Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-12-12
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WILD ANIMAL PHOTOGRAPHY
How Buffalo Jones Caught Subjects
for the Movies.

How Buffalo Jones Caught Subjects
for the Movies.
Roaming about the wilds Of the East
African veldt are a number Of lions,
rhinoceros, giraffes and other mighty
beasts that must have vivid recollec-
ton Of recent experiences more Won
derful than ever befell any Of their
kind before. Those experiences now
are being depicted on the screens of
motion picture theatres the world over
and show the savage animals, some of
them the most ferocious and powerful
known to the wild places Of the earth,
struggling, fighting and finally lying
helpless captives in the meshes OF
lariats in the hands of American cow
boys. After they had played their
parts in making the films, the animals
were released.
The man who had the most danger
Gus part in the making Of those extra
ordinary pictures was Cherry Kearton,
an Englishman, who has become fam
Gus for his skill and daring in photo
graphing savage animals and peoples
in many out-of- the-way places. On the
African expedition, the American cow
boys, led by Charles ]. ("Buffalo")
Jones, were mounted on active and
sure footed horses, but Kearton, arm
ed with a camera, was on foot during
the encounters with the jungle folk
and had only his agility to depend on
when an enraged lion or rhino took a
notion to charge. In a book, wild
Life Across the World" soon to be
published in America by the George
H. Doran company, New York. Kear-
ton devotes two chapters to descrip-
tions and pictures Of his exciting ad-
ventures in East Africa with Jones
and his cowboys. Herewith are printed
some extracts from the book. In an
to the volume, Theodore
Roosevelt gives assurance Of the abb
solute trustworthiness Of the photo
grapher-author.
a Giraffe in the Lens
The picture making party consisted
of eleven white men, three hundred
African natives, fifteen horses and sew
en- dogs of various sizes and breeds.
The natives carried on their heads
what supplies and equipment was not
in heavy wagons drawn by
oxen. or the order of progress, Kear-
ton says:
I'VE found neither lions nor rhino,
but leopard was marked down. He
took cover in some long grass and was
s iii there when l arrived on the scene.
A little way off was a small spruit. At
once / got the cameras ready, whilst
the cowboys set out with the idea Of
driving him down to me. But that
leopard had plans Of his own, and
without the slightest warning he jump
ed up and healed for the spruit, where
he hid in some underground.
1T was an ugly place, and leopard
is not a pleasant beast at the best Of
times, but Jones settled the matter in
cool, characteristic fashion. He rode
to the bank of that spruit, almost
asking the animal to come to hinl, and
when he accepted the invitation, he
lassoed 1t neatly, afterwards dragging
it in front of the camera, greatly TO
the amazement of the carriers"
Then, one afternoon, shortly before
sunset, a spearman ride up to tie
caravan with the news
that Jones had found giraffe. The
photographer continues:
1T was no easy task to catch the
animal. To begin with, there was the
fact that a giraffe Is about the most
fragile thing on the veldt. A heavy
fall means either a broken neck or a
broken limb; and my object was to
avoid any injury to my quarry. Then,
too, there was his immense height;
he was so utterly different from any
thing else his pursuer had ever tried
to lasso. Yet, so skillful was this
from the plains of the west,
that he did the thing at the very first
throw. The moose seemed to fall gent
ly, exactly in the right place, and In
an incredibly short time the huge
beast was at standstill, gazing at his
captor, with big-eyed astonishment."
Photosraphins a Raging Rhinoeeros.
fo NTH NJ tho
real terrors Of the African wilds, a
rhinoceros Kearton says:
Fortunately, the light was excellent
1T was just about noon-and other
conditions were just right from his
point of view-a dip in the ground
where the rains of the night before
had formed a small pool. He went
right into it, and turned around to face
us, then, finding we were not coming
on Immediately, INDUCED in the lux
ury Of a good roll, probably to re-
fresh himself after his run.
obviously there was no sense in
trying to catch him that way, when he
w III lull SdICCi. 3hC Oh'J
seemed to be to tire him out first and
then endeavor to get several lassoes
on him at the same time. For over
half an hour conditions generally were
in my favor. The cowboys got their
ropes ready and started to work round
slowly, whilst I went forward on foot,
quite close to the sleeping rhino, set
camera on him and gave the signal
for the others to close in.
Instantly Jones gave vent to war
whoop which would have done credit
to a red Indian, and, followed by his
assistants, dashed up. A moment Ia
ter the rhino was on his feet, trying to
get the scent, his great nose in the air,
his little purblind eyes peering round.
He just gave me time to get some film,
then he was away at full speed, down
the valley the cowboys in close pur-
suit. He went three miles, perhaps,
before he decided to halt and face his
enemies. The place he chose was a
good one from the standpoint Of the
and the cowboys kept
up the game, taking It in turn to be
chased, the rhino always returning to
his pool after each successful dash.
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