COLORATION OF GAME ANIMALS. 65 



difficulty in seeing an animal whatever. Also, owing to the non-hunting habits of 

 the natives inhabiting the same country they are exceptionally tame and guileless. 



Thus, the greater part of the hunter's art, detecting game difficult to see, picking 

 up tracks of wary animals, and following them up, is not only unnecessary, but is 

 even useless. With game so easily bagged as this, few take the trouble to learn 

 the hunter's art so as to be able to obtain the bush animals, and the natives 

 themselves are nearly all quite ignorant of spoor or tracking. 



In a country like Nyasaland almost every native knows something of tracking. 

 In East Africa there is hardly a native in the country, professional hunters included, 

 who knows anything about it. 



The Wandorobo of the forest, it is true, follow certain animals by their spoors 

 when wounded, but in forest places the ground is so soft and the undergrowth so 

 thick that it would be almost possible for a blind man with a stick to follow the 

 tracks. The most surprising people of all are the professional porters. Many of 

 these men have been on trek with exploring and shooting parties for the greater 

 part of their lives. Yet, not only have they no knowledge of tracks and are 

 unable to distinguish between those of an elephant and rhino, but they never 

 notice tracks of any sort and seldom detect game difficult to pick up. When game 

 is pointed out to them they do not know to what species it belongs. They have no 

 idea of country, do not recognise paths, and if left to themselves may get lost. 

 When they see any animal their one idea is to shout and frighten it away. Yet are 

 they ceaseless in their clamour for meat, their one idea of a sportsman being he 

 who shoots zebra and hartebeest by the score. 



These are their defects, but for carrying loads and attending to the duties of 

 camp life they probably have no equal in Africa. 



K 



