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PHOTOGRAPHING WILD BEASTS A THRILLING
32
,br Lion 5priYjg
Mr. Cherry Keaton, a
Pioneer Naturalist
Photographer, Tells of
His Experiences in the
Jungles of Africa and
Asia
CHKItltY KKAIITON. the famous
Knglish pioneer In photograph.
Ing great and dangerous lieasts
in tlio wlldx, and especially In
taking moving pictures of them, has
written mi Interesting account of IiIh
rxjierlences In the Jungles of Africa and
Ada which reveals at what hazard nre
procured the films which people look at
in the security of the moving picture
theatre.
"Without boasting unduly." says Sir.
Kearton In his hook. "Wild Life Across
the World" (George H. Doran Com
pany), "I may say that the naturalist
photographer usually takes Infinitely
greater risks and certainly displays
greater skill and patience than does
the pseiidn sportsman. It la much
easier, much less dangerous to shoot a
lion after your boys have led you up
to him and your white hunter, who Is
by your side ready for emergencies, has
given you explicit Instructions, than It
is to creep close to that lion nnd take a
moving picture of him.
"For a whole week we circled a hill
two or three times a day, peering into
every possible hiding place, getting hot
and tired and thirsty without the leujt
result. On the eighth morning my host
suggested that we should leave the
kopje alone and try our luck In a patch
of hush some three miles from the
homestead. I assented gladly I was a
little weary of that hill and he at once
set to work to collect a crowd of beaters
toulrlvo out anything which might hap
pen to be hiding In the scrub.
"The place selected for the camera
was behind a large ant hill. There wn9
a little thorn scrub some twenty yards
away and my host reckoned that If
there were any Hons In the bush they
could break away across this open space
nnd make for the small kopje close to
the house.
"Stationed with me was a Masai
speorman, n fine youngster of ubout 21
years of age who had already killed u
Hon single handed. Near by Hill him
self was waiting on horseback, his idea
being that when the lions appeared
they were seen to be distinctly annoyed
nnd quite ready to cause trouble he
should get them to chase him past me.
It sounded all right, and yet r mehow
I could not help reflecting on what
might happen if instead of going after
IIIH they turned aside to see what I was
doing. Still I disguised my feelings,
put the best face on It I could und
waited. In the end, however, though
svverul bucks came out, there was no
sign of a lion,
"The next day we went back to the
kopje and resumed our weary search
among the rocks und dongas. We had
not gone very far when I received a
most unpleasant shock. Seeing n very
large bird's nest, 1 readied up to it, in
tending to feel if there were any young
In It. My hand was Just level with the
mouth when out slid a venomous snake.
It wus a lesson to me, nnd 1 have never
since tried similar experiments. 1 nm
very careful now nbout looking first.
"As the hours went by it seemed as
though we were owe more going to
draw a blunk. There hud been no nlgn
of lions, and the light was beginning to
get poor. Then the unexpected hap
pened. I was about half way up the
kopjo side and was looking out over
the plains.
"Suddenly my boy gave a tug at my
Jacket und, us Is the way of the na
tives when they see game, pointed at n
spot immediately below us. I followed
the direction of the pointing finger, nnd
there, peering through n thorn hush at
our two comrades, was n large lioness
with two almost full grown cubs at her
side. The animals were, nt the very
outside, twenty yards nway from the
others, who had no suspicion of their
presence.
"At once I drew Hill's attention to the
Hons. The latter had -neither seen nor
winded us, nnd nt first wo could not
decide what to do. One thing was cer
tain we ought to warn our friends of
their danger. Hill hailed them.
''Lions! Shout!' he cried, thinking
that they might scare the beusts and
cause them to run up within range of
my camera.
"Unfortunntely Clarko misunderstood
him, mistaking 'shout' for 'shoot,' and
drew his revolver and fired several shots
Into the ground. It was u most danger
ous thing to have done, a direct Invita
tion to the lioness to charge, and he waa
lucky to escape with his life, I raised
my voice then, yelling 'Slmba; klllulee!'
(lion, shout out!). This time tne otner
two grasped the meaning and sprinted
61
TVip.
3
CToslaon With ita
To-rageia Fully Extended
at top speed to an ant hill some ten
yards away.
