I read "Maneaters of Kumoan" in my early teens, I still remember that book. I haven't read Corbett since. I just ordered all three of his books from Amazon for $28 incl shipping, can't wait till they get here. I really enjoy Capstick's books also, even though I've only read three.

Chuck

I really like PHC's books as well, though you would think that as he had been a PH some of his old clients would be around to verify his stories, and certaintly from his ele control days there must be a warden or two who remembers him. Despite whether it's BS or not he still gets your imagination fired up and makes you wish you were back in the bush.

Capstick, like canned lion hunting, has been discussed ad naseum on AR. I personally liked his writings and have all of his books in my African library, along with a host of other writers. Whether all of his writings are true fact or not doesn't matter to me. In fact, I would boldly venture to guess that there is embellishment, to some extent, in every single African writer's writings. To me the important thing is that he and Ruark got a buttload of people to Africa and they are still getting them to go today, long after their deaths. On one of the last Capstick AR rounds, someone had printed the eulogy that Tink Nathan made to Capstick, which I thought was an appropriate rememberance of the man.

quote:

On one of the last Capstick AR rounds, someone had printed the eulogy that Tink Nathan made to Capstick, which I thought was an appropriate rememberance of the man.

Here it is for those who have never read it.

Mike

As I Remember Capstick
By Tink Nathan


Peter Hathaway Capstick died in Pretoria, South Africa just before midnight on March 13th 1996 from a thrombosis following cardiac triple by-pass surgery. At his request, only his wife Fiona and her sister attended a private cremation ceremony. Fiona scattered Peter’s ashes over the Chobe River in Botswana with elephants and a herd of Cape buffalo in attendance. Peter will now remain a part of the land he loved so much.

Peter was 56.

I first hunted with Peter in the mid 1960’s when he was a student at the University of Virginia. We hunted groundhogs in the springtime between Remington and Scottsville Virginia. I was privileged to meet Peter again, in about 1976 or 1977 when he came up to me at a sporting goods show in Houston, Texas, and introduced himself to me. I had heard of Peter Capstick, and learned his last name for the first time. I had always called him Chapstick, and he never corrected me. He told me he was one of my readers, as I was a contributing editor of Bowhunter Magazine at the time, and he told me he enjoyed bowhunting. We managed to spend some time together and managed to down a few Pearl beers over some enchiladas.

Peter told me of his amazing life, and we kept in touch. It turns out Peter and I had hunted groundhogs in Virginia ten years before. I saw Peter at some outdoor shows and SCI conventions over the years and started communicating with him when I made plans to move to South Africa.

Peter always had time for my calls, and his sage advice was welcome and dead right on target. I guess the best advice he gave me was not to come over to Africa, which I ignored, and came over anyway. Not too many people knew that Peter did some bowhunting in New Jersey, and I think he told me he once nailed a whitetail, sometime in the 1960’s.

Peter attended the University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, and it seems our paths crossed once or twice at Clarks Gun Shop in Remington, Virginia where we rifle hunted groundhogs, and where we first met on a Saturday on a spring day in the mid 1960’s. Peter was buying ammo and looking for a place to hunt groundhogs. I invited Peter and his University buddy to join me for a woodchuck hunt, and went to a farm that we hunted. We sort of lost touch when he graduated, I was getting ready for my first African safari and he was quite envious of my trek to Mozambique. He remembered me clearly, but I could not place him. Peter first came over to Africa in 1968 but spent quite a bit more time here in Africa than I did. Peter also hunted South America and always preferred the jungle and bush to the city and pavement.

After arriving in South Africa, I called Peter. I was a bit nervous about attending the first AGM / annual convention of the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa (PHASA), and asked Peter if I could sit with him. He told me I was always welcome at his table. Being the only two Americans in PHASA who lived here, he showed me the ropes, and apparently enjoyed being my silent mentor. He introduced me to his many friends, and showed me the correct path during the following years.

