Wild Spain Part 28

One more incident before we leave these forests. Early on a winter morning we had reached the remote covert of Salavar, and owing to its extent, and the strong wind blowing, which would prevent the shots being heard, it was decided to drive it in two sections. At the end of the first beat, which had produced three stags--two lynxes also pa.s.sing the line unscathed--the guns and drivers were a.s.sembled preparatory to the second (windward) _batida_, when, from that direction, a couple of distant gunshots were distinctly heard. Clearly poachers were at work, and already the forest-guards were conjecturing (and rightly as it proved) the personality of the depredator--an old offender who had before given trouble. The man penetrated to the heart of these wild regions accompanied only by his son, and his mode of procedure was to station himself to the leeward of any likely bit of covert, and sending the lad round, to await the chance of the latter driving forward any deer which might happen to be lying in it. His two shots had been at hinds. Leaving the main party to surround the _mancha_, two of the keepers galloped off in the direction of the shots, separating so as to enclose the poacher and cut off his retreat. Soon one of these came across the tracks of naked feet on the sand, and shortly overtook the culprit already preparing a drive of the covert we had just beaten.

Taken by surprise, resistance or flight were impossible; the poacher's gun was taken from him, and he and his son marched off prisoners to our main party--an ill-looking ruffian clad in deer-skins, of whom some ugly tales were told. Brought before our friend representing the proprietary, the captive showed an undaunted and even impudent demeanour, a.s.serting that it was the hunger of his children that had brought him from a village on the Guadiana (some fifty miles away), to kill the deer, which, he said, belonged to him equally with any other of G.o.d's creatures. Such primitive principles availed but little with these fierce keepers, imbued with almost feudal respect for forest-game, and this bold adherent of "commonwealth" was deprived of his gun and ordered off to the coast, with a warning that he would shortly have to answer for his conduct before the magistrate at Almonte. As he turned to obey, old Bartolo, whose estimate of the terrors of Spanish law evidently stood low, shouted after him, with a significant tap on the stock of his ancient _escopeta_, "Look here, Cristobal! you have given us a deal of trouble; you will come here once too often!"

It may occur to the reader to conjecture how the poacher could have utilized his deer, had he secured one, in so remote a spot. Far away on the distant boundary of the Coto, he had his donkey hidden in some thicket of lentiscus, and under cover of night would have returned for his spoils, and moving stage by stage to the sea-sh.o.r.e, would contrive to reach his village before daybreak. He was, however, securely caught, for within an hour another keeper arrived, who also had detected the trespa.s.ser's footprints at a point some ten miles away, and suspecting they were none of honest man, had followed the trail. Thus, even had Cristobal not been captured by us, he would still have been intercepted by this second adversary.

CHAPTER x.x.xIII.

WILDFOWLING IN THE WILDERNESS.

I.--A WET WINTER: A RECORD OF DIFFICULTIES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS.

The wildfowl-shooting of the Peninsula in favourable seasons and situations is probably equal to any in Europe. But much depends on the place, and everything on the season. There are plenty of provinces and miles of marsh-land where the hardest work is barely rewarded by a pair or two of ducks, or perhaps five couple of snipe, and where many a long day will be registered blank. Then, as just stated, _everything_ depends on the weather. For climatic conditions vary extremely as between one winter and another. Some Spanish winters are dry and rainless; hardly any moisture remaining save in certain favoured spots; and to these spa.r.s.e green oases throng the aquatic hosts. Here, at such times, come the red-letter days for the fowler.

But Spanish winters are not always dry; on the contrary, it frequently happens that the rains set in in autumn with semi-tropical fury, converting this drainless land into one vast swamp, and inundating the _marismas_ till they grow into inland seas. The difference between a wet and a dry winter is marvellous. We propose in this chapter to describe the somewhat indifferent sport of a _wet winter_, even in a good locality, together with its effect on the habits and distribution of wildfowl.

The winter of 1887-8 will serve as a typical example. In November the rain set in; during December it descended day after day, and by the end of the month the swollen flood of Guadalquivir had spread itself laterally over its low riparian terrain to a breadth of perhaps sixty miles of unbroken water. Miniature breakers dashed up against the leeward sh.o.r.es; the marsh lands which border the marisma were submerged, and the whole delta, extending to Seville, was under water. From the moment we beheld that tawny expanse, it was clear that all hope of success in wildfowling enterprise must be abandoned. It is not so much that in a wet season wildfowl are less abundant (for they are there in thousands), as that they are scattered over so vast an area, instead of being concentrated at certain spots, which explains the difficulty of their pursuit and the impossibility of securing any large numbers.

