self-sufficient, nonchalant style. His upstanding fur, long bushy brush, -and swollen neck appear to double his bulk and lend him quite an -imposing figure. But let a rifle-ball sing past his ears or dash up a -cloud of the sand below—what a transformation! One hardly now -recognises the long lean streak that whips up and over the ridge.</p> - -<p>A handsome trophy is the Spanish lynx, especially those more brightly -coloured examples sparsely spotted with big black splotches arranged, -more or less, in interrupted lines. The ear-tufts—indeed in adults the -extreme tips of the ears themselves—point inwards and backwards; and -the narrow irides are pale yellow (between lemon and hazel), the pupil -being full, round, and black, nearly filling the circle. In the wild-cat -the pupil is a thin upright, set in a cruel pale-green iris.</p> - -<p>We have tried <span class="smcap">FIRE</span> as a means of securing the smaller <i>alimañas</i>, such -as mongoose, but it is seldom a thicket or <i>mancha</i> can be so completely -isolated as to leave no line of escape. The animals, moreover, are -astute enough to retire under cover of the clouds of smoke that roll -away to leeward.</p> - -<p>2. <span class="smcap">Long drives</span>, extending over, say, a couple of miles of brush-wood -(which may contain half-a-dozen patches of thicker jungle, all -separate), give wide scope for skilled fieldcraft and demand no small -local knowledge. The first essential is “an eye for a country.†There -are men to whom this faculty is denied; some seem incapable of acquiring -it. Others, again, appear correctly to diagnose even a difficult -country, with its chances, almost at a first experience. The favoured -haunts of game, together with their accustomed lines of retreat when -disturbed, must be studied. Each day, though engaged on other pursuit, -one’s eye should be reading those lessons that are written in “spoor,†-and noting each<a name="page_340" id="page_340"></a> commanding point and salient angle or other local -“advantage†in the terrain.</p> - -<p>Such drives necessarily occupy more time; moreover, the precise lines of -entry along which game may approach are less restricted—hence follows -an even greater demand on that vigilance already emphasised. But to the -hunter the mental gratification, the sense of dominion achieved, is -ample reward when his deep-laid plans succeed and when along one or more -of his ambushed lines the cunning carnivorae pursue an unsuspecting -course.</p> - -<p>Nature herself may assist by signs which set the expectant hunter yet -more instantly alert. A distant kite suddenly swerving or checking its -flight has seen <i>something</i>. The chattering of a band of magpies may -only mean that they have struck a “find,†say a dead rabbit—<i>tacitus -pasci si posset corvus</i>, etc. But it may easily indicate a moving -nocturnal, and such signs should never be ignored. Similarly a covey of -partridges springing with continued cackling is a certain token of the -presence of an enemy; while a terrified-looking rabbit, with staring eye -and ears laid back, means that an interview is then instantly impending.</p> - -<p>It may be necessary (as where a desert-stretch flanks the beat) to place -“stops†far outside. These are as important as in a grouse-drive, but -quite tenfold more difficult to array.</p> - -<p>In these more extensive operations the lynx, in evading the guns, is -sometimes intercepted by the advancing pack behind. Then, if by luck the -cat can be forced into the open, she goes off at fine speed in great -bounds, as a leopard covers the veld, and (the horses in this case being -picketed close by) may sometimes be “tree’d†or run to bay in some -distant thicket. In that case the assistance of the hunters is needed, -for a lynx at bay will hold-up a whole pack of <i>podencos</i>, sitting erect -on her haunches with her back to the bush and dealing half-arm blows -with lightning speed. These <i>podencos</i>, it should be explained, are not -intended to close, since all high-couraged dogs, we find, meet a speedy -death from the tusks of wild-boars.</p> - -<p>When pressed in the open, we have seen a lynx deliberately pass through -deep water that lay in her line of flight.</p> - -<p>3. <span class="smcap">Calling.</span>—The coney was ever a puny folk, yet in Tarshish he thrives -and multiplies amidst numberless foes aloft and alow. From the heavens -above fierce eyes directing hooked beaks and<a name="page_341" id="page_341"></a> clenched talons survey his -every movement; on the earth lynxes, cats, and foxes subsist chiefly on -him; while below ground foumart and mongoose penetrate his farthest -retreats year in and year out. He seems to possess absolutely no -protection, yet he endures all this, supports his enemies, and -increases, ever, to appearance, gaily unconscious of the perils that -beset him. Once, however, let misfortune overtake the rabbit, and his -cry of distress brings instant response—from scrub and sky, from -thicket and lurking lair, assemble the fiercer folk, each intent on his -flesh.</p> - -<p>It is upon this fact that the system of calling, or, in Spanish, -<i>chillando</i>, is based. The instrument is simple. A crab’s claw, or the -green bark of a two-inch twig slipped off its stalk, will, in the lips -of an adept, produce just such a cry of cunicular distress. Armed with -this, and observing the wind, one takes post concealed by bush but -commanding some open glade in front. The most favourable time is dawn -and dusk—the latter for choice, since then predatory animals are waking -up hungry. The first “call†by our Spanish companion almost startles by -its lifelike verisimilitude. At short intervals these ringing -distress-signals resound through the silent bush; if no response -follows, we try another spot. First, a distant kite or buzzard, hearing -the call, comes wheeling this way, but naturally the birds-of-prey from -their lofty point of view detect the human presence and pursue their -quest elsewhere. The rabbits themselves, from some inexplicable cause, -are among the first to respond.</p> - -<p>Within that opposite wall of jungle you detect a furtive movement; -presently with jerky, spasmodic gait a rabbit darts out; it sits -trembling with staring eyes and ears laid aback; another rolls over on -its side and performs strange antics as though under hypnotic influence. -In two minutes you have a <i>séance</i> of mesmerised rabbits.</p> - -<p>My companion touches me on the arm; away beyond, and half behind him -(almost on the wind), stands a fox intently gazing. Before the gun can -be brought to bear it is necessary to step round the keeper’s front, and -one expects that that first movement will mean the instant disappearance -of the vulpine. Not so! There he stands, statuesque, while the -manÅ“uvre is executed. Is he, too, hypnotised? On one occasion the -authors, standing shoulder to shoulder with the keeper behind them, were -only<a name="page_342" id="page_342"></a> concealed by a single bush in front. At the third or fourth call a -wild-cat sprang from the thicket beyond, fairly flew the intervening -thirty yards at a bound, and landed in the single bush at our feet -(precisely where the “rabbit†should have been) before a gun could be -raised. What a marvellous exhibition of wild hunting!</p> - -<p>In this case, too, we had had notice in advance by the noisy rising of a -pair of partridges sixty yards away in the bush. That cat scaled 12½ -lbs. dead-weight.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>All the beasts-of-prey can be secured in this manner. February is their -pairing-season; but the best time for “calling†is a month or so -later—in March and April—when young rabbits appear and when the -<i>alimañas</i> themselves have their litters to feed.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_149_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_149_sml.jpg" width="305" height="130" alt="IMPERIAL EAGLE PASSING OVERHEAD - -(The spectator is presumed to be lying on his back!)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">IMPERIAL EAGLE PASSING OVERHEAD<br /> -(The spectator is presumed to be lying on his back!)</span> -</p> - -<p>Feathered raptores, such as eagles, kites, and buzzards, can also be -obtained by “calling,†but, as above indicated, their loftier position -enables them to see the guns, and it is necessary in their case to -prepare a covered shelter in which one can stand, concealed from above.</p> - -<p>4. <span class="smcap">Watching.</span>—The fourth and last system brings one face to face with -wild nature in her nocturnal aspects. Such aspects (to the majority of -mankind) are unknown; but night-work, whether at home, in Africa, or in -Spain, has always strongly appealed to the writers. Wild creatures do -not go to bed at night like lazy men; on the contrary, night is the -period of fullest activity for a large proportion of God’s creation, -whether of fur or feather. To form an intimate personal acquaintance -(however imperfect) with these, the comfort of the blankets must be -sacrificed.<a name="page_343" id="page_343"></a></p> - -<p>Where stretches of open country border or intersect jungle, or lie -between the nocturnal hunting-grounds of carnivorae and the thickets -where they lie-up by day, there one may enjoy hours of intense interest -in watching what passes under the moon. In the Coto Doñana we have many -such spots, some within an hour or two’s ride of our shooting-lodges. -Here, when the moon shines full, and the soft south wind blows towards -the dark leagues of cistus and tree-heath behind us, we line-out three -or four guns, each looking outwards across glittering sand-wastes on his -front. There, on smooth expanse, one may detect every moving thing. -Those shadowy forms that seem to skim the surface without touching it -are stone-curlews, and beyond them is a less mobile object, whose -identity none would guess by sight. That is a <i>tortuga</i>, or -land-tortoise, tracing its singular double trail. Across the sand passes -a bigger shadow—rabbits and the rest all vanish. What was that shadow? -A strange growl overhead, and you see it is an eagle-owl that has -scattered the ghost-like groups. Now there is something on the far -skyline ahead—something that moves and puzzles—four mobile objects -that were not there five seconds ago. These prove to be the ears of two -hinds; presently the spiky horns of a stag appear behind them, and the -trio move slowly across our front, stopping to nibble some tuft of bent.</p> - -<p>None of these are what we seek, but as dawn approaches you may (or may -not) detect the form of some beast-of-prey making for its lair in the -jungle behind you. Foxes, as their habit is, trot straight in; the lynx -comes with infinite caution. Should some starveling bush survive a -hundred yards out, she may stop, squatting on her haunches, half-hidden -in its shade. You can see there is something there, but the distance is -just beyond a sure range, and seldom indeed will that cat come nearer. -However low and still you have laid the while, she will, by some subtle -feline intuition, have gleaned (perhaps half unconsciously even to -herself) a sense of danger. When day has dawned, you will find the -retiring spoor winding backwards behind some gentle swell that leads to -an unseen hollow beyond—and to safety. Truly you agree when the keeper -says, “Lynxes see <i>best</i> in the dark.â€</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>In a wide country it is of course purely fortuitous should any of these -animals approach within shot. To assure that result with<a name="page_344" id="page_344"></a> greater -certainty we have adopted the plan of a “drag.†Two or three hours -before taking our positions (that is, shortly after midnight), a keeper -rides along far outside on the sand, trailing behind his horse a bunch -of split-open rabbits. Upon arriving outside the intended position of -each gun, he directs his course inwards, thus dragging the bait close up -to the post. Then taking a fresh bunch of rabbits, he repeats the -operation to each post in turn. Thus every incoming beast must strike -the scented trail at one point or another. Occasionally one will follow -the drag right into the expectant gun, more often (the animals being -full at that hour) it will leave the trail after following it for a -greater or less distance. Some ignore it altogether. This applies to all -sorts. The sand, as day dawns, forms a regular lexicon of spoor. One can -trace each movement of the night. There go the plantigrade tracks of a -badger, and hard by the light-footed prints of mongoose, mice, and an -infinity of minor creatures.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Foxes most frequently capture their prey in fair chase, running them -down, as shown by the double spoor ending in blood. Lynxes never chase; -they kill by stalking, and a crouching spoor ends in a spring. Both -these habitually carry away or bury all they do not devour on the spot.</p> - -<p>From the end of January onwards (that being the pairing-season) foxes -may often be seen abroad by daylight in couples, and in such case, -provided <i>they</i> are <i>seen first</i>, are easily brought-up by “calling.†-Lynxes never show-up so by daylight, but an hour or two before dawn -their weird wailing cries may be heard in the bush from mid-February -onwards.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>The mongoose is perhaps the least easily secured, being absolutely -nocturnal and running so low (like a giant weasel) as to be almost -invisible, however slight the covert. It is, moreover, an adept at -concealment, and will scarcely be detected even at thirty yards if -stationary. The best way to secure specimens of badger and mongoose is -by digging-out their breeding-earths or warrens. An initial difficulty -is to find the earths amid leagues of scrub or rugged mountain-sides; -and even when located it may be necessary to burn off half an acre of -brushwood before the spade can be brought into action. From one set of -earths we have succeeded in digging out five big mongoose alive.<a name="page_345" id="page_345"></a> That -night, though confined in strong wooden cases, they gnawed their way -out, and were never seen more, albeit their prison was on board a yacht -anchored in mid-stream and half-a-mile from shore.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>A few such days and nights as these teach that wild Spain cherishes -other animals besides the game, to the full as interesting and even more -difficult to secure.</p> - -<p>If we are asked (as we often have been before) why we molest creatures -which have no value when killed, we reply that almost without exception -our Spanish specimens have gone to enrich one collection or another, -public or private, and that during the year in which we write this the -authors spent a fortnight in obtaining a series of these animals for our -National Museum at South Kensington, with the following results:—<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Four lynxes—two males, 30¼ and 31 lbs.; two females, 18½ and -23 lbs.—representing both types, namely, (1) that with many small -spots, and (2) the handsomer form with fewer large and conspicuous -blotches.</p> - -<p>One wild-cat (an exceptional specimen)—a male of 15 lbs., with -yellow irides instead of the usual cold, cruel, pale-green eyes -like an unripe gooseberry. This cat was what the Spanish keepers -describe as <i>rayado</i> = banded, <i>i.e.</i> the spots are arrayed in -regular series or interrupted bands rather than scattered -promiscuously. This race is distinguished as <i>gato clavo</i>, the -ordinary wild-cat being known as <i>gato romano</i>.</p> - -<p>Several other wild-cats (<i>Gatos romanos</i>)—males weighing from -10¾ to 12½ lbs.; females weighing from 7½ to 8¼ lbs.</p> - -<p>In the sierras wild-cats run heavier than this, for we have killed -in Moréna a wild-cat that scaled 7¾ kilos, or upwards of 17 lbs.</p> - -<p>Two badgers—male, 17½ lbs.; female, 14½ lbs. These Spanish -badgers are blacker in the legs than British examples, and their -fore-claws are more powerfully developed, possibly in this case -through living in sand. Really big males weigh nearly double the -above.</p> - -<p>Ten foxes (<i>Vulpes melanogaster</i>)—six males weighing 13¾ , 14, -15 16½ , 16½ , 17 lbs.; four females weighing 11, 11¾ , -13½ , 14 lbs.</p> - -<p>Besides “small deer,†such as rats and mice, voles, moles, and -dormice, to say nothing of a whole red-stag and a whole wild-boar!</p></div> - -<p class="sbhead">[<span class="smcap">Postscript</span>]</p> - -<p><i>March 2, 1907.</i>—<i>Chillando</i> this evening at the Oyillos del Tio Juan -Roque, a big grey sow with numerous progeny came<a name="page_346" id="page_346"></a> trotting up to within -a few yards—whether to devour the supposed rabbit or merely from -curiosity was not apparent. On realising the situation, she turned and -dashed off with an indignant snort, followed by her striped brood, but -did not go far before stopping (like Lot’s wife) to listen and look -back.</p> - -<p>Later, at the Sabinal, just upon dusk, a fox appeared about 120 yards -away, down-wind. Though quite aware of our presence, both by scent and -sight, he deliberately sat down on his haunches to watch; but no charm -of the <i>chillar</i> would induce a nearer approach, and a rifle-ball -whistling within an inch or two of his ears broke the spell.</p> - -<p>On May 16, 1910, a mongoose responded with unusual alacrity to the first -“call,†running up within twenty yards. This was an adult male and -weighed 8½ lbs.</p> - -<p class="c">. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . .</p> - -<p>We have endeavoured to rear some of these animals in captivity. The -young wild-cats are by far the most intractable—perfect fiends of -savage fury, quite unamenable to civilisation. The lynx at least affects -a measure of subjection, but remains always unreliable and treacherous -in spirit. The story of how one of our tame lynxes attacked and nearly -killed a poor <i>lavandera</i> is told in <i>Wild Spain</i>, p. 447.<a name="page_347" id="page_347"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXV" id="CHAPTER_XXXV"></a>CHAPTER XXXV<br /><br /> -OUR “HOME-MOUNTAINSâ€<br /><br /> -<small>THE SERRANÃA DE RONDA</small></h2> - -<p class="sbhead">I. <span class="smcap">San Cristobal and the <i>Pinsápo</i> Region</span></p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HIS</small> mountain-system may be regarded as an outlying eastern extension of -the Sierra Neváda. Except at the “Ultimo Suspiro del Moro†there is no -actual break, and both in physical features and in fauna the two ranges -coincide, while differing essentially from the Sierra Moréna, their -immediate neighbour on the north. The SerranÃa de Ronda, nevertheless, -displays distinctive characters which entitle it to a place in this -book; it forms, moreover, our “Home-mountains,†lying within a -thirty-mile ride eastward of Jerez.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 212px;"> -<a href="images/ill_150_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_150_sml.jpg" width="212" height="264" alt="PINSÃPO PINE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">PINSÃPO PINE</span> -</div> - -<p>The outstanding feature is the <i>massif</i>—or, in Spanish, <i>Nucléo -Central</i>—of San Cristobal, which rises to 5800 feet, and stands head -and shoulders above its surrounding satellites, an imposing pile of cold -grey rock and perpendicular precipice.<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a></p> - -<p>Nestling beneath its western bastions lies the Moorish<a name="page_348" id="page_348"></a> hamlet of -Benamahoma, whence, housed in friendly quarters, we have oft explored -this hill. The route to the summit (which may almost be reached on -donkey-back) is by the southern face; for summits, however, merely as -such, we have no sort of affection, and never expend one ounce of energy -in gaining them, unless they chance to aid a main objective. As to -“views,†we are sure to enjoy these from other points quite as -effective.</p> - -<p>New-fallen snow powdered the ground and mantled the surrounding peaks as -we rode out of Benamahoma on March 20. But the sun shone bright, and -from a poplar softly warbled a rock-bunting—with pearl-grey head, -triple banded. Serins and kitty-wrens sang from the wooded slopes, and -we observed long-tailed tits, with cirl-buntings and woodlarks. A grey -wagtail by the burnside was already acquiring the black throat of -spring.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 126px;"> -<a href="images/ill_151_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_151_sml.jpg" width="126" height="181" alt="ROCK-BUNTING (Emberiza cia)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ROCK-BUNTING (Emberiza cia)</span> -</div> - -<p>The tortuous track writhes upwards through sporadic cultivation—the -angles at which these hill-men can work a plough amaze, beans and -<i>garbanzos</i> grow on slopes where no ordinary biped could maintain a -foothold. The industry of mountaineers (here as elsewhere in Spain) is -remarkable. Each tillable patch, however small or abrupt, is reduced to -service, its million stones removed and utilised to form the foundation -for a tiny era, or threshing-floor (like a shelf on the hillside), -whereon the hard-won crop is threshed with flails. Higher out on the -hills rude stone sheilings are erected to serve as shelters during -seed-time and harvest. Not even the hardy Norseman puts up a tougher -tussle with nature to wrest her fruits from the earth.</p> - -<p>Presently one enters forests of oak and ilex with strange misshapen -trunks, stunted and hollow, but decorated with prehensile convolvulus -and mistletoe—many three-fourths dead, mere shells with cavernous -interior, sheltering tufts of ferns. Here, instead of destroying the -whole tree, charcoal-burners pollard and lop; huge lateral limbs are -amputated as they grow, and the result, during centuries, produces these -monstrosities, rarely exceeding twenty feet in height and surmounted by -a<a name="page_349" id="page_349"></a> delicate superstructure of branches totally disproportionate. No more -fantastic forms can be conceived than these bloated boles, wrestling, as -it were, with death, yet still able to transmit life to the -superstruction above. They recall the Baobab trees of Central Africa. In -neither case is the effect absolutely displeasing, albeit grotesque. -Both may be described as deformed rather than disfigured.</p> - -<p>On rounding the northern shoulder of the mountain, suddenly the whole -scene changes. Instead of limb-lopped trunks, one is faced by the dark -foliage of the pinsápo pine—a forest monarch whose stately growth -strikes one’s eye as something conspicuously new. And new indeed it is. -For the range of this great Spanish pine (<i>Abies pinsapo</i>) is limited -not merely to Spain, but actually to this one mountain-range, the -SerranÃa de Ronda—there may exist more remarkable examples of a -restricted distribution, but none certainly that we have come across. -The pinsápo, moreover, affects even here but three spots: first, San -Cristobal itself; secondly, the Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain plainly -visible some thirty miles to the eastward (all its northern corries -darkened by pinsápos); and, lastly, the Sierra Bermeja on the -Mediterranean, distant thirty to thirty-five miles S.S.E. On each of the -three the pinsápo grows in forests; on adjacent hills we have observed -one or two scattered groups—otherwise this pine is found nowhere else -on earth.</p> - -<p>A curious character of the pinsápo is that it only grows on the northern -faces of the hills.</p> - -<p>The tree possesses remarkable personality. Though one sees a chance -specimen grow up straight as a spruce, yet its normal tendency is to -“flatten out†on top, whence three, four, even a dozen independent -“leaders†spring away, each with equal vigour, and finally form as many -distinct vertical trunks, say six or eight separate pines all arising -from a common base.</p> - -<p>To see the pinsápo in its pristine majesty and massiveness, one must -ascend beyond the range of charcoal-burners; up there flourish gigantic -specimens, some of which we measured (by rough pacing) to encompass ten -to fifteen yards of base. These trees grow from screes of broken -rock—great blocks of white dolomite; but the deep-searching tap-roots -penetrate to black alluvia beneath. Other huge pines found roothold in -walls of living rock. The three sketches, made from individual trees -(presumed<a name="page_350" id="page_350"></a> for the purpose to be divested of foliage), illustrate the -singular multiple growth described.</p> - -<p>The foliage of the pinsápo differs from ordinary pine-needles, being -rather a series of stiff outstanding spines analogous to those of the -Araucaria. They display a crimson efflorescence in March, developing -into clusters of red cones by April, and ripening in August to -September.<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a></p> -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_152_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_152_sml.jpg" width="460" height="320" alt="PINSÃPO PINES (Abies pinsapo) -Diagram to show trunk-plan, divested of foliage. Girth at base 30 to 45 -feet." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">PINSÃPO PINES (Abies pinsapo)<br /> -Diagram to show trunk-plan, divested of foliage. Girth at base 30 to 45 -feet.</span> -</p> - -<p>The pinsápo-forests are subject to terrible destruction alike by hatchet -and fire, tempest and avalanche. Forest-fires sweep whole glens; while -rock-slides overwhelm and uproot even the biggest trees by scores. Few -scenes that we have witnessed are more eloquent of nature’s violence -than these traces of an avalanche. Mammoth skeletons, weird and -weather-blanched, protrude by the hundred from chaotic rock-ruin—some -still upright, others overthrown or half submerged in debris, yet<a name="page_351" id="page_351"></a> -stretching great white arms heavenward, as though in agonised appeal. -The distant roar of an avalanche is a not infrequent sound throughout -the mountain-land.</p> - -<p>The pinsápo-forests of San Cristobal present one of the most striking -mountain-landscapes in Andalucia. For some three miles they cover in a -semicircle the whole scooped-out amphitheatre of the mountain-side. -Their dark-green masses, contrasted against the white rocks on which -they grow—and in winter with yet whiter snow—cluster upwards, tier -above tier, from below the 3000-feet level away to the extreme summit of -the knife-edged ridge above, say 5500 feet. Would that we could depict -the beauty of the scene.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_153_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_153_sml.jpg" width="274" height="207" alt="CROSSBILL - -Wrestling with pine-cone." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">CROSSBILL<br /> -Wrestling with pine-cone.</span> -</p> - -<p>Through these dark forests a track winds, and here again the evident -industry of the mountaineers surprised. At intervals along this pathway -lay great baulks of pine-timber (sleepers, planks, and poles), dressed -and piled ready for transport. That such loads could be carried hence on -donkey-back, or, were such possible, that the labour could be repaid, -appeared incredible—so distant are markets and so heavy the cargo.<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a></p> - -<p>We had hoped to find in these forests a home of the Spanish crossbill, -but not a sign of it rewarded our search. To avail the<a name="page_352" id="page_352"></a> ripe fruit, the -crossbill would need to nest in autumn, and that (wide as is the -latitude of its breeding-season) is too much even for the <i>Pico-tuerto</i>. -An interesting species found here in March was the cole-tit (<i>Parus -pinsapinensis?</i>), which climbed around us, swinging from twigs within a -yard as we sat at lunch. Blackstarts abounded, also firecrests. The -latter have a pretty habit of engaging in aërial struggle—whether for -love or war—both falling locked together to earth, as blue-tits do. On -one such occasion a male, ere taking wing, spread out his flaming crown -fanlike, as it were a halo.</p> - -<p>Beyond the pinsápo-forests succeeds a region of wiry esparto-grass, up -which we climbed to yet more sterile zones above. Here cruel rocks are -adorned with a dwarf sword-broom, steel-tipped, a thorny berberis, and -vicious pin-cushion gorse that protects its newer growths (not that -there is anything tender about it at any stage) by a delicate grey -tracery that deceives a careless eye. For that subtle tracery is, in -fact, the indurated malice of last year’s spikey armour. No handhold -does nature here vouchsafe.</p> - -<p>Curiously, we noticed woodlarks up here, while blackstarts abounded as -titlarks on a Northumbrian moor. In an ivy-clad gorge at 4200 feet we -found two nearly completed nests in rock crevices: one occupied a -vertical fissure that needed quite twelve inches of packed moss to -provide a foundation, the cup-shaped nest being superimposed. But it was -not till a month later (April 24) that these birds were laying in -earnest.</p> - -<p>At 5000 feet the “Piorno†(<i>Spartius scorpius</i>) began to grow, a -red-stemmed shrub, known locally as <i>Leche-interna</i>, and on breaking it, -the twigs are found to be filled with a milky fluid that justifies the -name. The piorno we have never found growing except on the high tops of -Grédos and other lofty sierras, where it forms a chief food of the -Spanish ibex, its presence being, in fact, always associated with that -of the wild-goat. Alas! that here, on San Cristobal, that association -has been severed—another instance of the heedless improvidence that -marks the Spanish race. Fifteen years ago they destroyed the last ibex; -fifteen years hence they will have destroyed the last pinsápo!</p> - -<p>Once for brief moments a broad-horned head, peering over the topmost -crags, lent joyous hope that after all an ibex or two might yet survive. -But the intruder proved to be one of<a name="page_353" id="page_353"></a> the dark-brown rams of <i>Ovis -bidens</i> that, in semi-feral state, roam these peaks.</p> - -<p>San Cristobal itself now holds no big game; though ibex are found but a -few leagues to the eastward, and, we rejoice to add (on certain sierras -where protection is afforded them), begin to increase. The SerranÃa de -Ronda, like Neváda, of which it is an extension, has never held either -boar or deer; both are too rocky and precipitous to shelter those -animals, though both boar and roe are found in the lower hills towards -Jerez.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Just below the highest peak, the Cumbre de San Cristobal, lies a curious -little alpine meadow. It is only forty yards square, and while we -rested, lunching, on unaccustomed level a golden eagle swept overhead, -chased and hustled by a mob of choughs that colonise these crags. Ten -minutes later a lammergeyer afforded a second glorious spectacle, -speeding through space on pinions rigidly motionless, but strongly -reflexed, as is usual on a descending gradient. Only once, as far as eye -could follow, was one great wing gently deflected, and that merely from -the “wrist.