THE BIG GAME OF SPAIN 
jungle of other shrubs, taller still, clothes unbroken leagues whether on 
mountain slope or rolling plain. Under such conditions game cannot be 
seen at all, and the stalker finds himself deprived of the first essential of 
his craft — the distant view. 
There subsists, moreover, in the ethics of Spanish fieldcraft an under- 
lying sentiment that is alike creditable and characteristic of national 
chivalry — an unspoken repugnance to the standing shot, which is the 
culmination of each successful stalk. Audi alteram partem is a sound 
maxim, and here is an illustration in point. In Spain deer can be stalked 
during the half-hour of breaking day — what time they return from 
nocturnal pasturage to the coverts wherein they pass the day — “ inter- 
cepted ” would perhaps be a more correct definition. The method is looked 
upon with disfavour: yet it appealed to me not merely by reason of the 
sporting chances afforded, but because its practise introduced one into 
the inner life of various wild animals, other than deer, rarely to be seen 
save at that witching hour of dawn. On one such morning, after a stalk 
replete with incident, I had laid low a broad-beamed eleven -pointer; but 
self-congratulation was cut short by the soliloquy of my companion: 
“ That’s the first stag I ever saw shot with his head down! ” There is 
generosity in the idea that an animal should only be shot when thoroughly 
warned of impending danger and bounding away in full flight. 
The following note by my friend Seiior Don Patricio Garvey, Marquis 
de Pesco, is so pertinent that I venture to quote it: 
“ Spanish hunting is a thing to itself in these days, savouring more 
of the Middle Ages than of to-day, and this is, perhaps, not surprising 
in a country of great landowners still holding vast estates as in feudal 
times. It should, however, be noted that, although the Spanish 
peasantry may be poor, yet they are very far from being down- 
trodden, and all display the characteristics of a virile and independent 
race. Nowhere are the relations between rich and poor more pleasant 
and mutually self-respecting; while for the foreigner these country- 
folk have nothing but friendship and courtesy. 
“Spanish big -game hunting may be said to partake of the nature 
of both the widely different sports known to us as * hunting ’ and 
‘shooting.’ It is practically a drive in which huntsmen and hounds 
aid the beaters.” 
Many deer -drives, especially in the Sierra Morena, are organized on a 
big scale, and give an interesting insight into rural life in wilder Spain. 
391 
