Early African Hunter Books

The early African hunter books are by sportsmen whose hunting careers took place mainly in the 1800s. These hunters were attracted to the adventure and limitless African gamefields and hunted purely for sport or for skins and ivory for themselves. There may be some cross-over with the books of the great African explorers...for example, Sir Samuel Baker was a tremendous big game hunter but best known for his Lake Albert and Nile basin expeditions.

William Charles Baldwin

William Charles Baldwin (1926 - 1903) was an Englishman who landed in South Africa in 1851 and started big game hunting due to the influence of Roualeyn Gordon Cummings. Baldwin wrote the book that influenced Frederick C Selous, sending him to Africa and his future pioneering and hunting life.

African Hunting And Adventure: From Natal To The Zambesi, Including Lake Ngami, The Kalahari From 1852 To 1860 by William Charles Baldwin (1863). Baldwin was one of Africa's most widely travelled explorers, ranging a vast distance between 1862 and 1861. He was only the second known non-African to see the Victoria Falls. Kindle Version

John Barrow

Sir John Bart Barrow (1764 - 1848) was attached to the staff of one of the early Governors of the Cape Colony during the first occupation of the British. He provides an important and accurate early account of the region.

An Account Of Travels Into The Interior Of Southern Africa In The Years 1797 And 1798 by John Barrow (1802) contains the very earliest African hunting narrative.

William F Buckley

Big Game Hunting In Central Africa by William F Buckley (1930). Buckley's elephant hunting travels from 1902 took him through Uganda territory and the Belgian Congo and the hazards of a sun-baked wilderness that few Europeans ever knew.

F Cecil Cobb

Sport On Setit by F Cecil Cobb (1911). With a rifle borrowed from Powell Cotton the author and his hunting partner hunted elephant, waterbuck, kudu and more along the banks of the rivers Artbara and Setit in the Sudan. Recent Addition

Reginald Davey Cooper

Hunting And Hunted In The Belgian Congo by Reginald Davey Cooper (1914) includes interesting descriptions of encounters with cannibals, tramping through elephant grass and escaping an elephant stampede. Free eBook

Capt F A Dickinson

Capt Francis Arthur Dickinson (1874 - 1915) was a Brish army officer who died in World War I. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a first class big game hunter. After the Boer War, he was selected as Winston Churchill's escort when he went to British East Africa as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Lake Victoria To Khartoum With Rifle And Camera by F A Dickinson (1910) is a account of big game hunting in various regions of Africa at the turn of the last century. Dickinson lists three 'don'ts' when advising how to treat bearers. "Don't ignore a good gun bearer's good advice because you think you know a thing or two. Don't promise a native a thing you can't do. Don't on any account lose your temper. Free eBook

Big Game Shooting On The Equator by F A Dickinson (1925). Dickinson's approach is systematic, describing the haunts of each major species of wild game in East Africa including lion, kudu, oryx, eland and other plains game, particularly near the Guaso Nyiro and the River Tana. There is an excellent chapter on stalking buffalo. Kindle Version

William Henry Drummond

William Henry Drummond (1845 - 1879) was the third son of Viscount Strathallan. He first visited Africa when aged 17, most of the related experiences dealing with a five year period ending in 1872 during which time the author lived among the local tribesmen and women. He returned to Natal in 1877, joining the staff of Lord Chelmsford in the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879 and was killed at the Battle of Ulundi in 1879.

The Large Game And Natural History Of South And South-East Africa by William Henry Drummond (1875) is an account of the author's hunting adventures at the Cape, mainly in Tongaland, Zululand and Swaziland, from 1867 to 1872, with chapters on buffalo, rhinoceros, elands, elephants, lions, leopards, antelope, game birds and hunting with dogs. Free eBook

William Finaughty

Recollections Of William Finaughty: Elephant Hunter 1864-1875 by William Finaughty (1916). Finaughty was one of the great, early ivory hunters. He survived the death that awaited many of the early elephant hunters, bagging over 500 tuskers in 5 years. That he hunted entirely with a muzzle loading rifle adds a great deal of zest to this classic tale. Free eBook

Frederick Roderick Noble Findlay

Big Game Shooting And Travel In South-East Africa: An Account Of Shooting Trips In The Cheringoma And Gorongoza Divisions Of Portuguese South-East Africa And In Zululand by F R N Findlay (1903). Travelling through a hitherto unknown region, Findlay discovered a sporting paradise. A beautifully illustrated and action-packed work on African big game hunting. With chapters by Olive Schreiner and S C Cronwright-Schreiner.

