Highlands of Asturias 297 



cattle) comes crashing through the brushwood, breaking down all obstacles, 

 and giving ample notice by the noise of his advance. If wounded he will 

 attack the aggressor; but otherwise bears only become dangerous when 

 they have young or are hurt in some way. The picturesque nature of 

 these mountain-forests lends a further fascination to the chase of the 

 bear in Asturias. From twenty to thirty bears are killed here every year. 



The following quaint paragraphs we extract from Spanish 

 newspapers : — 



Fight with a Bear. — In the mountains of the Province of Lerida 

 (Catalonia) a bear last week attacked and overpowered a muleteer, intend- 

 ing to devour him. A shepherd who happened to be in the neighbour- 

 hood, though at some little distance, witnessed the occurrence. Hastening 

 with his utmost speed to the spot, he threw himself between the bear 

 and its victim ; and after a prolonged and strenuous combat (lucha larga 

 y esforzada), the shepherd succeeded with his lance (garrocha) in killing 

 the savage beast {fiera). 



In his gratitude, the muleteer desired to present the shepherd with 

 the best horse of his cavalcade, but this the latter declined. — November 

 24, 1907. 



Incursion of a Bear. — In the outskirts of the village of Paramo 

 in the Province of Oviedo (Asturias) there has within the last few 

 days made its presence felt an immense bear which continued to 

 execute terrible destruction among the cattle belonging to the villagers. 

 Fortunately the parish-priest, who is an expert shot, succeeded in killing 

 the depredator. It weighed 140 kilograms ( = 300 lbs.). — A'pril 25, 

 1908. [Two others are recorded to weigh 400 and 440 lbs.] 



Chase of a She-Bear. — Santander, Feh-uary 1909. From Molledo 

 an assemblage of the local peasantry, mustered for the purpose, and 

 bearing every kind of weapon, sallied forth, to give battle to a bear which 

 for some weeks had been working havoc among their flocks and herds. 

 After traversing the mountains in all directions without result, they were 

 already returning, dead-beat and disappointed, towards their village, when 

 they suddenly descried the bear standing in the entrance to a cave. On 

 observing the presence of hunters, the animal disappeared within. A 

 shepherd named Melchor Martinez at once followed, penetrating the in- 

 terior of the cavern which extends far into the mountain-side. Presently 

 on indistinctly perceiving (divisando) the beast, Melchor gave it a shot — 

 flying out himself with hair all standing on end (encrcspados) at the 

 roaring of the wild beast (fiera). Melchor, nevertheless, at once entered 

 the den again and fired a second shot — ^jumping out immediately there- 

 after. After a short interval, the roars of the ficra within having ceased, 

 the hunters in a body entered the cavern and found an enormous she-bear 

 lying dead, together with four young, alive, which they carried away. 



(Bravo, Melchor Martinez ! ) 



