372 Unexplored Spain 
for half an hour) pray each moment for relief and the signal to 
fire. No! Our fowler-friends shoot for a livelihood, and continue, 
with marvellous skill and patience, so to manoeuvre their beasts 
that the utmost possible target shall finally be presented to the 
broadside. There is no hurry—nor time nor aching vertebre 
with them count one centimo. (See photo at p. 90.) 
Should it be necessary to change course, that operation is 
effected by wheeling the pony stern-on to the fowl, the fowler 
meanwhile crouching low under his muzzle: critical moments 
ensue during which the expert has no cover but the pony’s 
breadth— instead of his length—to shield him from detection by 
hundreds of the keenest eyes on earth. But it is remarkable 
how little notice is taken of what is necessarily in full view 
provided: that the exposed objects are beneath the covering 
animal. Once let a human head or a gun-barrel appear above 
its outline and the spell is broken. But otherwise—say during 
those interludes of feigned “ grazing ””—the suffering fowlers can 
straighten their backs by squatting down (in the water!) and 
thus enjoy at closest quarters a spectacle of wild creatures that 
is impossible to attain by any other means yet discovered. 
Though the fowlers are now fully visible, framed, as it were, 
beneath the cabresto’s belly and between his legs, no notice will 
be taken or any alarm created so long as the pony’s skylines 
remain unadorned with human appendages. There, within a 
score of yards, you sit face to face with ducks by the hundred, 
feeding, splashing, preening—all utterly unconcerned! Those 
of our readers who are most familiar with wildfowl will best 
realise how incredible such a statement must read. Ordinarily, 
the slightest visible movement—the mere glint of a gun-barrel 
though half masked by cover—suffices to shift every duck at 
one hundred yards and more. Here they ignore objects practi- 
cally exposed and close at hand. Apparently the habitual 
companionship day by day of water-bred ponies has annihilated 
in their minds all sense of danger arising from such a quarter. 
The Spanish professionals (using large but antiquated muzzle- 
loaders) work singly, each man behind his own pony; or should 
two or more join forces for a broadside, there still remains but 
one man behind each animal. These men are reputed to have 
made extraordinary shots; and having viewed their infinite 
patience, we can well believe such records. To place two guns 
