Sierra de Credos 223 



spipoletta) also reaeli to the highest summits ; the blue thrush 

 lower down. 



In the valley of the Tormes and among the pines many 

 British species were at home, such as blackbirds and thrushes, 

 redstarts, nuthatches, and Dartford warblers ; besides the tivo 

 southern wheatears, since found to be but one dimorphic form ! 



The Eiscos de Villaeejo 



Three hours later the mule -train overtook us, and we 

 pursued the track upwards towards the Riscos de Villarejo till 

 darkness obliged us to encamp. The jagged outline ahead, 

 marking our destination, looked far away ; we could go no nearer 

 to-night, and outspanned on a tiny lawn on the mountain-slope. 

 Once more we had left tree and shrub far below, but the dry 

 ^I'orno- scrub made fire enough to cook a frugal supper. The 

 hunters, with their stew-pots balanced on stones, sat round us in 

 a circle. 



Next morning we were alert, as usual, before the dawn — called 

 at 4 A.M. — and off again on another terrible climb towards the 

 summits. It is no mild trudge through turnips this 1st of 

 September, but one more effort to interview in his haunts the 

 Spanish mountain-ram. 



At 6000 feet we reached a point beyond which no domestic 

 beast can go. Here, leaving our own men to encamp, the upward 

 climb with the hunters begins. This day and each of the two 

 following were devoted solely to stalking, each of us separately 

 with his guide takinor a divers^ino^ course along two of the lower 

 ridges of the sierra. Two female ibex were descried in a position 

 which might without difliculty have been stalked. These, how- 

 ever, we left in peace ; though, as it proved, they were the only 

 animals seen before we regained camp, an hour after dark, tired 

 out and empty-handed once more. On the fourth day w^e drove 

 this same rock-region, but without success, only two goats, both 

 small males, being seen. The entire failure of this venture was a 

 disappointment, as ibex were known to frequent these reefs. An 

 explanation was suggested that a herd of domestic goats had 

 approached too near their exclusive wild congeners, which had 

 fled to a neighbouring mountain. That mountain, we arranged, 

 should be explored at daylight on the morrow by two of our 



