James Laurenson as Bony in the T.V. Series with a modern means of tracking, the airplane, and his traditional personal observation |
The tracking is comparable when it involves the examination
of human tracks in rural areas. Whether the 1940’s or the 2010’s the tracking
involves a person observing and assessing the imprints.
Bony explains the basic difference between rural and urban
tracking:
I leave the body to a uniformed
constable, and the cause of death to the doctor and the coroner, and to the
experts at headquarters I leave fingerprints if any, the weapon, if any, and
objects more closely associated with the crime. In a city the scene of a crime
is confined to a room, an office, a flat, and, if on a street, to a space
within a few feet of the body.
Here in the bush the scene of a
crime is extended far beyond the immediate locale. Someone has had to go to the
scene of the crime in order to commit it, and, afterwards, to leave the scene
of the crime. As the criminal does not grow wings, he needs must walk, and he
does not walk about without leaving tracks of his passage for me to see. To the
city detective his fingerprints: to Bony his footprints. So you will now
understand how it is that I am much more interested in the ground outside a
house or hut or camp than I am with the interior.
Bony uses the training of decades and the skills of his aboriginal ancestors in examining
tracks.
In Trackers there
is tracking in the bush by men using the same skills Bony used almost seven
decades ago. I am acquainted with tracking prints left upon ground.
My father was a trapper which meant he was a tracker. In an
ever more urban world there are not many today who can distinguish which animals
made the tracks they see upon the ground. I am far from being a skilled tracker
but I learned some basics of tracking from my Dad such as where to look for
animal tracks. You need to search where you would expect animals to be based on
terrain, food sources, shelter offered and the quickest safest and most
efficient way to travel through an area.
The title to Trackers
in Afrikaner translates to spoor in English. It is an apt word for traditional
tracking which looks to the traces left behind.
What has changed significantly, even in rural tracking is
the use of technology to aid trackers.
In Trackers I noted 26 different types of tracking. They were tracking of vehicles in rural areas by anticipating roads, tracking done by teams of cars following cars, tracking of vehicles by transmitters placed upon them, tracking on foot in the city by visual contact, tracking of people by observation from nearby buildings, tracking of telephones with electronic intercepts, tracking through talking with friends and enemies, tracking through sleeping with a source and listening to pillow talk, tracking through informants within organizations, tracking through computers searching the world wide web, tracking through the satellites continually orbiting the earth, tracking through reading newspapers and magazines for information on those being tracked, tracking through searching government records, tracking through breaking into buildings, tracking through searching desks and computers, tracking through the mind with skilful questions and brutal demands for knowledge, tracking through the sharing, often reluctantly, of information between powerful organizations, tracking through careful examination of financial records, tracking through the sources of funds in bank accounts, tracking through hidden microphones, tracking through the closed circuit cameras that inhabit every city, tracking through the examination of personal public records, tracking through the study of bodies and tracking through examination of wallets, clothing and other personal items.
Modern trackers would be lost without all their electronic
devices.
Yet current technology has its limits. In Murder One by Robert Dugoni the
investigators deal with footprints leading up to the window of a home through
which a killing shot was made. The investigators try to determine size from
computer analysis of the size of the tracks and distance between steps. I
expect Bony could have told them by his experience. I believe he would have gleaned
more information about the killers if study of the tracks had been left to him.
The powers of observation and reflection are less prized by
modern crime fiction trackers. In our instant world we want answers and
analysis instantly. Good trackers need patience to find the tiny signs that let
the tracker follow their quarry. Bony often takes the time to sit down, make
and smoke a cigarette, and deliberate about what he has seen. Few modern
trackers pause to think.
Bill - This is really fascinating! I didn't know your father was a tracker; that takes real skill. And you're right that tracking has a sort of whole new meaning when you think about modern technology... You're also making me think of series like Tony Hillerman's and Adrian Hyland's whee the characters do their own kinds of tracking and can tell a lot just by the signs they see in their surrounding. Thanks for making me think about this.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. I am glad you mentioned Hillerman and Hyland. They have sleuths who can track with their senses as well as technology.
ReplyDeleteBill, I was wondering about your interest in, and knowledge of, tracking. Thanks for the fascinating story. I recall reading your previous posts on tracking including your review of Deon Meyer's "Trackers." I became familiar with the term "spoor" through the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs and films and documentaries of Africa's Bushmen who use tracking mainly to hunt for food. In early days they probably used it to hunt other men as well.
ReplyDeletePrashant: Thanks for the comment. Wilbur Smith's book "The Burning Shore" has great examples of the tracking talents of South African Bushmen. They were remarkable trackers.
ReplyDeleteHi Bill - what a fascinating post! Especially with the link to your dad's abilities. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteDebra: Thanks for the comment. I have found tracking an interesting subject through my life.
ReplyDelete