Hi,
My name is Otto Beck. My connection to East Africa (Kenya) is fishing flies. I owned and managed a fly tying company in Kenya for many years. I've never done any big game hunting but did do a lot of bird and small game hunting. I'm presently working on a book of East Africa and the history of fly tying in Kenya. During my research, I've come across numerous legends and stories about hunting in Kenya. An interesting story is about Tusker beer and how it got its name. At one time, giants tusks spanned the archway to the Stanley Hotel in Nairobi.
Tusker dates back to 1922 when the first delivery was made to the Stanley Hotel (without the Tusker name). George Hurst, who with his brother Charles had started the brewing company, was an avid hunter. On a hunting trip in 1923, he encountered a large elephant (tusker) and took a shot. From what I heard from a reliable source, there was a misfire and before he could take another shot, the elephant was upon him and trampled him to death. Later in the year, his brother Charles suggested to the board to name the beer Tusker in memory of his brother and perhaps the elephant as well.
Legend has it that the Tusker that killed George didn’t have much time to celebrate his victory. George’s gun bearer grabbed the rifle (a double barrel Westley Richards) and killed the elephant.The tusks weighted over 200 pounds each and were used as an archway at the hotel. After independence the owners of the Stanley were approached by Jomo Kenyatta's wife and asked to donate the tusks to the Nairobi museum. They never made it to the museum. Replicas were made by Zimmerman but they are gone as well. I would appreciate if someone could shed some light on this mystery.