Edouard Foa

Edouard Foa (1862 - 1901) covered 7200 miles, mostly on foot, from the Zambezi delta in the east to the mouth of the Congo in the west. Foa succeeded in his efforts to create one the finest collections of African animals and plants in the world for the Paris Natural History Museum. He has written many more books about Africa in French.

After Big Game In Central Africa by Edouard Foa (1899) is an account of a sportsman's journey from 1894 until 1897 when crossing the dark continent from the mouth of the Zambesi to the Belgian Congo. There is an appendix on central African game animals and much on elephants. Free eBook

Jules Gerard

Cecile Jules Basile Gerard 'Lion Killer' (1817 - 1864) was an officer in the French Army in Africa and gained fame as 'the greatest lion-killer that lived in this century' because in 11 years he killed 25 lions that were ravaging Algeria.

The Adventures Of Gerard, The Lion Killer, Comprising A History Of His Ten Years' Campaign Among The Lions Of Northern Africa by Jules Gerard (1855). Translated by Charles E Whitehead. "Contains a complete record of his successive combats, during a period of ten years, with the king of the beasts, the most minute account of the habits of the latter, and the actual details of many a deadly struggle and hard won victory". Kindle Version

Autobiography Of A Lion Killer, translated by Charles Whitehead. Kindle edition.

Peregrine Herne

The Perils And Pleasures Of A Hunter's Life Or The Romance Of Hunting by Peregrine Herne (1855) includes stories of big game hunting in the American west, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and India. Free eBook

Sir Frederick J Jackson

Sir Frederick John Jackson (1859 - 1929) was an English administrator, explorer and ornithologist.

Early Days In East Africa by Frederick J Jackson (1930). Sir Frederick Jackson was Lieutenant-Governor for the East Africa Protectorate (1907-1911), then became Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Uganda until 1917. In this classic book about British East Africa Sir Jackson vividly describes his experiences there - hunting parties, the local tribes and their customs, racial relations and more. An interesting account of this part of Africa at the beginning of the 20th century. Jackson met quite a few well-known hunters of the era, including Count Teleki, Sir John Willoughby, Buffalo Jones, William Rainsford and others. Of interest are his comments regarding Teddy Roosevelt, whom Jackson liked but described his over-expenditure of ammunition on game. There is also a chapter on professional hunters in general.

Notes On The Game Birds Of Kenya And Uganda (Including The Sand-Grouse, Pigeons, Snipe, Bustards, Geese And Ducks) by Frederick J Jackson (1926) is a comprehensive look at game birds of Kenya and Uganda, accompanied by beautiful full colour plates. One of the first major publications on the subject, the book contains important information on a broad range of species throughout the area. Organized and designed as a reference book.

The Birds Of Kenya Colony And The Uganda Protectorate by Frederick J Jackson (1938) is a valuable contribution to East African ornithology, edited and enlarged by W L Sclater.

Sir Frederick Jackson wrote 9 chapters of Big Game Shooting (1894) some of which are available separately.

Big Game Shooting: Hints On East African Stalking, Driving, Etc. Kindle Version

Big Game Shooting: The Rhinoceros Kindle Version

Big Game Shooting: Antelopes

Big Game Shooting: African Buffalo

Frederick Vaughan Kirby

Frederick Vaughan Kirby was a soldier, big game hunter and renowned author. He became the Game Conservator for Zululand in 1911 and was instrumental in the proclaimation of Mhkuze Game reserve before retiring in 1929.

Sport in East Central Africa: Being An Account Of Hunting Trips In Portuguese And Other Districts Of East Central Africa by Frederick Vaughan Kirby (1899) is a scarce Rowland Ward publication, a great book on elephant hunting and a rare African big game hunting title. These are hunting trips in Portuguese East Africa (now Mozambique) and other districts in East Central Africa. Frederick Vaughn Kirby hunted elephant, rhinoceros and other big game animals. This title continues Kirby's big game hunting adventures in the neighborhood of the Zambesi and Shire rivers. He bagged kudu, leopard, eland and buffalo while also shooting hippo and crocodiles. His best chapters cover his experiences hunting elephant in the Chiringoma region.

