RAMON AND THE TWO BIG RAMS. 317 



probably be detected at a considerable distance. No wonder 

 the native hunter is careful to keep always under the lee 

 of the breeze. 



" Do you see where Guarro is now ? " presently remarked 

 Ramon, " crossing the ridge below the glacier-foot." 

 After scanning for some minutes every inch of the spot 

 indicated with a strong field-glass, I made out at length a 

 minute moving dot that might be our friend Guarro y 

 Guarro, the ruddy-faced goatherd, who was in charge of 

 the batida* " Well, that is where I shot the first of the 

 two big machos on Thursday — the other on these broken 

 pinnacles lower down on the right." To kill two first-rate 

 males, single-handed, in a day was no small feat, and 

 Ramon's tale of the achievement was an interesting 

 sporting episode. 



" I was attending my goats," he said, " in the Arroyo 

 del Cerradillo, the ravine above where we shot the small 

 macho yesterday ; and as I came within sight of the high 

 crags at its summit, I crept carefully forward, ' speering ' 

 round the rocks to see if any ibex chanced to be in them. 

 They are a favourite haunt of the goats during the day, 

 and as there are some large males on that side, it is 

 always worth while to be prepared and cautious. That 

 morning there were two — both large ibex, with very long 

 horns, as long as a man's arms. They were at first walk- 

 ing away, but soon lay down on a ledge where it was 

 possible to crawl to within fifty or sixty yards of them. 

 Unfortunately, part of the stalk was through soft snow, 

 and, in consequence, the gun missed fire." 



Ramon's gun, by the way, was an exceptionally rickety 

 old weapon, with many signs of rude repairs, and bore on 

 its single barrel, counter-sunk in golden letters, the 

 inscription " Plasencia, 1841." No doubt it owed the 

 Imperial exchequer of Spain something like fifty pounds 



* Both my companion Ramon Eomatez, and Juan Guarro y Guarro, 

 as well as several of our other men, were independent yeomen, owning 

 from 150 to 200 goats apiece, which they pastured on the slopes of the 

 sierra. They were, however, glad to accompany us for the sum of 

 eight reales (one shilling and eightpence) a day. 



