The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-18
TRACKING OF BIG GAME.
WONDERFUL SKILL DISPLAYED
BY ORIENTAL HUNTERS.


ing VTAchs OF vale and
Misunderstanding n stolen Black Buck.
Several sportsmen have asked me dues.
lions about tracking. Some OF the questions
have been intelligent, and proved that the
art has attracted more than ordinary in
terest. It must be distinctly understood
that 1 do not pretend to be- a Sherlock
Holmes, writes Felix in Bdilp's Magazine.
but simply an amateur disciple Of Oriental
hunters. in whom the art Of tracing tho
movements OF men and beasts is almost
inbcrn. Q
Whatever little knowledge | have ac-
anired / am glad to impart. and I viii now
give one or two Illustrations Of tracking
which merely represent the A b G OF
~venerie.
A friend Of long ago said to me:
How is it that you can fairly tell 10 a dav
when a tiger passed over the sandy bed q
a dry river or dusty footpath?' exc
planned 70 him that there were many data
10 RELY on. First, there were human and
cattle tracks which the tiger pads had
covered. and I knew when those human
beings or cattle had traversed the sane
route. Second, the fierce, hot breezes
Of the jungles gave me information. II
the spoor was clear l kne that the beast
had moved on the path after the dust storm;
IL the footprints we're partially dimmed
l Judged otherwise. The breaking Of a
shed twig over which a beast has trodden
likewise conveys information, as a freshly
broken twig is easily dated. The informa-
ton derived is the result of circumstantial
evidence rapidly put together, and keen
observation.
But l went q sta e further than the above,
and assured my friend that by tracks I
could fairly surmise the length and weight
OF an individual tiger who had recently
trodden on a sandy river bed or dusty
footpath.
described my reasoning az follows, II
a tiger has lately trodden on soft, dry earth,
YOU will find hat the interval between his
fore a nd hind pads will give you An approx
mate idea of his length. The fore-pad IL
totally different from the hind one, as tho
former has five fingers.
As to weight" ! said, when you next
find the track OF a tiger descend on your
knees and examine carefully the surround
ings Of the forepads. A tiger, walking
in his ordinary way, pats the ground with
his fore feet, and the conclusion created
by the pat throws the dust away from
around his footprints. A small ditch -
thus created adjoining the impressions.
The wider that miniature ditch II the
heavier the tiger or tigress will prove to he.
The hind feet Of a tiger or tigress tread the
earth in a totally different manner, and
hardly any ditch will be found as the hind
feet do not smack" the ground.
On a certain occasion / was out with my
sink aree, Nuttoo, and We came to a spot
where a large male tiger had rolled, as a dog
would do. Nuttoo's keen eyes spotted
two or three shed hairs from the tigers
skin. He examined them and informed
me that the tiger was old. The hairs had
lost the gloss of the beast in his prime. A
subsequent event, namely, the death OF the
tige +, proved Nuttoo to be absolutely cor
rect. Such data are, however, beyond the
average hunter.
Leaving tigers alone, royal stag ssmbhur
can be Disseminated from does and smaller
animals by the formation OF the cloven hoof.
Hunters know that one portion OF the cloven
hoof of a great sambhur projects and curls
considerably beyond the other.
Ny greatest triumph in tracking occurred
when, in the company OF Lieut.. p, X. Al
after an immense amount OF walking, We
found four bison on a high plateau. One
was a fine bull, the others were COWS. which
we had no intention of killing. The cows
persistently got in the way Of the bull, but
we were patient, and at last / saw an open
shot at 300 yards. p. asked me to fire, and
did so, hitting the bull behind the shoulder:
4 Uc COWFL Cu III OtC hLIVCtIOh Mn NhC ''hlt
in another, leaving a fine trail Of blood for
500 yards, after which it ceased to be found
on the ground. l proceeded leisllrsl y with
p. behind me, and never left the tracks.
With no ground blood to guide me and -
black tracker to assist l ~sauntered along,
pointing out to p. the turned pebbles. the
bruised grass and the drops of blood on
bamboos and leaves, which were my sole
guides. Suddenly. after a couple OF mlleHot
trailing. l confronted the bison standing N
sheet rock. He was below a high bank
and | fired again, smashing his spine. Ny
first bullet had not caused a mortal wound.
and even then, thong ne bison lay helpless
on sheet rock. he looked the incarnation "t
malice. He snorted at us, but attempted
in vain to rise. and we therefore had an op-
portunity of approaching hin closely before
p. killed him l have seen the same IN
potent rage in a paralyzed tiger, but there
is no doubt which is the more majestic
beast in his death throes.
p. was very much pleased with this job.
What Jey Sing had taught me ] had en-
deavored, with some success, TO explain 10
him.
Any amateur can discriminate between
the tracks of a male and female bison. The
bulls tracks are round and large, the cows
elongated. So IL is with sambhur, tiger
neilgai, antelope and chinkara. Elonga-
ton denotes a females track.
| have mot mentioned that whenever a
stone has been lately turned by a wounded
animal, or he has lately trodden the dry
ground. the color of the earth il darker
under the upturned stone or footprint,
This, OF course, is a fact that need hardly
be mentioned to any person Of ordinary
intelligence. The shade of darkness con-
pared with the soil around is the basis on
which the expert measures the time in9
beast has preceded him. In determining
this the shade of ones own footprints ars
useful as a guide.
l will give one more instance of simple
tracking which occurred TO me near Delhi
in 1892. l was hunting a rather uncommon
black buck, one Of whose horns vas eN-
tremely long, while the other, ramlike,
described a circle and a half. The animal
was very shy, and il was after midday when
! had my first chance of getting a shot,
Neither the buck nor the long shot is 70 the
point suffice IL to say | hit the animal and
wounded him severely. He travelled far
and l had but his slots and a drop Of blOyd
Mt long intervals 20 guide me-. After track.
ing him more than three miles / found myself
beside a small lake surrounded with reeds,
No one was there except a solitary ~villager
smoking a hookah on a mound. ! asked
him If he had seen the buck. and he replied
in the negative. ] went around the pond