â€</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 182px;"> -<a href="images/ill_154_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_154_sml.jpg" width="182" height="189" alt="LAMMERGEYER OVERHEAD - -Gliding high on down-grade with rigid reflexed wings, outer primaries -in-drawn, fan-wise." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">LAMMERGEYER OVERHEAD - -Gliding high on down-grade with rigid reflexed wings, outer primaries -in-drawn, fan-wise.</span> -</div> - -<p>On reaching a crest above, two lammergeyers appeared, the first carrying -a long stick or thin bone athwart his beak; the second held a course -direct to where L. sat on the ridge, coming so near that the rustle of -huge wings sounded menacingly and the white head, golden breast, and -hoary shoulders showed clear as in a picture. We expected to find the -eyrie somewhere hard by, but in this we were mistaken—once more. It was -not on that hill, nor the next; but on a third!<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a></p> - -<p>We discovered the nest of our friends, the golden eagles. It was situate -quite two miles away, in a vertical pulpit-shaped<a name="page_354" id="page_354"></a> rock-stack, that -stood forth in a terribly steep scree. From a cavern in the face of this -(prettily overhung by a clump of red-berried mistletoe) flew the male -eagle. From below, the eyrie was accessible to within a dozen feet; but -that interval proved impassable. In the evening we returned with the -rope, and having made this fast above, L. was about to ascend from -below, when the man left in charge at the top (probably misunderstanding -his instructions) let all go, and down came the rope clattering at our -feet! It was too late to rectify the blunder that night, and a month -elapsed ere we would revisit the spot. Then this curious result ensued. -The eagles, we found, had so bitterly resented the indignity of a rope -having been (even momentarily) stretched athwart their portals that they -had abandoned their stronghold, leaving two handsome eggs, partly -incubated. Their eyrie was eight feet deep, its entrance partly -overgrown with ivy and (as above mentioned) overhung by red-berried -mistletoe growing on a wild-cherry—the nest built of sticks, lined with -esparto, and adorned with green ivy-leaves and twigs of pinsápo.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_155_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_155_sml.jpg" width="432" height="224" alt="GOLDEN EAGLE HUNTING - -(1) The “stoop‗quite vertical. (2) “Got him.†- -" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GOLDEN EAGLE HUNTING<br /> -(1) The “stoop‗quite vertical. <span style="margin-left: 6em;">(2) “Got him.â€</span> - -</span> -</p> - -<p>The golden eagle is still common, ornamenting with majestic flight every -sierra in Spain. For eagles are notoriously difficult to kill, and, when -killed, cannot be eaten; so the goat-herd, with characteristic apathy -and Arab fatalism, suffers the ravages on his kids and contents himself -with an oath. Only once have we found a nest in a tree; it was a giant -oak, impending a<a name="page_355" id="page_355"></a> ravine so precipitous that from the eyrie you could -drop a pebble into a torrent 200 feet below. Usually their nests are in -the crags, vast accumulations of sticks conspicuously projecting, and -generally in pairs, perhaps 100 yards apart, and which are occupied in -alternate years. Eggs are laid by mid-March, but the young hardly fly -before June. It was in this sierra that we made the sketches of golden -eagles from life, here and at p. 317.</p> - -<p>Bonelli’s eagle is another beautiful mountain-haunting species, but of -it we treat elsewhere.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>From the knife-edged ridge above our eagle’s eyrie (height 5500 feet) we -enjoyed a memorable view. Due south, 50 miles away, beyond the jumbled -Spanish sierras, lay Gibraltar, recognisable by its broken back, but -looking puny and inconsiderable amidst vaster heights. Beyond it—beyond -Tetuan, in fact—rose Mount Anna, an 8000-feet African mountain; to the -right, Gebel-Musa and all the Moorish coast to Cape Spartel, the straits -between showing dim and insignificant. To the eastward, beyond the -Sierra de las Nieves aforesaid, stands out boldly the long white -snow-line of Neváda, its majesty undimmed by distance and 140 miles of -intervening atmosphere. To the west we distinguish Jerez, 40 miles away, -and beyond it the shining Atlantic.</p> - -<p>From one point there lies almost perpendicularly below, the curious -mediæval village of Grazalema, jammed in between two vast cinder-grey -rock-faces—its narrow streets, white houses, and india-red roofs -resembling nothing so much as a toy town. No space for “back-streets,†-each house faces both ways; yet Grazalema is one of the cleanest spots -we have struck—how they manage that, we know not.</p> - -<p>Immediately beneath Grazalema is a bird-crag that contains a regular -“choughery,†hundreds of these red-billed corvines nesting in its caves -and crevices. As neighbours they had lesser kestrels and rock-sparrows -(<i>Petronia stulta</i>), while the roofs of the caverns were plastered with -the mud nests of crag-martins. We also noticed here alpine swifts, and a -great frilled lizard escaped us amid broken rocks.</p> - -<p>Within the limits of a chapter even the more notable spots of a great -serranÃa cannot all find place; but the rock-gorge known as the Yna de -la Garganta will not be overpassed, though no words of ours can convey -the stupendous nature of this place,<a name="page_356" id="page_356"></a> a chasm riven right through the -earth’s crust till its depths are invisible from above; and overshadowed -by encircling walls of sheer red crags, broken horizontally at -intervals, thus forming, as it were, tier above tier, and flanked by a -series of bastions and flying buttresses apparently provided to support -the vast superstructure above.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 218px;"> -<a href="images/ill_156a_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_156a_sml.jpg" width="218" height="176" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>By climbing along the rugged central tier, one overlooks from its apex, -as from the reserved seats of a dress-circle, the whole domestic economy -of a vulture city in being. Every ledge in that abyss was crowded; many -vultures sat brooding, their heads laid flat on the rock or tucked under -the point of a wing. Elsewhere a single grey-white chick, or a huge -white egg, lay in full view on the open ledge, nestled, apparently, on -bare earth; and behind these each niche or cavern had its tenant. The -rocks around a nest were often stained blood-red, and one vulture -arrived carrying a mass of what appeared carrion in its claws. Another -brought a wisp of dry esparto-grass athwart her beak and deposited it in -her nest.<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a></p> - -<p>While we watched this scene a smart thunderstorm passed over, with the -result that shortly afterwards the vultures spread their huge wings to -dry, displaying attitudes some of which we endeavour to sketch—see also -p. 9.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 241px;"> -<a href="images/ill_156b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_156b_sml.jpg" width="241" height="172" alt="“WING-DRYINGâ€" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“WING-DRYINGâ€</span> -</div> - -<p>The descent into the unseen depths beneath was rewarded, despite a -terrible scramble—part of the way on a rope—by discovering a fairy -grotto filled with pink, azure, and opalescent stalactites and -stalagmites.<a name="page_357" id="page_357"></a> The bed of the canyon, which from above had appeared to be -paved with sand, now proved to consist of boulders ten feet high. After -threading a devious course through these for half-a-mile we reached the -mouth of the grotto. Its width would be nearly 200 feet and height about -half that, the form roughly resembling the quarter of a cocoa-nut. The -dome, in delicate colouring, passes description—the apex bright -salmon-pink, changing, as it passed inwards, first into clear emerald, -then to dark green, and finally to indigo; while the reflected sunlight -filtering down between the rock-walls of the canyon caused -phantasmagoric effects such as, one thought, existed only in fairyland. -The cavern was backed by pillars of stalactites resembling the pipes of -a mighty organ, and of so soft and feathery a texture that it was -surprising, on touching them, to find hard rock. The floor also was -composed of great smooth stalagmites, deep brown in colour.</p> - -<p>From outside, one saw the sky as through a narrow rift between the -perpendicular walls which towered up 300 feet; and above that level -there again uprose the vultures’ cliffs already described.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>One evening we detected afar a cavern which showed signs of being the -present abode of a lammergeyer. Ere reaching it, however, a keen eye -descried one of these birds in the heavens at an altitude that dwarfed -the great <i>Gypaëtus</i> to the size of a humble kestrel. Presently, after -many descending sweeps, the lammergeyer entered another cavern 2000 feet -higher up—in fact, close under the sky-line, among some scanty -pinsápos. The hour was 4 <small>P.M.</small>, and after a long day’s scramble, the -writer shied at a fresh ascent. Not so my companion, L., who set off at -a run, and within an hour had reached the eyrie. It proved empty, though -the leg of a freshly killed kid lay half across the nest. This was -presumably the alternative site, used, this year, merely as a larder; -but time did not that night admit of further search.</p> - -<p>The writer beguiled the two-hours interval in interviewing a wild -gipsy-eyed girl of twelve, whose name was Joséfa Aguilár, and whose -vocation in life to attend a herd of swine. Throughout Spain, whether on -mountain or plain, one sees this thing—a small boy or girl spending the -livelong day in solitary charge of dumb beasts, goats or pigs, even -turkeys—and the sight ever<a name="page_358" id="page_358"></a> causes me a pang of regret. Probably I am -quite wrong, but such hardly seems a human vocation—certainly it leads -nowhere. In intervals of pelting her recalcitrant charges with stones, -Joséfa told me she lived in a reed-hut which was close by, but so small -that I had overlooked its existence; that she never went to school or -had been farther from home than Zahara, a village some few miles away. -She asked if I was from Grazalema, and on being told from England, she -repeated the word “Inglaterra†again and again, while her bright black -eyes became almost sessile with wonderment. Joséfa’s frock was hanging -in tatters, torn to bits by the thorny scrub. I gave her some coppers to -buy a new one, and with a little joyous scream Joséfa vanished among the -bush.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_157_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_157_sml.jpg" width="269" height="285" alt="LAMMERGEYER ENTERING EYRIE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">LAMMERGEYER ENTERING EYRIE</span> -</p> - -<p>Darkness was closing in ere L. returned; then great thunder-clouds -rolled up, obscuring the moon, and oh! what we suffered those next three -hours, scrambling over rock and ridge, through forest and thicket—all -in inky darkness and under a deluge of rain.</p> - -<p>On returning to this remote ridge (having ascended from the opposite -face), we soon renewed our friendship with the lammergeyer—when first -seen, it was being mobbed by an impudent chough. Then it sailed up the -deep gorge below us, passing close in front, and after clearing an angle -of the hill, wheeled inwards<a name="page_359" id="page_359"></a> and with gently closing wings plunged into -a cavern in the crag. We felt we had our object assured; yet on -examining these mighty piles of rocks—a couple of hours’ stiff -climbing—it was evident we were mistaken, for no nest, past or present, -did they reveal. It was on yet a third stupendous crag, quite a mile -from the alternative site first discovered, that this year these -lammergeyers had fixed their home. The nest was in quite a small cave in -the rock-face; more often (as described in <i>Wild Spain</i>) the lammergeyer -prefers a huge cavern in the centre of which is piled an immense mass of -sticks, heather-stalks, and other rubbish—the accumulation of -years—and lined with esparto-grass and wool. The eggs always number two -and are richly coloured, whereas the griffon lays but one, and that -white. Although laying takes place as early as January, yet the young -are unable to fly before June. Our principal object this year was to -sketch the lammergeyer in life, and in this several rough portraits -serve to show that we succeeded—so far as in us lies.</p> - -<p class="c">. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . . -. . . . .</p> - -<p>There remain notes of later vernal developments in these beautiful -sierras; but alas! this chapter is already too long, so over the -taffrail they go.<a name="page_360" id="page_360"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXXVI<br /><br /> -SERRANÃA DE RONDA (<i>Continued</i>)</h2> - -<p class="sbhead">II. THE SIERRA BERMEJA</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> Sierra Bermeja, standing on Mediterranean shore, demands a page or -two if only because it affords a home to three of Spain’s peculiar and -rarer guests—the pinsápo, the ibex, and the lammergeyer.</p> - -<p>Our earlier experience in Bermeja, our efforts to study its ibex—and to -secure a specimen or two—are told in <i>Wild Spain</i>. Suffice it here to -say that the characteristic of these Mediterranean mountains is that -here the ibex habitually live, and even lie-up (as hares do), among the -scrubby brushwood of the hills—a remarkable deviation from their -observed habits elsewhere, whether in Spain, the Caucasus and Himalayas, -or wherever ibex are found. But since brushwood clothes Bermeja and -other Mediterranean hills to their topmost heights, the local wild-goats -have literally no choice in the matter. Still, such a habitat must -strike a hunter’s eye as abnormal, and is, in fact, a curious instance -of “adaptation to environment.â€<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a></p> - -<p>During December 1907 we spent some days in Bermeja in an attempt to -stalk the ibex—a difficult undertaking when game is always three-parts -hidden by scrub. On former occasions we had secured a specimen or two by -stalking (here called <i>raspagéo</i>) and “drivingâ€; but whatever chance -there might have been was this time annihilated by incessant mists -enshrouding the heights in opaque screen. Thus another carefully -organised expedition and unstinted labour were once more thrown away!</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_158_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_158_sml.jpg" width="577" height="360" alt="LAMMERGEYER - -[Drawn from life in Sierra Bermeja, March 1891." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">LAMMERGEYER<br /> -[Drawn from life in Sierra Bermeja, March 1891.</span>]</p> - -<p>On December 19 we drove the “Pinsapal.†This, commencing<a name="page_361" id="page_361"></a> near the -highest tops, 5000 feet, extends down a tremendous conch-shaped ravine, -merging at the base into pine-forests—chiefly, we believe, <i>Pinus -pinaster</i>. This “drive†lasted two hours, mist sometimes densely thick, -at others clearing a little; but only allowing a view varying from -twenty to eighty yards.<a name="page_362" id="page_362"></a> This, coupled with constant drip from the -gigantic pinsápos and a bitter wind blowing through clothes already -soaked, was ... well, comfortless and pretty hopeless to boot. Twice the -dogs gave tongue—and it could be nothing but ibex here; while D., who -was posted on the left, heard the rattling of hoofs as a herd passed -within, as he reckoned, 200 yards. A second lot, followed by dogs, was -heard though not seen on the extreme right. The pinsápos at this season, -and in such weather, form a favourite resort, for we saw more sign -hereabouts than on the high tops. A <i>levante</i> wind in winter always -means mist—and failure.</p> - -<p>The ibex in winter hold the high ground unless driven down by snow. In -spring and summer they come lower—even to cork-oak levels—presumably -to avoid contact with tame goats, then pasturing on the tops.</p> - -<p>The east wind and fog continuing a whole week, though we tried all we -knew, every effort was frustrated by atmospheric obstruction. To drive -ibex successfully, the skilled training of the dogs is essential. -Formerly there were goat-herds who possessed clever dogs of great local -repute. But these days of “free-shooting†have passed away, and the ibex -of Bermeja with those of other Spanish sierras have recently fallen -under the beneficent ægis of “protection.â€</p> - -<p>Bird-life in winter is scarce. We noticed a few redwings feeding on -berries; jays, partridges, and many wood-pigeons picking up acorns. -Vultures rarely appear here, but both golden and Bonelli’s eagles were -observed, and in one mountain-gorge a pair of lammergeyers have their -stronghold, where in 1891 we examined both their eyries, one containing -a young <i>Gypaëtus</i> as big as a turkey. That was in March, at which -season hawfinches abounded in the pines, and at dawn the melody of the -blue thrush recalled Scandinavian springs and the redwing’s song. -Another small bird caused recurrent annoyance while ibex-driving. With a -loud “Rat, tat, tat,†resembling the patter of horny hoofs on rock, its -song commences; then follows a hissing note as of a heavy body passing -through brushwood—for an instant one expects the coveted game to -appear. No, confound that bird! it’s only a blackstart.</p> - -<p>We extract the following scene from <i>Wild Spain</i>:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>On the lifting of a cloud-bank which rested on the mountain-side, I -descried four ibex standing on a projecting rock in bold relief -about<a name="page_363" id="page_363"></a> 400 yards away. The intervening ground was rugged—rocks and -brush-wood with scattered pines—and except the first 50 yards, the -stalk offered no difficulty. I had passed the dangerous bit, and -was already within 200 yards, when in a moment the wet mist settled -down again and I saw the game no more. Curiously, on the fog first -lifting, an eagle sat all bedraggled and woe-begone on a rock-point -hard by, his feathers fluffed out and a great yellow talon -protruding, as it seemed, from the centre of his chest. Then a -faint sun-ray played on his bronzed plumage: he shook himself and -launched forth in air, sweeping downwards—luckily without moving -the ibex, though they took note of the circumstance.</p></div> - -<p>In the lower forests here are some pig and roe-deer. A far greater -stronghold, however, for both these game-animals is at Almoraima, -belonging to the Duke of Medinaceli, some six or eight leagues to the -westward. Almoraima covers a vast extent of wild mountainous land of no -great elevations generally, but all wooded and jungle-clad. On the lower -levels grow immense cork-forests. Here, during a series of <i>monterÃas</i> -in February 1910, in which the writer, to his lasting regret, was -prevented from taking part, a total of 19 roe-deer and 52 boars was -secured. The two best roebuck heads measured as follows:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="center">Length<br /> -(outside curve).</td><td align="center">Circumference.</td><td align="center">Tip to Tip.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">No. 1</td><td align="center">9½â€</td><td align="center">3½â€</td><td align="center">3â…â€</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">No. 2</td><td align="center">9¼â€</td><td align="center">4â…œâ€</td><td align="center">3â€</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="sbhead">III. <span class="smcap">Sierra de Jerez</span></p> - -<p>These mountains (being within sight of our home) formed the scene of our -earliest sporting ventures in Spain. It is forty years ago now, yet do -we not forget that first day and its anxieties, as we rode by crevices -that serve for bridle-paths, along with a too jovial hill-farmer, Barréa -by name, who persisted in carrying a loaded gun swinging haphazard and -full-cock in the saddle-slings—that it was loaded we saw by the shiny -copper cap on each nipple! Our objects that day were boar and roe-deer; -but presently a partridge was descried sprinting up the rugged screes -above. Out came the ready gun, and next moment all that remained of that -partridge was a cloud of feathers and scattered anatomy. The ball had -gone true. Barréa casually shouted to a lad to pick up the pieces, -himself riding on as though such practice was an everyday affair. My own -experience of ball-shooting<a name="page_364" id="page_364"></a> being then limited, I reflected that if -such were Spanish marksmanship, I might be left behind! On assembling -for lunch, however, some vultures were wheeling high overhead, and it -occurred to me to try my luck. By precisely a similar fluke, one huge -griffon collapsed to the shot, and swirling round and round like a -parachute, occupied (it seemed) five minutes in reaching the -ground—1000 feet below us.</p> - -<p>That afternoon the antics of two strange beasties attracted my attention -and again my ball went straight. The victim was a mongoose, and with -some pride I had the specimen carefully stowed in the -mule-panniers—never to see it more! The mongoose, we now know, owing to -its habit of eating snakes, has acquired a personal aroma surpassing in -pungency that of any other beast of the field, and our men, so soon as -my back was turned, had discreetly thrown out the malodorous trophy.</p> - -<p>A boar-shooting trip to the Sierra de Jerez formed the first sporting -venture in which the authors were jointly engaged; for which reason -(though the memory dates back to March 1872) we may be forgiven for -extracting a brief summary from <i>Wild Spain</i>:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Our quarters were a little white rancho perched amid deep bush and -oak-woods on the slope of the Sierra del Valle. A mile farther up -the valley was closed by the dark transverse mass of the Sierra de -las Cabras, the two ranges being separated by an abrupt chasm -called the Boca de la Foz, which was to be the scene of this day’s -operations.</p> - -<p>A pitiable episode occurred. While preparing to mount, there -resounded from behind a peal of strange inhuman laughter, followed -by incoherent words; and through an iron-barred window we discerned -the emaciated figure of a man, wild and unkempt, whose eagle-like -claws grasped the barriers of his cell—a poor lunatic. No -connected replies could we get, nothing beyond vacuous laughter and -gibbering chatter. Now he was at the theatre and quoted magic -jargon; anon supplicating the mercy of a judge; then singing a -stanza of some old song, to break off abruptly into fierce -denunciation of one of us as the cause of his troubles. Poor -wretch! he had once been a successful advocate; but signs of -madness having developed, which increased with years, the once -popular lawyer was reduced to the durance of this iron-girt cell, -his only share and view of God’s earth just so much of sombre -everlasting sierra as the narrow opening allowed. We were warned -that any effort to ameliorate his lot was hopeless, his case being -desperate. What hidden wrongs may exist in a land where no judicial -intervention is obligatory<a name="page_365" id="page_365"></a> between the “rights of families†and -their insane relations (or those whom they may consider such) are -easy to conceive.</p> - -<p>The first covert tried was a strong jungle flanking the main gorge, -but this and a second beat proved blank, though two roebuck broke -back. The third drive comprised the main <i>manchas</i>, or thickets, of -the Boca de la Foz, and to this we ascended on foot, leaving the -horses picketed behind. Our four guns occupied the rim of a natural -amphitheatre which dipped sharply away some 1500 feet beneath us, -the centre choked with brushwood—lentisk, arbutus, and thorn—20 -feet deep. On our left towered a perpendicular block of limestone -cliffs, the right flank of the jungle being bordered by a series of -up-tilted rock-strata, white as marble and resembling a ruined -street.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes of profound silence, not a sound save the distant -tinkle of a goat-bell, or the song of that feathered recluse, the -blue rock-thrush (in Spanish, <i>Solitario</i>), then the distant cries -of the beaters in the depths below told us the fray had begun.</p> - -<p>Another ten minutes’ suspense. Then a crash of hound-music -proclaimed that the quarry was at home. This boar proved to be one -of certain grizzly monsters of which we were specially in search, -his lair a jumble of boulders islanded amid thickest jungle. Here -he held his ground, declining to recognise in canine aggressors a -superior force. Two boar-hounds reinforced the skirmishers of the -pack, yet the old tusker stood firm. For minutes that seemed like -hours the conflict raged stationary: the sonorous baying of the -boar-hounds, the “yapping†of the smaller dogs, and shouts of -mountaineers blended with the howl of an incautious <i>podenco</i> as he -received a death-rip—all formed a chorus of sounds that carried -their exciting story to the sentinel guns above.</p> - -<p>The seat of war being near half-a-mile away, no immediate issue was -expected. Then there occurred one crash of bush, and a second boar -dashed straight for the pass where the writer barred the way. The -suddenness of the encounter disconcerted, and the first shot -missed—the bullet splashing on a grey rock just above—time barely -remained to jump aside and avoid collision. The left barrel got -home: a stumble and a savage grunt as an ounce of lead penetrated -his vitals, and the boar plunged headlong, his life-blood dyeing -the weather-blanched rocks and green palmetto. For a moment he lay, -but ere cold steel could administer a quietus, he had regained his -feet and dashed back. Whether revenge prompted that move or it was -merely an effort to regain the covert he had just left, we know -not—a third bullet laid him lifeless.</p> - -<p>During this interlude (though it only occupied five seconds) the -main combat below reached its climax. The old boar had left his -stronghold, and after sundry sullen stands and promiscuous -skirmishes (during which a second <i>podenco</i> died), he made for the -heights. Showing first on the centre, he was covered for a moment -by a ·450 Express; but, not breaking covert, no shot could be -fired, and when next viewed the boar<a name="page_366" id="page_366"></a> was trotting up a stone-slide -on the extreme left. Here a rifle-shot broke a foreleg, and the -disabled beast, unable to face the hill, retreated to the thicket -below, scattering dogs and beaters in headlong flight. And now -commenced the hue and cry—the real hard work for those who meant -to see the end and earn the spoils of war. Presently <i>Moro’s</i> deep -voice told us of the boar at bay, far away down in the depths of -the defile. What followed in that hurly-burly—that mad scramble -through brake and thicket, down crag and scree—cannot be written. -Each man only knows what he did himself, or did not do. We can -answer for three. One of these seated himself on a rock and lit a -cigarette. The others, ten minutes later, arrived on the final -scene, one minus his nether garments and sundry patches of skin, -but in time to take part in the death of as grand a boar as roams -the Spanish sierras.</p></div> - -<p>This last spring (1910), after thirty-eight years, we revisited the Boca -de la Foz, partly to reassure ourselves that the above description was -not overdrawn. No! ‘Tis a terrible wild gorge, the Foz, but the days -when we can follow a wounded boar through obstacles such as those have -passed away. The boars, we were told, are still there, and so are the -vultures in those magnificent crags. We climbed along the ledges and -there were the great stick-built nests, each in its ancestral site. In -March each contains a single egg; now (April) that is replaced by a -leaden-hued chick. These cliffs are also tenanted by ravens and a single -pair of choughs. Neophrons occupied the same cavern whence I shot a -female in 1872, and crag-martins held their old abodes, plastered on to -the roofs of the caves.</p> - -<p>As April advances a new and striking bird-form arrives to adorn the -higher sierras—the least observant can scarce miss this, the -rock-thrush (<i>Monticola saxatilis</i>), conspicuous alike in plumage and -actions; with clear blue head and chestnut breast, its colour-scheme -includes a broad patch of white set in the centre of a dark back. The -contrast is most effective, and, so far as we know, this “fashion†of a -white back is unique among birds, unless indeed it be shared by -Bonelli’s eagle. The rock-thrush is also endowed with a lovely wild -song, quite low and simple, but replete with a fine “high-tops†quality. -By April 20 he yields to vernal impulses, and his courting is pretty to -see; wheeling around on transparent pinions, he soars and sings the -livelong day; at intervals, with collapsed wing, he drops like a stone -to join his sober-hued mate among the rocks; a few picturesque poses, -displaying all those flashing tints of orange<a name="page_367" id="page_367"></a> and opal, and off he goes -again to soar and sing once more. His cousin, the blue-thrush, has also -a sweet song and a similar hovering flight, ending in a “drop actâ€; but -the ascent is more vertical, while frequently he varies the descent and -comes fluttering down in tree-pipit or butterfly-like style. Even the -sober little blackchat now “shows off,†perched on some boulder with -quivering wings and tail spread fan-like over his back. Both these two -last, being resident, nest much earlier than the migratory rock-thrush: -the latter was building (in crevices of the rocks) by mid-April, but -hardly lays before May.</p> - -<p>These sierras being only 3000 to 4000 feet, one misses here some of the -alpine forms observed at higher altitudes. The tawny pipit, for example, -a sandy-hued bird with dark eye-stripe and active wagtail-like gait, -which was common on San Cristobal at 4500 feet in April, never showed up -here at all; nor did any of the following species, all so characteristic -of the higher ground: Blackstarts, woodlarks, rock-buntings, cole-and -longtail-tits, and tree-creepers. The choughs, spotted woodpeckers, -rock-thrushes, crag-martins, and wood-pigeons, though observed, were -here very much scarcer. The lammergeyer, too, rarely descends here, and -then only while in his smoke-black uniform of immaturity.