In Brightest Africa

In Short

Part field memoir, part technical revelation, this book records a taxidermist's transition from routine museum craftsman to pioneering field collector and conservation advocate. Traveling through East Africa and the volcanic ranges of Kivu, Carl Akeley documents close encounters with elephants, lions, and leopards while refining his revolution in animal mounting. Along the way, he builds deep working relationships with local figures and conceives the world's first gorilla sanctuary. The work endures because it transformed taxidermy into fine sculpture and replaced the era's bloodthirsty trophy-hunting ethos with a early, urgent plea for wildlife preservation.

The Story

The narrative follows an intellectual and physical journey across several decades, tracing how a young museum worker's frustration with crude taxidermy evolves into an ambitious lifelong mission to record wild Africa. Akeley opens by recounting his early days at Ward's Natural Science Establishment, where taxidermists stuffed raw hides with straw, rags, and bones. Determined to create anatomically accurate displays, he develops a lightweight, durable hollow manikin made of muscular clay modeling, plaster casts, glue, and muslin. After completing a landmark four-year deer installation for the Field Museum, he realizes that true taxidermy requires field experience, sculpture, and deep ecological observation.

Driven by this new philosophy, Akeley embarks on repeated expeditions across British East Africa, Somaliland, and the high country of Mount Kenya. He tracks massive elephant herds through dense forests, studying their keen sense of smell and defensive charges. On one occasion, a sudden elephant attack leaves him pinned underneath its tusks, surviving only through pre-planned physical instincts. He recounts harrowing encounters with wounded leopards in dark ravines and stalks black-maned lions across high plateaus. Yet, these hunts bring him little joy; shooting rare wildlife like the Somaliland wild ass leaves him feeling like a murderer rather than a sportsman.

As his time in the field deepens, Akeley's attention shifts from securing museum specimens to observing live animal behavior and training reliable safari companions. He partners with safari outfitters in early Nairobi, invents a compressed-air concrete spray tool to repair museum walls—which later becomes the commercial cement gun—and translates his field observations into dramatic bronze sculptures of fighting lions, elephants, and buffaloes.

The narrative reaches its emotional climax in the high altitude volcanic region of Mount Mikeno and Mount Karisimbi in Kivu. Expecting ferocious beasts, Akeley encounters mountain gorillas and discovers instead mild-mannered, quiet creatures that fight only when cornered or defending their young. After collecting specimens and photographing them in their cloud-forest habitat, he feels deep sorrow over taking their lives. Recognizing their vulnerability and short running range, he realizes that human hunting will soon wipe them out. He formulates a detailed plan for an inviolable gorilla sanctuary across the volcanic peaks. The book closes with his vision for the Roosevelt African Hall in New York, confident that his structural innovations will allow future generations to appreciate Africa's grandeur long after its wild spaces disappear.

How It Unfolds

The artisan's breaking point Frustrated by traditional museum practices of stuffing animal skins with straw and greasy bones, Akeley invents a lightweight glue-and-muslin manikin system. After spending four years mounting four deer groups without financial profit, he proves that taxidermy must be treated as fine anatomical sculpture.

Learning the trail Entering the bush of British East Africa and Somaliland, Akeley studies animal habits firsthand to prepare naturalistic habitat groups. He learns to respect the elephant's acute smelling trunk and barely survives being crushed underneath an charging elephant's tusks on Mount Kenya.

Facing the predators Akeley stalks black-maned lions on the Mau Plateau and faces a dangerous night attack from a wounded leopard in a sandy dry creek. These near-fatal encounters convince him that wild predators fight out of necessity or fear rather than unprovoked malice.

Innovations and camp life Between expeditions, Akeley invents the motorized cement gun in New York while building a lifelong bond with Bill, a young Kikuyu boy who grows into his most trusted headman and tracker. In Nairobi, he collaborates with early safari outfitters and translates his field memories into dramatic bronze sculptures.

Into the gorilla mist Ascending the chilly slopes of Mount Mikeno in Kivu, Akeley tracks bands of mountain gorillas through thick bamboo. Instead of encountering violent monsters, he observes affectionate, peaceful primates and experiences a bittersweet mixture of scientific triumph and sorrow upon taking their specimens.

A sanctuary for the future Realizing the mountain gorilla faces imminent extinction, Akeley outlines a practical proposal to protect the volcanic peaks of Mikeno, Karisimbi, and Visoke. He returns home to dedicate his remaining years to building the Roosevelt African Hall to preserve Africa's wildlife heritage.

The People

• Carl Ethan Akeley: An energetic sculptor, inventor, and field naturalist driven by an intense desire to portray wild animals with absolute anatomical truth. Over decades of dangerous encounters, he transitions from a specimen collector into a passionate conservationist determined to protect Africa's ecosystems.
• Bill: A Kikuyu boy who joins Akeley's safari at age thirteen wearing oversized khaki clothes. Over three expeditions, he develops into an expert tracker, reliable counselor, and headman whose loyalty to Akeley remains unwavering through illness and dangerous wilderness pursuits.
• Leslie J. Tarlton: A red-haired Boer War veteran operating out of a tin building in early Nairobi. He builds a world-famous safari outfitting business, playing a central role in equipping field expeditions across British East Africa.
• Mrs. Akeley: Akeley's brave field companion who adapts to grueling wilderness conditions. She accompanies him into uncharted areas, calmly shooting a charging yellow-maned lion on the Theba River and joining the mountain gorilla expedition in Kivu.

In Its Own Voice

"The manikin of a deer so constructed weighs less than thirty pounds, but it is strong enough to hold a man's weight."

Describing the structural breakthrough of using glue and muslin over a sculpted clay frame to replace traditional stuffed straw.

"My eyes followed it down. At the very tip it was curled back, and this curled-back part, with the nostrils distended, was moving slowly from side to side quietly fishing for my wind."

Recalling a tense moment on Mount Kenya while observing an old cow elephant searching for his scent from behind thick forest cover.

"In the midst of a forest, a land of beauty, we overlooked a scene incomparable, a scene of a world in the making, while our great primitive cousin, whose sanctuary we had invaded, lay dead at our feet."

Reflecting on the conflicting emotions of awe and regret upon securing a gorilla specimen on the slopes of Mount Mikeno.

What It's Really About

Underneath its wilderness adventures, the book explores the tension between human expansion and the natural world's right to exist. Akeley argues that wild animals are not bloodthirsty monsters seeking conflict, but self-defensive creatures driven by fear and survival instincts. He highlights the duty of human science to record and preserve nature rather than destroy it for sport. The narrative challenges the standard colonial hunting narrative of the era, contrasting indiscriminate slaughter with respectful observation. At its core, the text asks whether human civilization has the moral right to push ancient mammal species to extinction, urging readers to choose protection over conquest.

Why Read It Today

This work offers a clear, eyewitness window into early twentieth-century African wildlife before modern development altered its landscapes. Readers who enjoy natural history, early field exploration, or historical conservation will appreciate Akeley's direct, modest tone and detailed observations of animal behavior. His writing is crisp and practical, free of empty grandiosity even when recounting life-threatening events like elephant trample attacks or leopard maulings.

Modern readers must navigate period terminology, including archaic racial designations for indigenous guides and porters common to 1920s travelogues. However, Akeley's genuine respect for figures like Bill and his open advocacy for native wildlife set him apart from typical trophy-hunting authors of his generation. What lingers after reading is his quiet transformation from a taxidermist hunting museum specimens to a visionary conservationist pleading for gorilla sanctuaries—a legacy that reshaped modern natural history museums.