Riding along the sh.o.r.es of this inland sea, we observed numerous packs of wildfowl floating on its surface, but always at such a distance from the sh.o.r.e as to be inaccessible by the ordinary Spanish system of the stalking-pony. The _cabresto_ is only available when ducks are found in shallow water or in comparatively narrow channels where the ponies can be worked round them till the fowlers gradually bring their masked batteries to bear. But now, with the whole country submerged, it was impossible to concentrate the fowl, and our efforts were generally directed against scattered packs, nearly always on the edge of perfectly open water. Instead of being able, by manuvring at a little distance, gently to move forward the outside birds, to close up the ranks, and thus to gather together a compact body upon which to direct our broadside, we had now to deal with loosely-scattered parties dotted here and there for miles along what was practically an open sh.o.r.e, and which simply swam away from us into deeper water. Then, in this deeper water, the deception naturally lost great part of its efficacy; for though the sight of a half-wild pony grazing in shallow marsh where gra.s.s and water-plants rise above the surface, has no terror for the duck tribe, yet the case is obviously altered when the pony is directed into open water, devoid of all signs of vegetation, and reaching up to his belly! No sensible beast would ever seek such "pasturage," and the anomaly is quickly detected by the ducks.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XLV.

WILDFOWLING WITH _CABRESTOS_. No. 1.--THE APPROACH.

Page 372.]

There were, however, abundance of wildfowl; some of the aggregations of pintails, indeed, were a memorable sight, darkening acres of water, and in the upper marisma we occasionally enjoyed a degree of success which would undoubtedly have been gratifying but for loftier antic.i.p.ations.

Riding along the marshy margins at daybreak, tempting chances at twenties and thirties offered themselves, but our _pateros_ would not hear of our disturbing the wastes for such paltry lots--"_veinte o treinta pares al primer tiro_" (twenty or thirty couples at the first shot) was their constant refrain; but sometimes the results belied their judgment, and more than once before night we regretted those matutinal scruples. On more fortunate days we did succeed in working our way into the midst of such a.s.semblages of ducks as it rarely falls to the lot of wildfowler to see at close quarters all around him. It is necessary, as a general rule, to keep to leeward of wildfowl; but with the _cabrestos_ this is of less importance, and owing to their numbers and the straggling area of their phalanxes, it often happened that we had considerable bodies of duck almost under our lee and actually appeared to be in the midst of them. Not even in a gunning-punt can such opportunities of observation of wild creatures be enjoyed; for, then, one is necessarily lying p.r.o.ne, with eyes barely raised above water-level; here, merely crouching behind a s.h.a.ggy little pony, one commanded a clear and uninterrupted view.

The bulk of the ducks this winter (1888) proved to be Pintails, though Wigeon were hardly less abundant. Wet seasons suit the tastes of the former species, which then throng the flooded plains in tens of thousands all through the winter, whereas in dry years the Pintails almost immediately pa.s.s on into Africa, not reappearing till February, on their way north. The Pintail with his very long neck, trim, slender build and sailing flight is a striking-looking bird--its appearance on the wing suggesting an intensified, or idealized, development of the duck type, familiar in the common mallard. We could watch them busily preening themselves, washing and coquetting, some tugging at the sweet green gra.s.ses that grew below, others daintily plucking the white water-b.u.t.tercups floating on the surface, all within five-and-twenty yards, or pa.s.sing and repa.s.sing close overhead, keeping up the while a wild, lively chatter, mingled with the musical whistle of the Wigeon. We have never seen elsewhere such splendid examples of the latter species as some of the old drakes shot here; the metallic colours shone with an intense l.u.s.tre, and the rich dark chestnut of their heads was glossed with green and purple reflections.

At several periods there appeared to offer chances for our four united barrels to realize from twenty-five to thirty head; but our friends would not hear of it, and when at last the signal to open fire was given, the occasion was often less favourable, and the net result little more than half those numbers. Our friends' anxiety for a big shot had perhaps tempted them to overdo the "herding" business; it was, however, a relief to be at last allowed to stand upright. The labour of crouching along, bent half double for an hour at a stretch, splashing through water over knee-deep and in clinging mud, is rather severe. There is, moreover, but scant room for two behind a pony, and the crowding intensifies the discomfort of the bent position. There is the necessity to avoid bringing one's heavy-nailed brogues down on one's companion's naked heels or toes; then again, no part of one's person must show in outline above or astern, and lastly there is the gun. By an axiom of sport, it must never point towards man or beast; to carry it pointing downwards would never do--the muzzle would be a foot under water, and upwards it would show like a pole-mast above the ponies' quarters. The gun, in short, for fifty-nine minutes in every hour, is simply a nuisance.

