Sasha Siemel
Encyclopedia
Alexander “Sasha” Siemel[Aleksandrs Ziemelis] (1890-1970) was an adventurer, hunter, guide, actor, writer, photographer, and lecturer. He spoke seven languages. He had more adventures in one year of his life than most men have in an entire lifetime. He is a legend among sportsmen, having killed more than 300 jaguars or “tigres” during his years in the Matto Grosso jungles of Brazil.
, Latvia
, Sasha arrived in the United States in 1907 at the age of 17. Staying in the states for only two years he headed for Argentina where he was employed in a Buenos Aires printing shop. In 1914 Siemel traveled to the jungles of Brazil where he worked as a gunsmith and mechanic in the diamond mining camps of the Matto Grosso. Here he met a native who taught him to become a Tigrero, one who kills jaguars armed only with a spear. In the article “Interviewing the Tiger-Man”, Siemel stated, “… I learned the art from a poor native who had nothing but a home-made spear where I had my high-powered rifle. But I do think I was a good pupil and will admit that it calls for experience and judgment." In the July 1937 Ye Slyvan Archer, he wrote an article that stated, “It is only logical and natural that I should (prefer the bow to the rifle). The spear is a primitive weapon, so is the bow. While I would not want to say that hunting big cats with a rifle can not be plenty dangerous and exciting under all circumstances, particularly so in our Matto Grosso jungles, where vision is extremely limited, it seems to me that the bow complements the spear. If I now had any use for a shield besides, I should feel perfectly equipped.”
With his new “title” of Tigrero, he found employment with the ranches of the Pantanal, hunting jaguars that are attacking livestock. In 1925, Sasha killed his first jaguar using a zagya, a seven foot spear, making him the only white man to attain such a feat. This does not go unnoticed by the “civilized world” for long and by 1931 a novel “Green Hell” by Julian Duguid is printed. This book is a recounting of the 1929 trip across the Pantanal that Duguid and two other adventurers from England embarked on with Siemel as their guide. It is in this book that Sasha is given the name “Tiger Man” which is used as the title of Duguid’s 1932 biography of Siemel. Encouraged by Julian Duguid, Sasha began to lecture at explorer clubs throughout the world.
In 1937, while lecturing in Philadelphia, Sasha meets Edith Bray, a young photographer who later joins him in the Pantanal. Three years, at the age of 47, Sasha married Edith and the two remained in the Pantanal and began raising a family. During this time, Sasha became an actor, appearing in the 1937, fifteen episode, Frank Buck
serial Jungle Menace
, as Tiger Van Dorn. The serial was compiled into a feature film in 1946 and released under the title “Jungle Terror”.
Sasha, Edith and their children, Sondra, Dora, Sasha Jr. (Sashino), move to southeastern Pennsylvania after purchasing a farm in 1947. Bom Retiro, as they have named the farm, became the permanent residence for the rest of Sasha’s life. Here their second son, Carlie, was born in 1955, completing the Siemel family. From here he led a quiet life, lecturing and continuing to lead expeditions to South America.
As an author, Sasha had been writing article for various outdoor magazines including National Geographic. In 1949, Sasha and Edith co-wrote the book “Jungle Wife”, an accounting of family life in the jungle. He penned his autobiography “Tigrero”in 1953. It was to be made into a movie by director Samuel Fuller. Instead, Tigrero is the subject of 1994 documentary by Mika Kaurismäki. Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made that featured Fuller and Jim Jarmusch visiting the proposed Amazon locations of the film. In 1954, Siemel’s second book, Jungle Fury was published. (Jungle Fury is the same book as Tigrero just retitled in the UK)
Sasha was interviewed by journalist Charles Collingwood for the Adventure
series produced by the American Museum of Natural History
and broadcast on the CBS television network in 1953. The family returned to Brazil briefly in 1959 when Sashino was thirteen years old. His adventure is told in the 1965 book “Sashino”.
In 1963,The Sasha Siemel Museum and Store opened in Perkiomenville, PA, formerly a century old story mill located on the Perkiomen Creek. The museum housed his collection of hunting trophies, works of art, curios, minerals, shells, coins, weapons, Indian utensils and many other items. “Among the most interesting of the displays are Sasha Siemel’s mementos of his many years of daring adventures and explorations as the only white man to hunt jaguars armed with a hand-made spear. Here are the trophies of many exciting hunts and the equipment used in hunting and capturing jaguars.” Museum admission was 75 cents for adults, 25 cents for children. The museum closed in 1969 after his last trip to the Pantanal, guiding a group of geologists. Sasha Siemel died in 1970 at the age of 80.
