Jim Corbett and Eddie Knowles
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 4:55 pm
Jim Corbett introduces us to a friend and shooting companion, Eddie Knowles, in the story “The Champawat Man-Eater” (Jim Corbett ‘Man-Eaters of Kumaon’ Oxford University Press) in a slightly humorous vein:
“I was shooting with Eddie Knowles in Malani when I first heard of the tiger which later received official recognition as the ‘Champawat man-eater’.
Eddie, who will long be remembered in this province as a sportsman par excellence and the possessor of an inexhaustible fund of shikar yarns, was one of those few, and very fortunate, individuals who possess the best of everything in life. His rifle was without equal in accuracy and striking power, and while one of his brothers was the best gun shot in India, another brother was the best tennis player in the Indian Army. When therefore Eddie informed me that his brother-in-law, the best shikari in the world, had been deputed by Government to shoot the Champawat man-eater, it was safe to assume that a very definite period had been put to the animal’s activities.
The tiger, however, for some inexplicable reason, did not die, and was causing Government a great deal of anxiety when I visited Naini Tal four years later.”
Eddie seems to have been a very interesting character and some fellow member may have heard something about him. One would love to hear more of him. Or had the name or perhaps indeed the character been dreamt up by Corbett to embellish the tale.
“I was shooting with Eddie Knowles in Malani when I first heard of the tiger which later received official recognition as the ‘Champawat man-eater’.
Eddie, who will long be remembered in this province as a sportsman par excellence and the possessor of an inexhaustible fund of shikar yarns, was one of those few, and very fortunate, individuals who possess the best of everything in life. His rifle was without equal in accuracy and striking power, and while one of his brothers was the best gun shot in India, another brother was the best tennis player in the Indian Army. When therefore Eddie informed me that his brother-in-law, the best shikari in the world, had been deputed by Government to shoot the Champawat man-eater, it was safe to assume that a very definite period had been put to the animal’s activities.
The tiger, however, for some inexplicable reason, did not die, and was causing Government a great deal of anxiety when I visited Naini Tal four years later.”
Eddie seems to have been a very interesting character and some fellow member may have heard something about him. One would love to hear more of him. Or had the name or perhaps indeed the character been dreamt up by Corbett to embellish the tale.