The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-08-13

get close view of the rapids. In some
places the cars seem to be directly
| over the water. and drops of flying
| spray are actually dashed aboard the
! cars.
THE officers of our company thought
that it would be a good plan to repro
| duce this charming scene on the screen
for the enjoyment of the admiring pub
| lie, and they assigned me to the task
of securing the views.
THE cameras we use for this work,
along with the electric apparatus and
| the motors to operate it, weigh several
hundred pounds. so you see they can
be carried about like snapshot boxes.
We set our camara up on car, mount
ing it on a high platform, so that 1t
would take in a view of the whole
river Then we timed the run over
the road to see how fast it would be
necessary to go to get the whole scene
upon our films. We found it required
rather more than the ordinary rate of
speed to do it. but that did not bother
us. as we were to have Il car to our
selves and clear line.
A Hair-raising Experience.
"At the appointed time We started
off at good clip. When we reached
the head of the rapids we set the ma
chine in motion. The road is full OF
curves. as it follows the course of the
river. and every time we went around
one of these curves the car seemed to
rear up on one side. We had passed
two or three without leaving the track
and were beginning to get used to it.
when the car struck an unusually sharp
curve. She reared up again. but this
time, instead of coming back to the
track. she balanced in the air for a
minute and then went over on her
side. Luckily. there happened TO be
a little ground between the track and
the water at this particular spot
enough to prevent car and the machine
from going into the river. We saved
ourselves by jumping at the right time.
But if that car had gone off the track
at almost any of the other points where
she had threatened to do SO, the whole
outfit would have been plunged into
the rapids.
Overheard In the Rapids.
"A somewhat similar experience befeI
me some time ago while photographing
the Cedar rapids in the St. Lawrence
river. We had been making a record
of the passage of boat through the
rapids and had our machine mounted
on a log float ballasted with rocks. We
threw off some of the rocks from time
to time as the work proceeded. until
float was lightened sufficiently so that
the weight of the camera, being for
ward of the center. tipped il up on one
side, and off went machine. men and all
into twenty feet of water. Fortunately
for us. there were men with coils of
rope handy by on board the boat. and
we were pulled out without suffering
any more serious Inconvenience than
results from an unexpected cold bath.
1t was some time before the camera
was grappled and lifted from the river
bed.
One of these big cameras capable of
taking 200 photographs per minute is
worth a good deal of money. and an OPP
orator will run considerable personal
risk rather than desert it. There are
occasions, however. when it is the part
of wisdom for him to save his skin.
even at the expense of the machine.
"A case OF this kind occurred at At
lantic City wnen we We're photograph
ing the fire departments response to an
alarm. The alarm was one that was
sounded for our special benefit. The
firemen knew it and naturally. wanted
to make as good showing as posi-
BILE, so they put on an extra burst of
speed.
Our camera was stationed at cor
turn. Down they came. pell-mell, and
we took them in all right until near the
end of the line. Then along came a vol
unteer hose cart. its men dragging Ii
along at a great rate in an attempt to
keep from being last in the line. Rae
ing with them was an engine truck: the
men with the hose cart made the turn
all right. but in doing so they cut off
the engine. The driver of the engine
had the alternatives of running down
the men who were pulling the hose cart.
of running into the crowd of onlookers
along the street, or of keeping straight
on and running over our apparatus. He
chose the latter. reasoning. / suppose.
that as there were only two of us. we
had better chances of getting out of the
way than had the members of the
crowd.
I'VE took all the chance there was
when we saw for a certainty that the
engine was coming our way. That was
none too soon. Our heels and those of
the horses were close together when the
heavy engine raced past.
"Of course, the camera was smashed