Early in our homesteading days in Africa, my miniature smooth haired dachshund Meg became ill and was at deaths door from dehydration, tick bite fever and a pinched nerve in her spine. She had become infested with ticks while guarding my wife and her lady client at a waterhole in the lowveldt, during a safari. We had to bring her in for surgery and treatment to a government research facility outside Pretoria, and I called Peter to see if we could stay with him and Fiona. He said he was a bit bored and could stand some company. We had just driven all night with the sick dog, and we had just completed a long safari with clients from France, and were exhausted when we arrived at his villa in Pretoria. Peter and Fiona made us welcome, and the next four days at Peter and Fiona’s were like a vacation in a grand Parisian hotel. They fed us like Kings, and we sometimes snuck out and grabbed a pizza. We shot pool or snooker in his pool room/office, where he wrote his many best sellers, his books and articles. We shot air rifles in the garden, shooting at empty 9mm brass cases. We talked of Africa, the Africa of old, and the new South Africa, and the Africa of tomorrow. He told me his favorite unpublished hunting stories, and I told my stories, and we discussed people he knew, and those we liked and those we did not like. It was strange we had come to the same conclusions independently.

While Peter was a man of Africa, he was still an American, and we talked endlessly about Africa and her wildlife, until he was ready for the sack. Peter liked to retire early, and after he bid us goodnight, I read those books of his that I did not own, and watched his extensive wildlife video collection, and videos of his hunts. He seemed to enjoy my company and was only to willing to sign, and in fact resigned and autographed several of his books he first signed in 1988 in the USA. He was very chuffed that I had purchased the first impression, first edition of his classic Death in the Long Grass. I gave Peter a small gift for putting us up, and putting up with us for almost a week while the dog healed. It was a videotape of my 1987 Elephant and Buffalo bowhunt in the Selous in Tanzania. Peter was fascinated with the video, and asked a hundred questions. After he hit the rewind button, he told me that he was amazed at the quality of the video, and after that it appeared my ratings with the former stockbroker rose 100 points. He then told my wife Donna Rae and I it was the best hunting video he had ever seen. Coming from Peter, it was an important and deeply appreciated compliment.

Peter was by and large a happy man, doing what he liked to do. There were times he gave the appearance of being grouchy, but it may have been due to health concerns. Peter loved people, and truly enjoyed them at times, but he treasured his tranquility and his very private home life. Peter was ever vigilant in his home, and carried his 9mm parabellum pistol from room to room as he moved about his home. He never forgot he was in Africa, and he never let his guard down. He told me the most dangerous animal in all of Africa walked on two legs. I think it was out of concern for his beautiful wife Fifi, as he called her and not so much for his own protection.
Speaking of firearms, he was very pleased that Art Alphin, honcho of A-Square Firearms, named his .470 Capstick after him. Peter was presented the first rifle made, which was a Winchester Model 70, and while I was visiting Peter, he told me he was forced to return his .470 Capstick to the Winchester factory for some minor repairs. There was a minor problem that might have slipped by a dozen professional hunters, but Peter found the glitch and had it corrected.

Peter told me he admired my guts, but not my intelligence, for bringing my lady to Africa at such a bad time, but he understood me. I think. Peter was quite surprised that I survived my first two years living in the remote bushveld of the Soutpansberg Mountains of the far Northern Transvaal of South Africa. Peter felt it was impossible for an American, like me, to become an outfitter and professional hunter in South Africa. Peter pointed out that old Rhodesia was, in many ways more civilized as far as culture, languages and security wise than modern South Africa was. In one of his books, Peter wrote that he had weekly letters from young Americans who aspired to become a professional hunter in Africa. Peter said in print “an American would have a better chance of winning the Victoria Cross than to become a professional hunter in Africa.†He told me with a wide smile “Tink, I think you have won the Victoria Cross and don’t yet know it.†I doubt if he knew that I knew what he was referring to, but I told him I knew the passage and treasured his comments. Peter was always kind and polite.

