TROUTING IN THE ASTURIAS AND IN LEON. 185 



Vegarada and Piedrafita, which lead into the upland 

 valleys of the Pajares mountains, one of the chief strong- 

 holds of the Spanish bear, and where boar, chamois, and 

 other game are also found. 



The extremely abrupt and rugged nature of the river- 

 valleys is, in some sense, a serious drawback to the angler. 

 Many a lovely pool or stretch of perfect trouting-water are 

 absolutely inaccessible — cut off for ever in the depths of 

 some precipitous defile. Broken boulders often impend the 

 river's course for miles, and hopelessly obstruct descent. 

 In other places the water-side can at length be reached 

 after perilous scrambles along rock-ledges, threading the 

 rod through a maze of birch and alder branches. And one 

 picks a precarious path downwards with the knowledge 

 that, even when reached, the range of tishable water will 

 be limited, and the return journey almost worse than the 

 descent. 



These hardly-gained pools are, however, worth the 

 trouble of trying. For, in proportion to their difficulty of 

 access, so are the}' neglected by the native pcsrador, with 

 all his poaching paraphernalia and hateful engines of 

 destruction. 



Our first essay proved blank ; the season (May) was, 

 perhaps, too early, and only a few silvery troutlets re- 

 warded a long day's work. This was a small stream, 

 overhung with magnificent chestnuts ; but a neighljouring 

 and larger river afforded, for Spain, fair sport. The first 

 series of pools yielded a dozen trout, averaging half a 

 pound. Then came the usual scramble to reach the next 

 fishable bit. While climbing out, over a chaos of tumbled 

 boulders, we almost stepped on a big Marten {Miistcla mavtcs, 

 Linn.), which bounded from under foot, up the rocks ; 

 then turned, and stood chattering savagely at the intruder, 

 her 3'ellow chest not twent}^ yards away. Probably she 

 had her brood hidden in some crevice, but we could see 

 nothing of them. 



Thus, half fishing, half struggling with geological 

 obstructions, we had accumulated a basket of thirty odd 

 trout, when we observed in the glen below a stretch of 



