Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Colonial Adventures => Topic started by: drferling on June 01, 2008, 03:49:04 PM
-
After having read The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk I was inspired to search out the book by Lt. Henry Pottinger detailing his travels in central Asia. I was able to find the book from a book seller in India for the exceedingly inexpensive price of $35. I guess if something is too good to be true it must be because each time I ordered my purchase was canceled because the book was "out of stock". ::)
Google has come to the rescue though and digitized the book!! Here is a link (http://books.google.com/books?id=xttWMc3I3V0C&pg=PR1&lpg=PR1&dq=henry+pottinger,+travels+in+beloochistan+and+sinde&source=web&ots=GSflZk1ROa&sig=Jg5ToqQjVXTSTXwVrle_q959EgQ&hl=en) for anyone interested.
(http://painting.jaylaura.com/wp-content/photos/Pottinger.jpg)
-
Pottinger is a complete hero for that journey he made, along with Charles Christie who was his co-conspirator in those epic trips in the early 1800s. Pottinger's tale of getting called to lead prayers in Baluchistan and bluffing his way through is brilliant - and very British. I've travelled quite a lot in many of the places he went - and my copy of 'The Great Game' has been a welcome (and much battered) companion in my rucksack. It's the kind of stuff that if it wasn't true, you wouldn't believe it.
If you're ever in India or Pakistan, it's pretty easy to pick up cheap reprints of a lot of these early accounts by Pottinger, Burnes, Masson, Elphinstone etc. Although perhaps a little expensive to go just to buy them, and certainly not very kind on the luggage allowance!
Thanks for the link.
-
Great likn! Thanks for posting.
I love these tales of 19thC derring-do :D