Guiding The Governor Of New Mexico

[Major Khan]

Tonight, l have decided to provide all my dear readers with a story which many have been intrigued by and been wanting to read about , for a while . This is the story of the time when l and my fellow forum member , fellow retired professional shikaree and friend , @Kawshik Rahman guided Tom Bolack ( Who would eventually become the Governor of New Mexico ) for a water fowl and royal Bengal tiger shikar. I hope that all of my dear forum members will enjoy this story .
Let us wind the clock back to the Autumn of 1963 .
And by the way , whatever Mr. Bolack accomplished during the shikar ( as you shall read about in this thread ) ...
Please do not try this at home . He was an exceptionally talented shooter .
This entire article shall be a 4 part piece .

 

[Major Khan]

In 1963 , shikar season had just begun and l was ready and as energized as ever , to commence guiding clients for shikar this season . 1 fine day , l was summoned to the office of Mr. V. C . Shukla ( the owner of Allwyn Cooper Limited ) to meet my 1st client for the season , a VIP from America who was extremely wealthy . When l reached Mr. Shukla’s office , I got introduced to my client . And what a man he was . Strongly built , roughly 6 feet tall , with light hair and a clean shaven face . He wore pretty modest clothes for a VIP : A blue button down collar cotton dress shirt with long sleeves , pleated gray flannel dress trousers , a black leather belt with a monogrammed buckle with a “ B “ on it , and leather slip on moccasin shoes . In the breast pocket of his dress shirt , was a pack of cigarettes . This gentleman was Mr. Tom Bolack .
He had come to Nagpur and had booked Allwyn Cooper Limited ‘s classic “ Fur & Feather “ package deal . Mr. Bolack wanted to secure some cranes and a royal Bengal tiger . This was certainly something which Allwyn Cooper Limited could arrange .
Mr. Shukla instructed us to arrange a shikar trip in West Bengal for Mr. Bolack , as the largest royal Bengal tigers of India are known to inhibit the areas of Darjeeling and Siliguri . Thus , a joint collaboration was made with Sundar Raj Shikar Limited in Darjeeling for Mr. Bolack’s 2 week week stay in Darjeeling.
I had a chance to examine Mr.Bolack’s armaments . The rifle could not be more classic American that what he had brought . It was a Winchester Model 70 bolt rifle , chambered in .270 Winchester .It was a pre 64 model ( naturally ; this incident happened in 1963 ! )
The shot gun was , however a dainty British piece . It was a side by side shot gun of 28 bore , made by the English company , Westley Richards. It had a single trigger , detachable locks and 28 inch barrels . The left barrel was an improved cylinder choke. The right barrel was a modified choke.

For his rifle , Mr. Bolack had brought 4 boxes of Winchester Silvertip soft point 130 grain cartridges. These Silvertip cartridges were proven performers on royal Bengal tigers and panthers . However , l was fairly concerned that the 130 grain bullets were too light for a royal Bengal tiger. The minimum calibre for safely taking a royal Bengal tiger , in my opinion should be nothing smaller than a .338 Winchester magnum .
For the shot gun , Mr. Bolack had brought 8 boxes of Eley no.5 cartridges . I was fairly concerned that a 28 bore would be too inadequate for the water fowl which Mr. Shukla wanted to shoot . That too , with no. 5 shot .

However , Mr. Bolack was our customer and the customer was always right .

Little did l know about the jaw dropping marksmanship which l would bear witness to , just a few days afterwards...