Peter was a kind man, and a truly caring person. At a hunter’s convention, I introduced him to a young black professional hunter, named Ross, who had been a classmate of mine at professional hunter’s school. As we took our seats, Peter became instantly aware that this young professional hunter had no one to sit with, as most of the tables were reserved or filled. Peter went to Ross, and insisted that Ross dine at his table next to Fiona. All real hunters were welcome at Peter’s table, and Peter was the classic U.V.A. gentleman. The University of Virginia, nicknamed U.V.A., produces gentlemen of the first water. Peter was a perfect gentleman to one and all. Peter was a kind man.

Peter once saved my life and when I thanked him, he made me promise never to mention it, since he didn’t want me to be embarrassed in having to tell the tale. Needless to say, I will always be in Peter’s debt. Peter did things other people would never do. He killed two Cape buffalo with a spear. Once to do it, and once again to prove it wasn’t a fluke. Peter had a dream from the time he was a small boy, and that was to go over to Africa to live. Peter lived out his dream, or was it his dream? Peter lived a life of adventure, then took the time to commit to his stories, and the stories of Africa, past and present, to the printed page. He was the world’s best storyteller.

Peter heard the stories we all do in Africa, but he captured them, edited, and polished them, and preserved them forever. Peter wrote twelve books, and sold more than any other hunting author in history. He made and appeared in many videos, so those who had never met him could someday see him on the small screen. Peter wrote stories for the French magazine FIRE, and for the leading South African hunting journal MAGNUM, as well as OUT THERE. It is said that Peter brought more hunters and people to Africa, though his works, than any other person. Peter not only wrote about Africa, but he lived Africa. Only someone who comes from far away can appreciate Africa. He spoke often about the people that were lucky enough to be born here and to live here a lifetime, seldom, if ever, appreciated in Africa. Peter did.

Writers and readers far more skilled than I, will discuss Capstick’s works well into the next century. However it was my wife that noticed his writing style, and pointed out to me that each paragraph told a story and his colorful writings jumped of the pages and bit deep into your soul when reading his work for the first time. A close friend told me that Peter was aware of some coronary circulatory problems as far back as two years, but avoided the confrontation with the cardiologist. I tracked his 1996 medical progress through a source outside of Fiona, and was relieved to hear the heart operation went well on March 5th, 1996. I sent him a get-well card that I am sure he never saw. Fiona told me that she had taken it to the hospital and that he really enjoyed hearing from me.

On Friday March 15th, I got the call about Peter’s death. I could not believe that Peter had left us. I could not accept that someone who was so vibrant and dynamic and full of life was gone. As I write this in April 1996, I am not yet over the shock. On March 16th, I wrote a letter and faxed it to some of the hunters and friends across the world that knew and loved Peter. It wasn’t much, but it was all I could think of at the time. I have the original folded and tucked away in one of his books that he had signed for me. It said something like this. Peter Hathaway Capstick passed away etc. Today Peter is on a hot spoor of a mighty black bull, in a land of dagga boy buffaloes, in a valley with massive elephants with thick tusks, and clever cats. Tonight Peter shares a small gleaming campfire with hunters from another time, such as Selous, Taylor, Bell, Harris and others. Peter was truly a son of Africa. Our prayers and thoughts go out to his devoted and beloved wife and soul mate, Fiona.

Peter was a giant of a man, with a heart as big as Africa, yet strong and straight as a new arrow. With out a doubt, Peter was one of the finest, if not the finest writer of our age. A man who turned his back on fortune, the family Hathaway shirt business, and went of into the jungles of Viet Nam to fight in freedoms name as a green beret officer, an American special forces soldier, and to Africa to fulfill a child’s dream. Peter, you did it all so bloody well too. You never got a client killed, you never got tossed in jail and you never stepped on a mamba. You lived your life, every second’s worth to THE MAX, and you were a gentleman the whole time. You were a man’s man, a man that women lionized, and you did America proud. You showed Africa just what could do when the chips were down. You took care of your clients, and hunted like a sportsman, with ethics and true responsibility.

