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| THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO

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MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
LONDON . ROMBAY . CALCUTTA
MELBOURNE

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK . BOSTON . CHICAGO
ATLANTA , SAN FRANCISCO

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltp.
TORONTO

HEADS OF EIGHT LIONS SHOT BY THE AUTHOR IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA.

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THE MAN-EATERS
ee TSAVO

AND

Other Gast African Adventures

BY

Beuua.-Cor. J. H. PATTERSON, D.5.O.

WITH A FOREWORD BY
FREDERICK COURTENEY SELOUS

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON
1908

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RicHArD CLay AND Sons, LimITED
BREAD STREET HILL, E.C., AND
BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.

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First Edition, October, 1907-
Reprinted, November and December, 1907, January and Deceniber, 1908.

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PREFACE

Ir is with feelings of the greatest diffidence that
I place the following pages before the public; but
those of my friends who happen to have heard of
my rather unique experiences in the wilds have so
often urged me to write an account of my adventures,
that after much hesitation I at last determined to
do so.

I have no doubt that many of my readers, who
have perhaps never been very far away from civilisa-
tion, will be inclined to think that some of the
incidents are exaggerated. I can only assure them
that I have toned down the facts rather than other-
wise, and have endeavoured to write a_ perfectly
plain and straightforward account of things as they
actually happened.

It must be remembered that at the time these
events occurred, the conditions prevailing in British
East Africa were very different from what they are

to-day. The railway, which has modernised the aspect

vill PREFACE

of the place and brought civilisation in its train, was
then only in process of construction, and the country
through which it was being built was still in its
primitive savage state, as indeed, away from the
railway, it still is.

If this simple account of two years’ work and play
in the wilds should prove of any interest, or help
even in a small way to call attention to the beautiful
and valuable country which we possess on the
Equator, I shall feel more than compensated for the
trouble I have taken in writing it.

I am much indebted to the Hon. Mrs. Cyril Ward,
Sir Guilford Molesworth, K.C.I.E., Mr. T. J.
Spooner and Mr. C. Rawson for their kindness in
allowing me to reproduce photographs taken by
them. My warmest thanks are also due to that
veteran, pioneer of Africa, Mr. F. C. Selous, for
giving my little book so kindly an introduction
to the public as is provided by the “ Foreword ”
which he has been good enough to write.

J.-H

August, 1907.

FOREWORD

Ir was some seven or eight years ago that |
first read, in the pages of Zhe Fze/d newspaper, a
brief account written by Col. J. H. Patterson, then
an engineer engaged on the construction of the
Uganda Railway, of the Tsavo man-eating lions. |

My own long experience of African hunting told
me at once that every word in this thrilling narrative
was absolutely true. Nay more: I knew that the
author had told his story in a most modest manner,
laying but little stress on the dangers he had run
when sitting up at nights to try and compass the
death of the terrible man-eaters, especially on that
one occasion when whilst watching from a very light
scaffolding, supported only by four rickety poles, he
was himself stalked by one of the dread beasts.
Fortunately he did not lose his nerve, and suc-
ceeded in shooting the lion, just when it was on the
point of springing upon him. But had this lion
approached him from behind, | think it would pro-

x FOREWORD

bably have added Col. Patterson to its long list
of victims, for in my own experience I have known
of three instances of men having been pulled from
trees or huts built on platforms at a greater
height from the ground than the crazy structure
on which Col. Patterson was watching on that night
of terrors.

From the time of Herodotus until to-day, lion
stories innumerable have been told and written. I
have put some on record myself. But no lion story
I have ever heard or read equals in its long-
sustained and dramatic interest the story of the
Tsavo man-eaters as told by Col. Patterson. A
lion story is usually a tale of adventures, often very
terrible and pathetic, which occupied but a few
hours of one night; but the tale of the Tsavo man-
eaters is an epic of terrible tragedies spread out
over several months, and only at last brought to
an end by the resource and determination of one
man.

It was some years after 1 read the first account
published of the Tsavo man-eaters that I made the
acquaintance of President Roosevelt. I told him
all I remembered about it, and he was so deeply
interested in the story—as he is in all true stories
of the nature and characteristics of wild animals—
that he begged me to send him the short printed
account as published in Zhe Freld. This I did;

FOREWORD xi

and it was only in the last letter I received from
him that, referring to this story, President Roose-
velt wrote: ‘I think that the incident of the
Uganda man-eating lions, described in those two
articles you sent me, is the most remarkable
account of which we have any record. It is a
great pity that it should not be preserved in per-
manent form.” Well, I am now glad to think that
it wz// be preserved in permanent form; and [|
venture to assure Col. Patterson that President
Roosevelt will be amongst the most interested
readers of his book.

It is probable that the chapters recounting the
story of the Tsavo man-eating lions will be found
more absorbing than the other portions of Col.
Patterson’s book; but I think that most of his
readers will agree with me that the whole volume is
full of interest and information. The account given
by Col. Patterson of how he overcame all the
difficulties which confronted him in building a strong
and permanent railway bridge across the Tsavo
river makes excellent reading ; whilst the courage he
displayed in attacking, single-handed, lions,
rhinoceroses and other dangerous animals was sur-
passed by the pluck, tact and determination he
showed in quelling the formidable mutiny which
once broke out amongst his native Indian workers.

Finally, let me say that I have spent the best

= aaa

xii FOREWORD

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part of two nights reading the proof-sheets of Col.
Patterson’s book, and I can assure him that the
time passed like magic. My interest was held from
the first page to the last, for I felt that every word
I read was true.

F. €; SELOUS:
WORPLESDON, SURREY.
September 18, 1907.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO:. . .

CHAPTER: Ii

THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE MAN-EATERS .

CHAPTER III

THE ATTACK ON THE GOODS-WAGON

CHAPTER SIV

THE BUILDING OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE

CHAPTER V

TROUBLES WITH THE WORKMEN

CHAPTER VI
THE REIGN OF TERROR

CHAPTER VII

THE DISTRICT OFFICER’S NARROW ESCAPE .

CHAPTER VIII

THE DEATH OF THE_FIRST MAN-EATER

41

50

61

75

84

xiv CONTENTS

CHAPTER IX

PAGE

THE DEATH OF THE SECOND MAN-EATER....... .- men 62)’
CHAPTER X

THE COMPLETION OF THE TSAVO-BRIDGE .>. 2) oy. - ee 107

CHAPTER XI

THE, SWAHILI AND OTHER, NATIVE “EREBE Sic cca ats) 5) ee ee 117

CHAPTER XII

AVNIGHT. “AFTDR:HIPEO r,s yarn fateet Vol isis G-un neo wl oat an 131

CHAPTER XI

A-DAY ON THE NDUNGU ESCARPMENT 202) 0n0e sane 143

CHAPTER XIV

THE FINDING OF THE MAN-EATERS’ DEN .......+.. 153

CHAPTER XV
UNSUCCESSFUL RHINO HUNTS 9. 9.9% <n 1 o> een 166

CHAPTER XVI
ASWIDOWJS“STORV 228 © och df her au se ee es cance 174

CHAPTER XVII

AN INE URIATED GREHINO TS. oc) ees = cp ein bent ae 180

CHAPTER XVIII

LIONS ON THE ATHISPEEAUNS® (ts. cure ante: eee re 190

CHAPTER XIX

LEE SBRICKEN CARAVANS.) (0. cue issn teas ee 207

CHAPTER XX

‘A -DAY; ON: THE -ATHI RIVER:® 27.2, & 58 2 5on eee st “SNS

CHAPTER XXI

THE MASAT- AND, OTHER: TRIBES® =.) = (20. et se eee 228

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXII

HOW ROSHAN KHAN SAVED MY LIFE .

CHAPTER XXIII

A SUCCESSFUL LION HUNT. .

CHAPTER XXIV

BHOOTA’S LAST SH/KAR

CHAPTER XXV

A MAN-EATER IN A RAILWAY CARRIAGE .

CHAPTER XXVI

WORK AT NAIROBI.

CHAPTER XXVII

THE FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND .

APPENDIX

XV

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_
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Heads of eight Lions shot by the Author in British East ra
1 > EE ee er Pe Gl Oy Li
Mombasa, from the pe Se Ted ee ek weiaee. I
The Native Quarter, Mombasa . aes, wae 2
* Well-wooded hills and slopes of the mainland ” 3
Vasco da Gama Street and Pillar : 5
“The best way to get there... was by gharri” 6
“T pitched my tent under some shady palms” 7
Jesus Fort ” Seen de he Wels ee eee Aken See 8
“ Kilindini is. ... on the opposite side of the island” .. . . 10
‘““ The Place of mee Waters” . Pa ay ee ee 11
“A lucky shot brought down the huge ie oy eee vib EO ome 14
“T slept that night ina little palm hut”... ........ 15
SemIsmibeEIMINADIG 7yZka”> sg me ew es ee 17
“The river crossed by means of a temporary Bridge? ices 18
Women of Uganda. ... . : ae i 19
The Tent from which jemadar saa ‘Singh was Hao ae ; 23

*“* My own tent was pitched in an open clearing” ....... 29
“We shared a hut of palm leaves and boughs” ... . 30
“The camps of the workmen had also been sarod =

thorn fences” . . oS Lag
* Railhead Camp, with its two or eee thoasand w een 33
““The two wounded coolies were left where they lay, a piece

of torn tent having fallen over them” . . . : t 35
““A luncheon served in the wilds, with Kee actanetly a “fiend

US 2 a ns Cae a 43

6

XVili LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

“Tt very soon became a great pet” . Sa
“ Heera Singh made a wild spring into the water to get clear
of the falling stone” See Fe
“ The door which was to adinit the lion” eh 3
“When the trap was ready, I pitched a tent over it”
‘** They found him stuck fast in the bushes of the doma”
‘“* Perched on the top of water-tanks ” fa
“T took up my position in a crib made of sleepers” ee
Whitehead on a Trolley at the exact spot where the Lion
jumped upon him .
Abdullah and his two Wives .
A party of Wa Jamousi BO Gee TO ts
“His length from tip of nose to tip of tail was nine feet
eight inches” ; :
Head of the first Man- Pater A :
<“shhe LENE evening [ took up my position in this same
tree” oad Ret hae al Sie Ae toe | a ee
“He measured nine feet six inches from tip of nose to tip
of tail, and stood three feet eleven and a half inches high ”
“The bridge over the Tsavo rapidly neared completion”
“The heavy stones were swung into position”
“The girder was run over its exact place ”
“ And finally lowered gently into position ” reer te
“Very soon I had the satisfaction of seeing the first train
cross the finished work”
The completed Tsavo Bridee :
One of the Trolley Lines after the Flood
Swahili Caravan Porters . vtsch ie, iry te wae, hee
“The old caravan road which crossed the Tsavo at a ok d”
“ Such was my cook, Mabruki” ae. We ny foo
“The women... wear a long, brightly eine cloth ”
“The women attire themselves only in a short kilt ”
“ We arrived at M’Gogo’s capital ” ses wig
‘““ Making fomde in the hollowed-out stump of a tree”
Wa Taita Men .
M’Kamba Woman :
“Until it joins the Athi River oe
“The banks of the Sabaki are lined an ChBeS aaa

PAGE

46

yes ee %
.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

XIX
PAGE
“T caught sight of a fine waterbuck and successfully bowled
2 TEPC Ee hoe er rs 144
** A young one was lying down quite close to me” 145
A Crocodile on the Sabaki 151
“ Beyond all doubt, the man-eaters’ den! 1” 156
“Watch the animals come down to drink” ........ 159
“ The antelope swinging by his feet” . iP paren 163
Ree ett en aS eS ae 165
“Slaves chained neck to neck as was the custom” . 172
Hospital Tent at Voi where Mrs. O’Hara rested . . 176
Inthe Bazaar at Kampala. . 179
0 SUES TeE ag UV & Ci rrr 180
“First the earth surface has to Be Rees 182
“ Cuttings have to be made and hollows banked up” 183
“Another gang drops a8 rails in their places ” 185
“It never moved again ” 188
“The trophy was well worth he pains I bi a cae to aid
ete PAW EGMCCHON” - so fs ke 189
Jackson’s Hartebeeste and Bia Ses oes ee ig!
aeeiCee eee reo te a 192
“* Fortunately the brute fell dead after this final effort ” 198
“We managed to bring them in triumph to the camp” 211
“T got near enough for a safe shot, which bowled the ante-
eee SESE HOA fee Sto Se AS : 215
SE ELE I a ed ae oe oes ee 2) D2Y7
““ A successful snapshot of an impala just after it had been aioe: aime |=
A Masai Chief . 229
MESA WatriGis, . SS 231
Masai Woman .. . 232
Masai Girls 233
Masai Women ..... 234
N’derobbo Boy . Pe Pa Se ea 235
N’derobbo Boy, with Collabus aay si ieee anes 236
esl BED So er? ee ee em y
MRCIROVED Mee. ke ees Ce et ok coat Sele aes 239
Se ea 240
“The women of the Wa Kikuyu carry the heavy loads” 241°
__ “Spooner’s plucky servant, Imam Din”. ,....-.... 277

XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
A Collection of Trophies; = 7°. 2-4 2 2 oe Be ee
‘He was kept on view for several days, and then shot”. . . . 287
Impala. 206 23 cb en ee
“TI took a photograph of him standing beside his fine trophy ” 291
“ Succeeded in finishing him off without further trouble” . . . 294
Steamer unloading at Kisumu, on Lake Victoria Nyanza . . . 295
The Grand Falls, Tana River .. . Soe MP Te ees = GK.
Shimone, “ The Place of Falling Water’ (Bidania Ravine) . 297
Ode os oe a ere
Roan Antelope’. <_2:.¢) 62. es Se De a
‘An excellent, cheery fellow . . .. named Landaalu” .... 300
Crossing a Stream. on the Cook’s Box ....'... .°. ..... 2
Crossing the’Angarua River . ....°. 2. 2. 2 fu | eee
Reed bucks 60 chase 22 Pt Se gi eiep ae be) ne > aoe
The New Eland—7. oryx pate SOMMQHUS” 250s hs) I oe
‘Ebomson'siGavele yi. .) 30 ceo S Ag oe aes ue pee ee
War Canoe on Lake Victoria Nyanza, near the Ripon Falls . . 319
Preparing Breakfast in Camp 320
View in the Kenya Province . ; 324
“A flying visit in a rickshaw to Kampala” 325
“ Clad in long flowing cotton garments ” i le & A eS
Jinja Bel iata We Pf Wy i lalyeoine ogy SSP gh eer yan
“ Rushing over the oe Falls” ohms Oh ge tek oabe: 30 See eer
“The mighty river puciclune away to the ee amid en-
chanting scenery,” 2.7505 Gos.0 al sts 2, oy ne
Wa Kikuyu Warriors 338

Map of British East Africa. . ...%....... ..) eS

MOMBASA, FROM THE HARBOUR.

THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO

GELAP 2 Pk. I
MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO

IT was towards noon on March 1, 1808, that |
first found myself entering the narrow and some-
what dangerous harbour of Mombasa, on the east
coast of Africa. The town lies on an island of the
Same name, separated from the mainland only by
a very narrow channel, which forms the harbour ;
and as our vessel steamed slowly in, close under the
quaint old Portuguese fortress built over three
hundred years ago, I was much struck with the
strange beauty of the view which gradually opened

out before me. Contrary to my anticipation, every-
B

gt nn na

2 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

thing looked fresh and green, and an_ oriental
glamour of enchantment seemed to hang over the
island. The old town was bathed in brilliant sun-
shine and reflected itself lazily on the motionless sea;

its flat roofs and dazzlingly white walls peeped out

THE NATIVE QUARTER, MOMBASA.

dreamily between waving palms and lofty cocoanuts,
huge baobabs and spreading mango trees ; and the
darker background of well-wooded hills and slopes
on the mainland formed a very effective setting to a
beautiful and, to me, unexpected picture.

The harbour was plentifully sprinkled with Arab

dhows, in some of which, I believe, even at the

1 MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO 3

present day, a few slaves are occasionally smuggled
off to Persia and Arabia. It has always been a
matter of great wonder to me how the navigators of
these little vessels find their way from port to port,
as they do, without the aid of either compass or

sextant, and how they manage to weather the

‘“WELL-WOODED HILLS AND SLOPES ON THE MAINLAND.”

terrible storms that at certain seasons of the year
suddenly visit eastern seas. I remember once coming
across a dhow becalmed in the middle of the Indian
Ocean, and its crew making signals of distress, our
captain slowed down to investigate. There were
four men on board, all nearly dead from thirst ; they

had been without drink of any kind for several days

B 2

4 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

and had completely lost their bearings. After
giving them some casks of water, we directed them
to Muscat (the port they wished to make), and our
vessel resumed its journey, leaving them - still
becalmed in the midst of that glassy sea. Whether
they managed to reach their destination I never knew.

As our steamer made its way to its anchorage,
the romantic surroundings of the harbour of
Mombasa conjured up visions of stirring adventures
of the past, and recalled to my mind the many tales
of reckless doings of pirates and slavers, which as a
boy it had been my delight to read. I remembered
that it was at this very place that in 1498 the great —
Vasco da Gama nearly lost his ship and life through
the treachery of his Arab pilot, who plotted to
wreck the vessel on the reef which bars more than
half the entrance to the harbour. Luckily, this
-nefarious design was discovered in time, and the
bold navigator promptly hanged the pilot, and
would also have sacked the town but for the timely

submission and apologies of the Sultan. In the

principal street of Mombasa—appropriately called
Vasco da Gama _ Street—there still stands a
curiously-shaped pillar which is said to have been
erected by this great seaman in commemoration of
his visit.

Scarcely had the anchor been dropped, when, as
if by magic, our vessel was surrounded by a fleet

I MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO 5

of small boats and ‘ dug-outs” manned by crowds
of shouting and gesticulating natives. After a short
fight between some rival Swahili boatmen for my
luggage and person, | found myself being vigor-
ously rowed to the foot of the landing steps by the

bahareen (sailors) who had been successful in the

VASCO DA GAMA STREET AND PILLAR.

encounter. Now, my object in coming out to East
Africa at this time was to take up a position to
which I had been appointed by the Foreign Office
on the construction staff of the Uganda Railway.
As soon as I landed, therefore, I enquired
from one of the Customs officials where the head-

quarters of the railway were to be found, and

ra

6 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

was told that they were at a place called Kilindini,
some three miles away, on the other side of the
island. The best way to get there, I was further
informed, was by garrz, which I found to be a
small trolley, having two seats placed back to back

under a little canopy and running on narrow rails

‘“THE BEST WAY TO GET THERE... WAS BY gharri.”

which are laid through the principal street of the
town. Accordingly, I secured one of these vehicles,
which are pushed by two strapping Swahili boys,
and was soon flying down the track, which once
outside the town lay for the most part through
dense groves of mango, baobab, banana and palm

trees, with here and_ there _ brilliantly-coloured

™~“I

I MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO

creepers hanging in luxuriant festoons from the
branches.

On arrival at Kilindini, 1 made my way to the
Railway Offices and was informed that I should be
stationed inland and should receive further instruc-

tions in the course of a day or two. Meanwhile I

‘©? PITCHED MY TENT UNDER SOME SHADY PALMS.”

pitched my tent under some shady palms near the
gharri line, and busied myself in exploring the island
and in procuring the stores and the outfit necessary
for a lengthy sojourn up-country. The town of
Mombasa itself naturally occupied most of my
attention. It is supposed to have been founded

about A.D. 1000, but the discovery of ancient

8 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

Egyptian idols, and of coins of the early Persian and
Chinese dynasties, goes to show that it must at
different ages have been settled by people of the
very earliest civilisations. Coming to more modern
times, it was held on and off from 1505 to 1729 by

the Portuguese, a permanent memorial of whose

‘* JESUS FORT.”

occupation remains in the shape of the grim old
fortress, built about 1593—on the site, it is believed,
of a still older stronghold. These enterprising sea-
rovers piously named it “Jésus Fort,’ and an
inscription recording this is still to be seen over the

main entrance. The Portuguese occupation of

I MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO 9

Mombasa was, however, not without its vicissitudes.
From March 15, 1696, for example, the town was
besieged for thirty-three consecutive months by a
large fleet of Arab dhows, which completely sur-
rounded the island. In spite of plague, treachery
and famine, the little garrison held out valiantly in
Jesus Fort, to which they had been forced to retire,
until December 12, 1698, when the Arabs made a-
last determined attack and captured the citadel,
putting the remnant of the defenders, both men and
women, to the sword. It is pathetic to read that
only two days later a large Portuguese fleet appeared
off the harbour, bringing the long-looked-for rein-
forcements. After this the Portuguese made several
attempts to reconquer Mombasa, but were unsuc-
cessful until 1728, when the town was stormed and
captured by General Sampayo. The Arabs, how-
ever, returned the next year in overwhelming
numbers, and again drove the Portuguese out ; and
although the latter made one more attempt in 1769
to regain their lost supremacy, they did not
succeed.

The Arabs, as represented by the Sultan of
Zanzibar, remain in nominal possession of Mombasa
to the present day ; but in 1887 Seyid Bargash, the
then Sultan of Zanzibar, gave for an annual rental
a concession of his mainland territories to the British

East Africa Association, which in 1888 was formed

10 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

into the Imperial British East Africa Company. In
1895 the Foreign Office took over control of the
Company’s possessions, and a _ Protectorate was
proclaimed ; and ten years later the administration
of the country was transferred to the Colonial Office.

