ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

[peter]

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GENERAL IMPRESSION

'Red Wolves and White Tigers' was published in 1952 by the 'Bonner Buchgemeinde' (Germany). It was a special publication (in German), meaning the number of books was limited. I don't think it was ever translated, so I'll be your guide today.

My general impression was interesting, well written and accurate. Velter knows how to write a book on adventures in far away and unknown regions. It reminded me of Arseniev's great book 'Dersu the Trapper'. Arseniev's observations on the situation in Sichote-Alin, those hunting the region (Chinese, Koreans, native tribes and a few Russians) and the animals they encountered were confirmed in many respects. The difference is Arseniev made his observations a few decades earlier. Although Velter is silent regarding the period in which he travelled, my guess is it was in the thirties or forties of the last century.


JOSEPH VELTER

Velter combined hunting, travelling and writing. In the first decades of the last century, the sky was the limit. If you had the drive and means to do it, you could go anywhere. The world had many unknown regions in those days. Today, we post on a forum, but chances are some of us would have travelled and hunted a century ago as well. Perhaps. I would have.

Joseph Velter was experienced. So much so, he was able to survive nearly two winters, one spring, one summer and one autumn in a region known for sudden and violent wheather changes, terrible insects (flies and mosquitos), dangerous diseases (malaria, typhus and plaque included), dangerous animals (he was hunted and treed by wolves when on his own) and, above all, 'promyschlenniks' or 'taiga thugs'.

How do you survive in dangerous places? You travel with one or two companions and they know things you do not. Velter travelled with a man called 'Imquill', a Canadian with a very rich father, and Semjon Pawlowitch Pjetroff, a Russian deserter they had found more dead than alive in a remote region somewhere in Siberia on one of their travels. Imquill knew about following tracks, hunting and plants and herbs. Although he often suffered from malaria he had contracted, he was reliable, tenacious and a great tracker. Pawlowitch Pjetroff was a cook, a marksman (army) and he knew how, when and where to build a cabin. He also knew about the weather and it was because of this quality that he was able to save his companions more than once. In Sichote-Alin, they used a native hunter to help them as well.     

What do you need in order to travel year after year? You feel the need to do things your own way. You feel a desire to go to unknown places. You are interested in wild places, wild people and animals. You hunt to eat or to sell the skins in order to continue travelling. You respect wildlife, but in a different way than a 'greeny' in a big city today. And when you take a break in a hotel with a bath and roomservice, you long for the places you visited. And than you decide to go to Korea. Tomorrow.   


1 - LAKE CHANKA

The idea to visit the 'desert of forest', as Sichote-Alin was known, was discussed during another long hunting trip in Manchuria. They travelled from Harbin to Wladivostok and bought what they needed. They than travelled to Nikolsk-Ussuriskj. The first long trip was to the swamps west of the railway (from Chabarowsk to Wladivostok). They wanted to see the swan lake. 

They bought a boat and left in autumn. Drifting towards the north-west, they lost their way and had to survive a storm so severe it resulted in floods. In the reeds, when shooting for the pot, they mistook a wolf for a deer. Mistake. The the next night they heard the others of the pack howl. Closer and closer they came. They entered to boat and drifted further towards the north-west. No trees, just reeds, small bushes, grass and mud. So much  so, they had to sleep on the boat. Than they reached Swan Lake and saw what few saw. Birds and more birds as far as the eye could see. They shot a few for the pot, sold the boat in a village and than travelled to the north-east, towards the mouth of the Iman River close to the Ussuri. They bought a number of small horses and entered Sichote-Alin. Forest. A sea of forest. A desert of forest. Reply