War 1 69 



Before finally taking leave of the Ashanti War, 

 mention must be made of the wonderful work performed 

 by the " scouts." These were picked warriors from 

 different tribes, but chiefly Houssas, and the tales of 

 Fenimore Cooper anent the Eed Indians did not exceed 

 the performances of these trackers. Often the path was 

 covered with dead leaves, or moss, that left not the 

 slightest apparent trace, and yet a track never escaped 

 their wonderful sight. I had been used all my life to 

 trap vermin, and to fish for the keen-sighted trout of the 

 Northern streams, and my eyes were young and quick to 

 observe slight signs, and yet I could not always detect 

 the imprint, even when pointed out to me. The moment 

 the footstep was observed it was carefully examined, and 

 in a few seconds the scout would be satisfied as to what 

 the business had been of the person who had made that 

 footprint. By the length of the stride, and the part of 

 the foot that made the deepest impression, was he able to 

 come to a correct judgment. Was the stride compara- 

 tively short, and did the heel and ball of the foot appear 

 most marked, then the man had been carrying a load, and 

 need not be considered. If the weight had been equally 

 distributed over the whole foot, the track rather wander- 

 ing, and the stride quite short, it had been made by a man 

 who was just sauntering along without any special object. 

 If, however, the strides varied and were rather long, the 

 weight on the toes, with every here and there an especially 

 deep mark on the toes, that man was on the war-path 

 and on the alert, and must be accounted for. Some- 

 times the track would be followed into the bush for 

 a few yards, and back again ; or it might turn down 

 another bush path, and finally approach a village ; or, as 



