Scient'i/ic IntcUigcnce. — Zoologij. 397 



in tlie sand, he concludes that the camel had a weak breast, and 

 t^iis serves him as a clue to ascertain the owner. In fact, a 

 Bedouin, from the impressions of a camePs, or of his driver's 

 footsteps, draws so many conclusions, that he always learns 

 something concerning the beast or its owner ; and in some cases 

 this mode of acquiring knowledge appears almost supernatural. 

 The Bedouin sagacity in this respect is wonderful, and becomes 

 particularly useful in the pursuit of fugitives, or in searching 

 after cattle. I have seen a man discover and trace the footsteps 

 of his camel in a sandy valley, where a thousand of other foot- 

 steps crossed the road in every direction ; and this person could 

 tell the name of every one who had passed there in the course 

 of that morning. I myself found it often useful to know the 

 impressions made by the feet of my own companions and camels; 

 as from circumstances which inevitably occur in the desert, tra- 

 vellers sometimes are separated from their friends. In passing 

 through dangerous districts, the Bedouin guides will seldom 

 permit a townsman or stranger to walk by the side of his camel. 

 If he wears shoes, every Bedouin who passes will know by the 

 impression, that some townsman has travelled that wav ; and if 

 he walk barefooted, the mark of his step, less full than that of 

 a Bedouin, immediately betrays the foot of a townsman, little 

 accustomed to walk. It is therefore to be apprehended that the 

 Bedouins, who regard every townsman as a rich man, might 

 suppose him loaded with valuable property, and accordingly set 

 out in pursuit of him. A keen Bedouin guide is constantly 

 and exclusively occupied during his march in examining foot- 

 steps, and frequently alights from his camel to acquire certainty 

 respecting their nature. I have known instances of camels being 

 traced by their masters during a distance of six days' journeys, to 

 the dwelling of the man who had stolen them. Many secret 

 transactions are brought to light by this knowledge of the 

 athr or footsteps ; and a Bedouin can scarcely hope to escape 

 detection in any clandestine proceeding, as his passage is re- 

 corded upon the road in characters that every one of his 

 Arabian neighbours can read." — Notes on the Bedouins and 

 Wafiabys by Burckhardt. 

 SI. Destruction of Live Stoclc by Wolves in Russia. — In the 



