Old Shatterhand and his envisaged Wild West
Old Shatterhand is Karl May’s alter ego who travels to the ‘new world’ to find adventure and material for his books, as he states on several occasions. During his journey through the Wild West, Old Shatterhand, alias Sharlih, alias Karl May, gains the respect of not only fellow immigrants whom he meets along the way, the white Americans, but the American Indians too, in particular the Apache tribes. He becomes the blood brother of Winnetou, a noble Apache Indian chief after he saves his life, and attains the reputation of being one of the most fair, unbiased yet passionate champions for justice and a peaceful world. He turns into one of those ‘frontiersmen’ about whom incredible yarns are being told around the camp fires at night.
Through a series of novels, the reader can follow Old Shatterhand’s adventures that take him from east to west, north to south, into some of the remotest corners of the Wild West of America as it was known during the mid to late 1800’s. He meets some of the most colourful characters that corner of the world has produced and finds friendship among them that will go beyond mere acquaintance, and as far as laying down one’s life for friend and brother.
On the back of his beloved black mustang, an Apache-trained black beauty called Hatatitla, Old Shatterhand more than once escapes certain death by a hair’s breath. Together with Winnetou on his own black mustang, Iltshi, the pair has become the quintessential image that embodies the Karl May spirit.
Old Shatterhand is Karl May’s alter ego who travels to the ‘new world’ to find adventure and material for his books, as he states on several occasions. During his journey through the Wild West, Old Shatterhand, alias Sharlih, alias Karl May, gains the respect of not only fellow immigrants whom he meets along the way, the white Americans, but the American Indians too, in particular the Apache tribes. He becomes the blood brother of Winnetou, a noble Apache Indian chief after he saves his life, and attains the reputation of being one of the most fair, unbiased yet passionate champions for justice and a peaceful world. He turns into one of those ‘frontiersmen’ about whom incredible yarns are being told around the camp fires at night.
Through a series of novels, the reader can follow Old Shatterhand’s adventures that take him from east to west, north to south, into some of the remotest corners of the Wild West of America as it was known during the mid to late 1800’s. He meets some of the most colourful characters that corner of the world has produced and finds friendship among them that will go beyond mere acquaintance, and as far as laying down one’s life for friend and brother.
On the back of his beloved black mustang, an Apache-trained black beauty called Hatatitla, Old Shatterhand more than once escapes certain death by a hair’s breath. Together with Winnetou on his own black mustang, Iltshi, the pair has become the quintessential image that embodies the Karl May spirit.