There isn’t a good way to go out of this world, and while we both know you would have liked to go out in a tangle with a bull elephant, at least you were spared a long lingering struggle with a slow painful disease, and months of incarceration in a sterile, somber place of men in white suits, plastic pipes, needles and tanks of air. Hell Peter, you went out fighting. I choose to remember Peter as the well tanned, highly irrelevant, very witty and very funny guy who did his own thing, and didn’t “give a rats ass†about what other people thought. Peter had forgotten more about hunting than most people will ever learn. He loved African wildlife, and yet took endless delight in raising Koi, the oriental goldfish like creatures. He loved rifles, and all that go with them, yet he hunted with a bow and a spear, and loved all of nature, the good, the not so good, and the ugly.

Peter was one of the few truly happy people I have ever known. Peter was a hunter, and then a writer. Peter was a living legend in his own time, yet he was humble, simple and down to earth, a regular guy. Peter was a really nice guy, a super person, and I was fortunate to have had Peter as my friend. We will miss Peter.

Keep your powder dry, keep your nose in the wind, and watch your back trail, old friend.



Tink Nathan, Professional Hunter, Outfitter
9930 Hughes Ave.
Laurel, MD 20723-1744
Telephone 301-369-3096
E-mail tink@bowhuntingsafaris.com

Thanks for that, Bowhunr! This is the way Mr. Capstick should be remembered.

Thank you bowhunr. I needed that.

Death in the long grass, is a book I REALLY enjoyed!

Martin ,dear friend ,do you know that PHC was a faon of our DOGOS he called them the white angels ,and he hunted boars in the same area where we hunt ,in my loved CHOELE.CHOEL,there Peter is well known and respected by old hunters ,including my wifes grandfather and old hunting guide,PHC was a good friend of AMADEO BILO a famous PH ,now in his 70s ,i have all his books and respect him greatly.
My good friend Dr,DON HEATH told me that PHC served as a brigthlihgth during RHODESIA BUSHWAR ,he was a TANZANIA park ranger too ,i feel sad when some people critized such a great hunter.Juan

I think ALL the PHC knockers should refer to the post by Bowhunter above.

"Read it and weep"

Thanks Bowhunter, I've only read his books (and Jim Corbetts) and I think he was a wonderful writer. I'm glad to hear he was a true gentleman, and a good and brave hunter as well. I never thought differently. I'm having my 375 H&H rebarreled to 470 Capstick, primarily because I think it's a great round, but will be proud to have his name on my barrel as well.

Regards and thanks again for the post,

Chuck

Is there another one of his books that someone thinks is as good or almsost as good as Death In The Tall Grass?

quote:

Originally posted by juanpozzi:
Martin ,dear friend ,do you know that PHC was a faon of our DOGOS he called them the white angels ,and he hunted boars in the same area where we hunt ,in my loved CHOELE.CHOEL,there Peter is well known and respected by old hunters ,including my wifes grandfather and old hunting guide,PHC was a good friend of AMADEO BILO a famous PH ,now in his 70s ,i have all his books and respect him greatly.
My good friend Dr,DON HEATH told me that PHC served as a brigthlihgth during RHODESIA BUSHWAR ,he was a TANZANIA park ranger too ,i feel sad when some people critized such a great hunter.Juan

I thought the above post needed repeteing!

I might add that I never hunted with Peter, but I had many conversations with him, and people who knew him well, like Gordon Cundell, and Volker Grellmann, and Onky, Volker's wife, about PHC. I also have the taped interview with Peter, that was mentioned by someone earlier. The title is African campfires, a 60 minute tape with Ken Willson interviewing Peter on the banks of the Chobe in Botswana.

I found Peter to be a warm, and friendly man, who exuded his love of Africa in every word on that subject. The others I talked to, were very positive about Peter, and Volker Grellmann was quite impressed with Peter on his first hunt with him. Gordon Cundell respected Peter, and said to me, that Peter was what most hunter who come to Africa should be! Peter was willing to hunt on his feet, and in the words of Gordon," Peter hunted lion the PROPER WAY, he tracked them on foot, and went into the weeds with them!" As Juan said he was, and is highly repected in South America, and considered a real hunter of the first order!

