Besides "small deer," such as rats and mice, voles, moles, and dormice, to say nothing of a whole red-stag and a whole wild-boar! [POSTSCRIPT] _March 2, 1907._--_Chillando_ this evening at the Oyillos del Tio Juan Roque, a big grey sow with numerous progeny came trotting up to within a few yards--whether to devour the supposed rabbit or merely from curiosity was not apparent. On realising the situation, she turned and dashed off with an indignant snort, followed by her striped brood, but did not go far before stopping (like Lot's wife) to listen and look back. Later, at the Sabinal, just upon dusk, a fox appeared about 120 yards away, down-wind. Though quite aware of our presence, both by scent and sight, he deliberately sat down on his haunches to watch; but no charm of the _chillar_ would induce a nearer approach, and a rifle-ball whistling within an inch or two of his ears broke the spell. On May 16, 1910, a mongoose responded with unusual alacrity to the first "call," running up within twenty yards. This was an adult male and weighed 8-1/2 lbs. * * * * * We have endeavoured to rear some of these animals in captivity. The young wild-cats are by far the most intractable--perfect fiends of savage fury, quite unamenable to civilisation. The lynx at least affects a measure of subjection, but remains always unreliable and treacherous in spirit. The story of how one of our tame lynxes attacked and nearly killed a poor _lavandera_ is told in _Wild Spain_, p. 447. CHAPTER XXXV OUR "HOME-MOUNTAINS" THE SERRANÍA DE RONDA I. SAN CRISTOBAL AND THE _PINSÁPO_ REGION This mountain-system may be regarded as an outlying eastern extension of the Sierra Neváda. Except at the "Ultimo Suspiro del Moro" there is no actual break, and both in physical features and in fauna the two ranges coincide, while differing essentially from the Sierra Moréna, their immediate neighbour on the north. The Serranía de Ronda, nevertheless, displays distinctive characters which entitle it to a place in this book; it forms, moreover, our "Home-mountains," lying within a thirty-mile ride eastward of Jerez. [Illustration: PINSÁPO PINE] The outstanding feature is the _massif_--or, in Spanish, _Nucléo Central_--of San Cristobal, which rises to 5800 feet, and stands head and shoulders above its surrounding satellites, an imposing pile of cold grey rock and perpendicular precipice.[57] Nestling beneath its western bastions lies the Moorish hamlet of Benamahoma, whence, housed in friendly quarters, we have oft explored this hill. The route to the summit (which may almost be reached on donkey-back) is by the southern face; for summits, however, merely as such, we have no sort of affection, and never expend one ounce of energy in gaining them, unless they chance to aid a main objective. As to "views," we are sure to enjoy these from other points quite as effective.