152 ' A SPRING TOUR IN PORTUGAL. 



and showing a bold front, he at length succeeded in scaring 

 the creature away. This was corroborated b}^ another 

 gentleman, who was pursued on one occasion in Spain 

 daring a snow storm by a pack of five or six, and who 

 thought himself fortunate to escape by taking refuge in a 

 venta, which chanced to be near the spot. 



Amidst the mountains, and in the valleys of the Gerez, 

 also dwells the wild boar, which is the prince of ground 

 game in Portugal, as the bustard stands at the head of the 

 feathered list, and of which we had heard many a hunting 

 exploit, and whose shaggy forms and formidable tusks we 

 had also admired at Coimbra. One of our informants 

 assured us he had killed several which had weighed over 

 twelve score pounds ; they will rim at great speed for ten 

 or twelve miles, but in Portugal they are never followed 

 by mounted sportsmen as in India, but are simply roused 

 from their retreats, and shot. When wounded and at 

 bay, they are not to be approached by dog or man with 

 impunity, for the wounds they inflict with their long, sharp 

 tusks are often so severe as to cause the death of the rash 

 assailant, whether canine or human. 



Another wild animal which inhabits these desolate 

 mountains is the southern or pardine lynx {lyncus par- 

 dinus), which must not be confused with the common 

 European lynx {lyncus virgatus), which I have seen 

 brought down by a hunter from the maritime Alps above 

 Nice ; but this is a far more handsome animal, spotted 

 like a leopard, and withal a savage cruel beast, partaking 

 of the nature of the wild cat, but even fiercer as well as 

 larger and stronger than that daring marauder. Here too, 

 as I am informed, may be occasionally found the beautiful 

 and graceful genett {genetta tigrina), an active, supple- 

 limbed, nocturnal marauder, which stealthily surprises its 

 victims on the ground and on the trees, where it is equally 

 at home. 