The last serious fighting on the island took place

‘©KILINDINI IS . . . ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ISLAND.”

so recently as 1895-6, when a Swahili chief named
M’baruk bin Rashed, who had three times previously
risen in rebellion against the Sultan of Zanzibar,
attempted to defy the British and to throw off their
yoke. He was defeated on several occasions, how-
ever, and was finally forced to flee southwards into

German territory. Altogether, Mombasa has in

I MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO II

the past well deserved its native name of Azszwa
Mvita, or “Isle of War”; but under the settled
rule now obtaining, it is rapidly becoming a thriving
and prosperous town, and as the port of entry for

Uganda, it does a large forwarding trade with the

pass |

‘©THE PLACE OF DEEP WATERS.”

interior and has several excellent stores where
almost anything, from a needle to an anchor, may
readily be obtained.

Kilindini is, as I have said, on the opposite side
of the island, and as its name—‘ the place of deep
waters ”—implies, has a much finer harbour than

that possessed by Mombasa. The channel between

12 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

the island and the mainland is here capable of
giving commodious and safe anchorage to the very
largest vessels, and as the jetty is directly connected
with the Uganda Railway, Kilindini has now really
become the principal port, being always used by
the liners and heavier vessels.

I had spent nearly a week in Mombasa, and was
becoming very anxious to get my marching orders,
when one morning I was delighted to receive an
official letter instructing me to proceed to Tsavo,
about one hundred and thirty-two miles from the
coast, and to take charge of the construction of the
section of the line at that place, which had just then
been reached by railhead. 1 accordingly started at
daylight next morning in a_ special train with
Mr. Anderson, the Superintendent of Works, and
Dr. McCulloch, the principal Medical Officer ; and
as the country was in every way new to me, I found
the journey a most interesting one.

The island of Mombasa is separated from the
mainland by the Strait of Macupa, and the railway
crosses this by a bridge about three-quarters of a
mile long, called the Salisbury Bridge, in honour of
the great Minister for Foreign Affairs under whose
direction the Uganda Railway scheme was under-
taken. For twenty miles after reaching the main-
land, our train wound steadily upwards through

beautifully wooded, park-like country, and on

te nr eg SNe EY Re EES CE ee en

\

cdl iebiainidibaadh paletaene Ean eee
oa f

I MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO 13

looking back out of the carriage windows we could
every now and again obtain lovely views of
Mombasa and Kilindini, while beyond these the
Indian Ocean sparkled in the glorious sunshine as
far as the eye could see. The summit of the Rabai
Hills having been reached, we entered on the
expanse of the Taru Desert, a wilderness covered
with poor scrub and stunted trees, and carpeted in
the dry season with a layer of fine red dust. This
dust is of a most penetrating character, and finds its
way into everything in the carriage as the train
passes along. From here onward game is more or
less plentiful, but the animals are very difficult to

see owing to the thick undergrowth in which they

hide themselves. We managed, however, to catch
sight of a few from the carriage windows, and also
noticed some of the natives, the Wa Nyika, or
“children of the wilderness.”

At Maungu, some eighty miles from the coast, we
came to the end of this ‘desert,’ but almost the
only difference to be noticed in the character of the
country was that the colour of the dust had changed.
As our train sped onwards through the level uplands
we saw a fine ostrich striding along parallel with
the line, as if having a race with us. Dr. McCulloch
at once seized his rifle and by a lucky shot brought
down the huge bird; the next and greater difficulty,

however, was to secure the prize. For a time the

14 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

engine-driver took no notice of our signals and
shouts, but at last we succeeded in attracting his
attention, and the train was shunted back to where
the ostrich had fallen. We found it to be an
exceptionally fine specimen, and had to exert all

our strength to drag it on board the train.

‘“, LUCKY SHOT BROUGHT DOWN THE HUGE BIRD.”

Soon after this we reached Voi, about a hundred

miles from the coast, and as this was the most

important station on the line that we had yet come
to, we made a short halt in order to inspect some
construction work which was going on. On
resuming our journey, we soon discovered that a

pleasant change had occurred in the character of

1 MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO 5

the landscape. From a place called N’dii, the
railway runs for some miles through a beautifully
wooded country, which looked all the more inviting
after the deadly monotony of the wilderness through
which we had just passed. To the south of us could

be seen the N'dii range of mountains, the dwelling-

"e°7

‘¢¥ SLEPT THAT NIGHT IN A LITTLE PALM HUT.”

place of the Wa Taita people, while on our right
rose the rigid brow of the N’dungu Escarpment,
which stretches away westwards for scores of miles.
Here our journey was slow, as every now and
again we stopped to inspect the permanent works in
progress ; but eventually, towards dusk, we arrived

at our destination, Tsavo. I slept that night in a

16 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

little palm hut which had been built by some pre-
vious traveller, and which was fortunately unoccupied
for the time being. It was rather broken-down and
dilapidated, not even possessing a door, and as I]
lay on my narrow camp bed | could see the stars
twinkling through the roof. I little knew then
what adventures awaited me in this neighbour-
hood; and if I had realised that at that very
time two savage brutes were prowling round,
seeking whom they might devour, I hardly think
I should have slept so peacefully in my rickety
shelter. |

Next morning I was up betimes, eager to make
acquaintance with my new surroundings. My first
impression on coming out of my hut was that I was
hemmed in on all sides by a dense growth of im-
penetrable jungle : and on scrambling to the top of
a little hill close at hand, I found that the whole
country as far as I could see was covered with low,
stunted trees, thick undergrowth and “ wait-a-bit ”
thorns. The only clearing, indeed, appeared to be
where the narrow track for the railway had been cut.
This interminable zyzka, or wilderness of whitish
and leafless dwarf trees, presented a ghastly and sun-
stricken appearance ; and here and there a ridge of
dark-red heat-blistered rock jutted out above the
jungle, and added by its rugged barrenness to the
dreariness of the picture. Away to the north-east

I MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO 7

stretched the unbroken line of the N’dungu Escarp-
ment, while far off to the south I could just catch a
glimpse of the snow-capped top of towering Kilima
N’jaro. The one redeeming feature of the neigh-
bourhood was the river from which Tsavo takes its
name. This is a swiftly-flowing stream, always cool

and always running, the latter being an exceptional

‘“THIS INTERMINABLE 2yzhka.”

attribute in this part of East Africa; and the fringe
of lofty green trees along its banks formed a
welcome relief to the general monotony of the
landscape.

When I had thus obtained a rough idea of the
neighbourhood, I returned to my hut, and began in
earnest to make preparations for my stay in this out-
of-the-way place. The stores were unpacked, and

my “‘boys”’ pitched my tent in a little clearing close
Cc

18 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

to where I had slept the night before and not far
from the main camp of the workmen. Railhead had
at this time just reached the western side of the river,
and some thousands of Indian coolies and other

workmen were encamped there. As the line

7

‘* THE RIVER CROSSED BY MEANS OF A TEMPORARY BRIDGE.”

had to be pushed on with all speed, a diversion
had been made and the river crossed by means
of a temporary bridge. My principal work was
to erect the permanent structure, and to complete
all the other works for a distance of thirty miles
on each side of Tsavo. I accordingly made a

survey of what had to be done, and sent my

I MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO 19

>
=.
{
\) . . . .
requisition for labour, tools and material to the head-
s quarters at Kilindini. — In a short time workmen and
supplies came pouring in, and the noise of hammers
and sledges, drilling and blasting, echoed merrily
through the district.

WOMEN OF UGANDA,

ro
to

CHMvP a ER
THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE MAN-EATERS

UnrortunatELy this happy state of affairs did not
continue for long, and our work was soon interrupted
in a rude and startling manner. Two most voraci-
ous and insatiable man-eating lions appeared upon
the scene, and for over nine months waged an inter-
mittent warfare against the railway and all those
connected with it in the vicinity of Tsavo. This
culminated in a perfect reign of terror in December,
1898, when they actually succeeded in bringing the
railway works to a complete standstill for about three
weeks. At first they were not always successful in their
efforts to carry off a victim, but as time went on they
stopped at nothing and indeed braved any danger in
order to obtain their favourite food. Their methods
then became so uncanny, and their man-stalking so
well-timed and so certain of success, that the work-
men. firmly believed that they were not real animals

at all, but devils in lions’ shape. Many a time the

cH. 1 APPEARANCE OF THE MAN-EATERS 21

coolies solemnly assured me that it was absolutely
useless to attempt to shoot them. They were quite
convinced that the angry spirits of two departed
native chiefs had taken this form in order to protest
against a railway being made through their country,
and by stopping its progress to avenge the insult
thus shown to them.

I had only been a few days at Tsavo when I first
heard that these brutes had been seen in the neigh-
bourhood. Shortly afterwards one or two coolies
mysteriously disappeared, and I was told that they
had been carried off by night from their tents and
devoured by lions. At the time I did not credit
this story, and was more inclined to believe that the
unfortunate men had been the victims of foul play
at the hands of some of their comrades. They
were, as it happened, very good workmen, and had
each saved a fair number of rupees, so I thought it
quite likely that some scoundrels from the gangs
had murdered them for the sake of their money.
This suspicion, however, was very soon dispelled.
About three weeks after my arrival, I was roused
one morning about daybreak and told that one of
my jemadars, a fine powerful Sikh named Ungan
Singh, had been seized in his tent during the night,
and dragged off and eaten.

Naturally I lost no time in making an examina-

tion of the place, and was soon convinced that the

22 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

man had indeed been carried off by a lion, as its
“pug” marks were plainly visible in the sand, while
the furrows made by the heels of the victim showed
the direction in which he had been dragged away.
Moreover, the emadar shared his tent with half a
dozen other workmen, and one of his bedfellows
had actually witnessed the occurrence. He graphic-
ally described how, at about midnight, the lion
suddenly put its head in at the open tent’ door and
seized Ungan Singh—who happened to be nearest
the opening —by the throat. The unfortunate
fellow cried out ‘‘ Choro” (“Let go”), and threw
his arms up round the lion’s neck. The next
moment he was gone, and his panic-stricken com-
panions lay helpless, forced to listen to the terrible
struggle which took place outside. Poor Ungan
Singh must have died hard ; but what chance had
he? As a coolie gravely remarked, ‘‘ Was he not
fighting with a lion?”

On hearing this dreadful story I at once set out
to try to track the animal, and was accompanied by
Captain Haslem, who happened to be staying at
Tsavo at the time, and who, poor fellow, himself
met with a tragic fate very shortly afterwards. We
found it an easy matter to follow the route taken by
_ the lion, as he appeared to have stopped several
times before beginning his meal. Pools of blood

marked these halting-places, where he doubtless

{1 APPEARANCE OF THE MAN-EATERS 22

indulged in the man-eaters’ habit of licking the skin
off so as to get at the fresh blood. (I have been
led to believe that this is their custom from the
appearance of two half-eaten bodies which I subse-
quently rescued : the skin was gone in places, and
the flesh looked dry, as if it had been sucked.) On

THE TENT FROM WHICH /emadar UNGAN SINGH WAS CARRIED OFF.

reaching the spot where the body had been devoured,
a dreadful spectacle presented itself. The ground
all round was covered with blood and morsels of
flesh and bones, but the unfortunate zemadar’s head
had been left intact, save for the holes made by the
lion’s tusks on seizing him, and lay a short distance

away from the other remains, the eyes staring wide

24 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

open with a startled, horrified look in them. The
place was considerably cut up, and on closer exami-
nation we found that two lions had been there and
had probably struggled for possession of the body.
It was the most gruesome sight I had ever seen.
We collected the remains as well as we could and
heaped stones on them, the head with its fixed,
terrified stare seeming to watch us all the time, for
it we did not bury, but took back to camp for
identification before the Medical Officer.

Thus occurred my first experience of man-eating
lions, and I vowed there and then that I would
spare no pains to rid the neighbourhood of the
brutes. I little knew the trouble that was in store
for me, or how narrow were to be my own escapes
from sharing poor Ungan Singh's fate.

That same night I sat up in a tree close to the
late zemadar’s tent, hoping that the lions would
return to it for another victim. I was followed to
my perch by a few of the more terrified coolies, who
begged to be allowed to sit up in the tree with me ;
all the other workmen remained in their tents, but
no more doors were left open. I had with me my
‘303 and a 12-bore shot gun, one barrel loaded with
ball and the other with slug. Shortly after settling
down to my vigil, my hopes of bagging one of the
brutes were raised by the sound of their ominous

roaring coming closer and closer. Presently this

1 APPEARANCE OF THE MAN-EATERS 25

ceased, and quiet reigned for an hour or two, as
lions always stalk their prey in complete silence.
All at once, however, we heard a great uproar and
frenzied cries coming from another camp about half
a mile away; we knew then that the lions had
seized a victim there, and that we should see or
hear nothing further of them that night.

Next morning [ found that one of the brutes had
broken intoa tent at Railhead Camp—whence we had
heard the commotion during the night—and had made
off with a poor wretch who was lying there asleep.
After a night's rest, therefore, | took up my position
in a suitable tree near this tent. I did notatall like
the idea of walking the half-mile to the place after
dark, but all the same I felt fairly safe, as one of my
men carried a bright lamp close behind me. He in
his turn was followed by another leading a goat, which
I tied under my tree in the hope that the lion might be
tempted to seize it instead of a coolie. A steady
drizzle commenced shortly after I had settled down
to my night of watching, and I was soon thoroughly
chilled and wet. I stuck to my uncomfortable post,
however, hoping to get a shot, but [ well remember
the feeling of impotent disappointment I experi-
enced when about midnight I heard screams and
cries and a heartrending shriek, which told me that
the man-eaters had again eluded me and had claimed
another victim elsewhere. |

26 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

At this time the various camps for the workmen
were very scattered, so that the lions had a range of
some eight miles on either side of Tsavo to work
upon ; and as their tactics seemed to be to break into
a different camp each night, it was most difficult to
forestall them. They almost appeared, too, to have
an extraordinary and uncanny faculty of finding out
our plans beforehand, so that no matter in how
likely or how tempting a spot we lay in wait for them,
they invariably avoided that particular place and
seized their victim for the night from some other
camp. Hunting them by day, moreover, in such a
dense wilderness as surrounded us, was an exceed-
ingly tiring and really foolhardy undertaking. In a
thick jungle of the kind round Tsavo the hunted
animal has every chance against the hunter, as
however careful the latter may be, a dead twig or
something of the sort is sure to crackle just at the
critical moment and so give the alarm. Still I never
gave up hope of some day finding their lair, and
accordingly continued to devote all my spare time to
crawling about through the undergrowth. Many a
time when attempting to force my way through this
bewildering tangle I had to be released by my gun-
bearer from the fast clutches of the ‘“ wait-a-bit ” ;
and often with immense pains I succeeded in tracing
the lions to the river after they had seized a victim,

only to lose the trail from there onwards, owing to

mn | APPEARANCE OF THE MAN-EATERS 27

the rocky nature of the ground which they seemed
to be careful to choose in retreating to their den.

At this early stage of the struggle, I am glad to
say, the lions were not always successful in their
efforts to capture a human being for their nightly
meal, and one or two amusing incidents occurred to
relieve the tension from which our nerves were
beginning to suffer. On one occasion an enterpris-
ing dunnzah (Indian trader) was riding along on his
donkey late one night, when suddenly a lion sprang
out on him, knocking over both man and beast.
The donkey was badly wounded, and the lion was
just about to seize the trader, when in some way or
other his claws became entangled in a rope by which
two empty oil tins were strung across the donkey’s
neck. The rattle and clatter made by these as he
dragged them after him gave him such a fright that
he turned tail and bolted off into the jungle, to the
intense relief of the terrified danxnzah, who quickly
made his way up the nearest tree and remained there,
shivering with fear, for the rest of the night.

Shortly after this episode, a Greek contractor
named Themistocles Pappadimitrini had an equally
marvellous escape. He was sleeping peacefully in
his tent one night, when a lion broke in, and seized
and made off with the mattress on which he was
lying. Though rudely awakened, the Greek was

quite unhurt and suffered from nothing worse than a

28 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CH. Il

bad fright. This same man, however, met with a
melancholy fate not long afterwards. He had been
to the Kilima N’jaro district to buy cattle, and on
the return journey attempted to take a short cut
across country to the railway, but perished miserably
of thirst on the way.

On another occasion fourteen coolies who slept
together ina large tent were one night awakened by a
lion suddenly jumping on to the tent and breaking
through it. The brute landed with one claw on a
coolie’s shoulder, which was badly torn ; but instead
of seizing the man himself, in his hurry he grabbed
a large bag of rice which happened to be lying in the
tent, and made off with it, dropping it in disgust
some little distance away when he realised his
mistake.

These, however, were only the earlier efforts of
the man-eaters. Later on, as will be seen, nothing
flurried or frightened them in the least, and except
as food they showed a complete contempt for human
beings. Having once marked down a victim, they
would allow nothing to deter them from securing
him, whether he were protected by a thick fence, or
inside a closed tent, or sitting beside a brightly
burning fire. Shots, shouting and firebrands they
alike held in derision.

[THE AUTHOR.] [MR. Cc. RAWSON.]

‘SMY OWN TENT WAS PITCHED IN AN OPEN CLEARING.”

Citar te se
THE ATTACK ON THE GOODS-WAGON

ALL this time my own tent was pitched in an
open clearing, unprotected by a fence of any kind
round it. One night when the medical officer, Dr.
Rose, was staying with me, we were awakened
about midnight by hearing something tumbling
about among the tent ropes, but on going out with a
lantern we could discover nothing. Daylight, how-
ever, plainly revealed the “pug” marks of a lion,
so that on that occasion I fancy one or other of us

had a narrow escape. Warned by this experience,

30 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

I at once arranged to move my quarters, and went
to join forces with Dr. Brock, who had just arrived
at Tsavo to take medical charge of the district.
We shared a hut of palm leaves and boughs, which
we had constructed on the eastern side of the river,

close to the old caravan route leading to Uganda ;

“SWE SHARED A HUT OF PALM LEAVES AND BOUGHS.”

and we had it surrounded by a circular doma, or
thorn fence, about seventy yards in diameter, well
made and thick and high. Our personal servants
also lived within the enclosure, and a bright fire
was always kept up throughout the night. For the
sake of coolness, Brock and I used to sit out under

the verandah of this hut in the evenings; but it was

m THE ATTACK ON THE GOODS-WAGON 31

rather trying to our nerves to attempt to read
or write there, as we never knew when a lion might
spring over the doma, and be on us before we were
aware. We therefore kept our rifles within easy
reach, and cast many an anxious glance out into the

inky darkness, beyond the circle of the firelight.

(Fe)

“©THE CAMPS OF THE WORKMEN HAD ALSO BEEN SURROUNDED BY THORN
FENCES.”

On one or two occasions, we found in the morning
that the lions had come quite close to the fence ;
but fortunately they never succeeded in getting
through.

By this time, too, the camps of the workmen had
also been surrounded by thorn fences ; nevertheless

the lions managed to jump over or to break through

32 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CH. Ill

some one or other of these, and regularly every few
nights a man was carried off, the reports of the
disappearance of this or that workman coming in to
me with painful frequency. So long, however, as
Railhead Camp—with its two or three thousand
men, scattered over a wide area—remained at
Tsavo, the coolies appeared not to take much
notice of the dreadful deaths of their comrades.
Each man felt, I suppose, that as the man-eaters
had such a large number of victims to choose from,
the chances of their selecting him in particular were
very small. But when the large camp moved ahead
with the railway, matters altered considerably. |
was then left with only some few hundred men to
complete the permanent works; and as all the
remaining workmen were naturally camped to-
gether, the attentions of the lions became more
apparent and made a deeper impression. A regular
panic consequently ensued, and it required all
my powers of persuasion to induce the men to stay
on. In fact, I succeeded in doing so only by
allowing them to knock off all regular work until
they had built exceptionally thick and high domas
round each camp. Within these enclosures fires
were kept burning all night, and it was also the
duty of the night-watchman to keep clattering half
a dozen empty oil tins suspended from a convenient
tree. These he manipulated by means of a long

« NONMYOM ANVSNOHL AAYHL YO OML SLI HLIM ‘dNVO AVANTIVA ,,

34 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

rope, while sitting in safety within his tent ; and the
frightful noise thus produced was kept up at
frequent intervals during the night in the hopes of
terrifying away the man-eaters. In spite of all these
precautions, however, the lions would not be denied,
and men continued to disappear.

