Elephant Adventure

Hal & Roger Hunt Adventures #7

by Willard Price

Hal and Roger Hunt are on an awesome African adventure to track down the rare great white elephant.

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, Childrens, Africa, Young Adult, American, Novels

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Willard DeMille Price was born in Peterborough, Ontario, and moved to the US when he was four. He got his MA and Litt.D from Columbia. He held a special interest for natural history, ethnology and exploration and made numerous expeditions for the American Museum of Natural History and the National Geographic Society. Price also went on to edit various magazines on travel and world affairs and spent six years working in Japan as foreign correspondent for New York and London newspapers. He travelled in seventy-seven countries before his death in 1983.

Reviews

[James Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to rate all of the Willard Price books as four stars. Not because I think they're all that special (hell, they're basically the works of an eco-terrorism apologist), but because, when I was twelve, they were THE BEST BOOKS I'D EVER READ. I lapped them up. Loved 'em.

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Along with Underwater Adventure, the best book in the series. The fantastical setting of the 'Mountains of the Moon', the repeated failures experienced by the Hunts and the portrait of Arabian slavery make this a darker adventure than most, ensuring that the inevitable success at the conclusion is more satisfying.

[Soho_Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst “African Adventure” was something of a return to what the Hal and Roger Hunt series did best, the move to Africa as the setting did give rise to a slightly colonial and racist mindset which was uncomfortable to read. When the next book in the series, “Elephant Adventure” suggested that the action was remaining in Africa and had a largely similar cast of characters, I was concerned that this part of things would remain and this would, again, spoil the story.

Moving from the open areas where many of Africa’s animals live, the Hunts have headed for the Mountains of the Moon in the Congo, which is apparently the best place to go to capture elephants. The weather and soil conditions mean that not only do the animals grow much bigger there than anywhere else on earth, but so do the plants and flowers. They seek the assistance of a couple of local tribes, the Watusi and the Pygmies, but their early attempts do not prove successful and worse is to come when they do finally manage to snare an elephant.

Whilst there were some references to the differing skin colours of many of the characters, this wasn’t at least as overtly done as in the previous book. This time around, the locals were entirely helpful to the Hunt party, so there wasn’t the colonial mindset that was present in the previous book, either, which came as quite a relief, as this was an entire sub-plot in that book. There was a little gentle mockery of the local beliefs and superstitions, but this again was only slightly and briefly mentioned and not vital to the novel, so this aspect of things meant that this novel wasn’t as uncomfortable a read in that regard.

However, this was one of the poorest books in terms of the plotting and the action. I suspect part of this was the narrowing of the focus onto a particular animal, rather than the gathering of various species, as happened with some of the earlier books. This meant that the animal capture side of things, which has generally provided the most interest in the novels so far, was minimised and so the plot had to be made up of other things. This resulted in a slight over reliance on information, which was interesting, and a kidnapping sub-plot at the end which appeared in such a way as to feel tacked on just to fill space and which was entirely unfulfilling.

The character building was again fairly week, with the two tribes introduced barely making an impact, except largely towards this extraneous sub-plot and the Pgymies in particular adding for a particular scene or two before effectively vanishing again. A few more of the hunt crew at least were named this time around, but without any of them having a major impact on the plot, as Joro did in the last novel, they all faded into the background apart from a section where loyalty overcame superstition, which was one of the more uncomfortable scenes in the novel from a stereotyping point of view.

On the plus side, there was more information here than before, with Price’s experience as a naturalist journalist coming through at points, albeit it a little too strongly. There was also a very amusing scene involving the burping of a baby elephant, which didn’t seem terribly realistic, but was a moment of levity in an otherwise fairly downbeat novel. Price’s writing is as simple and as quick paced as ever and whilst it seemed to end in something of a rush, this positive aspect of the Price novels did at least remain.

Whilst “Elephant Adventure” isn’t the worst of the series in some ways, there was a distinct weakness in the plotting and the lack of action which makes it less satisfying than many of the others. Fortunately, it was less offensive in tone and content than the book that preceded it, but by contrast the action was far less exciting and parts of it seemed more forced than in other places, making this seem perhaps the most unrealistic of all the books so far and disappointing in that aspect.