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">The Puerta de Palomas</span></p> - -<p>In May 1883, while returning from Ubrique, our horses fell lame owing to -loss of shoes, and for four days and nights we were encamped in the pass -known as the Puerta de Palomas. There is a tiny <i>ventorillo</i>, or wayside -wine-shop, at the foot of the pass; but nights are warm in May, and we -preferred the freedom of the open hill, where the strange growls made by -the griffons at dawn, together with the awakening carol of the -rock-thrush, formed our reveille each morning in that roofless bedroom -amidst the boulders.</p> - -<p>The opposite side of the pass is dominated by the picturesque pile -called the Picacho del Aljibe, a conical peak that towers in tiers of -crags above the adjoining sierras not unlike a gigantic Arthur’s Seat -over the Salisbury Crags. Our own side was rather a chaotic jumble of -detached monoliths than cliffs proper, and by clambering over these we -reached in one morning sixteen vultures’ nests, the easiest of access we -ever struck. They were mostly very slight affairs, bare rock often -protruding through the<a name="page_368" id="page_368"></a> scanty structure; though, where necessary, a -broad platform of sticks was provided—as sketched. The poults (only one -in each nest) were now as big as guinea-fowls, with brown feathers -sprouting through the white down. These eyries, albeit slightly -malodorous, are always strictly clean, since vultures feed their young -by disgorging half-digested food from their own crops, and we watched -this not-pleasing operation being performed within some eighty yards’ -distance; hence there is no carrion or putrefying matter lying about, as -is the case with the neophron and lammergeyer.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 238px;"> -<a href="images/ill_159_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_159_sml.jpg" width="238" height="333" alt="GRIFFON VULTURE FEEDING YOUNG—PUERTA DE PALOMAS, April -10, 1910." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GRIFFON VULTURE FEEDING YOUNG—PUERTA DE PALOMAS, April -10, 1910.</span> -</div> - -<p>These eyries were situate on three great outstanding stacks of rock, and -during the scramble we came face to face with a pair of eagle-owls -solemnly dreaming away the hours in the recesses of a cavern, though no -sign of a nest was discovered. The caves were shared by crag-martins, -whose swallow-like nests were fixed under the roof, usually just beyond -reach. Their eggs are white, flecked with grey. On May 18 we obtained -here a nest of the rock-thrush with five beautiful greenish-blue eggs. -It was built in a cranny of the crags.</p> - -<p>This year (1910) found us once more in the Puerta de Palomas, the date -April 8. On rounding the Sierra de las Cabras, as L. was already far up -the hillside, I rode forward intending to ascend at the north end and -work back, thus meeting in centre. A succession of mischances, however, -upset that plan. A small clump of ilex clung to the steep above the -point whereat I had left the horses, and in traversing this, I walked -right into a calf concealed beneath a lentiscus. Knowing that this might -involve trouble should its half-wild mother be within hearing, I gently -retreated,<a name="page_369" id="page_369"></a> but, hard by, stumbled on a second calf, even smaller, in -another bush. No. 1 meanwhile had gained its legs and bleated softly. -There followed a crash among the bush above, and as fierce-looking a -wild beast as ever I saw (and I have seen some) came hurtling down those -rugged rocks at amazing speed. On seeing me (luckily some little -distance from her own offspring) the infuriated mother pulled up, -full-face—a pretty picture, but rather menacing, especially as she kept -up a muttered bellowing, horribly eloquent. I had sidled alongside a -tree; but Paco, who carried my gun, with the reckless spirit begotten of -the bull-fight, boldly addressed the enemy in opprobrious terms. The -only result was that she came still nearer, and I swung to a lower -branch. Paco, nothing daunted, now tried stones (in addition to -expletives), and it was, to me at least, a relief when that cow at -length retired. The half-wild savage may easily be more dangerous than -the truly wild. The former have lost some of their pristine respect for -man, and of course one has less means of defence.</p> - -<p>This incident over, we commenced the climb. The rock-stack rose -vertically above us, but we diverged to the right as affording an easier -route. On reaching the desired level, however, I found it impossible to -make good that interval on our left—a smooth rock-face devoid of -handhold, and too upright to traverse, forbade all lateral movement. Up -we went another twenty yards, then another; but always to find that -slithery rock-face mocking our efforts to outflank it. We were now well -above the rock-stack overlooking the eyries, and I could see two -griffons brooding, another feeding a poult close by. But between us was -a great gulf fixed, and that gulf stopped us. The obvious alternative -was to descend and try again from a fresh point. But here a new -difficulty faced us: we could not descend. We had come up by following a -series of vertical fissures, or “chimnies,†none too easy, since every -crevice sheltered some vicious vegetation, each more spikey and thorny -than the last. Still from <i>below</i> one can always select a handhold -somewhere, and then defy the thorn; whereas on looking <i>backwards</i>, -nothing is visible but a vanishing outline of rock and gorse, porcupine -broom, or palmetto—beyond is vacant space, and a sheer drop at that. In -a word, we could neither descend nor move laterally. It was -humiliating—even more so than the antecedent incident with a <i>COW</i>!<a name="page_370" id="page_370"></a></p> - -<p>One resource remained—to climb on to the top; and even in that -direction a single bad rock might cut off escape. No such crowning -catastrophe befell, but it was tooth-and-claw work, every yard of it, -and the vertical height could not have been less than 1000 feet.</p> - -<p>While thus “clawing up†I recollect passing a perfect glory in -orchids—great twin purple blooms, golden-tipped and quite amorphous in -outline. They grew just beyond my reach. Curious recumbent ferns clung -to the rocks; anemones and violet-like bouquets peered from each cranny.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile L., approaching from the other side, had examined the -rock-stacks and succeeded in attaining one main objective—the nest of -the eagle-owl. This was in a rock-cavern, close by that of ’83, easy of -access—indeed the great owl flew out in his face as he passed below. -The cave (four feet high by two wide) was at the foot of a vertical -limestone cliff, its floor level with a goat-track that skirted the -crag, and fully exposed to view; there was no nest nor any debris. Two -young owls in white down, with one egg actually “chipping,†lay on the -bare earth.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>One of the griffon’s nests still contained (on April 8) a fresh egg, -which is now in the writer’s collection as a memorial of that day. We -had secured all we had expected in the Puerta de Palomas—and something -more besides.<a name="page_371" id="page_371"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXXVII<br /><br /> -A SPANISH SYSTEM OF FOWLING<br /><br /> -<small>THE “CABRESTO†OR STALKING-HORSE</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">S<small>PAIN</small> is a land of flocks and herds, of breeders and graziers. At the -head of the scale stands the fighting-bull, monarch of the richest -<i>vegas</i>; at the opposite extreme come the shaggy little ponies and -brood-mares that eke out a feral and precarious subsistence in the -wildest regions. Throughout the marismas hardy beasts with wild-bred -progeny on which no human hand has ever laid, abound, grazing knee-deep -in watery wildernesses where tasteless reed or wiry spear-grass afford a -bare subsistence.</p> - -<p>There they live, splashing in the shadows, heads half-immersed as they -pull up subaquatic herbage; on the back of one rides perched a -snow-white egret, on another a couple of magpies, preying on ticks or -warbles, while all around swim wildfowl that scarce deign to move aside.</p> - -<p>No fowler could view such a scene without perceiving that approach to -the wildfowl might be effected under cover of these unsuspected ponies. -The earliest aucipial mind probably realised the advantage offered, and -the system has been practised in Spain from time immemorial.</p> - -<p>The method is simple. The ponies (termed, when trained, <i>cabrestos</i>, or -“decoysâ€) seem by intuition to realise what is required. By a cord -attached to the headstall, the fowler, crouching behind the shoulder, -directs his pony’s course towards the unconscious fowl. At intervals, -still further to disarm suspicion, feigned halts are made as though to -simulate grazing. Before closing in, the nose-cord is made fast to the -near fore-knee, thus holding the pony’s head well down. Presently the -ducks are within half gunshot, and we amateurs (whose doubled backs ache -excruciatingly from a constrained position maintained<a name="page_372" id="page_372"></a> for half an hour) -pray each moment for relief and the signal to fire. No! Our -fowler-friends shoot for a livelihood, and continue, with marvellous -skill and patience, so to manÅ“uvre their beasts that the utmost -possible target shall finally be presented to the broadside. There is no -hurry—nor time nor aching vertebræ with them count one centimo. (See -photo at p. 90.)</p> - -<p>Should it be necessary to change course, that operation is effected by -wheeling the pony stern-on to the fowl, the fowler meanwhile crouching -low under his muzzle: critical moments ensue during which the expert has -no cover but the pony’s breadth—instead of his length—to shield him -from detection by hundreds of the keenest eyes on earth. But it is -remarkable how little notice is taken of what is necessarily in full -view provided that the exposed objects are <i>beneath</i> the covering -animal. Once let a human head or a gun-barrel appear <i>above</i> its outline -and the spell is broken. But otherwise—say during those interludes of -feigned “grazing‗the suffering fowlers can straighten their backs by -squatting down (in the water!) and thus enjoy at closest quarters a -spectacle of wild creatures that is impossible to attain by any other -means yet discovered. Though the fowlers are now fully visible, framed, -as it were, beneath the <i>cabresto’s</i> belly and between his legs, no -notice will be taken or any alarm created so long as the pony’s skylines -remain unadorned with human appendages. There, within a score of yards, -you sit face to face with ducks by the hundred, feeding, splashing, -preening—all utterly unconcerned! Those of our readers who are most -familiar with wildfowl will best realise how incredible such a statement -must read. Ordinarily, the slightest visible movement—the mere glint of -a gun-barrel though half masked by cover—suffices to shift every duck -at one hundred yards and more. Here they ignore objects practically -exposed and close at hand. Apparently the habitual companionship day by -day of water-bred ponies has annihilated in their minds all sense of -danger arising from such a quarter.</p> - -<p>The Spanish professionals (using large but antiquated muzzle-loaders) -work singly, each man behind his own pony; or should two or more join -forces for a broadside, there still remains but one man behind each -animal. These men are reputed to have made extraordinary shots; and -having viewed their infinite patience, we can well believe such records. -To place two guns<a name="page_373" id="page_373"></a> behind one <i>cabresto</i>-pony, that is, an amateur as -well as the professional, is a distinct handicap. We have done it -ourselves, and accepted the handicap merely to see the system in -operation; yet by using more powerful weapons have probably killed as -many fowl at one shot as even the fabled totals of our friends.</p> - -<p>Obviously no comparison can be, or is, suggested as between two totally -different performances. It has been solely for the purpose of learning -the system, and also of enjoying unequalled views of wildfowl close at -hand, that we have occasionally put in a day with the <i>cabresto</i>-ponies, -and here annex a few records of shots made by this means, taken at -random from our diaries.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><i>January 1, 1898.</i>—Fired three broadsides with two guns, a double -8-and a single 4-bore; in the second case the fowl had just been -badly scared by a kite. Results:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;"> -<tr><td align="left">(1)</td><td align="left">59 wigeon, 3 teal</td><td align="right">62</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">(2)</td><td align="left">30 <span class="ditto">"</span> 3 <span class="ditto">"</span></td><td align="right">33</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">(3)</td><td align="left">60 <span class="ditto">"</span> 1 <span class="ditto">"</span> 4 pintail, 4 shoveler</td><td align="right">69</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="center">Total</td><td align="right" class="bt">164</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><i>January 31, 1905.</i>—In three shots at wigeon, the first being half -spoilt by a big black-backed gull, the authors (two guns) -gathered:—</p> - -<p class="c">27 + 51 + 48 = 126 wigeon.</p> - -<p><i>December 29, 1893.</i>—Santolalla (2 guns), 78 teal, besides some -coots, at a single shot.</p> - -<p><i>January 1894.</i>—Laguna Dulce; three <i>cabrestos</i> with Spanish -fowlers, and two amateurs with big breech-loaders (a broadside of 5 -barrels):—</p> - -<p class="c">198 teal (including about a dozen wigeon).</p></div> - -<p>A shot made in January 1894 seems worth recording merely in respect of -the numbers killed by only some <i>seven ounces</i> of lead. An islet -actually <i>carpeted</i> with teal was our target, and two 12-bores, aided by -an ancient Spanish muzzle-loader (about 10-bore), realised fifty head, -to wit, forty-nine teal and one mallard-drake.</p> - -<p>Geese will rarely admit of approach to the close quarters necessary for -effective work; yet just on those rare exceptional occasions we have -secured (using heavy shoulder-guns) from six to a dozen greylags in a -day, once or twice more than this—five at a shot being the maximum.<a name="page_374" id="page_374"></a></p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">The Stanchion-Gun in Spain</span></p> - -<p>In contrast with the success of the <i>cabresto</i> system, the stancheon-gun -proved a failure. So admirably adapted for punt-gunning appeared those -great shallow marismas, that in 1888 we sent out the entire outfit and -artillery for wildfowling afloat—a 22-foot double-handed gunning-punt -and an 80-lb. gun to throw 16 oz. of shot.</p> - -<p>The little craft reached the Guadalquivir in September, but unforeseen -difficulties arose. The Spanish custom-house took alarm. True, the smart -little gun-boat was an entire novelty—even in the Millwall docks she -had created surprise; here she was incomprehensible. No such vessel had -ever floated on Spanish waters, and the official mind needed time to -consider. That oracle, after weeks of cogitation, ordered the removal of -the suspicious craft from the obscure port of Bonanza to the fuller -light that plays on the custom-house at Seville. There, after more weeks -of delay, it was decided that the white-painted six-foot barrel was “an -arm of war,†that “the combination of boat and gun savoured of the -mechanism of war,†and, finally, that “the boat could not be permitted -to pass the customs until it had been registered at the Admiralty.†Thus -our <i>Boadicea</i> joined the Imperial Navy of Spain.</p> - -<p>Seven months elapsed whilst these difficulties were in process of -solution, and ere they were smoothed away (as difficulties in Spain, or -elsewhere, do dissolve under prudent treatment), and the <i>Boadicea</i> set -free to navigate the marismas, the season had passed and the migrant -fowl had returned to the north.</p> - -<p>The following autumn, however, it at once became apparent that the -venture was a failure. No wildfowl would tolerate her presence within -half-a-mile. No sooner had her low snake-like form crept clear of -fringing covert than the broad <i>lucio</i> in front was in seething tumult, -every duck within sight had sprung on wing. Naturally we tried every -known plan, but all in vain. A system that is effective on the harassed -and hard-shot estuaries of England utterly broke down on the desolate -marismas of Spain. The apparent explanation is that whereas fowl at home -are accustomed to see passing craft of many kinds, and perhaps mistake -the low-lying gunboat for a larger vessel far away; here no craft of any -sort navigate the marisma, or should the box-shape<a name="page_375" id="page_375"></a> <i>cajones</i> of native -gunners be so classed, they are at once recognised as wholly and solely -hostile.<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a></p> - -<p>One plan remained by which the big gun might be brought to bear upon the -larger bodies of fowl: concealing the boat among sedges at some point -where ducks had been observed to assemble <i>within reach</i> of such covert. -That, however, to begin with, was most uncertain—the only certainty was -that enormous drafts on patience would be required; and, after all, it -forms no part of the system of wildfowling afloat and lacks the joys and -glories of that pursuit.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Wild Swans in Spain</span></p> - -<p>Since meeting with four hoopers in February 1891, as recorded in <i>Wild -Spain</i>, we had neither seen nor heard of wild swans in Southern Spain -till February of the present year, 1910, when H.R.H. the Duke of Orleans -kindly informed us that he had succeeded in shooting one of a pair met -with in his marismas of Villamanrique. It proved to be an adult male of -Bewick’s swan—the first occurrence of that species that has been -recorded in Spain.<a name="page_376" id="page_376"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXXVIII<br /><br /> -THE “CORROS,†OR MASSING OF WILDFOWL IN SPRING FOR THEIR NORTHERN MIGRATION</h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> withdrawal of the wildfowl at the vernal equinox affords an -unequalled scenic display. It forms, moreover, one of those rare -revelations of her inner working that Nature but seldom allows to man. -Her operations, as a rule, are essentially secretive. A little may be -revealed, the bulk must be inferred. Here, for once, a vast revolution -is performed in open daylight, <i>coram populo</i>—that is, if the authors -and a handful of Spanish fowlers be accepted as representative, since no -other witness is present at these scenes enacted in remote watery -wilderness.</p> - -<p>Up to mid-February the daily life of the marisma continues as already -described. From that date a new movement becomes perceptible—the -seasonal redistribution. Daily there withdraw northward bands and -detachments counting into thousands apiece. But no vacancy occurs since -their places are simultaneously filled by corresponding arrivals from -beyond the Mediterranean.</p> - -<p>It is at this precise epoch that there occurs the phenomenon of which we -have spoken.</p> - -<p>Towards the close of February, dependent on the moon, a marked climatic -change takes place. A period of sudden heat usually sets in—a sequence -of warm sunny days, breathless, and at noontide almost suffocating. But -each afternoon with flowing tide there arises from the sea a S. W. -breeze, gentle at first and uncertain but gaining strength with the -rising flood.</p> - -<p>Already, shortly before this change, the duck-tribes had partially -relaxed their full mid-winter activities—owing to abundant spring -growths of food-plants, had become more sedentary; if not sluggish, at -least reluctant to move. After the brief morning-flight not a wing -stirred. But now, scan the<a name="page_377" id="page_377"></a> mirror-like surface of some great <i>lucio</i> -and you will recognise a new movement distinct and dissimilar from -regular hibernal habit. There float within sight (and the same is -happening at a score of places beyond sight) not only the usual loose -flotillas, but three, four, or five concrete assemblages of densely -massed fowl whose appearance the slightest scrutiny will differentiate -from the others. These are not sitting quiescent. The binoculars -disclose a scene of perpetual motion, well-nigh of riot—one might be -regarding a feathered faction-fight. Hundreds of units fight, splash, -and chase, or throw up water with beating wings till surf and spray half -conceals the seething crowd. That flicker of pinions and flying foam -are, moreover, accompanied by a chorus of myriad notes—a babel of -twirling sound blended in rising and falling cadences, comparable only -to the distant roar of some mighty city. A more singular spectacle we -have not encountered.</p> - -<p>Inquiry from one’s companion elicits the reply that these assemblages -are <i>hechando corros para irse</i> (literally, “forming choruses -preparatory to departureâ€)—an expression which conveyed no more -significance to us than it can to the reader.<a name="FNanchor_64_64" id="FNanchor_64_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a> We decided to return -at daybreak to see this thing through, and after watching the phenomenon -a score of times can now explain it.</p> - -<p>During the morning hours there are established focal points whereat -assemble those units already affected by the emigrant furor. These (at -first, perhaps, but a score or two) rapidly increase in numbers till -each focus becomes the nucleus of a corro. The seasonal infection -spreads, and as its influence impregnates the surrounding masses, these, -singly or in scores or hundreds as the passion seizes them, hasten to -join one or other of the mobilising army-corps. Within an hour or two -the insignificant original nucleus has developed into a vast host all in -a ferment of agitation, and being constantly reinforced by buzzing -swarms of recruits from without.</p> - -<p>All this procedure, remember, has been taking place during the blazing -noontide heat. Now the hour is 2 <small>P.M.</small>, and the first gentle breath of -the daily sea-breeze—the <i>viento de la mar</i>—is becoming perceptible. -This breeze springs from the S. W., and<a name="page_378" id="page_378"></a> let us here admit that, being -fowlers as well as naturalists, our observance of the phenomenon has -usually been carried out upon a <i>lucio</i> which happens to terminate -towards the N. E. in a long narrow bight fringed by tall reeds and -bulrush, where, concealed in friendly covert, we can continue the -observation while glancing along the barrel of a punt-gun. That -secondary fact is merely incidental and, it so happens, facilitates the -main object.</p> - -<p>A mile to windward three such armies are mobilising separately within -the scope of our view; and now the gentle force of that sea-breeze -begins to impel those unconscious hosts, too preoccupied with -all-absorbing passion to notice detail, directly towards the point -whereat we lie concealed.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 192px;"> -<a href="images/ill_160_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_160_sml.jpg" width="192" height="219" alt="REED-BUNTING - -A winter visitor to the marismas." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">REED-BUNTING<br /> -A winter visitor to the marismas.</span> -</div> - -<p>By this time the sun has three or four hours of declension and the thin -dark line representing thousands of surging atoms has drifted down to -within 200 yards. We can study at short range an amazing phenomenon. In -weird exuberance they fight and flirt, chase, cherish, and flap till -churned water flies in foam and a discordant roar of sibilant sound -fills to the zenith the voids of space. The volume of voices defies -description since these assembling multitudes belong to no single -species, but include a promiscuous agglomeration of all that care to -enlist, and each adds its own distinctive element to the general -uproar.<a name="FNanchor_65_65" id="FNanchor_65_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a> Around the floating host new-comers buzz like swarming bees, -each seeking some spot to wedge itself into the crowd.</p> - -<p>To-night the main <i>corro</i> that we had been awaiting drifted past our -front a trifle beyond effective range. The two that followed both “took -the ground†and remained stationary, away to the right. The chance of -making a great shot had failed; but we were content to watch the -phenomenon to its finish.</p> - -<p>Now the sun dips. The western sky is filled with golden glory; in twenty -short minutes darkness will have enveloped<a name="page_379" id="page_379"></a> the earth. Then in a moment, -as by word of command, silence, sudden and impressive, reigns where just -before that torrential babel had raged. Such, now, is the stilly silence -that by comparison the pipe of a passing redshank sounds well-nigh -scandalous! A few seconds pass. Then, dominated by a single impulse, the -concentrated mass on our front rises simultaneously on wing. The spell -of silence is broken; the roar of pinions reverberates far and wide. -They’re off—bound for Siberia!</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Yet unperplexed as though one spirit swayed<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Their indefatigable flight.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Holding the same massed formation, the fowl in three or four broadening -circles quickly attain a considerable altitude—say 100 yards—and then -head away on their course, <i>ALWAYS</i> (so far as they remain visible) to -the <i>SOUTH-EAST</i>—diametrically opposite to the direction one would -expect. As in deepening darkness we set forth on our homeward voyage, -the heaven above pulsates at intervals with the beating of wings as yet -more north-bound <i>corros</i> pass overhead.</p> - -<p>Certain notable facts are observable in this vernal exodus. For upwards -of twelve hours prior to departure the outgoing fowl take no food. That -period is devoted exclusively to preparation and overhaul, <i>and</i> to -pairing. Plumage is preened and dressed till each unit is spick and -span, speckless, and not a feather misplaced. All, moreover, are -absolutely empty—in best and lightest travelling trim.</p> - -<p>When ducks are <i>acorrados</i>—that is, formed into <i>corros</i> (the term is -used thus in verb-form)—their normal watchfulness is relaxed. All -thought and energy are concentrated on the impending event. Hence, at -these periods they are apt to fall an easier prey to the fowler and on -wholesale lines. The native gunners with their trained <i>cabresto</i>-ponies -sometimes unite and enormous totals are secured as the result of a -single joint broadside. The fowl thus obtained afford proof of the facts -just stated, being all absolutely empty; besides which many different -species will be killed at the one shot.<a name="FNanchor_66_66" id="FNanchor_66_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a> These men also state that -the ducks start already paired and flying side by side; this, they say, -explains the ferment and commotion of the previous hours—<a name="page_380" id="page_380"></a>courting and -sorting. Adult ducks, as previously indicated (<a href="#page_110">p. 110</a>), apparently pair -for life; but since some species (such as wigeon) take at least two -years to gain maturity, it is probable that the sexual phenomena which -are so conspicuous in the <i>corros</i> represent the first pairing of the -newly adult two-year-olds.</p> - -<p>The most favourable time for the assembling of corros is on those days -when great heat and calm at midday is succeeded towards evening by an -extra strong sea-breeze. On such occasions very large numbers will leave -between sundown and dark. Northerly winds will almost absolutely arrest -the exodus.</p> - -<p>For the season of 1900-1901 our game-books showed a total of 4849 -wildfowl (4674 ducks and 175 geese)—a record for which we were -good-humouredly taken to task by our venerable friend the late Canon -Tristram, who thought it looked excessive. The figures certainly are -big, but the next entry in the book reads:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><i>March 15.</i>—This evening between fifty and seventy <i>corros</i> left -within half an hour—say 50,000 to 70,000 ducks. Next morning the -marisma appeared as full as ever.</p></div> - -<p>Our toll of 5000 seemed by comparison but as a drop in the bucket!<a name="page_381" id="page_381"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXXIX<br /><br /> -SPRING-TIME IN THE MARISMAS<br /><br /> -<small>BIRD-LIFE IN A DRY SEASON</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">B<small>IRD-LIFE</small> in the Spanish marisma—in spring no less than in -winter—presents spectacles of such abounding variety as can nowhere in -Europe be surpassed. In the Arctic are vaster aggregations, but these, -comprising, say, only half-a-dozen species, are less attractive. It is -the infinite kaleidoscopic succession of graceful and dissimilar forms -that hour by hour flash on one’s sight—in a word, it is variety that -lends abiding charm to our Spanish bird-world.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 213px;"> -<a href="images/ill_161_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_161_sml.jpg" width="213" height="138" alt="GREY PLOVER (May)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GREY PLOVER (May)</span> -</div> - -<p>These scenes have already been described—we have ourselves described -them in detail, and do not propose to recapitulate, alluring though the -subject be.</p> - -<p>Here we purpose depicting bird-life under undescribed conditions—in a -spring when, by reason of exceptional drought, the myriad marsh-dwellers -find themselves entirely at fault. Winging their seasonal way from -Africa, to seek the seclusion of reed-girt pools and their accustomed -league-long swamps and shallows, they found instead a calcined plain, no -drop of water remaining, plant-life either prematurely parched or -pulverised beneath a fiery sun. Watching the arrival of the -advance-guard in early spring, one wondered what the bewildered hosts -would do next, how they would face this fresh freak of nature.</p> - -<p>The marismas, it should be explained, normally dry every summer, however -wet the previous winter may have been.<a name="page_382" id="page_382"></a> Though the great <i>lucios</i> stood -five feet deep in February, yet the deepest will be stone-dry by -midsummer or, at latest, by St. Jago (July 24). Cattle and the wild-game -can then only drink at the narrowed pools where permanent water, however -exiguous, oozes forth—or the cattle from wells. In normal years, -however, the marsh-birds have already reared their broods before these -dates.