40 SEARCH FOR THE GORILLA AND THE IPL Chap. HL 



time, one of the dogs broke away from us, and spoilt 

 what might have been very good sport. We heard 

 distinctly the rustling and crashing noise in the bush, 

 which denoted gorillas in the act of feeding, for, in 

 searching for berries, they are continually pulling 

 down the branches of the lower trees, and letting 

 them go again. Before we could get within sight of 

 them we heard a sharp cry, and they then made off. 

 My men agreed with myself that they were two 

 females ; but they also added that the male was not 

 far away, and would soon come towards us to see what 

 drove his females off, and fight us. We traversed 

 the jungle for two or three miles, but had not the 

 good luck to see a male gorilla. Foot-tracks were 

 very abundant in the moist soil wherever we came 

 upon bare places. We followed the tracks of the 

 two females until we lost them in the midst of a 

 great number of foot-marks of other gorillas. All 

 around were numerous young trees broken down, 

 and, in an old plantation, we saw some sugar-cane 

 which had been broken, and the stems presented signs 

 of their having been bitten by the gorillas. 



I may state in this place that I took particular note, 

 on this day's hunt, of the marks which the feet and 

 hands of the gorilla made in the soft soil. The tracks 

 were very plain, but those of the feet never showed 

 the marks of the toes, only the heels, and the tracks 

 of the hands showed simply the impressions of the 

 knuckles. 



During the following days I traversed other 

 patches of jungle lying nearer the sea-shore, and, 

 although unsuccessful with regard to bagging a 