Sashino, Sasha Siemel, Jr., 1965, 165p.
Jungle Fury, Sasha Siemel, 1954
Tigrero!, Sasha Siemel, 1953, 266 p.
Jungle Wife, Sasha Siemel, Edith Bray Siemel, Gordon Schendel, 1949, 308p.
Tiger-Man, Julian Duguid, 1932
Green Hell, Julian Duguid, 1931
American Bowman Review [Nov. 1945] and Sash Potted the Cat
Archery [July 1946] Hunting Jaguar in Matto Grosso, Edith Siemel
Archery [Aug. 1951] Siemels Return From Matto Grosso, Sasha Siemel
Argosy [April 28, 1934] Men of Daring: Sasha Siemel, Jungle Nomad!, Allen Stockie
Argosy [Nov. 1950] This One Almost Got Me, Sasha Siemel
Argosy [Feb. 1951] Cannibals On Our Trail, Sasha Siemel
Argosy [Dec. 1953] Bold Cat, Bold Hunter, Sasha Siemel
Blue Book Magazine [v 60 #1, November 1934] Spearing a Jaguar, Sasha Siemel
Bowhunting [Apr.1959] Tigrero!
Colliers [v 119, June 28, 1947] Spear That Tiger, Sasha Siemel
Colliers [Aug. 16, 1947] At Home With the Jungle Giants
Field and Stream [May 1935] Hand Spearing Jaguars, Sasha Siemel
Life [March 24, 1952]
Life [Oct.26, 1953] The Death of Assassino, Sasha Siemel
National Geographic [1952, p. 695] The Jungle Was My Home, Sasha Siemel
Outdoor Life [May 1933] White Spearman of the Jungle, Tracey Lewis
Outdoor Life [Feb. 1954] Interview with Edith Siemel
Outdoor Life [May 1967] Jaguar Man Returns: Sasha Siemel Hunts Again
People Today [Oct.12, 1951] Tarzan and Family
Reader’s Digest [Feb. 1954]
Rocks & Minerals [March, 2000] Collecting Tales From Brazil Part 2
Safari [July/Aug. 1995] Sasha Siemel and the Quest for Freedom, Edward O’Brien Jr.
Safari [July/Aug. 2002] The True Tigrero, Dexter K. Oliver
The Archer’s Magazine [ Nov. 1952] Recent Activities of the Siemel Family, Jane Morrow
The Feathered Shaft [June 1949] Tiger-Man, E. Johnston
The Feathered Shaft [Dec. 1947] Sasha Siemel Lectures Thrill Thousands
Time [Apr. 21, 1930] Tiger-Man
Time [Aug. 25, 1930] Catching Them
Time [Apr. 13, 1931] Matto Grosso Rigors
Time [Oct. 5, 1931] Hounds v. Big Game
Time [Jun.1, 1931] Tiger-Man
Time [Dec. 21, 1931] Menu
Time [Sept. 8, 1952] The Winning of the West
Traditional Bowhunter [Apr/May 1998] Zagaya Hombre, Gene Wensel
Ye Slyvan Archer [May 1937] Interviewing the Tiger-Man, George Brommers
Ye Slyvan Archer [July 1937] Why I Prefer the Bow to the Rifle, Sasha Siemel
, 1937, 15 episode serial starring Frank Buck
Jungle Terror, 1946
Spear hunting jaguars ; Kontiki [videorecording.]
Publisher New York : American Museum of Natural History : CBS, 1953; 1 videocassette (60 min.) : sound, b&w ; 3/4 in
SEGMENT 1: Spear Hunting Jaguars. Charles Collingwood, narrator of the Adventure series, interviews Sasha Siemel, a professional hunter for 35 years who makes his living spear hunting jaguars for cattle ranchers in South America. Siemel, who has lectured at the AMNH, shows films of various forms of wildlife around his home in Matto Grosso, Brazil, and also lets the viewers see his hunting activities: capturing a cub in the jungle and spearing a jaguar. (Jaguars are the largest cats in the New World.) Siemel has killed over 300 jaguars, but only 31 by spear. Siemel demonstrates in the studio the movements of a spear hunter and shows some of his own hand-made spears to the studio while discussing their construction techniques..
Film Collection no. 37
Spear hunting jaguars ; Kontiki [videorecording.]
Publisher New York : American Museum of Natural History : CBS, 1953.
