The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-07-08

COLONEL W1LLOUGHBY-vERNER AFTER EGGS
of Carmarthenshire and the eggs Of gull
lemots, gulls and cormorants from the
sides Of apparently inaccessible cliffs and
rocks in all parts of the world.
The collection of eggs in the possession
of the gallant officer is the finest in the
world. He has been collecting them since
he was a boy, and the cliff does not exist
that he will not descend, no matter how
much the laws of gravitation must be de-
fed, provided the effort promises the adj
dition of some rare specimen to his fine
collection. The accompanying picture
viii give some idea OF how the colonel
descends the face Of a cliff. His usual
outfit consists of about 200 feet Of very
strong but not very thick rope, a ball of
cord with a weight attached, to BE used
in case Of emergency in lowering addi-
tional rope. or making communication
with the assistant above; a box for carry
ing the eggs, d knife for defense should
an angry mother bird resent the robbing
of her home and a camera. With this
camera Colonel Willoughby-Verner has
taken photographs of nests which are the
rarest photographs in existence. for what
could be more remarkable than pictures
taken while the photographer is swinging
at the end Of a 200 loot rope, holding the
camera between his feet?
Here is the method Of taking photo
graphs if any enthusiast in America
wishes to initiate it: II first procure a
couple Of ropes. One / tie to a crowbar
fastened firmly in the ground at the
brink Of descent and cast the end over a
cliff. The other is held by my assistant
after being looped firmly around my
waist and legs. Holding on to the rope
that has been let down over the cliff, with
my camera on my back, | go down the
face Of the rock in a walking attitude,
the assistant letting out the rope as l
want it. ! have to pay particular atten-
ton to the condition of the rock with
which the rope is liable to come in con-
tract. as it would be fatal should the rope
fray and break while | am walking back
ward down the face OF a cliff with no
other support than the friendly cord.
"The taking Of the photograph depends
on the situation of the nest. II the nest
is on a large projecting ledge, the work
is easy. If it Is in a assure or a very
small prefecture it will take hours some
times to arrange the camera so as to get
a good photograph, and this work while
swaying on the end of a rope is the re-
verse Of pleasant. The life of the climb
er is in the hand Of the man who lowers
the rope from above. I was descending
a cliff at one time. Happening to look up,
/ saw that the attendant was conversing
with a friend, while the ROPE was left to
run out itself. It had gradually worked
its way to the top of the crowbar and in
another Instant would have slipped off al
together. | yelled to the man, and by a
quick jump and lightninglike work he
managed to save the rope from slipping
off and leaving me to slide to death down
the cliff side.''
The daring collector has had many mar
row escapes. One Of the narrowest he de-
scribes as follows: II was looking for
nests in one Of the highest parts of the
rock Of Gibraltar and. by removing my
shoes, had managed to scramble along
the face of a rock that was not far from
the perpendicular. | was cautiously APP
preaching the nest of a yulture that l
had seen in the crack Of the rock, when
just as [ was about to seize the eggs a
vuiture of enormous size few III Of the
assure In which they lay. She made no
attempt to attack me, and / may say here
that / have found very few birds anxious
to make a fight for their nests. The risk
TO the climber is in the danger of falling
through the surprise caused by q huge
bird flashing out unexpectedly"