Illustration by A. McWilliams of a hunter encountering the Nandi bear, possibly inspired by Hichens' Nandi bear encounter.
Captain William Hichens (died 2 October 1944) was an English colonial administrator and Swahili historian whose writings are some of the most prolific sources of early information on the cryptids of East Africa, particularly Tanzania and Kenya. He claimed to have had sightings or close encounters with three cryptids, the agogwe, Nandi bear, and mngwa.[1]
In the course of his field investigations, he discovered the local name of the isiququmadevu[1] and photographed a carving of the lau.[2] He also wrote on the crowing crested cobra, chipekwe (which he theorised was a chalicothere), irizima, khodumodumo, ndalawo, lukwata, mlularuka,[3] mpisimbi, yiya, and shapeshifters. He wrote under the pseudonym of "Fulahn" during his period of official employment.
Selected bibliography[]
- Fulahn (1927), "On the Trail of the Brontosaurus: Encounters with Africa's Mystery Animals", Chambers's Journal (London: W. & R. Chambers) 7 (17): 692-695
- Fulahn (November 1927), "The Savage As Scientist", The Golden Book (31): 611-617
- Fulahn (1928), "The Dragon Who Devoured the World: An African Folk-Tale translated from the Kiniramba Language", The English Review (London: Duckworth & Company) 47: 87-??
- Fulahn (1929), "The Savage Bloods His Spear", Blackwood's Magazine (Edinburgh: William Blackwood) 226: 120-13?
- Hichens, W. (1929), "Africa's Mystery Beasts", Wide World Magazine (London: G. Newness): 171-17?
- Fulahn (1930), "The Black Man's Gods", The Fortnightly Review (London: Chapman and Hall) 133: 500-51?
- Hichens, William (January 1931), "Waylaying the Witchdoctor", The Fortnightly Review (London: Chapman and Hall) 135 (769): 93-99
- Fulahn (1933), "From Strange Places", Blackwood's Magazine (Edinburgh: William Blackwood): 135-139
- Hichens, W. (1936), "Demon Dances in E. Africa", Discovery: The Popular Journal of Knowledge (London: Mercury House) 17
- Hichens, W. (December 1937), "African Mystery Beasts", Discovery: The Popular Journal of Knowledge (London: Mercury House) 18 (216): 369-373
- Hichens, William (1938), "Lizard-Men of the Kidau", Chambers's Journal (London: W. & R. Chambers): 81-??
- Hichens, W. (November 1938), "The Leopards of Mbwongo", Wide World Magazine (London: G. Newness) 82 (488): 126-13?
- Hichens, W., "The Lion Men of Usure", Wide World Magazine (London: G. Newness)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Heuvelmans, Bernard (1955) On the Track of Unknown Animals, Routledge, ISBN 978-1138977525
- ↑ Mackal, Roy P. (1987) A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe, Brill, ISBN 978-9004085435
- ↑ Eberhart, George M. (2002) Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology, ABC-CLIO, Inc., ISBN 1576072835