When the railhead workmen moved on, their
hospital camp was left behind. It stood rather
apart from the other camps, in a clearing about
three-quarters of a mile from my hut, but was
protected by a good thick fence and to all appear-
ance was quite secure. It seemed, however, as if
barriers were of no avail against the ‘demons ”, for
before very long one of them found a weak spot in
the éo0ma and broke through. On this occasion the
Hospital Assistant had a marvellous escape. Hear-
ing a noise outside, he opened the door of his tent
and was horrified to see a great lion standing a few
yards away looking at him. The beast made a
spring towards him, which gave the Assistant such a
fright that he jumped backwards, and in doing so
luckily upset a box containing medical stores.
This crashed down with such a loud clatter of
breaking glass that the lion was startled for the
moment and made off to another part of the
enclosure. Here, unfortunately, he was more suc-
cessful, as he jumped on to and broke through a

tent in which eight patients were lying. Two of

m THE ATTACK ON THE GOODS-WAGON 35

them were badly wounded by his spring, while

a third poor wretch was seized and dragged off

bodily through the thorn fence. The two wounded
coolies were left where they lay, a piece of torn tent
having fallen over them; and in this position the

doctor and I found them on our arrival soon after

=

Zao

<a
Oe Pa

: we

““THE TWO WOUNDED COOLIES WERE LEFT WHERE THEY LAY, A PIECE
OF TORN TENT HAVING FALLEN OVER THEM.”

dawn next morning. We at once decided to move
the hospital closer to the main camp; a fresh site
was prepared, a stout hedge built round the
enclosure, and all the patients were moved in before
nightfall.

As I had heard that lions generally visit recently
deserted camps, I decided to sit up all night in the

D 2

36 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

vacated doma in the hope of getting an opportunity
of bagging one of them; but in the middle of my
lonely vigil I had the mortification of hearing shrieks
and cries coming from the direction of the new
hospital, telling me only too plainly that our
dreaded foes had once more eluded me. Hurrying
to the place at daylight I found that one of the lions
had jumped over the newly erected fence and had
carried off the hospital d/zs¢z (water-carrier), and
that several other coolies had been unwilling
witnesses of the terrible scene which took place
within the circle of light given by the big camp fire.
The dh7s¢7, it appears, had been lying on the floor,
with his head towards the centre of the tent and his
feet nearly touching the side. The lion managed to
get its head in below the canvas, seized him by the
foot and pulled him out. In desperation the un-
fortunate water-carrier clutched hold of a heavy box
in a vain attempt to prevent himself being carried
off, and dragged it with him until he was forced to
let go by its being stopped by the side of the tent.
He then caught hold of a tent rope, and clung
tightly to it until it broke. As soon as the lion
managed to get him clear of the tent, he sprang at
his throat and after a few vicious shakes the poor
bhiste's agonising cries were silenced for ever. The
brute then seized him in his mouth, like a huge cat

with a mouse, and ran up and down the Jdoma

m THE ATTACK ON THE GOODS-WAGON 37

looking for a weak spot to break through. This he
presently found and plunged into, dragging his
victim with him and leaving shreds of torn cloth and
flesh as ghastly evidences of his passage through
the thorns. Dr. Brock and I were easily able to
follow his track, and soon found the remains about
four hundred yards away in the bush. There
was the usual horrible sight. Very little was left
of the unfortunate d/zs¢2—only the skull, the jaws,
a few of the larger bones and a portion of the palm
with one or two fingers attached. On one of these
was a silver ring, and this, with the teeth (a relic
much prized by certain castes), was sent to the
man’s widow in India.
Again it was decided to move the hospital ; and
again, before nightfall, the work was completed,
including a still stronger and thicker doma. When
the patients had been moved, I had a covered
goods-wagon placed in a favourable position on a
siding which ran close to the site which had just
been abandoned, and in this Brock and I arranged
to sit up that night. We left a couple of tents still
standing within the enclosure, and also tied up a few
cattle in it as bait for the lions, wlio had been seen
in no less than three different places in the
neighbourhood during the afternoon (April 23).
Four miles from Tsavo they had attempted to seize

a coolie who was walking along the line. Fortu-

38 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

nately, however, he had just time to escape up a
tree, where he remained, more dead than alive,
until he was rescued by the Traffic Manager, who
caught sight of him from a passing train. They
next appeared close to Tsavo Station, and a couple
of hours later some workmen saw one of the lions
stalking Dr. Brock as he was returning about dusk
from the hospital.

In accordance with our plan, the doctor and I set
out after dinner for the goods-wagon, which was
about a mile away from our hut. In the light of
subsequent events, we did a very foolish thing in
taking up our position so late; nevertheless, we
reached our destination in safety, and settled down
to our watch about ten o’clock. We had the lower
half of the door of the wagon closed, while the
upper half was left wide open for observation: and
we faced, of course, in the direction of the abandoned
édoma, which, however, we were unable to see in the
inky darkness. For an hour or two everything was
quiet, and the deadly silence was becoming very
monotonous and oppressive, when suddenly, to our
right, a dry twig snapped, and we knew that’ an.
animal of some sort was about. Soon afterwards
we heard a dull thud, as if some heavy body had
jumped over the doma. The cattle, too, became
very uneasy, and we could hear them moving about

restlessly. Then again came dead silence.

m THE ATTACK ON THE GOODS-WAGON 39

At this juncture I proposed to my companion
that I should get out of the wagon and lie on the
ground close to it, as I could see better in that
position should the lion come. in our direction with
his prey. Brock, however, persuaded me to remain
where I was; and a few seconds afterwards: I was
heartily glad that I had taken his advice, for at that
very moment one of the man-eaters—although we
did not know it—was quietly stalking us, and was
even then almost within springing distance. Orders
had been given for the entrance to the doma to be
blocked up, and accordingly we were listening in
the expectation of hearing the lion force his way
out through the bushes with his prey. As a matter
of fact, however, the doorway had not been properly
closed, and while we were wondering what the lion
could be doing inside the doma for so long, he was
outside all the time, silently reconnoitring our
position.

Presently |] fancied I saw something coming wery
stealthily towards us. I feared, however, to trust
to my eyes, which by that time were strained by
prolonged staring through the darkness, so under
my breath I asked Brock whether he saw anything,
at the same time covering the dark object as well as
I could with my rifle. Brock did not answer ; he
told me afterwards that he, too, thought he had seen

something move, but was afraid to say so lest |
$ y

40 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CH. Ill

should fire and it turn out to be nothing after all.
After this there was intense silence again for a
second or two, then with a sudden bound a huge
body sprang at us. ‘‘ The lion!” I shouted, and we
both fired almost simultaneously—not a moment too
soon, for in another second the brute: would assuredly
have landed inside the wagon. As it was, he
must have swerved off in his spring, probably
blinded by the flash and frightened by the noise of
the double report which was increased a hundred-
fold by the reverberation of the hollow iron roof of
the truck. Had we not been very much on the
alert, he would undoubtedly have got one of us, and
we realised that we had had a very lucky and very
narrow escape. The next morning we found Brock’s
bullet embedded in the sand close to a footprint ; it
could not have missed the lion by more than an
inch or two. Mine was nowhere to be found.

Thus ended my first direct encounter with one of

the man-eaters.

GRA Ee hE hy ave
THE BUILDING OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE

Durine all this troublesome period the construc-
tion of the railway had been going steadily forward

and the first important piece of work which I

had commenced on arrival was completed. This

was the widening of a rock cutting through which
the railway ran just before it reached the river.
In the hurry of pushing on the laying of the line,
just enough of the rock had originally been cut
away to allow room for an engine to pass, and con-
sequently any material which happened to project
outside the wagons or trucks caught on the jagged
faces of the cutting. I myself saw the door of a
suard’s van, which had been left ajar, smashed to
atoms in this way ; and accordingly I put a gang of
rock-drillers to work at once and soon had ample
room made for all traffic to pass unimpeded. While
this was going on, another gang of men were laying

the foundations of a girder bridge which was to span

42 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

a gully between this cutting and Tsavo Station.
This would have taken too long to erect when rail-
head was at the place, so a diversion had been made
round it, the temporary track leading down almost
to the bed of the nullah and up again on the further
side. When the foundations and abutments were
ready, the gully was spanned by an iron girder, the
slopes leading up to it banked up on either side, and
the permanent way laid on an easy grade.

Then, also, a water supply had to be established ;
and this meant some very pleasant work for me in
taking levels up the banks of the river under the
cool shade of the palms. While doing this, I often
took my camp-kit with me, and a luncheon served
in the wilds, with occasionally a friend to share it—
when a friend was available—was delightful. On
one occasion in particular, I went a long way up the
river and was accompanied by a young member of
my staff. The day had been exceedingly hot and
we were both correspondingly tired when our work
was finished, so my companion suggested that we
should build a raft and float down-stream home. _ I
was rather doubtful of the feasibility of the scheme,
but nevertheless he decided to give it a trial. Set-
ting to work with our axes, we soon had a raft built,
lashing the poles together with the fibre which grows
in abundance all over the district. When it was
finished, we pushed it out of the little backwater

iv THE BUILDING OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE 43

where it had been constructed, and the young
engineer jumped aboard. All went well until it got
out into midstream, when much to my amusement
it promptly toppled gracefully over. I helped my
friend to scramble quickly up the bank out of reach

of possible crocodiles, when, none the worse for

(THE AUTHOR. ] [MR. C. RAWSON. ]

**4 LUNCHEON SERVED IN THE WILDS, WITH OCCASIONALLY A FRIEND
TO SHARE IT.”
his ducking, he laughed as heartily as I at the
adventure.
Except for an occasional relaxation of this sort,
every moment of my time was fully occupied.
Superintending the various works and a hundred

other duties kept me busy all day long, while my

44 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

evenings were given up to settling disputes among
the coolies, hearing reports and complaints from
the various jemadars and workpeople, and_ in
studying the Swahili language. Preparations, too,
for the principal piece of work in the district—the
building of the railway bridge over the Tsavo river
—were going on apace. These involved much
personal work on my part; cross and oblique
sections of the river had to be taken, the rate of the
current and the volume of water at flood, mean,
and low levels had to be found, and all the necessary
calculations made. These having at length been
completed, I marked out the positions for the
abutments and piers, and the work of sinking their
foundations was begun. The two centre piers in
particular caused a great deal of trouble, as the
river broke in several times, and had to be dammed
up and pumped dry again before work could be
resumed. Then we found we had to sink much
deeper than we expected in order to reach a solid
foundation. Indeed, the sinking went on and on,
until I began to despair of finding one and was
about to resort to pile-driving, when at last, to my
relief, we struck solid rock on which the huge
foundation-stones could be laid with perfect safety.
Another great difficulty with which we had _ to
contend was the absence of suitable stone in the

neighbourhood, It was not that there was none to

Iv THE BUILDING OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE 45

be found, for the whole district abounds in rock,
but that it was so intensely hard as to be almost
impossible to work, and a bridge built of it would
have been very costly. I spent many a weary day
trudging through the thorny wilderness vainly
searching for suitable material, and was beginning
to think that we should be forced to use iron columns
for the piers, when one day I stumbled quite by
accident on the very thing. Brock and I were out

)

‘“pot-hunting,” and hearing some guinea - fowl
cackling among the bushes, I made a circuit half
round them so that Brock, on getting in his shot,
should drive them over in my direction. I eventually
got into position on the edge of a deep ravine and —
knelt on one knee, crouching down among the ferns.
There I had scarcely time to load when over flew a
bird, which I missed badly; and I did not have
another chance, for Brock had got to work, and
being a first-rate shot had quickly bagged a brace.
Meanwhile I felt the ground very hard under my
knee, and on examination found that the bank of
the ravine was formed of stone, which extended for
some distance, and which was exactly the kind of
material for which I had long been fruitlessly
searching. I was greatly delighted with my un-
expected discovery, though at first I had grave
misgivings about the distance to be traversed and

the difficulty of transporting the stone across the

46 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

intervening country. Indeed, I found in the end
that the only way of getting the material to the
place where it was wanted was by laying down a
tram line right along the ravine, throwing a
temporary bridge across the Tsavo, following the
stream down and re-crossing it again close to the
site of the permanent bridge. Accordingly, I set
men to work at once to
cut down the jungle and
prepare a road on which
to lay the double trolley
line. One morning when
they were thus en

gaged,

alittle Aaa—a kind of very

small antelope—sprang out
aay Ee amid, Foundaitsele suddenly
in the midst of a gang
of coolies. Terrified and confused by the shouting
of the men, it ran straight at Shere Shah, the
jemadar, who promptly dropped a basket over it
and held it fast. I happened to arrive just in time
to save the graceful little animal’s life, and took it
home to my camp, where it very soon became a
great pet. Indeed, it grew so tame that it would
jump upon my table at meal times and eat from my
hand.
When the road for the trolley line was cleared,

the next piece of work was the building of the two

iv THE BUILDING OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE 47

temporary bridges over the river. These we made
in the roughest fashion out of palm trees and logs
felled at the crossing places, and had a flood come
down they would, of course, have both been swept
away ; fortunately, however, this did not occur until

the permanent work was completed. The whole of

‘“ HEERA SINGH MADE A WILD SPRING INTO THE WATER TO GET CLEAR
OF THE FALLING STONE.”

this feeding line was finished in a very short time,
and trollies were soon plying backwards and
forwards with loads of stone and sand, as we also
discovered the latter in abundance and of good
quality in the bed of the ravine. An amusing
incident occurred one day when I was taking a

photograph of an enormous block of stone which

48 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

was being hauled across one of these temporary
bridges. As the trolley with its heavy load required
very careful manipulation, my head mason, Heera
Singh, stood on the top of the stone to direct
operations, while the overseer, Purshotam Hurjee,
superintended the gangs of men who hauled the
ropes at either end in order to steady it up and
down the inclines. But we did not know that the
stream had succeeded in washing away the founda-
tions of one of the log supports; and as the weight
of the trolley with the stone came on the under-
mined pier, the rails tilted up and over went the
whole thing into the river, just as I snapped the

g into the

picture. Heera Singh made a wild sprin
water to get clear of the falling stone, while
Purshotam and the rest fled as if for their lives to
the bank. It was altogether a most comical sight,
and an extraordinary chance that at the very moment
of the accident I should be taking a photograph of
the operation. Fortunately, no one was injured in
the slightest, and the stone was recovered undamaged
with but little trouble.

Not long after this occurrence my own labours
were one day nearly brought to a sudden and un-
pleasant end. I was travelling along in an empty
trolley which, pushed by two sturdy Pathans, was
returning to the quarry for sand. Presently we
came to the sharp incline which led to the log bridge

wv THE BUILDING OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE 49
over the river. Here it was the custom of the men,
instead of running beside the trolley, to step on to
it and to let its own momentum take it down the
slope, moderating its speed when necessary by a
brake in the shape of a pole, which one of them
carried and by which the wheels could be locked.
On this occasion, however, the pole was by some
accident dropped overboard, and down the hill we
flew without brake of any kind. Near the bridge
there was a sharp curve in the line, where I was
afraid the trolley would jump the rails; still, I
thought it was better to stick to it than to risk
leaping off. A moment afterwards I felt myself
flying head first over the edge of the bridge, just
missing by a hair’s breadth a projecting beam; but
| luckily I landed on a sand bank at the side of the
river, the heavy trolley falling clear of me with a
dull thud close by. This accident, also, was happily

unattended by injury to anyone.

CHA Ib a.

TROUBLES WITH THE WORKMEN

Ir seemed fated that the building of the Tsavo
Bridge should never be allowed to proceed in peace
for any length of time. I have already described
our troubles with the lions; and no sooner did the
beasts of prey appear to have deserted us, for the
time being at any rate, than other troubles, no less
serious, arose with the workmen themselves. After
I had discovered the stone for the bridge, I sent
down to the coast for gangs of masons to work and
dress it. The men who were sent me-for this
purpose were mostly Pathans and were supposed to
be expert workmen ; but I soon found that many
of them had not the faintest notion of stone-cutting,
and were simply ordinary coolies who had posed as
masons in order to draw forty-five instead of twelve
rupees a month. On discovering this fact, I imme-
diately instituted a system of piece-work, and drew

up a scale of pay which would enable the genuine

cH.v TROUBLES WITH THE WORKMEN 51

and

mason to earn his forty-five rupees a month

a little more if he felt inclined—and would cut down

the impostors to about their proper pay as coolies.
Now, as is often the case in this world, the impostors
were greatly in the majority; and accordingly they
attempted to intimidate the remainder into coming
down to their own standard as regards output of
work, in the hope of thereby inducing me to
abandon the piece-work system of payment. This,
however, I had no intention of doing, as I knew
that I had demanded only a perfectly fair amount
of work from each man.

These masons were continually having quarrels
and fights amongst themselves, and | had frequently
to go down to their camp to quell disturbances and
to separate the Hindus from the Mohammedans.
One particularly serious disturbance of this sort had
a rather amusing sequel. I was sitting after dusk
one evening at the door of my hut, when I heard a
great commotion in the masons’ camp, which lay
only a few hundred yards away. Presently a
jemadar came rushing up to me to say that the men
were all fighting and murdering each other with
sticks and stones. I ran back with him at once and
succeeded in restoring order, but found seven badly
injured men lying stretched out on-the ground.
These I had carried up to my own éoma on charfoys

(native beds) ; and Brock being away, | had to play
E 2

52 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

the doctor myself as best I could, stitching one and
bandaging another and generally doing what was
possible. There was one man, however, who
groaned loudly and held a cloth over his face as
if he were dying. On lifting this covering, I found
him to be a certain mason called Karim Bux, who
was well known to me as a prime mischief-maker
among the men. I examined him carefully, but as
I could discover nothing amiss, I concluded that he
must have received some internal injury, and accord-
ingly told him that I would send him to the hospital
at Voi (about thirty miles down the line) to be
attended to properly. He was then carried back to
his camp, groaning grievously all the time.

Scarcely had he been removed, when the head
jemadar came and informed me that the man was
not hurt at all, and that as a matter of fact he was
the sole cause of the disturbance. He was now
pretending to be badly injured, in order to escape the
punishment which he knew he would receive if |
discovered that he was the instigator of the trouble.
On hearing this, I gave instructions that he was not
to go to Voi in the special train with the others ; but
I had not heard the last of him yet. About eleven
o'clock that night I was called up and asked to go
down to the.masons’ camp to see a man who was
supposed to be dying. | at once pulled on my boots,

got some brandy and ran down to the camp, where

Vv TROUBLES WITH THE WORKMEN 53

to my surprise and amusement I found that it was
my friend Karim Bux who was at death’s door. It
was perfectly evident to me that he was only
“foxing,” but when he asked for dawa (medicine),
I told him gravely that I would give him some very
good dawa in the morning.

Next day at noon—when it was my custom to
have evil-doers brought up for judgment—I asked for
Karim Bux, but was told that he was too ill to walk.
I accordingly ordered him to be carried to my éoma,
and in a few moments he arrived in his charfoy,
which was shouldered by four coolies who, I could
see, knew quite well that he was only shamming.
There were also a score or so of his friends hanging
around, doubtless waiting in the expectation of
seeing the ‘‘Sahib” hoodwinked. When the bed
was placed on the ground near me, I lifted the
blanket with which he had covered himself and
thoroughly examined him, at the same time feeling
him to make sure that he had no fever. He
pretended to be desperately ill and again asked for
dawa; but having finally satisfied myself that it was
as the jemadar had said—pure édudmashi (devilment)
—I told him that I was going to give him some very
effective dawa, and carefully covered him up again,
pulling the blanket over his head. I then got a big
armful of shavings from a carpenter’s bench which

was close by, put them under the bed and set fire to

54 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

them. As soon as the sham invalid felt the heat, he
peeped over the edge of the blanket ; and when he
saw the smoke and flame leaping up round him, he
threw the blanket from him, sprang from the bed
exclaiming ‘ Bewman shattan/” (‘“Unbelieving
devil!”), and fled like a deer to the entrance of
my oma, pursued by a Sikh sepoy, who got in a
couple of good whacks on his shoulders with a stout
stick before he effected his escape. His amused
comrades greeted me with shouts of ‘“ Shadash,
Sahib /” (“Well done, sir!”), and I never had any
further trouble with Karim Bux. He came back
later in the day, with clasped hands imploring
forgiveness, which I readily granted, as he was a
clever workman.

A few days after this incident I was returning
home one morning from a tree in which I had been
keeping watch for the man-eaters during the
previous night. Coming unexpectedly on the
quarry, | was amazed to find dead silence reigning
and my rascals of workmen all stretched out in the
shade under the trees taking it very easy—some
sleeping, some playing cards. I watched their pro-
ceedings through the bushes for a little while, and
then it occurred to me to give them a fright by
firing my rifle over their heads. On the report
being heard, the scene changed like magic: each

man simply flew to his particular work, and hammers

4

V TROUBLES WITH THE WORKMEN 55

and chisels resounded merrily and energetically,
where all had been silence a moment before. They
thought, of course, that I was still some distance off
and had not seen them, but to their consternation |
shouted to them that they were too late, as I had
been watching them for some time. I fined. every
man present heavily, besides summarily degrading
the Headman, who had thus shown himself utterly
unfit for his position. I then proceeded to my hut,
but had scarcely arrived there when two of the
scoundrels tottered up after me, bent almost double
and calling Heaven to witness that I had shot them
both in the back. In order to give a semblance of
truth to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narra-
tive, they had actually induced one of their fellow
workmen to make a few holes like shot holes in their
backs, and these were bleeding profusely. Unfortu-
nately for them, however, I had been carrying a rifle
and not a shot gun, and they had also forgotten to
make corresponding holes in their clothing, so that
all they achieved by this elaborate tissue of falsehood
was to bring on themselves the derision of their
comrades and the imposition of an extra fine.
Shortly after this, when the masons realised that
I intended to make each man do a fair day’s work
for his money, and would allow nothing to prevent
this intention from being carried out, they came to

the conclusion that the best thing to do would be to

56 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

put me quietly out of the way. Accordingly they
held a meeting one night, all being sworn to secrecy,
and after a long palaver it was arranged that I was
to be murdered next day when I made my usual
visit to the quarry. My body was to be thrown
into the jungle, where of course it would soon be
devoured by wild beasts, and then they were to say
that I had been killed and eaten by a lion. To this
cheerful proposal every man present at the meeting
agreed, and affixed his finger-mark to a long strip of
paper as a binding token. Within an hour after the
meeting had dispersed, however, I was aroused by
one of the conspirators, who had crept into my camp
to give me warning. I thanked him for his infor-
mation, but determined to go to the quarry in the
morning all the same, as at this stage of affairs I
really did not believe that they were capable of
carrying out such a diabolical scheme, and was
rather inclined to think that the informant had been
sent merely to frighten me.