Biography
Born in RigaRiga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Sasha arrived in the United States in 1907 at the age of 17. Staying in the states for only two years he headed for Argentina where he was employed in a Buenos Aires printing shop. In 1914 Siemel traveled to the jungles of Brazil where he worked as a gunsmith and mechanic in the diamond mining camps of the Matto Grosso. Here he met a native who taught him to become a Tigrero, one who kills jaguars armed only with a spear. In the article “Interviewing the Tiger-Man”, Siemel stated, “… I learned the art from a poor native who had nothing but a home-made spear where I had my high-powered rifle. But I do think I was a good pupil and will admit that it calls for experience and judgment." In the July 1937 Ye Slyvan Archer, he wrote an article that stated, “It is only logical and natural that I should (prefer the bow to the rifle). The spear is a primitive weapon, so is the bow. While I would not want to say that hunting big cats with a rifle can not be plenty dangerous and exciting under all circumstances, particularly so in our Matto Grosso jungles, where vision is extremely limited, it seems to me that the bow complements the spear. If I now had any use for a shield besides, I should feel perfectly equipped.”
With his new “title” of Tigrero, he found employment with the ranches of the Pantanal, hunting jaguars that are attacking livestock. In 1925, Sasha killed his first jaguar using a zagya, a seven foot spear, making him the only white man to attain such a feat. This does not go unnoticed by the “civilized world” for long and by 1931 a novel “Green Hell” by Julian Duguid is printed. This book is a recounting of the 1929 trip across the Pantanal that Duguid and two other adventurers from England embarked on with Siemel as their guide. It is in this book that Sasha is given the name “Tiger Man” which is used as the title of Duguid’s 1932 biography of Siemel. Encouraged by Julian Duguid, Sasha began to lecture at explorer clubs throughout the world.
In 1937, while lecturing in Philadelphia, Sasha meets Edith Bray, a young photographer who later joins him in the Pantanal. Three years, at the age of 47, Sasha married Edith and the two remained in the Pantanal and began raising a family. During this time, Sasha became an actor, appearing in the 1937, fifteen episode, Frank Buck
Frank Buck (animal collector)
Frank Howard Buck was a hunter and "collector of wild animals," as well as a movie actor, director, writer and producer...
serial Jungle Menace
Jungle Menace
-External links:* * * **...
, as Tiger Van Dorn. The serial was compiled into a feature film in 1946 and released under the title “Jungle Terror”.
Sasha, Edith and their children, Sondra, Dora, Sasha Jr. (Sashino), move to southeastern Pennsylvania after purchasing a farm in 1947. Bom Retiro, as they have named the farm, became the permanent residence for the rest of Sasha’s life. Here their second son, Carlie, was born in 1955, completing the Siemel family. From here he led a quiet life, lecturing and continuing to lead expeditions to South America.
As an author, Sasha had been writing article for various outdoor magazines including National Geographic. In 1949, Sasha and Edith co-wrote the book “Jungle Wife”, an accounting of family life in the jungle. He penned his autobiography “Tigrero”in 1953. It was to be made into a movie by director Samuel Fuller. Instead, Tigrero is the subject of 1994 documentary by Mika Kaurismäki. Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made that featured Fuller and Jim Jarmusch visiting the proposed Amazon locations of the film. In 1954, Siemel’s second book, Jungle Fury was published. (Jungle Fury is the same book as Tigrero just retitled in the UK)
Sasha was interviewed by journalist Charles Collingwood for the Adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
series produced by the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
and broadcast on the CBS television network in 1953. The family returned to Brazil briefly in 1959 when Sashino was thirteen years old. His adventure is told in the 1965 book “Sashino”.
In 1963,The Sasha Siemel Museum and Store opened in Perkiomenville, PA, formerly a century old story mill located on the Perkiomen Creek. The museum housed his collection of hunting trophies, works of art, curios, minerals, shells, coins, weapons, Indian utensils and many other items. “Among the most interesting of the displays are Sasha Siemel’s mementos of his many years of daring adventures and explorations as the only white man to hunt jaguars armed with a hand-made spear. Here are the trophies of many exciting hunts and the equipment used in hunting and capturing jaguars.” Museum admission was 75 cents for adults, 25 cents for children. The museum closed in 1969 after his last trip to the Pantanal, guiding a group of geologists. Sasha Siemel died in 1970 at the age of 80.
Books
Death in the Silent Places, Peter Hathaway Capstick, 1981, 288p.Sashino, Sasha Siemel, Jr., 1965, 165p.
Jungle Fury, Sasha Siemel, 1954
Tigrero!, Sasha Siemel, 1953, 266 p.
