340 WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA. 



the ground, and the rest flung over the cliff. The 

 descending rope is now passed once round the 

 crowbar, as near the bottom as possible, in order to 

 reduce the leverage, and whilst the man who is 

 going to manage the lowering takes charge of it, 

 the photographer, with his camera lashed to his 

 back, slips the loops round his hips, and seizing 

 the guide rope in both hands to steady himself 

 by, prepares to make a descent. 



A few of the important points to be remem- 

 bered in connection with this branch of natural 

 history work are: (1) To use good and reliable 

 ropes, and have a thoroughly trustworthy, level- 

 headed man to work them, as the chief source of 

 danger lies in having a nervous or careless fellow 

 at the crowbar. (2) To see that the last-named 

 tool is driven well into solid ground. (3) To clear 

 away all loose stones and pieces of rubble between 

 the foot of the crowbar and the brink of the 

 precipice about to be negotiated, for, should this 

 precaution be neglected, the descending rope is sure 

 to dislodge them when it is being hauled up ; and 

 even a small stone, with the velocity gained by a 

 fall of thirty or forty feet upon it, can do a great 

 deal of damage to the photographer or his camera, 

 if it happens to strike either of them in its down- 

 ward plunge. (4) Not to allow the descending rope 

 to run in any cleft or crevice, as it may either 

 stick fast altogether when being pulled up again 

 or sustain considerable damage by chafing. In 

 order to prevent either of these awkward eventu- 

 alities, it is a good plan to run it through a 

 piece of leather tubing over the edge of a cliff. 

 When making a descent, I get into some position 

 from which I can watch my brother's movements, 

 and convey his requirements to the man at the 