"Of course the lions were thoroughly
disturbed. At first they did not seem
to know quite what to do, but finally
headed up the hill, making for some
cover nbout forty or fifty yards from
when; wo were standing. Meanwhile I
was turning the handle of my machine
at top spied. I will admit I was ex
cited, and not without cause, for those
were the first animated photographs
ever taken of lions in their wild, free
state. I was more than Jubilant as we
went back to the house, my only fear
lielng that perhaps the light had not
been sufficiently good."
Another experience, none too gentle,
of photographing a lioness In the bush
is described by Mr. Kearton:
"There wan a lioness In the bush,
with the pack of eight dogs of every
breed round her every one who has
rend those wonderful looks by the
greatest of hunters. F. '. Selotis, will
remember the use he made of such dogs
for Hon hunting while Jones was wait
ing to get his Insso on her. She was
still there when the two other cowix.ys
came up, but hardly had we liegun to
discuss what our next move should Ih
when she settled the question for us,
"Like a flash she came out, heedless
of the dogs now, and made her way to
an opening In the rocks, where she
stood at kiy. It was Impossible to get
the horses near her. Impossible to do
anything save shoot her, while she wus
on that broken ground; und I had not
taken all that trouble, spent all thuso
weary days, In order to see a lioness
killed with n bullet.
"Hy various means, firing the grass,
throwing crackers, setting the dogs on,
we managed to make her move several
times, but though I got one or two
scraps of film at close quarters J
wanted fur inure than that. The heat
soon became Intense, overpowering, and
It wus only too plain that the dogs were
beginning to tire. The dust, the sun,
the continual barking were too much
for them.
"At last, in sheer desperation, Jones
declared that he would try and slip a
nooe over her by means of a pole. It
would have been risky, for had she
sprung at him I'lyate's bullet would
probably have failed to stop her In time,
but Just at thnt moment she changed
her tactics. Without thir slightest
warning she sprang down the rocks,
rnced across the veld and stood again
among some scrub on tho bank of n
small spruit.
"The dogs had followed her gamely,
und now, despite their exhaustion, they
bayed her onco more, She too wus
tired; moreover, she was in that stnto
of exasperation in which, with one of
her kind, anything Is possible.
"She had taken up her position
cleverly, her rear, and to a certain ex
tent her flanks too, being protected by
the spruit. The men with tho lassoes
could only approach her in front di
rectly. ' "Fortunately she, gave mo time to
get my camera fixed; In fact I was able
to pick up a good background, but the
grass was too long to show much of
tho lion while she crouched there,
snarling her hardest,
"Then Means worked forward, his
rope ready, but before ho could throw It
she seemed to realize her danger. With
mouth open she was nt him. For a
moment It woh touch nnd go whether
he could avoid her, hilt hn managed to
gain n few yards. Instantly sho saw
that the first man hud escaped she
swung round and directed her attention
at Jones. Hut he too evaded her, and In
savage disgust she abandoned those
tactics and once more took up her po
sition at the foot of a thorn tree,
"All this time I had been turning
the handle of my machine, recording
the whole Incident on the film, It was
an untaxing opportunity, and I wus well
repaid for all the previous disappoint
ments. "Though no rope wus on her yet. still
a good deal had been gained, for sho
KM
til
T
aw
5, its;
as
was In a far better position for lasso
inir. Jones knot Imp nprintit,.,! ti, utw.i,
Ing and swinging his rope while Means
worKed up ror a throw. The noose fell
fairly over her neck, but she seemed to
realize her ilnni-er nml ivlih ?n.'ir'ii.,tiu
rapidity slipped the lasso off.
".Vow It was Loveless's turn. Ho too
caught her, and once more shu freed
herself, lty this time she was evidently
alarmed as well as furious, for she sud
denly dived Into the spruit and took
shelter among some bush, For u few
minutes It seemed as if she was destined
to beat us after nil. Tin lth. wi,u iir,j
and crackers were thrown in without re
sult; lint nt last she showed herself
sufficiently to allow Loveless to have
another throw. As he did "so she
seemed to divine that he woh tin. Im.
mediate enemy and sprang at him,
Just missing him. Then she was back In
win spruu once more among the grass.
"It was here that we fln.illv
While I brought my camera up to within
twenty yarns Loveless threw his rope
so that the noosu rested on the grass
above her head and passed the other en1
over I he brunch of a thorn tree, The..,
THERE ARE REALLY
DIU you ever see a beur cut? I hive
u any Idea what one looks like?
