THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 265
perfectly wild state. They will, on close examination, be found to contain
recognizable portraits, though certainly very faint, and not easily made out, of
some of the wild Mountain Bison which still survive in the Yellowstone National
Park, where they are now protected by law. The Mountain Bison is a race or
variety of the ordinary Buffalo of the plains, now so nearly exterminated. It has
always been a rare animal, found only among the dense forests and rocky defiles
of the Rocky Mountains. A lengthy account, by me, of "The Last of the
Buffaloes," may be found in the "Field," of November 10th.
Mr. E. Hofer, who resides in the Park, and is a good amateur photographer,
recently gave ("Forest and Stream," May 31st, 1888) a most interesting account of
an attempt to carry out this curious and novel idea—that of photographing large
game in a wild state. The difficulty of doing this, which may be easily imagined,
is graphically described by Mr. Hofer. It will readily be seen that the difficulties
connected with stalking and shooting a large wild animal are very small when
compared with the stalking and photographing of the creature. In the latter
case, the light must be exactly right; the game must be found more or less in the
open ; the distance must be small; and a good deal of manipulation of the
camera has to be gone through before a "shot" can be taken—conditions to
which the rifleman need pay little or no heed. After several more or less
successful attempts to photograph elk, deer, and antelope, Mr. Hofer started
out with snowshoes on May 13th, with the object of making an attempt on the
wild buffalo. In about a week he returned with a number of fair views, though
in some of them the animals are rather indistinct, in consequence of their having
been taken among large timber. On one of the plates, ten head of buffaloe can
be made out. Altogether Mr. Hofer found and photographed fifiy-two animals.
These results were not obtained without much patience and perseverance on the
part of the photographer, who, however, showed the most lively interest in the
success of his expedition. "I find [he says] that one can get more excited over
taking a picture of an elk or buffalo than he would be if killing was the object."
In conclusion, Mr. Hofer states his belief that, during the last four or five years,
the buffalo in the Park have increased in numbers on account of the protection
they have received. Over 100, he says, must have wintered on Alum Creek,
where most of his views were taken. He adds that, "It would be a very hard
task to find all the buffalo in the Park, but it could be done in winter, and
would show a total of over 200." A fine of $50 and six months imprisonment is
the penalty for killing a buffalo in the Park.
The photographs herewith exhibited are two of those taken by Mr. Hofer on
the occasion described. They give a very good idea of the forest scenery among
the higher parts of the Rocky Mountains in the Territories of Wyoming and
Idaho, which I had the pleasure of visiting a year or two since. On one of
them two head of buffalo may be made out, and on another one may be seen.
All are partly concealed among the trees. Those who require fuller information
may obtain it direct from "Forest and Stream."
Mr. Greatheed alluded to the many difficulties to be overcome in making
such photographs, and said that in 1886 Mr. J. Fortune Nott brought out a
volume entitled "Wild Animals Photographed and Described," but inasmuch
as all the photographs were made in the Zoological Gardens, the critics fell foul
of the title of the book as a misnomer.
Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., read a paper entitled "The late Col. Russell's
Contributions to Photography." This paper will be printed in a future number
of the Essex Naturalist.
The President, in proposing a hearty vote of thanks to Prof. Meldola for his
interesting paper, said that he knew the late Col. Russell very well as a sportsman
and naturalist, and now they learnt that he had many claims to be remembered
as an original investigator in a most valuable branch of applied science. He
might add that Col. Russell had a comprehensive and minute knowledge of the