PHOTOGRAPHY AND PRESERVING 



animal photography can hardly be exaggerated, particu- 

 larly if the naturalist goes out without any white man for 

 his protection and help. No matter how courageous the 

 native gun bearer or askari may be, the hunter never can 

 depend upon him entirely. I once had a gun bearer who, 

 with the greatest courage, stood by me as I encountered 

 a lion charge, and yet the very same man was one of the 

 first to run away when, another time, on Mt. Kenia, we 

 were charged by a herd of elephants ! I was unfortunate 

 myself in this respect in having been out on my shooting 

 trips without the company of any white hunter, although 

 on my first expedition I had Mr. Lang as taxidermist. 

 He generally had to remain in camp to take care of all the 

 skins, and so I had to stalk the animals with camera and 

 gun alone. The danger is, however, very much minimized 

 if the wild-animal photographer has with him a white man 

 who is accustomed to jungle life, and is a fearless fellow 

 and a good shot. Mr. Radcliffe Dugmore was in that 

 respect fortunate in having young Mr. Clark with him, 

 who generally stood guard with his rifle while Dugmore 

 took the pictures. Thus he secured a collection which 

 certainly far surpasses anything that has hitherto been 

 brought home from the jungles of Africa. 



As before mentioned, the big-game photographer needs 

 particularly three things for his success: first, plenty of 

 time; second, unlimited patience; and third, a good outfit. 

 I say plenty of time, because, as already stated, it will 

 often be necessary for the photographer to spend days 

 and weeks in the securing of a single good negative of a 

 special animal. Often he will have to construct his cover 

 one day and wait for two days or more, until the animals 



277 