 

[Major Khan]

2 days later , we were all in Darjeeling . Mr. Bolack was to stay in Darjeeling Circuit House . I was assigned to partner up with my good friend , fellow professional shikaree and fellow forum member , @Kawshik Rahman to guide Mr. Bolack . Kawshik and l had guided a client together for a royal Bengal tiger shikar , just a few months back . And we had become very fast friends . Our views were very similar and we always made it a point to visit each other at least twice a month . Once a month l would visit Kawshik , his parents and his girl friend , Antora in Darjeeling . Once a month , Kawshik and his girl friend would come to Nagpur to visit me , Tobin and my grand father .
2 days after our arrival , we all set out to a very large steam connected to the Buri Ganga river . Mr. Bolack had chosen to shoot Indian cranes , as his selected water fowl . Along with us , was a German lady who was Kawshik's client . She wanted to shoot cranes as well ( and a crocodile , but that story is for Kawshik to tell ) . The German lady had a really beautiful combined -rifle - and -shot gun in an over under format . The rifle barrel was chambered in 9.3 × 74 Rimmed calibre . The shot gun barrel was of 12 bore , with a 2.75 inch chamber and a modified choke barrel . We also had Kawshik's Nepalese gun bearer , Rishi Chokroborti and 4 coolies with us. Kawshik carried his IOF 12 Bore DBBL shot gun , loaded with 2.75 inch SG cartridges ( which held 12 copper plated pellets in each cartridge . )
I carried my old Belgian 12 Bore double barreled side by side shot gun , loaded with Eley Grand Prix 2.5 inch spherical ball cartridges . Here is a photograph taken from the internet of an Eley Grand Prix spherical ball cartridge .

When we arrived at the stream , we saw many cranes on the water and some flying . There must have been hundreds of cranes in that stream . We decided that we were going to use a dinghy boat to get right into the middle of the stream , so that Mr. Bolack and the German lady could open fire on the cranes .
Fortunately , Kawshik ( having an immense level of fore sight ) had already rented a boat man and a dinghy boat in advance , to provide us with service .

Thus , Kawshik , Mr. Bolack , the German lady , Rishi and l all got on to the dinghy boat and the boat man rowed the boat across the stream . Mr. Bolack readied his Westley Richards 28 bore . The German lady readied her combined -rifle-and-shot gun , having loaded the shot gun barrel with a no. 2 shot cartridge produced by a German firm ( l believe it was Rottweil , if my memory serves me correctly . ) . Kawshik was to keep handing the German lady fresh cartridges from a leather satchel , which held the lady's spare cartridges . Rishi was to keep supplying Mr. Bolack with fresh no.5 cartridges for his 28 bore , from a canvas bag which held Mr . Bolack's spare cartridges . In around 5 minutes , the shooting had commenced .

Now , l cannot tell a lie to all of you , gentlemen . I was 100 % confident that Mr. Bolack could not successfully bag even a single crane with such a " little toy " as the 28 bore. However , l was to be proven wrong in the most pleasantly surprising manner . To say that Mr. Tom Bolack was an extremely talented wing shooter would be a VERY BIG under statement . He used that 28 bore with such proficiency that it could put the users of 12 bore shot guns to shame .
He was everything a shooter should aspire to be , and much , much more . Using that 28 bore side by side shot gun and no. 5 Eley cartridges , Mr. Bolack took an exact 2 dozen cranes in under 9 minutes . To be fair , most of the cranes which he shot were on the water . However , this makes his feat no less remarkable . He did not miss even 1 shot . I counted his expended cartridges myself when the shooting had ceased . He had expended 24 cartridges and he had taken down an exact number of 24 cranes .

The German lady did not fare too badly either . With 15 cartridges , she took down 10 cranes .
When the shooting was over , we took the boat back onto land , while the coolies waded into the stream to recover the dead cranes . Below , l have provided a photograph taken myself of Mr. Bolack and the German lady , while they were getting down from the boat . Mr. Bolack , ever the courteous gentleman , helped the German lady climb down from the boat . And the German lady , ever so receptive to courtesy , gladly took his hand . These were the days before , so-called " Feminism " had come to plague the world . These were the days when a gentleman could hold a door open for a lady or offer her his hand to help her climb down from a boat , without being called a " chauvinistic sexist " .

Kawshik had Rishi and the coolies set up a nice brace of tents for Mr. Bolack and the German lady to take rest in , for an hour or two . In the mean time , Kawshik served them coffee and refreshments . Mr. Bolack preferred American coffee to all others , with cream and extra sugar. The German lady preferred a French coffee brand with condensed milk , but no sugar. Kawshik also served them strawberry jam biscuits ( fresh from Glenary Bakery , which used to be the best bakery in Darjeeling . ) and roasted beef sandwiches with Coleman's mustard .
Here is a photograph taken by myself of a typical tent arrangement which we would set up for clients to rest , back in those days .

