WILDFOWLING IN THE WILDERNESS. 393 



verily a terrible frost did fall that night : for when Caraballo 

 awakened us at six in the morning, the poor fellow's teeth 

 chattered, his limbs shook, and he declared that never 

 before had Dios made so cold a morning. 



My luck favoured me for once, and by lot, No. 5 was 

 placed by the deeps of " El Jondon," flanked by miles of 

 bamboo and cane-brakes of tropical dimensions. The oozes 

 were covered with ice, at first so thick as almost to bear 

 the horses ; but as the water deepened, the ice broke and 

 cut their fetlocks ; so we had to seek our posts on foot, 

 dry shot for the first time on record. It fell to me to 

 fire the signal-shot, so I took an opportunity of sending 

 to speedy end just nine teal with the two barrels. I had 

 never before held the luckiest number ; to-day I was in the 

 flor and the nata of the fray ; it will give some idea of the 

 character of the sport this day that, at times, it was 

 desirable to decline all offers from the duck-tribe, and to 

 reserve one's attention, and cartridges, exclusively for the 

 geese. 



The solid ice around my battery lent a novel feature to 

 experiences of wild sport in Spain. The ducks, even heavy 

 mallard and pintail, rebounded from the ice-bound surface ; 

 and a goose, falling obliquely, also slid for twenty yards 

 before remaining still. No ducks broke the frozen coverlet ; 

 but geese came crashing down through the ice, each 

 making itself a captive in its own chasm. I was soon 

 surrounded by these ice-bound prisoners, bringing down, 

 during the day, over thirty greylags, besides some eighty 

 ducks. Many of these, however, fell in the tall canes 

 and reed-brakes behind, and as we shot till well after dark, 

 it was impossible (to gather all — even of the dead. The 

 whole bag, which, had the shooting been uniform, should 

 have been much greater, amounted to 363 ducks and 72 

 geese, besides snipe and 39 "various." 



A note on the subsequent movements of the wildfowl 

 may be an appropriate complement to this chapter. 

 During the severe weather of December, most of the ducks 

 disappeared. At the New Year comparatively few remained, 

 and a second shoot resulted, as regards wildfowl, in 



