For those of you who came in late Jim Corbett’s life and stories will still be an eye opener. During his ‘holidays’ he used to stalk and kill man-eaters. Some of them had killed and eaten thousands of people! Really! So this was tremendously dangerous ‘work’. As a youngster these ‘ultimate’ hunting stories completely thrilled me – and they still do!
These man-eaters were truly awesome: Who would have though t a leopard could silently leap over a high wall (3.6 metres or 12′) with the body of a cow in its mouth, or that it could silently make its way through a crowd of sleepers sprinkled over the floor of an inn in the middle of the night, its fur brushing some terrifyingly as it passed, then selecting one, silently make its way out again, leaping over a high wall with her body. Sitting up in a tree (no protection really against such excellent climbers) in the middle of the night again and again just waiting for a crack at one in the dim light was truly harrowing and heroic ‘work’.
He was a First World War man. Corbett dedicated most of his life to service in India. He stayed on in India after independence working for Indian wages, such was his love of that country: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Corbett
Such was his recognized service to India that the largest National Park in India is still named after him in his honour. There you can ride on an elephants and still see wild tigers, sambar deer Indian rhinos, wild elephants & etc. Possibly the best way to get there is (seriously) to hire a taxi for a few days from New Delhi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Corbett_National_Park & http://www.corbettnationalpark.in
Many of his books are free to download. For Example:
Man Eaters of Kumaon: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.215066
Tree Tops: https://archive.org/details/TreeTops1955
The Temple Tiger & More Man Eaters of Kumaon: https://archive.org/details/TheTempleTigerAndMoreMan-eatersOfKumaon1954
The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag: https://archive.org/details/TheMan-eatingLeopardOfRudraprayag1947
My India: https://archive.org/details/MyIndia1952
About Jim Corbett: https://archive.org/details/00000CorbertBookFULLVersionWithPhotos
Lives in the Wilderness: https://archive.org/details/LivesInTheWilderness-ThreeClassicIndianAutobiographies
PS: I use the ‘Cool Reader App to read such books on my phone. This is a wonderful pastime when you are alone in the wilderness!
The only book/adventure to compare with Corbett’s was Col John Patterson’s Man-Eaters of Tsavo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man-eaters_of_Tsavo about the truly giant lions which feasted on the poor Indians building this African railway in the early years of the C20th. You can also download his book for free. The Internet Archive is just great:
Col John Patterson: The Man_Eaters of Tsavo: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.37068