While , Mr. Bolack and the German lady were getting their rest , l noticed several fat , delicious looking wild ducks flying above the stream and some even swimming in the water . I asked Mr. Bolack for permission to shoot a few for my and Kawshik's personal larder . Mr. Bolack immediately agreed and told me to " Have fun and knock yourself out . "

I opened the breech of my old Belgian shot gun and removed the Eley Grand Prix spherical ball cartridges . Then , l put in a brace of Eley 3 inch Alphamax no. 6 cartridges into the breech of my shot gun. I let fly at the ducks from the bank of the stream and with 10 cartridges , l successfully took 8 ducks in the next 15 minutes . The coolies collected the dead ducks and brought them to me .
Below , l have provided a photograph taken by Kawshik of me with my old Belgian shot gun and the ducks which l had bagged that day . As you all can see , l was extremely happy , knowing that l had bagged so many delicious ducks for supper .

We let Rishi have 2 of the ducks and the rest ; Kawshik and l kept for ourselves . As an unexpected bonus , Mr. Bolack was exceptionally kind to us and had let us have 4 of the cranes which he had shot . That night , while Mr. Bolack and the German lady took rest in Darjeeling Circuit House , a feast took place in Kawshik's house . Kawshik , Antora , Kawshik's parents and l , had a lovely dinner of wild duck and crane. I consider wood fire roasted wild duck , glazed in honey to be 1 of the finest delicacies of all time , especially when the skin gets extra crispy . Kawshik's mother and Antora really knew how to cook very well .

Tomorrow , l will write about the events which transpired during Mr. Bolack's royal Bengal tiger shikar , and l will provide a conclusion for this article. But until then , dear readers ... Good Night .

 

[crudeoildude]

your writing is elegant I enjoy it thank you

 

[sambarhunter]

Waiting!

 

[Major Khan]

4 days later , the time had come for Mr. Bolack's royal Bengal tiger shikar. Since Mr. Bolack had chosen Allwyn Cooper Limited's classic " Fur & Feather " package , we had given him the option to choose if he would like his royal Bengal tiger lured towards him by conducting a beat , or if he wanted it to be taken over bait. Mr. Bolack chose the option to have us conduct a beat. Thus , arrangements were made and Kawshik's exceptionally talented Garo trackers were assigned to narrow down a large patch of forested area where the tracks of a large male royal Bengal tiger had been found .
Garo trackers , being tribal hill people were some of the very best trackers in all of India . To quote my good friend , Kawshik " It was as if Garo trackers had been blessed by Divine Providence with the skill to track any beast , large or small . " and l am very much inclined to agree with Kawshik . These people were unrivalled when it came to their talent in tracking . Kawshik's head tracker , Jeddiah was able it narrow down a portion of the forested area where he guaranteed us that there was a royal Bengal tiger lurking about.
Thus , the employees of Allwyn Cooper Limited and Sundar Raj Shikar Limited began to work together to make arrangements. Kawshik's coolies took to building a large macchan for Mr. Bolack to shoot the royal Bengal tiger from .
Below , l have provided 2 photographs taken by myself in the 1960s . The 1st is of Rishi building a macchan in a tree . The 2nd is of what a completed macchan looks like . These photographs were infact taken on 2 different days and on 2 different shikars. However , l have merely provided them here for reference.

Kawshik himself organized a large group of beaters ( 64 counted villagers , if l recall correctly . ) and instructed all of them on how to conduct the beat .
Here is a photograph , taken by Rishi of Kawshik instructing a group of beaters prior to the commencement of a royal Bengal tiger shikar.

Here is a photograph taken by myself of a large group of beaters whom l had gathered together , for the purposes of conducting a beat , for the royal Bengal tiger shikar.