</p> - -<p>But in years of drought—what resource have they, where can they find a -substitute for their sun-destroyed and desolate <i>incunabula</i>? Many (the -waders in particular) instinctively prognosticate a drought; few, -comparatively, either come or remain—those that come pass on. Even such -birds as breed on permanent deep-water lakes (such, for example, as the -smaller herons, egrets, and ibises) perceive in advance that, although -they may have water assured, there will neither be sufficient covert, -later on, to conceal their nurseries nor food for the rearing of their -young. The erewhiles teeming heronries are abandoned.</p> - -<p>Never within forty years has there occurred a drier season than this -last, 1909-10. Incidentally we may remark that most of the previous -spring-tides that we had expressly devoted to the marisma had been years -of excessive rainfall, years when flamingoes nested abundantly—an -unfailing index. Such was 1872, for example, 1879, and 1883; again, in -April 1891, we remember our gunning-punt, caught in a squall, sinking -beneath us in quite three feet of water though barely a mile from shore. -These are the seasons when (as described in <i>Wild Spain</i>) one sees the -waterfowl in their fullest abundance. On the present occasion (1910) we -were to witness converse conditions. Throughout the preceding winter the -fountains of heaven had been stayed, nor did the advent of spring bring -one hour of rain. By mid-March the marisma was practically waterless—a -fortnight later, sunbaked hard as bricks. Where now were the -marsh-birds? In April or May you could ride a long day over arid -mud-flats and never see a wing, bar, in the latter month, a few Kentish -plovers and fluttering pratincoles<a name="FNanchor_67_67" id="FNanchor_67_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a>—add a band or two of croaking -sand-grouse (<i>Pterocles alchata</i>) passing in the high heavens. Where had -the exiled myriads gone? No man can answer.<a name="page_383" id="page_383"></a></p> - -<p>We are not so foolish as attempt to say; but we do venture to express -the opinion that in years when even wildest Spain refuses asylum to wild -creatures such as these, the result to them can only represent an -overwhelming catastrophe. For there lies before them no alternative -refuge; their races must perish by wholesale.</p> - -<p>At those rare points where permanent waters remained one might look for -great concentrations of bird-life, yet such was not the case. As -indicated, the bulk had foreseen the event and abandoned this country.</p> - -<p>One phenomenon struck us as inexplicable. Of the birds that did remain -none displayed the slightest symptom of yielding to the vernal impulse, -of pairing, or of desiring to nest.</p> - -<p>Flamingoes, for example (what few there were), continued massed in solid -herds up to mid-May. A band of 300 that we examined closely on the 12th -at the Caño de la Junquera (though fully 90 per cent were adults in -perfect pink feather) contained not a single paired couple. Hard by the -flamingoes some forty or fifty spoonbills were feeding. These, last -year, nested at this spot, building upon or among the low -samphire-scrub—a dangerously open situation for such big and -conspicuous birds. This spring, though many remained in the marisma, not -a spoonbill nested in the district at all. Flamingoes, by the way, had -exhibited extreme restlessness throughout the spring. On February 22, -for example, while steaming up the Straits of Gibraltar, we detected -them in quite incredible numbers but at an altitude almost beyond the -range even of prism-glasses—it was a dim similitude to drifting <i>cirri</i> -that first caught our eye. So vast was their aërial elevation that it -was only after prolonged examination we at length recognised those -revolving grey specks as being birds at all; presently a nearer band, -directly overhead, revealed their characteristic identity. The bulk of -these held a southerly tendency, towards Africa; others drifted -undecided; while several bands, halting between two opinions, when lost -to sight were wheeling beyond the Spanish hills.</p> - -<p>Ducks also in mid-May serried the skies in utterly anachronous -skeins—reminiscent of winter. These were largely marbled ducks, all -unpaired; but there were also very large aggregations of mallards. One -such pack on May 10 certainly counted 500—a number we never remember to -have seen massed together in<a name="page_384" id="page_384"></a> Spain before, not even in winter. This was -at the Hondon. A similar phenomenon was observed with the white-faced -ducks. These curious creatures also remained in packs, and without sign -of pairing, on the open waters of Santolalla—open only because aquatic -plants had forborne to grow. In normal seasons these lakes are studded -with great cane-brakes and islanded reed-jungles, within whose recesses -these amphibians build their floating homes. This spring not a reed had -grown—partly owing to cattle having destroyed the earlier shoots which -are usually protected by deep water. There was literally no covert -within which these ducks (and the swarming coots and grebes) could -breed, even were they so minded—which they were not!</p> - -<p>The only ducks that had paired in earnest were gadwall, garganey, common -and white-eyed pochard (of which the first three nest here in very -limited numbers), together with normal quantities of mallard.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 236px;"> -<a href="images/ill_162_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_162_sml.jpg" width="236" height="127" alt="HEAD OF CRESTED COOT - -The frontal plate is concave, whereas in the common coot it is convex." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">HEAD OF CRESTED COOT<br /> -The frontal plate is concave, whereas in the common coot it is convex.</span> -</div> - -<p>A collateral result of the shortage of water wrought yet further havoc -among the birds which had elected to remain, and accentuated the -prescience of those that had departed. Nesting-places, ordinarily -islanded in mid-water, were now left stranded on dry land and thus open -to the ravages of the whole fraternity of four-footed egg-devouring -vermin. Many species, we know, foresee such risks and invariably avoid -them; others, less prudent, make the attempt and lose their labour. The -white-eyed pochards, for example, which are accustomed to nest in -islanded clumps of rush and dense aquatic grasses, this year simply -provided free breakfasts to rats and ichneumons! We happened to require -two or three settings of these ducks to hatch-off under hens, but no -sooner did a marked nest contain three or four eggs than all were -devoured! As to the coots, of which both the common and crested species -breed in the marisma in myriads, they simply gave it up as a bad -business. They did not depart, but resigned themselves to the necessity -of skipping a season.</p> - -<p>Gulls, great and small, with graceful marsh-terns, floated<a name="page_385" id="page_385"></a> -spectre-like, surveying in solitude and silence arid wastes where before -they had found aquatic Edens. Once or twice we also noticed the small -white herons (buff-backed and egret) flying disconsolately over their -lost homes. A similar remark would apply to most of the other -marsh-breeders—we need not recapitulate them all. Stilts, for example, -and avocets remained perforce in single blessedness—the latter in noisy -querulous bands, quite wild and showing no tendency to assume spring -notes or habits. We <i>did</i> chance on a single avocet’s nest, where, in -other years, we have found hundreds. The same with the stilts—they also -retained winter ways. Curiously on May 17—one wet day—two male stilts -had a regular set-to over an irresponsive female; the only symptom of -their love-making we noticed all that spring!</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_163_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_163_sml.jpg" width="438" height="221" alt="AVOCETS FEEDING - -Though long-legged, these are half-webfooted and swim freely." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">AVOCETS FEEDING<br /> -Though long-legged, these are half-webfooted and swim freely.</span> -</p> - -<p>Here, in the very height of what ought to have been the breeding-season, -we had all these birds (and many others), instead of hovering overhead -and shrieking in one’s ear, flying wild in great packs at 100 yards.</p> - -<p>How came it to pass that the normal vernal impulse was neglected for a -whole season, unfelt and unrecognised—what was the precise -psychological reason? It reads ridiculous to assume that any feathered -husband should deliberately remark: “Now, Angelina, don’t you agree that -it would be imprudent our<a name="page_386" id="page_386"></a> attempting to raise a family this -drought-struck season?†Nor could the neglect arise from physical -weakness, since the birds were strong and wild. Such specimens as we -shot proved plump and well favoured, though the generative organs -disclosed a hybernal obsolescence. One explanation—indeed a -rough-and-ready diagnosis that seemed to cover the ground—was given by -Vasquez. Now Vasquez is our Guarda of the marisma; he is not scientific, -but has been in charge of the wilderness and its wildfowl these thirty -years and, more than all, he is observant. This rough keeper perhaps -understands the inner lives of wildfowl, with the causes that actuate -their movements and habits, better than our best scientists, and Vasquez -told us in February: “This year no birds will breed here; the conditions -necessary to <i>calientár los ovários</i> [literally, to warm up the ovaries] -are wanting.†The subsequent course of events, corroborated by the -evidence of dissection, proved the correctness of his forecast.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>For a moment we return to the white-faced ducks—no European bird-form -less known, or more extravagant. With heavy, swollen beaks, quite -disproportionate in size and pale waxy-blue in colour, with white heads, -black necks, and rich chestnut bodies, their tiny wings (as well as the -sheeny silken plumage) recall those of grebes, but they have long stiff -tails like cormorants, and are more tenacious of the water than either -of those. To push them on wing is well-nigh impossible. They seek safety -in the middle waters and there abide, ignoring threats. To-day, however -(May 16), we needed specimens, and by hustling their company between -three guns, two mounted keepers, and an old boat that leaked like a -sieve we eventually forced them to fly and secured three. They flew -entirely in packs (not pairs), rarely many feet above the surface, but -with a speed little inferior to pochard or other diving-ducks. -Dissection showed that in a female the ovaries had not begun to develop, -there were no ripe ova, nor had the oviduct been used. The <i>testes</i> in -both the males proved also that here these birds were not yet breeding, -or thinking of doing so.</p> - -<p>A week earlier, however, at another lake of quite different formation -and different plant-growth (thirty miles away), we had found these -singular waterfowl already nesting, and append a note of that day:—<a name="page_387" id="page_387"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_164_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_164_sml.jpg" width="320" height="188" alt="WHITE-FACED DUCK (ErÃsmatura leucocephala). See also p. -28." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WHITE-FACED DUCK (ErÃsmatura leucocephala). See also <a href="#page_028">p. 28.</a></span> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Laguna de las Terajes</span>, <i>May 8.</i>—A lonely lagoon hidden away in a -saucer-shaped basin amidst sequestered downs; almost the entire extent -(twenty acres) choked with dense cane-brakes and thick green reeds which -stood six or eight feet above water. We had driven hither, nine miles, -across sandy heaths and pine-wood; and while breakfasting on the shore -our two canoes (carted here yesterday) were got afloat. Meanwhile, on a -patch of open water we had observed several white-faced ducks swimming, -deeply immersed, and with their long stiff tails cocked upright at -intervals, together with some eared grebes; while marsh-harriers slowly -quartered the brakes and the reed-beds rang with the harsh nasal notes -of the great sedge-warbler. On pushing out into the aquatic jungle -ahead—no light labour with five feet of water encumbered with densely -matted canes and the dead tangle of former growths—we soon fell in with -nests of all the species above mentioned and several more. Those of the -white-faced ducks consisted, first, of a big floating platform of broken -canes, upon which was piled a mass of fine dried “duck-weed‗the coots’ -nests being formed of flags and reeds alone. None of the ducks’ nests -contained eggs; probably the season was too early (in other years we -have found their great white eggs, rough-grained, about the third week -in May), but possibly the harriers had forestalled us, as we found one -egg floating alongside. The grebes were just beginning to lay; their -nests, composed of rotten floatage, all awash and malodorous, containing -one to three eggs. Next we found two nests of marsh-harriers, immense -masses of dead flags, two feet high, supported on floating<a name="page_388" id="page_388"></a> canes and -lined with sticks, heather-stalks, and palmetto. One had four eggs, -hard-sat; the other, two eggs, chipping, and two small young in white -down, with savage black eyes. The harriers’ eggs are usually dull white; -in one nest found this year, however, the eggs were spotted with pale -red—apparently blood-stains. Hard by were two nests of the purple -water-hen, both of which had obviously been recently robbed by the -harriers next door.</p> - -<p>These curious birds climb the tall green reeds parrot-wise, grasping -four or five at once in their long, supple, heavily clawed toes; then -with their powerful red beaks neatly cut down the reeds a yard or more -above water, in order to feed on the tender pith. Here and there float -masses of these cut-down reeds, split and emptied—<i>comederos</i>, the -natives call such spots. But the birds are silly enough to cut down the -very reeds that surround their nests—thus exposing the huge piled-up -structures to the gaze of their truculent neighbour, the egg-loving -marsh-harrier. Instinct badly at fault here.</p> - -<p>With a degree more intelligence, the purple water-hens might at least -retaliate, by watching their opportunity and mopping-up the harriers’ -young. They are amply equipped for such work, having great pincer-like -beaks fit to cut barbed wire!</p> - -<p>On the other hand, the great purple water-hens habitually do a bit -robbery and murder on their own account, plundering the nests both of -ducks and coots and devouring eggs or young alike. We shot one whose -beak was smeared all over with yolk from a plundered duck’s nest hard -by, and alongside the nest of a <i>Porphyrio</i> with five eggs (found May 1) -lay floating the head-less corpses of two young coots. We have also -observed similar phenomena alongside the nests of the coots -themselves—doubtless attributable to the same cause. The eggs of the -purple water-hen are lovely objects, ruddier and much more richly -coloured than those of any of its congeners. These birds remain in the -marismas all winter.</p> - -<p>In the densest brake bred purple herons, but this part proved quite -impenetrable to canoes. A few days later, however, at the Retuerta, we -reached a little colony of three nests. A beautiful sight they -presented, broad platforms of criss-crossed canes, cleverly supported on -tall bamboos, and lined with the flowering tops of <i>carrizos</i> (canes). -These three nests were close together<a name="page_389" id="page_389"></a> (another or two hard by), were -about five feet above water-level, and contained three, three, and four -pale-blue eggs. While circling around their nests, the old herons showed -a conspicuous projection beneath their curved necks. We therefore shot -one and found the effect was caused by a curious “kink†or bony process -on the front of the upper neck—as sketched.</p> - -<p>Of other birds observed at this Laguna de Terajes may be noted a few -mallard and marbled ducks, a pair of squacco herons (not breeding), -common sandpipers (on May 8), and a party of whiskered terns which -arrived while we were there.</p> - -<p>The day we had spent among the marsh-birds at this sequestered lagoon -happened to be the day of the general election and the usual excitement -prevailed. Yet, as we journeyed down by the early train, we had read in -the morning’s paper this paragraph: “An understanding†-[<i>Inteligencia</i>]—“Yesterday an understanding was arrived at in Madrid -between Maura and Cañalejas, by which the former is to hold 225 seats.†-Why, after that, bother further with an election? ‘Twill serve as an -object-lesson at home.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_165_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_165_sml.jpg" width="230" height="113" alt="PURPLE HERON (Ardea purpurea)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">PURPLE HERON (Ardea purpurea)</span> -</p> - -<p>Another phenomenon of the Spanish marismas is the through-transit in May -of that little group of world-wanderers that make a winter-home in the -southern hemisphere—in South Africa and Madagascar, Australia, New -Zealand, some even in Patagonia—and yet return each spring to summer in -Arctic regions. These comprise, notably, but four species, and not one -of these four, in our view, is excelled for perfect beauty of bright, -chaste, and contrasted coloration by any other bird-form on earth. This -quartette is composed of the grey plover, knot, curlew-sandpiper, and -bartailed godwit—all four of which appear here in thousands every May, -and all in summer dress.</p> - -<p>Note, first, that these do not arrive in Spain (having come 6000 or 8000 -miles but being still 2000 or 3000 miles short of their final -destination) until long after all other birds—including several -congeneric and closely related species—have already laid their eggs and -many hatched their young. Also, secondly, that some of them begin to -assume their spring breeding-plumage<a name="page_390" id="page_390"></a> under autumnal conditions <i>before</i> -quitting Australia in April—that is, the Australian autumn—and while -yet some 10,000 miles distant from the points at which that -breeding-dress is designed to be worn.</p> - -<p>To the four named might properly be added other two species—the -sanderling and the little stint. Our only reason for confining our -remarks to the original quartette is that, in Spain, the transit of the -other two is less pronounced and noticeable.</p> - -<p>Last spring (1910), dry as the marismas were, we had these -globe-spanners in thousands. They were extremely wild, and it was only -by elaborate “drives†that we secured a few specimens.<a name="FNanchor_68_68" id="FNanchor_68_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a> We also -observed in mid-May hundreds of <i>black</i>-tailed godwits, a species which -usually disappears from southern Spain at end of March and which we have -found nesting in Jutland <i>before</i> the above date, viz. the first week in -May.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_166_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_166_sml.jpg" width="395" height="251" alt="GREY PLOVERS - -In summer plumage, on route for Siberia—Marisma, May 12." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GREY PLOVERS<br /> -In summer plumage, on route for Siberia—Marisma, May 12.</span> -</p> - -<p>Whimbrels had been extremely abundant early in May, together with a few -greenshanks, ring-dotterel, and green sandpiper. On May 13 we observed -several of the Mediterranean black-headed gull (<i>Larus melanocephalus</i>) -on Santolalla.<a name="page_391" id="page_391"></a></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>[<span class="smcap">Note.</span>—Referring to the last sentence, our companion, Commander H. -Lynes, R. N., writes:—“All the gulls I saw on Santolalla I am -positive were <i>L. ridibundus</i>, and I looked most carefully. The -wing-pattern of <i>melanocephalus</i> is very distinct. With the latter -I became quite familiar in the Mediterranean in winter, and also -saw them in late summer at Smyrna.†We, nevertheless, leave our own -record as above, being confident that such gulls as happened to -come within our own view were <i>exclusively</i> of the southern -species, with its darker and deeper hood. But the occurrence of our -British Black-headed Gull so far south in mid-May is also -remarkable. That species, though abundant all winter, has -disappeared, as a rule, by the end of March. Our own last note of -observing it during the spring in question was on April 1. We may -add a further note of having observed <i>both</i> species (swimming -alongside) on Guadalquivir, March 12, 1909. The distinction, alike -in the depth and darker shade of the “hood†in <i>L. melanocephalus</i>, -was unmistakable, even to naked eye.]</p></div> - -<p>This dry spring not a spoonbill nested in Andalucia. The teeming -<i>pajaréras</i>, or heronries, at the Rocina de la Madre and in Doñana were -left lifeless and abandoned. In normal years these are tenanted (as -shown in photo at p. 32) by countless multitudes of buff-backed, -squacco, and night-herons, glossy ibis, some purple herons, and a few -pairs of spoonbills, whose massed nests fairly weigh down the marsh-girt -tamarisks.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_167_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_167_sml.jpg" width="212" height="146" alt="ORPHEAN WARBLER (Sylvia orphea) - -Arrives end of April; hardly so brilliant a songster as its specific -title would import." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ORPHEAN WARBLER (Sylvia orphea)<br /> -Arrives end of April; hardly so brilliant a songster as its specific -title would import.</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_392" id="page_392"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XL" id="CHAPTER_XL"></a>CHAPTER XL<br /><br /> -SKETCHES OF SPANISH BIRD-LIFE</h2> - -<p class="nind">S<small>PAIN</small> is a land where one can enjoy seeing in their everyday life those -“rare†British birds that at home can only be seen in books or museums. -So far as it can be done in half-a-dozen brief sketches, we will -endeavour to illustrate this.</p> - -<p class="sbhead">I. <span class="smcap">An Evening’s Stroll from Jerez.</span></p> - -<p>Spanish towns and villages are self-contained like the “fenced cities†-of Biblical days. The <i>pueblecitos</i> of the sierra show up as a concrete -splash of white on the brown hillside. Once outside the gates you are in -the <i>campo</i> = the country. Even Jerez with its 60,000 inhabitants boasts -no suburban zone. Within half an hour’s walk one may witness scenes in -wild bird-life for the like of which home-staying naturalists sigh in -vain. We are at our “home-marsh,†a mile or two away: it is -mid-February. Within fifteen yards a dozen stilts stalk in the shallows; -hard by is a group of godwits, some probing the ooze, the rest preening -in eccentric outstretched poses. Beyond, the drier shore is adorned by -snow-white egrets (<i>Ardea bubulcus</i>), some perched on our cattle, -relieving their tick-tormented hides.</p> - -<p>Thus, within less than fifty yards, we have in view three of the rarest -and most exquisite of British birds. And the list can be prolonged. A -marsh-harrier in menacing flight, his broad wings brushing the -bulrushes, sweeps across the bog, startling a mallard and snipes; there -are storks and whimbrels in sight (the latter possibly slender-billed -curlew), and a pack of lesser bustard crouch within 500 yards in the -palmettos. From a marsh-drain springs a green sandpiper; and as we take -our homeward way, serenaded by bull-frogs and mole-crickets, there -resounds overhead the clarion-note of cranes cleaving their way due -north.<a name="page_393" id="page_393"></a></p> - -<p class="sbhead">II. <span class="smcap">An Isolated Crag in Andalucia</span></p> - -<p>Within an easy half-day’s ride from X. lie the cliffs of Chipipi, rising -in crenellated tiers from the winding river at their base. It is a -lovely May morning. Doves in dozens dash away as we ride through groves -of white poplars, and the soft air is filled with their murmurous -chorus; the bush-clad banks are vocal with the song of orioles and -nightingales, cuckoos, and a score of warblers—Cetti’s and orphean, -Sardinian, polyglotta, Bonelli’s. The handsome rufous warbler, though -not much of a songster, is everywhere conspicuous, flirting a -boldly-barred, fan-shaped tail that catches one’s eye. There are -woodchats, serins, hoopoes; azure-blue rollers squawk, and brilliant -bee-eaters poise and chatter overhead—their nest-burrows perforate the -river-bank like a sand-martins’ colony. On willow-clad eyots nest lesser -ring-dotterels and otters bask; while in the shaded depths beneath the -fringing osiers lurk barbel intent to dash at belated grasshopper or -cricket.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 234px;"> -<a href="images/ill_168_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_168_sml.jpg" width="234" height="262" alt="SAVI’S WARBLER (Sylcia savii) - -A spring-migrant, common but very local. Has eggs by mid-April." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SAVI’S WARBLER (Sylcia savii)<br /> - -A spring-migrant, common but very local. Has eggs by mid-April.</span> -</div> - -<p>In a thick lentiscos is the nest of a great grey shrike, and while we -watch, its owner flies up carrying a lizard in her beak. Half an hour -later we see a second shrike, with falcon-like dash, capture another -lizard basking in a sunny cranny among the rocks—no mean performance -that. There are snakes here also; one we killed, a coluber, on March 31, -was 5½ feet long and contained two rabbits swallowed whole and head -first—one partly digested. Another snake, quite small, struck us as -being something new; him we bottled in spirit and despatched to the -British Museum. Presently came the reply, thanking us for a “Lizard, -<i>Blanus cinereus</i>.†Lizard? Well, we learnt a lesson. There are limbless -lizards, and this was one—the subterranean amphisbaena;<a name="page_394" id="page_394"></a> our British -blindworm (<i>Anguis fragilis</i>) is another, and that also we did not know -before. There are curious reptiles here in Spain—the chameleon, for -example. The lobe-footed gecko, <i>Salamanquésa</i> in Spanish, haunts sunny -rocks where insects abound. But he carries war into the enemy’s camp, -invading (not singly, but in force) the wild-bees’ nests. A Spanish -bee-keeper gravely assured us that the cold-blooded gecko does this -thing expressly to enjoy the sensation of being stung in twenty places -at once! Here in a shady glade lie strewn broadcast the wings of -butterflies—examine very closely the bush above, and presently an -iris-less eye, expressionless as a grey pearl, will meet your own. That -is a praying mantis (or <i>Santa Teresa</i> in Spanish), a practical insect -but no aesthete, since he devours the ugly body and casts aside the -beauteous wings!—see his portrait at p. 87. Among butterflies we -counted here the scarce swallowtail, <i>Thaïs polyxena</i> (hatching out on -April 3), <i>Vanessa polychloros</i>, a big fritillary with blood-red -under-surface to its fore-wings (<i>Argynnis maia</i>, Cramer), -<i>Euchloëbelia</i> (March) and the curious insect figured alongside, we know -not what it is.<a name="FNanchor_69_69" id="FNanchor_69_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a></p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 215px;"> -<a href="images/ill_169_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_169_sml.jpg" width="215" height="181" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>For more than thirty years within our knowledge (and probably for -centuries before) these cliffs have formed a home of Bonelli’s eagle. -Two huge stick-built nests stand out in visible projection from crevices -in the crag, some forty yards apart. To-day (April 3) the occupied eyrie -contained a down-clad eaglet, four partridges, and half a rabbit, -besides a partridge’s egg, intact, and sundry scraps of flesh, all quite -fresh. The nest was lined with green olive-twigs; swarms of -carrion-flies buzzed around, and a great tortoiseshell butterfly alit on -its edge while we were yet inside. The parent eagles soared overhead, -the female carrying a half rabbit, which, in her impatience, she -presently commenced to devour, the pair perching on a dead ilex, and -affording us this<a name="page_395" id="page_395"></a> sketch and another inserted at p. 26. Her white -breast shone in the sun with a satin-like sheen.</p> - -<p>Within sight (though fifteen miles away) is another eyrie of this -species—the alternative nests not ten feet apart, merely a projecting -buttress of rock separating the two vertical fissures in which they -rest. This site is in a rock-stack standing out from the wooded slope of -the sierra. The two eggs, slightly blotched with red, were laid in -February.</p> - -<p>The rough bush-clad hills above our cliff are preserved, and presently -meeting the gamekeeper, we tried—(that daily toll of four partridges -plus sundry rabbits had got on our consciences!)—to put in a word for -our eagle-friends, assuring him they did him service by destroying -snakes and big lizards (which they don’t). “Si, señor,†he agreed, -adding, “y los insectos!â€</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 220px;"> -<a href="images/ill_170_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_170_sml.jpg" width="220" height="276" alt="BONELLI’S EAGLES SOARING AROUND EYRIE - -Note white patch in centre of back, between the wings." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BONELLI’S EAGLES SOARING AROUND EYRIE<br /> -Note white patch in centre of back, between the wings.</span> -</div> - -<p>Farther along the cliff we found two nests of neophron, each containing -two very handsome eggs. This bird makes a comfortable home, the -foundation being of sticks, but with a warmly lined central saucer, -bedecked with old bones, snakes’ vertebrae, rabbit-skulls, and similar -ornaments. The nests were on overhung shelves of the vertical crag, and -(like those of the eagles) only accessible by rope. There lay a rat in -one—and rather “high.â€</p> - -<p>Remaining denizens of these crags we can but briefly name. A pair of -eagle-owls had three young (fully fledged by June 10) in a deep -rock-fissure; there were also ravens, many lesser kestrels, and a colony -of genets.</p> - -<p class="sbhead">III. <span class="smcap">Oak-Wood and Scrub</span></p> - -<p>Cistus and tree-heath, genista and purple heather that brushes your -shoulder as you ride, studded with groves of<a name="page_396" id="page_396"></a> cork-oak—such was our -hunting-field. The reader’s patience shall not be abused by a catalogue -of ornithological fact. True, we were studying bird-problems, and at the -moment the writer was endeavouring, amidst ten-foot scrub, to locate by -its song, a nest of Polyglotta—or was it <i>Bonellii</i>?