Vivienne de Watteville
Encyclopedia
Vivienne de Watteville was a British writer and adventurer. Through 1923-24, she and her father, Bernard de Watteville, started a safari
trip through Kenya
, Uganda
and the Belgian Congo
, hunting for trophies for the natural history museum in Berne
, Switzerland, without the help of a professional hunter. When her father was killed by a lion, Watteville finished the trip alone, hunting the remaining species on their license, including a white rhinoceros
. In her first book, Out In the Blue, 1927, she describes her experiences on safari.
The de Wateville's had been troubled by marauding lions throughout their safari. Lions had attacked the mules in the kraal
and her father Bernard had shot several of the big cats. One lion, on the verge of starvation, had stormed their camp and raced off with a canvas bathtub, which it had tried to eat. Sometime later they found nails and torn bits of canvas in its droppings.
At the start of the safari, Bernard de Watteville had missed most of what he shot at. By the time he and his daughter reached the Congo, he had bagged an impressive number of trophies with the help of his daughter. Their collection included a giraffe
, elephant
, lion
, cape buffalo, and even a male bongo
. They wanted a white rhino and managed to get special permission from the Belgian
authorities to shoot the animal. The young and enterprising Vivienne, though only 23 years old, handled all the taxidermy. She worked to preserve whatever her father shot for the museum. Vivienne de Watteville, was in addition to becoming a skilled taxidermist, the camp nurse, relying heavily on Epsom salts and quinine powder, her cure-all remedies.
In 1924, Bernard shot a wounded lioness with cubs. He unwisely followed the lioness on foot into a bed of reeds where she lunged at the hunter and swatted him to the ground. Unharmed, Bernard jumped to his feet and fired at the retreating lioness, causing her to whirl around and in just a few bounds, and attack him once again. The angry cat mauled him until he was able to shoot it while on it was on top of him. The cat's claws were buried in the man's body and had to be pulled out, one by one before he could get to his feet. Two hours later Bernard staggered into camp where he collapsed in his daughter's tent. Vivienne did her best to save her father, but even after treating his infected wounds with raw crystals of permanganate
, the bleeding couldn't be stopped. Most daughters would have given up and gone home, however, Vivienne completed her fathers mission and continued on safari alone.
In 1928 she returned to Kenya to photograph and film. Her second journey resulted in the book Speak to the Earth, published in 1937. On 23 July 1930 she married George Gerard Goschen and they moved to Farnham
, Surrey
. They had two children, Tana, named after the river Tana
in Kenya, and David Bernard.
Safari
A safari is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the term is used for a big-game hunt, but today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph animals and other wildlife.-Etymology:Entering the English...
trip through Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
and the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
, hunting for trophies for the natural history museum in Berne
Berne
The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...
, Switzerland, without the help of a professional hunter. When her father was killed by a lion, Watteville finished the trip alone, hunting the remaining species on their license, including a white rhinoceros
White Rhinoceros
The White Rhinoceros or Square-lipped rhinoceros is one of the five species of rhinoceros that still exist. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species...
. In her first book, Out In the Blue, 1927, she describes her experiences on safari.
The de Wateville's had been troubled by marauding lions throughout their safari. Lions had attacked the mules in the kraal
Kraal
Kraal is an Afrikaans and Dutch word for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within an African settlement or village surrounded by a palisade, mud wall, or other fencing, roughly circular in form.In the Dutch language a kraal is a term derived from the Portuguese word , cognate...
and her father Bernard had shot several of the big cats. One lion, on the verge of starvation, had stormed their camp and raced off with a canvas bathtub, which it had tried to eat. Sometime later they found nails and torn bits of canvas in its droppings.
At the start of the safari, Bernard de Watteville had missed most of what he shot at. By the time he and his daughter reached the Congo, he had bagged an impressive number of trophies with the help of his daughter. Their collection included a giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
, elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
, lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
, cape buffalo, and even a male bongo
Bongo (antelope)
The western or lowland bongo, Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus, is a herbivorous, mostly nocturnal forest ungulate and among the largest of the African forest antelope species....
. They wanted a white rhino and managed to get special permission from the Belgian
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
authorities to shoot the animal. The young and enterprising Vivienne, though only 23 years old, handled all the taxidermy. She worked to preserve whatever her father shot for the museum. Vivienne de Watteville, was in addition to becoming a skilled taxidermist, the camp nurse, relying heavily on Epsom salts and quinine powder, her cure-all remedies.
In 1924, Bernard shot a wounded lioness with cubs. He unwisely followed the lioness on foot into a bed of reeds where she lunged at the hunter and swatted him to the ground. Unharmed, Bernard jumped to his feet and fired at the retreating lioness, causing her to whirl around and in just a few bounds, and attack him once again. The angry cat mauled him until he was able to shoot it while on it was on top of him. The cat's claws were buried in the man's body and had to be pulled out, one by one before he could get to his feet. Two hours later Bernard staggered into camp where he collapsed in his daughter's tent. Vivienne did her best to save her father, but even after treating his infected wounds with raw crystals of permanganate
Permanganate
A permanganate is the general name for a chemical compound containing the manganate ion, . Because manganese is in the +7 oxidation state, the permanganate ion is a strong oxidizing agent. The ion has tetrahedral geometry...
, the bleeding couldn't be stopped. Most daughters would have given up and gone home, however, Vivienne completed her fathers mission and continued on safari alone.
In 1928 she returned to Kenya to photograph and film. Her second journey resulted in the book Speak to the Earth, published in 1937. On 23 July 1930 she married George Gerard Goschen and they moved to Farnham
Farnham
Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is situated some 42 miles southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. They had two children, Tana, named after the river Tana
Tana River (Kenya)
The long Tana River is the longest river in Kenya, and gives its name to the Tana River District. Its tributaries include the Thika. The river rises in the Aberdare Mountains to the west of Nyeri. Initially it runs east before turning south around the massif of Mount Kenya. The river then runs...
in Kenya, and David Bernard.