Wild Spain Part 34

Length. Circ.u.mference. Beam.

No. 1. 8 points (small) 17-3/4 3-1/2 16-1/2 inches.

" 2. 11 " " 24-1/4 3-3/4 19-1/2 "

" 3. 12 " (royal) 29 5-1/4 25 "

" 4. 13 " " 22-3/4 4-1/16 22-1/2 "

_Mountain-Deer._

Length. Beam.

No. 1. 12 points 34-1/2 inches. 32 inches.

" 2. 12 " 36 " 34 "

" 3. 15 " 37-1/2 " 34-1/2 "

" 4.{**} 17 " 40 " 36-1/2 "

{**} No. 4. This magnificent beast, of which we annex two photos (see pp. 360 and 430), was shot near Marmolejos in the Sierra Morena.

FALLOW DEER (_Cervus dama_).

In Spanish: _Gamo_, _Paleto_.

These deer are not indigenous, but were introduced by the Romans, probably from Asia Minor; and are, as at home, more or less private property. At the same time they exist in a perfectly wild state, and quite unenclosed, at several places--especially in the neighbourhood of Madrid, where the Royal estates of Aranjuez, Rio-frio, El Pardo, &c., have tended to disseminate a wild race outside their boundaries.

The Spanish fallow deer are of the spotted axis-like type.

THE ROEBUCK IN SPAIN.

(_Cervus capreolus_.)

Though plentiful in the wooded ravines of the sierras, where it frequents sapling-thickets in preference either to scrub or forest proper, yet the roe is seldom made a special object of pursuit. The few roebuck--in Spanish, _corzo_--that have fallen to our guns have been killed when in pursuit of pig or other game.

Yet to this deer we owe as narrow an escape as can be faced; while roe-shooting in the Sierra de la Jarda, and riding along a precipitous goat-track, a projecting crag barred the way: in rounding the obstruction, it was necessary that the horses should simultaneously make an upward step or two on a sort of rock-stair. During this awkward manuvre, one _jaca_ brought his flank sharply in collision with the crag, struggled for one desperate moment to recover equilibrium, and then plunged, broadside on, down the precipice. His rider, springing from the stirrups, clutched a _retamo_ bush, and thus hung suspended "between the devil and the deep." Poor _Bolero_ fell crashing through the ilexes that clung to the crag--we could hear the smashing of branch after branch as he broke his way downwards. We descended to recover the gun, saddle, and equipments from the killed horse; but, to our amazement, found him quietly grazing--the gun still in the slings, the bridle over his nose--hardly, beyond a cut or two, the worse for his adventure. The fall was over 100 feet, but the stout branches of ilex and _chaparro_, with a marvellous measure of luck, had saved his life.

Roebuck, in Spain, are mostly killed with large shot (slugs), not ball; and to those who are content with this game, nearly all the southern sierras would yield a measure of sport, combined with occasional chances at pig, and this often on unpreserved grounds.

Roe are confined to the mountains--never found on the plains.

THE SPANISH IBEX (_Capra hispanica_).

Of the _Cabra montes_ we have already treated (chapters xi. to xiii., pp. 128-172), and now add some notes which we contributed to the _Badminton Library_ through our friend Mr. C. Phillipps-Wolley, the editor of the Big Game volumes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIVE-YEAR-OLD IBEX.]

The Spanish mountaineer does not much affect ibex-hunting, though there are in each mountain-village some who try to earn a few precarious dollars by it. The peasants who follow this pursuit in the alpine regions of Spain become fearless climbers: with their feet clad in _alparagatas_, or hemp-soled sandals, they traverse ridges and descend crags where nail-shod guide would falter. The first object is to get as high as possible. Then, crawling to the verge of some fearful abyss, the hunter commands the depths below, and, if he descry ibex, is enabled to approach without the warning of the wind. Should he see none, he imitates the shrill cry of the female, and not unfrequently a ram is thus betrayed by the whistle of love. The ibex-hunter must be provided with lungs of leather, a steady hand and eye, and untiring limbs.

The best time for ibex-shooting is during July and August, when camping-out on the higher regions is practicable and even enjoyable. The snow-storms and frozen state of the snow render the winter-and spring-shooting both dangerous and uncertain.

When ibex are known to be frequenting the lower valleys and chasms of the sierra, guns are concealed among the broken rocks in the higher regions commanding the ravines by which the _monteses_ are accustomed to ascend. Then the beaters enter from below, shots and unearthly yells disturb the timid animals, and slowly they ascend the mountain-side, listening ever and anon as they look down from some shelving ledge or giddy point. So slowly, indeed, do they sometimes come that the hunter may contemplate them for minutes before he can despatch his bullet. At some vital spot it must take effect or the trophy is lost. Such is the vital resistance of the wild-goat that unless killed outright he will manage to gain some inaccessible precipice, and there on a hanging ledge give up his life.

CHAMOIS (_Antilope rupicapra_).

Spanish: _Rebeco_, _Sario_.

