Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-12-12
HUNTING BUFFALOES
BUT WITH A CAMERA, AND NOT
 WITH A GUN.
Ernest Harold Baynss Tells of an Tn teresting Day 1n the Corbin Game Preserve on Croydon
 Naru&aiya

Yesterday morning, as looked from my window upon Croydon mountain.
 the sun, which was rising behind it.. silVered the white tree-tops along it's
 summit. The day before, white clouds
 enveloped the top of Croydon, and the
 moisture which had condensed 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 heavy coating of hoar frost. and upon this gleaming field a
 herd of more than hundred buftaloes stood facing the northwest gate, which opens directly from my garden into the Corbin game preserve. They had passed the night on a grassy hilltop, mile to the southeast; had Just charged down over 8 woodland trail, and now stood blowing clouds of yapor from their wet, black nostrils.
 As there was the promise of bright day, took my camera. score of plates, and field glass and set out prepared 1 to hunt the buffalo until sunset, or un- 1 til ali my ammunition was gone.
 After entering the gate, walked 4 ! tending not to see the buffaloes, for,, often as not, the moment they see that
 they are attracting special attention,
 they will give few grunts of alarm and i gal1op 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, I crawled along under cover of a stone wall, until 1 the animals were within reasonable
 range. From where lay, the ground l slanted slightly upwards 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, ands slipping the nozzle of
 the camera through gap in the wall 1 I got picture of them in this position l I then worked round them until could 1 get them against the sky, for this is one
 of the best of all backgrounds for buf- l faloes. Tn order to do this, however.
 was obliged to show myself. but as
 walked along as though on business in
 some other part of the preserve, the
 animals took no notice of me. One l photograph of the herd in the distance,
 and another at much closer range, were the result of this maneuyer, and the l buHaloes, finding that no harm came
 from my presence, now seemed pre-
 pared for even further advances. As !
 sauntsred very slowly toward them,
 those which were lying down quickly
 arose to their feet, and all of them gave
 me their undivided attention. After 4 getting two more snaps at the herd.
 began to try for pictures of individuals. l But first sat down and waited, that
 they might become used to seeing me
 near them Two or three animals, how ever, were getting restless, and one young four-year-oId bull kept grunting
 from time to time, as though giving 1t
 as his opinion that was not to be trust
 ed. Presently he gave an emphatic
 grunt and started to walk away in the
 direction of valley to the south, and
 knew that, if he ever broke into a
 trot going down that hillside, the entire
 herd would follow him like sheep
 through gap in the fence So as
 though by accident, I quickly placed
 myself between him and the valley,
 and he, finding that his move was
 checked, trotted back to his compan ions, and the danger of stampede was for the moment averted
 l The herd was now becoming uneasy
 and nay friend, the young buil before
 mentioned. gave a loud grunt and
 dashed away toward the valley, with
 two or three others close in his wake, I knew that to stop the stampede now 1 would be, about as easy as to stop an
 avalanche or landslide, so stood
 apart and gave them plenty of room
 One great flying wedge of brown, with ,, the four-year-old bull at it's apex, they
 went laundering down the hill, and through the valley along the bank oi the brook. Then, in long string, they filed up a hill to the west, along the ridge, and down into a valley beyond . As I watched them through the glass from hill-top,I could see, in a hollow
 which was crossed by the trail, another
 smaller herd of buffaloes, lying at rest
 and In the apple orchard further to ths south was still another herd: and al the main body went through, these ;. smaller ones fell in with them, uDti }, about 150 buffaloes were on the march | Laden as was, it seemed wiser to giv' them time to slow down before attempt ing to come up with them, sol sat dowr by the brook and had my lunch. Whe1
 I overlook the buffaloes. they wer'
 about to enter wood and here photo
 graphed them again. As they moved
 through the wood, they presented {
 strange appearance. The trail was dim ? Iy lighted and was filled with surgins mass of great hairy beasts, parts onl, l of whose outlines could be seen. Nov \ and then few rays of sunshine filtered . through the trees, and for momen lighted up a rolling sea of humps an, glinted from the Well-eurved hoFns The sun was setting behind tn, Green mountains when the buffaloe \ gathered together on the top of hil [ for the night
 ERNEST HAROLD BAYNEs |