Bert Gildart: Writer and Photographer

©Bert Gildart: “James Nampushi has great respect  for the lion that almost killed him.”

That’s how Ross Norton, Public Information Director at Clemson University, opened his story about this Maasai Warrior from Kenya, Africa, now a graduate student at the  university.

Janie and I met James this past fall while we were camped on Cumberland Island, just off the coast of Georgia. He seemed impressed that we had battled waves and wind and successfully kayaked to this national seashore. In turn, I was impressed by the fact that he was enrolled in the National Parks Management Program — and that he would continue graduate studies this fall as a doctoral candidate at the prestigious South Carolina university!

Little did I realize  then that Nampushi had almost died from  wounds sustained in “battle.” But James and I developed a friendship while on the island and promised to remain in touch.

Though he returned to Clemson and Janie and I to Montana, we’ve carried on a number of telephone conversations, and slowly his incredible story has developed; in part from our phone visits, in part from the popular stories that Mr. Norton has written.

MUST KILL A LION

In short, James, now 29, wanted Maasai warrior recognition, and to achieve such status he had to kill a lion. Circumstances developed in which he (then 19) and two other young Maasai men sought out a large male that had been harassing the village. As the recognized leader, James directed the other two men into position and that’s when the lion made its move.  “James aimed his spear,” wrote the Clemson information director, “for a place on the charging lion’s breast that he knew covered a vulnerable center of veins and organs.”

“The lion leaped,” James told me by telephone, “and I was able to sink the spear into his chest.”

The wound, however, was not fatal, and the lion began to maul the young man, lifting him and placing him as a shield between itself and the other two young Maasai men. The lion ripped a gash in James’s right leg; it ripped a hole in Nampushi’s  stomach and was so deep that the young man’s  intestines bulged out. Though his friends could have run away, they stayed and finished off the lion.

RECOVERED IN CAVE

James spent six months in a cave recovering. Village elders nursed him with a bone-marrow soup and medicine from various plants. He recovered completely and as a proven Maasai warrior was awarded a position on the Council of Elders. Warriors composed songs and 5,000 sang and chanted the songs in his honor.

As a proven warrior Nampushi  had many options, but decided to obtain an education so that he could help his village.  His educational aspirations are now in  sight, and he hopes to use his knowledge to solicit grants and donations that will enable his  people to construct a water-well and build a fence to restrict the egress of lions.

He hopes, as well,  to help his village with tourism development, and though it might be presumptuous to assume I can help a man who has killed a lion and distinguished himself academically, still  that is a prospect  I would like to explore.  Travel between nations is a very good thing, and as Mark Twain once said:  Broad wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.

HOPE TO HELP AND TIME WILL TELL

In years past magazines and airlines have sponsored my  trips, and one journey  took me  throughout Egypt and into the Sudan. For me, good causes and hard work have always provided a winning combination.     

CLICK TO SEE LARGER IMAGES. L to R:  Small village in Egypt along Nile River; camel jockey at Pyramids of Giza; sunrise, but this man still ready and waiting for day’s first visitor, which I was.

As I learn more about James’s incredible story I may soon draft query letters, soliciting assignments. But regardless, I’m sure James and I will remain in contact. When he calls he says, “Is this Bert, my good friend?” I reciprocate in kind,  and although I’ve known him only briefly, we both share the exact same concerns about the state of our wildlands, our wildlife and our national parks.

I hope to show my friend Glacier National Park, a park I patrolled for many seasons as a  ranger. On Cumberland we talked about bear management and how good management has improved conditions in Glacier from a low point in 1967. I think my story in Smithsonian magazine about the  horrible twin tragedies of that year helped influence development of the park’s ultimate Bear Management Plan.  “Dr.” James Nampushi will soon be attempting to influence society as well, using his doctor’s degree in national park management. In fact, he’s already moving forward.

I hope Nampushi might one day be able to show me Kenya and the wildlife and way of life he is determined to perpetuate.   Africa still hosts massive migrations of wildebeests and parks preserve the lions that James so respects, but now such world-class spectacles are endangered. I ask myself: Wouldn’t it be rewarding if I could help this Maasai warrior in some small way?

In the meantime, James,  I thank you for your friendship!

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THIS TIME LAST YEAR:

Fairy Shrimp

This entry was posted on Monday, January 24th, 2011 at 8:10 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.