THE WILD LIFE OF LAKE SUPERIOR 



179 



or, being such, had any knowledge in the 

 use of flashlight powder and the means 

 of approaching animals at night. 



Finally, many years later, Nesbit and 

 Dugmore, of this country, became inter- 

 ested, followed by Schilling, of Germany, 

 the latter two of whom obtained remark- 

 able night pictures on their African ex- 

 peditions. Then came a host of others, 

 whose fine and ever-increasing collections 

 indicate the success and permanency of 

 this method of night photography, both 

 as a sportsman's pastime and for the 

 scientist, when desirous of presenting 

 wild life in its natural habitat. 



PHENOMENA OF FLASHLIGHT COMPOUNDS 



The range of illumination, out-of- 

 doors, of the modern flashlight powders 

 is limited in animal photography to about 

 fifty feet, unless a very heavy charge is 

 used, in conjunction with a long-focus 

 lens. 



However, the direct and collateral rays 

 of this powder have an extraordinary 

 range. 



Homesteaders living four or five miles 

 beyond the author's camp for some years 

 have noticed the sudden glare of light on 

 the sky overhead, and by inquiry finally 

 traced the origin to the flashlight pictures 

 being taken at or near the camp. 



This led to a careful and more ex- 

 tended test. By prearrangement, an 

 ounce or so of flashlight powder was 

 fired one night in the camp, surrounded 

 by high trees, while well below the 

 horizon at Marquette, 20 miles distant, 

 spectators were to report the result. 

 They noticed a bright illumination, not 

 only above the camp site, but its extension 

 apparently for five or six miles along the 

 horizon, resembling heat lightning, except 

 for its steadiness and straight lines. Sub- 

 sequent trials did not vary. 



Flashlight rays will penetrate clear 

 water for a considerable distance at night, 

 making possible subsurface pictures, so 

 difficult of accomplishment in the day- 

 time, and will also permit the photo- 

 graphing of the interior of a room 

 through closed windows, when the camera 

 and flashlight are at a considerable dis- 

 tance on the outside — an impossibility in 

 daylight (see picture, page 191). 



Moreover, when these rays come in 

 contact, at right angles, with those of a 



strong searchlight, a mile away, there 

 appears a peculiar and very noticeable 

 fluttering at the junction, not unlike heat 

 lightning. This too, was tried a number 

 of times. Apparently flashlight powder 

 possesses properties unlike any other 

 artificial light, and warrants an investiga- 

 tion by a physicist, or at least an explana- 

 tion from one. So far no solution has 

 been offered of the last phenomenon. 



CHAPTER VIII 



GRAND ISLAND AND ITS HFRD OP ALBINO 

 DLER 



Doubtless many former readers of 

 "Robinson Crusoe," who later have had 

 occasion to explore remote places on land 

 or sea, retain a special interest in islands, 

 more particularly when such places are 

 in a primeval condition, with a variety of 

 plant and animal life. 



Physical barriers serve not only in pre- 

 serving the purity of a given species, but 

 are often the means of furthering the 

 origin and continuance of new forms ; 

 for all organic life has its abnormalities, 

 and some may develop a freakish mani- 

 festation into a permanent character, just 

 as others yield gradually to environ- 

 mental influences, especially where not 

 indigenous to the region. 



Lying athwart the entrance of one of 

 the few deep bays on the southern shore 

 of Lake Superior is Grand Island, true to 

 its name in size and beauty. Terminat- 

 ing the westerly end of the famous Pic- 

 tured Rocks, its giant sandstone cliffs on 

 the north end face the widest portion of 

 the lake, while the nearly land-locked 

 waters on the inner side afford the only 

 natural harbor for many miles (see map, 

 page 114). 



CAMPING PLACE OP OJIBWAY INDIANS 

 FOR CLNTURIFS 



This was the camping place of the 

 Ojibway Indians for many centuries, and 

 later a trading post was established, with 

 the interesting life incident thereto. 



When tourist travel began, in 1855, on 

 the completion of the first lock at Sault 

 Ste. Marie, this precipitous part of the 

 coast, with its multicolored cliffs and 

 castellated rocks, was seen at close range 

 from the deck of passenger steamers. 



Grand Island, with a shoreline of about 



