Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-01-22

An Attractive Country to the Natural
ist and Sportsman-Beautifu Seem
Pail Mall Gazette.


titute of all such ordinary facilities OF
travel as roads and bridges, and where
all the accommodation afforded by
the inns, posadas, as they are called,
is simply six feet of bare earth In the
same room with ones own horse. the
traveller has to rely on himself for all
he requires. Most of the comforts,
and many of what appear the neces-
sarless. OF life he must forgo; and, al
together, campaigning in Spain in
wolves physical hardships which no
Que would care to undertake except
with some special enthusiasm or pnr-
tlclar object in view. But it is herein
that Spain excels. To any Que who
has an appreciation for what is beau
tlful nature, few countries will more
amply compensate the trouble of
roughing it, or leave more lasting ina
pressions. AS John Hooker said of
Spain, "God has most Of the land in
His own holding;" consequently one
there enjoys the spectacle of a wild
and BEAUTIFUL country in it's most per-
feet pristine condition, exactly as
turned out by nature, not yet disfgur-
ed or improved" by the hand of man,
and practically unchanged since the
days of the Moors, and, in fact, for
ages before them. Every day one
sees many of those forms of birds and
animal life which In our crowded isl
ands have long ceased to exist, and
only remain to the naturalist of to-
day In the form of bad pictures in
books or worse specimens in museums.
Among the rolling corn lands the
great bustard roams in plenty. Troops
of fifty or sixty of this noble game
bird the largest of that class, may be
seen together, their great fawn color
ed bodies and long necks resembling a
herd Of deer rather than birds. Then
the1e are the letser bustards, and on
every side rcseunds the triple note of
the quail.
On the open plains before mentioned
the royal kite and the buzzard- both
these, like the bustard, about extinct
at home-are ever in sight gracefully
circling over the brush wood, with a
keen eye for an outlying rabbit, or
one of the large and beautifully color
ed lizards which abound therein. But
for the particular behoof of the rep
tbs world nature has designed and
commissioned special class of armed
cruiser, the 'CeIebrero," or snake
eater, as the Spaniards call him, which
is often described busily employed at
his vacation. Then those dark-brown
fellows with creamy heads lowering
over marshy hellow, their motion
Less wings set at a sharp angle, are
moor buzzards, while the long winged
kind which look like gigantic swal-
lows are their cousins, the ash. colored
harrier, the most industrious and
hardworking creature of his kind. OF
small birds there is an infinite variety,
many clad ia the brighter hues, which
harmonizs admirably with the sunny
scene. Some of these, such as the bee
eaters, the blue jay, and the golden
oriole almost rival in bri)liancy the
gaudy denizens of the tropics. Not
only are their plumages most vivid in
color, but they possess glossy rehec-
tions, which IN the bright southern
sun sparkle like jewels. Every now
and then a covey of the large Spanish
partridge rise with startling sudden
ness; there numbers are surprising
when one considers the unceasing
persecution they undergo from the
native ''caladores" and the quantity
of birds of prey, these latter forming
characteristic feature in the Spanish
landscape.
Besides birds, those broad, undulat-
ing plains and prairie lands are the
native home of the wild bred Spanish
bull. Here he roams at large from
his birth to the day he receives his
death thrust at the hand of the mata-
dor. A formidable beast he is, per
haps the only one inclined to dispute
the dominion of man. The wild bred
Spanish bull is ready to assume the
offensive, and provoke a combat in
the open. He stands his ground, re-
senting intrusion on his domains with
a low, deep roar of defiance, viciously
paving and throwing up clouds of dust
with his fore feet.
Beyond the fertile but externally
somewhat monotonous regions of the
vine and corn, the Spanish horizon is
usually bounded by the blush loom
OF distant mountain range. But be-
fore this can be reached very differ
ent region must be traversed. The
slerras are usually encircled by
broad zone of low, broken hills and
undulating plateaux, beautifully
clothed in struggling woods. Luxuri
ant groves of oaks, chestnuts, and
cork trees occupy the ridges, while the
valleys are filled with dense masses of
arbutus, lentiscus, wild olive, some
kind of laurel, cistus. and other
shrubs. Here and there whole acres
glow with the brllliaht flowers of the
rhododendron, and the crimson peony
adorns the most arid places. In GER
tam districts, as one carefully picks
ones way, riding through brushwood
as high as ones shoulder, now and
then red deer starts from the thicket
almost at ones feet. Huge black
snakes uncoil from their basks on a
sunny knoll, and glide rapidly cut of
slght;'t then couple of badgers hustle
away through the scrub, or broad
winged kite slips noiselessly from her
nest on pine Overhead resounds
the short, loud bark of the imperial