In Haunts Of Wild Game: A Hunter-Naturalist's Wanderings From Kahlamba To Libombo by Frederick Vaughan Kirby (1896) is one of the classics of African sport and the book describes the author's hunting experiences in Portuguese East Africa and the eastern Transvaal. Hunting bushbuck, kudu, leopard, buffalo, sable, giraffe and wildebeest with two chapters on lion hunting. Free eBook

Capt C J Melliss

Lion-Hunting In Somali-land :Also An Account Of Pigsticking The African Wart-Hog by Capt C J Melliss (1895). A captain in the 9th Bombay Infantry, C J Melliss was a pioneer of those professional soldiers of the Thin Red Line of Empire on Indian duty who found new areas of sport in Somaliland. Ranging well inland, Melliss was able to hunt lions and 'pigstick' warthogs, replacing the Indian sport of tiger and wild boar hunting. He tells in this book of a day long gone when gentlemen holding the King's commission could pit their rifles against lions in the most primitive conditions, as well as their hand at warthogs with a bamboo and steel lance. Available as a 1991 Peter Capstick Library reprint.

Arthur H Neumann

Arthur H Neumann (l850 - l907) was an old-time professional elephant hunter from 1893 to 1896 when he travelled from Mombasa, across Mount Kenya to Lake Rudolf.

Elephant Hunting In East Equatorial Africa by Arthur H Neumann (1898) is an account of three years ivory hunting under Mount Kenya and among the Ndorobo of the Lorogi Mountains, including a trip to the north end of Lake Rudolph. Kindle Version

William Cotton Oswell

William Cotton Oswell (1818 - 1893) was one of the great early elephant hunters and African explorers. He never wrote about his exploits except in old age, he did contribute to 'Big Game Shooting'.

With Mungo Murray, William Cotton Oswell made an expedition to the interior of Africa and met with David Livingstone. In 1849, the three of them discovered Lake Ngami, for which Livingstone took sole credit.

William Cotton Oswell, Hunter and Explorer: The Story Of His Life, With Certain Correspondence And Extracts From The Private Journal Of David Livingstone by William Edward Oswell (1900) who was the eldest son of William Cotton Oswell. The book contains much on his encounters with buffalo, elephant, rhino and hippo. It also contains a considerable amount of information on his friendship and adventures with David Livingstone which led to the discovery of Lake Ngami and the Zambezi River. Free eBook

Major P H G Powell-Cotton

Major Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton (1866 -1940) explored and hunted in Africa and Asia between 1887 and 1939.

He established Quex Museum was established in 1896 to house natural history specimens and cultural objects that he collected on his expeditions.

In Unknown Africa: A Narrative Of Twenty Months' Travel And Sport In Unknown Lands And Among New Tribes by Major Powell-Cotton (1904). After the success of his sporting trip to Abyssinia, Powell-Cotton was determined to attempt another hunting expedition, this time to British East Africa, not only for sport but to prove the existence of five-horned giraffe, discovered by Sir Harry Johnston.

A Sporting Trip Through Abyssinia by Major Powell-Cotton (1902) is "A Narrative of a Nine Months' Journey from the Plains of the Hawash to the Snows of Simien, with a description of the game, from elephant to ibex, and notes on the manners and customs of the natives." Free eBook

Carl Georg Schillings

With Flashlight And Rifle: Photographing by Flashlight at Night the Wild Animal World of Equatorial Africa by Carl Georg Schillings (1905) is a 2 volume record of hunting adventures and of studies in wildlife in Equatorial East Africa. Illustrated with 302 of the author's 'untouched' photographs taken by day and night. Although primarily concerned with the events of a photographic safari, this book contains two chapters about the difficulties of preserving wildlife in a developing society. Free eBook

In Wildest Africa by C G Schillings (1907). 2 Volumes. In his second work on photographing and hunting game in East Africa, Schillings captures the essence of the African landscape and it's peoples with his brilliant, early photographs. Contains over 300 photographic studies direct from the author's negatives, taken by day and night. Recent Addition Free eBook

Sir Alfred Sharpe

Sir Alfred Sharpe (1853 - 1935) was a professional hunter who became a British colonial administrator and Commissioner of the British Central Africa Protectorate (later, Nyasaland and today, Malawi) from 1896 until 1910. The Sharpe's grysbok, Raphicerus sharpei, is named after Sir Arthur Sharpe.

"In Nyasaland, Sir Alfred Sharpe was the greatest hunter of elephants I have heard of.....he has never published a work dealing solely with elephants, which is a pity...." Denis D Lyell.

The Backbone Of Africa: A Record Of Travel During The Great War, With Some Suggestions For Administrative Reform by Sir Alfred Sharpe (1921) describes travels in central Africa, the eastern Congo, Tanganyika, Uganda and Nyasaland, including a chapter on elephant hunting with additional mentions of hunting rhino, hippo and various antelope. Free eBook

The Geography And Resources Of British Central Africa by Sir Alfred Sharpe (1896)

A Journey From Lake Nyassa To The Great Loangwa And Upper Zambesi Rivers by Sir Alfred Sharpe (1890)

Andrew Steedman

Andrew Steedman was an early hunter, naturalist and traveller in southern Africa. He claimed to have discovered the common waterbuck.

