The Red-Eye Fever

About the Book

"....More than just a tale of a crocodile hunt, it (The Red-Eye Fever) is a peek at a slice of time now gone. The look at the Congo as it stood on the verge of independence makes for fascinating reading. The author also wisely focuses her story, just dealing with her stay in the Congo. This narrowing of the topic adds power to the story. The writing reflects sensitivity and thoughtfulness, with the author providing example stories, dialogue and rich details to illustrate the general point that she is making. In looking at the style of writing, it is clear that this author has a talent in telling stories. The look of the book is also compelling, tying in with the idea of life in another time."
          --Writer's Digest

Review of THE RED-EYE FEVER by Cleveland Moffett as it appeared in the June 5, 2002, issue of THE BULLETIN (the newsweekly of the capital of Europe, Brussels, Belgium).

"The Red-Eye Fever, Adventures in the Belgian Congo," is a memoir by Elise Dallemagne-Cookson of her life in the Congo on a Foreign Service assignment that lasted from 1959 to the eve of the colony's independence a year later. Dallemagne-Cookson tells what sounds like a very tall story about crocodile hunting with convincing relish. She had not been long at her new job when she accepted the challenge to take a plunge into the jungle to track down the formidable 175-year-old crocodile El Diablo. The sassy young New Yorker takes him on and lives to tell the tale. The cover photograph shows her with a gun in one hand, and her foot on El Diablo's scaly back.

"Not for her the local zoo. "'A zoo? Here?' I was incredulous. "The whole place is a zoo. The entire country.'" But her guide explains that "most of the Belgians living in Leopoldville never get out into the countryside. They're too scared." So by going to the zoo they can get to see at least a gorilla or two, a lion and a few monkeys before they leave for home." (Xlibris, 26.70 Euro. Waterstone's Brussels)

The Red-Eye Fever is about crocodile hunting in the former Belgian Congo – the author’s first African adventure. Fresh from New York, she begins by slaying El Diablo, a famous 175-year-old, eighteen-foot crocodile that had been preying on the people for many years and was known to have consumed at least fifty inhabitants during its reign of terror. This adventure was followed by many others in the company of several extraordinary people she met at the time the Congo was preparing to take its place in African history as the first country, south of the Sahara, to gain independence from its colonial rulers.

Illustrated with photos taken at the time.

More information about the author can be found on the author's Franco-American web page.

Cherry Valley, NY– January 2003 – Direct descendents of the dinosaur, crocodiles have been around for nearly 150 million years and are still making news. Recently one was found on a bus in Australia. Another bit off the arm of a botanical garden caretaker in Florida. An Indonesian woman jumped into a pit of them to commit suicide and was quickly devoured, as a crowd watched in horror. The public continues to be both fascinated and frightened by this ancient beast. And now comes The Red-Eye Fever: Adventures in the Belgian Congo, the true story of how a young woman from New York, sent to the Congo in 1959 on a Foreign Service assignment, manages to kill an 18-footer.

The Red-Eye Fever, Elise Dallemagne-Cookson’s fourth

About the Author

Elise Dallemagne-Cookson has worked in Africa, Europe, South America, and the South Seas. She began her career as a film publicist in Spain and then as an independent film producer in Hollywood and New York before being sent to the Belgian Congo on a Foreign Service assignment. There she married a Belgian rancher and remained on his farm until its independence in 1960. She and her husband then immigrated to Argentina, where they established a dairy farm. Upon her return to the U.S., she worked for several years on Wall Street before retiring to Cherry Valley, New York.