It is true that on some the videos he comes of a little sappy, but you must remember Peter was not an actor, and think how well you would do if someone stick a micrephone in your face, and want you to come off with something profound! It is easy to talk crap, about a man who cannot defend himself! The films done by Sportsmen on film were awarded "top gun" in the sporting film catagory, back when very few were even offering them, and the industry was new. They were the best films available at that time, and were broadcast quality when film equipment was far inferior to today's!

I still think 90% of the down talking of Peter is simply envy, of his commitment to live the life he wanted, regardless of the financial, and personl physical risk it required. If I hadn't had a wife and four kids to raise, I'd have done the same thing. Like everyone else all I did was dream of liveing in the African bush, and visit as much as finances would allow! Peter was just lucky his books did so well, that in the end he didn't have to scrimp just to make a liveing. I think every safari company, and PH in the African contenant owes PHC a debt they could never pay in full, for the business that Capstick books, and films brought them, at a time when the Safari industry was all but dead! He wrote his books too late for me, but I personally know many who went to Africa, simply because of Peter's writings! He is not the only writer who wrote books about hunting in Africa, but he is the most prolific, and could spin a yarn, that you could follow the smoke of his literary campfire right up to Heavon!

................R.I.P Peter!

Shootaway

He has many books of many types. The only other work of his that is the same type of book as "Death In The Long Grass" is "Death In The Dark Continent". I don't know if it is as good as or better than "Death In The Long Grass", but it is a good read none the less.

"Warrior" and "The Last Ivory Hunter" are two biographies of men who spent a great deal of time in Africa. Both are excellent reads and I would highly recommend them.

"The Last Ivory Hunter" is about Wally Johnson and is hunting focused. Wally was Fred Bear's PH in Mozambique as well as one of the last ivory hunters as the name of the book implies.

"Warrior" is about Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen who could be described as nothing less than a "stud". This book is not hunting centered so don't expect it to be. It is about the Colonel's childhood (which contained hunting) and his latter exploits mainly during WWI, but spanning until Israel's independence. I would highly recommend this book!

"Death In The Silent Places" and "The African Adventures" are both a collection of chapter by chapter biographies/stories so to speak. They features mostly men from Africa with Sasha Seimel the famous jaguar hunter and Jim Corbett a first order hunter and writer (read him if you have not). They are wonderful reads and I would recommend them. He also covers other greats like Patterson, Selous, Sutherland, Ionides, Boyes, and Bell. These are both good books to introduce an African literature novice to other Greats of African literature. Quite a few if not all of the African greats mentioned in these books have written books themselves or been written about extensively and most of these books are classics.

"Peter Capstick's Africa" is so-so overall with a nail biting narration of his lion hunt with PH Gordon Cundill in Botswana.

"Death In A Lonely Land" is another good read. It is a collection of articles he wrote for different magazines (I think). The stories range from water buffalo hunting, jaguar hunting, and pig sticking in South America to baboons with a Mac 10 and other African tails.

"Safari" is PHC's version on how to prepare for safari and what to expect on safari, so not too exciting.

I have not read "Maneaters".

I have not read "Last Horizons".

I have not read "Sands of Silence".

I have not read "A Man Called Lion". It has been discussed ad nauseum on this forum and I will leave it to you to look it up from previous discussions.

If you would like to read other writers and books here are a few of my favorites:

General African Hunting Books:
"Hunter" J.A. Hunter
"Green Hills of Africa" Ernest Hemingway
"Horn of the Hunter" Robert Ruark
"Safari: A Dangerous Affair" Walter Prothero (repeats himself occasionally but a good read none the less)
"Pondoro" & "Maneaters and Marauders" John Taylor

If you would like to learn more about how African hunting came to be and how it has progressed to where it is today:
"White Hunters" Brian Herne

On Lion:
"Some Lions I Have Met" Gordon Cundill
"The Book of The Lion" Sir Alfred E. Pease

Leopard:
"Into the Thorns" Wayne Grant
I haven't read it, but I hear it is quite authoritative.

