JUNGLE PATHFINDER

An extraordinary personality is the subject of a colorful biography, for John Edward Stephenson was an Englishman who cut himself off from his own kind to become a part-god to the Lala tribe of Northern Rhodesia. First a telegrapher, then a scout, he explored for Cecil Rhodes and succumbed to the enchantment he felt for Africa. Loti was his first wife, Mawape, a Lala princess, his second; he experimented with fruit raising in his hidden valley; he became the much discussed mystery man of the country with rumor rife about his wives, children, magic, etc.; he acted as guide for foreigners; he dealt with the outside world when mining entered the picture; scandal flared when an English-woman committed suicide while visiting him; and ruin found him ready to start again. A true legend, this has a fabulous quality for the biographical field.