And thus , the day of the royal Bengal tiger shikar had commenced. Kawshik was assigned to stay under Mr. Bolack's Macchan at all times with his IOF 12 Bore DBBL gun , loaded with an SG cartridge in each barrel ( Each SG cartridge held 12 pellets of copper plated SG ) , should any danger befall Mr. Bolack for any reason .
Lucky Kawshik . I was assigned to the work which l loathed the most : BEAT DUTY .
This meant that l was assigned to stay behind the beaters at all times , with my Belgian 12 bore double barreled side by side shot gun ( loaded with Eley Grand Prix spherical ball cartridges ) , in order to protect the beaters , should the royal Bengal tiger choose to attack the beaters instead of being flushed out towards Mr. Bolack's direction ( This is a rare occurrence. Nevertheless , l have been unfortunate enough to experience it twice in my career . Interestingly enough both the royal Bengal tigers in these 2 situations weighed above 500 pounds ) .
I was also assigned to make certain of the fact that the beaters held the line at all costs .

Thus , the beat commenced and the 64 beaters loudly combed through the forested area , blowing their flutes and beating their drums . Assigned to work with me on beat duty , was young Clay Quiah . Clay was the youngest professional shikaree of Sundar Raj Shikar Limited and was an Anglo Indian Catholic boy and the newest shikaree to join Allwyn Cooper Limited . He was armed with an Indian Ordinance Factories .315 calibre bolt rifle . However , Clay's rifle was of MUCH better quality than the 1s which were being made by Indian Ordinance Factories at that time . His rifle was from a much older vintage , and was made during the time when India was still a British colony . Hence , his rifle was much more reliable and accurate than the normal filth being turned out by Indian Ordinance Factories . Clay was a natural in the art of shikar , and an extremely fast learner .
Here is a photograph of Clay , kindly provided by Kawshik . It shows Clay with the skull of a water buffalo slain successfully by 1 of his clients.

As we walked behind the beaters , my ear drums were were almost bursting due to the loud drumming and flute playing of the beaters . That is exactly why l hated beat duty. We knew that at the other end of the forest was Mr. Bolack and Kawshik .
3 entire hours passed and we had almost finished combing through the entire forest ( roughly more than 3 quarters . ) Suddenly , we heard a single gun shot and 1 very deafening roar . The mistakable roar of a royal Bengal tiger !
The beaters panicked and scattered all over the forest , like frightened rabbits. I shouted to Clay " Bolack Saab ujka Baagh maardiya ! Cholo mera saath ! " ( Mr. Bolack has taken a shot at the royal Bengal tiger ! Follow me ! )
Clutching my trusty Belgian shot gun tightly , l ran towards Mr. Bolack's and Kawshik's direction . Clay followed me , clutching his IOF .315 bore bolt rifle .
Here is a photograph taken from the internet of an IOF .315 sporting rifle .

As we ran towards the direction of the Macchan , we suddenly saw a royal Bengal tiger making it way slowly towards us. That was 1 HUGE royal Bengal tiger . Massive and brutish looking . Anticipating a charge , l quickly yelled to Clay , " Mujka picche darao ! " ( Get behind me ! " as l raised my Belgian shot gun to my shoulder , lining up a shot aimed between the brute's 2 eyes . However , before l could pull the trigger(s) the brute dropped dead ! Stone dead .

I cautiously approached him and saw that there was a minute , near little hole in his chest , where his heart was . That 130 grain soft point Winchester Silvertip bullet had taken him clean in the the heart and had opened up perfectly inside the heart. Mr. Bolack had aimed true .
Upon doing a post mortem of the animal , we noticed the perfectly mushroomed Winchester Silvertip bullet inside his heart . The royal Bengal tiger weighed 503 pounds and was the heaviest royal Bengal tiger to be shot in India in 1963 .
I would later ask Kawshik how Mr. Bolack had shot the royal Bengal tiger and Kawshik described the whole affair to me . Kawshik was convinced that Mr. Bolack was more deadly with that .270 Winchester calibre Model 70 bolt rifle in his hands , than the average man was , with a .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre rifle. Based on what l had just seen , l am very much inclined to agree with my friend. Nevertheless , since Kawshik was actually present near Mr. Bolack when Mr. Bolack took that legendary shot , while l was behind the line of beaters at that time , l hope that Kawshik will write a paragraph or 2 about what he had witnessed Mr. Bolack do . @Kawshik Rahman please do chime in , when you return from the Bangladesh Export Fair .


