AFTER IBEX IN JOURA 295 



two enclose a hollow heaped with masses of rock, 

 amongst which a wretched grove of holm-oaks grows. 

 The other grove on the western slopes has been 

 mostly felled. A few valleys running down to the 

 sea give the only, and that a dangerous, means of 

 access to the main ridge, and the numerous and great 

 cliffs, with tracks hardly giving room for the feet, 

 make it impossible for any one not an intrepid, experi- 

 enced mountaineer to ascend, even with difficulty. 

 How many native sportsmen must have paid for their 

 passion with death here ! ^ 



^' The almost inaccessible parts of the east coast are 

 the regular dwelling-places of these ibex, where they 

 shelter from the oppressive heat of the day under 

 rocks, in the numerous hollows, or in the shadow of 

 a leafy bush (Acer creticum) or holm-oak. True 

 nocturnal animals, they climb the precipices at sun- 

 set, and go into the valleys for their food. Many, 

 however, remain among the precipices, and seek their 

 living on the grassy terraces and slopes. The bushes 

 before referred to, that grow on the precipices, are 

 eaten off as high as the ibex can reach, showing that 

 they are favourite food with these animals. 



" In one spot alone, about the middle of the east 

 coast, a blue slate crops out, and in this, close to the 

 sea, a little spring, round which a rock basin has been 

 built, rises.^ The number of deeply worn game paths 



1 This is somewhat poetical, and in my opinion the writer exaggerates 

 the danger. It is, however, the fact that Pulios, then shepherd at Joura 

 and Knotek's guide, had a fall not long after this visit, and his gun 

 going off wounded him in the chest. He got over this, but only to be 

 imprisoned shortly afterwards for systematic smuggling. 



2 I must confess I saw nothing of this. A pool in the centre of the 

 island, mostly frozen over during our stay, was obviously of such a nature 

 as to be dry in summer. 



