CHAPTER TWELVE 

 LAST DAYS ON THE SERENGETTI 



THERE came a short period of clear weather, so 

 for a few days we gave all of our time and atten- 

 tion to photographing the skyscrapers of the veldt — 

 Mr. and Mrs. Giraffe. 



In a grassy valley about twenty miles from camp, 

 we fomid fourteen of these mottled creatures standing 

 beneath a cluster of thorn trees to escape the sim. 

 The herd consisted of a few old bulls, several cows, 

 and four youngsters. Placing the camera up high, 

 so as to photograph over the cab, Mike started after 

 the family with care and caution, for this was now our 

 only truck; our sole means of getting back to civil- 

 ization. The veldt was full of hidden pig burrows 

 and ditches v£irying in size from the small ones that 

 only broke a spring to enormous trenches that the 

 whole truck could fall into. Filming giraffe proved 

 to be dangerous work, for, in order to get close enough 

 for good pictures, it was necessary to race after them 

 at thirty miles an hour or more. Once you have gained 

 a good position and made a short scene, the process 

 must be repeated all over again. Were the ground 

 smooth, recording these animals would be an easy 

 matter, but no such conditions existed in the giraffe 

 country, every foot of which contained some hazard, 

 either pig holes, ditches, hidden rocks, or tree stumps. 

 It was possible to strike a hollow and turn the truck 



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