BIG GAME QUEST.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 215, 16 October 1909, Page 3

BIG GAME QUEST.

iicxmc; for lMiimicuAi'tis, not J CARCASES. ■ MILLIONAIRE'S NEW CRAZE. London, August 20. I A photographic expedition, armed with ] balloons, kill's, mill flashlights, is about to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Roosevelt in Uganda, to "pot" lions and lion esses, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses with tin- camera. Jlr. \V. JJ. Boyce, the millionaire owner of the Chicago Ledger and the Chicago Saturday Blade, is responsible for this most remarkable expedition. Hi* aim is to enter the wildest part of Afriei, not to shoot wild beasts, but to snapshot them. He makes no secret of his reason for going, lfe wanted 1 an original idea, as lie put it, for the Chicago Saturday Blade, and is going to spend £211,000 in carrying out his project ol photographing wild beasts in their lairs from captive balloons and box kites. There is one man famous all the Status over for his wonderful photographs. He is the pioneer balloon photographer, and his name is George It. Lawrence. Mr. W. D. Boycc showed some of his photographs—marvellous pictures of the ruins of San Francisco, foothill matches and crowds. They are taken at a high altitude by a special camera, and every ■lel:iil is'perfect. £2O A WAV.

"f havi- hired Lawrence for a year," .Mr. W. D. Hovee said, "anil. I am paying liim .fill a day. We linvc nlreadv shipped ten lons of sulphuric aeid and ten tons of steel liling* to Nairobi,'' he added, "to make our own hydrogen for the balloons. We expect to reach Mombasa on loth September, where white guides will take charge of the party. Mr. .litdd, the guide, is getting the Safari together. We shall have foiir hundred porters; each white man wants thirty porters, and there are seven of us, and then we have our balloons and appliances. EQUIPMENT. "The equipment of the party incltnL-s three, balloons, 23 cameras, cinematograph. 10.000 ft of film. (11)00 plates and lilm, electrical plant, a whole shop of ichemicals, 000 flashlight cartridges, 40 box kites, 10 high-wind kites. "The cameras measure from ll'/tin by ii'/ain to 22iu by Sain. The balloons and kites are on their way from Amcrira. There is an entire cinematograph apparatus, with screens for projections. I "It's an idea of mine to keep tile natives epiict. T shall give them free cine-' matograph shows in the jungle," llr. Iloyce said. "I have also a dozen or so gramophone with the latest records. We shall give them Tetrazzini or Giruso after a hard {lay's work, lieineiuber, there are four hundred natives to be kepi in order. HATTEKT OKCAMF.IiAK. ''The box kites are for photography when the wind is too high for ballooning. From ten to twenty of them will support one of tin* large cameras." The greatest feature of the expedition is the battery of cameras. They ale automatic instantaneous cameras for llashlight purposes. Mr, Jioyce explained how they will work. "We shall place the carcase of some, animal as a bait for the prowling lions. Hound the carcase will he six of our great cameras, and close at hand will he I a ' microohone transmitter connected with a cable. "Where shall we be? AVhy, two miles away at the end of the cable, yon bet, with receivers over our heads, listening. If there are lions about we shall hear them roaring and lighting over the carcase. "Tli.lt will be our lime. We press a button, and (wo miles away the flashlights Hash one after another, and the) I shutters click. "We ought to get souie startled ex pressions on those lions' faces. There's no danger to (hem, hut six ftashlitrhtis are enough to scare the life out of any able-bodied lion in the darkness of the jungle. We fried it on lions in America and got some fine pictures."