—when in the -depths of osmunda fern was descried something <i>hairy</i>—it was a -wild-boar!... Three horsemen armed with <i>garrochas</i> come galloping -through the bush—herdsmen rounding-up cattle? But this morning it is a -<i>bull</i> they are rounding-up; and a bull that had grown so savage and -intractable that his life was forfeit. A crash in the brushwood and we -stand face to face. Three minutes later that bull fell dead with two -balls in his body; but two others, less well aimed, had whistled past -our ears. Those three minutes had been momentous—the choice, it had -seemed, lay between horn and bullet. Bird-nesting in Spanish wilds has -its serious side.</p> - -<p>The afternoon was less eventful. Almost each islanded grove had yielded -spoil. We need not specify spectacled, subalpine, and orphean warblers, -woodpeckers, woodchats and grey shrikes, nightjars, owls, kestrels, and -kites—some prizes demanding patient watching, others a strenuous climb. -The last hour had resulted in discovering a nest of booted eagle, two of -black, and one of red kites, each with two eggs (the next tree held a -nest of the latter containing a youngster near full grown). We had -turned to ride homewards when, over a centenarian cork-oak on the -horizon, we recognised (by their buoyant flight and white undersides) a -pair of serpent-eagles. The grotesque old tree was half overthrown, and -on its topmost limb was established the snake-eaters’ eyrie, containing -the usual single big white egg—this specimen, however, distinctly -splashed with reddish brown. In the same tree were also breeding cushats -and doves, a woodpecker with four eggs, and a swarm of bees who made -things lively for the climber. One of to-day’s climbs, by the way, had -resulted incidentally in the capture of a family of dormice, <i>Lirones -avellanos</i> in Spanish, handsome creatures with immense whiskers and -arrayed in contrasts of rich brown, black and white.</p> - -<p>Half an hour later we descried the unmistakable eyrie of an imperial -eagle—a platform of sticks that crowned the summit of a huge cork-oak, -the more conspicuous since any projecting twigs that might interrupt the -view are always broken off. The eagle,<a name="page_397" id="page_397"></a> entirely black with white -shoulders, only soared aloft when L. was already half-way up. The two -handsome eggs we left, though they have since, presumably, added two -more “detrimentals†to prey on our partridges. Eagles, so soon as adult, -pair for life; but that condition may require several years for full -attainment, and in the imperial eagle the adolescent period is passed in -a distinctive uniform of rich chestnut. So long ago as 1883, however, we -discovered the singular fact that this species breeds while yet -(apparently) “immature.†That is, we have frequently found one of a -nesting pair in the paler plumage described, while its mate gloried in -the rich sable-black of maturity, as sketched on p. 31. This year (1910) -we had come across such a couple—they had two eggs on March 15—the -male being black, while his partner was parti-coloured. A curious -incident had occurred at that nest; at dawn next morning a griffon -vulture was discovered asleep close alongside the sitting eagle. But on -the arrival of the husband a furious scene ensued! The intruder (whom we -acquit of dishonourable intent) was set upon, hustled, and violently -ejected from the tree—hurriedly and dishevelled he departed. But -conjugal peace was soon restored, and presently the royal pair set out -in company for a morning’s hunting.</p> - -<p>These resident birds-of-prey breed early. We have found the eagles’ eggs -by February 28, buzzards’ on March 12, and red kites’ on March 14.</p> - -<p>This spring was remarkable for the numbers of hobbies that passed north -during May, sometimes in regular flocks. They often roosted in old -kites’ nests, and when disturbed therefrom misled us into a futile -climb.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p><span class="smcap">White-tailed or Sea-Eagle</span> (<i>Haliaëtos albicilla</i>).—This does not -properly belong to the Spanish zone. We cannot find recorded a single -authentic instance of its occurrence in that country, but can supply one -ourselves.</p> - -<p>In the early days of February 1898 we watched on several occasions an -eagle (which at the time we took to be Bonelli’s) wildly chasing the -geese that are wont to assemble in front of our shooting-lodge. Splendid -spectacles these aerial hunts afforded. The selected goose, skilfully -separated from his company, made a grand defence. Fast he flew and far, -now low<a name="page_398" id="page_398"></a> on water, now soaring upwards in widening circle; but all the -time gaggling and protesting against the outrage in strident tones that -we could hear a mile away. Never, so far as eyesight could reach, did -the assailant make good his hold.</p> - -<p>Months afterwards—it was before daybreak on December 28 (1898)—the -authors lay awaiting the “early flight†of geese at the Puntal, hard by, -when an eagle (whether the same or not) appeared from out the gloom, -made a feint at No. 1‘s decoy-geese (made of wood), passed on and fairly -“stooped†at those of No. 2. A moment later the great bird-of-prey fell -with resounding splash, and proved to be (so far as we know) the only -sea-eagle ever shot in Spain—a female, weight 12½ lbs., expanse just -under 8 feet.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>This is not the only instance in our experience of eagles hunting before -the dawn. We recall several others. Apparently, if pressed by hunger, -eagles start business early—almost as early as we do ourselves.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Spotted Eagle</span> (<i>Aquila naevia</i>).—This also, like the last, is scarcely -a Spanish species; but a beautiful example, heavily spotted, was shot in -September in the Pinar de San Fernando by our friend Mr. Osborne of -Puerto Sta. Maria. It was one of a pair.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Peregrine and Partridge.</span>—<span class="smcap">Corral Quemado</span>, <i>Jan. 27, 1909</i>. While posted -on a mesembrianthemum-clad knoll during a big-game drive, troops of -partridges kept streaming out from the covert behind. Their demeanour -struck both me and the next gun posted on a knoll 200 yards away. Across -the intervening glade, almost bare sand but for a stray tuft of rush or -marram-grass, the partridge ran to and fro in a dazed sort of way, -crouching flat as though terror-stricken, or standing upright, gazing -stupidly in turn. None dared to fly, though some were so near they could -not have failed to detect me. The mystery was solved when a peregrine -swept close overhead and made feint after feint: yet not a partridge -would rise. Well they knew that the falcon would not strike <i>on the -ground</i>; but what a “soft job†it would have been for a goshawk or -marsh-harrier! Presumably partridge discriminate between their winged -enemies and in each case adapt defence to fit attack.</p> - -<p>An interesting scene was terminated by a lynx trotting out by<a name="page_399" id="page_399"></a> my -neighbour, Sir Maurice de Bunsen, who might thus have been taken -unawares; only ambassadors are never believed to be so, and on this -occasion the spotted diplomat certainly got the ball quite right, behind -the shoulder.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Marsh-Harrier</span> (<i>Circus aeruginosus</i>).—Over dark wastes resound -“duck-guns sullenly booming.†Thereat from reed-bed and cane-brake -awaken roosting harriers, quick to realise the import. It is long before -their normal “hours of business,†but these miss no chances, and soon -the hidden gunner descries spectral forms drifting in the gloom—all -intent to share his spoils. Watch the robbers’ methods. In the deep a -winged teal is making away, almost swash. The raptor feints again and -again, following the cripple’s subaquatic course; but he never attempts -to strike till incessant diving has worn the victim out. Then—so soon -as the luckless teal is compelled to tarry five seconds above -water—instantly those terrible talons close like a rat-trap. Next comes -a lively wigeon, merely wing-tipped; but the water here is shoal and the -hawk dare not close. For the volume of mud and spray thrown up by those -whirling pinions would drench his own plumage. The wigeon realises his -advantage and sticks to the shallow—the raptor ever trying to force him -to the deep. The end comes all the same, though the process of -tiring-out occupies longer—sooner or later, down drop the yellow -legs—there is a moment of strenuous struggle and the duck is lifted and -borne ashore. Should no land be near, the branches of a submerged -samphire will serve for a dining-table. Within five minutes nought is -left but empty skin and clean-picked bones.</p> - -<p>Obviously any attempt to seek dead at a distance or to recover cripples -is labour lost—once they drift, or swim, or dive, to the danger-radius -instantly the chattel passes to the rival “sphere of influence.â€</p> - -<p>As early as February (and sometimes even in January) the abounding coots -begin to lay. The marsh-harrier notes the date and becomes a determined -oologist. Over the everlasting samphire-swamp resounds the reverberating -cry of the crested coot, <i>Hoo, hoo, Hoo, hoo</i>, so strikingly human that -one looks round to see who is signalling. Presently you hear the same -cry, but wailing in different tone and temper. That is a coot defending -hearth and home against the despoiler; and bravely is that defence -maintained. With a glass, one sees the coot throw<a name="page_400" id="page_400"></a> herself on her back -and hold the hawk at bay, striking out right and left, for she has -powerful claws and can scratch like a cat. Often the assailant is fairly -beaten off; or should the fight end without visible issue, probably the -coveted eggs have been hustled overboard in the tussle. Then it amuses -to watch the harrier’s frantic efforts to recover the sunken prizes from -the shallows.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 189px;"> -<a href="images/ill_171_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_171_sml.jpg" width="189" height="164" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Great Spotted Cuckoo</span> (<i>Oxylophus glandarius</i>).—A striking rakish form, -this stranger from unknown Africa silently appears in Spain during the -closing days of February or early in March. On the fifth evening of the -latter month, while rambling in the bush on the watch for “some new -thing,†a hawk-like figure swept by and perched on the outer branches of -a thorny acacia. When shot, the bird dropped a yard or so, then -clutching a bough with prehensile zygodactylic claws, hung suspended -with so desperate a hold that it was with difficulty released. Waiting a -few minutes, a harsh resonant scream—<i>cheer-oh</i>, thrice -repeated—announced the arrival of the male, which fell winged on a -patch of bog beyond. Ere we could reach the spot the bird had run back, -regained the outer trees, and was climbing a willow-trunk more in the -style of parrot than cuckoo. The beak was used for steadying, and so -fast did it climb that we had to ascend after it.</p> - -<p>The beak in this species opens far back, giving a very wide gape—colour -inside pink, deepening to dark carmine. We sketched and preserved both -specimens, see p. 41 and above.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>As a rule this cuckoo disappears in early autumn, but we have an -exceptional record of its occurrence in winter. One was shot at San -Lucar de Barraméda, December 19, 1909.</p> - -<p>This cuckoo, like all its old-world congeners,<a name="FNanchor_70_70" id="FNanchor_70_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a> is parasitic in its -domestic <i>ménage</i>—that is, it adopts a system of reproduction by -proxy—relying, as Canon Tristram long ago put it, on finding a -“foundling hospital†for its young. But even the keen intellect<a name="page_401" id="page_401"></a> quoted -was at first at fault. For the great spotted cuckoo differs in one -essential point from that “wandering voice†with which we are familiar -at home. The latter deposits a single egg in casual nest of titlark, -hedge-sparrow, wagtail—in short, of any small bird, regardless of the -fact that its own egg may differ conspicuously from those of its -selected foster-parent. The spotted cuckoo is more circumspect. -Everywhere it restricts the delegated duty to some member of the -<i>Corvidae</i>,<a name="FNanchor_71_71" id="FNanchor_71_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a> and in Spain exclusively to the magpies. Moreover, -whether by accident or evolution, the cuckoo has so admirably adapted -the coloration of its own egg to resemble that of its victim, as to -deceive even so cute a bird as the magpie. Earlier ornithologists (as -above suggested) failed for a moment to distinguish the difference—it -was, in fact, the zygodactylic foot of an unhatched embryo that first -betrayed the secret (Tristram, <i>Ibis</i>, 1859). On close examination the -cuckoo’s eggs differ in their more elliptic form and granular surface; -but, unless previously fore-warned and specially alert, no one would -suspect that these were not magpies’ eggs, any more than does the magpie -itself.</p> - -<p>The spotted cuckoo deposits two, three, and even four eggs in the <i>same</i> -magpie’s nest, sometimes leaving the lawful owner’s eggs undisturbed, in -other cases removing all or part of them—we have noticed spilt yoke at -the entrance. It would appear difficult, in these domed nests, for the -young cuckoos to eject their pseudo-brothers and sisters; but this -detail of their life-history remains, as yet, unsolved.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Crossbills.</span>—Nature delights in presenting phenomena which no tangible -cause appears to warrant. Such were the thrice-repeated invasions of -Europe by “Tartar hordes‗they were only sand-grouse—that occurred -during the past century (in 1863, 1872, and 1888); and in 1909 an -analogous problem, though on minor scale, was offered by crossbills. -From north to extreme south of our Continent these small forest-dwellers -precipitated themselves bodily westwards. This was in July. All the -west-European countries, from Norway to Spain, recorded an unwonted -irruption. In Andalucia (at Jerez) crossbills were first noticed about -mid-July, and their appearance so impressed country-folk little -accustomed to discriminate small birds, as to suggest to them the idea -that the strangers must<a name="page_402" id="page_402"></a> have fled from Morocco to avoid the fighting -then raging around Melilla! But in Spain a further and anomalous -complexity followed. For the Spanish specimens we sent home, on being -submitted to Dr. Ernst Hartert, proved to belong to a purely Spanish -subspecies—a race distinguishable by its weaker mandibles and other -minor variations. Hence the movement in Spain had been purely internal, -and it became difficult to suppose that (although simultaneous) it could -have been predisposed and actuated by precisely the same motives as -those which compelled a more extensive exodus farther north. Thus -results the curious issue—that presumably different causes, operating -over a wide geographical area, produced similar and simultaneous -effects. These immigrant crossbills disappeared from Andalucia at the -end of August.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_172_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_172_sml.jpg" width="396" height="281" alt="CROSSBILLS, ADULT AND YOUNG (Loxia curvirostra.) - -Jerez, July 1910." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">CROSSBILLS, ADULT AND YOUNG (Loxia curvirostra.)<br /> -Jerez, July 1910.</span> -</p> - -<p>Crossbills we used to observe in winter in our pine-forests of Doñana; -but owing to local causes they have now missed several years. Their -migrations within Spain are rather on the vertical than the horizontal -plane—that is, merely seasonal movements between the higher lands and -the lower. In Spain, denuded of natural forest, the habitat of such -birds is narrowly restricted.<a name="page_403" id="page_403"></a> Hence their sudden appearance in new -areas (such as this, at forestless Jerez) is at once conspicuous.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Glossy Ibis</span> (<i>Plegadis falcinellus</i>).—Birds, as a rule, are strict -geographists. They recognise fixed range-boundaries and abide thereby. -But exceptions occur, and an instance has been offered by the glossy -ibis. This bird has always been a conspicuous member of the teeming -<i>pajaréras</i>, or mixed heronries, of our wooded swamps of Andalucia. But -it was only as a spring-migrant that the ibis was known. It arrived in -April and departed, after nesting, in September. A diluvial winter in -1907-8, however, apparently induced it to reconsider its “standing -orders.†Already, that autumn, the ibises had departed—as usual. But in -December (the whole country meanwhile having been inundated) they -suddenly reappeared. Small parties distributed themselves over the -marismas, and with them came an unwonted profusion of other waders, -stilts and curlews, whimbrels and godwits, the latter a month or two -before their usual date. All availed the occasion to frequent far-inland -spots, normally dry bush and forest, <i>nota quae sedes fuerat columbis</i>, -and one saw flights of waders and even ducks, such as teal and shoveler, -circling over flooded forest-glades.</p> - -<p>The changed quarters evidently met with approval, for each succeeding -year since then we have had the company of ibises <i>during winter</i>.</p> - -<p>An immature ibis, shot January 30, otherwise in normal plumage, had the -head and neck brownish grey with curlew-like striations.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Slender-billed Curlew</span> (<i>Numenius tenuirostris</i>).—Years ago we wrote in -our wrath, moved thereto by the constant misuse of the term, that such a -thing as a “rare bird†does not exist, save only in a relative sense. Go -to its proper home, wherever that may be, and the supposed rarity is -found abundant as its own utility and nature’s balances permit. Should -some lost wanderer straggle a few hundred miles thence, it is proclaimed -a “rare bird.â€</p> - -<p>Against this, our old mentor, Howard Saunders, wrote across the -proof-sheet: “There <span class="smcap">ARE</span> rare birds, some nearly extinctâ€; and the above -species affords an admirable example of these exceptions to the general -rule.</p> - -<p>No one at present knows the true home of the slender-billed<a name="page_404" id="page_404"></a> curlew, nor -the points (if any) where it is common, nor where it breeds. In southern -Spain it appears every year during February and at no other season; -while even then its visits are confined to a few days and to certain -limited areas. The photo at p. 250 shows a beautiful pair shot February -5, 1898. When met with, they are rather conspicuous birds, -distinguishable from whimbrel by their paler colour—indeed, on rising, -the “slender-bills†look almost white. A specially favoured haunt in the -Coto Doñana is the bare sandy flat in front of Martinazo.</p> - -<p>When we first studied ornithology there still remained whole categories -of birds (many of them abundant British species) whose breeding-places -were utterly unknown.</p> - -<p>One by one they have been removed from the list of “missing,†forced to -surrender their secrets by the resistless, world-scouring energy of -ornithologists (mostly British). The year 1909 saw but <span class="smcap">ONE</span> species yet -undiscovered—our present friend, the slender-billed curlew.</p> - -<p>While we are yet busy with this book, the eggs of the slender-billed -curlew have been found—in Siberia!—the ultimate answer in all such -cases. The first was exhibited by Mr. H. E. Dresser at the meeting of -the British Ornithologists’ Club on December 15, 1909, having been taken -by Mr. P. A. Schastowskij on the shores of Lake Tschany, near -Taganowskiye, in Siberia on the 20th of May preceding.</p> - -<p>Yes, there <i>do</i> exist “rare birds,†and in Europe the slender-billed -curlew appears to be an excellent illustration of the fact.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Santolalla</span>, <i>December 29, 1897</i>.—A wild night, black as ink, and a -whole gale blowing from the eastward; an hour’s ride through the scrub, -and five guns silently distribute themselves along the shores. Strategic -necessity placed us to windward, so most fowl were bound to fall in the -water. As stars pale to the dawn the flight begins, the dark skies -hurtle with the rush of passing clouds, and for two hours a steady -fusillade startles the solitude.</p> - -<p>As ten o’clock approaches, one by one we seek the cork-oak, from beneath -whose canopy a welcome column of smoke has long announced that breakfast -was preparing. But considering the run of shooting we have heard, the -toll of game brought in seems humiliating. Each gunner, gloomily -depositing his fifteen or twenty, declares he has lost twice that number -in the open water!... Well, a list of “claims†being drawn up, it -appears<a name="page_405" id="page_405"></a> that 205 duck are stated to have been shot, while only 120 can -be counted. In his inner conscience possibly each man regards the rest -as ... but, ere breakfast is over, here come the keepers. They have -ridden round the lee-shores and islets, and bring in another 114!</p> - -<p>The bag after all sums up to 234, or actually nineteen more than the -sum-total of claims that we had been laughing at as extravagant. This is -the list:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:.9em;" class="tleft"> -<tr><td align="right">2</td><td align="left">geese</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">8</td><td align="left">mallard</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">53</td><td align="left">wigeon</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">152</td><td align="left">teal</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">4</td><td align="left">gadwall</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">2</td><td align="left">shoveler</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">3</td><td align="left">pochard</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">9</td><td align="left">tufted duck</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>There were also shot two cormorants (mistaken for geese in the -half-light), a marsh-harrier, two great crested grebes, and several -coots.</p> - -<p>The incident illustrates an instance of scrupulous honesty.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Other Countries, Other Standards</span><br /> -(A Sentiment about Wildfowl)<br /> -(<i>January 1909.</i>)</p> - -<p>A wet winter and flooded marisma—under our eyes float wildfowl in -league-long lengths; countless, but far out in open water. By experience -we know them to be unassailable. Yet these hosts seem to throw down the -gauntlet of defiance at our very doors; and under the reproach of that -unspoken challenge experience succumbs. That night we arranged to -dispose our six guns over a two-league triangle before the morrow’s -dawn. After every detail had been fixed, to us our trusted pessimist, -Vasquez: “Ni por aqui ni por alli, ni por este lado ni por el otro, ni -por ninguna parte cualquiera, no harémos <i>náda</i> por la mañana‗“Neither -on this side nor on that, neither to east nor west, nor at any other -point whatever, shall we do the slightest good to-morrow!â€</p> - -<p>On reassembling for breakfast, the result worked out as follows: 2 -geese, 3 mallard, 29 wigeon, 26 teal, 7 gadwall, 4 shovelers, 1 marbled -and 1 tufted duck. Total, 73 head before ten o’clock, besides a curlew -and several golden plover, godwits and sundries.<a name="page_406" id="page_406"></a></p> - -<p>We felt fairly satisfied; yet Vasquez’s comment ran: “Seventy head among -six guns, <i>eso no es náda</i> = that is nothing!â€</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>—The writer had in his pocket a letter from home: “We put in -six days’ punt-gunning at the New Year. Frost severe and all -conditions favourable. My bag, 4 brent-geese, 2 mallard, 3 wigeon, -and a northern diver.—E. H. C.â€</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_407" id="page_407"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="Appendix" id="Appendix"></a>Appendix<br /><br /> -<small><span class="smcap">A Specific Note on the Wild-Geese of Spain</span></small></h2> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> Greylag Goose (<i>Anser cinereus</i>) is the only species we need here -consider. For of the many hundreds of wild-geese that we have shot and -examined during the eighteen years since the publication of <i>Wild -Spain</i>, every one has proved to be a Greylag. This is the more -remarkable inasmuch as an allied form, the Bean-Goose, was supposed in -earlier days to occur in Spain, though relatively in small numbers. Col. -Irby estimated the Bean-Geese as one to 200 of the Greylags; but no such -proportion any longer exists, at least in the delta of the Guadalquivir, -where, during eighteen years, hardly a single Bean-Goose has been -obtained.<a name="FNanchor_72_72" id="FNanchor_72_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a></p> - -<p>This abandonment of southern Spain by the Bean-Goose (presuming it was -ever found therein) appears inexplicable. The species has lately been -recognised as divisible into various races or subspecies (differing -chiefly in the form and colour of the beak),<a name="FNanchor_73_73" id="FNanchor_73_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a> for which reason it may -here be recorded that of the few Bean-Geese examined twenty years ago in -Spain, the beak was invariably dark to below the nasal orifice, with a -dark tip, and an intermediate band of rufous-chestnut.</p> - -<p>Of the other three members of the genus, the Pink-footed Goose (<i>Anser -brachyrhynchus</i>) has never occurred in Spain; while neither the -white-fronted nor the lesser white-fronted species (<i>A. albifrons</i> and -<i>A. erythropus</i>, L.) have ever been recorded save in an isolated -instance in either case. We have never met with any one of them—indeed, -the only wild-goose in our records, other than Greylag and half-a-dozen -Bean-Geese, is a single Bernacle (<i>Bernicla leucopsis</i>), one of three -that was shot at Santolalla by our late friend Mr. William Garvey.</p> - -<p>Of the Greylags that winter in Andalucia, the great majority are -adults—that is (presuming our diagnosis to be correct), scarcely one in -four is a gosling of the year. The adult geese we distinguish by the -spur on the wing-point of the ganders and generally by their larger size -and heavier build. Their undersides, moreover, are more or less spotted -or barred with black—some wear regular “barred waistcoats,†whereas the -young birds are wholly plain white beneath. The legs and feet of the -latter are also of the palest flesh-colour (some almost white), rarely -showing any approximation to a pink shade, and their beaks vary from -nearly white to palest yellow; whereas in the older, mostly -“spot-breasted,†geese the beak is deep yellow to orange, and their legs -and feet are distinctly pink—some as pronouncedly so as in <i>A. -brachyrhynchus<a name="page_408" id="page_408"></a></i>. These “soft parts†are, however, subject to infinite -variation, and the above definition is a careful deduction from the -results of many years’ observation.<a name="FNanchor_74_74" id="FNanchor_74_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a></p> - -<p>On several occasions we have examined from a dozen to a score of geese -without finding a single <i>gosling</i> among them. The largest proportion of -the latter so recorded was on January 29, 1907, when of sixteen geese -shot, five (or possibly six) were young birds of the year before. All -these sixteen showed some white feathers on the forehead, and the -heaviest pair (two old ganders) weighed together 18½ lbs.</p> - -<p>As regards their weights, the following notes show the variation:—</p> - -<p>During the severe drought of 1896, six geese weighed on November 26, -when almost starving for food and water, ranged from 6¼ to 7¾ lbs. -A month later, when rains had fallen, weights had increased to 8¼ to -9¼ lbs.</p> - -<p><i>December 28, 1899.</i>—The heaviest of 29 scaled 9¼ lbs.</p> - -<p><i>January 30, 1905.</i>—The geese this dry season are in fine condition. An -old gander, shot at Martinazo, exceeded 10½ lbs., another pair, shot -right and left, scaled 9½ and 10 lbs.</p> - -<p><i>February 4, 1907.</i>—Two geese, the heaviest of eleven shot this -morning, weighed over 9 lbs. each, the pair scaling 18¼ lbs. It was a -severe frost, the shallows being covered with ice, and as each goose -fell, two bits of solid ice, in form as it were a pair of sandals, were -found lying alongside it, these having been detached by the fall from -the feet of the bird.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p><i>1906. November 28.</i>—Two pure white geese observed on Santolalla to-day -and on subsequent occasions. Though usually seen flying in company with -packs of normally coloured geese, the white pair always kept together.</p> - -<p><i>1907. January 25.</i>—After a month’s bitterly cold and dry weather with -few geese, the wind to-day shifted to east, with heavy rain. All day -long a continuous entry of geese took place from the south-westward, in -frequent successive packs—sometimes two or three lots in sight at once. -A sense of movement was perceptible over the whole marisma. Next morning -these newcomers were sitting in ranks of thousands by the “new water†-all along the verge of the marisma—a wondrous sight.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Notes on some Wildfowl that nest in Southern Spain</span><br /><br /> -W<small>ILD</small>-D<small>UCKS</small></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Pintail</span> (<i>Dafila acuta</i>).—In wet years a considerable number of -pintails remain to nest in the marismas of Guadalquivir, and by August -the broods (together with those of garganey, marbled duck, etc.) -assemble on the only waters that then remain—such as the Lagunas de -Santolalla, etc.</p> - -<p>In 1908, a very wet spring, almost as many pintails bred here as -mallards, and in eight nests observed the maximum number of eggs was -nine. They<a name="page_409" id="page_409"></a> resemble those of mallards, consisting of twigs with a few -feathers placed on the mud, and easily seen through the open clump of -samphire which shelters them.<a name="FNanchor_75_75" id="FNanchor_75_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mallard</span> (<i>Anas boschas</i>), in the marisma, nest in precisely similar -situations, but their eggs number twelve or fourteen. Elsewhere their -nests (being among bush or reedbeds) are less easily seen.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Wigeon</span> (<i>Mareca penelope</i>) never breed, though chance birds (and some -greylags also) remain every summer—possibly wounded.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Gadwall</span> (<i>Anas strepera</i>) do not nest in the open marisma, but many -pairs retire to the rush-fringed inland lagoons, such as Zopiton and -Santolalla. They lay nine to twelve eggs about mid-May, usually at a -short distance from the water.