THROUGH WILD EUROPE 35 



from the goatherds. Following our guide, after we 

 had hobbled the donkey at the nearest available 

 spot, we clambered for some distance over a series 

 of huge boulders, by degrees getting higher and 

 higher, until we arrived at the verge of a tremendous 

 cliff. I had carried a pair of alparagatas in my bag, 

 and put them on as soon as there was any climbing 

 to do. These are the canvas rope-soled shoes so 

 common in Spain, and are by far the best things I 

 know for rock-work, much better than the raw hide 

 opankis I used later in the Balkans. In them one 

 can go in ease and comfort over places where I, for 

 one, would have to go down on hands and knees 

 if clad in ordinary boots. Our old guide skipped 

 about like an ancient billy-goat, and we were able to 

 follow him without any difficulty. 



But we could see no signs of any Eagle's nest 

 until I fired a pistol, when out swept, a few yards to 

 our right, with a tremendous rustle of big wing- 

 feathers, not the expected Eagle, but an immense 

 Griffon Vulture. 



Not one in ten of these goatherds, though they 

 must see Eagles and Vultures every day of their 

 lives, know the difference between them, so that, in 

 spite of their willingness to give information, no 

 dependence can be put upon its correctness. 



The Griffon had appeared from a ledge not far 

 down the precipice, and the next thing was to make 



