James T. McCafferty grew up in the Mississippi Delta during the 1950s and 1960s and is the award-winning writer of hundreds of articles that have appeared in Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, and many other publications. His two children’s books, Holt and the Teddy Bear (the story of Holt Collier, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Mississippi Delta hunt that resulted in the naming of the Teddy Bear), and Holt and the Cowboys, each received Children’s Crown Collection designations.
In his latest book, The Bear Hunter: The Life and Times of Robert Eager Bobo in the Canebrakes of the Old South, McCafferty explores the life of bear hunter Robert Eager Bobo. Over a century ago readers of sporting journals in America and Europe relished the tales of Bobo coming out of the Mississippi Delta. Yet, in the years since, this famous bear hunter of the late 1800s has been all but forgotten. The Bear Hunter brings to the modern reader, not only the story of Bobo’s bear hunting, but a thoroughly fascinating and entertaining picture of pioneer life in the nineteenth century Delta wilderness.
From the advance media package: “Come now with Bob Bobo and a variety of captivating characters – including the notorious outlaw Jesse James – on their quests for black bear in an environment that now exists only on the pages of history: the wild, trackless, Delta canebrake. Gallop at a breakneck pace through sloughs and swamps, where a horse’s stumble over a cypress knee could mean sudden disaster; thrill to the savage chorus of the hounds as they pursue their game; charge into the cane to knife the bear before it can decimate the pack; taste the fear when the tables turn and hunter becomes the hunted; relax by the campfire on a frosty November evening and listen to the tales of wolf and panther and gun and knife; laugh, too, at comical stories of old time Delta backwoods ways; and, perhaps, shed a tear, as the inevitable tragedies of life visit your newfound friends. The book will delight hunters, outdoors lovers, nature enthusiasts, southern history buffs, folklore fans, and anyone who just enjoys a good book. But let us not delay! The hunters are gathered; the horses are champing at their bits; the dogs are spoiling for a fight; Bobo is sounding his horn. It is time to ride!”
McCafferty practices environmental and education law in McComb, Mississippi. The Bear Hunter is available for download at Amazon.com and in hardback at The Booksellers at Laurelwood.
