Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-03-05

LELAND sTANPoRD's EXPERIMENTS IN PICTURING
MOVING MEN. HORSES AND OTHER ANIMALS
VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE.
rsan Francisco Examiner
The results of Mr.. Muy bridges years OF ef-
forts to photograph animals of all kinds mar
Included, while In continuous and rapid motion
may now be said TO be fully and most satisfac-
torily complete, as Is also his zoogyroscope-h
marvellous Invention for putting his pictures
again In motion. Mr.. Muy bridge came to Cal.
ifOrDla In 1856. and most OF the time since, and
all OF the time since 1860, he has been diligently
and at the same time studiously. engaged fr
Photography. For several years after 1860 Mr.
MuybTidge made specially of landscape pho
Biography, and IL is through his innumerable
stereoscopic sets, that realizing sense of the
wonders OF California scenery has been effected
abroad. To him Mr.. Stanford appealed in June
ls.2, when he had determined to essay very
rem arEaDle discovery. Mr.. Stanford was
always lover OF horses as well as OF pictures.
The first and perhaps most curious result Of
alternately watching the speeding OF his flyers
OF the turf and OF reading works descriptive OF
the PAGES OF the horse and looking upon pic
lures OF the Iorse at speed, was that he con-
cludtd there was diametric difference as 20
such movements between the horse himself
ana the horses delineators OF either science or
art. And he took sides with the horse. When
Mr.. Stanford. In the course of his readings
came at page 161 In the recent and valuable
work OF Prof. Marcy, the great French savant
to the statement that sin the natural walking
pace there are never more than two feet en-
the ground at Time" he would stand it no
longer. This was IN 1872, at which time Mi.
Stanford was resident CT Sacramento. He
telegTaphed to Mr.. Muy bridge requesting ths
latter to sit him. This Mr.. Muybridge did,
when Mr.. Stanford startled the photographer
by stating that what he desired was a photo
graph OF his horse, Occident, taken while the
horse was ar fun speed Occdent was then ad-
mttedly the fastest trotterin the world having
recorded mile IN 2:162. Aud the picture was
rtqulrtd 10 De take1, not as the flyer should
n n hn nrnn hT q "a dr1
should shoot him at fullest speed past the lens.
Mr.. Muybridge plainly told Mr. Stanford that
such thing had never been heard of; that
photography had not yet arrived at any such
wonderful perfection as would enable 1t to de
plct trotting horse at speed. The firm, quiet
man " no had, over mountains and deserts and
through the malignant jeers or the world, built
the railroad declared impossible, simply satd:-
II think, IL you give your attention TO the SUBJ
iect, you win be able to do it, and want you
to try"
"try." He thought over the matter skllfllly
made all the then known combinations OF
chemistry and optics for taking an instant
picture, made the trial, and succeeded In get
ting the first shadowy and tndistlnct picture OF
OcCld6nt at a trOt. The picture was extremely
unsatisfactory TO the artist, and he was, there
fore, surprised when. upon its exhibition to
Mr.. stanford, and after that gentleman had
lorg and intently scTutinized the foggy out
lines OF the legs Mr. Stanford expressed un-
bounded satisfaction with 1t. No wonder. To
W
continuation or his theory. that from the time
OF the first craven image to that of Rosa Bon
heur, there had never been the true represen-
tation Of an animal In motion. With the
MIR. stanford was no more salts.
fed than was the artist. and the
latter having agreed that lac would concentrate
bis thoughts upon the evolution of some way
in which photographs might be more rapidly
taken, he went away. In July, 1871, mr Muy-
bridge again went TO Sacramento, and there
rlr f.-rfNF4 ,krt.E
speed on the Agricultural Park track. That
picture was q success that satisfied not only
Mr. Stanford, but MIR. Muy bridge also. But It
SATISFIED no person else No picture that had
up so instant storm OF deri5iOn and OpprO-
| bIiun. Scientists rtdiculed it, ANTAGONISTS
scored at 1t, and Old turfmen 1eered at it and
aggresslyely maintained the imposslbilty OF a
horse ever getting itSelfintO the position repre-
| SeDted. But the self-susJained Mr.. Stanford
had gone unscathed through more malignant
| tempest OF jeerS than that, and had brought
| the SCOfTers TO shame at last Mr.. Stanford
! locked at the picture. THAT Is nature" he
| said 81 AIN convinced; now | viii convince
| oth6Ts.r
The picture was q single one, taken with a
| single camera, aid, necessarily, the horse vas
| represented In only that enc atom OF time Ia
! which be as hurled past the lens. IL was al
| impOssibility 10 devise any way In which d
/ horse going at full speed should at one certain
| Instant and at one prescribed point be In any
/ predetermined part OF his stride. But at Mr
| MI. Stanford , country residence at Paio Alto
( al there arranged ~ Cameras TO take "a many
! ptOl ogrGphS OF horse passing at full speed
| over TIE private track OF The PdI0 Alto estate
| The IL cameras we've arranged IN a line and sc
INN ediateiy succeeding eacn other as TO take Il
d!nt rent views OF the horse while passing all /;
! OF the cameras at single stride of his gait
I Oft-Tepeated and painStaklDg experiments were
mace with walking. with running, with trot
| tiLg, with caLteIing, and with running horses
An! one picture OF any one of these series OF /:
| vas notably more perfect than the single pic
1 ture obtained at Sacramento.
