Part 32 (1/2)

CHAMOIS FROM LIFE ON LA LLOROSA, PEnA VIEJA

EL CORROBLE, PICOS DE EUROPA, ASTURIAS]

Hours went by and six o'clock came before, on the skyline above, they appeared, five of the _ a chamois on his shoulder

Then, in the 2000-feet ravine towards the north, a third drive was attempted forthe crucial half-hour snow-clouds skurrying along the crests shut out all chance of seeing ga quite forty chah the flankers, the rest passing a trifle wide of the guns This beat is ter and weary was the descent, and fiendish places we had to pass ere the welco darkness Those ish to shoot cha before they have passed the half-century

The successful drive that was thus ive the narrative in detail, inasmuch as this day's operation was typical of the syste as practised in the AsturianNo 1 asto our next position, a nuroups on the hanging screes of a second gorge, a mile beyond that which we had intended to beat After consultation held, it was decided to alter the plan and to send the guns cohts so as to coa and incidentally three detours, scra in sight of the cha the reverse point, the Conde and I were assigned the hest, a final heart-breaking climb up a thousand feet of loose rocks succeeded Chahest ground, hence our occupation of the topmost passes Cheered on by the Conde, himself as hard as steel, the effort was accomplished, and I sank down, breathless, parched, and exhausted, behind a big rock that was indicated as my position The lower passes had meanwhile been occupied by the Padre and by sundry shepherds arree of breath and strength, I surveyed s We were both stationed on the topmost arete, in a nick that broke for 80 or 100 yards the ries Onthe beat, and not 30 yards away, the nick was terminated by a rock-mass perpendicular and four-square as a cathedral tower, that uprose soh not quite so abrupt The position was such that any ga to pass the nick must appear within 50 or 60 yards--so, in our siht

[Illustration: A CHAMOIS DRIVE--PICOS DE EUROPA

Diagram illustrative of text Our positions on arete ht Valley beyond full of drivingour power to depict)]

Behind us dipped away the long moraine of loose rocks by which we had ascended; while in front, by stepping but a few paces across the narrow neck, we could look down into the depths of the gorge whence the quarry was to approach, as we feebly atteram annexed

The panorama from these altitudes was superb beyond words We were here far above the stratum of mist which enshrouded our camp and the sierra for some distance above it We looked down upon a billowy sea of white clouds pierced here and there by the sus like islands on a surf-swept coast

Of bird-life there was no sign beyond choughs and a soaring eagle that our guides called aguila pintada (_Aquila bonellii_, immature) There are wild-boar in the forests far beloith occasional wolves and yet more occasional bear

Hark! the distant cries of beaters break the soleun Aled by the feet ofchamois came up from beneath our eyrie So near was the sound that expectation waxed tense and eyes scanned each possible exit

Then fro into view a band of five chaility that cannot be conveyed in words The Conde and I fired simultaneously The beast I had selected pulled hi in air, and then fell backwards down the abyss whence he had just eed So abrupt was the skyline that no second barrel was possible; but while we yet gazed into space the rattle of falling stones right _behind_ attracted attention in that direction, and a cha across that loose moraine (or ”canal” as it is here called) by which we had ascended He flew those ju at best but a snapshot, and the bullet found the beast already protected by a rock Hardly, however, had cartridges been replaced than threeprecisely the saun secured one buck

Note that all these last four aniht_, that is, they had escaladed the ”cathedral”; though by what earthly means they could surmount sheer rock-walls devoid of visible crack or crevice passes huarded the cathedral as impassable, I had kept no watch on that side

For the next half-hour all was quiet Then we heard again the rattle of hoofs soently raised ourselves to peer over into the eerie abyss in front, when a chamois suddenly poked his head over the rocks within fifteen yards, only to vanish like a flash

From this advanced position, in the far distance we could now distinguish the beaters, looking like flies as they descended the opposite circle of crests, and could hear their cries and the reverberation of the rocks they dislodged to start the gaa once more mocked the cathedral barrier) darted across the moraine behind and fell within a score of yards of the previous pair, though all three were finally recovered several hundred feet below, having rolled down these precipitous screes The first chamois I had shot had fallen even farther--at one point over a sheer drop that could not be less than 100 feet His body was smashed into pulp, every bone broken, but curiously the horns had escaped intact We were ht in the eyes of newly killed cha now close at hand, we scrambled down to rejoin the Padre who had occupied the _puesto_ next below ours We found that worthy s into a chaiven by Don Serafin lower down

A curious incident occurred as we made our way to the next beat where ”No 1” was to rejoin us Suddenly the rugged stones that surrounded us were vivified by a herd of bouncing chamois--they had presumably been disturbed elsewhere and several ca shot of our host; while another suddenly sprang into view right under the Padre's feet This, he averred, he would certainly have killed had he been loaded with slugs (_postas_) instead of ball

The six chaht included four bucks and two does We had not ourselves found it possible to distinguish the sexes in life, though long practice enabled the Conde to do so ithin moderate distance All six were of a foxy-red colour, and the horns ht inches over the bend

Chamois are certainly very much easier to obtain than ibex Not only are they tenfoldto their diurnal habits, they are easily seen while feeding in broad daylight (often in large herds) on the open hillsides They never enter caves or crevices of the rocks as ibex habitually do

Chah that art is not practised in Spain The excessively rugged nature of the ground is rather against it; for one's view being often so restricted, there is danger while stalking cha” others previously unseen though , as above described, is the method usually adopted Few beaters comparatively are required; the positions of flankers and stops are often clearly indicated by the natural configuration of the crests

Dogs are occasionally eame, in their terror of canine pursuers, will push forward into precipices whence there is no exit; and then, rather than atte down to certain death