Accordingly the next morning (September 6) |
started off as usual along the trolley line to the
lonely quarry. As I reached a bend in the line,
my head mason, Heera Singh, a very good man,
crept cautiously out of the bushes and warned
me not to proceed. On my asking him the reason,
he said that he dared not tell, but that he and

twenty other masons were not going to work that

V TROUBLES WITH THE WORKMEN 57

day, as they were afraid of trouble at the quarry.
At this I began to think that there was some-
thing in the story I had heard overnight, but I
laughingly assured him there would be no trouble
and continued on my way. On my arrival at the
quarry, everything seemed perfectly peaceful.
All the men were working away busily, but after a
moment or two I noticed stealthy side glances, and
felt that there was something in the wind. As soon
as I came up to the first gang of workmen, the
jemadar, a treacherous-looking villain, informed me
that the men working further up the ravine had
refused to obey his orders, and asked me if I would
go and see them. I felt at once that this was a
device to lure me into the narrow part of the ravine,
where, with gangs in front of me and behind me,
there would be no escape ; still I thought I would
see the adventure through, whatever came of it, so
I accompanied the jemadar up the gully. When
we got to the further gang, he went so far as to
point out the two men who, he said, had refused to
do what he told them—lI suppose he thought that
as I was never to leave the place alive, it did not
matter whom he complained of. I noted their
names in my pocket-book in my usual manner, and
turned to retrace my steps. Immediately a yell of
rage was raised by the whole body of some sixty

men, answered by a similar shout from those | had

58 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

first passed, and who numbered about a hundred.
Both groups of men, carrying crowbars and flourish-
ing their heavy hammers, then closed in on me in
the narrow part of the ravine. I stood still, waiting
for them to act, and one man rushed at me, seizing
both my wrists and shouting out that he was going
to “be hung and shot for me ’—rather a curious
way of putting it, but that was his exact expression.
I easily wrenched my arms free, and threw him
from me; but by this time I was closely hemmed
in, and everywhere I looked I could see nothing
but evil and murderous-looking faces. One burly
brute, afraid to be the first to deal a blow, hurled
the man next him at me; and if he had succeeded
in knocking me down, I am certain that I should
never have got up again alive. As it was, however,
I stepped quickly aside, and the man intended
to knock me down was himself thrown violently
against a rock, over which he fell heavily.

This occasioned a moment’s confusion, of which I
quickly took advantage. I sprang on to the top of
the rock, and before they had time to recover them-
selves I had started haranguing them in Hindustani.
The habit of obedience still held them, and fortun-
ately they listened to what I had to say. I told them
that I knew all about their plot to murder me, and
that they could certainly do so if they wished ; but
that if they did, many of them would assuredly be

Vv TROUBLES WITH THE WORKMEN 59

hanged for it, as the Szvfar (Government) would
soon find out the truth and would disbelieve their
story that I had been carried off by a lion. I said
that I knew quite well that it was only one or two
scoundrels among them who had induced them to
behave so stupidly, and urged them not to allow
themselves to be made fools of in this way. Even
supposing they were to carry out their plan of killing
me, would not another ‘“ Sahib” at once be set over
them, and might he not be an even harder task-
master? They all knew that I was just and fair to
the real worker; it was only the scoundrels and
shirkers who had anything to fear from me, and

were upright, self-respecting Pathans going to allow

themselves to be led away by men of that kind?
Once having got them to listen to me, I felt a little
more secure, and I accordingly went on to say that
the discontented among them would be allowed to
return at once to Mombasa, while if the others
resumed work and I heard of no further plotting, |
would take no notice of their foolish conduct.
Finally I called upon those who were willing to
return to work to hold up their hands, and instantly
every hand in the crowd was raised. I then felt
that for the moment the victory was mine, and after
dismissing them, I jumped down from the rock and
continued my rounds as if nothing had happened,

measuring a stone here and there and commenting

60 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CH. V

on the work done. They were still in a very un-
certain and sullen mood, however, and not at all
to be relied upon, so it was with feelings of great
relief that an hour later | made my way back, safe
and sound, to Tsavo.

The danger was not yet past, unfortunately, for
scarcely had I turned my back to go home when
the mutiny broke out again, another meeting being
held, and a fresh plot made to murder me during
the night. Of this I was soon informed by my
time-keeper, who also told me that he was afraid to
go out and call the roll, as they had threatened to
kill him also. At this further outrage I lost no
time in telegraphing for the Railway Police, and
also to the District Officer, Mr. Whitehead, who
immediately marched his men twenty-five miles by
road to my assistance. I have no doubt, indeed,
that his prompt action alone saved me from being
attacked that very night. Two or three days after-
wards the Railway Police arrived and arrested the
ringleaders in the mutiny, who were taken to
Mombasa and tried before Mr. Crawford, the British
Consul, when the full details of the plots to murder me
were unfolded by one of them who turned Queen’s
evidence. All the scoundrels were found guilty and
sentenced to various terms of imprisonment in the
chain-gangs, and I was never again troubled with

mutinous workmen.

CHAPERR. VI
THE REIGN OF TERROR

Tue lions seemed to have gota bad fright the night
Brock and I sat up in wait for them in the goods-
wagon, for they kept away from Tsavo and did not
molest us in any way for some considerable time—
not, in fact, until long after Brock had left me and
gone on safar? (a caravan journey) to Uganda. In
this breathing space which they vouchsafed us, it
occurred to me that should they renew their attacks,
a trap would perhaps offer the best chance of getting
at them, and that if I could construct one in which
a couple of coolies might be used as bait without
being subjected to any danger, the lions would be
quite daring enough to enter it in search of them
and thus be caught. I accordingly set to work at
once, and in a short time managed to make a
sufficiently strong trap out of wooden sleepers,
tram-rails, pieces of telegraph wire, and a length of

heavy chain. It was divided into two compart-

62 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

ments—one for the men and one for the lion. A
sliding door at one end admitted the former, and
once inside this compartment they were perfectly
safe, as between them and the lion, if he entered
the other, ran a cross wall of iron rails only three

inches apart, and embedded both top and bottom in

‘“THE DOOR WHICH WAS TO ADMIT THE LION.”

heavy wooden sleepers. The door which was to
admit the lion was, of course, at the opposite end of
the structure, but otherwise the whole thing was very
much on the principle of the ordinary rat-trap,
except that it was not necessary for the lion to seize
the bait in order to send the door clattering down.

This part of the contrivance was arranged in the

VI THE REIGN OF TERROR 63

following manner. A heavy chain was secured
along the top part of the lion’s doorway, the ends
hanging down to the ground on either side of the
opening; and to these were fastened, strongly
secured by stout wire, short lengths of rails placed
about six inches apart. This made a sort of flexible
door which could be packed into a small space when
not in use, and which abutted against the top of the
doorway when lifted up. The door was held in this
position by a lever made of a piece of rail, which in
turn was kept in its place by a wire fastened to one
end and passing down to a spring concealed in the
ground inside the cage. As soon as the lion entered
sufficiently far into the trap, he would be bound to
tread on the spring; his weight on this would
release the wire, and in an instant down would come
the door behind him; and he could not push it out
in any way, as it fell into a groove between two
rails firmly embedded in the ground.

In making this trap, which cost us a lot of work,
we were rather at a loss for want of tools to bore
holes in the rails for the doorway, so as to enable
them to be fastened by the wire to the chain. It
occurred to me, however, that a hard-nosed bullet
from my °303 would penetrate the iron, and on
making the experiment I was glad to find that a
hole was made as cleanly as if it had been punched
out.

64 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

When the trap was ready I pitched a tent over it
in order further to deceive the lions, and built an
exceedingly strong éoma round it. One small
entrance was made at the back of the enclosure for
the men, which they were to close on going in by,

pulling a bush after them; and another entrance

““WHEN THE TRAP WAS READY, I PITCHED A TENT OVER Gee

just in front of the door of the cage was left open
for the lions. The wiseacres to whom I showed
my invention were generally of the opinion that the
man-eaters would be too cunning to walk into my
parlour; but, as will be seen later, their predictions
proved false. For the first few nights I baited the

trap myself, but nothing happened except that I had

VI THE REIGN OF TERROR 65

a very sleepless and uncomfortable time, and was
badly bitten by mosquitoes. |

Asa matter of fact, it was some months before
the lions attacked us again, though from time to
time we heard of their depredations in other
quarters. Not long after our night in the goods-
wagon, two men were carried off from railhead,
while another was taken from a place called Engo-
mani, about ten miles away. Within a very short
time, this latter place was again visited by the
brutes, two more men being seized, one of whom
was killed and eaten, and the other so_ badly
mauled that he died within a few days. As I

have said, however, we at Tsavo enjoyed complete’

immunity from attack, and the coolies, believing
that their dreaded foes had permanently deserted
the district, resumed all their usual habits and occu-
pations, and life in the camps returned to its normal
routine.

-At last we were suddenly startled out of this
feeling of security. One dark night the familiar
terror-sticken cries and screams awoke the camps,
and we knew that the ‘‘demons” had returned and
had commenced a new list of victims. On this
occasion a number of men had _ been sleeping
outside their tents for the sake of coolness, thinking,
of course, that the lions had gone for good, when

suddenly in the middle of the night one of the brutes
F

66 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

was discovered forcing its way through the doma.
The alarm was at once given, and sticks, stones and
firebrands were hurled in the direction of the
intruder. All was of no avail, however, for the
lion burst into the midst of the terrified group,
seized an unfortunate wretch amid the cries and
shrieks of his companions, and dragged him off
through the thick thorn fence. He was joined
outside by the second lion, and so daring had the
two brutes become that they did not trouble to carry
their victim any further away, but devoured him
within thirty yards of the tent where he had been
seized. Although several shots were fired in their
direction by the zemadar of the gang to which the
coolie belonged, they took no notice of these and
did not attempt to move until their horrible meal
was finished. The few scattered fragments that
remained of the body I would not allow to be
buried at once, hoping that the lions would return
to the spot the following night; and on the chance
of this I took up my station at nightfall in a con-
venient tree. Nothing occurred to break the
monotony of my watch, however, except that I had
a visit from a hyena, and the next morning I
learned that the lions had attacked another camp
about two miles from Tsavo—for by this time the
camps were again scattered, as I had works in

progress all up and down the line. There the

v1 THE REIGN OF TERROR 67

man-eaters had been successful in obtaining a
victim, whom, as in the previous instance, they
devoured quite close to the camp. How they
forced their way through the domas without making
a noise was, and still is, a mystery to me; I should
have thought that it was next to impossible for
an animal to get through at all. Yet they con-
tinually did so, and without a sound being heard.
After this occurrence, I sat up every night for
over a week near likely camps, but all in vain.
Either the lions saw me and then went elsewhere,
or else I was unlucky, for they took man after man
from different places without ever once giving me a
chance of a shot at them. This constant night
watching was most dreary and fatiguing work, but I
felt that it was a duty that had to be undertaken, as
the men naturally looked to me for protection. In
the whole of my life I have never experienced any-
thing more nerve-shaking than to hear the deep
roars of these dreadful monsters growing gradually
nearer and nearer, and to know that some one
or other of us was doomed to be their victim before
morning dawned. Once they reached the vicinity of
the camps, the roars completely ceased, and we
knew that they were stalking for their prey.
Shouts would then pass from camp to camp,
“Khabar dar, bhateon, shaitan ata” (‘ Beware,

brothers, the devil is coming’), but the warning
2

68 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

cries would prove of no avail, and sooner or later
agonising shrieks would break the silence and
another man would be missing from roll-call next
morning.

I was naturally very disheartened at being foiled
in this way night after night, and was soon at
my wits’ end to know what to do; it seemed
as if the lions were really ‘devils” after all and
bore a charmed life. As I have said before, track-
ing them through the jungle was a hopeless task ;
but as something had to be done to keep up the
men’s spirits, I spent many a weary day crawling on
my hands and knees through the dense undergrowth
of the exasperating wilderness around us. As a
matter of fact, if I had come up with the lions
on any of these expeditions, it was much more
likely that they would have added me to their list
of victims than that I should have succeeded in
killing either of them, as everything would have
been in their favour. About this time, too, I had
many helpers, and several officers—civil, naval and

came to Tsavo from the coast and sat up

military
night after night in order to get a shot at our daring
foes. All of us, however, met with the same lack of
success, and the lions always seemed capable of
avoiding the watchers, while succeeding at the same
time in obtaining a victim.

I have a very vivid recollection of one particular

ban! hed

VI THE REIGN OF TERROR 69

night when the brutes seized a man from the railway
station and brought him close to my camp _ to
devour. I could plainly hear them crunching the
bones, and the sound of their dreadful purring filled
the air and rang in my ears for days afterwards.
The terrible thing was to feel so helpless ; it was
useless to attempt to go out, as of course the poor
fellow was dead, and in addition it was so pitch
dark as to make it impossible to see anything.
Some half a dozen workmen, who lived in a small
enclosure close to mine, became so terrified on hear-
ing the lions at their meal that they shouted and
implored me to allow them to come inside my doma.
This I willingly did, but soon afterwards I remem-
bered that one man had been lying ill in their camp,
and on making enquiry I found that they had
callously left him behind alone. I immediately took
some men with me to bring him to my éoma, but on
entering his tent I saw by the light of the lantern
that the poor fellow was beyond need of safety.
He had died of shock at being deserted by his
companions.

From this time matters gradually became worse
and worse. Hitherto, as a rule, only one of the
man-eaters had made the attack and had done the
foraging, while the other waited outside in the bush ;
but now they began to change their tactics, entering
the domas together and each seizing a victim. In

70 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

this way two Swahili porters were killed during the
last week of November, one being immediately
carried off and devoured. The other was heard
moaning for a long time, and when his terrified com-
panions at last summoned up sufficient courage to go

to his assistance, they found him stuck fast in the

“* THEY? y¥FOUND HIM STUCK FAST IN THE BUSHES OF THE Boma.”

bushes of the éoma, through which for once the lion
had apparently been unable to drag him. He was
still alive when I saw him next morning, but so
terribly mauled that he died before he could be got
to the hospital.

Within a few days of this the two brutes made a

most ferocious attack on the largest camp in the

VI THE REIGN OF TERROR 71

section, which for safety’s sake was situated within a
stone’s throw of Tsavo Station and close to a
Permanent Way Inspector's iron hut. Suddenly in
the dead of night the two man-eaters burst in among
the terrified workmen, and even from my Jdoma,
some distance away, I could plainly hear the panic-
stricken shrieking of the coolies. Then followed
cries of “ They’ve taken him; they’ve taken him,”
as the brutes carried off their unfortunate victim and
began their horrible feast close beside the camp.
The Inspector, Mr. Dalgairns, fired over fifty shots
in the direction in which he heard the lions, but they
were not to be frightened and calmly lay there until
their meal was finished. After examining the spot
in the morning, we at once set out to follow the
brutes, Mr. Dalgairns feeling confident that he had
wounded one of them, as there was a trail on the
sand like that of the toes of a broken limb. After

some careful stalking, we suddenly found ourselves

g,
in the vicinity of the lions, and were greeted with
ominous growlings. Cautiously advancing and
pushing the bushes aside, we saw in the gloom what
we at first took to be a lion cub; closer inspection,
however, showed it to be the remains of the
unfortunate coolie, which the man-eaters had
evidently abandoned at our approach. The legs,
one arm and half the body had been eaten, and it

was the stiff fingers of the other arm trailing alone

&

72 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

the sand which had left the marks we had taken to
be the trail of a wounded lion. By this time the
beasts had retired far into the thick jungle where it
was impossible to follow them, so we had the
remains of the coolie buried and once more returned
home disappointed.

Now the bravest men in the world, much less the
ordinary Indian coolie, will not stand constant
terrors of this sort indefinitely. The whole district
was by this time thoroughly panic-stricken, and I
was not at all surprised, therefore, to find on my
return to camp that same afternoon (December 1)
that the men had all struck work and were waiting
to speak to me. When I sent for them, they flocked
to my éoma in a body and stated that they would
not remain at Tsavo any longer for anything or any-

body ; they had come from India on an agreement

to work for the Government, not to supply food for _

either lions or “devils.” No sooner had _ they
delivered this ultimatum than a regular stampede
took place. Some hundreds of them stopped the
first passing train by throwing themselves on the
rails in front of the engine, and then, swarming on
to the trucks and throwing in their possessions
anyhow, they fled from the accursed spot.

After this the railway works were completely
stopped ; and for the next three weeks practically

nothing was done but build ‘ lion-proof ” huts for

1

vI THE REIGN OF TERROR

~—I
| W

those workmen who had had sufficient courage to
remain. It was a strange and amusing sight to see

these shelters perched on the top of water-tanks,

‘PERCHED ON THE TOP OF WATER-TANKS.”

anywhere for safety—while some

roofs and girders
even went so far as to dig pits inside their tents, into
which they descended at night, covering the top over

with heavy logs of wood, Every good-sized tree in

74 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CH. VI

the camp had as many beds lashed on to it as its
branches would bear—and sometimes more. I
remember that one night when the camp was
attacked, so many men swarmed on to one par-
ticular tree that down it came with a crash, hurling
its terror-stricken load of shrieking coolies close to
the very lions they were trying to avoid. Fortu-
nately for them, a victim had already been secured,
and the brutes were too busy devouring him to pay

attention to anything else.

tem

CHARTER. VII
THE DISTRICT OFFICER'S NARROW ESCAPE

Some little time before the flight of the workmen,
I had written to Mr. Whitehead, the District Officer,
asking him to come up and assist me in my cam-
paign against the lions, and to bring with him any
of his askarts (native soldiers) that he could spare.
He replied accepting the invitation, and told me to
expect him about dinner-time on December 2, which
turned out to be the day after the exodus. His
train was due at Tsavo about six o'clock in the
evening,

meet him and to help in carrying his baggage to the

so I sent my “boy” up to the station to
camp. Ina very short time, however, the “boy”
rushed back trembling with terror, and informed me
that there was no sign of the train or of the railway
staff, but that an enormous lion was standing on the
station platform. This extraordinary story I did
not believe in the least, as by this time the coolies

—never remarkable for bravery—were in such a

76 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

state of fright that if they caught sight of a hyzna,
or a baboon, or even a dog, in the bush, they were
sure to imagine it was a lion; but I found out next
day that it was an actual fact, and that both station-
master and signalman had been obliged to take
refuge from one of the man-eaters by locking them-
selves in the station building.

I waited some little time for Mr. Whitehead, but
eventually, as he did not put in an appearance, I
concluded that he must have postponed his journey
until the next day, and so had my dinner in my
customary solitary state. During the meal I hearda
couple of shots, but paid no attention to them, as
rifles were constantly being fired off in the neigh-
bourhood of the camp. Later in the evening, I
went out as usual to watch for our elusive foes, and
took up my position in a crib made of sleepers
which I had built on a big girder close to a camp
which I thought was likely to be attacked. Soon
after settling down at my post, I was surprised to
hear the man-eaters growling and purring and
crunching up bones about seventy yards from the
erib. I could not understand what they had found
to eat, as I had heard no commotion in the camps,
and I knew by bitter experience that every meal the
brutes obtained from us was announced by shrieks
and uproar. The only conclusion I could come to

was that they had pounced upon some poor un-

“I
“I

va DISTRICT OFFICER’S NARROW ESCAPE

suspecting native traveller. After a time I was able
to make out their eyes glowing in the darkness, and
I took as careful aim as was possible in the circum-
stances and fired; but the only notice they paid to
the shot was to carry off whatever they were

devouring and to retire quietly over a slight rise,

**] TOOK UP MY POSITION IN A CRIB MADE OF SLEEPERS.”

which prevented me from seeing them. There they
finished their meal at their ease.

As soon as it was daylight, I got out of my crib
and went towards the place where I had last heard
them. On the way, whom should I meet but my

missing guest, Mr. Whitehead, looking very pale

and ill, and generally dishevelled.

78 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

“Where on earth have you come from?” I
exclaimed. ‘‘ Why didn’t you turn up to dinner last
night ?”

‘““A nice reception you give a fellow when you
invite him to dinner,” was his only reply.

‘Why, what’s up ?” I asked.

“That infernal lion of yours nearly did for me
last night,” said Whitehead.

‘Nonsense, you must have dreamed it!” I cried
in astonishment.

