HOW TO LOOK FOR SPOOR. 9 



upon it with the sun overhead, as there is no shadow or relief to catch the eye, but it 

 may be seen obhquely several yards away. Such a spoor is often seen on native 

 pathways where the hard path has a thin layer of gritty substance on the top of it. 



In such a case it will almost always be noticed that, whereas it is nearly or 

 entirely indistinct, when looked at from one side of the path, it is quite visible from 

 the other, according to the position of the sun. 



On recognising such a soil, one should scan it from a distance rather than 

 looking down on it as it is passed over. 



Then there is the hard, bare soil in which the galloping tracks could not be 

 missed, but where an animal walking slowly leaves only a sharp, inverted V-like cut of 

 the fore part of the hoof, and sometimes only the very tip. This looks like two 

 sharp cuts made on the ground with a knife. 



On rocky ground one would be unlikely to notice any track, and if one did would 

 be unable to tell to what animal it belonged, and close observation of such ground 

 would not repay the time and labour involved. If it was necessary to follow a track 

 over country of this kind, such indications as a small stone, perhaps only the size of a 

 pea, being dislodged and showing the place on which it had rested, or lying with its 

 earthy side up and weather-beaten surface turned over, or lichen rubbed of¥ 

 the rock, or some small blade of grass in a crack bent down or bruised, are to be 

 looked for. 



There is another form of spoor occurring on hard, dry soil, sometimes made by 

 buck, but usually by lion, rhino, and the softer-footed animals, and that is a slight 

 brushing of the ground with the pad, dislodging a little dust and giving the soil a 

 faintly lighter colour than that surrounding it. 



The reader who has not followed rhino may be somewhat amused at the thought 

 of looking for any trace so faint of such a large and heavy animal, but we assure 

 him that, though easy enough to follow in most country, such a faint mark is often 

 the only indication that the ponderous beast has passed. 



In addition there is soft, dry sand which falls in all round the track, leaving 

 no clear impress or characteristic shape. Spoor, as described above, occurs 

 generally in bare red soil, interspersed with trees, bushes, and clumps of tall 

 grass. 



Before leaving this type of country we will mention that it is generally the 

 habitat of the white ant, and that the animal passing over it often treads on an 

 earth-covered twig or little pyramid built by these insects, where the broken earth 

 is easily seen. 



Now let us turn to the more overgrown parts. There is first of all perhaps 



C 



