THROUGH WILD EUROPE 51 



results that are easier imagined than described ; 

 several times I turned out a huge, gaunt-looking 

 sow, which apparently considered that it had as 

 much right there as myself. I thought differently 

 about this, however, and had to enforce my ideas 

 with a thick stick before she gave in and cleared out 

 with a grunt. 



But old Vasquez and his wife and two daughters 

 did their best to make us comfortable, and notwith- 

 standing these trifling drawbacks we had a very good 

 time and enjoyed our stay in the wilds. 



We found several more Kites, Black Kites, 

 Ravens, and Booted Eagles, also two nests of Marsh 

 Harrier, but the Waders and Herons, as I mentioned 

 before, were non-existent. The drought had one 

 unexpected effect, for it brought nearer to human 

 habitation the famous wild camels which inhabit this 

 region, the mention of which by Mr. Abel Chapman 

 caused such a controversy in the Field some years 

 ago. They are the descendants of a small herd 

 imported many years ago from the Canary Islands, 

 and being unsuitable for the work for which they 

 were intended, were turned out or allowed to escape. 

 Since then they have lived in the marismas in an 

 entirely feral state, seldom seen by any human 

 eye save that of an occasional herdsman or guarda, 

 in the far distance. On several occasions we saw 

 two at a distance of about 1,000 yards. From the 