For answer he turned round and showed me his
back. »*°Dhat’s not much: of 2 dream, 4s 4623 eeue
asked.

His clothing was rent by one huge tear from the
nape of the neck downwards, and on the flesh there
were four great claw marks, showing red and angry
through the torn cloth. Without further parley, I
hurried him off to my tent, and bathed and dressed
his wounds ; and when I had made him considerably
more comfortable, I got from him the whole story
of the events of the night.

It appeared that his train was very late, so that it
was quite dark when he arrived at Tsavo Station,
from which the track to my camp lay through a
small cutting. He was accompanied by Abdullah,
his sergeant of askarvzs, who walked close behind
him carrying a lighted lamp. All went well until

they were about half-way through the gloomy

vi DISTRICT OFFICER’S NARROW ESCAPE 79

cutting, when one of the lions suddenly jumped
down upon them from the high bank, knocking
Whitehead over like a ninepin, and tearing his back
in the manner I had seen. Fortunately, however,
he had his carbine with him, and instantly fired.

The flash and the loud report must have dazed the

WHITEHEAD ON A TROLLEY AT THE EXACT SPOT WHERE THE LION
JUMPED UPON HIM,

lion for a second or two, enabling Whitehead to
disengage himself; but the next instant the brute
pounced like lightning on the unfortunate Abdullah,
with whom he at once made off. All that the poor
fellow could say was: “£4, Bwana, simba” (‘‘ Oh,
Master, a lion”). As the lion was dragging him over

oo ©

the bank, Whitehead fired again, but without effect,

80 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

and the brute quickly disappeared into the darkness
with his prey. It was, of course, this unfortunate

man whom I had heard the lions devouring during

ES oe
ES he

vide

ABDULLAH AND HIS TWO WIVES.

the night. Whitehead himself had a marvellous
escape ; his wounds were happily not very deep, and
caused him little or no inconvenience afterwards.

On the same day, December 3, the forces arrayed

vu DISTRICT OFFICER’S NARROW ESCAPE 81

against the lions were further strengthened. Mr.
Farquhar, the Superintendent of Police, arrived from
the coast with a score of sepoys to assist in hunting
down the man-eaters, whose fame had by this time
spread far and wide, and the most elaborate pre-
cautions were taken, his men being posted on the
most convenient trees near every camp. Several
other officials had also come up on leave to join in
the chase, and each of these guarded a likely spot
in the same way, Mr. Whitehead sharing my post
inside the crib on the girder. Further, in spite of
some chaff, my lion trap was put in thorough
working order, and two of the sepoys were installed
as bait.

Our preparations were quite complete by night-
fall, and we all took up our appointed positions.
Nothing happened until about nine o'clock, when to
my great satisfaction the intense stillness was
suddenly broken by the noise of the door of the
trap clattering down. ‘At last,” I thought, ‘one
at least of the brutes is done for.” But the sequel
was an ignominious one.

The bait-sepoys had a lamp burning inside their
part of the cage, and were each armed with a
Martini rifle, with plenty of ammunition. They had
also been given strict orders to shoot at once if a
lion should enter the trap. Instead of doing so,

however, they were so terrified when he rushed in
G

32 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

and began to lash himself madly against the bars of
the cage, that they completely lost their heads and
were actually too unnerved to fire. Not for some
minutes—not, indeed, until Mr. Farquhar, whose
post was close by, shouted at them and cheered
them on—did they at all recover themselves. Then
when at last they did begin to fire, they fired with a
vengeance —anywhere, anyhow. Whitehead and I
were at right angles to the direction in which they
should have shot, and yet their bullets came whizzing
all round us. Altogether they fired over a score of
shots, and in the end succeeded only in blowing
away one of the bars of the door, thus allowing our
prize to make good his escape. How they failed to
kill him several times over is, and always will be, a
complete mystery to me, as they could have put the .
muzzles of their rifles absolutely touching his body.
There was, indeed, some blood scattered about the
trap, but it was small consolation to know that the
brute, whose capture and death seemed so certain,
had only been slightly wounded.

Still we were not unduly dejected, and when
morning came, a hunt was at once arranged.
Accordingly we spent the greater part of the day on
our hands and knees following the lions through
the dense thickets of thorny jungle, but though we
heard their growls from time to, time, we never

succeeded in actually coming up with them. Of the

va DISTRICT OFFICER’S NARROW ESCAPE 83

whole party, only Farquhar managed to catch a
momentary glimpse of one as it bounded over a
bush. Two days more were spent in the same
manner, and with equal unsuccess; and_ then
Farquhar and his sepoys were obliged to return to
the coast. Mr. Whitehead also departed for his
district, and once again I was left alone with the

man-eaters.

A PARTY OF WA JAMOUSI.

CRAP A ER WEIS
THE DEATH OF THE FIRST MAN-EATER

A pay or two after the departure of my allies,
as I was leaving my édoma soon after dawn on
December 9, I saw a Swahili running excitedly
towards me, shouting out ‘ Szwba/ Szmba!” (Lion!
Lion!”), and every now and again looking behind
him as he ran. On questioning him I found that
the lions had tried to snatch a man from the camp
by the river, but being foiled in this had seized
and killed one of the donkeys, and were at that
moment busy devouring it not far off. Now was
my chance !

I rushed for the heavy rifle which Farquhar had
kindly left with me for use in case an opportunity
such as this should arise, and, led by the Swahili, |
started most carefully to stalk the lions, who, |
devoutly hoped, were confining their attention
strictly to their meal. I was getting on splendidly,
and could just make out the outline of one of them

through the dense bush, when unfortunately my

cH. vit DEATH OF THE FIRST MAN-EATER 85

guide snapped a rotten branch. The wily beast
heard the noise, growled his defiance, and dis-
appeared in a moment into a patch of even thicker
jungle close by. In desperation at the thought of
his escaping me once again, | crept hurriedly back
to the camp, summoned the available workmen and
told them to bring all the tom-toms, tin cans and
other noisy instruments of any kind that could be
found. As quickly as possible I posted them in
a half-circle round the thicket, and gave the head
jemadar instructions to start a simultaneous beating
of the tom-toms and cans as soon as he judged that
I had had time to get round to the other side.
I then crept round by myself and soon found a
good position and one which the lion was most
likely to retreat past, as it was in the middle of a
broad animal path leading straight from the place
where he was concealed. I lay down behind
a small ant hill, and waited expectantly. Very soon
I heard a tremendous din being raised by the
advancing line of coolies, and almost immediately,
to my intense joy, out into the open path stepped
a huge maneless lion. It was the first occasion
during all these trying months upon which I had
had a fair chance at one of these brutes, and my
satisfaction at the prospect of bagging him was
unbounded.

Slowly he advanced along the path, stopping

every few seconds to look round. I was only

86 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

partially concealed from view, and if his attention
had not been so fully occupied by the noise behind
him, he must have observed me. As he was
oblivious to my _ presence, however, I let him
approach to within about fifteen yards of me,
and then covered him with my rifle. The moment
I moved to do this, he caught sight of me, and
seemed much astonished at my sudden appearance,
for he stuck his forefeet into the ground, threw

himself back on his haunches and growled savagely.

As I covered his brain with my rifle, [ felt that -

at last I had him absolutely at my mercy, but

never trust an untried weapon! I pulled
the trigger, and to my horror heard the dull snap
that tells of a misfire.

Worse was to follow. I was so taken aback
and disconcerted by this untoward accident that
I entirely forgot to fire the left barrel, and
lowered the rifle from my _ shoulder with the
intention of reloading—if I should be given time.
Fortunately for me, the lion was so distracted
by the terrific din and uproar of the coolies behind
him that instead of springing on me, as might have
been expected, he bounded aside into the jungle
again. By this time I had collected my wits, and
just as he jumped I let him have the left barrel. An
answering angry growl told me that he had been hit ;
but nevertheless he succeeded once more in getting

clear away, for although I tracked him for some little

~ ee

vir DEATH OF THE FIRST MAN-EATER 87

distance, I eventually lost his trail in a rocky patch
of ground.

Bitterly did I anathematise the hour in which I
had relied on a borrowed weapon, and in my disap-
pointment and vexation I abused owner, maker, and
rifle with fine impartiality. On extracting the un-
exploded cartridge, I found that the needle had not
struck home, the cap being only slightly dented ; so
that the whole fault did indeed lie with the rifle,
which I later returned -to Farquhar with polite com-
pliments. Seriously, however, my continued ill-
luck was most exasperating ; and the result was that
the Indians were more than ever confirmed in their
belief that the lions were really evil spirits, proof
against mortal weapons. Certainly, they did seem
to bear charmed lives.

After this dismal failure there was, of course,
nothing to do but to return to camp. Before doing
so, however, | proceeded to view the dead donkey,
which I found to have been only slightly devoured
at the quarters. It is a curious fact that lions always
begin at the tail of their prey and eat upwards
towards the head. As their meal had thus been
interrupted evidently at the very beginning, I felt
pretty sure that one or other of the brutes would
return to the carcase at nightfall. Accordingly, as
there was no tree of any kind close at hand, I hada
staging erected some ten feet away from the body.
This machan was about twelve feet high and was

88 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

composed of four poles stuck into the ground and
inclined towards each other at the top, where a
plank was lashed to serve as a seat. Further, as
the nights were still pitch dark, I had the donkey’s
carcase secured by strong wires to a neighbouring
stump, so that the lions might not be able to drag
it away before I could get a shot at them.

At sundown, therefore, I took up my position on
my airy perch, and much to the disgust of my gun-
bearer, Mahina, I decided to go alone. I would
gladly have taken him with me, indeed, but he had
a bad cough, and I was afraid lest he should make
any involuntary noise or movement which might
spoil all. Darkness fell almost immediately, and
everything became extraordinarily still. The silence
of an African jungle on a dark night needs to be
experienced to be realised; it is most impressive,
especially when one is absolutely alone and isolated
from one’s fellow creatures, as I was then. The
solitude and stillness, and the purpose of my vigil,
all had their effect on me, and from a condition of
strained expectancy I gradually fell into a dreamy
mood which harmonised well with my surroundings.
Suddenly I was startled out of my reverie by the
snapping of a twig: and, straining my ears for a
further sound, I fancied I could hear the rustling of
a large body forcing its way through the bush.
‘“The man-eater,” I thought to myself; ‘surely

to-night my luck will change and I shall bag

vir DEATH OF THE FIRST MAN-EATER 89

one of the brutes.” Profound silence again
succeeded ; I sat on my eyrie like a statue, every
nerve tense with excitement. Very soon, how-
ever, all doubt as to the presence of the lion
was dispelled. A deep long-drawn sigh—sure
sign of hunger—came up from the bushes, and the
rustling commenced again as he cautiously advanced.
In a moment or two a sudden stop, followed by an
angry growl, told me that my presence had been
noticed ; and I began to fear that disappointment
awaited me once more.

But no; matters quickly took an unexpected turn.
The hunter became the hunted; and instead of
either making off or coming for the bait prepared
for him, the lion began stealthily to stalk me / For
about two hours he horrified me by slowly creeping
round and round my crazy structure, gradually
edging his way nearer and nearer. Every moment
I expected him to rush it ; and the staging had not
been constructed with an eye to such a possibility.
If one of the rather flimsy poles should break, or if
the lion could spring the twelve feet which separated
me from the ground . . . the thought was scarcely
a pleasant one. I began to feel distinctly ‘‘ creepy,”
and heartily repented my folly in having placed my-
self in such a dangerous position. I kept perfectly
still, however, hardly daring even to blink my eyes:
but the long-continued strain was telling on my

nerves, and my feelings may be better imagined than

go THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

described when about midnight suddenly something
came flop and struck me on the back of the head.
For a moment I| was so terrified that I nearly fell off
the plank, as I thought that the lion had sprung on
me from behind. Regaining my senses in a second or
two, I realised that I had been hit by nothing more
formidable than an owl, which had doubtless mis-
taken me for the branch of a tree—not a very
alarming thing to happen in ordinary circumstances,
I admit, but coming at the time it did, it almost
paralysed me. The involuntary start which I could
not help giving was immediately answered by a
sinister growl from below.

After this I again kept as still as I could, though
absolutely trembling with excitement; and in a
short while I heard the lion begin to creep stealthily
towards me. I could barely make out his form as
he crouched among the whitish undergrowth ; but I
saw enough for my purpose, and before he could
come any nearer, I took careful aim and pulled the
trigger. The sound of the shot was at once followed
by a most terrific roar, and then I could hear him
leaping about in all directions. I was no longer able
to see him, however, as his first bound had taken
him into the thick bush; but to make assurance
doubly sure, I kept blazing away in the direction in
which I heard him plunging about. At length came
a series of mighty groans, gradually subsiding into

deep sighs, and finally ceasing altogether ; and I felt

s

vir DEATH OF THE FIRST MAN-EATER gI

convinced that one of the “devils” who had so
long harried us would trouble us no more.

As soon as I ceased firing, a tumult of inquiring
voices was borne across the dark jungle from the
men in camp about a quarter of a mile away. I
shouted back that I was safe and sound, and that
one of the lions was dead : whereupon such a mighty
cheer went up from all the camps as must have
astonished the denizens of the jungle for miles
around. Shortly I saw scores of lights twinkling
through the bushes : every man in camp turned out,
and with tom-toms beating and horns blowing came

running to the scene. They surrounded my eyrie,

and to my amazement prostrated themselves on the

ground before me, saluting me with cries of ‘‘ A/aéa-
vak ! Mabarak /” which I believe means ‘blessed
one” or “saviour.” All the same, I refused to allow
any search to be made that night for the body of
the lion, in case his companion might be close by ;
besides, it was possible that he might be still alive,
and capable of making a last spring. Accordingly
we all returned in triumph to the camp, where great
rejoicings were kept up for the remainder of the
night, the Swahili and other African natives
celebrating the occasion by an especially wild and
savage dance.

For my part, I anxiously awaited the dawn ; and
even before it was thoroughly light I was on my
way to the eventful spot, as I could not completely

92 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

persuade myself that even yet the “devil” might
not have eluded me in some uncanny and mysterious
way. Happily my fears proved groundless, and [|
was relieved to find that my luck—after playing me
sO many exasperating tricks—had really turned at

last. I had scarcely traced the blood for more than

‘© HIS LENGTH FROM TIP OF NOSE TO TIP OF TAIL WAS NINE FEET
EIGHT INCHES.”

a few paces when, on rounding a bush, I was startled
to see a huge lion right in front of me, seemingly
alive and crouching for a_ spring. On looking
closer, however, I satisfied myself that he was
really and truly stone-dead, whereupon my followers
crowded round, laughed and danced and shouted
with joy like children, and bore me in triumph

shoulder-high round the dead body. ‘These thanks-

vir DEATH OF THE FIRST MAN-EATER 93

giving ceremonies being over, I examined the body
and found that two bullets had taken effect—one
close behind the left shoulder, evidently penetrating
the heart, and the other in the off hind leg. The
prize was indeed one to be proud of; his length
from tip of nose to tip of tail was nine feet eight
inches, he stood three feet nine inches high, and it
took eight men to carry him back to camp. The
only blemish was that the skin was much scored by
the éoma thorns through which he had so often
forced his way in carrying off his victims.

The news of the death of one of the notorious
man-eaters soon spread far and wide over the
country : telegrams of congratulation came pouring
in, and scores of people flocked from up and down

the railway to see the skin for themselves.

HEAD OF THE FIRST MAN-EATER.

CHAPTE RIX
THE DEATH OF THE SECOND MAN-EATER

Ir must not be imagined that with the death of
this lion our troubles at Tsavo were at an end; his
companion was still at large, and very soon began
to make us unpleasantly aware of the fact. Only a
few nights elapsed before he made an attempt to
get at the Permanent Way Inspector, climbing up
the steps of his bungalow and prowling round the
verandah. The Inspector, hearing the noise and
thinking it was a drunken coolie, shouted angrily
“Go away!” but, fortunately for him, did not
attempt to come out or to open the door. Thus
disappointed in his attempt to obtain a meal of
human flesh, the lion seized a couple of the In-
spector’s goats and devoured them there and then.

On hearing of this occurrence, I determined to
sit up the next night near the Inspector’s bungalow.
Fortunately there was a vacant iron shanty close at
hand, with a convenient loophole in it for firing

ooremag te i

a ee

cu. xx DEATH OF THE SECOND MAN-EATER 95

from; and outside this I placed three full-grown
goats as bait, tying them to a half-length of rail,
weighing about 250 lbs. The night passed un-
eventfully until just before daybreak, when at last
the lion turned up, pounced on one of the goats
and made off with it, at the same time dragging
away the others, rail and all. I fired several shots
in his direction, but it was pitch dark and quite
impossible to see anything, so I only succeeded in
hitting one of the goats. I often longed for a flash-
light on such occasions.

Next morning I started off in pursuit and was
joined by some others from the camp. I found
that the trail of the goats and rail was easily
followed, and we soon came up, about a quarter
of a mile away, to where the lion was still busy
at his meal. He was concealed in some thick
bush and growled angrily on hearing our approach ;
finally, as we got closer, he suddenly made a
charge, rushing through the bushes at a great
pace. In an instant, every man of the party
scrambled hastily up the nearest tree, with the
exception of one of my assistants, Mr. Winkler,
who stood steadily by me _ throughout. The
brute, however, did not press his charge home:
and on throwing stones into the bushes where
we had last seen him, we guessed by the silence
that he had slunk off. We therefore advanced

96 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

cautiously, and on _ getting up to the _ place
discovered that he had indeed escaped us,
leaving two of the goats scarcely touched.
Thinking that in all probability the lion would
return as usual to finish his meal, I had a very
strong scaffolding put up a few feet away from the
dead goats, and took up my position on it before
dark. On this occasion I brought my gun-bearer,
Mahina, to take a turn at watching, as I was by
this time worn out for want of sleep, having spent
so many nights on the look-out. I was just dozing
off comfortably when suddenly I felt my arm
seized, and on looking up saw Mahina pointing
in the direction of the goats. “Sher /” (“Lion!”)
was all he whispered. I grasped my double
smooth-bore, which I had charged with slug, and
waited patiently. In a few moments I was
rewarded, for as I watched the spot where I
expected the lion to appear, there was a rustling
among the bushes and I saw him stealthily emerge
into the open and pass almost directly beneath
us. I fired both barrels practically together into
his shoulder, and to my joy could see him go
down under the force of the blow. Quickly
I reached for the magazine rifle, but before I
could use it, he was out of sight among the bushes,
and I had to fire after him quite at random.

Nevertheless I was confident of getting him in

x DEATH OF THE SECOND MAN-EATER = 97

the morning, and accordingly set out as soon as
it was light. For over a mile there was no
difficulty in following the blood-trail, and as he
had rested several times I felt sure that he had
been badly wounded. In the end, however, my
hunt proved fruitless, for after a time the traces
of blood ceased and the surface of the ground
became rocky, so that I was no longer able to
follow the spoor.

About this time Sir Guilford Molesworth,
K.C.I.E., late Consulting Engineer to the Govern-
ment of India for State Railways, passed through
Tsavo on a tour of inspection on behalf of the Foreign
Office. After examining the bridge and_ other
works and expressing his satisfaction, he took a
number of photographs, one or two of which he
has kindly allowed me to reproduce in this book.
He thoroughly sympathised with us in all the trials
we had endured from the man-eaters, and was
delighted that one at least was dead. When he
asked me if I expected to get the second lion soon,
I well remember his half-doubting smile as | rather
too confidently asserted that I hoped to bag him
also in the course of a few days.

As it happened, there was no sign of our enemy
for about ten days after this, and we began to hope
that he had died of his wounds in the bush. All

the same we still took every precaution at night,
H

98 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

and it was fortunate that we did so, as otherwise at
least one more victim would have been added to the
list. For on the night of December 27, I was sud-
denly aroused by terrified shouts from my trolley
men, who slept in a tree close outside my Jdoma, to
the effect that a lion was trying to get at them. It
would have been madness to have gone out, as
the moon was hidden by dense clouds and it was
absolutely impossible to see anything more than a
yard in front of one; so all I could do was to fire off a
few rounds just to frighten the brute away. This
apparently had the desired effect, for the men were not
further molested that night; but the man-eater had
evidently prowled about for some time, for we found
in the morning that he had gone right into every
one of their tents, and round the tree was a regular
ring of his footmarks.

The following evening I took up my position in this
same tree, in the hope that he would make another
attempt. The night began badly, as while climbing
up to my perch I very nearly put my hand on a
venomous snake which was lying coiled round one
of the branches. As may be imagined, I came down
again very quickly, but one of my men managed to
despatch it with a long pole. Fortunately the night
was clear and cloudless, and the moon made every-
thing almost as bright as day. I kept watch until about

_

2 a.m., when I roused Mahina to take his turn. For

steel

1x DEATH OF THE SECOND MAN-EATER 99

about an hour I slept peacefully with my back to the
tree, and then woke suddenly with an uncanny feel-
ing that something was wrong. Mahina, however,
was on the alert, and had seen nothing ; and al-
though I looked carefully round us on all sides, | too
could discover nothing unusual. Only half satisfied,

I was about to lie back again, when I fancied I saw

“ THE FOLLOWING EVENING I TOOK UP MY POSITION IN THIS SAME TREE.”

something move a little way off among the low
bushes. On gazing intently at the spot for a few
seconds, I found I was not mistaken. It was the
man-eater, cautiously stalking us.

