PIOXEER FJWTOGRAPIIY IX AFRICA 



105 



animals, and then makinji' a form hy 

 winding togetlier dry <irass, 1 strctclu'd 

 the skin over it. After tlie skin was 

 dried for a few days, it l)ecame stitt' and 

 liard, the grass was remo\ed, and we liad 

 a light, strong and lioUow decoy liarte- 

 l)eest. Dngmore used tliis as oppor- 

 tunity came, getting inside witli liis 

 eamera and stalking game. I'or some 

 reason however, the method did not 

 prove a suceess; just why we could 

 never find out. 



Oni" of the things that especially \e,\ed 

 Dngmore was the indifference of all the 

 game to the natives, who could walk 

 about the plains disturl^ing the animals 

 but slightly while a white man could 

 hardly get within gmishot. Unfortu- 

 nately we had to protect our heads 

 from the sun by big pith helmets and 

 our bodies by a good covering of clothes, 

 and so could not imitate natives and 

 approach the animals in this way. 



Altogether the most successfid method 

 of getting pictiu'cs pro\ed to be patient 

 waiting. Animals if not disturbed, stick 

 to one locality where they make a sort 

 of circuit. From their drinking place 

 they go to the feeding ground, then from 

 there to the place for the noonday rest; 

 leaving there as the heat subsides they 

 go to some other feeding place, then to 

 water at dusk or later, and so on day 

 after day. If on entering a new country 

 one works earefidly he will soon learn 

 the times and places of feeding or rest- 

 ing and, by studying the wind and 

 concealing himself carefully, will get 

 photographs as the game comes directly 

 toward him. Pictures thus taken are of 

 value, as they show the animal as he 

 really is. Driving is unsatisfactory as it 

 gets a picture of the game in frightened 

 and unnatural positions — and causes 

 it to shun the locality afterward. By 

 never frightening game one is always 

 certain to have another chance at it. 



One of oiu' most interesting experi- 

 eiucs was on Kamiti Plains, where we 

 tried for a j)icture of a herd of the Cape 

 buffalo. .\ week before us Colonel 

 Roose\eit liad secured from this herd, 

 after consideral)le difficulty and great 

 danger, a group of specimens for the 

 National Museum. These buffalo had 

 the reputation of being the most savage 

 herd in the country, and, when we found 

 them, were still living up to their reputa- 

 tion. Their home was in an immense 

 papyrus swamp, the bed of which was 

 oozy mud under about a foot of water, 

 and a member of our jjarty rode out 

 along the edge of this to look for them. 

 The l)uffalo were resting just inside the 

 I)apyrus, and as he passed the\' charged 

 out into the reeds which skirted the edge. 



A himdred yards of le\el ground lay 

 between us and the reeds; this had been 

 planned so that the animals could be 

 photographed clear of reeds when they 

 charged into this area. Behind us were 

 open plains without shelter, and it was 

 evident that retreat was our safe course. 

 Dngmore however, was determined to 

 get a picture. With heads out straight, 

 the herd came plowing through the reeds 

 directly at us, but as they broke into the 

 clearing they suddenly wheeled before 

 they could be photographed. We could 

 see the tops of their backs as they gal- 

 loped back, until they plunged into the 

 papyrus and disappeared. Dngmore re- 

 gretted having no picture, but I was glad 

 that our expedition had not come to a 

 sudden end. 



During our sta^' at the first water hole 

 we were on the plains every day and it 

 was here Dugmore secured his rhinoceros 

 pictures. His anxiety for close pictures 

 led us into some trying predicaments, 

 and it was his good judgment as often 

 as my big gun that got us out again. 



One of our first experiences with the 

 rhinoceroses was when we had stalked 