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Teal</span> (<i>Nettion crecca</i>) remain quite exceptionally. Even in that wet -spring, 1908, only a single nest was found. There were eight eggs laid -on bare mud, with hardly any nest, beneath a samphire bush. Though quite -fresh, and placed at once under a hen, these eggs did not hatch.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Garganey</span> (<i>Querquedula circia</i>) breed among the samphire in the open -marisma—in wet seasons quite numerously. Seven young, caught newly -hatched in 1908 and kept alive at Jerez, showed no distinctive sexual -coloration all that autumn or up to February 1909. Early in March three -drakes became distinguishable, the most advanced being complete in -feather by the 15th, and all three perfect by April 1.</p> - -<p>Young pintails, on the other hand, acquire complete sexual dress in the -autumn, as mallards do, by November.</p> - -<p>Garganey also nest in large numbers on the lagoons of Daimiel in La -Mancha.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Marbled Duck</span> (<i>Querquedula angustirostris</i>).—This is one of the most -abundant of the Spanish-breeding ducks, nesting both in the marisma and -along the various channels of the Guadalquivir. Their nests, -substantially built of twigs of samphire, dead reeds, and grass, lined -with down, are carefully concealed among covert, usually on dry ground. -Some are approached by a sort of tunnel. Exceptionally we have seen a -nest built a foot high in the branches of a samphire bush with a clear -space beneath, and overhanging shallow water. The eggs, laid at the end -of May, vary from twelve to fourteen, and in one instance -twenty—possibly the produce of two females. We find these the most -difficult of all the ducks to rear in confinement. Probably their food -is quite different, anyway they are very bad eating.</p> - -<p>Marbled ducks are unknown at Daimiel.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Shovelers</span> (<i>Spatula clypeata</i>) only breed exceptionally and in wet -seasons; we found one nest at Las Nuevas in 1908. Though abundant in -winter, does not breed at Daimiel.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Ferruginous Ducks</span> (<i>Fuligula nyroca</i>), like all the diving tribe, breed -only on deep and permanent lakes, such as those of Medina and Daimiel, -where they abound all summer. None nest in the marisma, which in summer -is largely dry. Nests, mid-May; eggs, nine or ten.<a name="page_410" id="page_410"></a></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Pochard</span> (<i>Fuligula ferina</i>).—Though we have not found it ourselves, one -of our fowlers (Machachado) tells us that pochards breed on the lakes, -and even more in Las Nuevas, laying but few eggs—five to seven.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Red-crested Pochard</span> (<i>Fuligula rufila</i>).—This is the characteristic -breeding-duck at Daimiel in La Mancha, as well as on the Albufera of -Valencia, at both of which points it abounds. Yet curiously it is all -but unknown on the Bætican marismas. Among the thousands of ducks we -have shot therein, but a single example of the red-crested pochard -figures—a female killed January 19, 1903.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Tufted Duck</span> (<i>Fuligula cristata</i>).—None remain, though abundant in -winter.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">White-faced Duck</span> (<i>Erismatura leucocephala</i>).—This species, known as -<i>Bamboléta</i> or <i>MalvasÃa</i>, arrives in spring and breeds commonly on -every deep pool and reed-girt lagoon in Andalucia.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Shelducks</span> (<i>Tadorna cornuta</i>), we are assured (though this we have not -proved), breed in the marisma in hollows (<i>hoyos</i>)—such as the -cavernous footprints made by cattle in the soft mud in winter. Common in -dry winters.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Ruddy Shelduck</span> (<i>Tadorna casarca</i>).—These are seen here all summer, yet -we have failed to discover their breeding-places. They are common, old -and young, on the Laguna de Medina in August and September. This is a -striking species of stately flight and clear-toned ringing -cry—<i>HÄÄ-ăă</i>—thrice repeated.</p> - -<p class="sbhead">W<small>AGTAILS</small></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Pied Wagtail</span> (<i>Motacilla lugubris</i>).—This familiar British species -occurs rarely in S. Spain—we have but four records, all in winter. In -the reverse, the <span class="smcap">WHITE WAGTAIL</span> (<i>M. alba</i>) abounds—ploughed lands -sometimes look <i>grey</i> with it; and it is here, in winter, as tame and -familiar as one sees it in Norway and Iceland in summer. Yet midway -between the two, <i>i.e.</i> in the British Isles, we have seen it but -thrice! There it may indeed be termed a “rare bird.†The explanation -seems to be that (like the two southern wheatears) these two wagtails -are not specifically distinct, but merely a dimorphic form. This year -(June 1910) we found the white wagtail breeding commonly in North -Estremadura.</p> - -<p>During a northerly hurricane on February 7, 1903, we observed an -assemblage of many hundreds of white wagtails on the barren sand-dunes -of Majada Real—a second crowd, as numerous, a mile away. Both were -migrating bands arrested by the gale. This is merely one example out of -scores that have come under our notice of the magical apparition of -birds from the clouds, caused by a sudden change of wind. Specially -notable, besides wagtails, are swallows, wheatears, pipits and larks.</p> - -<p>The <span class="smcap">Grey Wagtail</span> (<i>M. melanope</i>), though occasionally seen in winter, is -most conspicuous about mid-February, when it passes several days on our -lawn at Jerez. It has not then acquired the black throat of spring; but -two months later we have found it nesting on mountain-burns of the -sierras—precisely such situations as it frequents among the -Northumbrian moors.</p> - -<p>The <span class="smcap">Yellow Wagtail</span> (<i>M. flava</i>; the Continental form, <i>cinereocapilla</i>) -appears on the lawn a week or so after the grey species has disappeared; -but this remains throughout the spring, nesting in wet meadows and -marshes, laying during the last week of April.<a name="page_411" id="page_411"></a></p> - -<p>The British form (<i>M. raii</i>) also occurs during spring, but rarely and -on passage only, none remaining to nest.</p> - -<p class="sbhead"><span class="smcap">Restricted Distribution</span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Rook</span> (<i>Corvus frugilegus</i>).—There is a certain limited stretch—say a -league or so, on the foreshores of the marisma—whither each winter come -a few scores of rooks. At that one spot, and nowhere else within our -knowledge, are rooks to be found in southern Spain.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Magpie</span> (<i>Pica caudata</i>).—On the western bank of Guadalquivir this bird -abounds to a degree we have seen surpassed nowhere else on earth. But -cross that river, and never another magpie will you see for a hundred -miles to the eastward. For it the lower Bætis marks a frontier. Over the -rest of Spain its distribution is normal and regular.</p> - -<p>A similar remark would almost hold good of the Jackdaw (<i>Corvus -monedula</i>).</p> - -<p>The <span class="smcap">Azure-winged Magpie</span> (<i>Cyanopica cooki</i>) abounds in central Spain and -in the Sierra Moréna. But its southern range stops dead at the little -village of Coria del Rio just below Sevilla. ‘Tis but a few miles -beyond, yet in Doñana we have never seen so much as a straggler. The -Azure-wing does not straggle.</p> - -<p>From Spain (as elsewhere stated) you must travel to China and Japan ere -you see another azure-winged magpie.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Jays</span> (<i>Garrulus glandarius</i>) in Spain confine themselves to -mountain-forests, eschewing the lowland woods which in other lands form -their home.<a name="page_412" id="page_412"></a></p> - -<p><a name="page_413" id="page_413"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="Index" id="Index"></a>Index</h2> - -<p class="cb"><a href="#A">A</a>, -<a href="#B">B</a>, -<a href="#C">C</a>, -<a href="#D">D</a>, -<a href="#E">E</a>, -<a href="#F">F</a>, -<a href="#G">G</a>, -<a href="#H">H</a>, -<a href="#I">I</a>, -<a href="#J">J</a>, -<a href="#K">K</a>, -<a href="#L">L</a>, -<a href="#M">M</a>, -<a href="#N">N</a>, -<a href="#O">O</a>, -<a href="#P">P</a>, -<a href="#Q">Q</a>, -<a href="#R">R</a>, -<a href="#S">S</a>, -<a href="#T">T</a>, -<a href="#V">V</a>, -<a href="#W">W</a>, -<a href="#Y">Y</a>, -<a href="#Z">Z</a></p> - -<p class="nind"> -<a name="A" id="A"></a>Absenteeism, <a href="#page_012">12</a><br /> -Accentor, alpine, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_316">316</a><br /> -Africa, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_040">40</a>, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_067">67</a>, <a href="#page_091">91</a>, <a href="#page_111">111</a>, <a href="#page_112">112</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>, <a href="#page_383">383</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bird natives of, <a href="#page_272">272</a></span><br /> -Africa, British East, <a href="#page_272">272</a>, <a href="#page_295">295</a><br /> -African bush-cuckoo, <a href="#page_400">400</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Agriculture, Moorish, <a href="#page_009">9-10</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Spanish, <a href="#page_011">11</a></span><br /> -Alagon River, 232 and <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_233">233</a>, <a href="#page_295">295</a><br /> -Albufera Lake, <a href="#page_321">321-4</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a><br /> -Alfonso XII., <a href="#page_037">37</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_292">292</a><br /> -Alfonso XIII., <a href="#page_019">19</a>, <a href="#page_026">26</a>, <a href="#page_031">31</a>, <a href="#page_037">37</a>, <a href="#page_072">72</a>, <a href="#page_131">131</a>, <a href="#page_140">140</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_206">206</a>, <a href="#page_292">292</a>, <a href="#page_336">336</a><br /> -Algamita, Sierra of, <a href="#page_176">176</a><br /> -Algeciras, <a href="#page_295">295</a><br /> -<i>Alimañas</i>, <a href="#page_028">28</a>, <a href="#page_042">42</a>, <a href="#page_337">337-46</a><br /> -Almanzór, Plaza de, <a href="#page_140">140</a>, <a href="#page_213">213</a>, <a href="#page_216">216</a>, <a href="#page_217">217</a>, <a href="#page_286">286</a><br /> -Almonte, village of, <a href="#page_082">82</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -Almoraima, <a href="#page_363">363</a><br /> -Alpuxarras, the, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_302">302</a>, <a href="#page_305">305</a><br /> -<i>AlquerÃas</i> (Las Hurdes), <a href="#page_235">235</a>, <a href="#page_236">236</a>, <a href="#page_241">241</a><br /> -America, flamingoes in, <a href="#page_273">273</a><br /> -<i>Anatidae</i>, <a href="#page_040">40</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">distribution of, in S. Spain, <a href="#page_136">136</a></span><br /> -Andalucia, <a href="#page_002">2</a>, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_010">10</a>, <a href="#page_351">351</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a>, <a href="#page_401">401</a>, <a href="#page_402">402</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bandits in, <a href="#page_175">175</a> <i>et seq.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">big game of, <a href="#page_054">54</a> <i>et seq.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birds of, <a href="#page_040">40</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_393">393-5</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a></span><br /> -Ant-lion (<i>Myrmeleon</i>), <a href="#page_036">36</a><br /> -Arabs. <i>See</i> Moors<br /> -Arahal, Niño de, bandit, <a href="#page_176">176</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -<i>Armajo</i> (samphire), <a href="#page_089">89-90</a>, <a href="#page_091">91</a>, <a href="#page_106">106</a>, <a href="#page_114">114</a><br /> -Asturias, the, <a href="#page_294">294</a> <i>et seq.</i>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">chamois in, <a href="#page_283">283-93</a></span><br /> -Avila, <a href="#page_213">213</a>, <a href="#page_219">219</a><br /> -Avocet, <a href="#page_268">268</a>, <a href="#page_385">385</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="B" id="B"></a>Badger, <a href="#page_337">337</a>, <a href="#page_344">344</a>, <a href="#page_345">345</a><br /> -Bandits, <a href="#page_174">174</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -Barbary stag, <a href="#page_043">43</a>, <a href="#page_044">44</a><br /> -Barbel, <a href="#page_298">298-9</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -Basques, the, <a href="#page_005">5</a><br /> -Bear, <a href="#page_289">289</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">brown, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_294">294</a></span><br /> -Bear-hunting, <a href="#page_296">296-7</a><br /> -Bee-eater, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -Bernicle goose, <a href="#page_191">191</a>, <a href="#page_407">407</a><br /> -Bewick’s swan, <a href="#page_375">375</a><br /> -Bharal, <a href="#page_026">26</a><br /> -Bidassoa River, <a href="#page_002">2</a><br /> -Big game in Spain, <a href="#page_006">6</a>, <a href="#page_028">28-9</a>, <a href="#page_054">54</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_148">148</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_303">303</a><br /> -Bird-life on the marisma, <a href="#page_040">40-42</a>, <a href="#page_091">91</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_114">114</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_138">138</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_265">265-71</a>, <a href="#page_376">376</a>, <a href="#page_381">381-91</a>, <a href="#page_408">408</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a><br /> -Bird-migration, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_040">40</a>, <a href="#page_041">41-2</a>, <a href="#page_091">91-2</a>, <a href="#page_099">99</a> and <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_103">103-4</a>, <a href="#page_111">111</a>, <a href="#page_376">376-80</a>, <a href="#page_389">389-90</a>, <a href="#page_401">401-3</a><br /> -Blackbird, <a href="#page_223">223</a><br /> -Black-chat, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_230">230</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_367">367</a><br /> -Blackstart, <a href="#page_313">313</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a><br /> -Boar, wild, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_042">42</a>, <a href="#page_047">47</a>, <a href="#page_068">68-9</a>, <a href="#page_070">70</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_147">147</a>, <a href="#page_161">161</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_191">191</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>, <a href="#page_289">289</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_365">365-6</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -Boar-hunting, <a href="#page_070">70</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -<i>Boga</i>, <a href="#page_299">299</a><br /> -Bombita I., matador, <a href="#page_199">199</a><br /> -Bombita II. (Ricardo Torres), <a href="#page_199">199</a>, <a href="#page_205">205</a><br /> -Bonaparte, Joseph, <a href="#page_196">196-7</a><br /> -Bonelli’s eagle, <a href="#page_028">28</a>, <a href="#page_289">289</a>, <a href="#page_355">355</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>, <a href="#page_394">394-5</a><br /> -Bonelli’s Warbler, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -Bonito, <a href="#page_300">300</a><br /> -Brambling, <a href="#page_062">62</a><br /> -Breeding-places of flamingoes, <a href="#page_265">265-71</a><br /> -Bull, the Spanish fighting, breeding and training of, <a href="#page_200">200-204</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">breeds of, <a href="#page_088">88</a>, <a href="#page_204">204</a>, <a href="#page_208">208</a></span><br /> -Bull-fight, the Spanish, <a href="#page_008">8</a>, <a href="#page_015">15</a>, <a href="#page_192">192-9</a><br /> -Bull-fighters, famous, <a href="#page_195">195-9</a><br /> -Bull-frog, <a href="#page_392">392</a><br /> -Bustard, <a href="#page_212">212</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">great, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_011">11</a>, <a href="#page_024">24</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_119">119</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_242">242-64</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lesser (<i>Otis tetrax</i>), <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_262">262-4</a>, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a></span><br /> -Bustard-shooting, <a href="#page_244">244</a> <i>et seq</i>.<br /> -Butterflies, <a href="#page_062">62</a>, <a href="#page_313">313</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Lycaena telicanus</i>, <a href="#page_062">62</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Megaera</i>, <a href="#page_062">62</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Thaïs polyxena</i>, <a href="#page_062">62</a>, <a href="#page_394">394</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Vanessa polychloros</i>, <a href="#page_394">394</a></span><br /> -Buzzard, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_397">397</a><br /> -<br /> -<i><a name="C" id="C"></a>Cabrestos</i>, <a href="#page_371">371-3</a>, <a href="#page_379">379</a><br /> -Caceres, province, <a href="#page_228">228</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -<i>Caciquismo</i>, <a href="#page_175">175</a>, <a href="#page_180">180-81</a>, <a href="#page_240">240</a><br /> -<i>Cactus</i> (prickly-pear), <a href="#page_009">9</a><br /> -Caldereria, <a href="#page_324">324-7</a><br /> -Camels, wild, on the marisma, <a href="#page_036">36</a>, <a href="#page_040">40</a>, <a href="#page_275">275-82</a><br /> -Cantabria, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_028">28</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mountains of, <a href="#page_286">286</a></span><br /> -Cape de Verde Islands, <a href="#page_266">266</a>, <a href="#page_271">271</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Capercaillie, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_294">294</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a><br /> -Cares River, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_296">296</a><br /> -Castile, <a href="#page_005">5</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a><br /> -Catalonia, 5 and <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Cavestany, Sr. D. A., Spanish poet laureate, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> -Central Asia, wild camels in, <a href="#page_276">276</a><br /> -Cervantes, <a href="#page_183">183</a><br /> -Cetti’s warbler, <a href="#page_061">61</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -Chaffinch, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a><br /> -Chameleon, <a href="#page_394">394</a><br /> -Chamois, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in the Asturias, <a href="#page_283">283-93</a>, <a href="#page_294">294</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">preservation of, <a href="#page_142">142</a></span><br /> -Chamois-shooting, <a href="#page_286">286</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -Chapman, Mr. F., <a href="#page_273">273</a><br /> -Chapman, Mr. J. Crawhall, <a href="#page_280">280</a><br /> -Charles V., Emperor, <a href="#page_194">194</a><br /> -Chough, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_309">309</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_355">355</a>, <a href="#page_358">358</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a><br /> -Ciguela River, <a href="#page_185">185</a><br /> -Cinco Lagunas, Las, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, <a href="#page_215">215</a><br /> -Cirl-bunting, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_348">348</a><br /> -Cistus (<i>Helianthemum</i>), <a href="#page_037">37</a>, <a href="#page_050">50</a>, <a href="#page_062">62</a><br /> -Climate of Spain, effects of, <a href="#page_002">2-4</a><br /> -Coot, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>, <a href="#page_326">326</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>, <a href="#page_387">387</a>, <a href="#page_388">388</a>, <a href="#page_399">399</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">crested, <a href="#page_399">399</a></span><br /> -Cormorant, <a href="#page_186">186</a><br /> -<i>Corros</i>, <a href="#page_376">376-80</a><br /> -Cortez, <a href="#page_231">231</a><br /> -<i>Corvidae</i>, <a href="#page_401">401</a><br /> -<i>Corvus cornix</i>, <a href="#page_401">401</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Costillares, bull-fighter, <a href="#page_196">196</a><br /> -Coto Doñana, <a href="#page_030">30</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_058">58</a>, <a href="#page_059">59</a>, <a href="#page_074">74</a>, <a href="#page_078">78</a>, <a href="#page_089">89</a>, <a href="#page_122">122</a>, <a href="#page_332">332</a>, <a href="#page_343">343</a>, <a href="#page_402">402</a>, <a href="#page_404">404</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fauna of, <a href="#page_038">38</a> <i>et seq.</i></span><br /> -Crag-martin, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a>, <a href="#page_368">368</a><br /> -Crake, <a href="#page_039">39</a><br /> -Crane, <a href="#page_040">40</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a><br /> -Crossbill, <a href="#page_351">351</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">migrations of, <a href="#page_401">401-3</a></span><br /> -Cuckoo, <a href="#page_313">313</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">great spotted, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_400">400-401</a></span><br /> -Curlew, <a href="#page_403">403</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">slender-billed, <a href="#page_392">392</a>, <a href="#page_403">403-4</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">stone-, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_343">343</a></span><br /> -Cushat, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="D" id="D"></a>Daimiel, lagoons of, <a href="#page_185">185-91</a>, <a href="#page_324">324</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">town of, <a href="#page_191">191</a></span><br /> -Dampier, <a href="#page_266">266</a>, <a href="#page_271">271</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Dartford Warbler, <a href="#page_061">61</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a>, 3<a href="#page_053">53</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Date-palm, <a href="#page_004">4</a><br /> -Deer, <a href="#page_094">94</a>, <a href="#page_148">148</a>, <a href="#page_161">161</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_343">343</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fallow, <a href="#page_028">28</a>, 148 and <i>n.</i> 1, 228 and <i>n.</i> 1;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">red, <a href="#page_042">42</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_147">147</a>, <a href="#page_155">155-6</a>, 158 and <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>,; <i>tables</i>, <a href="#page_170">170-3</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">roe-, <a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_363">363</a></span><br /> -Deer-shooting (“drivingâ€), <a href="#page_044">44</a>, <a href="#page_156">156</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -Deer-stalking, <a href="#page_044">44</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_060">60</a><br /> -Despeñaperros, <a href="#page_149">149</a><br /> -Deva River, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_296">296</a><br /> -Dipper, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a><br /> -Diving ducks, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_112">112</a>, <a href="#page_138">138</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_324">324</a><br /> -Don Quixote, country of, <a href="#page_183">183</a>, <a href="#page_228">228</a><br /> -Dormice, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -Dove, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">turtle, <a href="#page_212">212</a>, <a href="#page_331">331</a></span><br /> -“Driving†(<i>see also Monteria</i>), <a href="#page_044">44</a>, <a href="#page_047">47</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_059">59</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_115">115</a>, <a href="#page_116">116-22</a>, <a href="#page_248">248-55</a>, <a href="#page_286">286</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_338">338-40</a>, <a href="#page_360">360-62</a><br /> -Duck, <a href="#page_040">40</a>, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_095">95</a>, <a href="#page_096">96</a>, <a href="#page_099">99</a>, <a href="#page_102">102</a>, <a href="#page_186">186-90</a>, <a href="#page_322">322</a>, <a href="#page_324">324</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_375">375</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_383">383</a>, <a href="#page_388">388</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">habits of, <a href="#page_106">106</a>, <a href="#page_110">110-11</a>, <a href="#page_187">187</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ferruginous, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">marbled, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_112">112</a>, <a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_383">383</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">tufted, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_138">138</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">white-faced, <a href="#page_384">384</a>, <a href="#page_386">386-7</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a></span><br /> -Duck-hawk, <a href="#page_102">102</a>, <a href="#page_186">186</a><br /> -Duck-shooting, <a href="#page_108">108</a>, <a href="#page_187">187-90</a><br /> -Dunlin, <a href="#page_063">63</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Dwarf-juniper, <a href="#page_315">315</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="E" id="E"></a>Eagle, <a href="#page_038">38</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_363">363</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bonelli’s, <a href="#page_028">28</a>, <a href="#page_289">289</a>, <a href="#page_355">355</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>, <a href="#page_394">394-5</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">booted, <a href="#page_396">396</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">golden, <a href="#page_028">28</a>, <a href="#page_153">153</a>, <a href="#page_156">156</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>, <a href="#page_353">353-5</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">imperial, <a href="#page_028">28</a>, <a href="#page_258">258-9</a>, <a href="#page_396">396-7</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">spotted, <a href="#page_398">398</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">white-tailed or sea-, <a href="#page_397">397-8</a></span><br /> -Eagle-owl, <a href="#page_343">343</a>, <a href="#page_368">368</a>, <a href="#page_370">370</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a><br /> -Egret, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_382">382</a>, <a href="#page_385">385</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a><br /> -Espinosa, Pedro, <a href="#page_037">37</a><br /> -Estepa, <a href="#page_175">175</a> <i>n</i>. <a href="#page_001">1</a>.<br /> -Estremadura, <a href="#page_080">80</a>, <a href="#page_225">225-33</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">climate of, <a href="#page_230">230</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fauna of, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_043">43</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_228">228</a></span><br /> -<br /> -<a name="F" id="F"></a>Falcon, <a href="#page_334">334</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">peregrine, <a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>, <a href="#page_398">398</a></span><br /> -Fantail warbler, <a href="#page_061">61</a><br /> -Ferdinand VII., <a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_197">197</a><br /> -Firecrest, <a href="#page_352">352</a><br /> -Flamingo, 25 and <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_040">40</a>, <a href="#page_094">94-5</a>, <a href="#page_100">100-101</a>, <a href="#page_134">134</a>, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_191">191</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_382">382</a>, <a href="#page_383">383</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">breeding-places of, <a href="#page_265">265-74</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Phoenicopterus minor</i>, <a href="#page_272">272</a> <i>n.