Man Is The Prey
James Clarke has lived in Africa since his early 20s and was news editor of The Star in Johannesburg when his book, Man Is the Prey, was published in 1969. Clarke leads us on an investigation into the curious and unpredictable actions and motives of the leopard, a...
New York Was Far Away
The valley was long and narrow, filled with the green of rich grass and the pale gold of frost-touched arctic willow. Along the edges of the valley was a thick border of spruce, but not far up the mountainsides, the woods played out in a scattering of scrubby trees....
This Old House
When the old house was occupied, its splintering walls were stout, its diminutive shelter a fortress of good spirits, its heartwood hale and its ambiance light with ale. Way long ago now, in the antediluvian and simplistic age in which I knew boyhood, circa. 1954,...
Sanctity of Sanctuary Ranch
The words “sanctity” and “sanctuary” both have Latin roots. Sanctity, from sanctus, defined as “sacred or holy,” and sanctuary from sanctuarium, “a sacred or private place.” These words both define in totality the experience at Pat Bollman’s and his family’s whitetail...
The Elk of Two-Ocean Pass
An ideal bull in an idyllic locale.
The Ghost of Camelot Ridge
Every so often, it occurs to me that I am, without question, one of the luckiest guys in the world. It’s a brash statement, no doubt, and I hope that it doesn’t come off as bragging, because that’s not how I mean it. To me, it just means that I understand, and that...
Leo Tolstoy and The Bear Hunt
I felt something warm above my head and realized the bear was drawing my whole face into its mouth; my nose, already in it and feeling the heat of it… Have you had summer in Moscow and St. Petersburg this year? “the bundled-up June tourist asked at the train depot as...
The Dilemma
The rifle was all they talked about. A slick new Winchester Model 94 resting in the glass showcase at Harden’s Hardware. Jack coveted it. All the boys did. An inveterate hunter all of his long life, Mr. Harden smiled at the boys’ enthusiasm. Recalling his excitement...