The stronghold of the chamois--the _Izard_ of the French hunters, _Rebeco_ of Cantabria, and _Sario_ in Arragon--is in the Pyrenees, and their western prolongation, the Cantabrian ranges of Santander, the Asturias, &c. They are specially abundant near the Picos de Europa. This animal is not found on any of the cordilleras of Central or Southern Spain. Mr. Packe's statement that he saw two on a misty morning in the Sierra Nevada probably arose from the similarity in size and form of the horns of the young or female ibex. Chamois inhabit only the loftiest, most wild and rocky mountain-summits, and are killed (usually with large shot) in big "_batidas_," or drives. How they manage to sustain life on these barren snow-clad heights _in winter_--since they never descend to the lower levels--pa.s.ses understanding; but the case of the ibex is no less inexplicable.

Lord Lilford writes:--In my opinion the chamois of the Pyrenees is very distinct from the chamois of Central Europe and Turkey.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

NOTE.--_Wild Sheep_:--It is somewhat remarkable that the moufflon, which is found as near as Corsica and Sardinia, should be entirely unknown in the Spanish cordilleras.

BEAR (_Ursus arctos_).

Spanish: _Oso_.

There are in Spain two kinds of bear--it would, perhaps, be more correct to say two varieties--the large, dark-coloured beast, and the small brown bear, or _Hormiguero_ = ant-eater. The latter, which is not uncommon in the Asturias, feeds on roots, ants'-nests, honey, and such-like humble fare; while the big black bear, distinguished as _Carnicero_, preys on goats, sheep, pigs, &c., and even pulls down horned cattle.

Bear-hunting is confined to the north--to the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian Highlands. A primitive method of pursuit survives in certain high-lying villages of the Asturias, where the mountaineers face Bruin, armed only with pike and knife. These men are a.s.sociated in a sort of fraternal band, and the occupation pa.s.ses from father to son. The _osero_, accompanied only by his dogs, seeks the bear amidst the recesses of the sierra, and engages him in single combat. His equipment consists of a broad-bladed hunting-knife and a double dagger, each of whose triangular blades fits into a central handle.

By less vigorous sportsmen, bear-hunting is carried on by calling into requisition a large number of men and dogs--usually with the a.s.sistance of the _oseros_, and by the more discreet use of fire-arms, vice cold steel.

The neighbourhood of Madrid was once described as "_buen monte de puerco y oso_" (good country for pig and bear), and the city itself as "_la coronada villa del oso y madrono_;" but bears no longer exist in either of the Castiles. The small _Hormiguero_ is confined to the Asturias: the larger beast is also fairly common there, and not rare in Navarre, Arragon, and, possibly, Catalonia.

WILD BOAR (_Sus scrofa_).

Spanish: _Javato_, _Javali_.

The wild boar has always abounded in Spain, and its chase ever held a chief place among Spanish sports--in olden times on horseback with pike and lance. During the middle ages the pursuit of falconry took such hold upon the national taste, that the pigs were almost forgotten, and towards the close of the fifteenth century they became a positive scourge, devastating the crops and invading the outlying portions even of great cities. With the Renaissance came the application of science to sporting weapons; and, with gunpowder subst.i.tuted for cold steel, the boar had a bad time of it; he was shot down as he rushed from his thicket-lair, or a.s.sa.s.sinated as he took his nocturnal rambles.

In Estremadura the favourite _cha.s.se au sanglier_ is still with horse and hound. During the stillness of a moonlight night, when the acorns are falling from the oaks in the magnificent Estremenian woods, a party of hors.e.m.e.n a.s.semble to await the boars, which at night descend from the mountains to feed. Then a trained hound, termed the _maestro_, which throws tongue only to pig, is slipped: should he succeed in bringing a tusker to bay, a dozen strong dogs, half-bred mastiffs, are despatched to his a.s.sistance. Off they rush like demons, to the challenge of the _maestro_, followed by the hors.e.m.e.n, and there ensues a break-neck ride and a struggle with a grizzly tusker in the half-light, which are sufficiently exciting to make this sport a favourite with the _valientes_ of Estremadura.

It is possible that, on the southern plains, pig-sticking might be attempted. The country is, however, very rough, much intercepted with cane-brakes and dense jungles of matted brushwood and briar.

In the vast cane-brakes which fringe the Guadiana are found enormous boars, whose tusks, as they charge, resemble a white collar encircling the neck.

We have noticed the young following their mothers as early as January.

The piglings are at first pretty little beasts, yellowish-brown, striped longitudinally with black bars. In May we have observed the old sows and young a.s.sociated into herds of twenty or more.

WOLF (_Canis lupus_).

Spanish: _Lobo_.

These Ishmaelites of the animal-world, though common enough in all the wilder regions of Iberia, rarely present themselves as a mark for the rifle-ball. Many-fold more cunning than the fox, the wolf never--not for a single instant--forgets the risk of danger nor his human enemies. When aroused in a _monteria_, or mountain-drive, wolves come slowly forward, feeling their way like field-marshals in an enemy's country, and on reaching some strong crag or thicket, lie down, awaiting the arrival of the beaters, who must pa.s.s on one side, when the stealthy brute slinks back on the other.