Sierra Morena i6i 



(Rather should a Christian die 

 Than let a head of game pass by.) 



A word here as to the o;ame and its habits. The lairs of wild- 

 boar are invariably in the densest jungle and on the shaded 

 slope where no sun ever penetrates. There is always at hand, 

 moreover, a ready salida, or exit, along some deep watercourse 

 or by a rocky ravine or gully — rarely do these animals show up 

 in the open, or even in ground of scanty covert. It is usually 

 the strongest arbutus-thickets {madronales) that they select for 

 their quarters. 



It is seldom that wild-boar are " held-up " by the dogs during 

 a beat — the old tuskers never. 



Deer, on the contrary, avoid the denser jungle, lying-up in 

 more open brushwood and invariably on the sunny slope. Though 

 their " beds " (camas) may be on the lower ground, they 

 invariably seek the heights when disturbed, and then select a 

 course through the lighter cistus-scrub or across open screes, 

 knowing instinctively that thus they can travel fastest and best 

 throw off the pursuing pack. 



Owing to the wide areas of each beat, a mo7iteria in the 

 sierras is confined to a single drive each day, the guns usually 

 reaching their posts about eleven o'clock, and remaining therein till 

 late in the afternoon. In the lowlands, as already described, four, 

 five, and even six hatidas (drives) are sometimes possible during 

 the day. 



A MONTERIA AT MezQUITILLAS (PROVINCE OF CoRDOBA) 



A glorious ride amid splendid mountain scenery all lit up 

 with southern sunshine — the narrow bridle -track now forms 

 a mere tunnel hewn out of impending foliage ; anon it descends 

 abrupt rock -faces, in zigzags like a corkscrew, apt to make 

 nerves creep, when one false step would precipitate horse and 

 rider into a half-seen torrent hundreds of feet below. Some 

 eight miles of this, and by eleven o'clock we have reached our 

 positions at Los Llanos del Peco. 



These positions extend for over a league in length (there 

 are twelve guns), occupying the crests and " passes " of a lofty 

 ridge whence one enjoys a bird's-eye view of a world of wild 

 mountain-land. 



My ov/n post commanded a panorama of almost the whole 



M 