| Nh. stanford himself was In Paris shortly
| after the publishing OF the photographs, anC
was Ia the studio OF the great artist Melssonier
| Who Lad himself seen the prints. "SKetch me-
! here horse trottipg," said MIR. Stanford. MeiS-
! sOnier smiled, stepped TO his easel, and with 6
/ Few dextToUs touches sketched horse Lrotting
| as all good artists have Insisted upon his tror-
| ting since the world began. The artist stepped
back. aid both he and Mr.. Stanford for a mo
m6nt contemplated the work. Now" saiC
Mt stanford, make NE sketch OF that same
horse In that same stride when he shall
have progressed IL inches further on" The
! artist locked at Mr.. Stanford. stepped SLOWLY
/ and thoughtfully to the easel, and with some
/ hesitation made second sketch. He stepped
| back. looked at It. rubbed IL out. made another
| stepped back and looked at that. Three times
! Le It p6aIed this operation. Then rubbing Ou
/ tie lines OF the last essay he turned to Mr.
+ Stanford and said simply, II can't do IT." AnC
/ yet Meiss0nitr many years ago drew the picture
/ q hose that would have irretrieyabiy
I can mtC any Ot1ef artist than himself, aud FOL
which lie vas JecTed by the crit les without
/ mercy. Meiss0Ditr maintained the position
was correct, and IL 1871 California senJ to Paris
the certificate OF the sun that MISSIONER has
been correct Tor one picture Of the series repre-
: scLts horse In very Learly the attitude repre-
SeLtCd ty Tie greatest living pJtLter.
/ But as Mr. Sanford lad been the only one e
eNpIeSS satisfaction with tue Initial p.ctI.e OF
. lot2. so lie was Low the one. when every O0dy
else said - 81 ccesS,' 10 exact success far more
+ complete. Therefore, he gave Mi. Mug bridge
/ carte hiHhCEe. WITH instruction 10 provide him
stlf WIN entirely new electric ana Photographic
! apparatus, the most perfect That could be 10 ade
! II. the world and arrange the Palo AlLO tract
for the taking or new aud more perfect serIa,
Z OF pictures. Mr.. Muybridge then had new leo
I SEES made by the celebrated opLictan tliemeyer
/ OI London. One hundred feet or the race tTaGb
/ al PalO Alto and In front OF the cameras wa.
/ covered with india rubber. on one side o.
7 Tits track cOmmOdiOus sne1 was erected fol-
/ twenty -four cameras. opposite the she'd OF
I The other eide OF the track, was erected
! background, ntteen feet high, OF white can
| vas. which s'anted away from the track az az
angle or thirty o. grceS. In the shed back O
/ the camera, was ii powerful electric battery
The "a cameras were arranged in line and Il
! front OF the lens OF e2Cn was secured stout
wooden shutter ABOUT IL inches square vi I
| slides secured In place by q spring, the -eleaSs
or which would Cause them II b. snapped nas
each other by powerful 1IdiaruDb.r bands Or
| the further side or the surface or the track Wet
secured Two lines or wooden rails an fach IL
/ LelSht ana Is Inches apart, ana across the5t
I Ialls, ana II Inches apart. were SIRE chc1 wires
Between these rails the driver srcered whee
| OF ne Sulky, and as tie wheel passed over eacl
! WIRE an electric Cree was completed viii :!
I TIPPED the SPRING ftp Shurrar