178 WILD SPAIN. 



that ftgis of kindly protection that has been so advan- 

 tageously (for them, and others) extended to their British 

 and Scandinavian congeners. 



Another drawback — which, though common to most 

 lands, is specially pronounced in metalliferous Spain — lies 

 in the noxious effusions from mines, which are freely dis- 

 charged, for private profit, into public waters. This evil 

 was forcibly brought home by our first day's experience in 

 Cantabria. Hour after hour we had plied most lovely water 

 without success — fly, worm, and phantom alike failed to 

 elicit a single response. On returning with empty creel to 

 the posada, to us our host, " Homhre, have you been 

 fishing the Tesarco? Que disparate! there is a copper- 

 mine two leagues further up : there have been no fish in 

 that river for years." Considering that we had employed 

 a local guide, furnished by the said host, the occasion 

 appeared to justify a protest of not unmeasured wrath. 

 But there is no use losing one's temper in Spain : no 

 quality there so valuable as patience : and the reward of 

 a modicum of reasoned restraint was that the rough, 

 but kind-hearted Asturian insisted next morning on accom- 

 panying us himself to another river, seven miles away, 

 where we enjoj^ed, for Spain, excellent sjDort. 



Under the adverse conditions above outlined, it would 

 be irrational to look for any very great measure of success 

 in Spanish fronting — though, were it possible (which it is 

 not) to secure fair play for the Salmonida-, there is no 

 physical or other reason why the Basque and Biscayan 

 provinces might not rival either Scotch or Scandinavian 

 waters. The following brief records of a few experiences 

 in Northern Spain will serve to illustrate what may be 

 expected, in a sporting sense, of the Cantabrian trout. 