Though the chief species of ducks against which our operations were directed were the above-named--Pintails and Wigeon--there were several other kinds, notably Shovelers--very handsome birds, the drakes, with their boldly contrasted plumage, glossy green heads and chest-nut b.r.e.a.s.t.s divided by a band of snow-white purity. Besides these there were the Mallard and Teal, and others to which we will refer presently.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XLVI.

WILDFOWLING WITH _CABRESTOS_. No. 2.--THE SHOT.

Page 374.]

It was during flight-shooting in the early mornings that the greatest variety of wildfowl was observed, the numbers of Shovelers being especially conspicuous. One morning we particularly remember; we had ridden nearly all night to reach a certain favourite spot before daybreak. Even the _pateros_ were still asleep when, at 2 A.M., we rode up to their solitary _choza_ on the verge of the marsh. However, we were soon in our allotted positions, each on board a tiny _lancha_, or flat-bottomed punt, far out in the marisma. Towards the dawn a very great number of ducks were on the wing--Mallards, Pintails, Teal, and Wigeon, while from an opposite direction the Shovelers streamed overhead for a couple of hours. These handsome _paletones_ took my fancy, and drew the bulk of my cartridges; but whether they were too high, or the powder, in Spanish phrase, too "cold," the results were certainly not commensurate. In any case it is no easy matter to take fast and high shots when balancing oneself in a cranky punt. A valid excuse was the unusual amount of water. This disadvantage is felt, in wet winters, at every turn; here, in flighting, in the entire absence of covert in which to conceal our punts. Hardly even the tops of the rushes, tamarisk and other bog-plants protruded above the surface. Consequently the high-sided punts loomed far too conspicuous, even in the half-light, causing the fowl to "sky" or to swerve to right or left. Again by reason of the punts being fully afloat (instead of lying on the mud) a difficulty was added to the taking of quick shots, for on any sudden movement of its occupant, the tiny craft lurched almost to the capsizing point. In spite of all this, the double flashes from the adjoining _lancha_ were generally succeeded by one, and often by two, answering splashes in the dark water.

Pochards and a few Tufted ducks are almost the only members of the diver-tribe that we have met with in the marisma during wet winters, though, by February, some of the Ferruginous ducks (_Fuligula nyroca_) are beginning to return, and probably a few White-fronted ducks (_Erismatura leucocephala_) will also, by then, be found on the deeper waters. Of the Red-crested duck (_F. rufina_), which is fairly common near Valencia, we have never seen a single example in the Andalucian marismas; nor were any Gadwalls included in the bag this season, though in other winters, not entirely dissimilar, we have secured several.

The distribution of the Anatidae is, in fact, somewhat puzzling. Some species are very regular; others, without apparent cause, are just the reverse. The movements of Pintail, as just stated, are clearly regulated by the state of water in the marshes. Those of Gadwall and Garganey, on the other hand, bear no visible relation to these or other external conditions, but neither of the two last-named are ever abundant. The Garganey, a bird of infinite speed of wing, the first to come in autumn, the last to depart in spring, spends the mid-winter months in Africa; though one morning at dawn (January 31st) four drakes fell to a double shot, and during February we secured many more; but this does not occur every year. The Marbled duck (_Q. marmorata_), a first cousin of the teal, seldom arrives in time to take part in the wildfowl-shooting; though we have notes of an occasional straggler being recognized amidst the slain as early as February.