The ground was fairly open round our tree, with
only a small bush every here and there ; and from
our position it was a most fascinating sight to watch
this great brute stealing stealthily round us, taking

H 2

100 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP,

advantage of every bit of cover as he came. His
skill showed that he was an old hand at the terrible
game of man-hunting: so I determined to run no
undue risk of losing him this time. I accordingly
waited until he got quite close—about twenty yards
away—and then fired my °303 at his chest. I heard
the bullet strike him, but unfortunately it had no
knock-down effect, for with a fierce growl he turned
and made off with great long bounds. Before he
disappeared from sight, however, I managed to have
three more shots at him from the magazine rifle, and
another growl told me that the last of these had
also taken effect.

We awaited daylight with impatience, and at the
first climmer of dawn we set out to hunt him down. I
took a native tracker with me, so that I was free to
keep a good look-out, while Mahina followed imme-
diately behind with a Martini carbine. Splashes of
blood being plentiful, we were able to get along
quickly ; and we had not proceeded more than a
quarter of a mile through the jungle when suddenly
a fierce warning growl was heard right in front of
us. Looking cautiously through the bushes, I could
see the man-eater glaring out in our direction, and
showing his tusks in an angry snarl. I at once took
careful aim and fired. Instantly he sprang out and
made a most determined charge down on us. |

fired again and knocked him over ; but in a second

x DEATH OF THE SECOND MAN-EATER 1o1

he was up once more and coming for me as fast as
he could in his crippled condition. A third shot
had no apparent effect, so I put out my hand for the
Martini, hoping to stop him with it. To my dismay,
however, it was not there. The terror of the sud-
den charge had proved too much for Mahina, and
both he and the carbine were by this time well on their
way up a tree. In the circumstances there was
nothing to do but follow suit, which I did without
loss of time: and but for the fact that one of my shots
had broken a hind leg, the brute would most certainly
have had me. Even as it was, I had barely time to
swing myself up out of his reach before he arrived at
the foot of the tree.

When the lion found he was too late, he started to’
limp back to the thicket ; but by this time I had
seized the carbine from Mahina, and the first shot I
fired from it seemed to give him his quietus, for he
fell over and lay motionless. Rather foolishly, I at
once scrambled down from the tree and walked up to-
wards him. To my surprise and no little alarm
he jumped up and attempted another charge. This
time, however, a Martini bullet in the chest and
another in the head finished him for good and all;
he dropped in his tracks not five yards away from
me, and died gamely, biting savagely at a branch
which had fallen to the ground.

By this time all the workmen in camp, attracted

102 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

by the sound of the firing, had arrived on the scene,
and so great was their resentment against the brute
who had _ killed such numbers of their comrades that
it was only with the greatest difficulty that I could
restrain them from tearing the dead body to pieces.

Eventually, amid the wild rejoicings of the natives

—

**“HE MEASURED NINE FEET SIX INCHES FROM TIP OF NOSE TO TIP
OF TAIL, AND STOOD THREE FEET ELEVEN AND A HALF INCHES HIGH.”

and coolies, | had the lion carried to my éoma, which
was close at hand. On examination we found no
less than six bullet holes in the body, and embedded
only alittle way in the flesh of the back was the slug
which I had fired into him from the scaffolding about
ten days previously. He measured nine feet six

inches from tip of nose to tip of tail, and stood

m DEATH OF THE SECOND MAN-EATER 103

three feet eleven and a half inches high; but,
as in the case of his companion, the skin was
disfigured by being deeply scored all over by the
boma thorns.

The news of the death of the second “ devil” soon
spread far and wide over the country, and natives
actually travelled from up and down the line to havea
look at my trophies and at the ‘ devil-killer”, as they
called me. Best of all, the coolies who had absconded
came flocking back to Tsavo, and much to my relief
work was resumed and we were never again troubled
by man-eaters. It was amusing, indeed, to notice
the change which took place in the attitude of the
workmen towards me after I had killed the two
lions. Instead of wishing to murder me, as they
once did, they could not now do enough for me, and
as a token of their gratitude they presented me with
a beautiful silver bowl, as well as with a long poem
written in Hindustani describing all our trials and my
ultimate victory. As the poem relates our troubles
in somewhat quaint and biblical language, I have
given a translation of it in the appendix. The bowl
I shall always consider my most highly prized and
hardest won trophy. The inscription on it reads as
follows :—

Sir,—We, your Overseer, Timekeepers, Missaris
and Workmen, present you with this bowlasa token
of our gratitude to you for your bravery in killing

104 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

two man-eating lions at great risk to your own life,
thereby saving us from the fate of being devoured
by these terrible monsters who nightly broke into
our tents and took our fellow-workers from our side.
In presenting you with this bowl, we all add our
prayers for your long life, happiness and prosperity.
We shall ever remain, Sir, Your grateful servants,

Baboo PursHoTAM HurjJEE PuRMAR,
Overscer and Clerk of Works,
on behalf of your Workmen.

Dated at Tsavo, January 30, 1899.

Before I leave the subject of ‘the man-eaters of
Tsavo,” it may be of interest to mention that these two
lions possess the distinction, probably unique among
wild animals, of having been specifically referred to
in the House of Lords by the Prime Minister of the
day. Speaking of the difficulties which had been
encountered in the construction of the Uganda

Railway, the late Lord Salisbury said :—

“The whole of the works were put a stop to for
three weeks because a party of man-eating lions
appeared in the locality and conceived a most
unfortunate taste for our porters. At last the
labourers entirely declined to go on unless they were
guarded by an iron entrenchment. Of course it is
difficult to work a railway under these conditions,
and until we found an enthusiastic sportsman to get
rid of these lions, our enterprise was seriously
hindered,

m DEATH OF THE SECOND MAN-EATER 105

Also, The Spectator of March 3, 1900, had an
article entitled ‘‘The Lions that Stopped the
Railway,” from which the following extracts are

taken :—

“The parallel to the story of the lions which
stopped the rebuilding of Samaria must occur to
everyone, and if the Samaritans had quarter as
good cause for their fears as had the railway coolies,
their wish to propitiate the local deities is easily
understood. If the whole body of lion anecdote,
from the days of the Assyrian Kings till the last
year of the nineteenth century, were collated and
brought together, it would not equal in tragedy or
atrocity, in Savageness or in sheer insolent contempt
for man, armed or unarmed, white or black, the
story of these two beasts.

“To what a distance the whole story carries us
back, and how impossible it becomes to account for
the survival of primitive man against this kind of
foe! For fire—which has hitherto been regarded
as his main safeguard against the carnivora—these
cared nothing. It is curious that the Tsavo lions
were not killed by poison, for strychnine is easily
used, and with effect.1 Poison may have been used
early in the history of man, for its powers are
employed with strange skill by the men in the
tropical forest, both in American and West Central

1 I may mention that poison was tried, but without effect. The
poisoned carcases of transport animals which had died from the bite
of the tsetse fly were placed in likely spots, but the wily man-eaters
would not touch them, and much preferred live men to dead donkeys.

106 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CH. Ix

Africa. But there is no evidence that the old
inhabitants of Europe, or of Assyria or Asia Minor,
ever killed lions or wolves by this means. They
looked to the King or chief, or some champion, to
kill these monsters for them. It was not the sport
but the duty of Kings, and was in itself a title to be
a ruler of men. Theseus, who cleared the roads of
beasts and robbers; Hercules, the lion killer ;
St. George, the dragon-slayer, and all the rest of
their class owed to this their everlasting fame.
From the story of the Tsavo River we can appre-
ciate their services to man even at this distance of
time. When the jungle twinkled with hundreds of
lamps, as the shout went on from camp to camp

that the first lion was dead, as the hurrying crowds _

fell prostrate in the midnight forest, laying their
heads on his feet, and the Africans danced savage
and ceremonial dances of thanksgiving, Mr. Patter-
son must have realised in no common way what it
was to have been a hero and deliverer in the days
when man was not yet undisputed lord of the
creation, and might pass at any moment under the
savage dominion of the beasts.”

Well had the two man-eaters earned all this
fame; they had devoured between them no less than
twenty-eight Indian coolies, in addition to scores of
unfortunate African natives of whom no_ official

record was kept.

wet

**THE BRIDGE OVER THE TSAVO RAPIDLY NEARED COMPLETION.”

CHAPTER
THE COMPLETION OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE

WueN all the excitement had died down and
there was no longer any dread of the man-eaters,
work went on briskly, and the bridge over the
Tsavo rapidly neared completion. As the piers and
abutments progressed in height, the question of
how to lift the large stones into their positions had
to be solved. We possessed no cranes for this
purpose, so I set to work and improvised a shears
made of a couple of thirty-foot rails. These were
bolted together at the top, while the other ends

were fixed at a distance of about ten feet apart ina

108 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

large block of ‘wood. This contrivance acted
capitally, and by manipulation of ropes and pulleys
the heavy stones were swung into position quickly
and without difficulty, so that in a very short time
the masonry of the bridge was completed.

The next business was to span the sixty-foot

~

‘““THE HEAVY STONES WERE SWUNG INTO POSITION.”

distance between the piers with iron girders. As I
had neither winches nor sufficient blocks and tackle
to haul these over into position, I was driven to
erect temporary piers in the middle of each span,
built up crib-shape of wooden sleepers. Great
wooden beams were stretched across from the stone

piers to these cribs, and laid with rails; and the

x COMPLETION OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE tog

‘* THE GIRDER WAS RUN OVER ITS EXACT PLACE,”

IA

a

‘SAND FINALLY LOWERED GENTLY INTO POSITION.”

110 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

girder was run over its exact place, while still on
the trucks in which it had been brought up from
the coast. It was next “jacked” up from the
trucks, which were hauled away empty, the
temporary bridge was dismantled, and the girder

finally lowered gently into position. When the last

¥ 2, =
eed

‘SVERY SOON I HAD THE SATISFACTION OF SEEING THE FIRST TRAIN
CROSS THE FINISHED WORK.”

girder was thus successfully placed, no time was lost
in linking up the permanent way, and very soon I
had the satisfaction of seeing the first train cross the
finished work.

Curiously enough, only a day or so after the
bridge had been completed and the intermediate

cribs cleared away, a tremendous rain-storm broke

COMPLETION OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE 111

over the country. The river started to rise rapidly,
soon flooding its banks and becoming a raging
murky torrent, tearing up trees by the roots and
whirling them along like straws. Steadily higher
and higher rose the flood, and standing on my

bridge, I watched expectantly for the two temporary

THE COMPLETED TSAVO BRIDGE.

trolley bridges—which, it will be remembered, we
had built across the stream in order to bring stone
and sand to the main work—to give way before the
ever-rising volume of water. Nor had I long to
wait; for I soon caught sight of a solid mass of
palm stems and railway sleepers sweeping with

almost irresistible force round the bend of the river

112 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

some little distance above the bridge. This I knew
was the débris of the trolley crossing furthest up
the river. On it came, and with it an additional
bank of stormy-looking water. I held my breath
for the space of a moment as it actually leaped at

the second frail structure ; there was a dull thud and

ONE OF THE TROLLEY LINES AFTER THE ELOOD.

a rending and riving of timbers, and then the flood
rolled on towards me, leaving not a vestige of the
two bridges behind it. The impact, indeed, was so
creat that the rails were twisted round the broken
tree-trunks as if they had been so much ordinary
wire. The double tier of wreckage now swept

forward, and hurled itself with a sullen plunge

* COMPLETION OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE 113

against the cutwaters of my stone piers. The shock
was great, but to my immense satisfaction the
bridge took it without a tremor, and I saw the
remnant of the temporary crossings swirl through
_ the great spans and quickly disappear on its journey
to the ocean. I confess that I witnessed the whole
occurrence with a thrill of pride.

We were never long without excitement of some
kind or another at Tsavo. When the camp was
not being attacked by man-eating lions, it was
visited by leopards, hyzenas, wild dogs, wild cats,
and other inhabitants of the jungle around us.
These animals did a great deal of damage to the
herds of sheep and goats which were kept to supply
the commissariat, and there was always great rejoic-
ing when a capture was made in one of the many
traps that were laid for them. Leopards especially
are most destructive, often killing simply for pleasure
and not for food: and I have always harboured
animosity towards them since the night when one
wantonly destroyed a whole herd of mine. I hap-
pened at the time to have a flock of about thirty
sheep and goats which | kept for food and for milk,
and which were secured at sundown in a grass hut
at one corner of my doma. One particularly dark
night we were startled by a tremendous commotion
in this shed, but as this was before the man-eaters
were killed, no one dared stir out to investigate the

I

114 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

cause of the disturbance. | naturally thought that
the intruder was one of the ‘‘demons,” but all I
could do was to fire several shots in the direction of
the hut, hoping to frighten him away. In spite of
these, however, it was some time before the noise
died down and everything became still again. As
soon as it was dawn I[ went to the shed to see what
had happened, and there, to my intense anger, I
found every one of my sheep and goats lying
stretched dead on the ground with its throat bitten
through. <A hole had been made through the frail
wall of the shed, and I saw from this and from the
tracks all round that the author of the wholesale
slaughter had been a leopard. He had not eaten
one of the flock, but had killed them all out of pure
love of destruction.

I hoped that he would return the next night to
make a meal; and should he do so, I determined to
have my revenge. I accordingly left the carcases
exactly as they lay, and having a very powerful
steel trap—like an enormous rat-trap, and quite
strong enough to hold a leopard if he should put
his foot in it—I placed this in the opening into the
shed and secured it by a stout chain to a long stake
driven into the ground outside. Darkness found
everyone in my doma on the alert and listening
anxiously to hear the noise the leopard would make
the moment he was caught in the trap. Nor were

fa COMPLETION OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE’ 115

we disappointed, for about midnight we heard the
click of the powerful spring, followed immediately
by frantic roaring and plunging. I had been sitting
all evening with my rifle by my side and a lantern
lighted, so I immediately rushed out, followed by the
chaukidar (watchman) carrying the lamp. As we
approached the shed, the leopard made a frantic
spring in our direction as far as the chain would
allow him, and this so frightened the chawkzdar that
he fled in terror, leaving me in utter darkness.
The night was as black as had been the previous one,
and I could see absolutely nothing ; but I knew the
general direction in which to fire and accordingly
emptied my magazine at the beast. As far as I
could make out, he kept dodging in and out through
the broken wall of the goat-house; but in a short
time my shots evidently told, as his struggles ceased
and all was still. I called out that he was dead,
and at once everyone in the doma turned out,
bringing all the lanterns in the place. With the
others came my Indian overseer, who shouted that
he too wanted revenge, as some of the goats had
belonged to him. Whereupon he levelled his
revolver at the dead leopard, and shutting his eyes
tightly, fired four shots in rapid succession. Natur-
ally not one of these touched the beast, but they
caused considerable consternation amongst the on-
lookers, who scattered rapidly to right and left
Ee

116 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO Chek

Next morning a party of starving Wa Kamba
happened to be passing just as I was about to skin
the leopard, and asked by means of signs to be
allowed to do the job for me and then to take the
meat. I of course assented to this proposal, and in
a very few minutes the skin had been neatly taken
off, and the famishing natives began a ravenous
meal on the raw flesh.

Wild dogs are also very destructive, and often
caused great losses among our sheep and goats.
Many a night have I listened to these animals
hunting and harrying some poor creature of the
wilds round my camp; they never relinquish a
chase, and will attack anything, man or beast, when
really driven by hunger. I was at Tsavo Station
one day-—unfortunately without my rifle—when one
of these dogs came up and stood within about
thirty yards of me. He was a fine-looking beast,
bigger than a collie, with jet-black hair and a
white-tipped bushy tail. I was very sorry that I
had not brought my rifle, as I badly wanted a
specimen and never had another chance of obtain-

ing one.

CHAPTER: 2
THE SWAHILI AND OTHER NATIVE TRIBES

I HAvE always been very keenly interested in the
different native races of Africa, and consequently
availed myself of every opportunity of studying their
manners and customs. | had little scope for this at
Tsavo, however, as the district around us was practic-
ally uninhabited. Still there was of course a good
number of Swahili among my workmen, together
with a few Wa Kamba, Wa N’yam Wezi, and others,
so I soon became more or less acquainted with
the habits of these tribes. The Swahili live
principally along the coast of British East Africa
anaeat Zanzibar, They area mixed race, being
the descendants of Arab fathers and negro mothers.
Their name is derived from the Arabic word suéhi7,
coast; but it has also been said, by some who have
found them scarcely so guileless as might have been
expected, to be really a corruption of the words
sawa hili, that is, ‘those who cheat all alike.” How-

118 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

ever that may be, the men are as a rule of splendid
physique and well qualified for the calling that the
majority of them follow, that of caravan porters. They
are a careless, light-hearted, improvident people, and
are very fond of all the good things of this world,

enjoying them thoroughly whenever they get the

SWAHILI CARAVAN PORTERS.

chance. Their life is spent in journeying to and from
the interior, carrying heavy loads of provisions and
trade-goods on the one journey, and returning with
similar loads of ivory or other products of the
country. They are away for many months at a
time on these expeditions, and consequently—as

they cannot spend money on the march—they

aret

x1 SWAHILI AND OTHER NATIVE TRIBES 119

have a goodly number of rupees to draw on
their return to Mombasa. These generally dis-
appear with wonderful rapidity, and when no more
fun can be bought, they join another caravan
and begin a new safari to the Great Lakes, or

even beyond. Many a time have I watched. them

‘““THE OLD CARAVAN ROAD WHICH CROSSED THE TSAVO AT A FORD.”

trudging along the old caravan road which crossed
the Tsavo at a ford about half a mile from the
railway station: here a halt was always called, so
that they might wash and bathe in the cool waters
of the river.

Nothing ever seems to damp the spirits of the

Swahili porter. Be his life ever so hard, his load

120 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

ever so heavy, the moment it is off his back and he
has disposed of his fosho (food), he straightway for-

gets all his troubles, and begins to laugh and sing

‘*SUCH WAS MY COOK, MABRUKI.”

and joke with his fellows as if he were the happiest
and luckiest mortal alive. Such was my cook,
Mabruki, and his merry laugh was quite infectious.

I remember that one day he was opening a tin of

xr SWAHILI AND OTHER NATIVE TRIBES 121

“<THE WOMEN . .. WEAR A LONG, BRIGHTLY-COLOURED CLOTH.”

122 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

biscuits for me, and not being able to pull off the
under-lid with his fingers, he seized the flap in his
magnificent teeth and tugged at it. I shouted to
him to stop, thinking that he might break a tooth ;
but he misunderstood my solicitude and gravely
assured me that he would not spoil the tin!

The Swahili men wear a long white cotton
garment, like a night-shirt, called a anzu; the
women—who are too liberally endowed to be
entirely graceful—go about with bare arms and
shoulders, and wear a long brightly-coloured cloth
which they wind tightly round their bosoms and
then allow to fall to the feet. All are followers of
the Prophet, and their social customs are con-
sequently much the same as those of any other
Mohammedan race, though with a good admixture
of savagedom. They have a happy knack of
giving a nickname to every European with whom
they have to do, such nickname generally making
reference to something peculiar or striking in his
habits, temper, or appearance. On the whole, they
are a kindly, generous folk, whom one cannot help
liking.

Of the many tribes which are to be seen about
the railway on the way up from the coast, perhaps
the most extraordinary-looking are the Wa Nyika,
the people who inhabit the thorny xyzka (wilder-

ness) which borders on the Taru Desert. They

xt SWAHILI AND OTHER NATIVE TRIBES 123

are exceedingly ugly and of a low type. The men
wear nothing in the way of dress but a scanty and
very dirty cloth thrown over the shoulders, while
the women attire themselves only in a short kilt

which is tied round them very low at the waist.

“THE WOMEN ATTIRE THEMSELVES ONLY IN A SHORT KILT.”

Both men and women adorn themselves with brass
chains round the neck and coils of copper and iron
wire round the arms.

The nearest native inhabitants to Tsavo are the
Wa Taita, who dwell in the mountains near N’dii,
some thirty miles away. My work often took me

to this place, and on one of my visits, finding

124 THE:-MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

myself with some spare time on my hands, I set
out to pay a long promised visit to the District
Officer. A fairly good road ran from N’dii Station
to his house at the foot of the mountains, about four
miles away, and on my arrival I was not only most

hospitably entertained but was also introduced to

‘WE ARRIVED AT M’GOGO’S. CAPITAL.’

M'gogo, the Head Chief of the Wa Taita, who had
just come. in for a skauri (consultation) about
some affair of State. The old fellow appeared
delighted to meet me, and promptly invited me to
his kraal, some way up the hills. 1 jumped at the
prospect of seeing the Wa Taita at home, so
presently off we started on our heavy climb, my

Indian servant, Bhawal, coming with us. After a

x1 SWAHILI AND OTHER NATIVE TRIBES 125

couple of hours’ steady scramble up a steep and
slippery goat-path, we arrived at M’gogo’s capital,
where I was at once introduced to his wives, who
were busily engaged in making fomde (a native

fermented drink) in the hollowed-out stump of a

*“MAKING fomhe IN THE HOLLOWED-OUT STUMP OF A TREE.”

tree. I presented one of them with an orange for
her child, but she did not understand what it was,
for on tasting it she made a wry face and would not
eatit. Still she did not throw it away, but carefully
put it into a bag with her other treasures—doubtless
for future investigation. As soon as the women
saw Bhawal, however, he became the centre of

attraction, and I was eclipsed. He happened to

126 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

have on a new puggaree, with lots of gold work
on it, and this took their fancy immensely ; they
examined every line most carefully and went into
ecstasies over it—just as their European sisters
would have done over the latest Parisian creation.