Wanderings And Adventures In The Interior Of Southern Africa by Andrew Steedman (1835). 2 volumes. Steedman spent ten years in South Africa hunting big game. He hunted elephant north of Cape Town, then crossed the Orange River where quagga and wildebeest were encountered, with additional sport after lion.

James Sutherland

The Adventures Of An Elephant Hunter by James Sutherland (1912) is one of the great elephant hunting classics. Sutherland was one of the greatest elephant hunters and his book has been in demand for more than nearly 100 years. Free eBook

Books About Early African Hunters

E H Baxter

From Shikar And Safari: A Big Game Anthology by E H Baxter (1931) is a wonderful collection of the best writings by the best hunters including Selous, Neumann, Percival, Baillie-Grohman, Sutherland, Patterson and many others. Contents Include hunting the Big Three and many other species in Africa, Asia, Europe, Arctic, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc.

Michael Brander

The Big Game Hunters by Michael Brander (1988). Portrays the lives and expeditions of the principal big game hunters, from the days of the muzzle loading flintlock to the modern breech-loading express rifle. Short biographies of many of the early African and Indian big-game hunters including Walter Campbell, William Cornwallis Harris, R G Gordon Cumming, William Cotton Oswell, Sir Samuel White Baker, Henry Astbury Leveson, James Forsyth, William Rice, Alexander Kinloch, Arthur Neumann, Frederick Selous, John Guille Millais, Theodore Roosevelt, C H Stigand, James Sutherland, James Dunbar, Archibald Brander and W D M Bell. Recent Addition

Alfred Wilks Drayson

Among The Zulus: The Adventures Of Hans Sterk, South African Hunter And Pioneer by Alfred Wilks Drayson (1869) includes some elephant hunting with chapters, 'Introduction to the Hunters'; 'Following the Elephants'; 'The Bull Elephant' and 'Seeking the Dead Elephants'. Kindle Version

Early Days Among The Boers: Or The Diamond Hunters Of South Africa by A W Drayson (1900)

Tales Of The Outspan: Or Adventures In The Wild Regions Of Southern Africa by A W Drayson

John Frost

Wild Scenes Of The Hunter's Life: Or The Hunting & Hunters Of All Nations by John Frost (1851). African and North American big game hunting, based in part on the works of R Gordon Cumming and Girard. A collection of numerous accounts of hunting ranging from badger and hare, to elephant and lion. Free eBook

Geoffrey Haresnape

The Great Hunters by Geoffrey Haresnape (1974) is made up of passages chosen from some of the leading sportsmen pioneers in southern and central Africa who had the literary skill to make a permanent record of their experiences. Includes Selous, Chapman, Oswell, Wolhunter and more.

Ascott R Hope

Ascott R Hope is the pseudonym of the Scottish author Robert Hope Moncrieff (1846 - 1927).

Wild Beasts And Their Hunting: Sport With Big Game by Ascott R Hope (c.late 1800s) is a collection of information, history and anecdote concerning the haunts, habits and hunting of big game and other wild animals worldwide. Much of the content is supplied by famous hunters such as Selous, Cummings, Baker, Sanderson and Gerard. Contents include lion hunting, grizzly and polar bear hunting, elephant, tiger and rhino hunting, buffalo, bison, gorillas, wolves, boar and kangaroos.

In Forest And Jungle: Or Adventures With Wild Beasts by Ascott R Hope (c.1900)

Rawdon Malet

Unforgiving Minutes: A Book Of Dangerous Game by Rawdon Malet (1934) relates hunting elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, rhino and plains game based both on the author's own experiences and on those of such noted hunters as Denis Lyell, Arthur Neumann, Frederick Selous and others

Victor Meunier

Adventures On The Great Hunting Grounds Of The World by Victor Meunier (1868) is a collection of well-authenticated facts, illustrative of the nature, habits and various modes of capturing some of the largest and firecest of the animal world, and to describe some of the numerous adventures, terrible fights and hairbreadth escapes which the hunting of these animals has give rise to. Victor Meunier availed himself of the writings of a great variety of travellers of different countries, ancient as well as modern. Contents include: The Gorilla, Bears, The Tiger, The Lion, The Musk Ox, Tapirs, The Hippopotamus, The Rhinoceros, The Elephants, The Ostrich, Crocodiles and more. Free eBook