53 
He said “ Our instrumental equipment needs a few words 
of explanation. We wished to secure photographs of the 
corona, and of the flash spectrum. We had no very costly 
apparatus, but in order to secure something of the former 
that should be of value, we needed some kind of reliable 
driving arrangement ; and, as we had resolved on arriving 
at Burgos on the morning of the eclipse, it became a serious 
question as to whether any effective instrument could be 
taken that could be fitted together and adjusted within the 
space of a few hours. My companion, however, an expert 
engineer as well as a capable photographer, was equal to the 
occasion. Two equatorial stands were made, fixed on rigid 
tripods, with fixed polar axes, adapted to the latitude of 
Burgos. Each of these was supplemented by a wedge- 
shaped block cut to the angle of the Sun’s declination for 
noon on the day of eclipse. One of these mounts carried 
a two-inch telescope kindly lent by Mr. T. Taylor, a third 
member of our party. The telescope was used as a guide 
rather than for observational purposes. On the top of this 
was an ordinary quarter-plate camera, with a Sanger Shepherd 
green screen in front of the lens, to be exposed during the 
entire length of totality, so as to obtain a picture of the corona 
in green light only. The second mount was connected with 
the first by means of a Hooke’s joint rod, and when properly 
aligned, moved pari passu with the first mount, being driven 
from a mill-headed screw. Two cameras were attached to 
this, one for varying exposures through coloured screens, 
the other with a telephoto lens, working at f. 11 X 8 = f. 88. 
Besides these a camera was mounted specially to obtain 
photographs of the flash spectrum at second and third contacts. 
Mr. Benson and I were each provided with binoculars for 
visual observation of the flash. 
Of our experiences in getting to the observing ground it 
is not necessary to speak ; but our thanks are due to Mr. 
Thwaites, the leader of the B.A. expedition, for kind per- 
mission to occupy a post close by his party, on the station 
selected by Senor Iniguez. We had, therefore, the privilege 
of being protected by a cordon of cavalry. 
The morning of August 30th opened with a cloudless sky 
and gave promise of an ideal day. But by the time we 
reached our encampment, two miles outside the city, huge 
masses of cumulus clouds caused occasional interruptions 
of the brilliant sunshine. Our heavy baggage was soon 
unpacked, however, and although it was 10-20 when we 
commenced to put together our instruments, by 12-30 we 