Perhaps not, for the only refer
ences one sees to this creature are In
(ho sporting pages of tho newspapers,
whero noted pugullsls nre commonly
referred to as hear cats which would
Imply that liear cats are ferocious, man
destroying animals.
And tho name Itself, n combination
suggesting it mlxturo of qualities hard
to Imagine, has undoubtedly enused
many persons to believe that the crea
ture Is a fiction of tho sporting writer's
bruin. After he has described the
fighter as a demon, a whirlwind and n
tornado, nnd his comparisons are ex
hausted, ho then calls fhlm a bear cat
nnd it seems aa If ho had suld the last
word In terms of ferocity.
Hut there are hear cats. All but
one are roaming the mountain! In the
'hTHE lSUN, SUNDAY, DECEMBER" 7, m.
ft'
i3
SB
JN4..TA'boti.t Stork.
Tha Red, Cololsu MoTV-y.
us coolly as though he were trying to
cutcli a sheep, Jones went forwurd, a
long stick in his hand, ami pushed from
the bank above, some eight feet, the
noosu down onto her.
"Naturally she sprung at him, but she
also sprung through the noose, which
caught around one hind leg. The rest
happened very quickly. Almost before
wo realized it she wus being hauled up
to the branch of that tree; then she wus
hanging head downward with other
ropes round her, and after that she was
being lowered to the ground, perfectly
helpless. It wus a unique und wonder
ful piece of work, requiring as much
kill as it did pluck.
As hippopotami were plentiful nl.uig
the Tana Itiver Mr. Kearton at Hot
supposed t hat he would have no dilll
culty in getting animated picture of
them.
"tint I quickly discovered my mis
take." he says. "Long befoie I was
within range all I could see -was a pair
of nostrils hero and there ami occa
sionally the Hut part of the head an Inch
or two above the surface. They were
all under water, und hud no Intention
north of India nnd thn south of China,
In n wild country from 7,000 to 12,000
feel above the level of the sea. And
that one poor lonely little benr cat
Is In the city of New York,
He nnd his mato were brought here
by way of Loudon nnd his mate died
soon after they arrived, and now he,
tho only other one. ever caged und
placed on exhibition, spends his days
curled up in his cage In the building
used for the squirrels, porcupines,
opossums, raccoons and tho hyena In
tho llronx Zoological Purl;.
Ills zoological name Is panda (Aclurus
fulgens) nnd his common name is the
little red bear cat, He has the dis
tinction of being unique he is genus
nnd species together. Twice the size
of a big hnuso cat, his face and ears
nre white, his body u bright red und
his legs nre black. His tall Is as long
tm hi body, and os brilliantly red, and
la marked with rings of black.
He la classed aa one of the rarnivora,
but the attendant will tell you that
uf shotting themselves again until I had
taken my departure.
"I found a hiding place behind some
bushes and waited patiently for hour.
From time to time a crocodile would
show his hideous snout, or once a num
ber of that loathsome breed slid out of
the reeds not far from me and plunged
Into the stream, doing It loo quickly for
mo to get any pictures, but the hippo
gave me no chance.
"It was not plensant waiting on the
bankf. Ants seemed always to bo
crawling over my 1 is and leggins,
flies or midges were continually getting
Into my eyes. I dure not smoke, I
hardly dare move ,i hand, livery mo
ment I grew more stlfT and thirsty and
dlsgusled with thoe wretched, lethargic
hippos. At last 1 gae it up In sheer
disgust, und I have little doubt that
within the minutes of my departure all
those animals were svwmmlng ubout
openly or feeding among the reeds,
"I'eople say I have the gift of patience
1 suppose they are right. At any rule
I do not like to have to acknowledge de
feat, nnd in this case I really did xtlck
to my task. Day after day I went down
BEAR CATS
he eats only fruit, vegetables and raw
eggs, and ho drinks only milk, His
pan of drinking water 'lie never touches.
Ills head and face resemble those of
u cut, and he laps his milk with his
little red tongue Just as n cut does.
Ills feet nnd legs are like those of n
bear; but his magnlllcent tail Is tho
envy of every benr In the zoo.
In the daytime he appears sleepy,
and when dlstuibed he 'i as timid and
shy us one of Hie bird", Ills eyes have a
faraway look like thece of the owls;
his vision Is for the night, Yet late In
the day 'lie walks about his yard next
to his cage.