Mr. Bolack had requested a head mount for the royal Bengal tiger's head and he was awarded Allwyn Cooper Limited's " Tiger Of The Year " award for shooting the largest royal Bengal tiger of the year. Every year ,in order to provide encouragement for our foreign clients , we would always hold an event , where awards would be given for the largest of any species ever secured by any of our clients . For example , there was a " Tiger Of the Year " award , a " Gaur Of The Year " award and other awards of the sort.
Here is a photograph which Kawshik took of Mr. Bolack at the award ceremony . Kawshik's camera was far better than mine .

In the next and final part of this article , shall make some reflections on this most successful of shikars.

 

[Major Khan]

Mr. Bolack was extremely happy with his shikar and tipped me and Kawshik both , extremely generously . We each received 500 Rupees . Mr. Bolack also treated us and Clay at Koshy's cafe in Bangalore 4 night before he left India . It was here that we were to learn many fascinating things about Mr. Bolack . He had a very unconventional prefere for how he liked his steak cooked. Normally , what do we know ? That you either grill a beef steak over a grill , or you sear it over a frying pan , or you sous vide it and then sear it on a frying pan to give it a crispy crust . However , Mr. Bolack liked his beef fillet mignon cooked directly over the charcoals . He like the out side of his steak completely charred , while the interior remained rare. He called this method of cooking steak " Pittsburgh Rare " . We conversed for many hours and we genuinely enjoyed his company .
Despite being an incredibly wealthy gentleman , he was a gentleman with fairly simple tastes. He wore a Cartier Tank wrist watch and liked Brook's Brothers button down collar dress shirts and pleated flannel dress trousers . No Rolex watch . No custom made English shirt with diamond cufflinks . No custom made 3 piece silk suit . His choice of food was also indicative of a simple man . He was a basic " meat & potatoes " man . He simply opted for a rare fillet mignon steak cooked above the charcoals , a baked potato with a large quantity of sour cream and butter , and a healthy amount of Tobasco sauce . I ate some crumb fried chicken and french fried potatoes . Kawshik opted for some rare mutton cutlets and a potato salad . Clay opted for some barbecued pork chops and roasted vegetables . Mr. Bolack was the gentleman who introduced me to the American clothing company , Brook's Brothers and for the last 50 years of my ( hopefully very long ) life , l have been wearing their oxford cotton button down collar dress shirts exclusively , every single day . However the recently made models are definitely a step down in quality . They lack a breast pocket , have a tighter fit and are made from a lesser quality cotton than they used to be made of , before .
Mr. Bolack go on to become the Governor of New Mexico . He would pass away in the 1990s . Clay went on to shoot 4 royal Bengal tigers of his own and became a highly competent professional shikaree under Kawshik's guidance . He would move to America with his family after 1972 and he got killed during the 9/11 Terrorist attack in 2001 . A group of swines thought that it would be a good idea to murder thousands of innocent people in the name of " Islam . "

I often look back at this old photograph of all of us professional shikarees and my eyes get moist with tears.

The bulk of these great men are dead now and they only exist in the memories of those of us who have managed to survive whatever obstacle fate threw at us till now . They exist in my writings now. There is nothing l would not give , to be able to re live those days again .

However , just because the past was beautiful does not mean that our future cannot be .
There are at least 9 retired professional shikarees from the days of Old India , living in Bangladesh ( myself and Kawshik included ) who are still hunting and quite healthy , and going as strong as ever . I am almost certain that there may be several more in different corners of the earth whom l am not aware of .
Many are teaching the noble sport of hunting to their grand children now . As for myself ... having friends like Kawshik , Newaz and the others ( and their enthusiastic children) to hunt with , certainly means that l never have a dull moment in my life in the slightest .