</i> 1;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Phoenicopterus ruber</i>, <a href="#page_273">273</a></span><br /> -“Flighting,†<a href="#page_122">122-4</a>, <a href="#page_136">136</a><br /> -Fly-catcher, <a href="#page_041">41</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pied, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">spotted, <a href="#page_232">232</a></span><br /> -Foumart, <a href="#page_341">341</a><br /> -Fowling, Spanish modes of, <a href="#page_371">371-5</a>, <a href="#page_379">379</a><br /> -Fox, <a href="#page_046">46</a>, <a href="#page_060">60</a>, <a href="#page_129">129</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_277">277</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_337">337</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -Francolin, <a href="#page_321">321</a><br /> -Frascuelo, bull-fighter, <a href="#page_197">197-8</a><br /> -Fuen-Caliente, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_149">149-50</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="G" id="G"></a>Gadwall, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_111">111</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a><br /> -Gaëtanes, <a href="#page_002">2</a><br /> -Galicia, <a href="#page_004">4</a><br /> -Game preservation in Spain, <a href="#page_335">335-6</a><br /> -Garganey, <a href="#page_112">112</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a><br /> -Gecko, lobe-footed, <a href="#page_394">394</a><br /> -Genet, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_337">337</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a><br /> -Gibraltar, <a href="#page_355">355</a><br /> -Godoy, <a href="#page_196">196</a><br /> -Godwit, <a href="#page_042">42</a>, <a href="#page_063">63</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_134">134</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a>,;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bartailed, <a href="#page_389">389</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">black-tailed, <a href="#page_390">390</a></span><br /> -Goose, bean, <a href="#page_407">407</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bernicle, <a href="#page_191">191</a>, <a href="#page_407">407</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">black (<i>Ganzos negros</i>), <a href="#page_186">186</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">greylag, <a href="#page_031">31</a>, <a href="#page_032">32-3</a>, <a href="#page_092">92</a>, <a href="#page_095">95</a>, <a href="#page_102">102</a>, <a href="#page_114">114</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_120">120</a>, <a href="#page_125">125</a>, <a href="#page_127">127</a>, <a href="#page_191">191</a>, <a href="#page_373">373</a>, <a href="#page_375">375</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_407">407-8</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pink-footed, <a href="#page_407">407</a></span><br /> -Goths, the, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_231">231</a><br /> -Granada, <a href="#page_010">10</a>, <a href="#page_301">301</a><br /> -Granadilla, 232 and <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_233">233</a><br /> -Grasshopper (<i>Cigarras panzonas</i>), <a href="#page_259">259</a><br /> -Grebe, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">eared, <a href="#page_387">387</a></span><br /> -Grédos, Circo de, chief features of, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, <a href="#page_213">213-15</a><br /> -Greenshank, <a href="#page_390">390</a><br /> -Griffon. <i>See under</i> Vulture<br /> -Guadalete, battle of, <a href="#page_007">7</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a><br /> -Guadalquivir River, <a href="#page_030">30</a>, <a href="#page_035">35</a>, <a href="#page_299">299</a>, <a href="#page_374">374</a>, <a href="#page_391">391</a>, <a href="#page_411">411</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">marismas of, <a href="#page_088">88</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_114">114</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a>, <a href="#page_408">408</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a></span><br /> -Guadiana River, <a href="#page_185">185</a><br /> -Guerra, Rafael, bull-fighter, <a href="#page_198">198</a><br /> -Gull, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">black-backed, <a href="#page_107">107</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">British black-headed (<i>L. ridibundus</i>), <a href="#page_391">391</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mediterranean black-headed (<i>Larus melanocephalus</i>), <a href="#page_268">268</a>, <a href="#page_390">390-91</a></span><br /> -slender-billed (<i>Larus gelastes</i>), <a href="#page_268">268</a><br /> -Gum-cistus (<i>see also</i> Cistus), <a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_235">235</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="H" id="H"></a>Hare, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_330">330</a>, <a href="#page_331">331</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a><br /> -Hawfinch, <a href="#page_061">61</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a><br /> -Hawk, <a href="#page_333">333</a><br /> -Hazel-grouse, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a><br /> -Heron, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_382">382</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">buff-backed, <a href="#page_385">385</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">purple, <a href="#page_267">267</a>, <a href="#page_388">388</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">squacco, <a href="#page_389">389</a></span><br /> -Hobby, <a href="#page_397">397</a><br /> -Hoopoe, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_062">62</a>, <a href="#page_184">184</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_230">230</a>, <a href="#page_313">313</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -Humming-bird hawk-moth, <a href="#page_062">62</a><br /> -Hunting dogs, <a href="#page_159">159</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_340">340</a><br /> -Hurdanos, the, <a href="#page_005">5</a>, <a href="#page_234">234</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -<br /> -<a name="I" id="I"></a>Ibex, Spanish (<i>Capra hispánica</i>), <a href="#page_015">15</a>, <a href="#page_026">26</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_043">43</a>, <a href="#page_139">139-46</a>, <a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_156">156</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_287">287</a>, <a href="#page_303">303</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>, <a href="#page_321">321-2</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>, 360 and <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_362">362</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">distribution of, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_303">303</a>, <a href="#page_305">305</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">habits of, <a href="#page_144">144-6</a>, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_153">153</a>, <a href="#page_360">360</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">heads, <i>Table of</i>, <a href="#page_157">157</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">preservation of, <a href="#page_139">139-42</a></span><br /> -Ibex-hunting, <a href="#page_216">216-24</a>, <a href="#page_304">304</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -Ibis, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_382">382</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">glossy, <a href="#page_403">403</a></span><br /> -Inns (<i>posada</i>), <a href="#page_018">18</a>, <a href="#page_019">19</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -Irrigation, neglect of, <a href="#page_012">12</a>, <a href="#page_230">230</a><br /> -Isabel I. (<i>la Católica</i>), <a href="#page_194">194</a><br /> -Isabella II., <a href="#page_323">323</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="J" id="J"></a>James I., <a href="#page_321">321</a><br /> -Janda, Laguna de, <a href="#page_375">375</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Jay, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a>, <a href="#page_411">411</a><br /> -Jerez, <a href="#page_347">347</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a>, <a href="#page_401">401</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="K" id="K"></a>Kestrel, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_212">212</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_230">230</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lesser, <a href="#page_355">355</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a></span><br /> -Kite, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">red, <a href="#page_397">397</a></span><br /> -Kitty-wren, <a href="#page_348">348</a><br /> -Knot, <a href="#page_042">42</a>, <a href="#page_063">63</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_389">389</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="L" id="L"></a>Lagartijo, bull-fighter, <a href="#page_197">197-8</a><br /> -Laguna de Grédos, <a href="#page_219">219</a>, <a href="#page_220">220</a><br /> -La Mancha, <a href="#page_183">183-91</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a><br /> -Lammergeyer, <a href="#page_026">26-7</a>, <a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_217">217-8</a>, <a href="#page_314">314-5</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_357">357</a>, <a href="#page_358">358-9</a>, <a href="#page_360">360</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a>, <a href="#page_368">368</a><br /> -Land-tortoise, <a href="#page_343">343</a><br /> -Lanjarón, <a href="#page_306">306</a><br /> -Lark, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_212">212</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Calandra, <a href="#page_209">209</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">crested, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">short-toed, <a href="#page_319">319</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sky-, <a href="#page_312">312</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">wood-, <a href="#page_313">313</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_348">348</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_367">367</a></span><br /> -Las Hurdes, <a href="#page_005">5</a>, <a href="#page_233">233</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -Las Nuevas, <a href="#page_099">99</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_280">280</a><br /> -Lemming, <a href="#page_210">210</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -León, <a href="#page_005">5</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cortes de, <a href="#page_006">6</a></span><br /> -Lilford, Lord, <a href="#page_265">265</a><br /> -Linnet, <a href="#page_319">319</a><br /> -Lizard, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_355">355</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Blanus cinereus</i>, <a href="#page_393">393</a></span><br /> -Locusts, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a><br /> -Lugar Nuevo, <a href="#page_172">172</a><br /> -Lynx, <a href="#page_033">33</a>, <a href="#page_046">46</a>, <a href="#page_060">60</a>, <a href="#page_068">68</a>, <a href="#page_076">76-7</a>, <a href="#page_155">155</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_337">337</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_398">398</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="M" id="M"></a>Madoz, Pascual, on the Hurdanos, 239 and <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_240">240</a>, <a href="#page_241">241</a><br /> -Magpie, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_401">401</a>, <a href="#page_411">411</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Spanish azure-winged, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_184">184</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_411">411</a></span><br /> -Mallard, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_326">326</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a><br /> -<i>Manzanilla</i> (camomile), <a href="#page_111">111</a><br /> -Maria, José, bandit, <a href="#page_174">174</a>, <a href="#page_181">181</a><br /> -Marisma, the, <a href="#page_035">35-6</a>, <a href="#page_088">88</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bird-life in, <a href="#page_040">40-42</a>, <a href="#page_091">91</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_114">114</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_138">138</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_265">265-71</a>, <a href="#page_376">376</a>, <a href="#page_381">381-91</a>, <a href="#page_408">408</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">plant-life in, <a href="#page_089">89-90</a>, <a href="#page_115">115</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">wild camels on, <a href="#page_036">36</a>, <a href="#page_040">40</a>, <a href="#page_275">275-82</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">wildfowl shooting in, <a href="#page_095">95</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_105">105-13</a>, <a href="#page_115">115</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_371">371-75</a></span><br /> -Marmot, <a href="#page_210">210</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Marsh-harrier, <a href="#page_038">38</a>, <a href="#page_102">102</a>, <a href="#page_107">107</a>, <a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_387">387</a>, <a href="#page_388">388</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a>, <a href="#page_399">399</a><br /> -Marsh-tern, <a href="#page_384">384</a><br /> -Marten, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a><br /> -Martin, <a href="#page_355">355</a><br /> -Mazzantini, Luis, bull-fighter, <a href="#page_198">198-9</a><br /> -Merida, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_230">230</a><br /> -Mezquitillas, <a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a><br /> -Migration of wildfowl. <i>See</i> Bird-migration<br /> -Missel-thrush, <a href="#page_212">212</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a><br /> -“Miura question,†<a href="#page_192">192</a>, <a href="#page_204">204-7</a><br /> -Mole-cricket, <a href="#page_392">392</a><br /> -Monachil River, <a href="#page_314">314</a>, <a href="#page_316">316</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">valley, <a href="#page_311">311</a></span><br /> -Mongoose, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_337">337</a>, <a href="#page_339">339</a>, <a href="#page_341">341</a>, <a href="#page_344">344</a>, <a href="#page_364">364</a><br /> -<i>MonterÃa</i>, <a href="#page_157">157</a>, <a href="#page_158">158</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_283">283</a>, <a href="#page_296">296</a><br /> -Montes, Francisco, bull-fighter, <a href="#page_197">197</a><br /> -Moorish domination, traces of, <a href="#page_007">7</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_037">37</a>, <a href="#page_232">232-3</a>, <a href="#page_295">295</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">origin of bull-fight, <a href="#page_008">8</a>, <a href="#page_193">193-4</a></span><br /> -Moors, the, <a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a><br /> -Mosquito, <a href="#page_062">62</a><br /> -Mudéla, estate, <a href="#page_335">335</a><br /> -Mulahacen, <a href="#page_312">312</a>, <a href="#page_315">315</a><br /> -Mullet, grey, <a href="#page_299">299</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="N" id="N"></a>Naranjo de Bulnes, <a href="#page_291">291-2</a><br /> -National characteristics, <a href="#page_005">5</a>, <a href="#page_012">12</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_019">19</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">types, <a href="#page_004">4-5</a></span><br /> -Navarre, <a href="#page_006">6</a><br /> -<i>Neophron</i>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>, <a href="#page_368">368</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a><br /> -Nightingale, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -Nightjar, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -<i>Nucléo central</i>, <a href="#page_140">140</a><br /> -Nuthatch, <a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="O" id="O"></a>Oleander, <a href="#page_160">160</a>, 166 and <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Orange, cultivation of, <a href="#page_009">9</a><br /> -Oriole, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">golden, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a></span><br /> -Orphean warbler, <a href="#page_393">393</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -Ortolan, <a href="#page_319">319</a><br /> -Osprey, <a href="#page_191">191</a><br /> -Otter, <a href="#page_337">337</a><br /> -<i>Ovis bidens</i>, <a href="#page_352">352-3</a><br /> -Owl, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">little, <a href="#page_319">319</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">white, <a href="#page_230">230</a></span><br /> -<br /> -<a name="P" id="P"></a>Paris, Comtes de, <a href="#page_278">278-9</a><br /> -Partridge, <a href="#page_015">15</a>, <a href="#page_030">30</a>, <a href="#page_032">32</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>, <a href="#page_331">331</a>, <a href="#page_332">332-3</a>, <a href="#page_335">335-6</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a>, <a href="#page_363">363</a>, <a href="#page_398">398</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">grey, <a href="#page_028">28</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">redleg, <a href="#page_015">15</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_184">184</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a></span><br /> -Peewit, <a href="#page_267">267</a><br /> -Pelayo, <a href="#page_007">7</a><br /> -Pelican, Danish, <a href="#page_276">276</a><br /> -Peñones, the, <a href="#page_314">314</a>, <a href="#page_315">315</a><br /> -Pepe-Illo, bull-fighter, <a href="#page_196">196</a><br /> -Peregrine falcon, <a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>, <a href="#page_398">398</a><br /> -Perez, Gregorio, <a href="#page_292">292</a>, <a href="#page_293">293</a><br /> -Pernales, bandit, <a href="#page_174">174</a> <i>et seq</i>.<br /> -Petroleum, <a href="#page_347">347</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Phillip II., <a href="#page_195">195</a><br /> -Phillip III., <a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_323">323</a><br /> -Phillip IV., <a href="#page_037">37</a>, <a href="#page_195">195</a><br /> -Phillip V., <a href="#page_195">195</a><br /> -<i>Pica mauretanica</i>, <a href="#page_401">401</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Picos de Europa, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_283">283</a>, <a href="#page_285">285</a>, <a href="#page_292">292</a>, <a href="#page_302">302</a><br /> -Pig, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_363">363</a><br /> -Pilgrimages to Rocio, <a href="#page_082">82</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -“Pincushion†gorse, <a href="#page_314">314</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a><br /> -Pine (<i>Pinus pinaster</i>), <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_361">361</a><br /> -Pinsapo pine (<i>Abies pinsapo</i>), <a href="#page_349">349-52</a> and <i>notes</i>, <a href="#page_360">360</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a><br /> -Pintail, <a href="#page_094">94</a>, <a href="#page_097">97</a>, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_111">111</a>, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_326">326</a>, <a href="#page_408">408</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a><br /> -“Piorno†(<i>Spartius scorpius</i>), <a href="#page_352">352</a><br /> -Pipit, alpine, <a href="#page_222">222</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">tawny, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_367">367</a></span><br /> -Pius V., Pope, <a href="#page_194">194</a><br /> -Pizarro, <a href="#page_231">231</a><br /> -Plant-life in the marisma, <a href="#page_089">89-90</a>, <a href="#page_115">115</a><br /> -Plover, golden, <a href="#page_063">63</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_331">331</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">grey, <a href="#page_042">42</a>, <a href="#page_134">134</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Kentish, <a href="#page_267">267</a>, <a href="#page_382">382</a></span><br /> -Pochard, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_138">138</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_324">324</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">red-crested (<i>Pato colorado</i>), <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">white-eyed, <a href="#page_138">138</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_384">384</a></span><br /> -Polyglotta warbler, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -Pratincole, <a href="#page_268">268</a>, 382 and <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Praying mantis, <a href="#page_394">394</a><br /> -Préjavalsky, Russian explorer, <a href="#page_276">276</a><br /> -Ptarmigan, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a><br /> -<i>Pterostichus rutilans</i>, <a href="#page_314">314</a><br /> -Puerta de Palomas, <a href="#page_367">367-70</a><br /> -Puntales del Peco, <a href="#page_167">167</a><br /> -Pyrenean musk-rat, <a href="#page_029">29</a><br /> -Pyrenees, <a href="#page_028">28</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_302">302</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ibex in, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_143">143-4</a></span><br /> -<br /> -<a name="Q" id="Q"></a>Quail, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_330">330</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="R" id="R"></a>Rabbit, <a href="#page_330">330</a>, <a href="#page_338">338</a>, <a href="#page_341">341</a><br /> -Rail, <a href="#page_039">39</a><br /> -“Rare birds,†<a href="#page_403">403</a>, <a href="#page_404">404</a><br /> -Raven, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_309">309</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a><br /> -<i>Reclamo</i> (call-bird), <a href="#page_328">328-9</a><br /> -Redondo, José, bull-fighter, <a href="#page_197">197</a><br /> -Redshank, <a href="#page_267">267</a>, <a href="#page_268">268</a>, <a href="#page_379">379</a><br /> -Redstart, <a href="#page_223">223</a><br /> -Redwing, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a><br /> -Reed-climbers, <a href="#page_039">39</a>, <a href="#page_061">61</a><br /> -Ribbon-grass (<i>canaliza</i>), <a href="#page_115">115</a><br /> -Rice-grounds, <a href="#page_322">322</a>, <a href="#page_323">323</a>, <a href="#page_324">324-5</a><br /> -Ring-dotterel, <a href="#page_390">390</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lesser, <a href="#page_393">393</a></span><br /> -Ring-ouzel, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_309">309</a>, <a href="#page_316">316</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Ring-plover, <a href="#page_238">238</a><br /> -Riscos del Fraile, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_214">214</a>, <a href="#page_221">221</a><br /> -Robin, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a><br /> -Rocio, shrine at, pilgrimages to, <a href="#page_082">82</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -Rock-bunting, <a href="#page_313">313</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_348">348</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a><br /> -Rock-climbing, <a href="#page_144">144</a><br /> -Rock-sparrow, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_355">355</a><br /> -Rock-thrush, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_313">313</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_366">366</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a>, <a href="#page_368">368</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">blue, <a href="#page_230">230</a>, <a href="#page_365">365</a></span><br /> -Roderick, King of the Goths, <a href="#page_007">7</a><br /> -Roe-deer, <a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_363">363</a><br /> -Roller, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -Romans, the, in Spain, <a href="#page_006">6</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a><br /> -Romero, Francisco, bull-fighter, <a href="#page_195">195</a><br /> -Romero, Pedro, bull-fighter, <a href="#page_196">196</a><br /> -<i>Ronda</i>, <i>Caceria á la</i>, <a href="#page_080">80-1</a><br /> -Rook, <a href="#page_411">411</a><br /> -Rota, <a href="#page_299">299</a><br /> -Rudolph, late Crown Prince of Austria, <a href="#page_266">266</a><br /> -Ruff, <a href="#page_063">63</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_134">134</a><br /> -Rufous warbler, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="S" id="S"></a>Salmon, <a href="#page_295">295-6</a><br /> -San Cristobal, <a href="#page_347">347</a>, <a href="#page_349">349</a>, <a href="#page_351">351</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a><br /> -Sanderling, <a href="#page_390">390</a><br /> -Sand-grouse, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_382">382</a>, <a href="#page_401">401</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">black-bellied, <a href="#page_232">232</a></span><br /> -Sand-hills and wild geese, <a href="#page_125">125-32</a><br /> -Sand-lizard, 62 and <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Sand-piper, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">curlew, <a href="#page_042">42</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">green, <a href="#page_390">390</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a></span><br /> -Sardinian warbler, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -Saunders, Howard, <a href="#page_265">265</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a><br /> -Schastowskij, Mr. P. A., <a href="#page_404">404</a><br /> -Sedge-warbler, great, <a href="#page_387">387</a><br /> -Serin, <a href="#page_311">311</a>, <a href="#page_313">313</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_348">348</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -Serpent-eagle, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -SerranÃa de Ronda, <a href="#page_002">2</a>, <a href="#page_267">267</a>, <a href="#page_347">347-59</a>, <a href="#page_360">360</a> <i>et seq.</i>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">flora of, <a href="#page_348">348</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_360">360</a>, <a href="#page_361">361</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ibex in, <a href="#page_142">142</a></span><br /> -Shad, <a href="#page_299">299</a><br /> -Shelduck, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_112">112</a>, <a href="#page_191">191</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ruddy, <a href="#page_410">410</a></span><br /> -Shoveler, <a href="#page_097">97</a>, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_111">111</a>, <a href="#page_112">112</a>, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a><br /> -Shrike, great grey (<i>Lanius meridionalis</i>), <a href="#page_062">62</a>, <a href="#page_063">63</a> <i>n.</i> 2, <a href="#page_212">212</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Lanius excubitor</i>, <a href="#page_063">63</a> <i>n.</i> 2</span><br /> -Siberia, <a href="#page_404">404</a><br /> -Sierra Bermeja, <a href="#page_349">349</a>, <a href="#page_360">360-63</a><br /> -Sierra de Gata, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_235">235</a><br /> -Sierra de Grédos, <a href="#page_140">140</a>, <a href="#page_208">208</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_302">302</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ibex in, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_145">145</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_352">352</a></span><br /> -Sierra de Guadalupe, 227 and <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Sierra de Jerez, <a href="#page_363">363-7</a><br /> -Sierra Moréna, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_411">411</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fauna of, <a href="#page_042">42</a>, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_147">147</a> <i>et seq.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">flora of, <a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a></span><br /> -Sierra Nevada, <a href="#page_301">301</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_355">355</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birds of, <a href="#page_311">311-16</a>. <a href="#page_318">318-19</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ibex in, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_148">148-9</a>, <a href="#page_303">303</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a></span><br /> -Sierra de las Nieves, <a href="#page_349">349</a><br /> -Sierra Quintana, <a href="#page_149">149-53</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a><br /> -Silk manufacture, Moorish, <a href="#page_009">9-10</a><br /> -Small-game shooting, <a href="#page_328">328-36</a><br /> -Snake, <a href="#page_334">334</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">coluber, <a href="#page_393">393</a></span><br /> -Snipe, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_330">330</a>, <a href="#page_331">331</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a><br /> -Snow-finch, <a href="#page_316">316</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a><br /> -Soldier-ants, <a href="#page_061">61</a><br /> -Spear-grass, <a href="#page_090">90</a>, <a href="#page_092">92</a>, <a href="#page_095">95</a>, <a href="#page_115">115</a><br /> -Spectacled warbler, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -Sphinx moth (<i>S. convolvuli</i>), <a href="#page_062">62</a><br /> -Spoonbill, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_383">383</a><br /> -“Still-hunting,†<a href="#page_054">54</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_060">60</a><br /> -Stilt, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_267">267</a>, <a href="#page_268">268</a>, <a href="#page_385">385</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a><br /> -Stint, little, <a href="#page_390">390</a><br /> -Stonechat, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a><br /> -Stone-curlew, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_343">343</a><br /> -Stork, <a href="#page_040">40</a>, <a href="#page_230">230</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a><br /> -Subalpine warbler, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -Sugar-cane, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_009">9</a><br /> -Swan, wild, <a href="#page_375">375</a>; Bewick’s, <i>ib.</i><br /> -Swift, alpine, <a href="#page_355">355</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="T" id="T"></a>Tagus River, <a href="#page_228">228</a> <i>n.