Jungle Man - Autobiography of Maj. P.J. Pretorius

by Maj. P. J. Pretorius
(Ross Murphy - Oklahoma, USA)

This is a book I bought on a hunch hoping that it was better than the title. How true it is - "do not judge a book by its cover". This is one of the better written and most entertaining books written in the late 1890's to 1920's era of elephant hunting.

Major P. J. Pretorius was the guide that led the British to the German warship Konigsberg that was hidden in the Rufigi River delta area. He had hunted the area extensively and led Gen. Smuts men to the area and the ship was destroyed. He lived with cannibals, pygmies and a host of other African tribes gaining their confidence which later saved him as he escaped from the Germans after being shot in both legs.

He knew Selous and in truth, Selous replaced him on the mission where Selous was killed. He crossed paths with the elephant hunters in the Lado Enclave. Pretoria in South Africa was named after his grandfather. His story is amazing - escapes from natives, from the Germans in WWI, encounters with elephants and his overall wonderlust for adventure.

If you enjoyed Selous' book or the John Boyes book (King of the Wa-Kikuyu) or the Ivory Trail by Bulpin - you will love this book. He tells his story very matter of factly and in an easy to read style.

I highly recommend this book for it's originality and exciting tales of a time we have missed.

I rate this a solid 9.5 out of 10 on the dogcat scale and hope you can get a copy.

PS - I found a cheap copy on Abebooks.com . Mike Resnick put together a series of Africana books that has been reprinted (not very well however) and are easy to find for a reasonable price. I do not collect rare books, so I am always looking for a "deal". The copy I have is cheaply bound but ok. I wish Safari Press had reprinted this book in their usual excellent manner.

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Jungle Man - Autobiography of Maj. P.J. Pretorius

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May 31, 2011
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Addo elephant
by: Jaco

A pdf document with regards to the culling of the Addo elephant and Major Pretorius' role can be downloaded at www.koedoe.co.za/index.php/koedoe/article/view/372/361

May 31, 2011
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Further interesting facts
by: Jaco

Major Pretorius was also appointed in the Addo bushland on the South African Garden Route along the eastern coast of the country, to cull the herd of elephant which created havoc on the farm lands in the district. You can search on the internet under "addo" and "major pretorius" and you will find a few sites where comments were made with regards to the history of the park and the culling of the elephant. I include a direct link to one of the sites - www.sanparks.org/parks/addo/tourism/history.php

May 31, 2011
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Jungle Man
by: Jaco

Hi Matt,

His full names were Philip Jacobus Pretorius(my christian name is also Jacobus, hence the shortened name Jaco). He is a descendant of the Boer / Voortrekker leader Gert Andries Pretorius. The capitol city of South Africa, Pretoria is actually named after Andries Pretorius as the leader was known. These names were fairly "sacred" in the Boer community and my poor grandmother being a direct descendant and also first born, had to carry the names Gerbreggie Androecina, which were made up by combining the male names with some female names!

Regards
Jaco

May 31, 2011
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An amazing life
by: Matt

I keep a copy of Jungle Man close to me always. Some of said that the simplicity of the prose keep the book from being one of the great Africana stories. This may be so, but its the simple, humble and unassuming tone that give the book its charm and says plenty about the author.

Jaco, I have always wondered what PJ stood for, and Peter Capstick (one of Pretorius' biographers) never was able to find out. So the P stood for Philip.. any idea what the J stood for.

Kind regards, Matt

Nov 15, 2010
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Jungle Man
by: Jaco

Jungle Man is an autobiography of one of my ancestors. My grandmother used to tell us lots of stories with regards to uncle Philip's safaris and adventures. He used to send her coins from all over the world, one which dated back to the 1500's. Unfortunately, this was stolen together with some other valuables she collected. We still have numerous original photographs he sent her over the years. Coming from Africa, I still long for those long evenings next to a cozy fire in the bushveld listening to the sounds of silence - where human beings are absent and only nature prevails. Where you can feel the vibration when a lion roars... I did not agree with everything he did like the culling of the elephant in the Addo. Fortunately the herd in Addo has been restored over years where they are protected. And he never found the leopard that killed my great grandfather on the back of his horse.

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