Charles Sirr Orpen

J.P., Solicitor of Smithfleld, O.F.S.; Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and the Royal Geological Society. Landed in South Africa during 1844.

Charles Sirr Orpen studied Law and later became a successful Solicitor in Smithfield in the Freestate. Prior to entering the law he had accompanied Sir Gordon Cumming on an expedition to Rhodesia during which whilst trying to hunt down a wounded leopard he had been attacked and having been deserted by his gun bearer, one “Present” who ran away, and without his knife and his gun he eventually managed to throttle and kill the leopard with his bare hands before passing out himself. He suffered 45 wounds which became septic and six months later returned to Colesberg with both arms still in slings. He never recovered the full use of his hands but did learn to write quite well, a very necessary pre-requisite for his legal work.

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My g.g.g.grandfather Charles Sirr ORPEN went upcountry with Gordon CUMMING the hunter on a hunting expedition, and ended up having to kill a leopard with bare hands. Severely injured, he spent several weeks in the back of an ox-wagon with festering wounds while CUMMING went to Livingstone's mission (he was the only doctor in the area). As luck would have it, Livingstone was away. They then turned around and trekked for home. The only care he received en-route was that he had a small boy assigned to him to keep off the flies! On arriving back in Colesburg he was nursed back to health by his father Charles E.H.ORPEN who was doctor (although working as a minister). He never fully recovered the use of his arms.

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SOUTH-AFRICA/2006-08/...

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https://www.s2a3.org.za/bio/Biograph_final.php?serial=2075