African Adventures and Misadventures

Book excerpt: Bill York, who recently passed away, once said, “Most guiding for big game is pretty unadventuresome work.” However, when there is excitement, it comes in spades, and Bill York had his share of unusual encounters. From his early days in Kenya when he and a companion trekked alone through the desert of the NFD and had to fend off marauding lions that ate his caravan ponies to encountering a Mau Mau terrorist who took potshots at his victims with a stolen elephant gun, York gives an entertaining account of his life. York was there when the RAF bombed the rain forest to rid Kenya of the dreaded Mau Mau, and he explains how the bombing went awry—very few Mau Mau were killed but plenty of wounded and dangerously short-tempered buffalo were left to wreck havoc in the countryside. He gives an insider’s view to the funny and outrageous behavior of some his famous acquaintances--Eric Rundgren, Ken Dawson, Frank Broadbent, and Iodine Ionides. PH Eric Rundgren, for example, was so interested in getting himself good elephant tusks that he would scout out the best tuskers for himself and guide his clients to less desirable trophies! There are stories about how York found a cache of rhino and elephant ivory that J. A. Hunter had stashed before his death, and how John Boyes managed to exasperate British authorities with his dastardly deeds. There is an entire chapter on hunting giant forest hogs because Bill York spent a lot of time in their habitat, and there are encounters and adventures with crop-raiding elephant and ghost buffalo that could be seen but not killed. Then there is the story of a client who was so huge that York was not sure he could get the man a single trophy. As with York’s previous book, the pages are loaded with interesting anecdotes, fascinating tales, and well-written prose that give insight into East Africa and its more famous characters.