Publisher's red cloth binding with gilt titles on front panel and spine.
281pp. Map endpapers. Some foxing on the contents pages and occasional light foxing internally. The scarce original dust jacket is price clipped but otherwise in very good condition with mild age-associated wear.
'Few survive of those adventurous spirits who followed the trail of Rhodes's pioneers and appropriated great tracts of Africa for the British Empire.
"Chirupula" Stephenson was one of the young men who went to the unknown north in those early days and his account of native life and customs, and of his own encounters with big game, witch doctors, and refractory chiefs is an historical document of great value and interest.
"Chirupula" (as he is known to the natives) is a well-known character in Northern Rhodesia to-day.' - editor's note
John "Chirupula" Stephenson was born in England around 1876 and came to South Africa in 1896. In 1898 he proceeded to Bulawayo where he occupied the office of telegraph clerk. He was appointed by Cecil Rhodes as joint leader of an expedition to explore the northern parts of Rhodesia and claimed large tracts of land on behalf of the British South Africa Company. These territories proved to be exceptionally rich in minerals proven by the fact that the Zambian copper fields are still mined today. Chirupula was the founder of Ndola - the third largest city in modern-day Zambia.
Inscribed by the author in blue, red and green inks on the map front endpaper as follows:
"Probable route of CHIPIRI - CHA-MUKUWA (Bwana Mkubwa's) mines, green copper ore are locally called MUKUWA (i.e. malachite) via the MUKUWA tribe to the MUKUWA river, thence to the island of LAMU and on to the NILE valley to decorate and adorn the ancient temples there whose ceilings were blue to represent the sky and whose floors were green to represent the annual NILE floods upon which crops depended.
LAMU / 'AMU / LEMU / 'EMU = variations of the same word
Note:- Part of an Ancient Egyptian warship's booty (c. 1500 BC) was green gold of EMU."
Additionally inscribed on the title page:
'J. E. Stephenson, Justice of the Peace (1901) "For Truth & Right against Mammon's might this hand hath always striven!" April 1950 - 13 years after publication.'
There is also a copy of a note by General Jan Smuts to the author about his book. This note could not be inserted in the first edition, as the author explains in a following note, due to the Editor being taken ill. The note is signed and dated by the author.
Inserted at the rear is a signed copy of a photo of the author, dated 1947.
- Jacket Condition: Very Good
- Binding Condition: Very Good
- Size: 8vo
