The World's Bravest Hunter

The World’s Bravest Hunter 1902

This tale is about a contest that was held in 1902 to find the world’s bravest hunter. An international hunting & adventure club was looking to increase their membership and promote their sport to the broader global audience. It was the time of bravado, manly deeds and discovering the last hidden places on this Earth, so the more heroic the deeds of the hunter - the better.

The call went out far and wide, inviting hunters and guides to nominate those thought to be worthy of such recognition for their bravery and hunting prowess. Newspapers and mail were the principle means of information sharing then. Following a year of stories in various national newspapers, word of this contest had spread and excitement was high as the head office was dealing with a flood of nominations for the prize of World’s Bravest Hunter.

From Africa, America, China, Russia, South America, the Arctic territories and other dark corners of the globe came nominations for hunters renowned in their local areas, true legends some of these were. The tales sent to describe their hunting glory were awe inspiring and truly they described feats of great bravery, understanding of the wild outdoors and how to track and effectively bag their prey. After many weeks of review, debate and discussion, the most revered of the nominees were identified from the great volumes of mail the hunting and adventure club received. As most hunters were similarly effective in bagging their prey, the evaluation committee sought out extraordinary feats and heroic deeds as well. It came down to three.

There was Sir Earnest Walton residing in Zambia at the time for the benefit of the weather - who single-headedly, tracked down and killed a pair of rouge elephants that destroyed villages and crops in Botswana and injured a number of the local people and even killed a few. He dispatched the marauders with one shot each from his trusty Holland & Holland .375 Magnum. The local villagers haled him a hero and regaled him with wives, livestock and a newly constructed home in their jungle village.

Vladimir Rukko from an unidentified location in the Soviet Union was nominated for his heroic hunt and dispatching of a killer polar bear that wandered into the town of Chersky in northern Siberia and terrorized the residents there for more than a month during which time nine lives were lost including six children and three elderly people. Rewarded with what he would later call “Too much booze” Rukko spent two years working on a dairy farm to dry out due to his mother’s efforts to help her son quit drinking.

Klaus Hemple of Frankfurt was nominated for his good deed of slaying a man-eating tiger that preyed upon people in a small fishing village on the coast of India. Early one rainy, cool morning as the fog began to lift, Hemple waited in a long dug-out canoe for the giant cat to appear, suddenly the tiger lunged at him from the tall grasses along the river. He dropped his rifle into the river after the tiger charged his frail canoe; Mr. Hemple killed the beast with his belt knife following an epic close quarter’s combat between the two. The scars of this battle would become his life-long claim to fame.

Having identified the three heroic nominee hunters, the hunting club rented a prestigious ballroom in Paris and contracted the most talented and respected chefs to prepare a feast of wild game meats, fowl and fishes from around the planet. The finest wines, ales and spirits were stocked in abundance for the multitude of guests from around the world who were invited to this soiree. The global wealthy and the gentry of the Who’s Who were invited to attend what was reported by the newspapers of the day as the high point in international social gatherings of the year, perhaps the decade.

The evening of the event was filled with excitement as dignitaries, movie stars, the naughtiest new authors and performers, explorers and aviation adventurists sat among maritime heroes, military legends, barons, political notables and other persons of international fame and notoriety. Elegantly dressed women were on the arms of some of these, names were not always shared but gossip was.

There were performers to entertain the many guests. Classical pianists, poetic and dramatic readings and a wonderful blue-grass band from America entertained the crowd as they drank and socialized. Recent advances in photography prompted many to wander within the crowd and set up group photos to mark their attendance to this exclusive event.

Following a meal that all would regard in the weeks to follow as the finest ever prepared. Speeches and toasts gushed with bravos to the chefs and their imaginative and talented staff. Recipes of some of the more flamboyant dishes would be printed in select newspapers for the common people to feel included.

Once the dishes had been cleared, the brandy, coffee, tea and cakes were served when the house gaslights grew brighter as the Master of Ceremonies took his place at the ornate podium on the stage of the ballroom. He took a large breath and spoke in a clear baritone voice, “Mesdames et Messieurs, Damen und Herren, et Ladies and Gentlemen!” he thanked all for attending THE sport gaming event of the decade. He explained the time and effort spent on identifying the three nominees from the many hundreds of nominations submitted and thanked the many club directors who made the final decision and named each of them which caused a number of toasts to be made for their efforts. Eventually he got around to naming the three nominees who stepped up to the stage as they were called to be recognized and congratulated in grand form by all assembled.

