Frederick Courteney Selous

Frederick Courteney Selous (born December 31, 1851 in London , † January 4, 1917 at Beho-Beho ) was an English professional hunter and officer in Africa . Henry Rider Haggard's life story inspired the creation of his hero Allan Quatermain . He is the namesake for the Selous Game Reserve , Africa's largest game reserve.

Life

As a teenager he was already interested in nature and enthusiastic about Africa. At the age of 19 he traveled to Cape Town and on to Matabeleland . With short interruptions, he traveled to the previously unexplored areas between the Transvaal and the southern Congo Basin until 1890 . He hunted elephants and other big game and collected butterflies, insects and "exotic" animals on behalf of museums and private collectors. He lived on the proceeds from the sale of ivory and the prepared animals.

Thanks to his charismatic personality, he was able to maintain friendly relations with the leaders of the indigenous peoples (formerly: chiefs ). The areas of present-day Zimbabwe became known to a wider public through the descriptions of his travels in novel form . In 1890 he entered the service of the British South Africa Company as the leader of an expedition to Mashonaland and was instrumental in gaining the area as a British colony. In the First Matabele War he was wounded in 1893, in the Second Matabele War in 1896 he assumed a leading officer position on the staff of Cecil Rhodes .

In 1893 he married Gladys Maddy, with whom he had two sons.

In the following years he temporarily withdrew to England, but in 1909 took over the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt's expedition to British East Africa , Egypt and the Congo. It was probably the largest safari of all time, with over 300 people participating. Roosevelt and his son Kermit alone shot over 500 animals.

Participation in the First World War and death

When the First World War broke out , Selous volunteered to take up arms in early 1915 (at the age of 64). After initially being rejected due to his old age, he joined the 25th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. In fighting with the Schutztruppe in German East Africa under General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck , his group was ambushed on January 4, 1917 on the Beho-Beho River, where Selous and eight of his men were killed. Selous was hit first on the side and then fatally in the head by a German sniper with the second shot.

There are several legends surrounding Frederick Courteney Selou's death. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck later said that Selous - recognizable by his long, snow-white hair - led his men on that day with his head held high, without noticing the Germans lying in hiding. Lettow-Vorbeck himself had seen Selous from a hill, recognized him and pressed the barrel of the gun down to an Askari accompanying him , who had already aimed at Selous, who was within range, so that he could not shoot. Lettow-Vorbeck wanted to capture the great hunter. Another group of German soldiers lying in ambush did not receive this order in time, so that they suddenly opened fire and Selous and his men were immediately killed. This story, too, cannot be verified on the basis of historically verified sources and was not recorded by Lettow-Vorbeck during the fighting, but only reported many years after the end of the war.

Selous game reserve

The area where Selous and the soldiers accompanying him fell and were buried was already a wildlife sanctuary at that time. After the colony was taken over by Great Britain in 1919, this area was enlarged and named after the big game hunter Selous Game Reserve in 1921 . His grave and the graves of his fallen comrades are near a driveway and can be visited in the wildlife sanctuary.

Selous Scouts

A special unit of the Rhodesian army that existed in the 1970s to fight guerrillas , the Selous Scouts, was named after him .

literature

Frederick Courtney Selous: A hunters wanderings in Africa. Being a narrative of nine years spent amongst the game of the far interior of South Africa (= Resnick Library of African Adventure. No. 6). Alexander Books, Alexander NC 2001, ISBN 1-570-90141-4 .
Passion 1/2008

Web links

Commons : Frederick Courteney Selous - collection of images, videos and audio files

personal data
SURNAME	Selous, Frederick Courteney
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	English big game hunter and officer
DATE OF BIRTH	December 31, 1851
PLACE OF BIRTH	London
DATE OF DEATH	January 4, 1917
Place of death	Beho-Beho