Buffalo:
"Horned Death" John Burger

Elephant:
Take your pick! Quite a few new and old.

Rhino:
I have no idea. Some people like Hunter have hunted them extensively, but I have not come across anyone who speaks about them and hunting them extensively or exclusively. You may get a chapter or so here and there, but that's about it.

Brett

I have not read his books, but I did watch all of his films. To me he was an inspiration and a guide. His blatant enjoyment at experiencing the wild places and the thrill of the hunt could infect even me who grew up with a rifle in my hand. Whether you take the time to acknowledge it or not, many of you who hunt today owe it directly to PHC. The growth of the industry and the popularity of Safari hunting was profoundly affected by his books and films and inspired more to follow where he had, leading to the establishment of more camps and securing wilderness through them. You say fake and liar and I say conservation hero. So whether you choose to tear apart his every sentence and analyze the flaws, or whether you appreciate the overwhelming body of work that this passionate, poetic man gave freely. At the very least pay him the respect that you would a fellow gentleman standing before you, because if he was nothing else, PHC was a gentleman.
Just read the articles by those who knew him if you feel he owes you "conclusive proof".

Brett thank you for the terrific reference list.

Yes.Thank You.

I got the passion of his books and films also first the films and then the books, i still has some of the books to have , but he was a guy with humor that didnt take himself seriously and he had a passion with words and the way he told about the storys was brilliant.

about the biggest i thought was about Argentina that he loved very much and it was great to read the hunting storys from that great country. I must get the cash for a trip with Juan and Alberto after the big game there one day.

I also liked how he wrote about the hunting of other places like the SE Asia after the Seladang, Gaur that Berry Brooks conducted in 1963 (?) i dont have the books here so im not sure, but hunting in the Vietnam arae with Vietminh around you and a mysterious French PH that was involved with the Presidents wifes sister in a romance and who had to go in hiding in periods, etc, was a bit different of old days passed by.

And the Marajo red water buffalo in the swamps in Brazil was fun and good reading. he brought the wilderness to the reader and the hunter, wheter it was a bit fictinolasied or real it was and is a great read. And many, many hunters has been bitten by the African fever because of those volumes he wrote.

also about the classical hunters, and the biography on them in his own words was interessting. Only thing i missed in his Films was a little brief about his Musgrave Mauser in .375 that was fine rifle, and it should have gotten a couple of minutes of telling.

kudu4u & shootaway

Your welcome. I think you will enjoy the PHC books I reccommended. If you would like to read other writers and I promise you there are others that are very good and some I would say better you can't go wrong with the others I have recommended, but especially these three:

"Hunter" J.A. Hunter
"Green Hills of Africa" Ernest Hemingway
"Horn of the Hunter" Robert Ruark

Enjoy them. I know I have.

Brett

"Capsulized as we are in a world in which our electronically vicarious thrills and Hollywoodized "nature" shows are served up over the flash-frozen, microwave-revived, mass-prepared corpse of some long-dead chicken in its disposable aluminum coffin, segmented by insepid feminine hygeine-product commercials, it is not easy to remember--let alone relate to -- the fact that we once were, and still are, hunters."


I love that sentence.

But Corbett could bring tears to your eyes.

quote:

Originally posted by jetdrvr:

quote:

In my opine PHC is almost single handedly responsible for the resurgence in the African Safari business.

Many disagee with you, but, then, they are wrong...

Maybe not singlehandedly.....but IMO a key contributor. It was his videos that stirred me to go and I'd never have thought of it otherwise.

I find many common bones with PHC and relate to him well.....his writings are great reading and if he's not the best....well he was good enough to get me to read them.....and that's saying something!

Say what one will.....PHC was a large benefit to African hunting resurgence.

Yes, Capstick is alive and anytime you think of him.

He beagn his safri carrer with Geoff Broom.

