CHAPTER XVII 



IMPRISONED BY A COBRA 



A soon as Colonel Roosevelt announced 

 his intention to head a scientific expe- 

 dition into the wilds of Africa, a number 

 of journalists and nature photographers seized 

 upon the opportunity to precede him and mar- 

 ket their work while the interest in the Dark 

 Continent was a live one. 



Among this class of adventurers were several 

 nature photographers from England and Amer- 

 ica. To be at the head of this profession requires 

 untold patience, almost supernatural coolness, 

 and the highest type of bravery. To-day the 

 photographer is creeping stealthily upon a doz- 

 ing rhinoceros, an African lion, or a buffalo, any 

 one of which big-game hunters consider a dan- 

 gerous adversary, even when pitted against mod- 

 ern firearms. 



In order to get unique photographs, some- 

 thing that will be in demand by publishers, the 

 nature photographer must provoke an attack 



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