The Big-Five – The Elephant in the Room (Hill, Swinehart, and Negley)

Originally published as a Traditional Bowhunter Magazine Online feature:

https://tradbow.com/the-big-five-the-elephant-in-the-room/

There has been a controversy in bowhunting history circles since 1989 when Bill Negley published “Archer in Africa”.  Two questions were central to Negley’s claims in the book, and there was a chapter dedicated to each: “What about Howard Hill”, and “What about Bob Swinehart” respectively.  Who was the first to successfully Bowhunt the African Elephant under fair chase, and who was the first to successfully collect all of Africa’s Big Five?  Negley contends he was the first to do both, though convention until that time time was that Bob Swinehart was the first to take the Big Five, and Hill the first at the elephant.  The stories and historical record are muddied, vague, and complicated by rumor, jealousy, elapsed time, and the perspectives of the day.  Howard Hill was missing the rhinoceros in the chase for the Big Five, but nonetheless Howard is embroiled and central in this controversy because of the enormous African elephant.

Hill’s mission in Africa is quite clear.  He was financed to, first and foremost, film a profitable and entertaining major Hollywood motion picture called “Tembo”.   Secondarily, he wanted to kill some of Africa’s big game with his longbow to prove the effectiveness of the bow and arrow, as well as prove to himself he was capable of those accomplishments.  The problem was that movie making technology of the early 1950s made it very difficult to capture with any clarity these bowhunting action sequences on film.  The lighting was critical, the equipment heavy and cumbersome, and a film crew of several people were necessary to accompany him on a stalk and shot sequence.   This was a very difficult, if not impossible, task when trying to get all the action on film with dangerous game at bowhunting distances.  Imagine stalking up on a lion or cantankerous rhino with three camera guys outfitted with tall whirling camera gear, a professional hunter with backup rifle, and a couple trackers. 

Hill therefore may have done what he needed to do to get animals on film, and this is where later critics like Bill Negley take exception.  It was suggested to Negley by Bob Carpenter, that Hill had his professional hunter knee cap the elephant to get the close-in bow shooting and action shots on film.  This was supposedly proclaimed to Mr. Carpenter by some of Hill’s camera crew and assistant hunter when he was camped a few miles away from Hill’s camp during the filming.  The story was that the group traveled daily to Carpenter’s camp after sundown for some cocktails because Hill was a teetotaler (not a drinker) and had a dry camp.  Hill’s own written words and collaborating stories since prove that this basic premise was not the case.  Mr. Hill enjoyed his drink as much as anyone, and even overindulged at times in his life.  

In any event, it was clear that the Tembo elephant was in question as a fair chase kill, and other animals such as the lion and leopard in the film Tembo can clearly be seen to be “restrained” or snared to get the requisite action shots for the feature film.  Leopards are nocturnal and this was likely the only way to get a leopard shot on film in daylight in those days.  Unfortunately, these methods to get action shots on film for show business are extrapolated to all of Hill’s game in Africa.  What is left out of his detractor’s accounts though, is the fact that Mr. Hill spent many months in Africa, and shot several other animals off camera.  He shot two other elephants with the bow, not on film, and which he would have had no reason to take liberties with rifle or snare.  There has never been any film footage of the other 2 elephants, and it should be assumed they were not “handicapped” before being arrowed.  Remember, Hill was also interested to prove the effectiveness of the bow.   In Wild Adventure Hill recounts his unsuccessful shot at a bull elephant.  A small branch deflected the arrow and it ended up striking the jaw, embedding in a tooth.  The pachyderm ran a few hundred yards, shook off the initial shock of surprise and removed the arrow.  Then it ran back to search vengefully for the source of his discomfort.  “For a full two minutes, the maddened elephant ran first in one direction, then in the other, trying to locate us.   We could have killed him half a dozen times with the heavy rifles, but knowing that he had received a very slight wound from the arrow, we did not want to shoot him with the rifles unless forced to do so in order to save our own hides.”  This elephant was clearly not kneecapped before being shot with the arrow.  

 Shown here is a rare photo of one of Howard's "other" elephants.

 

Hill was never able to get a Rhinoceros with his bow.  When it came time to hunt the rhino, he had broken his bow hand and was not able to pull his heavy bow.  He did not want to risk a shot with a lower weight bow on such a giant animal.  Therefore, Hill was not in contention, nor ever claimed to have achieved completion of the Big-Five.

Negley traveled to Africa in 1957 and did kill an elephant with his bow, but it was not until after Hill’s death that he contended that he was the first to successfully do so under fair chase.  It seems he carefully avoided speaking to Mr. Hill, or challenging the validity of being the first, until after Hill’s death. 

