I saw this book sitting on the shelf this evening and it occurred to me that I have never heard anyone on AR mention it. I would have to say that it is one of my top ten books about Africa. It is very well written by an author that was gifted in the use of prose. It is written by Stewart Edward White and is his account of a year-long safari that he did at the turn of the century.

An excerpt about hunting buffalo:

"The problem would be simplified were one able or willing to slip into the thicket or up to the grazing herd and kill the nearest beast that offers. As a matter of fact an ordinary herd will contain only two or three bulls worth shooting; and it is the hunter's delicate task to glide and crawl here and there, with due regard for sight, scent and sound, until he has picked one of these from the scores of undesirables. Many times will he worm his way by inches toward the great black bodies half defined in the screen of thick undergrowth only to find that he has stalked cows or small bulls. Then inch by inch he must back out again, unable to see twenty yards to either side, guiding himself by the probabilities of the faint chance breezes in the thicket. To the right and left he hears the quiet continued crop, crop, crop, sound of animals grazing. The sweat runs down his face in streams, and blinds his eyes, but only occasionally and with the utmost caution can he raise his hand -- or, better, lower his head -- to clear his vision. When at last he has withdrawn from the danger zone, he wipes his face, takes a drink from his canteen, and tries again. Sooner or later his presence comes to the notice of some old cow. Behind the leafy screen where unsuspected she has been standing comes the most unexpected and heart-jumping crash! Instantly the jungle all about roars into life . . . . Probably a man can experience few more thrilling moments than he will enjoy standing in one of the small leafy rooms of an African jungle while several hundred tons of buffalo crash back and forth all around him."

Good book.

Mike, Africa really is the "land of footprints" and the folks who are able to follow those prints, distinguishing the 10 minute old track from the 5 hour old tracks of similiar critters, following the track of a wounded bull in amongst a herd's tracks, or a particuliar animal in the most rocky of areas. This book sounds like good reading material, thanks.

If the rest of the book is anything like your quote...it should be very good. I haven't read that one yet.

YD,

the set of four books by White is on sale for $75 from Wolfe Publishing. Each one of the four is better written and better reading than the last one...

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

Thanks for that info but upon checking at Wolfe, this book is not included in the set of 4.