I just finished, Warrior, by Peter Capstick.
Made me wish I had been born about 50 years earlier......a great story about a man of action.

Bill, copies are somewhat expensive because originals are scarce and it has only been reprinted a couple times, but if you can get a copy of Richard Meinertzhagen's "Kenya Diary" it is facinating. I just finished John Boyes' "King Of The Wa-Kikuyu" and the exploits of these early pioneers and adventurers is amazing.

Bill, I am nearing the end of Warrior. It is definately interesting.

He was definately a tough character,but then most of them were.

Fla3006: Glad to hear about the Kenya Diaries. I thought Capstick's book so awful that I gave it away without finishing it. Perhaps someone else will take on Meinertzhagen again one day, as he certainly deserves a great biographer.

Bill/Oregon,
I agree with you. I read it and had a hard time finishing due to the "stop - start" nature of the story and lack of facts. It was not a good effort by Capstick.

At least his other books, he made them sound like he did all he claimed he did...

I liked the book ,he was a fan of pig sticking ,too i hope you will join the club soon .Juan

"Bill/Oregon, I agree with you. I read it and had a hard time finishing due to the "stop - start" nature of the story and lack of facts. It was not a good effort by Capstick. At least his other books, he made them sound like he did all he claimed he did..."

If you read "Warrior" carefully, you can see approximately where Capstick's widow jumped in and finished the manuscript. Their writing styles are quite different, and she could weave no personal anecdotes into the tale as Capstick always did at every opportunity.

I suspect Capstick had started and not finished several chapters scattered throughout the book, and left only outlines (or nothing) for other chapters preceeding or following these. The difference in style would lead to the "stop-start nature of the story" you mention.

It's still a good book IMO, and Fiona Capstick gets my applause for her work on it.

Bill Quimby

 

Hope I don't get in trouble for doing this, but here's an excerpt from "Warrior" that had me aching for days gone by:

"It was on the swarthy, oatlike grass of Nairobi's Athi Plain in August of 1903 that Dick [Richard Meinertzhagen] and his pal Claude de Crespigny, both still toting a bayonet lashed to a bamboo pole as a spear, first saw the tawny form about 800 yards away. It was, of course, a lion, the kind that bites with essential efficiency. Neither Dick nor Claude knew what might happen if the lion were "ridden" with an eye to doing something rude to a critter nearly as big as their ponies, but it was Claude who semishouted, "I'm off--come on!" Certainly, he was well off, given that he was attacking a full-grown African lion with a lashed-on bayonet spear."

"It would seem that De Crespigny had the better horse, and he pulled ahead of Richard, thundering down on the lion, ersatz lance-head flashing. As the British officiers approached, the lion rose and stood in what must have been pure amazement. At twenty yards the big male crouched, but De Crespigny's horse wasn't up to the challenge and swerved at the last moment, depositing Claude on the Athi Plain within ten feet of the lion, who was spending his off moments watching both Claude and Dick as he approached on a lathered and moon-eyed Natalie [Richard's pony]. Dick felt like a fool coming up with a lowered "spear," the lion watching him with considerable interest and quite clearly ready to charge him and any other fools present. Yet the smoothness of the plain was punctuated by a sharp report as Claude's pistol fired and the lion, possibly more astounded than either of the officers, fell dead with a .455 Webley service pistol bullet in his brain!"

"At the instant of the firing by Claude, Dick's spear entered the lion's chest, so he had struck a dead lion, yet he didn't know that until an instant later."
"... There was not a word spoken while they unzipped the lion and Dick confided that he was scared stupid. Of course, he knew De Crespigny well and suspected that he was faking it when Claude commented, on being asked if he had any sense of fear, that he had enjoyed the episode thoroughly. He in fact said, "Of course I did! ...I was afraid of myself, not the lion." There was no more conversation during the skinning. Dick finishes up the matter with his personal comment: "No more lion-sticking for me. This risk is not justified."

"When word got around of De Crespigny's triumph, Colonel Harrison, Dick and Claude's superior, threw a champagne supper for them. Harrison forbade them ever again to "ride" a lion and incur such stupid risks, but he did say, "My God, I should like to have been there!""

From the book Warrior - The Legend of Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen
By Peter Hathaway Capstick

I have no way of knowing for sure, but this passage sounds as if it were written by Fiona, rather than Peter. If it were Peter, I'd bet that he would have worked a personal pronoun or two into it somehow.

Fiona Capstick Serras Pires is a literate, talented and extremely intelligent woman, as you can see in her "Winds of Havoc" and "The Diana Files." She speaks many languages fluently and once served as interpreter for the South African Army and several embassies.

I once was priveleged to be the guest of honor at a Pretoria Literary Society meeting held at their home. I listened and watched in awe as she narrated from memory an article she had written about an elephant hunting expedition staged by an early Zulu king.

I'd read the article earlier and although I didn't have it in front of me to compare I am certain she had not changed a word in her highly entertaining 45-minute presentation!

Incidentally, also at the meeting that afternoon was Ron Thomson, the southern African author of several great books. If you come across one, especially the one about a notorious poacher in Zimbabwe, be sure to read it.

Bill Quimby

Bill. It is with great delight that I confirmed that Fiona and Adelino will be at the Dallas Safari Club Convention in January. After all that you have told me about she and Adelino I am going to drive down just to have the pleasure of making their acquaintance. It will be an honor for me to shake the hand of a man who has shown such courage in the face of terrible adversity.

Please say hello for me and let them know that "Leoopard Bait" (my granddaughter) sure would like to see them in Reno again someday.

Bill Quimby

quote:

Originally posted by billrquimby:
Please say hello for me and let them know that "Leoopard Bait" (my granddaughter) sure would like to see them in Reno again someday.

Bill Quimby

"Leopard Bait" do you tie her to a tree or just rub her down with bacon grease.....cute

Fiona gave my granddaughter that nickname when we were their houseguests in Pretoria in 2002. Natalie was 19 or 20 then, and (according to Fiona) so sweet and tender that leopards would come for miles away for her.

Bill

Now Bill Beralt is in the club of the pig stickers like Meinertzhagen and that old warriors.Juan