Nine years later in 1966, Bill Negley heard that Bob Swinehart had announced that he was on a mission to kill the Big-Five with his longbow and was getting a lot of good press.  Bill was envious no one was talking about his accomplishments, and he decided to come out of dormancy with the bow and arrow and try to beat Swinehart to the punch.  After all, he had already collected the elephant in 1957.  The race was on!  

Unknown to Negley, Swinehart managed to complete the Big-Five by killing a lion prior to Negley even leaving for his safari in 1966.  When Negley returned from the bush after completing what he thought was the winning kill, he learned of Swinehart’s success and conceded publicly that Bob was first.  

After Bob’s death in 1989, Negley was meeting with a group while planning another African safari, when one of the men at the meeting who was an assistant professional hunter in camp on Swinehart’s  Elephant hunt, but not actually witness to the events, told Bill that the gossip around the camp.  The word was that Swinehart also first anchored the elephant in the knee with a rifle before shooting it with the bow.   Negley contended that is how Bob was able to get so close, get three arrows in the bull, and get some of the pictures of the event published in “Sagittarius” and ‘in Africa”.   Negley then published his book “Archer in Africa” claiming that he was the first to kill the big-Five under fair chase, and that he accomplished it largely without rifle backup.  All of this was based on second hand hearsay, in contrast to what Bob wrote in his publications, and without Swinehart being able to defend himself from the claims. In addition, Bill fails to recognize that Swinehart also bow killed a second elephant in Angola.  Swinehart recounted that he wanted to prove that one arrow alone could be responsible for the demise of such an enormous beast.  This he accomplished on this second bull. 

Bob went out of his way to explain that his first rhinoceros was not a valid bow kill because it charged after his arrow struck a fatal shot, and had to be put down by rifle fire.  He was published as stating, “Any bullet striking the animal would have destroyed my chance for a bow kill.”  He had to travel back to Africa on subsequent safari to get his rhino.  This does not sound like someone who would take liberties with kneecapping an elephant to me.  

 Knee Capped?  I don't see it?

 

Despite all these tales and controversies, each man; Hill, Negley, and Swinehart have their place in the Bow hunting Hall of Fame.  Hill’s legacy is well documented with a list of accomplishments that will never be rivaled.  Negley went on to bowhunt many species and examples of Africa’s dangerous big game largely without rifle backup.  Swinehart, whose life was tragically cut short, still managed to follow in his mentor’s footsteps by igniting bowhunting dreams through shooting exhibitions, presenting talks and slideshows at events, and publishing two cherished bowhunting books that are still regarded as must-read classics for those that can acquire them.  Each has earned their place in history, interconnected by the mighty African elephant.

Bowhunting the Backcountry with Tenkara

Originally published in Dec/Jan 2019 Traditional Bowhunter Magazine

The elk were nearby, I could sense it.  I had raced up in the dark to the high North facing slope and was now creeping slowly through the dark timber.  I was letting the cool musty smells of an early September morning awaken my inner predator, when my olfactory senses detected that barnyard odor indicating elk were imminent, and I had the correct thermals.  I picked out some nearby cover and took a knee.  Immediately, I heard the snapping of twigs as large forms approached through the din.  I felt some tension on the string as I readied my mind, scrutinizing the lead cow for a potential shot.  Suddenly, I was startled by a sharp bark as a previously unseen cow to my right caught my wind.  Elk exploded, seemingly in every direction, as the panicked herd crashed away leaving my heart pounding loudly.  The forest gradually returned to peaceful silence.  I sat there re-living what had just happened and I realized a large smile was plastered across my face.  Failure to connect, but a supreme success at having such an opportunity. 

Gradually, the cool of the morning began to melt away by the rising midday sun into hot, dry, and dusty conditions.  My brother and I had set up a bivy camp about 5 miles back in a South Colorado wilderness area, and I was dreading the 1-mile trip back to camp.  My belly was grumbling, and all I had waiting there was yet another round of freeze dried package meals. Unfolding my topo map, I decided on a route back to camp that would take me through a new drainage to scout for potential elk sign along the way.  The draw had a grassy meadow that contained a small stream running through the center, entering from a high, dark, wooded basin.  

