BY J. G. MILLAIS, F.Z.S. Author of "Rhododendrons," "The Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland," "The Wild Fowler in Scotland," "Newfoundland and its Untrodden Ways," "The Natural History of the British Surface-Feeding Ducks," "British Diving Ducks," etc. WITH 14 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR AND 2 PORTRAITS SECOND IMPRESSION NEW YORK: LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. FOURTH AVENUE AND 30TH STREET 1919 PREFACE In preparing the life of my friend, Fred Selous, I have to thank his brother Edmund, and his sister Mrs. Jones (Ann Selous) for contributions regarding his parents and early life. I am also indebted to his friends, Sir Alfred Pease, Captain P. B. Vanderbyl and Mr. Heatley Noble for certain notes with regard to short expeditions made in his company. Mr. Abel Chapman, a life-long friend, has also assisted me with numerous letters which are of interest. But most of all have I to thank Mrs. Selous, who from the first has given me every assistance in furnishing details of her husband's adventurous life, and allowed me to read and extract from the numerous letters he wrote to different members of his family during a considerable part of his life. Selous had many friends, but none evinced a more keen understanding of his life and work than Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, Ex-President of the United States, and I feel grateful to him for the attention he has given to the following pages and the use he has allowed me to make of his numerous letters. The Author has also to thank Messrs. Macmillan and Co. and Messrs. Rowland Ward and Co. for the use they allowed him to make of two of Selous' works, namely, _A Hunter's Wanderings_ and _Travel and Adventure in S.E. Africa_. He is much indebted to their kindness in this matter, since they give in the hunter's own words accurate details of his life. J. G. MILLAIS, COMPTON'S BROW, HORSHAM. CONTENTS CHAPTER I 1851-1865 Ancient and modern heroes--The character of Selous--The Selous family--Edmund Selous' notes--An artistic and ancient race--Selous' parents--Family life--Selous' father--Some of his reminiscences--His mother--His uncles--Selous' childhood in London--Early schooldays--Selous' own story of his youth--His first battle--Youthful adventures--His athletic prowess--Life at Belton Page 1 CHAPTER II 1865-1870