Sheld-ducks of both kinds are found at all seasons in the Guadalquivir district, where they remain to breed in spring; the common species in rabbit-or disused badger-holes among the sandhills, the large Ruddy Sheld-duck in low cliffs or _barrancos_. A few of either species usually fall to our guns while flight-shooting during the winter months.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "_ANSERES SON!_"]

Next to ducks, the most important wildfowl of the marisma are the Grey Geese, which resort thither from November till February. Their habit is to spend the night on the open water and to fly up in successive parties about daybreak to the gra.s.sy sh.o.r.es, where, if unmolested, they spend the day feeding, preening, and washing in the shallow water. In these situations, we frequently fell in with them while fowling with the _cabrestos_. "Anseres son!"--"geese they are"--was Vasquez's verdict, as he slowly shut up the gla.s.s after a long and particular survey of the distant foresh.o.r.e. The words were spoken sadly, as though soliloquizing, for the Grey Lag is altogether too wary and suspicious a bird to fall readily into the snare of the fowler. Barely indeed is it possible, by this stratagem,[69] to approach within the short range which alone is fatal--forty yards is the maximum for these ironclads, and twenty-five much more desirable. Except when in very small numbers--twos and threes together--it is barely worth while to attempt a stalk; our friends only undertook the operation under protest, saying it was a _compromiso_--a thing calculated to compromise their aucipial repute. _Anseres son!_ there, sure enough, on the utmost verge of the plain, sits a straggling line with detached groups of big, blue-grey forms, some slowly moving about, others squatted on the ground or resting in various att.i.tudes of repose. Such big packs are inaccessible; only once, that winter, did we seem to be really on the road to success. The bulk of the geese--some seventy in number--appeared to be peacefully sleeping away the mid-day hours, some sitting on the gra.s.s, others standing on one leg with heads snugly tucked away under their back feathers. We had already reached the critical point, and the ponies well know now the importance of caution--step by step, with a halt at every fourth or fifth to crop a mouthful of gra.s.s, they slowly advance. We had proceeded thus to within a shot and a half of the still silent geese, when from an intervening belt of rush there sprang a couple of the half-wild, black pigs of the wilderness. Away they scampered, jostling and fighting with each other in their fright, and squealing as only pigs can squeal. In an instant the geese were on the alert--every neck at full stretch, every eye seeking keenly the cause of the unwonted uproar. From the sentinel gander came the low, clear alarm-note--Honk! honk! The rest were still silent, but they knew full well the significance of those low warning notes. A few seconds more and, despite our utmost care, the whole pack rose on wing, amid deep Spanish execrations on the mothers and female relatives of those _malditos cochinos_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GREY LAG GEESE FLIGHTING--DAYBREAK.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XLVII.

GREY GEESE AND WIGEON--MIDDAY.

Page 378.]

The geese have particular spots along the sh.o.r.e to which they show a predilection--usually the point of some flat promontory or tongue of land, to which they daily resort. By placing a few decoys before dawn, and lying in wait at these _querencias_, several shots may be obtained at the "morning flight." The difficulties of wild-goose shooting are, however, proverbial, and these big Grey Lags are, moreover, the hardest and most invulnerable fowl. Yet if the bag is sometimes light, those mornings spent in the marisma will never be regretted, nor the sights and sounds heard during the lonely hours of vigil be forgotten. Within one hundred yards of the damp hole where we lie hidden are three or four separate packs of Grey Lags swimming on the silvery water, while fresh parties constantly keep arriving to join the a.s.semblage, sailing with lowered pinions and cautious croaks towards the fatal decoy.

The geese of the Spanish marismas are princ.i.p.ally the Grey Lag (_Anser ferus_) and the Bean-goose (_Anser segetum_) in much less numbers. The latter usually flight singly or in small trips; their note is also different--like that of a large gull. The Lesser White-fronted Goose (_Anser erythropus_ of Linnaeus), appears also to occur in the marisma.

Lord Lilford mentions having observed a single example in company with Grey Lags, and has skins of this small species obtained at Seville. As regards the other European species, there is no evidence of their winter range extending to Southern Spain, though it is possible that stragglers of both the Pink-footed and White-fronted Geese may occasionally do so.

Of wild Swans we have only once met with a bunch of four, as elsewhere related, and one of our _pateros_ told us he had killed two or three during an exceptionally severe winter several years ago. He regarded them as extremely unusual, and in fact did not know what they were till he took them to San Lucar for sale.

Ducks and geese are not the only denizens of the wilderness. The genus of wading birds is a natural complement, and their beauty and variety almost always lend an additional charm to shooting-days by marsh, mere, and coast; but this winter they disappointed us. The simple fact was that the whole of their wonted haunts were submerged, and they had sought their desiderata elsewhere. Whether they had pa.s.sed on southward through the tropics or eastward towards Egyptian lagoons, or returned whence they had come--at any rate, in Spain they were not. During the days spent behind our _cabrestos_ we saw hardly any of these birds.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XLVIII.