I eased closer to the two-foot-wide trench and could see swirls, from what turned out to be cutthroat trout, darting from the undercut banks.  I was prepared.  Backing off a few feet and taking a knee, I took off my back quiver and extracted a 15-inch telescoping flyrod.  In a under a minute, I had the elegant rod extended and was flipping a cast into the center of the cool high meadow stream.  A surprisingly large form immediately torpedoed from the murky depths. The stillness of the water erupted into an explosive froth of white splashes.  In short order, I had a decent sized trout landed.  I would eat what felt like the lunch of a king that day.  Catching three other nice sized fish in about 20 more minutes, I had more than enough food for both my brother and me. We returned to this stream a few more times over the week of hunting, and we both caught several more meals. I now look back fondly upon the fishing as a highlight to the hunting trip.  The gear I used, which was superbly suited for the ultra -light backpacker hunter, was called Tenkara. 

Tenkara is a Japanese method of fly fishing that originated at least 200 years ago.  Much like the bamboo longbow, Tenkara is an extremely simple method of casting a fly and catching a fish.  The method was designed to catch Japanese trout in cold high mountain streams.  Tenkara’s popularity is expanding in fly fishing circles.  Much akin to traditional bowhunting, the technique historically emphasizes simplicity and the skill of the angler’s presentation, over gear or complex fly patterns. 

The rods were historically very long simple bamboo poles, complete with a whippy soft tip.  The long length allows precise presentation of flies in small pools on narrow mountain streams without complex casting techniques.  Modern day Tenkara rods are telescopic carbon fiber poles, from 11 - 15 feet long, with a short section of braided heavy line connected directly to the rod tip.  Here the tippet is connected above a stopper knot with a simple hitch that can be quickly untied.  There is no reel, reel seat, or eyelets which allow the system to telescope down to tiny lengths and diameters compared to other types of fishing gear.  The handle has a similar cork grip feel of a western fly rod, minus the reel seat.    

Traditional flies are tied in a simple reverse-hackle wet fly design, but any fly can be used by the non-purist. The traditional methods relied only on a few patterns or colors. The fly was used both as a dry or wet, fished upstream or down, depending on the need.  I typically carry a few extra of each style in a small plastic tube container taking up minuscule space.  I like to keep my tippet and fly tied to the rod during travel and I simply wrap the line around the cork handle after collapsing, but many keep a slim plastic disk loaded with the line and fly ready to hitch onto the braided tip line.

The following concept would ignite horror on the face of a fly fishing purist, but some have also been known to use the gear effectively drifting live bait.  Some may find that appealing when the main goal is to quickly catch fish and resume the hunting.  My experiences however, are that mountain trout are typically eager to take the fly.

The feather weight and long length of the system allows precision control.  The fly can be “noodled” by dropping the fly straight down into a pool on a narrow stream using the long length of the pole. If a longer tippet is used it can be cast easily to lengths of over 30 feet.  Though I find it very difficult to use much more line than the length of the rod.   

The casting technique for Tenkara is slightly different than that of Western flyrods.  Considered a major flaw in American casting form, the wrist is flexed while keeping the elbow close to the body.  The grip is such that the index finger rides extended atop the cork handle and allows the fisherman to simply “point” to the target. A sharp flip of the wrist brings the rods long length into play, and delivers the fly with surprising accuracy and gentleness. The overall design of the rod system enables this technique.  There are many fine videos available online demonstrating this simple, but hard to describe maneuver.  

Catching and landing a fish with Tenkara is fun - with a capital F-U-N!  The long and lightweight rod with flexible tip is a blast.  Even small fish put up quite a fight, and I have caught largemouth bass up to 3 pounds with my trout Tenkara.  Landing a fish when the line is longer than the rod can pose a challenge that can be overcome by walking the fish backward onto land, or by grasping the line and pulling the fish in carefully using hand over hand. 

The Tenkara system is light-weight and ready to fish in minutes.  Mine weighs in at only 3.5 Ounces, and is 15 inches long once collapsed.  I don’t even know I am carrying it.  A traditional flyrod with reel is heavy and bulky in comparison.   In my back quiver a Tenkara set-up rides much like a thick arrow and does not interfere with anything for me.  My brother doesn’t use a back quiver and carries his rod in his day pack.  

My rod came with a heavy duty protective screw top tube that was great to protect the rod during flights in my checked baggage.  I have seen new rods for sale on popular auction sites for under $50, and high-end rods can go for upwards of $300. A complete Tenkara kit including line and flies can be had for around $70. 

 

The benefits of Tenkara for the ultra-light backpacker are many.  Eating freeze dried meals for every course can get old quickly.  Supplementing meals with freshly cooked trout that is smoked over a crackling open hardwood fire, can boost the morale of the most downtrodden elk hunter. If fishable streams or lakes are in your hunting area, you may want to consider a fishing license and Tenkara.