African Hunting from Natal to the Zambesi: Including Lake Ngami, the Kalahari Desert, Etc., from 1852 to 1860

William Charles Baldwin

ISBN 10: 0371714184 / ISBN 13: 9780371714188

Published by HardPress Publishing, 2018

About this Item

New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

Seller Inventory # LX-9780371714188

Bibliographic Details

• Title: African Hunting from Natal to the Zambesi: Including Lake Ngami, the Kalahari Desert, Etc., from 1852 to 1860
• Publisher: HardPress Publishing
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0371714184
• ISBN 13: 9780371714188
• Binding: PAP
• Condition: New
• Weight: 658 grams

About this title

Synopsis

African Hunting From Natal To The Zambesi: Including Lake Ngami, The Kalahari Desert, Etc., From 1852 To 1860 by William Charles Baldwin. This memoir collects Baldwin’s journals of his African hunting journeys from the early 1850s, tracing his landings in Natal, first expeditions to St. Lucia and the Zululand frontier, and later travels through the Amatonga, Transvaal, and Bechuana territories toward Lake Ngami and the Zambezi. The narrative blends vivid hunting scenes (elephants, rhinos, buffalo, giraffes, sea-cows) with grueling treks across rivers and deserts, intimate encounters with Zulu, Kaffir, and Masara people, and episodes of fever, thirst, and hardship. Baldwin’s voice is frank and humorous, yet contemplative about colonial life, danger, and the lure of exploration. The work provides a detailed portrait of mid-19th-century southern Africa’s wildlife, landscapes, and political complexities, as well as a window into the mindset of a professional hunter traversing an increasingly contested frontier. It also emphasizes the social dynamics of long expeditions, the role of native guides, and the reliance on wagons, horses, and Kaffir labor. The text, though framed by adventure, preserves a candid record of the risks, moral ambiguities, and occasional misfortunes of frontier life in Africa's interior during the 1850s.