</i> 1;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">valley of, <a href="#page_210">210</a></span><br /> -Tarifa, <a href="#page_300">300</a><br /> -Tarik, Arab chief, <a href="#page_007">7</a><br /> -Tato, El, bull-fighter, <a href="#page_197">197</a><br /> -Teal, <a href="#page_091">91</a>, <a href="#page_097">97</a>, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_111">111</a>, <a href="#page_126">126</a>, <a href="#page_134">134</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_373">373</a>, <a href="#page_399">399</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">marbled, <a href="#page_186">186</a></span><br /> -Tench, <a href="#page_295">295</a><br /> -Tern, <a href="#page_041">41</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">gull-billed (<i>Sterna anglica</i>), <a href="#page_268">268</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">whiskered, <a href="#page_389">389</a></span><br /> -Thistle, Spanish, <a href="#page_248">248</a>, <a href="#page_262">262</a><br /> -Thrush, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">blue, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_313">313</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a> <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_362">362</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a></span><br /> -Tit, blue, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">cole, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">great, <a href="#page_319">319</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">long-tailed, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_348">348</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a></span><br /> -Toledo, Montes de, <a href="#page_147">147</a>, 148 and <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_184">184</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -Tormes River, <a href="#page_221">221</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a><br /> -Tree-creeper, <a href="#page_367">367</a><br /> -Trout, <a href="#page_015">15-16</a>, <a href="#page_294">294-5</a>, <a href="#page_309">309</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a><br /> -Trujillo, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_230">230-31</a>, <a href="#page_295">295</a><br /> -Tumbler-pigeons, <a href="#page_126">126</a><br /> -Tunny, <a href="#page_299">299-300</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="V" id="V"></a>Valdelagrana, <a href="#page_172">172</a><br /> -Valencia, <a href="#page_002">2</a>, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_187">187</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ibex in, <a href="#page_142">142</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">wildfowl in, <a href="#page_321">321-7</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a></span><br /> -Veleta, Picacho de la, <a href="#page_312">312</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -<i>Vetas</i>, <a href="#page_088">88-9</a>, <a href="#page_090">90</a>, <a href="#page_115">115</a>, <a href="#page_122">122</a><br /> -Villarejo, <a href="#page_221">221</a><br /> -Villaviciosa, Don Pedro Pidal, Marquis de, <a href="#page_292">292</a>, <a href="#page_296">296</a><br /> -Vivillo, El, bandit, <a href="#page_175">175</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_181">181-2</a><br /> -Vulture, <a href="#page_067">67</a>, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, 356 and <i>n.</i> 1, <a href="#page_362">362</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>, <a href="#page_367">367-8</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">black, <a href="#page_221">221-2</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">griffon, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_315">315</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_359">359</a>, <a href="#page_364">364</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a>, <a href="#page_369">369</a>, <a href="#page_370">370</a>, <a href="#page_397">397</a></span><br /> -<a name="W" id="W"></a>Waders, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_382">382</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a><br /> -Wagtail, grey, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_348">348</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pied, <a href="#page_410">410</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">white, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_237">237</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">yellow, <a href="#page_410">410-11</a></span><br /> -Warblers. <i>See</i> under names<br /> -Water-hen, purple (<i>Porphyrio</i>), <a href="#page_388">388</a><br /> -Water-shrew, <a href="#page_103">103</a>, <a href="#page_166">166</a><br /> -Wheatear, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_184">184</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_312">312</a>, <a href="#page_313">313</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a> <i>n.</i> 1<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">black-throated, <a href="#page_318">318</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">eared, <a href="#page_318">318</a></span><br /> -Whimbrel, <a href="#page_390">390</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a>, <a href="#page_404">404</a><br /> -Whitethroat, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a><br /> -Wigeon, <a href="#page_097">97</a>, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_111">111</a>, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_380">380</a>, <a href="#page_399">399</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a><br /> -Wild-cat, <a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_337">337</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> -Wildfowl at Daimiel, <a href="#page_186">186-91</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of marisma, <a href="#page_040">40-2</a>, <a href="#page_091">91</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_114">114</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_381">381-91</a>, <a href="#page_408">408</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">shooting, <a href="#page_095">95</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_105">105-13</a>, <a href="#page_115">115</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href="#page_131">131-2</a>, <a href="#page_254">254</a>, <a href="#page_323">323-7</a>, <a href="#page_371">371-5</a>, <a href="#page_379">379</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in Valencia, <a href="#page_321">321</a> <i>et seq.</i></span><br /> -Wild-thyme (<i>Cantuéso</i>), <a href="#page_225">225</a><br /> -Willow-warbler, <a href="#page_232">232</a><br /> -Wolf, <a href="#page_147">147</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>, <a href="#page_156">156</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>, <a href="#page_289">289</a>, <a href="#page_306">306</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a><br /> -Woodchat, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -Woodcock, <a href="#page_331">331</a><br /> -Wood-pecker, <a href="#page_396">396</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">great black, <a href="#page_298">298</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">green, 68 and <i>n.</i> 2, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">spotted, <a href="#page_367">367</a></span><br /> -Wood-pigeon, <a href="#page_362">362</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a><br /> -Wren, <a href="#page_282">282</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a><br /> -Wryneck, <a href="#page_311">311</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="Y" id="Y"></a>Yna de la Garganta, <a href="#page_355">355-7</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="Z" id="Z"></a>Zamujar, <a href="#page_172">172</a><br /> -Zaragoza, Cortes of, <a href="#page_006">6</a><br /> -</p> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<p class="c">THE END</p> - -<p class="c"><i>Printed by</i> <span class="smcap">R. & R. Clark, Limited</span>, <i>Edinburgh</i>.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Catalonia was a separate State, under independent rulers, -the Counts of Barcelona, until <small>A.D.</small> 1131, when it was merged in the -Kingdom of Arragon.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> The term “Moor†has always seemed to us a trifle -unfortunate, as tending to indicate that the conquering race came from -Morocco—“Turks†or “Arabs†would have been a more appropriate title. -For fifty years after the conquest Spain was governed by Emirs subject -to the Kaliphs of Damascus, the first independent power being wielded by -the Emir Abderahman III. who, in 777, usurped the title of Kaliph of -Cordoba. That kaliphate, by the way, during its earlier splendours, -became the centre of universal culture, Cordoba being the intellectual -capital of the world, with a population that has been stated at two -millions.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> For the information of readers who have not studied the -subject, it may be well to add that, during the early years of the -seventeenth century, something like a million of Spanish Moors—the most -industrious of its inhabitants—were either massacred in Spain or -expelled from the country.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> At a big hotel the menu on May 26 included (as usual) -“partridges.†We emphasised a mild protest by refusing to eat them; but -the landlord scored with both barrels. On opening our luncheon-basket -next day (we had a twelve-hours’ railway journey), there were the -rejected redlegs! We had to eat them then—or starve!</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> We have seen an exception to this in the mountain villages -of the Castiles, where on <i>fiesta</i> nights a sort of rude valse is danced -in the open street.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> By their peculiar style of aviation these birds, swaying up -and down and swerving on zigzag courses, alternately expose a -scintillating crimson mass suddenly flashing into a cloud of black and -rosy white—according as their brilliant wing-plumage or their white -bodies are presented to the eye. “A flame of fire†is the Arab -signification of their name <i>flamenco</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> No offence to our scientific friends aforesaid. We -recognise their argument and respect its thoroughness, though regarding -it as occasionally misdirected. Possibly in their splendid zeal they -overlook the danger of reducing scientific classification to a mere -monopoly confined to a few score of professors, specialists, and -cabinet-naturalists, instead of serving as an aid and general guide (as -is surely its true intention) to thousands of less learned students. -Over-elaboration is apt to beget chaos.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> We have known the spoor of a wounded stag pass beneath -strong interlacing branches so low that, in following, we have had to -wriggle under on hands and knees. The spoor showed there had been no -such cervine necessity.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Weight, clean, two days killed, 78 kilos = 180 lbs.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> There are sand-lizards identical in colour with the sand -itself—pale yellow or drab, adorned with wavy black lines closely -resembling the wind-waves on the sand.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> There are, of course, exceptions, such as golden plovers, -ruffs, dunlin, godwits, knots, that do assume a vernal dress.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> This, the southernmost form of the green woodpecker, has -much the most ringing voice. The closely allied northern form, <i>G. -canus</i>, that one hears constantly in Norway, utters but a sharp -monosyllabic note. A second curious fact may here be mentioned: that the -great grey shrike, just named, <i>Lanius meridionalis</i>, is resident in -Spain throughout the year, while the closely allied and almost identical -<i>L. excubitor</i> breeds exclusively in the far north (chiefly within the -Arctic) and only descends to England in winter. Besides the harsh note -mentioned above, the southern shrike, in spring, utters a piping whistle -not unlike a golden plover.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> This is only the second instance in thirty or forty years -of a wounded or “bayed†stag killing a dog. In the Culata del Faro, we -remember, many years ago, a stag shot through the lungs, and which was -brought to bay close behind the writer’s post, tossing a <i>podenco</i> clean -over its head, and so injuring it that the dog had to be destroyed at -once.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> The initials are those of our late friend Colonel Brymer -of Ilsington, Dorset, formerly M.P. for that county, and who was a -frequent visitor to Spain, where, alas! his death occurred while we -write this chapter (May 1909). A unique exploit of the Colonel’s during -his last shooting-trip may fitly be recorded. On February 5, 1909, at -the Culata del Faginado, four big stags broke in a clump past his post -on a pine-crowned ridge in the forest. Two he dropped right and left; -then reloading one barrel, killed a third ere the survivors had vanished -from sight. These three stags carried thirty-four points, the best head -taping 30½ inches by 27 inches in width, and 4½ inches basal -circumference.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Not a single accident, great or small, has occurred during -the authors’ long tenure of the Coto Doñana.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> See <i>On Safari</i>, by Abel Chapman, pp. 216-17. The Spanish -term <i>Ronda</i> may roughly be translated as “rounding-up.â€</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> At the date in question (end of November) it is, of -course, possible that this immigration was proceeding, not from the -north, but from the south. That is, that these were fowl which, on their -first arrival in Spain in September and October, had found the <i>marisma</i> -untenable from lack of water, and had in consequence passed on into -Africa, whence they were now returning, on the changed weather. But be -that as it may, the route above indicated is that invariably followed by -the north-bred wildfowl on their first arrival in Spain.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> This was in earlier days. Later on we developed a flotilla -of flat-bottomed canoes expressly adapted to this service. A photo of -one of these is annexed.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> See <i>Instructions to Young Sportsmen</i>, by P. Hawker, -second edition (1816), pp. 229, 230.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> In the big and deep lucios no plant-life exists, nor could -surface-feeding ducks reach down to it even if subaquatic herbage of any -kind did grow there.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> We have here in our mind’s eye our own shooting-grounds in -the Bætican marismas. But there are other regions in Andalucia where -geese feed on open grassy plains on which shelter of some sort is often -available. It may be but a clump of dead thistles or wild asparagus; but -at happy times a friendly ditch or dry watercourse will yield quite a -decent hollow where one can hide in comparative comfort and security. On -the day here described no such “advantage†befriended.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> The scarcity of diving-ducks is explained by these having -all been shot in the shallow, open marisma. In the deeper waters, such -as Santolalla, common and white-eyed pochards, tufted ducks, etc., -abound.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> The Montes de Toledo comprise some of the best big-game -country in Spain and include several of her most famous preserves; such, -for example, as the Coto de Cabañeros belonging to the Conde de -Valdelagrana, El Castillo, a domain of the Duke of Castillejos, and -Zumajo of the Marques de Alventos. The Duke of Arión possesses a wild -tract inhabited by fallow-deer.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Thirteen wolves were killed thus (and recovered) on the -property of the Marquis del Mérito in the winter of 1906-7.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Similarly the half-wild cattle of Spain leave their -new-born calves concealed in some bush or palmetto, the mother going off -for a whole day and only returning at sunset.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Photos given in <i>Wild Spain</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> We exclude from consideration all deer that are winter-fed -or otherwise assisted, and of course all that have been “improved†by -crosses with extraneous blood. These mountain deer of Spain are true -native aborigines, unaltered and living the same wild life as they lived -here in Roman days and in ages before.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> We here use the term hound or dog indiscriminately as, in -the altering circumstances, each is equally applicable and correct</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> I never myself count shots, hits or misses—<i>horas non -numero</i>. The above record is solely due to the inception by our gracious -hostess at Mezquitillas of a pretty custom, namely, that for every -bullet fired, a small sum should be payable by the sportsman towards a -local charity.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> The oleander is poisonous to horses and other domestic -animals, and is instinctively avoided by both game and cattle. During -the Peninsular War it is recorded that several British soldiers came by -their deaths through this cause. A foraging party cut and peeled some -oleander branches to use as skewers in roasting meat over the -camp-fires. Of twelve men who ate the meat, seven died.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Pernales was born at Estepa, province of Sevilla, -September 3, 1878, a ne’er-do-weel son of honest, rural parents. By 1906 -he had become notorious as a determined criminal. His appearance and -Machiavellian instincts were interpreted as indicating great personal -courage, and, united with his physique, combined to present a repulsive -and menacing figure. A huge head set on broad chest and shoulders, with -red hair and deep-set blue eyes, a livid freckled complexion, thin -eyebrows, and one long tusk always visible, protruding from a horrid -mouth, made up a sufficiently characteristic ensemble.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> The authors personally assisted at this <i>toilet</i>, -Talavera, May 1891.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> The oft-described details of the bull-fight we omit; but -should any reader care to peruse an impartial description thereof, -written by one of the co-authors of the present work, such will be found -in the <i>Encyclopædia of Sport</i>, vol. i. p. 151.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> In particular, remembering an incident that had occurred -here in 1891, and recorded in <i>Wild Spain</i>, p. 147, we were anxious to -ascertain if the lemming, or any relative of his, still survived in -these central Spanish cordilleras. The marmot is another possible -inhabitant.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> For these, as well as graphic notes on the subject, we are -indebted to Sr. D. Manuel F. de Amezúa, the most experienced and -intrepid explorer of the Sierra de Grédos.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> This range is, in fact, a northern outspur of the Montes -de Toledo, which occupy the whole space betwixt Tagus and Guadiana. Its -highest peak, La Cabeza del Moro, reaches 5110 feet.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> Wild fallow-deer are indigenous among the infinite -scrub-clad hills that fringe the course of the Tagus, as well as in -various <i>dehesas</i> in the province of Caceres—those of Las Corchuelas -and de Valero may be specified. The wild fallow are larger and finer -animals than the others.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Immediately adjoining the south approach to the bridge -over the Alagón is sculptured on the bluff a heraldic device -representing a figure plucking a pomegranate (<i>Granada</i>) from a -tree—the arms of Granadilla. There is an inscription, with date, -beneath; but these we failed to decipher.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> <i>Diccionario geografico, estadistico, y historico de -España</i>, by Pascual Madoz (Madrid, 1845).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> A later Spanish work, the <i>Diccionario enciclopedico -hispano-americano</i> (Barcelona, 1892), regards some of Pascual Madoz’s -descriptions as over-coloured and exaggerated. Our own observation, -however, rather tended to confirm his views and to show that subsequent -amelioration exists rather in name than in fact.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> The Hurdanos, we were told, make bad soldiers. Being -despised by their comrades, they are only employed on the menial work of -the barracks. Many, from long desuetude, are unable to wear boots.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> The white on a bustard’s plumage exceeds in its intensity -that of almost any other bird we know. It is a dead white, without shade -or the least symptom of any second tint so usual a feature in white.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> <i>Avetarda</i> is old Spanish, the modern spelling being -<i>Abutarda</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> A large number of horsemen inevitably excites suspicion in -game unaccustomed to see more than three or four men together.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> The horses, if ground permits, may be utilised as “stops†-to extreme right and left of the drive, otherwise they must be concealed -in some convenient hollow in charge of a boy or two.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> We know of no other bird that increases thus in weight -anticipatory of the breeding-season, nor are we at all sure that it is -the swollen neck that explains that increase.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> We have never succeeded in inducing our tame bustards to -breed in captivity.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> Dampier, <i>New Voyage round the World</i>, 2nd ed., i. p. 71; -London, 1699.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> Dampier’s visit to the Cape de Verde Islands took place in -September, when, of course, flamingoes would not be nesting.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> We also observed in Equatoria a second species, smaller -and red all over, <i>Phoenicopterus minor</i>. This, however, was far less -numerous; the great bulk of East-African flamingoes were the common <i>Ph. -roseus</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> It is right to add that in America the growth of mangrove -and other bushes, sometimes in close proximity to the nests, offers -facilities to the photographer that are wholly wanting in Spain, where -the flamingo only nests in perfectly open waters devoid of the slightest -covert or means of concealment.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> <i>Gaitero</i> is the word used. The <i>gaita</i> is a musical -instrument which we may translate as bagpipes.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> For notes on these subjects, we are indebted to Mr. Carl -D. Williams.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> Boabdil, we read, was a keen hunter, and during his -sojourn at Besmer frequently spent weeks at a time among the mountains -with his hawks and hounds.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> <i>La Alpujarra</i>, by Don Pedro A. de Alarcón (4th edition, -Madrid, 1903).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> Several of these animals, moreover, yield excellent fur.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> These mountains are believed to overlie vast store of -subterranean wealth in the form of petroleum. Geologists seem agreed -upon that; but they differ as to the precise locality of the treasure or -whence it may most conveniently be exploited.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> We have a number of pinsápos growing in Northumberland. -They were planted some ten years ago on a cold northern exposure, and -are now flourishing vigorously, some having reached a height of eight or -ten feet. Nearly all tend to throw up numerous “leaders†as described.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> Pinsápo timber is fairly hard, but too “knotty†for -general purposes, and it is useless for charcoal. Yet these glorious -forests are being sacrificed wholesale because the wood affords “good -kindling†for the charcoal-furnace—can wasteful wantonness further go? -That the only existing forests of the kind on earth should be ruthlessly -destroyed for no single object but to provide <i>kindling</i> passes -understanding.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> We mention, parenthetically, certain birds observed at end -of March on that alpine meadow (4800 feet), as follows:—One ring-ouzel, -a pair of common wheatears, woodlarks, and Dartford warblers—all, no -doubt, on migration—besides, of course, blackchats, blue thrushes, etc. -A month later the beautiful rock-thrush had come to grace the desolation -with lilting flight and song, and tawny pipits ran blithely among the -rocks.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> Note that the pellets or “castings†thrown up by vultures -are chiefly formed of grass cut up into lengths and compacted with -saliva, evidently digestive. We have frequently seen vultures carrying a -wisp of grass in their beaks.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> The Spanish name of the ibex, <i>Cabra montés</i>, signifies, -not as might appear, “mountain-goat,†but <i>scrub-goat</i>; and may have -originated in this region, or at least from a habit which prevails here -though obsolete everywhere else.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> Similar results followed on the Laguna de Janda. That -great shallow lake abounds in winter with both ducks and geese; but -differs from the marismas in being sweet water, hence is not frequented -by flamingoes. Another point of difference is that its shores are -occupied by wild bulls instead of brood-mares; hence the <i>cabresto</i>-pony -is not available. Wildfowl here also proved inaccessible to a -gunning-punt on open waters; while wherever reeds or sedge promised some -“advantage,†in such places the depth of water was always insufficient -to float the lightest of craft within range. The best shot made during -four seasons realised but twenty-three (seven geese and sixteen duck)—a -paltry total. Occasionally a great bustard was shot from the gunboat.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_64_64" id="Footnote_64_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> The word “<i>Corro</i>†applies in Spanish to any noisy -group—say a knot of people discussing politics in the street!</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_65_65" id="Footnote_65_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> One feels convinced, while lying listening, that these -exuberant fowl invent and formulate a series of new notes and cries -special to the occasion and outside their normal vocabulary. Hence, -possibly, originated the use of the term “<i>Corro</i>.â€</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_66_66" id="Footnote_66_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> <i>Corros</i> usually consist (especially the earlier -assemblies) of one root-species—others merely “edge in.†The later -<i>corros</i>, however, are much mixed. They vary in numbers: one may contain -but 200 pairs, another within half-a-mile as many thousands.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_67_67" id="Footnote_67_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> Pratincoles cast themselves down flat on the dry mud, -fluttering as though in mortal agony—or, say, like a huge butterfly -with a pin through its thorax! The device is presumably adopted in order -to decoy an intruder away from their eggs or young. This year, however, -the pratincoles still practised it, although they had neither eggs nor -young at all. One day (May 12) a gale of wind blew some of the deceivers -bodily away.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_68_68" id="Footnote_68_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> In none were the generative organs more than slightly -developed, and in most the plumage was full of new blood-feathers, -showing that the summer change was not yet complete. The date, May -10-15. Another drawing is given at p. 42.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_69_69" id="Footnote_69_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> Common British birds we exclude from notice, or might fill -a page with swarming goldfinches, robins, wrens, chaffinch, blackbird, -stonechat, whitethroats, tree-pipits, titlarks (the last three on -passage), blackcap, garden-warbler, whinchat, redstart, and a host -more.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_70_70" id="Footnote_70_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> The African bush-cuckoos, or coucals (<i>Centropus</i>), -certainly build their own nests; but they are only related nominally, -and the connection is remote.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_71_71" id="Footnote_71_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> In Egypt the hooded crow (<i>Corvus cornix</i>) is invariably -the cuckoo’s dupe; in Algeria, <i>Pica mauretanica</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_72_72" id="Footnote_72_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> We find a note that one Bean-Goose was shot on November -27, 1896—weight 5¼ lbs.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_73_73" id="Footnote_73_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> See the elaborate monograph on <i>The Geese of Europe and -Asia</i>, by M. Serge Alphéraky of St. Petersburg (London, Rowland Ward).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_74_74" id="Footnote_74_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> One such note may be given as an example:— -</p><p> -“1903.—Examined 40 geese shot January 1 and 2. Legs varied from white -and pale flesh-colour to pale yellowish and pink, adults all of the -latter colour. Beaks vary from whitish or flesh-colour, through yellow, -up to bright orange. A few of the geese, mostly the smaller, young -birds, were nearly pure white below: others heavily spotted or barred -with black: nearly all (old and young) show signs of a ‘white-front.’â€</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_75_75" id="Footnote_75_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> In Jutland we found some pintails’ nests rather cunningly -concealed in holes upon open grassy islets in marine lagoons not unlike -our Spanish marismas; others were on bare ground, though occasionally -hidden among thistles. Here also the eggs numbered eight or nine. See -<i>Ibis</i>, 1894, p. 349.</p></div> - -</div> - -<p><a name="TRNS" id="TRNS"></a></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="padding:2%;border:3px dotted gray;"> -<tr><th align="center">Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:</th></tr> -<tr><td align="center"><span class="errata">averge</span> depth=> average depth {pg 302}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">produces these <span class="errata">montrosities</span>=> produces these monstrosities {pg 348}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">secured a specimen <span class="errata">of</span> two=> secured a specimen or two {pg 360}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">are always strictly <span class="errata">cleanly</span>=> are always strictly clean {pg 368}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center"><span class="errata">Préjavelsky</span>, Russian explorer, 276=> Préjavalsky, Russian explorer, 276 {index}</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Unexplored Spain, by -Abel Chapman and Walter J. 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@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="utf-8"> -</head> -<body> -<div> -Versions of this book's files up to October 2024 are here.<br> -More recent changes, if any, are reflected in the GitHub repository: -<a href="https://github.com/gutenbergbooks/41593">https://github.com/gutenbergbooks/41593</a> -</div> -</body> -</html> |
