MobileRead Forums - Horn, Alfred Aloysius: Trader Horn, Being the Life and Works of Alfred Aloysius Horn.

Trader Horn spent a wild youth as an ivory trader in Central Africa. In this true story of his life, thrills and danger abound.

He writes about his journeys into jungles teaming with buffalo, gorillas, man-eating leopards, serpents and savages. Along the way, he frees slaves, meets Cecil Rhodes (founder of Rhodesia) and liberates a princess from captivity.

I found this book by accident while researching the "Mokèlé-mbèmbé"--a large creature reported to live in the lakes and swamps of the Congo River basin. Some think it's a kind of dinosaur, seemingly akin to the brontosaur. Hey! I didn't say I believed it, just that I was researching it.. :)

This book isn't about this creature, but it does have a brief passage of Horn describing tales told to him by natives and explorers about a fearsome creature given two different names: "jago-nini" and "amali." The creature is said to be very large (can easily kill a hippo), have a long neck and it leaves large, round, three-clawed footprints.

I haven't read the book yet--just that part and a few other passages. From what I have read so far, this Trader Horn dude was a wild character. I thought it would be an interesting book to add to our library.