THE OLD FOREST RANGER: OR, WILD SPORTS OF INDIA ON THE NEILGHERRY HILLS, IN THE JUNGLES, AND ON THE PLAINS. By Major Walter Campbell. Edited by Frank Forester.

(1840) 1853 1st US edition. 8vo (140 x 210mm). Pp383. B/w plates. Cloth, gilt hunting scene to upper board, spine titled and decorated in gilt, top edge gilt.

" My object in writing the following pages was to present my readers with a faithful sketch of some of the more exciting field sports of India; and to ensure my doing so, I have confined myself almost exclusively to the description of such scenes and adventures as either my brother, or I, or both of us - for we hunted in couples occasionally - have witnessed. ...My characters are purely fictitious, and are merely introduced, like the subordinate performers in Van Amburg's exhibitions, to serve as foils to the wild beasts, and to avoid the repetition of that eternal egotistical I, which is so disagreeable in a personal narrative". (From the author's preface to the first edition)". ...the fictionalised experiences of Campbell while hunting in the region of the Neilgherry Hills. The dialogue is a bit much for modern readers to wade through, but the chapters on hunting wild boar, bear, bison, sambur and tiger are quite well done. An interesting, early Victorian-era sporting work that captures the flavor and excitement of the hunt". (Czech). Chapters include:- A word from the Old Forest Ranger; A day's hunting on the Neilgherry Hills (two chapters); A tiger hunt on the Neilgherry Hills; Deer stalking; A ride in the Great Waliar Jungle; Bison shooting; Bear shooting; A wet night under canvass; An eventful day in the jungle; The night march; The halt; Boar hunting; The man-eater; The sacred village; Tiger hunting at the falls of the Cauvary; The hunter's return, and a little love-making; The Orange Valley; A parting word from the Old Forest Ranger; Notes. This American edition was edited by Frank Forester who has also contributed a new introductory preface.