It seems like Almost Yesterday that Denver Mijajah Wright sought to bring a bit of Africa to the “veldt” of Southeast Missouri. The owner of the Wright Specialty Company of St. Louis and a member of the board of education of the Brentwood School District inherited two lions from a small circus passing through St. Louis which ran out of money.
Challenged by the expense and difficulty of maintaining two grown lions and unable to give them away, Wright came upon the idea of releasing them and then hunting them in a real live African safari.
As Missouri had no big game – even very few deer at the time – Wright believed it would be a fun and exciting event that would promote the region as an excellent hunting area.
His initial plan was to select a heavily wooded area in Mississippi County, release the lions in the late afternoon, and begin the hunt early the next morning.
But when news of the hunt was publicized, there was strong opposition. The Charleston Enterprise-Courier called the plan “foolish” and “intolerable.” The sheriff of Mississippi County announced that he would simply not allow it.
The Attorney-General of the state chose not to enter a debate about lions, and the director of the state Game and Fish Department said that Missouri laws did not pertain to lions.
The hunt was on!
Wright drove the lions to Benton, Missouri on a Sunday evening in October of 1932. The following morning, with a huge crowd in attendance and all the schools closed, “Nellie” and “Bess” were released on an island in the Mississippi – soon to be pursued.
But the eager hunters were denied their prey. While they were having lunch in Commerce a deputy sheriff with a sub-machine gun slipped over to the island and killed the lions. Missouri’s only safari was over.
It seems like Almost Yesterday.