Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-03
.A.HUhT W|THA CAMERA
Following the Buffalo to Make
Pictures.
NOT AN EASY TASK
EACH STEP MUST BE CAREFULLY
SAFEGUARDED.
A Herd Stampedes if a Single Beast
Shows Hir
Fright.
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star.
Yesterday morning. as l looked from my
| window upon Croydon mountain the sum-
| which was rising behind 1t, silvered the
| white tree tops along its summit. The day
before white clouds enveloped. the top of
| Croydon. and the moisture which had con-
densed upon the tops of the evergreens had
turned to crystals in the night. A grassy
! plateau to the west of the mountain. and
! just outside my garden, was also white with
a heavy coating of boar frost and upon
| this cleaning field herd of more than
hundred buffaloes stood facing the north
west gate, which opens directly from my
garden into the Corbn game preserve. They
had passed the night on grassy hilltop,
mile to the southeast; had just charged
down over woodland trail and now stood
blowing clouds of vapor from their wet.
black nostrils. But they were not at their
east; all Of them were looking In the
same direction, and most Of them were
standing in attitudes which indicated either
defiance or alarm. There was no one in
sight, and for a minute could not tell what
the trouble was about. Then / saw the
lean, gray form of my tame wolf, Romulus,
who, with ears laid back, and displaying
long line of white teeth, stood snarling at
the wondering monsters on the other side
of the fence.
Presently he sent up a long, savage howl,
their tails, and, snorting, paved the earth.
And as there was the promise Of q bright
day. / took my camera, score of plates,
and a field glass, and set out prepared to
hunt the buffalo until sunset, or until all
my ammunition was gone.
Have to Be Careful.
After entering the gate, I walked quietly
eastward, along the fence, pretending not
to see the bufYaloes, for. often as not, the
moment they see that they are attracting
special attention they will give a few
grunts of alarm and gallop off, leaving
you to follow them over hill and dale for
a mile or two, and then another mile or
two after that, If you are not careful.
After getting well to the east of the herd,
l crawled along under cover OF a stone
wall, until the animals were within reason
able range. From where 1 lay the ground
slanted slightly upward toward the west,
so the dark forms Of the buffaloes were in
good relief against the light brown grass.
Some of them were lying down now, and,
slipping the nozzle of the camera through
a gap in the wall, got a picture of them
in this position. / then worked round them
until could get them against the sky, for
this Is one of the best of all backgrounds
for buffaloes. In order to do this. however,
1 was obliged to show myself, but as L
walked along as though on business in
seine other part of the preserve the animals
took no notice of me. One photograph of
the herd in the distance and another at
much closer range were the result Oh tIlls
maneuver and the buffaloes, finding that |
no harm came from my presence, now
seemed prepared for even further advances.
AS l sauntered very slowly toward them
those which were lying down quickly arose
to their feet, and all OF them gave me their
undivided attention. After getting two
more snaps at the herd began to try for
pictures of individuals. But first l sat
down and waited, that they might become
used to seeing me near them Two or three
animals, however, were getting restless,
and one young four-year-old bull kept
grunting from time to time. though CIV
ing it as his opinion that l was not to be
trusted.
Down the Hillside.
Presently he gave an emphatic grunt and |
started to walk away in the direction of a |
valley to the south, and knew that If he |
ever broke into a trot going down that hill |
side the entire herd would follow him like |
sheep through a gap in the fence. So, as |
though by accident, 1 quickly placed my |
self between him and the valley, and he. |
finding that his move was checked trotted |
back to his companions, and the danger |
of stampede was for the moment averted. |
Incidentally, l had obtained a portrait of |
this animal, and now there was a chance |
for another of COW and calf who were |
standing just above me with their bodies
well against the sky. The calf was busy |