Call of the Marsh
Jill Wylie
A Love of the wild and its fauna characterises the Zimbabwe Rhodesian way of life. Seldom has this trait been so charmingly portrayed as in Jill Wylie's life story of her rather special Basenji, Call-of-the-Marsh. and his canine companions.
At the time that the story opens the Basenji breed of dog was virtually unknown in this country. Its origins reach back at least as far as the Pharaohs of Egypt who domesticated them and treated them with great respect, adorning them with jewelled collars and sometimes burying them in perfumed linen in ro:ya) tombs. Rock-carvings of 5000 years ago depict the ancient Egyptians hunting with them. Early in the nineteenth century they were re-discovered in the Congo, and in 1939 the breed was introduced to England.
Basenjis are about the size of a Fox Terrier, are smooth-haired and have many of the mannerisms of a cat: they don't bark but purr when pleased, croon and chuckle, and sometimes miaow, They wash themselves and are fussy about being clean. They will jump vertically on to high objects and when in the veld have a way of leaping up and down like a bouncing ball to see over high grass.
Call never ceased to amaze his owner with his uncanny instincts and high intelligence, his strong-willed individuality and his skills as a dauntless and tactical fighter. All his talents became uniquely channelled into a remarkable 'rescue service' for animals trapped in snares; indeed, Call was recorded as having saved more than twenty dogs alone and to have located over three hundred snares set for game.
The story of his exploits covers a period of thirteen years ,md moves from the Bulawayo and Heany areas to Penhalonga and to the Imbeza Valley and the Vumba where the author finally settled and established the Wildwoods Sanctuary.
Call-of-the-Marsh has the qualities to become a canine classic - a Zimbabwe Rhodesian Jock of the Bushveld. Its style is light and humorous yet so evocative is it of the veld and nature at its most mysterious as to introduce a new dimension to our relationship with our environment.
It is a book for the whole family. The delightful illustrations arc by Sue Ross of Umtali.
1979 Paperback version only, used
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