The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1877-08-17
IRACKS IND TRAILS.


One of the remarkable features of
uneivlized life is the power savages
show of tracing men and beasts over
immense distances. Many travellers
have spoken OF this as something al
most miraculous yet it is only the re-
suit of careful observation of certain
well known signs; and we have here
before us Il collection Of very common
sense hints on the subject. in coun-
tries like ours every trace OF footprint
or wheel track on roads and paths is
soon obliterated or hopeIessly confus-
ed; but it is otherwise in the wilder
hess, where neither man nor beast can
conceal his track In Kafliriand, when
cattle are stolen, if Their foot prints
are traced to village, the hcadman is
held responsible for them, unless he
can show the same track going OUT.
A wagOn-tracll in n new country is
practically sindelible. "More espec
ially." say our authors, sis this the
case if q fire sweeps over the plain
Immediately after, or if the wagon
passes daring or after a prairie fire,
We have known fellow-travcller re-
cOgnize i'll this manner the tracks his
wagon had made seven years before,
the lines of charred stumps crushed
short down, remaining TO indicate the
passage Of the wheels, though all 9th
er impressions had been oblitcrated
by the lank annual growth of grass
fully twelve feet high" Sometimes
the original soil being disturbed,
new vegetation will spring up along
the wagon track, and thus mark out
the road for miles. Even on hard
rock mans bare foot will leave the
dust caked together by prespiration,
So that practiced eye will see it; and
even if there is no track, stone will
be disturbed here and there, the side
of the pebble which has long lair next
the ground, being turned up, If it is
still damp, the man or beast that turn
ed it has passed very recently. If a
shower of rain has fallen, the track
will tell whether il was made before
during, OF after the shower; similar
indications can be obtained from the
dew; and another Indication of the
time that has elapsed since a man
passed by, is furnished by .he state Of
the crushed grass, which will be more
or less withered as the time is longer
or shorter Other indications are
drawn from the direction in which the
grass lies this tells how the wind was
blowing ut the time the grass was
crushed and by noting previous
changes of the wind, one learns The
time at which each part of the track
was made. Much, too, can be learned
from the form of the foot-print. Say
ages generally turn their toes in, in
walking; white men turn theirs out.
a moccasin print with the toes turned
out would Indicate that white man
in Indian walkingge had gone by;
and almost every foot has print of
It's own, which enable an experienced
tracker to follow a single track among
n dozen others. Similarly the charac-
ter of the print will tell whether the
man who made it walked freely or was
led by others {; whether he was in 4
hurry or travelling slowly ; whether
he carried burden, and if he were
sober or tipsy. a horse track is
equally well marked. 1t tells when
IlfC HpiS SC GtllpIlC'N, NiSl hC N'lNS'i;
when he stopped to feed or drink ; and
a scattering of sand and gravel will
tell when he was startled by any
strange sight. In all this, two things
are nceded--gharp sight and careful
training The elephant often makes a
very curious traok as he walks if he
suspects danger, he scents the ground
with the tip of his trunk, and this
makes a well-marked serpentine line
i'll the dust Elephants have changed
their tactics since rile-pits we're intro
duced Formerly, when their chief
danger was a pitiall, the leader of the
herd felt the ground inch by inch
and if he detected the covering of
trap, tore it off and left it open. Now
they rely much more on scent, and in
this way, often from a greater distance,
detect the hunter lurking near their
drinking places. If 50, they will
sometimes travel fifty or a hundred
miles to another stream or pool