File:Wild Spain records of sport with rifle, rod, and gun, natural history and exploration (1893) (14751919252).jpg

Identifier: wildspainrecords00chaprich (find matches)
Title: Wild Spain ... records of sport with rifle, rod, and gun, natural history and exploration
Year: 1893 (1890s)
Authors: Chapman, Abel, 1851-1929 Buck, Walter John
Subjects: Hunting -- Spain Game and game-birds -- Spain
Publisher: London, Gurney and Jackson
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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nd, like that of a lightly-hooked salmon,dropped stone-dead in his tracks. Soon afterwards a smallstag with three hinds showed on the outer edge of thejungle; but, though more than one express rifle waslevelled at him, the distance was too great (300 or 400yards), and the bullets uselessly ricochetted across theswampy wastes. Towards the end, two wild-cats boundedfrom the fringe of burning bamboos, and simultaneousshots stretched both lifeless among the tamai-isks. The spectacle from our posts was remarkable, the wholearea, many hundred acres, enveloped in smoke; here andthere tongues of flame shot upwards as the flying sparkscarried forward the conflagration across some marsh-channel and renewed the dying blaze. Dense black cloudsrolled away to leeward, amidst wliich hovered swarms of A WINTER CAMPAIGN IN DONANA. 363 swallows and insect-feeding birds with an outer fringe ofkites, kestrels and magpies, all preying on belated locustsand coleoi^tera. Legions of mice—common house-mice,
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A STAG or THIRTEEN 1<JINTS. as far as we could judge—with land- and water-rats, fledfrom the fiery jungle ; here and there a grizzly mongoose 364 WILD SPAIN. hurried off up the sloping dune ; otters, genets and badgerswere seen at various points, while coots and bitterns, rails,crakes, and waterhens flapped about, half-dazed withfright. Over the smoking l)rakes swept buzzards andmarsh-harriers which, forgetting their fears in opportunity,pounced boldly on the homeless and helpless. As soon as it was over, we went eagerly to examine thetracks of the big stag. Yes ! blood was there sure enough—whole streams of it ; but the verdict of the (juardas wasprompt and emphatic—that stag you will never get.See ! the blood is all at one side. The bullet has merelygrazed his off-flank, causing a flesh-wound which bleedsmuch, but does no vital harm. They were right. Im-pelled by shame and self-reproach, we followed the trail formiles ; but though we twice sighted our quarry afar, it wasevi

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