A Rip Van Winkle of the Kalahari, and Other Tales of South-West Africa

"A Rip Van Winkle of the Kalahari, and Other Tales of South-West Africa" by Fred C. (Frederick Carruthers) Cornell is a compilation of seven short stories that paint a picture of early 20th-century South-West Africa through tales of adventure and survival. The stories blend imaginative narratives with real-world depictions of challenging deserts and striking landscapes to provide a glimpse of exploration, peril, and the compelling draw of the wild. The initial story features a narrator involved in the ivory trade, finding himself in the unexplored areas of German South-West Africa. After an elephant hunt, he encounters a hunchbacked man following a fall from his horse, who possesses strange knowledge of the land. This mysterious figure speaks of a secret hunt for diamonds and tells extraordinary stories connected to them. This sets the scene for an adventurous journey filled with local stories and tests in the harsh Kalahari Desert.