The booze flowed, the crowd happy and care-free under a growing cloud of blue cigar smoke and all were having a grand time when suddenly a loud explosive pistol shot rang out in the ballroom silencing all in an instant.

A loud voice could be heard coming from the entranceway into the voluminous ballroom. “SISSYS - ALL THREE OF YOU!” As he spoke loudly he walked through the room towards the stage, looking left and right at the dumbstruck audience that parted to allow his passing with their drinks at the ready and their mouths agape as the stranger strode defiantly forward with a slight oriental gentlemen following close behind him in a measured stride. The burly stranger was rugged looking wearing a newish Barbour uplands field suit, his brown laced boots highly polished and his footsteps unusually quiet for such a large man.

The intruder continued in a booming voice, “YOU ARE NOT HUNTERS - YOU ARE KILLERS.” He pointed to Klaus Hemple standing on the stage, “YOU HEMPLE, ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO DISPLAYED COURAGE! YOU USED A KNIFE - BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU DROPPED YOUR GUN!” He accused.

He and his silent associate climbed the stairs to join the others on stage. He turned and faced the wide-eyed audience and said, while grasping the shoulder of the diminutive Asian man standing to his right, “THIS IS A COURAGEOUS HUNTER - MR. YAMAMOTO”, He turned and bowed to the man who responded in kind. He faced the audience once again and bellowed, “MR. YAMAMOTO HAS CIRCUMNAVIGATED THIS EARTH HUNTING THE GREAT CREATURES IN A MANNER THAT DEFIES THE MEAR KILLING OF THEM FROM A SAFE DISTANCE WITH A HIGH-POWERED RIFLE. I BELIEVE HE IS THE ONLY HUNTER HERE WHO HAS THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR THIS HONOR AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR IT HERE AND NOW!.”

He paused to take a breath and continued,” GRIZZLY, POLAR AND THE BLACK BEARS, ELEPHANTS, TIGERS AND WILDEBEASTS, LEOPARDS, HYENAS, WOLVES, PANTHERS, LIONS AND JAGUARS, HIPPOS, THE GIANT MOUNTAIN GORILLA AND THE FIERCE BABOONS OF THE AFRICAN PLAINS - MR. YAMAMOTO HAS BESTED THEM ALL WITHOUT KILLING THEM LIKE COWARDS WILL DO.”

Of course the crowd was murmuring louder and some curse words could be heard over the general grumbling the stranger’s speech had inspired. In the front row a tall dark-haired man dressed in a blue western-cut suit raised his hand and yelled back, “WHAT PROOF CAN YOU OFFER OF THIS MAN’S HUNTING EXPERTISE? THE THREE NOMINEES ALL HAD WITNESSES TO VERIFY THEIR DEEDS. HOW CAN MR. YAMAMOTO CONFIRM YOUR CLAIMS?” This caused a loud supportive grumble from the rest of the audience which caused the Master of Ceremonies to once again speak up, “THIS IS MOST IREGULAR AND NOT A PART OF THE ORIGINAL COMPETITION. HOW CAN WE CONFIRM THESE CLAIMS HERE AND NOW SIR?”

Mr. Yamamoto, reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a soft tan leather wallet and handed it to the MC as he said, “I have my entire trophy collection here so that you all may see.”

The MC began to thumb through the glove leather wallet which was a fine quality sleeved photo album. The black and white images showed various angry game animals with Mr. Yamamoto also in the picture. Included in each picture sleeve were a few strands of thick hair, each was different from the others. The pictures were very dramatic and suggested a heightened level of excitement and danger in each of them.

Mr. Yamamoto looked at the Master of Ceremonies briefly, then turned to the silent audience and with a slightly elevated volume he explained, “I hunt by plucking a few hairs from the tails of these animals at the same time my associate here takes the picture. Quietly stalking and sneaking up on them takes the greatest amount of time, caution and patience, but once the picture has been taken, the running away happens rather quickly.”