The life of English explorer William Cotton Oswell (1818–93) was marked by adventures and discoveries. At nineteen, he left Essex for Madras, where he worked for the East India Company and became a renowned elephant catcher. Due to poor health, he was sent to South Africa, the 'empire of wild sport', where he specialised in hunting and exploration. He discovered the River Zouga and Lake Ngami during an expedition across the Kalahari desert, and travelled to the Zambezi River with Scottish missionary David Livingstone. Originally published in 1900, this two-volume biography was written by Oswell's eldest son. Since Oswell kept no diary, his life is here reconstructed through the many letters he sent to his family and friends. Volume 1 focuses on Oswell's youth. It describes the seven years he spent in India, where he trained as a surgeon, and his five African expeditions from 1844 to 1852.