Books with author William Stephen Rainsford

“A mighty hunter." - Literary Digest, 1918"Vividly written, very graphic descriptions… an authority on the game of the Dark Continent." - Review of Reviews, 1909"A markedly readable volume describing the author's hunting life in British East Africa." - Everybody's Magazine, 1910Dr. 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. He was also an avid hunter of North American big game.Contents: I. MOMBASSA TO LION LAND II. THE SEFARI III. ACROSS THE MAU ESCARPMENT TO LION LAND IV. MY FIRST LION V. HUNTING IN AFRICA VI. SEFARI LIFE VII. HUNTING ELEPHANT AND RIDING LION VIII. ELEPHANT IX. NZOIA PLATEAU AND ITS TRIBES X. GOOD-BYE SERGOIT XI. FROM GILGIL TO KENIA XII. SYCE'S ADVENTURE XIII. A MORNING'S RIDE THROUGH RHINO COUNTRY XIV. THE COUNTRY XV. A PLEA FOR THE NATIVE EAST AFRICAN AND HIS MISSIONARY XVI. THE LAST SEFARI

This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.