xii INTRODUCTION. 



hunted, the best rifles to use in their pursuit, and all the many details of forest lore, 

 an observance of which is necessary to the success of an African hunter. In 

 particular they have dwelt upon the importance of the study of the tracks and 

 droppings of game, and have given excellent illustrations made from careful drawings 

 of the tracks of all the animals they met with in the British Central African 

 Protectorates. A glance at these will show how much the hunter has to learn, 

 for, although amongst the larger African antelopes the rounded toes of the hoof 

 mark of a Koodoo may be easily distinguished from the long-pointed tracks of a 

 Hartebeest, it will not be so easy for a novice to tell the difference between the 

 spoor of the latter and that of a female Sable or Roan Antelope, for instance. 



In hard ground, where the tracks of animals are not very well defined, even an 

 experienced hunter may mistake the spoor of an Eland Bull for that of a Buffalo, 

 but when he sees the droppings he will know at once which animal he is following. 



All such matters are fully gone into in our authors' pages, almost every one 

 of which has called up some reminiscence in my own long experience of African 

 hunting, and I am sure that the book will prove not only interesting, but of great 

 practical use to any young man who intends to reside in Africa and would fit himself 

 to become a big game hunter. 



F. C. Selous. 



Worplesdon, Surrey. 



June 22nd, 1906. 



