344 IN THE LAND OF THE BORA. 



search. We two turned homewards, flushing the 

 woodcock in the same spot as we passed it. At 

 the cottage I stopped to wait for my man. The 

 son, his wife, and three children were now present, 

 so the little room was pretty full. The good- 

 looking young woman made no bones about my 

 seeing her face, thus enabling me to judge how 

 beneficial to the complexion the Turkish practice 

 of covering it up is ; for though, as I have else- 

 where said, the village Moslem women do not, 

 literally speaking, veil their faces, they cover 

 them up so much by a kerchief round them that 

 they are quite protected from the sun. Before 

 long Duran returned, having been (falsely) told 

 that the hounds had gone home ; but neverthe- 

 less it was dark long before I had the cheery 

 lights of the tent in view. Hounds only cast up 

 next morning. 



I have just mentioned flushing the first wood- 

 cock of the year.* A day or two afterwards I 

 saw a couple more, and now devoted my attention 

 to them, the weather being realty too bad to do 

 any good with the bigger game. The last week 

 of the chamois season had come, but heavy rain 



* I do not here refer to birds which breed in the district. 

 This is a disputed fact, but I saw one bird in June, and later 

 on picked up a. freshly dropped feather (both in the Velez). 

 Captain Polatzek, who has collected in this district for j-ears 

 for the Vienna Museum, agrees with me as to its occasionally 

 remaining in the Herzegovina to breed. 



