[28] We here use the term hound or dog indiscriminately as, in the altering circumstances, each is equally applicable and correct
[29] I never myself count shots, hits or misses—horas non numero. The above record is solely due to the inception by our gracious hostess at Mezquitillas of a pretty custom, namely, that for every bullet fired, a small sum should be payable by the sportsman towards a local charity.
[30] The oleander is poisonous to horses and other domestic animals, and is instinctively avoided by both game and cattle. During the Peninsular War it is recorded that several British soldiers came by their deaths through this cause. A foraging party cut and peeled some oleander branches to use as skewers in roasting meat over the camp-fires. Of twelve men who ate the meat, seven died.
[31] Pernales was born at Estepa, province of Sevilla, September 3, 1878, a ne’er-do-weel son of honest, rural parents. By 1906 he had become notorious as a determined criminal. His appearance and Machiavellian instincts were interpreted as indicating great personal courage, and, united with his physique, combined to present a repulsive and menacing figure. A huge head set on broad chest and shoulders, with red hair and deep-set blue eyes, a livid freckled complexion, thin eyebrows, and one long tusk always visible, protruding from a horrid mouth, made up a sufficiently characteristic ensemble.
[32] The authors personally assisted at this toilet, Talavera, May 1891.
[33] The oft-described details of the bull-fight we omit; but should any reader care to peruse an impartial description thereof, written by one of the co-authors of the present work, such will be found in the Encyclopædia of Sport, vol. i. p. 151.
[34] In particular, remembering an incident that had occurred here in 1891, and recorded in Wild Spain, p. 147, we were anxious to ascertain if the lemming, or any relative of his, still survived in these central Spanish cordilleras. The marmot is another possible inhabitant.
[35] For these, as well as graphic notes on the subject, we are indebted to Sr. D. Manuel F. de Amezúa, the most experienced and intrepid explorer of the Sierra de Grédos.
[36] This range is, in fact, a northern outspur of the Montes de Toledo, which occupy the whole space betwixt Tagus and Guadiana. Its highest peak, La Cabeza del Moro, reaches 5110 feet.
[37] Wild fallow-deer are indigenous among the infinite scrub-clad hills that fringe the course of the Tagus, as well as in various dehesas in the province of Caceres—those of Las Corchuelas and de Valero may be specified. The wild fallow are larger and finer animals than the others.