We made a short halt for rest and refreshment,
and then started again on our journey to the top of
the hills. After a stiff climb for another two hours,
part of it through a thick black forest, we emerged
on the summit, where I found I was well rewarded
for my trouble by the magnificent views we
obtained on all sides. The great Kilima N’jaro
stood out particularly well, and made a very effec-
tive background to the fine panorama. I was
surprised to find a number of well-fed cattle on the
mountain top, but I fancy M’gogo thought I was
casting an evil spell over them when he saw me
taking photographs of them as they grazed
peacefully on the sweet grass which covered the
plateau.

Like most other natives of Africa, the Wa Taita
are exceedingly superstitious, and this failing is
turned to good account by the all-powerful ‘ witch-
doctor” or ‘‘ medicine-man.”’ It is, for instance, an
extraordinary sight to see the absolute faith with
which a Ki Taita will blow the szmdéa-dawa, or
“lion medicine”, to the four points of the compass

before lying down to sleep in the open. This

ore

xt SWAHILI AND OTHER NATIVE TRIBES 127

dawa—which is, of course, obtainable only from
the witch-doctor—consists simply of a little black
powder, usually carried in a tiny horn stuck through
a slit in the ear; but the Ki Taita firmly believes
that a few grains
of this dust blown
round him from
the palm of the
hand is a complete
safeguard against
raging lions seek-
ing whom _ they
may devour; and

after the blowing

c
.

ceremony he will
lie down to sleep in
perfect confidence,
even in the midst of

a man-eater’s dis-

trict. Inthe nature

of things, more-

WA TAITA MEN,

over, he never loses

this touching faith in the efficacy of the witch-
doctor’s charm ; for if he is attacked by a lion, the
brute sees to it that he does not live to become an
unbeliever,* while if he is not attacked, it is of
course quite clear that it is to the dawa that he

owes his immunity.

128 - THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

For the rest, the Wa Taita are essentially a
peace-loving and industrious people ; and, indeed,
before the arrival of the British in the country, they
hardly ever ventured down from their mountain
fastnesses, owiNg to their dread of the warlike
Masai. Each man has as many wives as he can
afford to pay for in sheep or cattle; he provides
each spouse with a separate establishment, but the
family huts are clustered together, and as a rule all
live in perfect harmony. The most curious custom
of the tribe is the filing of the front teeth into sharp
points, which gives the whole face a most peculiar
and rather diabolical expression. As usual, their
ideas of costume are rather primitive; the men
sometimes wear a scrap of cloth round the loins,
while the women content themselves with the same
or with a short kilt. Both sexes adorn themselves
with a great quantity of copper or iron wire coiled
round their arms and legs, and smear their bodies
all over with grease, the men adding red clay to the
mixture. Many of the women also wear dozens of
rows of beads, while their ears are hung with pieces
of chain and other fantastic ornaments. The men
always carry bows and poisoned arrows, as well as
a seemve (a short, roughly-fashioned sword) hung on
a leathern thong round the waist. A three-legged
stool is also an important part of their equipment,

and is slung on the shoulder when on the march.

x1 SWAHILI AND OTHER NATIVE TRIBES 129

The next people met with on the road to the
Great Lakes are the Wa Kamba, who inhabit the
Ukambani province, and may be seen from M’toto
Andei to the Athi River. They are a very large
tribe, but have little cohesion, being split up into
many clans under chiefs
who govern in a patri-
archal kind of way. In
appearance and dress—
or the want of it—they
are very like the Wa
Taita, and they have the
same custom of filing
the front teeth. As a
rule, too, they are a
peace-loving people,
though when driven to
it by hunger they will
commit very cruel and
treacherous acts of

wholesale murder.

MKAMBA WOMAN.

While the railway was

being constructed, a severe famine occurred in their
part of the country, when hundreds of them died of
starvation. During this period they several times
swooped down on isolated railway maintenance gangs
and utterly annihilated them, in order to obtain pos-
session of the food which they knew would be stored

IK

130 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO © cu. x1

in the camps. These attacks were always made by
night. Like most other native races in East Africa,
their only arms are the bow and poisoned arrow,
but in the use of these primitive weapons they are
specially expert. The arrow-head remains in the
flesh when the shaft is withdrawn, and if the poison
is fresh, paralysis and death very quickly follow, the
skin round the wound turning yellow and mortifying
within an hour or two. This deadly poison is
obtained, I believe, by boiling down a particular
root, the arrow-heads being dipped in the black,
pitchy-looking essence which remains. Iam glad to
say, however, that owing to the establishment of
several Mission Stations amongst them, the Wa
Kamba are quickly becoming the most civilised
natives in the country ; and the missionaries have
adopted the sensible course of teaching the people
husbandry and the practical arts and crafts of
everyday life, in addition to caring for their spiritual

needs.

GVA P TER crt
A NIGHT AFTER HIPPO

DurinG my stay at Tsavo I made many little
excursions into the surrounding country, and used
to go off on a short shooting and exploring expe-
dition whenever I had the opportunity. I was
especially anxious to bag a hippopotamus, so |
made up my mind to try my luck on the banks of
the Sabaki. Unfortunately, I possessed no heavy
rifle, which is almost a necessity for hippo shooting,
but it occurred to me to supply the deficiency by
manufacturing a few cartridges for my smooth-bore.
In these I had double charges of powder and a
hardened bullet made of lead mixed with about
an eighth part of tin. I well remember the anxiety
with which I fired the first round of my home-made
ammunition. As I more than half expected that
the barrel would burst, I lashed the gun in the fork
of a tree, tied a piece of string a hundred feet long
.to the trigger, and then—taking shelter behind a

K 2

132 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

friendly stump—pulled off. To my great satisfac-
tion the barrel stood the test perfectly. More than
that, on trying the penetrative effect of my bullets, I
found that they would smash through a steel plate
an eighth of an inch thick at thirty yards’ range.
This was quite good enough for my purpose, and
gave me great confidence in the weapon. All the
same, I had a very narrow escape one day while
manufacturing some of this ammunition. My plan
was to remove the shot from the cartridge, put in
the additional powder, and ram this well in before
replacing the wad and putting in the bullet. I had
clamped my refilling machine to my rough-hewn
table, and was stamping the double charge of
powder well down into the cartridge, when suddenly,
for some unknown reason, the whole charge ex-
ploded right into my face. Everything became
pitch dark to me, and I groped my way about the
little hut in agony of mind as well as of body, for I
thought I had been blinded. I am thankful to say,
however, that gleams of light soon began to return
to my eyes, and in a few hours’ time I was almost
all right again and able to go on with my cartridge
making.

All my preparations having been made, I set out
for the Sabaki, taking with me my Indian gun-
bearer Mahina, my cook Mabruki, a d/zs¢z (water-

carrier), and a couple of natives to carry our odds

XII A NIGHT AFTER HIPPO 133

and ends. On these occasions I usually took no
tent, but bivouacked in the open. We took some
bread and a few tinned provisions with us, but I
could always depend upon getting a faa, guinea-
fowl, partridge or rock-rabbit for the larder on the
march. These rock-rabbits are more like big rats
than rabbits, and are found in great numbers among
the rocks along the banks of the rivers. They are
not at all bad eating, but the Swahili will not touch
them. They call them ¢wfu (shameless, naked
things), owing to their lack of a tail, of which indeed
they possess not even a vestige.

Our route lay by the always interesting Tsavo
River. Along the banks everything within reach of
its moisture is delightfully fresh and green. Palms
and other trees, festooned with brilliant flowering
creepers, flourish along its course; all kinds of
monkeys chatter and jabber in the shade overhead
as they swing themselves from branch to branch,
while birds of the most gorgeous plumage flutter
about, giving a very tropical aspect to the scene.
On the other hand, if one is tempted to stray away
from the river, be it only for a few yards, one comes
immediately into the parched, thorny wilderness of
stunted, leafless trees. Here the sun beats down
pitilessly, and makes the zyzka of the Tsavo valley
almost intolerable. The river has its source at the

foot of snow-crowned Kilima N’jaro, whence it

134 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

flows for about eighty miles in a northerly direction
until it joins the Athi River, about seven miles
below Tsavo Station. From this point the united
streams take the name of Sabaki and flow more or
less eastwards until they reach the Indian Ocean at
Malindi, some seventy miles north of Mombasa.

A narrow and tortuous Masai warpath winds
along its whole length, but although we followed

this trail our journey was nevertheless a very slow

Se |

‘* UNTIL IT JOINS THE ATHI RIVER.”

one, owing to the overhanging branches and
creepers, from which we had constantly to be dis-
engaged. The march was full of interest, however,
for it was not long before we came upon fresh tracks
both of hippo and rhino. Every now and again,
also, we caught glimpses of startled bush-buck and
water-buck, while occasionally the sound of a splash
in the water told of a wary crocodile. We had gone
about half the distance to the Sabaki when we came

upon an unexpected obstacle in the shape of a great

xII ma NIGHT AETER HIPPO Re

ridge of barren, rugged rock, about a hundred feet
high, which extended for about a mile or so on both
banks of the river. The sides of this gorge went
sheer down into the water, and were quite im-
possible to scale. I therefore determined to make
a detour round it, but Mahina was confident that he
could walk along in the river itself. I hinted mildly
at the possibility of there being crocodiles under the
rocky ledges. Mahina declared, however, that
there was no danger, and making a bundle of his
lower garments, he tied it to his back and stepped
into the water. For a few minutes all went well.
Then, in an instant, he was lifted right off his feet
by the rush of the water and whirled away. The
river took a sharp bend in this gorge, and he was
round it and out of our sight in no time, the last
glimpse we caught of him showing him vainly trying
to catch hold of an overhanging branch. Although
we at once made all the haste we could to get round
the ridge of rocks, it took us nearly half an hour to
do it. I had almost given up hope of ever seeing
Mahina again, and was much relieved, therefore,
when we reached the river-side once more, to find
him safe and sound, and little the worse for his
adventure. Luckily he had been dashed up against
a rushy bank, and had managed to scramble out
with no more serious damage than a bruised shin.

Eventually we arrived at the junction of the

136 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

rivers and proceeded some way down the Sabaki,
beside which the Tsavo looks very insignificant.
Several islands are dotted about in mid-stream
and are overgrown with tall reeds and_ rushes,

in which hippo find capital covert all the year

**THE BANKS OF THE SABAKI ARE LINED WITH TREES.”

round. As with the Tsavo, the banks of the
Sabaki are lined with trees of various’ kinds,
affording most welcome shade from the heat of
the sun: and skirting the river is a caravan road
from the interior—still used, I believe, for smug-
eling slaves and ivory to the coast, where dhows

are in readiness to convey them to Persia or Arabia.

XII ANUS ATER HIPPO ray

After an early dinner, which Mabruki soon got
ready, I left my followers encamped in a safe
boma a mile away from the river, and_ started
out with Mahina to find a suitable tree, near a
iippe ‘run’, in which to spend the night.
Having some difficulty in finding a likely spot,
we crossed to the other side of the river—
rather a risky thing to do on account of the
number of crocodiles in it: we found a fairly
shallow ford, however, and managed to get safely
over. Here, on what was evidently an island
duriny flood time, we found innumerable traces of
both hippo and rhino—in fact the difficulty was
to decide which track was the best and _ freshest.
At length I picked out a tree close to the river
and commanding a stretch of sand which was all
flattened down and looked as if at least one hippo
rolled there regularly every night.

As there was still about an hour before sundown,
we did not take up our station at once, but pro-
ceeded along the bank to see if any other game was
about. We had not gone very far when Mahina,
who was a little way ahead, signalled to me, and
on joining him I saw a_ splendid-looking water-
buck standing in a shallow pool of the river. It
was the first time I had seen one of these fine
antelope, and I was delighted with the sight. I

might have got twenty yards or so nearer, but

138 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

I thought I had better not risk moving, so I
aimed at the shoulder and fired. The buck gave

one leap into the air, and then turned and galloped

quickly behind an island which completely hid.

him from view. We waited for him to clear the
rushes at the other end of this island, but as he
did not appear I got impatient and plunged into
the river, regardless of crocodiles or anything
else. On rounding the island, however, he was
nowhere to be seen, and had evidently turned
off while in the shelter of the reeds and_ so
gained the opposite bank. I was keenly dis-
appointed at my failure, for it was impossible to
follow him up: to do so we should have had to
make a long detour to get across the river, and
by that time darkness would have set in. This
incident shows the great drawback to the 303
—namely, that it has very little knock-down effect
unless it strikes a vital part; and even then, in
a bush country, an animal may manage to go
far enough to be lost. On the other hand, an
animal wounded with a hard bullet is likely to
make a speedy recovery, which is a great blessing.
Mahina was even more upset at the escape of the
buck than I was, and as we trudged back through
the sand to our tree, he was full of gloomy forebod-
ings of an unlucky night. By the light of a

splendid full moon we settled ourselves on a great

a cen al leh eee ell

ETS ETA A

a

BS cq.

xt A NIGHT AFTER HIPPO 139

outspreading branch, and commenced our vigil.
Soon the jungle around us began to be alive
with its peculiar sounds—a night bird would call,
a crocodile shut his jaws with a snap, or a rhino
or hippo crash through the bushes on its way to
the water: now and again we could even hear
the distant roar of the lion. Still there was nothing
to be seen.

After waiting for some considerable time, a
great hippo at last made his appearance and
came splashing along in our direction, but unfor-
tunately took up his position behind a tree which,
in the most tantalising way, completely hid him
from view. Here he stood tooting and snorting
and splashing about to his heart’s content. For
what seemed hours I watched for this ungainly
creature to emerge from his covert, but as he
seemed determined not to show himself I lost
patience and made up my mind to go down after
him. I therefore handed my rifle to Mahina to
lower to me on reaching the ground, and began
to descend carefully, holding on by the creepers
which encircled the tree. To my intense vexation
and disappointment, just as I was in this helpless
condition, half-way to the ground, the great
hippo suddenly came out from his shelter and
calmly lumbered along right underneath me. |

bitterly lamented my ill-luck and want of patience,

140 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

for I could almost have touched his broad back
as he passed. It was under these exasperating
conditions that I saw a hippo for the first time, and
without doubt he is the ugliest and most forbidding
looking brute I have ever beheld.

The moment the great beast had passed our tree,
he scented us, snorted loudly, and dived into the
bushes close by, smashing through them like a
traction engine. In screwing myself round to
watch him go, I broke the creepers by which I was
holding on and landed on my back in the sand at
the foot of the tree—none the worse for my short
drop, but considerably startled at the thought that
the hippo might come back at any moment. [|
climbed up to my perch again without loss of time,
but he was evidently as much frightened as I was,
and returned no more. Shortly after this we saw
two rhino come down to the river to drink ; they
were too far off for a shot, however, so I did not
disturb them, and they gradually waddled up-stream
out of sight. Then we heard the awe-inspiring
roar of a hungry lion close by, and_ presently
another hippo gave forth his tooting challenge a
littlke way down the river. As there seemed no
likelihood of getting a shot at him from our tree, I
made up my mind to stalk him on foot, so we both
descended from our perch and made our way slowly

through the trees in the semi-darkness, There

hb eI A MICLID boty, By PE

fs We al ail

ah eayenar

XII AGH ATER HIPPO 141

were numbers of animals about, and I am sure that
neither of us felt very comfortable as we crept along
in the direction of the splashing hippo; for my own
part I fancied every moment that I saw in front of
me the form of a rhino or a lion ready to charge
down upon us out of the shadow of the bush.

In this manner, with nerves strung to the highest
pitch, we reached the edge of the river in safety,
only to find that we were again baulked by a small
rush-covered island, on the other side of which our
quarry could be heard. There was a good breeze
blowing directly from him, however, so I thought
the best thing to do was to attempt to get on to the
island and to have a shot at him from there.
Mahina, too, was eager for the fray, so we let our-
selves quietly into the water, which here was quite
shallow and reached only to our knees, and waded
slowly across. On peering cautiously through the
reeds at the corner of the island, I was surprised to
find that I could see nothing of the hippo; but I
soon realised that I was looking too far ahead, for
on lowering my eyes there he was, not twenty-five
yards away, lying down in the shallow water, only
half covered and _ practically facing us. Huis
closeness to us made me rather anxious for our
safety, more especially as just then he rose to his
feet and gave forth the peculiar challenge or call

which we had already heard so often during the

142 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CH. XII

night. All the same, as he raised his head, I fired
at it. He whirled round, made a plunge forward,
staggered and fell, and then lay quite still. To
make assurance doubly sure, I gave him a couple
more bullets as he lay, but we found afterwards
that they were not needed, as my first shot had been
a very lucky one and had penetrated the brain.
We left him where he fell and got back to our
perch, glad and relieved to be in safety once more.

As soon as it was daylight we were joined by my
own men and by several Wa Kamba, who had
been hunting in the neighbourhood. The natives
cut out the tusks of the hippo, which were rather
good ones, and feasted ravenously on the flesh,
while I turned my attention with gratitude to the
hot coffee and cakes which Mabruki had meanwhile

prepared.

CHAPTER Xi!
A DAY ON THE NDUNGU ESCARPMENT

IMMEDIATELY after breakfast camp was struck,
and accompanied by a few of the Wa Kamba, we
started off for the N’dungu Escarpment—a frown-
ing ridge which runs for a great distance parallel to
the Sabaki, some three or four miles from _ its
northern bank. We had not gone very far before I
caught sight of a fine water-buck and successfully
bowled him over—a good omen for the day, which
put us all in excellent spirits. Mabruki cut off
several strips of the tough meat and impaled them
on a sharp stick to dry in the sun as he went along.
I warned him that he had better be careful that a
lion did not scent the meat, as if it did it would be
sure to follow up and kill him. Of course I did not
mean this seriously; but Mabruki was a great
glutton, and by no means courageous, so I wanted
to frighten him.

As we trudged along towards the hill, | heard a

144 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

peculiar noise behind a small rising on our right,
and on looking over the crest, I was delighted to

see two beautiful giraffe feeding peacefully a little

‘*T CAUGHT SIGHT OF A FINE WATERBUCK AND SUCCESSFULLY
BOWLED HIM OVER.”
distance away and straining their long necks to get
at the tops of some mimosa-like trees, while a young
one was lying down in the grass quite close to me.

For some time I remained concealed, watching the

xmu1 A DAY ON THE N’DUNGU ESCARPMENT 145

full-grown pair with great interest: they had evt-
dently just come up from the river, and were slowly
making their way back to their home on the escarp-
ment. They seemed on the most affectionate terms,

occasionally entwining their great long necks and

‘© 4 YOUNG ONE WAS LYING DOWN IN THE GRASS QUITE CLOSE
TO ME.”

gently biting each other on the shoulders. Much
as I should have liked to have added a giraffe to
my collection of trophies, I left them undisturbed,
as I think it a pity to shoot these rather rare and
very harmless creatures, unless one is required for a
special purpose.

We pushed on, accordingly, towards the escarp-

L

146 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

ment, for I was very impatient to get to the top and
explore a place where | felt convinced no other
white man had ever set foot. From the river the
ground rose gently upwards to the foot of the ridge,
and was covered more or less Censely with stunted
trees and bushes, and of course the inevitable
‘“wait-a-bit” thorns. I was fortunate enough,
however, to find a rhino path which afforded a fairly
comfortable and open road, on which we could
walk upright the greater part of the way. The
climb up the escarpment itself was a stiff one, and
had to be negotiated principally on all-fours, but on
the way up I discovered that there was an enormous
cleft some miles to the right which would probably
have afforded an easier ascent. I had not time to
explore it on this particular day, but I made a
-mental note to do so on some future occasion.

After a two hours’ journey from the river we sat
panting on the summit after our scramble and sur-
veyed the valley of the Tsavo, which lay spread out
like a map about five hundred feet below us. Our
home tents, the bridge, Tsavo Station and other
buildings were plainly visible, and the railway itself,
like a shining snake, could be seen for many miles
winding its way through the parched wilderness.
Having taken a few photographs of the scene, we
turned and struck through the N’dungu Plateau.

Here I found the same kind of xzyzka as that round

xmt A DAY ON THE N’DUNGU ESCARPMENT 147

Tsavo, the only difference being that there were
more green trees about. The country, moreover,
was somewhat more open, and was intersected by
hundreds of broad and well-beaten animal paths,
along which we could walk upright in comfort. I was
leading the way, followed closely by Mahina and
Mabruki, when suddenly we almost walked upon a
lion which was lying down at the side of the
path and which had probably been asleep. It gave
a fierce growl and at once bounded off through the
bush ; but to Mabruki—who doubtless recalled then
the warning I had given him in fun earlier in the
day—the incident appeared so alarming that he flung
down his stick-load of meat and fled for his life,
much to the amusement of the others, even the
usually silent Wa Kamba joining in the general
laughter as they scrambled for the discarded meat.
We saw nothing more of the lion, though a few steps
further on brought us to the remains of a zebra
which he had recently killed and feasted on; but
after this Mabruki kept carefully in the rear.
Curiously enough, only a short while later we
had an exactly similar adventure with a rhino, as
owing to the tortuous nature of the path, we walked
right into it before we were aware. Like the
lion, however, it was more frightened than we, and
charged away from us through the jungle.

