author
Walter Dalrymple Maitland Bell
1880–1954
An adventurer’s life took him from East Africa to the skies of World War I, and those experiences fed a body of writing still remembered for its sharp detail and restless energy.
1 Audiobook
The Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter
by Walter Dalrymple Maitland Bell
About the author
Born in Scotland on September 8, 1880, he became widely known as W. D. M. Bell or Karamojo Bell. Reliable biographical sources describe him as an adventurer, big-game hunter in East Africa, soldier, decorated pilot, sailor, writer, and painter.
Bell is best remembered in hunting and travel literature for books drawn from his African expeditions, including The Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter. His life reached well beyond the page: during World War I he served as a pilot, and later he continued to build the larger-than-life reputation that made him a lasting figure in outdoor and adventure writing.
He died on June 30, 1954. Today, readers usually encounter his work not just for its historical subject matter, but for the vivid firsthand voice of someone who lived an unusually daring and eventful life.