72 THE GAME OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA. 



of other small signs easily recognised by the bushman. These considerations and 

 the all-important question of water will, probably, influence you in the selection of a 

 site for your camp. There may be a stream near the edge of the forest to the 

 leeward. Somewhere there, then, should be the site for your camp, as your wind will 

 not be blown into the recesses of the forest and so alarm animals. If you are afraid 

 your porters will make too much noise you may then camp outside the forest, or, at 

 any rate, some distance from your intended hunting-ground. The noise made by the 

 porters is not only ruinous to one's chances with wary animals, but it also gets on 

 the hunter's nerves when he has been subjected to it for any length of time. If 

 the porters are not dancing and singing they are shouting. Two men may be sitting 

 side by side by the fire holding a quiet and confidential conversation, but every word 

 spoken by them can be heard at a distance of perhaps a hundred yards. This is their 

 subdued whispering, so the noise made when they raise their voices can be better 

 imagined than described. 



Having arranged your camp so that the men can do as little damage as possible, 

 you next set out to investigate. If the animal wanted is only of a semi-wary kind and 

 plentiful you will probably search round for him, hoping to see him before he sees 

 you. If he is very wary or rare it is almost impossible to come upon him accidentally. 

 It then becomes necessary to search about till you find fresh tracks and to follow 

 them up with every precaution. The most fascinating part of such pursuit is that 

 when you begin all is unknown, but as you proceed you gradually unravel the mystery 

 which enshrouds the animal and its doings. 



When you first arrived the country was unknown and the rivers, pools, and other 

 features all hidden by bush. Bit by bit you piece together the lie of the land and 

 the relative positions of different spots. Bit by bit you piece together information 

 concerning the animal itself, its habits, haunts, foods, etc., until at last you "think" 

 in the same vein as does the animal, or imagine that you do so. 



This piecing together of a thick bush country in one's mind is, in my opinion, 

 one of the most interesting points in bushcraft. I will try to give an illustration 

 of how one picks up, little by little, the character of closed country, and I will 

 endeavour to show how that, as time goes on, one becomes better equipped with 

 information that may be turned to account. 



An example that comes to mind, although it did not occur in East Africa, will do 

 well enough to illustrate the subject. It took place in thick wooded country in 

 Portuguese East Africa, but the principle is much the same in any thick country. 

 The great distances travelled by game in that district, combined with the brevity of 

 their stay in any one locality, made it difficult to locate them and added greatly to 



