I have never seen any evidence that he was not a PH. I am at work right now but at home I have a copy of his obituary. I'll take a look and see what it says.

Does it matter anymore? If the legend is bigger than the truth, print the legend. I don't believe it would bother me at this point to find out he was a recluse in NYC, I still liked reading him. If "The Old Man and the Boy", were really about two fictitious characters, would it matter?

My grandfather was great at spinning yarns, many very believeable. I chose to believe them.

I would be interested as to where you had read that. I havent ever heard anything like that and I tried to google it and couldnt come up with anything, but at this point don is right.

It doesn't particularly matter to me; I still like his books and his stories.

I was trying to find out because I read it in this month's Gun Test magazine. This is the first issue that I've received, and I was trying to find out because if this is untrue I don't want to continue to receive a magazine from someone who would intentionally lie about someone this way. If he would lie about this, how can I trust what he says about a firearm?

Thanks for the replies.

Many here have said it doesn't matter to them at all either way! Well gentlemen, it matteres to me, and I say cancle the subscription immedeitly , and tell the why you are cancleing! Peter Hathaway was indeed a PH in Tanzania],ZAMBIA, and Botswana,[/b and worked there conducting Safaris in the Luangwa Valley. He had a home, in the bush, on the [b]MUPAMADZI RIVER just above it's confluance with the LUANGWA RIVER. His PH job was cut short by the Roadesian bush war, but staid on in the middle of nowhere, to help the locals. I'd be very interested in the exact wording of that statement in GR mag. Before that he was a cropping officer for the BOTSWANA. It is true much of his material was taken from tales told in the DUCK INN in MAUHN, BOTSWANA, a very popular watering hole for PHs and Hunters alike, and the jump-off place for Safaris all over that area. Peter worked there for a while while trying to get licensed! The stories he related later, and simply filler in his first books, and are plainly identified as such.

Gentelmen, many of the things in PHC's books of dareing do, were the acts of others, but as far as I'm personally aware, they were labled as such in the books. The only scarry things he tells on himself, are cases of his screw-ups, and that too is plainly takes ownership of!

...................I think what we have here is nothing more than Jealousy for the life PHC was lucky enough to live while his detractors were only daydreaming WANT TOO BEs! [/b]

Amen.

tell those liars to bugger off. they are not FIT to carry water for Pietro's drink.

I know when I first read this I tried searching for the article but unfortunately unless you pay to be a member you cant find anything. I for one refuse to give them my money, but would be interested in reading the propaganda myself. Next they'll be saying that Wally Johnson was a insurance salesman.

Thanks for the reply. I'm sorry I haven't seen it before now, but I've been off the site for a little while.

I did indeed cancel my subscription, and was very clear about why I was cancelling. I don't know why they felt the need to spread such nonsense in a national magazine. I certainly had no desire to give them any of my support after that, and told them so in no uncertain terms.

Speaking to friends of mine who knew him, I'm told he did indeed hold various PH licences at different times. - In fairness to PHC, he did admit that a lot of the stories he told in his books happened to others and not to him......... so I don't see any problem there. :thumbsup

Don Fischer

I hope you won't mind my correcting you in who wrote 'The Old Man and the Boy. PHC didn't write that one. - Robert Ruark did.

Shikari,

You are indeed correct. PC was a PH. There have been a number of detractors and so called debunkers since his death after heart surgery several years ago. None of these folks have been able to prove their claims that he outright lied in his books. Most agree he may have stretched the truth a bit, however even that is speculation and suspiciously they all waited until he is no longer here to defend himself to speak up. I read an article by Mr. Jan Libourel of I believe Guns magazine claiming similar things. Having had the displeasure of meeting Mr. Libourel a time or two his ramblings are no surprise. Mr. Libourel is one of the more pompous and arrogant gun scribblers ever to take pen to paper. He seems to regard people who have actually been there and done that a threat to his arm chair expertise.

Capstick remains and will allways be one of my all time favourite authors. If there were any real doubt it would have sufaced long before now as death in the long grass was pubilshed in 1977. Even our sport seems to have a few drama queens to dampen the spirit of the hunt.