Hungarian Agricultural Research, 1998 (VII/1-4)
1998-03-01 / 1. szám
0215780 Hungarian Agricultural Research 1998/1 MMgMK Periodika 'sigmond Széchenyi, born 100 years ago “Hunting": the thrill of the chase and the murmur of the forest. But mostly the murmur!... wrote Count Zsigmond Széchenyi, the learned zoologist, sure-handed hunter, original writer of skill, outdoorsman and nature-loving person, born 100 years ago on January 23rd, 1898, as the lead-in sentence to one of his books. As a child and young man, he could look for role models to his ancestors, the historic Széchenyi family. His forefather, Count Ferenc Széchényi, was the founder of the National Museum, while among his other ancestors were many outstanding hunters and skillful writers. His father brought him up to be a true lover of nature and hunter. The example of his predecessors, his upbringing and surroundings prepared him - as we know from his own childhood correspondence - to be a hunter and exotic hunting safari traveller. The straightforward direction he took toward this lifestyle met with a temporary interruption during the years of the First World War, during which he served as an officer of the Hussars. Thus, it was only after the war that he began his collegial studies, first in Munich, and then in Cambridge, where he specialised in the agricultural field. Upon returning home, he farmed on his rural estate. His was a colorful personality, and this, when combined with his outstanding shooting and tennis skills, equestrian ability - in a word, athletic prowess - his high culture and multilingualism, made him a cheerful and spirited social companion. In 1927, for the first time, his lifelong dream came to fruition, as he undertook a collecting trip and safari to the eastern Sudan. This first trip was followed in succession by more and more exciting and substantial east-African expeditions, four in number (in 1928, 1929, 1934 and 1938), in the course of which he collected 80 - among which, rarities and capital trophies can be counted - big-game animals. It was at this time that his immediately and justifiably successful travel books first appeared, Csui7, Land of Elephants and Hengergő homok (Shifting Sands). In this active ten years, Széchenyi also found the time to embark on Alaskan and Indian safaris, at the end of 1935 and the beginning of 1938 respectively, as well. It was based on these travels that he wrote the books Alaszkában vadásztam (I Hunted in Alaska) and Nahar! These far exceed the average literary level of the other travel books of their day. It was not only hunting adventures that Széchenyi wrote about with consummate skill; he was an astute observer of exotic lands as well. He wrote of meeting with people in the exotic places of the world - whether simple trackers of fabulously wealthy maharajahs - with deep feeling in a fast-paced but highly literary way. He became a successful writer and popular man, full of ambition. It was then that the Second World War broke out, and in 1944. the destruction of Budapest. The war and it immediately succeeding years levied great suffering and irreplaceable loss on him. A single incendiary bomb destroyed his 1300-piece collection, “from the biggest elephant tusk to the smallest roe deer antler”. After the war, his text Szarvas selejtezése (Distinguishing Deer) was to have been published, but soon after that, he was defrauded of his rural home, and he and his family were harshly persecuted by the communist regime. After having served time in a Prisoner-of-War camp and political prison, he was placed in forced confinement, where he served as a librarian’s aide for years. His life took a turn for the better only in 1959. His books were cleared once again for publication, he found the love of his life, and embarked again on a twomonth collecting expedition to Africa. Two beautiful works appeared soon after, Ahogy elkezdődött (How it Started) and Ünnepnapok (Holidays). It was here that his writing reached its peak, speaking with almost religious fervor about hunting and the passion of the hunter, reaching back to the days of his youth and looking forward to the future as well. In 1963, he made his way back to east Africa, this time with his wife, with the intention of helping to restore the animal collection of the Museum of Natural History that had been destroyed in 1956. He was to gather pictures of living animals, and write a book based on his experiences there. He fulfilled this mission successfully, coming home with a rich cache and the seeds of another book. Denaturált Afrika (Denaturalized Africa), which appeared only after his death. He was a skilled, sharp-eyed and technically adept photographer as well. His pictures are artistic and original, enriching his books greatly, and the thousands of pictures he took are a testament to his ambition. He kept a hunting diary from childhood with great precision. These, along with a great body of his correspondence, survived the destruction of his valuable collections, among which, the unmatched hunting library, part of an entire life that has been bequeathed to us. It was on his last African trip that the disease which would later claim him first made its appearance. Until his death at 69 years of age in 1967, he worked regularly and hunted at times. He lived a full life, and not just as a hunter; he serves as a role model for all those who are writers, men of learning, outdoorsmen and experts in the ways of nature, one “who saw always the Creator in His creations”. Besides all this, he was a great patriot, remaining loyal to his country even when he had been cruelly forsaken by it. Two posthumous volumes have come out as on-hand souvenirs and reminders of his work: A szarvasok nyomában (The Track of the Deer) and Trófeáim hemutatkoznak (My Trophies Speak), in which his once unmatched collections most valued pieces are presented and which, to our lasting enjoyment, is decorated with his photographic work and professional descriptions. His works, which have been consistently popular with readers, have appeared in newer and newer editions, both in Hungarian and other languages. On the occasion of his hundredth birthday, the Count Zsigmond Széchenyi Foundation, which preserves his memory, is preparing a celebration, while the Museum of Natural History is preparing a memorial exhibition. The most lasting testament to his legacy, however, is as that of a role model to all those who knew him. honor his deservedly great fame and read his works. Here on this page also, tribute is paid to him by the Hungarian Agricultural Research and by István Gyürk Editor-in-Chief Bust of Count Zsigmond Széchenyi, by L. Marton 2