West with the night



“West with the night” by Beryl Markham, published 1942

This is a fascinating biography of growing up in British East Africa, now Kenya, at the turn of the 19th century. At age four, she and her father moved to a farm in 1906 where he trained and bred race horses. Ms. Markham carried on the family tradition before becoming a pilot in the 1930s.

I’m reading along, enjoying her tomboy exploits on the Dark Continent, when I come across a reference to Lord Delamere. Now why do I know that name? The names keep dropping, “Blix” the Baron Bror von Blixen, Denys Finch Hatton, Isak Dinesen. Oh I get it, “Out of Africa”. I loved the movie and the book although the people didn’t seem real. Yet somehow the connections in this book made all these people alive to me. Gees, they’re all out there hunting big game and racing horses and they all know each other.

Baron von Blixen was a great white hunter, who led safaris in search of big game. That got me to wondering if he and Gus Peret were acquainted. Peret, legendary Oregon marksman, outdoor writer and photographer travelled to Africa many times. His parents built my house and he lived here until his death in 1963.

Got some research to do.

Comments

Stephanie said…
I checked with Shannon Applegate, niece to the Perets. Her response:

Nice to hear from you Stephanie. It certainly is possible that among the "white hunters" who assisted Gus on his Safari there were friends or acquaintances of the characters you mention.

By the way, we are starting a major archival preservation project of the Gus and Hazel Peret photos, documents and artifacts. We ought to have some fascinating information as this project progresses.

Hope you are comfy and that you find your way down our road someday.

Best

Shannon
Tue Oct 27, 04:14:00 PM
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