Dambohpulu was the Ambonese sergeant and tracker, “a twenty-four carat forest ranger* (“forest-runner”)”, who found and followed the trail that led to the death of Tgk. di Barat on 22 February 1912.
At the Aloeë Soea Dambohpulu found the bekas (traces) of the foragers of the Teungkoe’s band, and with the utmost difficulty the brigade was able to follow those well-hidden and partly obliterated tracks. The ground was covered with leaves, “and the forest ranger’s instinct, even more than the actual senses, had made him notice that in some places the leaves had been trodden somewhat more firmly into the ground than is normally the case. This is warning enough, for an animal does not hide its tracks in the forest; only man does that.” From the nature of the leaf, of the break, of the impression beneath and the sharpness of the edges of the footprints one reads “how many men have passed, and when.” He ran at the point, bent forward, peering at the ground and vegetation, “content with very little; one small mistake by the band, and all would come right — except of course for that band.”
See Also
Account from Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu
Excellent tracker who contributed greatly to Lieutenant Behrens’ success in tracking down Teungkoe di Barat.
Source: J. Jongejans, Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 369.
Source
Generaal Swart, Pacificator van Atjeh (“General Swart, Pacifier of Atjeh”), by M. H. du Croo, Colonel K.N.I.L. (retired), with the collaboration of H. J. Schmidt, Titular Colonel K.N.I.L. (retired), with a foreword by His Excellency Lieutenant-General K.N.I.L. (retired) G. K. Dijkstra (Maastricht: N.V. Leiter-Nypels, 1943), Chapter X.
Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu, by J. Jongejans, Oud-Resident van het Gewest Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, with a foreword by Dr. H. Colijn (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 369.