[Jessica Wohlgemuth · Rating 5 out of 5]

good read aloud book for the whole family! While trying to capture wild African animals, for North American Zoos, Hal and Roger get themselves into some serious predicaments with a naïve hunter that leave the reader and those listening in fits of incontrollable laughter. It's very informative and educational on African animal facts leaving the reader in awe at the amazing animal world. Sometimes you can't help but cringe. In the next moment your laughing till the tears start to run. Before you know it, your angry just like the main characters in the book. A mix of emotions, but totally worth it.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good adventure book. Hal and Roger track elephants in the mountains but their mission is seemingly cursed. Loyal black staff and no enemies within this time but arabs make an appearance later in the book. Luck comes the boys way at the end when they capture a white albino elephant.

Now half way through this series with some of my favourites such as Lion adventure and gorilla adventure to come.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very out of date with the language and wouldn't get published these days, but still a fun little adventure.

[Phil Whittall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Same story different animals. But we love it and love learning about (mostly accurate) on different species, places.

[Joanne West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old fashioned (to be expected) but a good story. I read this with my 8 year old, and we learned lots about elephants.

[The Book Squirrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action, adventure, survival, environment, conservation...
I loved these books when I was a kid. At the time, they seemed to border on sci-fi regarding the at-the-time-amazing technology the boys used.
Of course, looking back you can see how these stories are flawed, but I still think they are enjoyable. In fact, it would make for a really interesting middle school science project for children to read one of these books and then compare them with the knowledge of the world and technology we have today.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elephant Adventure is probably the weirdest book in the series due to its setting in the surreal Mountains of the Moon. When I was a child I believed the mysterious realm with gigantic flora and fauna, including three foot earthworms, was fictitious, or else grossly exaggerated for the readers. Price quotes an old issue of Nat Geo to back up his wild claims, but unfortunately the issue is difficult to track down today. Other sources confirm that the mountains are in fact the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda. It makes for a fantastical location for the boys to hunt elephants, which in themselves are described as being bigger than anywhere else in the world. The mission does not start off well; Hal and Roger promptly lose their first elephant and are told by a Watussi chief that their efforts are futile, for mysterious forces are working against them. With this doom laden prophecy lingering over them, the fun from the previous African Adventure is left far behind.

The racial depictions here are the worst yet, with the Watussi giants being contrasted with the 'midget' pygmies, who are likened to chimpanzees. Arabs are referred to as 'desert rats', and all the Africans are scorned for their superstitions. There are some incredibly cruel and bleak scenes, such as a mother elephant suffocating in a bog to protect her calf, and a baby elephant having its trunk sawn off by slavers. Elephants are hobbled by having their hind tendons cut, and then their bellies sliced open to spill the guts. Violence aside, the chill, misty menace of the nightmarish landscape seeming to work against the boys makes for a suspenseful and dramatic adventure, and I particularly enjoyed their journey crawling through the moss tunnels. There is also an albino elephant, described as the rarest animal treasure in the world fetching up to $50,000. Albinos are amusingly referred to as gentle and mild variants; the elephant literally allows itself to be captured by following them back to camp.

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this 30 years ago and there was a certain scene from this story that has stuck with me ever since. Reading this again that scene is no less harrowing. The rest of the series does have its moments, but nothing quite like this. That being said, this was an interesting exploration of the legendary Mountains of the Moon, a region in Africa where the flora and fauna grow to many times their normal size. In excitement, I looked this marvellous place up... no, it's only a story.
The story itself flowed okay with a frustrating feeling overshadowing the adventure as the boys fail at every turn.
Of course, it's worth mentioning that was written 'of a time' when attitudes were very different, so it's worth bearing that in mind when reading this series.

[Tanderton]

I thought it was a good book. The only problem for me was that I got confused in a couple of places but when I re-read it I understood it.
It is a thrilling adventure book where Hal and Roger go to the Mountains of the Moon to capture Elephants. Black birders steal there elephants but Hal and Roger discover them and win over the Black Birders!

[Jacob Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story about trying to capture the mysterious white elephant.

[TOBY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book liked the story line and the creativity of the events

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

possibly read in winter 1967

[Dan Donnelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved for these books when I was about 11 and learned A LOT about animals and geography from them