shines@times
Well-known member
Have you heard of Angelo Dacey who hunted southern Sudan prior to the civil war that erupted in 1983?
I met his son, who was working as a commercial pilot for a small airline operating on Washington's Olympic Peninsula about 1988, the last year that I was able to eke out a living with a local gun and archery shop in the area after the Spotted Owl protections put the bulk of my customers out of work--I set him up with a Martin compound bow and accoutrements. I have forgotten the son's first name, but we had a long and very interesting conversation about African hunting.
Prior to leaving South Sudan, then a region, not a separate country, the Dacey's were still taking bulls with 100+ pound ivory. The son had also killed a nice Bongo, but he laughed when I talked of how elusive they were based on what I had read--he'd encountered and shot his in open savanna. I'd actually had a job offer for a position in Sudan from another customer*, who was a manager for Reading and Bates operations building oil exploration roads for the Sudanese government. Had I been able to accept, I likely would not have gotten to hunt anyway--that offer was early in 1983! I kept my eye on Sudan for about another thirty years, hoping things might improve and offer me another chance. Poor timing has often been my adversary, and I'm too old now.
* When he walked into the store, I asked the guy: "Where'd you get that brown? You sure didn't spend the Winter on the Olympic Peninsula!" That made him laugh and kicked off a conversation wherein I learned that he often flew over large herds of Cape buffalo and elephants when taking the helicopter out to inspect field operations. Just half kidding during our talk, I asked if he could use any flunky labor for room and board and lots of time off to hunt! His reply: "Actually, I need a warehouse manager right now; and you could certainly do that since you run this business."
"Acres of Diamonds" young lady.