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:

quote:

Originally posted by juanpozzi:
Martin ,dear friend ,do you know that PHC was a faon of our DOGOS he called them the white angels ,and he hunted boars in the same area where we hunt ,in my loved CHOELE.CHOEL,there Peter is well known and respected by old hunters ,including my wifes grandfather and old hunting guide,PHC was a good friend of AMADEO BILO a famous PH ,now in his 70s ,i have all his books and respect him greatly.
My good friend Dr,DON HEATH told me that PHC served as a brigthlihgth during RHODESIA BUSHWAR ,he was a TANZANIA park ranger too ,i feel sad when some people critized such a great hunter.Juan

I thought the above post needed repeteing!

I might add that I never hunted with Peter, but I had many conversations with him, and people who knew him well, like Gordon Cundell, and Volker Grellmann, and Onky, Volker's wife, about PHC. I also have the taped interview with Peter, that was mentioned by someone earlier. The title is African campfires, a 60 minute tape with Ken Willson interviewing Peter on the banks of the Chobe in Botswana.

I found Peter to be a warm, and friendly man, who exuded his love of Africa in every word on that subject. The others I talked to, were very positive about Peter, and Volker Grellmann was quite impressed with Peter on his first hunt with him. Gordon Cundell respected Peter, and said to me, that Peter was what most hunter who come to Africa should be! Peter was willing to hunt on his feet, and in the words of Gordon," Peter hunted lion the PROPER WAY, he tracked them on foot, and went into the weeds with them!" As Juan said he was, and is highly repected in South America, and considered a real hunter of the first order!

It is true that on some the videos he comes of a little sappy, but you must remember Peter was not an actor, and think how well you would do if someone stick a micrephone in your face, and want you to come off with something profound! It is easy to talk crap, about a man who cannot defend himself! The films done by Sportsmen on film were awarded "top gun" in the sporting film catagory, back when very few were even offering them, and the industry was new. They were the best films available at that time, and were broadcast quality when film equipment was far inferior to today's!

I still think 90% of the down talking of Peter is simply envy, of his commitment to live the life he wanted, regardless of the financial, and personl physical risk it required. If I hadn't had a wife and four kids to raise, I'd have done the same thing. Like everyone else all I did was dream of liveing in the African bush, and visit as much as finances would allow! Peter was just lucky his books did so well, that in the end he didn't have to scrimp just to make a liveing. I think every safari company, and PH in the African contenant owes PHC a debt they could never pay in full, for the business that Capstick books, and films brought them, at a time when the Safari industry was all but dead! He wrote his books too late for me, but I personally know many who went to Africa, simply because of Peter's writings! He is not the only writer who wrote books about hunting in Africa, but he is the most prolific, and could spin a yarn, that you could follow the smoke of his literary campfire right up to Heavon!

................R.I.P Peter!

"They must be jealous". I call pure BS on this.

Drinking yourself to death at 56 is a sure sign of demons and a MODEL no one would try to emulate and CERTAINLY nothing to be jealous of. I don't get the impression that Peter was ever comfortable in his own skin and bowed to the pressure of trying to live up to the image he had created for himself but could never live up to.

If that line about being jealous was true you'd see negative comments about the TRUE heroes like Selby and Hunter and Percival. Capstick draws negative comments at a rate thousands of times higher then these guys for obvious reasons.

Anybody who would be jealous of Capstick instead of guys like Selby need to have their heads examined.

quote:

Originally posted by GeoffM24:
"They must be jealous". I call pure BS on this.

Drinking yourself to death at 56 is a sure sign of demons and a MODEL no one would try to emulate and CERTAINLY nothing to be jealous of. I don't get the impression that Peter was ever comfortable in his own skin and bowed to the pressure of trying to live up to the image he had created for himself but could never live up to.

If that line about being jealous was true you'd see negative comments about the TRUE heroes like Selby and Hunter and Percival. Capstick draws negative comments at a rate thousands of times higher then these guys for obvious reasons.

Anybody who would be jealous of Capstick instead of guys like Selby need to have their heads examined.

Opinions vary! The above is yours! However, the venom you seem to be writing in your post is more pointed at me, than PHC. That is fine, you are entitled to your opinion. Since we are making this personal, here is my opinion.

