Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the 1927 book Trader Horn, the quasi-autobiographical account of the British Trader Alfred Aloysius Horn’s adventures in Africa during the late 1800s. The partially factual book spawned multiple movies. For Part One click HERE.
PART TWO – Aboard the S.S. Angola, the teenaged Alfred Horn approached Africa on his first assignment as a Trade Agent for the firm of Hatson & Cookson, whose business operated from Bonny Brass to Old Calabar and up the Niger River as well as coastal ports along Cameroon.
Their trading territory included the Ogowe River, the shores of which boasted a vast population of gorillas at that time in the early 1870s. Trader Horn features many of Horn’s accounts of the comparative swarms of wildlife throughout Africa in that era before vast depopulation by poachers.
Along the Ogowe River lived the Ashiwa, Fans, and M’pangwes tribes, who hunted the enormous numbers of elephants in Africa at that time. The tribes used the meat and skin of the elephants they killed and traded the priceless ivory tusks with Trader Horn’s firm among others. Continue reading
Over five years ago Balladeer’s Blog began a detailed look at the neglected folklore surrounding the Fool Killer figure. It’s been a while since I left off and I’m about to dive back in. There are so many new readers here that I’m posting a recap of the very first Fool Killer item from the 1850s. Next time I’ll resume where I left off – in 1913. 
Balladeer’s Blog kicks off a multi-part examination of the neglected 1800s folk figure called the Fool Killer. I will cover the various stories featuring the Fool Killer and the different ways the character was used by the authors. If I ever examine the related character called the Rascal Whaler it will be in a separate series of blog posts. 
However, since Evans was all about the written word, he used the Fool Killer as a much more active figure. Evans’ Fool Killer – claiming Jesse Holmes as his real name – roamed North Carolina and Virginia (which at the time still consisted of what would become West Virginia) looking for fools to kill with a club/ walking stick he always carried with him. The character would then send letters to Editor Evans explaining why he had chosen victims, defending his actions with puckish commentary. 
RANGE RYDER AND THE CALGARY KID (1977) – (Also known as The Adventure of the Dinosaur Badlands.) A 14-year-old MIKE MYERS co-starred in this Canadian children’s program that was also aired in the early 1980s on Nickelodeon. (Hey, Nick even showed episodes of The Uncle Floyd Show in its early years.) Myers (in headband) played the Calgary Kid, sidekick to David Ferry’s Range Ryder. 
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP – The final day of the 2024 Flag Football playoffs saw the OTTAWA (KS) UNIVERSITY BRAVES needing a pair of wins to take their 4th straight National Championship. The 1st Game was against the WARNER UNIVERSITY ROYALS. A 7-7 opening Quarter tie remained unchanged at Halftime. The 3rd Quarter ended with the Braves up 14-7, and in the 4th, Ottawa defeated the Royals 21-13. QB Madysen Carrera went 31 of 39 for 271 yards and 3 Touchdowns. 
BATTLE AT BARCLAY’S CENTER – Yesterday the NEW YORK LIBERTY hosted the INDIANA FEVER. 
BLACK LIGHTNING Vol 1 #1 (April 1977) 
Jefferson Pierce was a gifted athlete from high school on up and even won medals in the Olympics. Disdaining celebrity, he became a teacher and ultimately moved back to the slums where he grew up and taught at Garfield High. 
TRADER HORN (1927) – This book was the quasi-autobiographical account of Alfred Aloysius Horn (1854-1931), a British trader in Africa during the 1800s. Ethelreda Lewis added pertinent commentary to each chapter. 
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