African Hunting, from Natal to the Zambesi

"Baldwin's work is one of the most extraordinary records we have met with of wild adventure, cool daring, and narrow escapes from death." -Daily News (London), December 30, 1862

"A fine horseman and shot possessing wonderful nerve, William Charles Baldwin established a reputation in South Africa second to none of the great Nimrods." -The Sun (New York), October 21, 1894

"Baldwin arrived in Natal in late 1851...to commence an 8-year career of professional hide, ostrich-feather, and ivory hunting...once marched all alone to the Zambezi River to become the second European after Livingstone to view Victoria Falls." - Augusts in Africa (2016)

"Books by William Harris, R. G. Cumming, and William Charles Baldwin were bestsellers of the Victorian era. Their tales of hunting prowess...glossed over their heavy dependence on local knowledge." -Ecology and Power in the Age of Empire (2017)

Only the second European to view Victoria Falls, why did famous big game hunter William Baldwin decide to risk a solo expedition to the Zambezi River?

In 1865, William Charles Baldwin (1827-1903) would publish an exciting narrative of his 8 years of big game hunting in Natal and around the Zambesie in his book titled "African Hunting, from Natal to the Zambesi."

In discussing his trade, Baldwin writes:

"Elephant hunting is the very hardest life a man can chalk out for himself. Two blank days, riding five hours at a foot's pace to a vley, where the Masaras tell you they have drunk; sleeping in the bush with nothing to eat; a drink of muddy water in the morning, out of a dirty tortoise-shell, which serves for breakfast, dinner, and supper; all day in the saddle, under a broiling sun, following after three half-starved Masaras in greasy, tattered skins, who carry a little water in the belly of a quagga, which is nauseous to a degree, and never seeing life the whole day. Two days like this, followed by two successful ones, is about what you may expect."

About the author:

William Charles Baldwin was born on March 3, 1827, in Leyland in Lancashire and died on November 17, 1903, in Tarporley in Cheshire. He was a British hunter and explorer. Son of a pastor, he settled in Durban in South Africa in 1851 and from 1852 to 1860 explored the entire area from Port Natal to the Zambezi Falls by carrying out numerous hunts which made him famous.