WILDFOWLING WITH _CABRESTOS_. No. 3.--THE RESULT.

Page 381.]

Another loss caused by the adverse season was the absence of snipe; they had arrived as usual, in October and November, but during the rains of the following month had disappeared--and not without reason, since nearly the whole of their favourite haunts now lay submerged. Among the birds which remained may be mentioned curlews, and peewits in large numbers, a few golden plovers, redshanks, dunlins and Kentish plovers; on several occasions, chattering packs of stilts were met with, and on January 30th a large flock of avocets were feeding on the s...o...b.. mud-flats--these the _pateros_ a.s.sured us had just arrived, which probably was the case. Once, by night, we recognized the well-known note of the green-shank, and at intervals a green sandpiper would spring from some muddy pool. Beyond the fringe of rushes stood sedate herons; here and there a party of storks, and further out still, the flamingoes, whose rosy ranks impart a thoroughly southern character to the scene.

There was, therefore, no lack of bird-life, though many of the more interesting species were gone. Amidst the feathered population, apparently unnoticing and unnoticed by all, the Marsh-Harriers ceaselessly wheel and drift. After watching them for hours we have never seen them take a bird on the wing, or pursue anything at all, unless wounded. Now and then a harrier would pounce fiercely upon some object--we could not see what--among the rushes, and remain poised on outstretched wings for some minutes, evidently struggling with some victim--perhaps a frog or wounded bird--and then quietly resume his hunting. The Hen-Harrier in dry seasons we frequently observe while snipe-shooting--now, the few seen were all on the dry plains, and not on the marisma.

One day, towards the end of January, while endeavouring to circ.u.mvent the greylags, we fell in with a pack of some forty Sand-Grouse--the Pintailed species--_Pterocles alchata_. They were intensely wild, and at the end of two hours' stalking, the end of the operation seemed as far off as ever. One point in our favour was that the _Gangas_ had a strong haunt at that flat, sandy spit--perhaps it was the only ground suitable to their habits that remained uncovered by water. At any rate, they refused to leave it entirely, and though at times the pack would soar away up into the blue heavens till lost to sight, and we could only follow their course by the harsh croaking notes, yet they invariably returned, descending direct to earth with superb abruptnesses, headlong as a shower of falling stars. At length patience and perseverance prevailed, and a couple of raking shots produced just half a score, seven males and three females. Some of the former were already a.s.suming the black throat of spring-time, but otherwise they were all in full winter-dress, the males having few, or none, of the large pale yellow spots that, later on, adorn their backs and scapulars, and both s.e.xes being paler and less vivid in colouring than at the vernal season.

The carriage of these birds when on the ground is very game-like and sprightly; they sit half-upright, like a pigeon, and on our final (successful) approach we observed several of them lying down on their sides nestling in the warm sand. Their flight resembles that of golden plover, but is bolder, and the narrow black bordering to the under-wing is conspicuous when pa.s.sing near. At times, when high in air, they might be mistaken for teal. We found them excellent eating; their crops contained small seeds and shoots of the samphire and other bog-plants; their flesh is dark brown throughout (that of _Syrrhaptes paradoxus_ is half white, like a blackc.o.c.k), and was as tender and well-flavoured as that of a grouse. The Spanish name of "_ganga_," signifying a bargain, goes to corroborate this opinion.

At length our sojourn amidst these desolate scenes came to its close.

The pack-mules set out, literally, by the way of the wilderness, while we took a longer route by the sh.o.r.e for a final attempt on the ducks, and had a pretty _finale_ to our sport. A pack of forty mallards were descried, and as the _cabrestos_ drew up to the deadly range, there caught the writer's eye what might have been a bed of stones amongst some rushes, but which were in fact a fine spring of teal huddled together as close as they could sit. Towards these, when the signal to open fire was given, one gun directed his cartridges, while the other remained faithful to the _patos reales_. The result, seven mallards and eleven teal, was a satisfactory climax to a pleasant campaign under adverse conditions. For if heavy shots were scarce, the scenes and sounds we have feebly endeavoured to describe--the clouds of ducks and geese, the soaring flight of the harriers, or graceful forms of a pa.s.sing trip of pintails, the stately flamingoes, or the bark of an eagle overhead--all these are essentially exotic--they breathe the spirit of wild Spain, and are full of fascination to a naturalist.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XLIX.

"THE FAREWELL SHOT."

Page 382.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]