The Land of the Lion

“A mighty hunter.” – Literary Digest, 1918

“Vividly written, very graphic descriptions… an authority on the game of the Dark Continent.” – Review of Reviews, 1909

“Rainsford…spent a twelvemonth in East Africa hunting lions and cheetahs, elephants and small game…walked more than 4,000 miles…contains many interesting studies and observations of African native life.” –Boston Globe, Nov. 13, 1909

“A markedly readable volume describing the author’s hunting life in British East Africa.” – Everybody’s Magazine, 1910

Dr. Rainsford’s 1909 book “The Land of the Lion ” is a record of the twelve or thirteen months spent in the hunting domains of East Africa–an account of the huntsman’s quest for big game and final triumphs.

After walking more than 4000 miles during a year’s hunting trip in Africa, Dr. William S. Rainsford, nationally known as the former rector of St. George’s Church, New York, was properly to be regarded as an authority on the game possibilities of the Dark Continent. In a vividly written volume, “The Land of the Lion,” Dr. Rainsford gives some very graphic descriptions of the conditions of human and animal life in Africa. His viewpoint is that of the observant man of culture whose mind and heart are alive to even the smallest detail.

In introducing his book, Rainsford writes:

“Now, after a year’s constant travel, during which I have ridden and walked more than five thousand miles, I really think I have some knowledge that is not without its value-about the country-the best place to go for certain sorts of game; the most beautiful and healthy parts of it; the sort of sefari to gather round you, and how to control and manage it.

“I have learned, too, a good deal about African hunting; how it should be done to-day, and that, I can assure my reader, even if he has hunted as I have, in a great many different places, takes care and time-African big game hunting is quite unlike any other.”

In describing the Masai method of lion hunting, Rainsford notes:

“They told me positively that when their warriors were charged by a lion they always stood stock still. To move meant death, to stand quite immovable meant that before closing, the lion, if unbounded would stand, too. A missionary I knew was in this way “charged,” as many would call it, by three lions, a male and two females. The lion ran up to within twelve yards, he estimated it, and on his standing firm, growled, and ran back to the lionesses. Then a lioness would go through the same most trying performance. He standing still, she, too, retired. This happened no less than four times.”

In describing an elephant stampede, Rainsford writes:

“One of the cows got scent of him, and trumpeting loudly, charged. She was followed in a rush by all the rest. Tied by the thorns he could not run, even if running had been any good. Nothing remained for him but one terrible chance. He threw himself down, and the ponderous charge trampled over him ….”

In writing about an attack by enraged rhinoceros, Rainsford states:

“As he was passing through some thickish brush he was, without warning, incontinently charged by a rhino. Such an onslaught is usually made with exceeding swiftness, and though his mule swerved for its life, the cruel horns pinned him….”

Although a large portion of the book is devoted to big game hunting, the book is more than a recital of his quest for big game and final triumphs. It is also provides an interesting picture of African conditions and the life of its inhabitants.

About the author:

William Rainsford (1850 − 1933) was, prior to his African hunting exploits, the rector of St. George’s Church in New York from 1882 to 1906.