BIG GAME 77 



earth, and say, '' Yes, I hear the butcher's cart 

 coming up the avenue !" or, " Listen ! Tomkins 

 is mowing the croquet-lawn !" In this prac- 

 tical fashion I was taught to develop those use- 

 ful powers of perception which were destined 

 to prove of such inestimable value in after- 

 life, when I could indulge my hereditary taste 

 for big-game shooting, and travel all over the 

 world in pursuit of my prey. 



4. 



Of the vast amount of excellent advice which 

 my uncle then offered to me perhaps the most 

 serviceable was contained in a hint which he 

 once let fall as to the folly of keeping one's eyes 

 perpetually on the ground when tracking game. 

 This is a mistake common enough to the tiro, 

 who is often so intent on following footprints 

 which he may recently have discovered that he 

 passes within a few yards of a possible victim 

 without even noticing its presence. 



It must be remembered that many hunted 

 creatures are naturally taller than their human 

 fellows; the eyes of the elephant, for instance, 

 or of the moose or elk, are situated at a con- 

 siderably greater distance from the ground 

 than those of a man. These beasts can there- 

 fore see over bush-grass or undergrowth which 