Few people notice tho little fellow
ns lie lies curled up In the dark corner
of his cage, and yet this benr cat Is
the rarest specimen of all.
Of his habits little Is known -people
are not enough Interested In him to
climb the Himalayas and learn what Ills
brothers ure doing. And so the little
stranger, queerest of nil the dwellers
In the zoo, remains a mystery.
. '4vl I
Hcrcm
to that rher bunk an. I wauhed hippos'
snouts. Not once during the Hrst part
of the time did I get an opportunity of
taking a photograph, much lc of mak
ing a record with the klm matogrnph
machine.
"My hiding placo wus some fifty
yards from the water's edge, and I am
certain thnt there were usually forty
hippos within a couple of hundred yards
of me. Yet the moment I drew near In
the morning tmre would be a mighty
grunting und every one of the unlmuN
would sink out of sight. There did not
appear to be any wind- at least I
thought there was none but after
wasting several days nt this futile game
I made some very careful tests with
dust and discovered that there really
wus a faint breeze blowing In their di
rection. They must hae smelt me all
the time.
"Late one afternoon when I hud de
cided to give up work for the rest of the
day I was strolling buck to camp along
the rler bank when I spied a leopard
creeping along in front of me, keeping
close to the water's edge under some
over hanging branches. He did not seem
lo be aware of my presence' at any
rati- he took no notice of me but
sprang onto u bough and climbed down
right over the stream.
"At once I got my machine to work
mi him. When he was well out on
the bough he liegan to make n most
peculiar noise, nt the same time strik
ing downward with his paw. Then I
discovered the reason for his action.
In the water was a dead hippo, or
lather the putrid remains of one. All
round It were crocodiles, and the leo
pard was trying to drive them off while
he got his share.
"It was a wonderful chance for me.
1 secured some llfly feet of film of It
without the least difficulty. Then Clark
came up, and I pointed the leopard out
t him. I shall never forget the look
uf astonishment on his face. At Hrst he
could only stare. As he said later, he
hail spent nine months up there in
quest of wild animals, and during that
time had never seen a leopard come out
Into the open.
"Tho animal went on with his fish
ing I suppose he wus stnrving, and
hunger hud made him careless of dan
ger and, acting on Clark's advice, I
continued to turn the bundle until I had
used up all the lllm In the machine.
Mven then we remained watching him
for somu time longer.
"Needless to say, I was excited about
my pictures, und us soon as I got Into
camp I started to develop them. To my
horror, however, the test pieces simply
fogged off In patches, with little bits
of the leopard visible here mid there.
I hud had the chance of u lifetime, per
haps, yet the whole film was valueless.
It was terribly hard luck."
Once Mr. Kearton wus trekking nlong
to a waterhole to see what photographic
possibilities he might discover there,
when he had n lively adventure with a
rhinoceros.
"I wus leading," he says, "walking
perhaps ten or fifteen yards In advance
of the rest of the pnrty, which consisted
of a one eyed boy who wus carrying my
camera, two spearmen and a couple of
ordinary carriers. 1 was keeping a
sharp lookout for a fresh spoor, but
was not paying much attention to the
country In general.
"Casually I noticed what looked like
a sort of small mound in front of me;
but I certainly should not have remem
bered having seen It at all had It not
suddenly become animated. Then, to
my norror, l realized what it wus .
rhino. Moreover, with a liuhtiiiim
pldlty that rhino had started to charge
straight down on me.
"I gave onn warning shout of
'Ithlno!' and made off at top speed for
mimo trees on my left. I know that
I nm a pretty good runner. im ,..
chance of escape would have been very
. mo iiuu ii not neen ror the pluck of
one of my Masai spearmen. Without
a moment's hesitation this m.
dashed In between us, confusing the
mini wwi mo mixed scent.
SPORT
7j
On tia. Tw Rivar,
Skill, Patience and Cour
age Required in Pro
curing Films of Lions
and Other Fierce
Beasts lor the Moving
Picture Shows
tl ..C.Mll lllf. Illlttllfll lliwlfllt.xl
giving me time to save myself; then he
us on niter tne .Masai, who just
lannei'fl tn eet no a tree lis ttin btiL't
creature reached tile foot. I never .-aw
any one else climb so quickly; It was
really a hah breadth escape.
