"Night
Stalker"
Oil on panel, 36x18"
SOLD
The aptly named John Alexander Hunter,
arrived in Kenya in 1908 and served his apprenticeship as a guard
on the Uganda Railway (the Lunatic Express) ,killing lions for
the railroad before becoming a white hunter to the rich and famous.
J.A., as he was known to his friends, was a crack shot and bagged
more than 1400 elephants and held a record for the number of
rhino kills. He was also often called upon to get rid of troublesome
lions or leopards in the colony settlements.
This night he was huddled in and under
a bush which hed hollowed out to act as a blind. Some elderly
Maasai chiefs had sent an urgent message requesting his help
in getting rid of an enormous leopard which had been killing
their prized cattle. The Manyatta and Kraal were in good leopard
country close to rocky ravines interspersed with thorn bushes.
He knew he would be at a definite disadvantage if he tried to
search for the leopard. He was going to wait for it to come to
him. He knew the leopard would be abroad somewhere and hopefully
it did not know where he was hiding. As the day turned to night
he got prepared for the anticipated encounter. The bush hed
selected was close to where the last leopard attack had taken
place, so he felt confident the leopard would return. The evening
turned into a clear starry night, but there was no sign of his
foe. The vigil was turning out to be longer than he expected.
Then, in the early hours of the morning, he caught sight of something
moving in the distance. Although his eyes had become accustomed
to the dark, it was hard to make it out properly. He could see
that it was heading his way, but it seemed too big for a leopard;
almost the size of a lioness, he thought. But at night objects
do look larger. He watched intently as the beast ever so quietly
got nearer and nearer. Sound is amplified in the stillness of
the night; so J.A. kept his movements to a minimum. He was going
to wait until it was about fifteen yards away before shooting.
The animal was soon within his range, and he could now see it
was crouching in a menacing manner. As he took aim, he couldnt
see his front sight and didnt want to overshoot, so he
aimed low and fired. He heard the cat grunt as it turned and
darted sideways into the bush. The gun report caused quite a
rumpus amongst the cattle in the nearby Kraal, which was added
to by the sounds of excited Maasai in the Manyatta. He couldnt
be sure if hed hit it and wondered if he should have waited
longer, but he was so tense from the long wait, he had to fire.
Now he had no prize to show the Maasai and wouldnt be able
to follow the blood spore until daybreak.
As it became light, he went to where
the animal had been standing when he fired. Yes, it was indeed
a leopard, and a big one. One of the natives acting as a gunbearer
joined J.A. as he followed its trail. Every now and then he could
see blood and because of its light color he realized the injury
had not been serious and would probably still have fight in it.
Leopards are renowned for rallying round and fighting to the
end, so J.A. was being very cautious. More Maasai had by then
joined them, as they made their way through a gorge with rocks
and heavy bush cover on both sides - an ideal place for an injured
leopard to hole up. J.A. was fearful of an ambush and cautioned
everyone to be watchful. Eventually one of the Maasai motioned
that he could see the leopard slinking towards a bush some twenty
yards ahead of them. Rather than continue along the trail, J.A.
got everyone to walk towards the bush to prevent the cat springing
on them from the rocks or the thick cover. As they approached
J.A. noticed a dark movement in the center of a tree and fired
to avoid a sneak attack. He quickly reloaded and readied himself
for the retaliation, which came almost immediately. With a snarl
and unbelievable speed, it came out charging all of them. Unable
to make a selection it darted one way, then another. Scattering
the Maasai and hindered by a broken foreleg from the first shot,
it was easily brought down just a few paces from the gleeful
natives.
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