Description
This is the second print of the first edition of ‘In the Grip of the Nyika. Further Adventures in British East Africa’ by Lieutenant Colonel J.H. Patterson, D.S.O. Published by Macmillan and Co., Limited. St Martins Street, London. 1909. Illustrated with monochrome illustrations and maps. From 1907 until 1909, Patterson was Chief Game Warden in the East Africa Protectorate, an experience he recounts in this his second book.
Background History:
In the Grip of the Nyika: “Patterson revisits the infamous sites of Tsavo then treks into the wilderness of British East Africa. There is a feverish encounter with a rogue elephant that kills Aladdin, Patterson's steed.”
The author describes this book as "the trials and adventures which befell me on two recent expeditions through the 'nyika,' or wilderness, in British East Africa. "On the first trip there were three of us, and all returned safely to civilization, although dangers were not wholly absent. On the second and longer expedition there were also three Europeans, but, alas! only two got back, the 'nyika' having claimed the third; nor was the god of the wilds content with this sacrifice, for, in addition, he claimed several of my native followers."
“Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson, DSO (1867-1947), known as J. H. Patterson, was an Anglo-Irish soldier, hunter, author and Zionist, best known for his book The Man-Eaters of Tsavo and Other East African Adventures (1907), which details his experiences while building a railway in Kenya. Patterson was born in Forgney, Ballymahon, County Westmeath (now Longford), Ireland, in 1867. His father was Protestant and his mother was Roman Catholic. He joined the British Army at age seventeen, rose quickly through the ranks and eventually attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Essex Yeomanry (he resigned his commission in 1911).”
Condition:
Good condition. Only light toning throughout. Front and back free endpapers browned. 2 pages ads at end, frontispiece, map, 8 route maps, illustrated throughout, uniform blue cloth gilt, pictorial gilt vignettes to upper cover, top edges gilt, corners and edges bumped with some rubbing to boards.