304 BOMBAY NATURAL HISTOKY SOCIETY, 



by the cleft in the bison's hoof. If this is sharp, and the whole 

 impression is clean looking, it is a fresh track. If a footprint has 

 a blurred appearance, and the edges not clearly defined, has tracks of 

 insects across it, or in short has a dirty appearance, it is an old one. 

 If you point to a track and ask your men if it is to-day's; when it is an 

 old one their reply always is " maila hai," it is dirty ; and I know no 

 better description of the difference between a fresh and old track than 

 the one is clean and the other dirty looking. On softer ground the 

 difference is easily distinguished. In long grass I for one cannot distin- 

 guish between a one day old and a hour*s old track, without following 

 it for a little way, when other signs, such as the withered or fresh 

 appearance of the ends of grass dropped out of the bison's mouth 

 when feeding, &c, soon let you know what sors of track you are on ; 

 the alternations of hope and despair when you are on a doubt- 

 ful track, and see or fancy you see signs that you are all right, and 

 again see signs which lead to a contrary conclusion, can be imagined 

 but cannot be described. Haifa mile's tracking ont to solve the 

 question. If there has been dew during the night, you will in 

 the early morning find a drop at the end of each blade of young 

 grass where it has been cropped if the track is a day or more 

 old. I will suppose however you have found a fresh track. You 

 will at once begin to hope that the next hundred yards will bring 

 you in sight, and although you know from experience that probably 

 many miles have to be traversed before you come up to your game, 

 you can never get rid of the idea that you will see him in the next 

 ten minutes, so that however long the pursuit, there is no weariness 

 in it. As tracking is half the fun, you should track yourself, but 

 good at tracking as you may become, or good as you may fancy your- 

 self, you will never equal your humble companions at this. After 

 some hours' tracking the glare is rather trying to the eyes but they 

 soon get used to it. You do not go very fast when tracking, and you 

 have plenty of time for looking about you and ahead. Taking 

 every thing into account, and including short stoppages, I do not 

 think the average pace of tracking is more than 1 to 1^ miles an 

 hour. Though some bits are done at twice that pace, at other 

 times you can only follow the track with difficulty or lose it 

 altogether for a time. Should you lose the track, make a cast forward 

 while your men try and puzzle it out. A bison generally goes by 

 the easiest way in crossing hills, a knowledge of which fact often 

 assists you in recovering the trail. Two men only should be with 