This was not the last time that we would see Mr. Bolack , however . In 1964 , he would come back to Nagpur and l would guide him again . This time , hee would opt for our " Trophy Room Special " package deal , which would allow him to shoot every species legally available for shikar in India , on a single shikar trip .
And that is exactly what he would do. However , that is a story for another day .

I hope that this account has proven enjoyable. That said , please never try to use a .270 Winchester calibre rifle to shoot a royal Bengal tiger . And never use a 28 bore for shooting cranes . Remember this always , dear readers . Gentlemen with the level of proficiency of Mr. Tom Bolack cannot be compared with that of the mere mortal man .
I will write my next article on African Hunting forums on Tuesday .

THE END

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Great read, Major. It’s nice to see a wealthy man who doesn’t flaunt it, and try to seem better than poor people. Not a single miss, very impressive shooting.
How many clients would opt for a beat rather than bait?

 

[mark-hunter]

Dear Major Khan. Thank you for wonderful story.

 

[Tony485]

That was a fantastic story and a real pleasure to read. Your writing is so smooth and flowing it really keeps the reader wanting more! Thank you Major Khan.

 

[DieJager]

Thank you Sir, another enjoyable read.

 

[Major Khan]

your writing is elegant I enjoy it thank you

Thank you so much for your appreciation , Crudeoildude.

 

[Major Khan]

Waiting!

I should hope that you enjoy the rest , Sambharhunter.

 

[spike.t]

Another great story from you....as I have said before it's so interesting to hear the adventures of you and your friends... it was a fortunate day when kawshik joined AH and then persuaded you two sign up.... It's nice to hear about hunting in India from people who experienced it. But I must say the trophy room special hunt sounds very interesting.... Would have loved to have done one of those....

 

[Major Khan]

Great read, Major. It’s nice to see a wealthy man who doesn’t flaunt it, and try to seem better than poor people. Not a single miss, very impressive shooting.
How many clients would opt for a beat rather than bait?

Why thank you , Master Smith.
Any client who opted for the classic " Fur & Feather " package deal , instead of the budget " Fur & Feather " package deal had the option to choose between arranging baits or organizing a beat. Many of our wealthier clients always opted for having beats conducted . This is because less patience was required than baiting. From the perspective of a professional shikaree , though ... I was always extremely frustrated whenever l had to conduct beats , because gathering 5 dozen villagers and getting them all to hold the line while they loudly blow musical instruments and comb through a patch of forested area , is stressing to say the least. To make matters worse , l was often assigned on beat duty and thus had to walk very closely behind the line of beaters , in order to protect them . Their loud noise making caused a great deal of pain in my ear drums and also head aches . This can certainly be very disconcerting in situations where 1 needs to have their wits about , like protecting a line of 64 beaters lest the royal Bengal tiger choose to turn towards the beaters for some reason instead of getting flushed out towards the client's macchan.

 

[spike.t]

Did you ever hunt tigers with clients by tracking them?

 

[Major Khan]

Dear Major Khan. Thank you for wonderful story.

Thank you so much for your kind words , Mark Hunter.

 

[Major Khan]

That was a fantastic story and a real pleasure to read. Your writing is so smooth and flowing it really keeps the reader wanting more! Thank you Major Khan.

An author is only as good as the appreciation of his readers allow . Thank you for being such an appreciative reader , Tony 485

 

[Major Khan]

Thank you Sir, another enjoyable read.

Thank you so much for your kind words, Die Jager.

 

[gesch]

Dear Major, Another well written article—thank you. Fascinating hunting technique. Growing up We would often conduct small drives for deer. The technique sounds similar on a micro scale. We would also post shooters for rabbit hunting with my Uncle Herman, Dad Wilfred, and brother Jeff taking turns tracking the rabbit in the snow and howling like dogs to bring the rabbit in a circle like a hound would. Great memories. Thanks for the explanation of how the driven hunt was conducted. Your friend, Brian