From the age of about nine or ten, Jim used to go off into the jungle for several days and nights at a stretch, accompanied by our gardener, an old and trusted family servant, as indeed all Indian servants were. They would light a fire at night to keep the tigers away, and during the day would observe the wildlife and learn the way of the jungle. It was at this time that Jim began to imitate the calls of wild animals and birds. Although he never came to any harm, I can’t help feeling Mother must have had some anxious moments, although she never showed any disquietude.
At a very early age Jim learned to use a catapult, the stones for which he carefully selected from among the nicely rounded ones in the riverbeds. He was a good shot from the beginning, and brought down many birds, of which there were a great variety of beautiful ones all along the foothills. He learned to skin those he shot, and cured them very carefully, after which they were strung from a string which had been stretched across his bedroom for that purpose. He never just shot birds and threw them away. The catapult, in the course of time, gave way to a bow and pellets with which Jim became equally expert.
His constant companion was our young brother, Archie. The two boys were devoted to each other and there was a deep understanding between them. They enjoyed doing things together and had the same love of sport and of all that is beautiful in Nature. Archie’s admiration for Jim, his senior by four years, was unbounded, and I do not think there was ever a crossword spoken between the two boys, so great was their affection for each other.
The lake in Naini Tal afforded us the greatest pleasure, as with a “Ringhal” rod, thread and bent pin, we extracted many small fish from its deep waters. Jim soon began to catch bigger fish and was once stopped by the Deputy Commissioner who told him jokingly that he would have to take out a licence if he were to catch such big fish. All through his life Jim loved fishing on the Naini lake, and often said he would rather fish there than anywhere else, even after he had fished in many parts of the world. He used the lightest tackle and would stand for hours in a boat, flyfishing. Some days we would start from home early enough to be at the further end of the lake by dawn, when Jim would begin fishing and continue until we caught sight of our man coming down the hill with a basket containing the early morning “chota hazri”, consisting of tea and toast which Mary had prepared for us. The boat would then be drawn up to a quiet spot on the bank where we would enjoy the very welcome meal.
Jim started his school life at a private school of about sixty boys run by a man who was a harsh disciplinarian and used the cane very freely. Later Jim was removed from this school and sent to another larger establishment run by the American Methodist Mission, where he was very happy and soon became a favourite with masters and boys alike. He was never very fond of lessons nor the routine of school life, but he loved reading, and Fennimore Cooper was one of his favourite authors. At night in the dormitory, he would read “The Pathfinder” or some other exciting book aloud to the other boys clustered around his bed.
From his earliest days Jim had a very real sense of responsibility, especially towards the family, and was ever conscious of its financial difficulties. As soon as he went out into the world and began to earn his living, he started to help financially with the education of Archie, even though this meant going without many necessities himself. He had never known anything different and as a boy at school his pocket money was only 4 annas a month.
Jim had no patience with self-pity or anything that savoured of it. He always made the best of things and enjoyed life to the full. He never seemed hurried or flustered, but always found time to listen to the troubles of others. Never careless of his appearance, however shabby and old his clothes, he looked neat and tidy in them. Grace of movement, one of his most notable characteristics, was perhaps partly due to his having lived so much amongst wild animals, whose movements are always so graceful.
Excerpted with permission from The Corbett Papers: Biographical, Legal, & Contextual Material on the Life & Career of Jim Corbett of Kumaon edited by Akshay Shah and Stephen Alter and published by Permanent Black (October 2022, Rs 434).
Related Content