PHC was a drinker, that is well known, and you are right about him having some demons, don't we all! I'm sure the drinking didn't do his liver any good, but he did not drink himself to death, he died shortly after a triple by pass surgery on his heart, of pulmonary thrombosis. It seems you are angered by any opinion that doesn't square with yours, but if you are going to make statements, then you need to get your facts straight!

The comment about not having negative comments about the so-called heroes of old is common with History. Over time all become heroes when there is nobody alive who knew the people personally. However if you say anything often enough, and loud enough it seems to become fact. This is the case with PHC, a few made statements, that were not provable, and thousands are still repeating those few acustaions today, and they are no more provable today than they were when they were origenally stated. IOW, gossip repeated by morons, doesn't make the gossip true!

The difference is, the old timers lived in a time when it took years for anything to move around the world, where today it happens all over the world, as soon as you hit the enter button. I'd suspect that if the Internet had been available at the turn into the last century, the reps of the old shooters might have been a little different than they are today.

Most of the old hunters, and writers were little more than criminals, and poachers, who wrote their own "TRUTH" in their writings, with nobody to say otherwise. I'm sure those guys had people who were envious of them in their day, and made statements about them they couldn't prove, just like much of the unprovable BS posted about PHC, both pro, and con. Simply because YOU don't like someone, doesn't make anything you say about them a fact, or even that you actually believe it yourself. Just repeating what others say doesn't make it true, even if you believe it to be so!

PHC lived in a different time, where laws had to be abided by, and a person couldn't kill elephant in wholesale numbers illegally, and get by with it.

The envy is not for the man himself, but for the life he chose, and then made it happen! It is immaterial whether he enjoyed the life, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't enjoy it, and wish you had done the same. You seem a little angry, and maybe you would have liked to have taken that road yourself, but didn't, and Like most of us you regret it.

Those who can’t reach them always suspect grapes that one can’t reach of being sour.

Very well said, Mac. Very well said.

What jetdrvr said.

Kinda scary Mac, I am thinking about how I want to say something, then you go and put it to print.

In a post from the dim historic past you questioned if you would ever return to Africa. I find myself in the same boat and think we will somehow pull it off. Never give up.

Bowhunr, that was a magnificent post and a great read. I am GLAD that someone like you, with first hand knowledge of Capstick is able to write about the man as he truly was. I have all of his books and his videos and to this day, I still enjoy them. jorge

Thanks jorge, but I merely posted the euology. It was written by Tink Nathan of Tink's 69 fame. Like you, I have always thought it was agreat tribute to the man.

Mike

It looks like PHC memorial season..... I have read "Death in the Long Grass" a few times and will read it again and again. I bought this book in a garage sale for $6! I will read the others if I can find a copy. I do not spend much money on books...that is just me.

Despite all the criticism of PHC, there are a few facts that stand out. He came from a privileged background and could have just stayed at home and had a comfortable "normal" life. But he chose adventure instead. He was a Green Beret in Vietnam. He hunted Jaguar in South America. He did kill a buffalo with a spear and did it again to prove that it could be done. He was a great story teller and a writer. His writings have inspired many to hunt Africa. He was a great influence on the modern revival of African Safari hunting. He was obviously an adventurer - how many people in history have fought in Vietnam, hunted Jaguar in South America and killed a buffalo with a spear? He might have been involved in the African bush wars too. Phil Shoemaker has probably done a bit of that I suppose - he might have got pretty close to some nasty bears instead of the buffalo and had a few hairy moments with a plane or the cold weather.

PHC was a flawed human being - just like many of us. He liked a good story and used his writers license at times. He enjoyed a drink or two ...or six...so what? Winston Churchill drank a bottle of brandy most evenings. Yes he fought in a war & was hurt. He was great writer and a combative politician & statesman. Yet he was a known racist and a bigot. Even the British who made him a legendary hero did not vote him back as their leader. There will be those who will always idolise him and others who will focus on his flaws. So also with PHC ....I just hope I can enjoy one good African Safari...and I will read "Death in the long grass" before I go!