Woods are met with only on the slopes of the mountains. Oaks of various species and chestnut-trees occupy the lower zone, and conifers extend beyond them to the extreme limit of trees. These latter likewise cover the vast tracts of shifting sands which extend along the northern foot of the Sierra de Guadarrama, and are the analogue of the French landes.
The remains of the ancient forests still shelter wild animals. In the beginning of this century bears were numerous on the southern slopes of the Cantabrian Mountains; the thickets of Guadarrama, Gredos, and Gata still harbour wolves, lynxes, wild cats, foxes, and even wild goats. Deer, hares, and other game abound. The oak forests are haunted by wild boars of immense size and strength. Before the downfall of Islam it was thought meritorious to keep large herds of pigs, and a traveller who visits the remote villages of Leon, Valladolid, and Upper Estremadura will find that this ancient custom still survives. The black hogs of Trujillo and Montanchez are famous throughout Spain for their excellent hams.
The country offers great facilities for the breeding of sheep and cattle; there are, however, several districts which are admirably suited to the production of cereals. The Tierra de Campos, in the basin of the Duero, is one of them. It owes its fertility to a subterranean reservoir of water, as do also the mesa of Ocaña and other districts in the upper basins of the Tajo and the Guadiana, which are arid only in appearance. The vine flourishes on stony soil, and yields excellent wine, and the same may be said of the olive-tree, which constitutes the wealth of the Campo de Calatrava. Agricultural pursuits would thus appear to offer great advantages; and if thousands of acres are still allowed to lie fallow, if nomad habits still predominate, this is owing to sloth, force of habit, the existence of feudal customs, and sometimes, perhaps, to discouragement produced by seasons of drought.
Most of the herds of merinos are obliged to traverse nearly half Spain in search of the food they require. Each herd of about 10,000 sheep is placed in charge of a mayoral, assisted by rabadanes in charge of detachments of from 1,000 to 1,200 animals. The shepherds and sheep of Balia, in Leon, are reputed to be the best. In the beginning of April the merinos leave their pasture-grounds in Andalusia, La Mancha, and Estremadura for the north, where they pass the summer, returning in September to the south. It may readily be imagined that {386} these wandering herds do much damage to the fields through which they pass, even though the privileges of the sheep-breeders were abrogated in a large measure in 1836. Spain, however, in spite of every advantage offered by nature, is obliged now to import sheep from abroad to improve its flocks. Mules, too, which are almost indispensable in so stony a country, are imported from France. Camels, llamas, and kangaroos have been introduced, but their number has never been large, and the fauna as well as the flora of the Castiles bears the stamp of monotony.
As is the land, so are its inhabitants. The men of Leon and the Castiles are grave, curt of speech, majestic in their gait, and of even temper. Even in their amusements they carry themselves with dignity, and those amongst them who respect the traditions of the good old time regulate every movement in accordance with a most irksome etiquette. The Castilian is haughty in the extreme, and Yo soy Castellano ! cuts short every further explanation. He recognises no superiors, but treats his fellows on a footing of perfect equality. A foreigner who mixes for the first time in a crowd at Madrid or elsewhere in the Castiles cannot fail of being struck by the natural freedom with which rich and poor converse with each other.
The Castilian, thanks to his tenacious courage and the central position he occupies, has become the master of Spain, but he can hardly be said to be the master in his own capital. Madrid is the great centre of attraction of the entire peninsula, and its streets are crowded with provincials from every part of Spain. This invasion of the capital, and of the Castiles generally, is explained by the sparseness of the population of the plateaux, a sparseness not so much due to the natural sterility of the country as to political and social causes. There can be no doubt that the Castiles formerly supported a much denser population than they do now, but the towns of the valleys of the Tajo and the Guadiana have shrunk into villages, and the river, which was formerly navigable as far as Toledo, is so no longer, either because its volume is less now than it used to be, or because its floods are no longer regulated. Estremadura, at present one of the poorest provinces of Spain, supported a dense population in the time of the Romans, who founded there the Colonia Augusta Emerita (Mérida), which became the largest town of Iberia. During the dominion of the Moors, too, Estremadura yielded bounteous harvests, but the old cities have disappeared, and the fields are now covered with furze, broom, and rock-roses.
The expulsion of the Moors no doubt contributed towards the decay of these once fertile regions, but the principal cause must be looked for in the growth of feudal, military and ecclesiastical institutions, which robbed the cultivator of the fruits of his labours. Subsequently, when Cortes, Pizarro, and other conquistadores performed their prodigious exploits in the New World, they attracted the enterprising youth of the province. The peaceable cultivation of the soil was held in contempt, fields remained untilled, and 40,000 nomadic shepherds took possession of the country. It is thus the Estremeños became what they are, the “Indians” of the nation. {387}
This decrease of population was unfortunately attended by a return towards barbarism. Three hundred years ago the region on the southern slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama was famous for its industry. The linen and cloth of Ávila, Medina del Campo, and Segovia were known throughout Europe; Burgos and Aranda del Duero were the seats of commerce and industry; and Medina de Rio Seco was known as “Little India,” on account of the wealth displayed at its fairs. But misgovernment led to the downfall of these industries, the country became depopulated, and its ancient culture dwindled to a thing of the past. At the famous university of Salamanca the great discoveries of Newton and Harvey were still ignored at the close of last century as being “contrary to revealed religion,” and the lower classes grovelled in the most beastly superstitions.
In this very province of Salamanca, close to the Peña de Francia, exist the “barbarous” Batuecas, who are charged with not being able to distinguish the seasons. Nor are the inhabitants of other remote mountain districts of the Castiles what we should call civilised. Amongst these may be noticed the charros of Salamanca and the famous maragatos of Astorga, most of them muleteers. They only intermarry amongst themselves, and are looked upon as the lineal descendants of some ancient tribe of Iberia. The suggestion that they are a mixed race of Visigoths and Moors is not deserving of attention, for neither in their dress nor in their manners do they remind us of Mussulmans. They wear loose trousers, cloth gaiters fastened below the knee, a short and close-fitting coat, a leather belt, a frill round the neck, and a felt hat with a broad brim. They are tall and strong, but wiry and angular. Their taciturnity is extreme, and they neither laugh nor sing when driving before them their beasts of burden. It is difficult to excite their passion, but, once roused, they become ferocious. Their honesty is above suspicion, and they may be safely trusted with the most valuable goods, which they will defend against every attack, for they are brave, and skilled in the use of arms. Whilst the men traverse the whole of Spain as carriers of merchandise, the women till the soil, which, being arid and rocky, yields but a poor harvest.