Jungle Wife, Sasha Siemel, Edith Bray Siemel, Gordon Schendel, 1949, 308p.
Tiger-Man, Julian Duguid, 1932
Green Hell, Julian Duguid, 1931
Magazine Articles
Action Caravan [v1 #1,May 1951] Don Marco Keeps the Peace, Sasha SiemelAmerican Bowman Review [Nov. 1945] and Sash Potted the Cat
Archery [July 1946] Hunting Jaguar in Matto Grosso, Edith Siemel
Archery [Aug. 1951] Siemels Return From Matto Grosso, Sasha Siemel
Argosy [April 28, 1934] Men of Daring: Sasha Siemel, Jungle Nomad!, Allen Stockie
Argosy [Nov. 1950] This One Almost Got Me, Sasha Siemel
Argosy [Feb. 1951] Cannibals On Our Trail, Sasha Siemel
Argosy [Dec. 1953] Bold Cat, Bold Hunter, Sasha Siemel
Blue Book Magazine [v 60 #1, November 1934] Spearing a Jaguar, Sasha Siemel
Bowhunting [Apr.1959] Tigrero!
Colliers [v 119, June 28, 1947] Spear That Tiger, Sasha Siemel
Colliers [Aug. 16, 1947] At Home With the Jungle Giants
Field and Stream [May 1935] Hand Spearing Jaguars, Sasha Siemel
Life [March 24, 1952]
Life [Oct.26, 1953] The Death of Assassino, Sasha Siemel
National Geographic [1952, p. 695] The Jungle Was My Home, Sasha Siemel
Outdoor Life [May 1933] White Spearman of the Jungle, Tracey Lewis
Outdoor Life [Feb. 1954] Interview with Edith Siemel
Outdoor Life [May 1967] Jaguar Man Returns: Sasha Siemel Hunts Again
People Today [Oct.12, 1951] Tarzan and Family
Reader’s Digest [Feb. 1954]
Rocks & Minerals [March, 2000] Collecting Tales From Brazil Part 2
Safari [July/Aug. 1995] Sasha Siemel and the Quest for Freedom, Edward O’Brien Jr.
Safari [July/Aug. 2002] The True Tigrero, Dexter K. Oliver
The Archer’s Magazine [ Nov. 1952] Recent Activities of the Siemel Family, Jane Morrow
The Feathered Shaft [June 1949] Tiger-Man, E. Johnston
The Feathered Shaft [Dec. 1947] Sasha Siemel Lectures Thrill Thousands
Time [Apr. 21, 1930] Tiger-Man
Time [Aug. 25, 1930] Catching Them
Time [Apr. 13, 1931] Matto Grosso Rigors
Time [Oct. 5, 1931] Hounds v. Big Game
Time [Jun.1, 1931] Tiger-Man
Time [Dec. 21, 1931] Menu
Time [Sept. 8, 1952] The Winning of the West
Traditional Bowhunter [Apr/May 1998] Zagaya Hombre, Gene Wensel
Ye Slyvan Archer [May 1937] Interviewing the Tiger-Man, George Brommers
Ye Slyvan Archer [July 1937] Why I Prefer the Bow to the Rifle, Sasha Siemel
Films
Jungle MenaceJungle Menace
-External links:* * * **...
, 1937, 15 episode serial starring Frank Buck
Frank Buck (animal collector)
Frank Howard Buck was a hunter and "collector of wild animals," as well as a movie actor, director, writer and producer...
Jungle Terror, 1946
Spear hunting jaguars ; Kontiki [videorecording.]
Publisher New York : American Museum of Natural History : CBS, 1953; 1 videocassette (60 min.) : sound, b&w ; 3/4 in
SEGMENT 1: Spear Hunting Jaguars. Charles Collingwood, narrator of the Adventure series, interviews Sasha Siemel, a professional hunter for 35 years who makes his living spear hunting jaguars for cattle ranchers in South America. Siemel, who has lectured at the AMNH, shows films of various forms of wildlife around his home in Matto Grosso, Brazil, and also lets the viewers see his hunting activities: capturing a cub in the jungle and spearing a jaguar. (Jaguars are the largest cats in the New World.) Siemel has killed over 300 jaguars, but only 31 by spear. Siemel demonstrates in the studio the movements of a spear hunter and shows some of his own hand-made spears to the studio while discussing their construction techniques..
Film Collection no. 37
Spear hunting jaguars ; Kontiki [videorecording.]
Publisher New York : American Museum of Natural History : CBS, 1953.