238 IN THE LAND OF THE BORA. 



act of going through the extraordinary perform- 

 ances with which he summons his harem. It is 

 only at this season that this wary bird can be 

 stalked, and the doing so is considered on the 

 Continent a feat of venery equal to shooting a 

 royal or a chamois. But my pains were thrown 

 away, for the forest-keeper reported that he 

 had not heard a single cock that month, a state- 

 ment which was confirmed by an officer of Bohe- 

 mian Rifles, who had the patience to spend two 

 nights, one before and one after our arrival, at a 

 wood-cutter's hut on the hill, but in vain. There 

 certainly are capercailzie about, but very few, and 

 no doubt most of them fall victims to the numerous 

 vermin, especially martens. On one occasion, 

 going through the Velez woods with a Turk pre- 

 ceding me, he pointed upwards and said, " Tetrieb." 

 Of course the bird was gone among the thickly 

 ranked tree-stems ; but he persisted that it was a 

 capercailzie, and a black one, i.e. a cock. I only 

 saw one bird myself — also in the Velez, as will be 

 hereafter narrated. 



The Velez at this point consists of one line of 

 sheer precipices. In five miles there is only one 

 place where a good cragsman can surmount it. At 

 the foot of the precipices, and of the gentle slopes 

 at each end, are magnificent woods, extending 

 from ten to twelve miles — beech below and fir 

 above, extending for thousands and thousands of 



