94 WILD SPAIN. 



CHAPTEE YIII. 



WILD CAMELS IN EUEOPE. 



An incident occurred during our exploration of the 

 marismas in the spring of 1883 which iUustrates the deso- 

 late and unknown character of these wildernesses, and also 

 brought to light a curious fact in natural history. Far 

 away on the level plain I noticed two large animals evi- 

 dently watching me. They were certainly not deer, which 

 in spring often wander out into the marisma, but never so 

 far as to where I then was. They stood too high on their 

 legs for deer, and had a much greater lateral width as they 

 stood facing me — their contour, in fact, somewhat re- 

 sembled a couple of the long-stemmed, conical-topped, 

 stone-pines, which are so characteristic of the adjoining 

 woodlands. But there was something in their appearance 

 even at the distance that prompted an attempt to reach 

 closer quarters — there was a distinct [lame-look about 

 them. I changed my cartridge for ball, and attempted an 

 approach with all available caution, lying flat in the saddle 

 and advancing obliquely by long "tacks," besides using 

 the patera's, or native duck-shooter's, device of stopping at 

 intervals to give the horse an appearance of grazing. But 

 it was no use : while still a quarter of a mile away, the 

 strangers simultaneously wheeled about and made off with 

 shambling gait. Then for the first time, when their broad- 

 sides were exposed to view, I saw that they were two 

 camels, one much larger than the other.* Probably no 

 one who reads this will be more surprised than was the 



* From the dates subsequently given, it woiUd appear that the 

 yoiing camels are produced about the month of February, or perhaps 

 earlier. 