The second si" ai niaii was ei r whit
as brave ns his mate. Seeing the Lit
ter's liri,l!f!lM1.nt bp fl.'lNlieil on nml
drove his weapon Into the rhino's lung.
drove it right home, a feat i quiring no
small tilensuri. ,if f.ttmi.wiir.. iml
strength. In the mean line I hud re
covered my breath, and my tlrst
thought was n.itotnlK f.ir iti i-uiiiera
There wus the possibility of a magnifi
cent moving picture, or there would
i.ive been but for the fact that the onn
eyed camera bearer was up n tree, with
tlio camera strapped on his back, and
that he absolutely refused to de-ceud
until the rhino had either hc u killed or
had departed, IViiinns he was not alto
gether to blame. The finest film in the
World Would have left htm int,l unit no.
Interested, and he knew, fur better than
I did. the danger of coming wiihln
reach of that terrible horn.
"The rhino himself bo, I oti..M,lv
turned on 'the Masai who hud stubbed
lllm: but at the moment be il!,l sii thn
first spearman was down his tie.- like a
nnsii, unci in less time than It taken to
relate he too had driven his weapon
through the thick hide.
"The animal now seemeit in I.... hl
head. The two enemies confused him.
He did nut know which nne i, t:i.ki
nnd so gave them a chance to finish
mm ofT. The Hrst spear, the one which
had penetrated his lung, hml lrniuu.il
out; now it was nicked on nml ,!.-.
more thrust Into lilm, Indicting n wound
which lata mm low Immediately.
It had been n piilendlil lleln mnrniv
a question of seconds from start to fin
ish, n great exhibition of courage and
skiii. i would have given a irreui itonl
to have secured a uhotogmnhln r r.i
of It."
The udventuroux nhni
some Interesting details of the sort of
caravan, or "safari." h.. ir,,.L- ..an. i.i
- -r .,,,
on his picture seeking expeditions.
In addition to myself," h,. says.
there Was HIV eonilinnlnn ul,..u.. I.. I.
It Was to Undertake the mnnn
the caravan, to riruil win, ti,n
inl.-sarlnt arrangements, to Mmss up'
the carriers, cooks, or general utility
boys, nnd to shoot
necessary for the pot, although the ex-
i-ciiiuon was in no sense a shooting
trip, and not u single animal was to be.
killed needlessly. Also h
nary to remain at hand while 1 vn.i
uiMiig pictures of dangerous animals,
because It was obviously impossible to
focus n camera and handle a rifle at
one and the same time.
"Tho rest of the party consisted of
fourteen nortfrs. im
... -... ii.iiivu
soiiiier, a cook boy, n Masai iirm.d with
a muruerous looking spear, the blade of
which was I'orlv.tlv,. i..,.ii.. i i i.
and finally a Somali named Muhoniid, a
fine servant nnd a most amazing liar.
it Is Impossible to be too careful
over one's outfit. An extra hour's
tllOUgllt SIH'lIt Oil thill mot
saving of u whole week on the road.
ii is not a question of what you ure
o tuke, but of what you are not to
take. More men have come to grief
on tho veldt by .taking too much gear
than by taking too tittle.
"I kllOW it Is vere ...
nil sorts of luxuries. ,lg tents, portable
. ...i.i .mi.i i nuirs, naths, wines and
liquors one still remembers the fifty
dozen of extra dry ehumpngne which
an ex-Cabinet Minister took to Musho
unlund in the euly '!i0s but it Is
un absolute tragedy not to be able
to provide food for the natives who
carry those luxuries for you. The Afri
can native is. with the exception of
one or two tribes, a vegetarian, i.r'u
least he depends on vegetable f I for
his sustenance, nml regards meat merely
ns ii luxury. Therefore It Is absurd
to think of feeding n train of curriers
by shooting for them. On a long Jour
ney It means a second boy to curry
Beif " nm 1,0 f,'l lilm-
Cherry Keiuion's brother Hlchard, In
commenting on the temperament of his
brother which allows him to take big
risks wit,, eheerful sang frold, says:
a rriend who knows Cherry well
wry aptly described him to mo one dav
os a curious medley of nerve nnd ner
vousness. He said: 'Your brother
would sit on a loose rock dangling hl
herls over the edge of rt cliff n thou
?.nJ.n 'p"t1,uVpl' nd think nothing of it
until he discovered that Hie boulder was
wet. Then he would rush off In a great
hurry In order to take dose of quhilne
or other medicine calculated to prevent
him from catching cold.'"
