352 TiMEHRI, 



process, we hardly conceived that there could be many 

 real difficulties. With the advent of dry plates, we 

 thought these had all disappeared. All one had to do 

 was to put in a plate, fix up the Camera, and, hey 

 presto! it was done. This was our opinion up to a few 

 months ago, when we made a trip to the bush to bring 

 back some of the scenes which we had in mind and 

 which had been impressed upon us for a long time as 

 desirable to perpetuate. Our memory of a certain creek 

 on the Demerara river, where first we were ushered into 

 the mysteries of forest life some twenty-three years ago, 

 made this the goal of our journey. Accordingly, one 

 afternoon found us in a small bateau pulling against the 

 dark stream, which wound in and out, disclosing and 

 again shutting off one pi6lure after another. We had 

 our Camera with six plates in its slides, and were, as we 

 thought, ready. That was all very well. Here was a 

 scene ; a beautiful clump of Manicole palms as a central 

 obje6l and a confused jumble of great trees, bush ropes 

 and tree-ferns, at either side and behind. " Let us take 

 that," we said, but our assistant looking round enquired 

 laconically " where from ?" *' Oh ! we said," anywhere ; 

 from the bateau if we can't get a stand on either bank. 

 He looked at us and smiled ; he was accustomed to focus 

 people in his gallery, where the Camera could be fixed 

 up anywhere, without difficulty. Here we were in the 

 midst of a strong current, the boatmen holding on to a 

 bush-rope to prevent our craft from floating down stream 

 while we were considering the situation. We looked 

 first to this side and then to that. The creek had banks 

 of course, but they were hidden by a jungle of creepers 

 great arums and marantas, which would take an hour to 



