156 



WILD SPAIN. 



in a cleft of a projecting spur. He proved an eight-year- 

 old ram, with horns measuring nearly twenty-eight inches 

 in length, with a circumference of over nine inches and a 

 " sweep " of nearly twenty-three. 



At length the time arrived to bid farewell to these 

 rock-ramparts of Old Castile, and their primitive simple 

 folk, kind!}' and honest as the da}' ; Dionysio actually 

 returned to our camp before daylight next morning; — a 

 two-league walk — to return a pair of boots left by one 

 of us at his cottage ! Each man already seemed an old 

 friend. " Hasta la otra," said Juan Guarro v Guarro 

 as he offered his hand, "y si no, que lo pasen ustedes 

 bien ! " — " Till the next time, and, if for ever, fare ye 

 well!" The conclusions we came to were that both our 

 visits were rather too early (May), and that the most 

 favoural)le season for ibex-shooting is in July and August : 

 but even then, whether by stalking or driving, the work 

 is hard in the extreme. 



IBEX (FEMALE)-RISCOS DE VALEDUEJO. 