For about two hours we pursued our journey into

eZ

148 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

the plateau, and saw and heard a wonderful variety
of game, including giraffe, rhino, bush-buck, the
lesser kudu, zebra, wart-hog, baboons and
monkeys, and any number of faa, the last being of
a redder colour than those of the Tsavo valley. Of
natives or of human habitations, however, we saw
no signs, and indeed the whole region was so
dry and waterless as to be quite uninhabitable. The
animals that require water have to make a nightly

journey to and from the Sabaki, which accounts for

the thousands of animal paths leading from the |

plateau to the river.

By this time we were all beginning to feel
very tired, and the dhzst’s stock of water was
running low. I therefore climbed the highest
tree I could find in order to have a good look
round, but absolutely nothing could I see in any
direction but the same flat thorny wilderness, inter-
spersed here and there with a few green trees;
not a landmark of any sort or kind as far as
the eye could reach ; a most hopeless, terrible
place should one be lost in it, with certain death
either by thirst or by savage beasts staring one
in the face. Clearly, then, the only thing to do
Was to return to the river; and in order to accom-
plish this before dark it was necessary that no time
should be lost. But we had been winding in and

out so much through the animal paths that it was no

ag hy

xnr A DAY ON THE N’?DUNGU ESCARPMENT 149

easy matter to say in which direction the Sabaki lay.
First I consulted my Wa Kamba followers as to the
route back; they simply shook their heads. Then
I asked Mahina, who pointed out a direction exactly
opposite to that which I felt confident was the right
one. Mabruki, of course, knew nothing, but volun-
teered the helpful and cheering information that
we were lost and would all be killed by lions.
In these circumstances, I confirmed my own idea
as to our way by comparing my watch and the
can, and gave the order to starti-at-once, For
two solid hours, however, we trudged along in
the fearful heat without striking a single familiar
object or landmark. Mabruki murmured loudly ;
even Mahina expressed grave doubts as to whether
the “Sahib” had taken the right direction ; only
the Wa Kamba stalked along in re-assuring silence.
For some time we had been following a broad
white rhino path, and the great footmarks of one
of these beasts were fresh and plainly visible in
the dust. He had been travelling in the opposite
direction to us, and I felt sure that he must have
been returning from drinking in the river. |
accordingly insisted on our keeping to this path,
and very soon, to my great relief, we found that we
were at the edge of the escarpment, a couple of
miles away from the place where we had made the

ascent. Here a halt was called; a sheet was spread

150 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

over some of the stunted trees, and under its shade
we rested for half an hour, had some food, and drank
the last of our water. After this we pushed on
with renewed vigour, and arrived at the Sabaki
in good time before sundown, having bagged a
couple of guinea-fowl and a faa on the way to serve
for dinner. After the long and fatiguing day my
bathe in a clear shady pool was a real delight, but I
might not have enjoyed it quite so much if I
had known then of the terrible fate which awaited
one of my followers in the same river the next day.
By the time I got back to camp supper was ready
and fully appreciated. The tireless Mahina had
also collected some dry grass for my bed, and I
turned in at once, with my rifle handy, and slept the
sleep of the just, regardless of all the wild beasts in
Africa.

At dawn Mabruki roused me with a cup of
steaming hot coffee and some biscuits, and a start
was at once made on our return journey to Tsavo.
The place where we had struck the Sabaki the
previous evening was some miles further down the
stream than I had ever been before, so I decided to
take advantage of the Masai trail along its bank
until the Tsavo River was reached. [| did not think
we should meet with any further adventure on
our way home, but in the wilds the unexpected is

always happening. Shortly after we started one of

mine DAY ON PHE N'DUNGU ESCARPMENT 151

the Wa Kamba went down to the river’s edge
to fill his calabash with water, when a crocodile
suddenly rose up out of the stream, seized the poor
fellow and in a moment had dragged him in. I was
on ahead at the time and so did not witness the

occurrence, but on hearing the cries ot the others I

£
eck

A CROCODILE ON THE SABAKI,

ran back as quickly as possible—too late, however,
to see any sign of either crocodile or native.
Mahina philosophically remarked that after all it was
only a washenz (savage), whose loss did not much
matter ; and the other three Wa Kamba certainly
did not appear to be affected by the incident, but
calmly possessed themselves of their dead com-

152 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO cH. xm

of the stock of meat which he had left on the
bank.

I have since learned that accidents of this kind
are of fairly frequent occurrence along the banks of
these rivers. On one occasion while I was in the
country a British officer had a very lucky escape.
He was filling his water bottle at the river, when
one of these brutes caught him by the hand and
attempted to draw him in. Fortunately one of his
servants rushed to his assistance and managed to
pull him out of the crocodile’s clutches with the loss
only of two of his fingers.

As we made our way up the Sabaki, we
discovered a beautiful waterfall about a hundred
and fifty feet high—not a sheer drop, but a series
of cascades. At this time the river was in. low
water, and the falls consequently did not look their
best; but in flood time they form a fine sight, and
the thunder of the falling water can then be plainly
heard at Tsavo, over seven miles away, when the
wind is in the right direction. We crossed the
river on the rocks at the head of these falls, and
after some hours’ hard marching reached camp

without further incident.

Chia br LER: Sry,

THE FINDING OF THE MAN-EATERS DEN

THERE were some rocky-looking hills lying to the
south-west of Tsavo which I was_ particularly
anxious to explore, so on one occasion when work
had been stopped for the day owing to lack of
material, I set off for them, accompanied by Mahina
and a Punjaubi coolie, who was so stout that he
went by the name of Moota (ze. “ Fattie”’). In
the course of my little excursions round Tsavo I
gradually discovered that I was nearly always able
to make my way to any required point of the
compass by following certain well-defined animal
paths, which I mapped out bit by bit during my
explorations. On this occasion, for instance, as
soon as we had crossed the river and had struck
into the jungle, we were fortunate enough to find a
rhino path leading in the right direction, which
greatly facilitated our progress. As we were making
our way along this path through the dry bed of a

154 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

nullah, I happened to notice that the sandy bottom
sparkled here and there where the sunbeams pene-
trated the dense foliage. This at once filled my
head with thoughts of precious stones, and as the
spot looked likely enough, I started to dig vigorously
at the gravel with my hunting knife. After a few
minutes of this work, I came across what I at first
took to be a magnificent diamond sparkling in the
damp sand: it was about half an inch long, and its
facets looked as if they had been cut by an
Amsterdam expert. I tested the stone on my watch
glass and found that it cut my initials quite easily,
and though I knew that quartz would do this as
well, it did not seem to me to have either the general
appearance or angles of any quartz I had ever seen.
For a moment or two I was greatly delighted with
my discovery, and began to have rosy dreams of a
diamond mine; but I am sorry to say that on closer
examination and testing I was forced to the con-
clusion that my find was not a diamond, though
unlike any other mineral I had ever come across.
My hopes of rapidly becoming a millionaire having
thus been dashed to the ground, we proceeded on
our way, getting further and further into the depths
of a gloomy forest. A little distance on, I noticed
through a break in the trees a huge rhino standing
in full view near the edge of a ravine. Unfor-

tunately he caught sight of us as well, and before |

xv FINDING THE MAN-EATERS’ DEN 155

could take aim, he snorted loudly and crashed off
through the tangled undergrowth. As I followed up
this ravine, walking stealthily along in the delightful
shade of the overhanging palms, I observed on
my left a little nullah which opened out of the
main channel through a confused mass of jungle
and creeper. Through this tangle there was a
well-defined archway, doubtless made by the regular
passage of rhino and hippo, so I decided to enter
and explore what lay beyond. I had not gone very
far when I came upon a big bay scooped out of the
bank by the stream when in flood and carpeted with
a deposit of fine, soft sand, in which were the
indistinct tracks of numberless animals. In one
corner of this bay, close under an overhanging tree,
stood a little sandy hillock, and on looking over the
top of this I saw on the other side a fearsome-
looking cave which seemed to run back for a con-
siderable distance under the rocky bank. Round
the entrance and inside the cavern I was thunder-
struck to find a number of human bones, with here
and there a copper bangle such as the natives wear.
Beyond all doubt, the man-eaters’ den! In this
manner, and quite by accident, I stumbled upon the
lair of these once-dreaded ‘‘demons”, which I had
spent so many days searching for through the
exasperating and interminable jungle during the

time when they terrorised Tsavo. I had no in-

156 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

clination to explore the gloomy depths of the
interior, but thinking that there might possibly still
be a lioness or cub inside, I fired a shot or two into
the cavern through a hole in the roof. Save for a
swarm of bats, nothing came out; and after taking

a photograph of the cave, I gladly left the horrible

‘*BEYOND ALL DOUBT: THE MAN-EATERS DEN

spot, thankful that the savage and insatiable brutes
which once inhabited it were no longer at large.
Retracing my steps to the main ravine, I continued
my journey along it. After a little while I fancied
I saw a hippo among some tall rushes growing on
the bank, and quickly signed to Mahina and Moota
to stay perfectly still. I then made a careful stalk,

only to discover, after all my trouble, that my eyes

XIV FINDING THE MAN-EATERS’ DEN 157

had deceived me and made me imagine a_ black
bank and a few rushes to be a living animal. We
now left the bed of the ravine, and advanced along
the top. This turned out to be a good move, for
soon we heard the galloping of a herd of some
animal or other across our front. I rushed round a
corner in the path a few yards ahead, and crouching
under the bushes saw a line of startled zebras
flying past. This was the first time I had seen
these beautifully marked animals in their wild state,
so I selected the largest and fired, and as I was
quite close to them he dropped in his tracks stone-
dead. When I stood over the handsome creature [|
was positively sorry for having killed him. Not so
Moota, however, who rushed up in ecstasy, and
before I could stop him had cut his throat. This
was done, as he remarked, ‘‘to make the meat
lawful,” for Moota was a devout follower of the
Prophet, and no true Mohammedan will eat the
flesh of any animal unless the throat has been cut
at the proper place and the blood allowed to flow.
This custom has often caused me great annoyance,
for Mohammedan followers rush in so quickly when
an animal is shot and cut the head off so short that
it is afterwards quite useless as a trophy.

By the time the zebra was skinned, darkness was
fast approaching, so we selected a suitable tree in

>?

which to pass the night. Under it we built a

158 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO . cuap.

goodly fire, made some tea, and roasted a couple
of quails which I had shot early in the day and
which proved simply delicious. We then betook
ourselves to the branches—at least, Mahina and |
did; Moota was afraid of nothing, and said he
would sleep on the ground. He was not so full of
courage later on, however, for about midnight a
great rhino passed our way, winded us and snorted
so loudly that Moota scrambled in abject terror up
our tree. He was as nimble as a monkey for all his
stoutness, and never ceased climbing until he was
far above us. We both laughed heartily at his
extraordinary haste to get out of danger, and
Mahina chaffed him unmercifully.

The rest of the night passed without incident,
and in the early morning, while the boys were pre-
paring breakfast, I strolled off towards the rocky
hills which I had seen from Tsavo, and which were
now only about half a mile distant. I kept a sharp
look-out for game, but came across nothing save
here and there a faa and a few guinea-fowl, until,
just as I was about half-way round the hill, I saw
a fine leopard lying on a rocky ledge basking in
the morning sun. But he was too quick for me,
and made off before I could get a shot; I had not
approached noiselessly enough, and a leopard is too
wary a beast to be caught napping. Unfortunately
I had no more time at my disposal in which to

XIV FINDING THE MAN-EATERS’ DEN 159

explore these hills, as I was anxious to resume
work at Tsavo as soon as possible; so after
breakfast we packed up the zebra skin and
began to retrace our steps through the jungle.

It was an intensely hot day, and we were all

‘“ WATCH THE ANIMALS COME DOWN TO DRINK.”

very glad when at length we reached the home
camp.

Most of my little trips of this sort, however, were
made in a northerly direction, towards the ever-
interesting Athi or Sabaki rivers. After a long and
tiring walk through the jungle what a pleasure it

was to lie up in the friendly shelter of the rushes

160 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

which line the banks, and watch the animals come
down to drink, all unconscious of my presence. I
took several photographs of scenes of this kind, but
unfortunately many of the negatives were spoiled.
Often, too, on a brilliant moonlight night have | sat
ona rock out in the middle of the stream, near a
favourite drinking place, waiting for a shot at what-
ever fortune might send my way. How exaspera-
ting it was, when the wind changed at the critical
moment, and gave me away to the rhino or other
animal | had sat there for hours patiently awaiting !
Occasionally I would get heartily tired of my weary
vigil and would wade ashore through the warm
water, to make my bed in the soft sand regardless
of the szapf, snap of the crocodiles which could
plainly be heard from the deeper pools up and down
the river. At the time, being new to the country,
I did not realise the risks I ran; but later on—after
my poor Wa Kamba follower had been seized and
dragged under, as I have already described—I
learned to be much more cautious.

The shortest way of reaching the Athi river from
T’savo was to strike through the jungle in a north-
westerly direction, and here there was luckily a par-
ticularly well-defined rhino path which I always
made use of. I discovered it quite by accident on
one occasion when I had asked some guests, who

were staying with me at Tsavo, to spend a night on

XIV FINDING THE MAN-EATERS’ DEN 161

the banks of the river. As we were making our way
slowly and painfully through the dense jungle, I came
across this well-trodden path, which appeared to lead
in the direction in which I wished to go, and as I
felt convinced that at any rate it would bring us to
the river somewhere, I followed it with confidence.
Our progress was now easy, and the track led
through fairly open glades where traces of bush-
buck and water-buck were numerous ; indeed once or
twice we caught glimpses of these animals as they
bounded away to the shelter of the thicket, warned
by the sound of our approach. In the end, as |
anticipated, the old rhino path proved a true guide,
for it struck the Athi at an ideal spot for a camping
ground, where some lofty trees close to the bank of
the river gave a most grateful and refreshing shade.
We had a delightful picnic, and my guests greatly
enjoyed their night in the open, although one of
them got rather a bad fright from a rhino which
suddenly snorted close to our camp, evidently very
annoyed at our intrusion on his domain.

In the morning they went off as soon as it was
light to try their luck along the river, while I
remained in camp to see to breakfast. After an
hour or more, however, they all returned, empty-
handed but very hungry ; so when they had settled
down to rest after a hearty meal, I thought I
would sally forth and see if I could not meet

M

162 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

with better success. I had gone only a short
distance up the right bank of the river, when I
thought I observed a movement among the bushes
ahead of me. On the alert, I stopped instantly, and
the next moment was rewarded by seeing a splendid
bush-buck advance from the water in a most stately
manner. I could only make out his head and neck
above the undergrowth, but as he was only some
fifty yards off, I raised my rifle to my shoulder to
fire. This movement at once caught his eye, and
for the fraction of a second he stopped to gaze at
me, thus giving me time to aim at where I supposed
his shoulder to be. When I fired, he disappeared
so suddenly and so completely that I felt sure that |
had missed him, and that he had made off through
the bush. [| therefore re-loaded, and advanced care-
fully with the intention of following up his trail ; but
to my unbounded delight I came upon the buck
stretched out dead in his tracks, with my _ bullet
through his heart. I lost no time in getting back
to camp, the antelope swinging by his feet from a
branch borne by two sturdy coolies : and my unlucky
friends were very much astonished when they saw
the fine bag I had secured in so short a time. The
animal was soon skinned and furnished us with
a delicious roast for lunch; and in the cool of the
evening we made our way back to Tsavo without

further adventure.

= caw hapet, eaten sated” zoe

ae

XIV FINDING THE MAN-EATERS’ DEN 163

Some little time after this, while one of these
same friends (Mr. C. Rawson) happened to be again
at Tsavo, we were sitting after dark under the
verandah of my hut. I wanted something from my
tent, and sent Meeanh, my Indian chaukzdar, to

fetch it. He was going off in the dark to do so,

‘* THE ANTELOPE SWINGING BY HIS FEET.”

when I called him back and told him to takea
lantern for fear of snakes. This he did, and as soon
as he got to the door of the tent, which was only a
dozen yards off, he called out frantically, “ Aré,
Sahib, burra sanp hat /” (“ Oh, Master, there is a
big snake here !”’)

‘‘ Where ?”’ I shouted.

164 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP:

“ Here by the bed,” he*cried:- -“ Bring “the gun,
quickly.”

I seized the shot-gun, which I always kept
handy, and rushed to the tent, where, by the light
of the lantern, I saw a great red snake, about seven
feet long, gazing at me from the side of my camp-
bed. I instantly fired at him, cutting him clean in
half with the shot ; the tail part remained where it
was, but the head half quickly wriggled off and
disappeared in the gloom of the tent. The trail of
blood, however, enabled us to track it, and we
eventually found the snake, still full of fight, under
the edge of the ground-sheet. He made a last
vicious dart at one of the men who had run up, but
was quickly given the happy despatch by a blow on
the head. Rawson now picked it up and brought
it to the light. He then put his foot on the back
of its head and with a stick forced open the jaws,
when suddenly we saw two perfectly clear jets of
poison spurt out from the fangs. An Indian éadoo0
(clerk), who happened to be standing near, got the
full benefit of this, and the poor man was so panic-
stricken that in a second he had torn off every atom
of his clothing. We were very much amused at
this, as of course we knew that although the poison
was exceedingly venomous, it could do no harm
unless it penetrated a cut or open wound in the

flesh. I never found out the name of this snake,

XIV FINDING THE MAN-EATERS’ DEN 165

which, as I have said, was of a dark brick-red
colour all over; and I only saw one other of the
same kind all the time I was in East Africa. I
came upon it suddenly one day when out shooting.
It was evidently much startled, and stood erect,
hissing venomously ; but I also was so much taken
aback at its appearance that I did not think about
shooting it until it had glided off and disappeared in
the thick undergrowth.

HIPPO HEAD,

CHAPTER XV
UNSUCCESSFUL RHINO HUNTS

ALTHOUGH the jungle round Tsavo was a network
of rhino paths I had never so far been successful
in my efforts to obtain one of these animals, nor
was my ambition yet to be realised. One day
I was out exploring in the dense bush some six
or seven miles away from camp, and found my
progress more than usually slow, owing to the
fact that I had to spend most of my time crawling
on all-fours through the jungle. I was very pleased,
therefore, to emerge suddenly on a broad and well-
beaten track along which I could walk comfortably
in an upright position. In this were some fresh
rhino footprints which seemed barely an hour old,
so I determined to follow them up. The roadway
was beaten in places into a fine white dust by the
passage of many heavy animals; and as I pushed
cautiously forward I fully expected to come face to

face with a rhino at every corner | turned. After

' ; —
PCr Se at tte ale U2)

RS ae

ae)

howe"

CH. XV UNSUCCESSFUL RHINO HUNTS 167

having gone a little way I fancied that I really did
see one lying at the foot of a tree some distance
ahead of me, but on approaching cautiously found
that it was nothing more than a great brown heap
of loose earth which one of the huge beasts had
raised by rolling about on the soft ground.. This,
however, was evidently a resting-place which was
regularly used, so I made up my mind to spend
a night in the overhanging branches of the tree.
The next afternoon, accordingly, Mahina and I
made our way back to the place, and by dusk
we were safely but uncomfortably perched among
the branches directly over the path. We had
scarcely been there an hour when to our delight
we heard a great rhino plodding along the track
in our direction. Unfortunately the moon had not
yet risen, so I was unable to catch sight of the
monster as he approached; I knew, however, that
there was light enough for me to see him when he
emerged from the bushes into the little clearing
round the foot of our tree. Nearer and nearer we
heard him coming: steadily on, and I had my rifle
ready, pointing it in the direction in which I
expected his head to appear. But, alas, just at that
moment the wind veered round and blew straight
from us towards the rhino, who scented us immedi-
ately, gave a mighty snort and then dived madly

away through the jungle. For some considerable

168 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

time we could hear him crashing ponderously
through everything that came in his way, and he
must have gone a long distance before he recovered
from his fright and slowed down to his usual pace.
At any rate we neither heard nor saw anything
more of him, and spent a wakeful and uncomfort-
able night for nothing.

My next attempt to bag a rhino took place some
months later, on the banks of the Sabaki, and was
scarcely more successful. I had come down from
Tsavo in the afternoon, accompanied by Mahina,
and finding a likely tree, within a few yards of the
river and with fresh footprints under it, I at once
decided to take up my position for the night in its
branches. Mahina preferred to sit where he could
take a comfortable nap, and wedged himself in a
fork of the tree some little way below me, but still
some eight or ten feet from the ground. It was a
calm and perfect night, such as can be seen only
in the tropics; everything looked mysteriously
beautiful in the glorious moonlight, and stood out
like a picture looked at through a_ stereoscope.
From my perch among the branches I watched
first a water-buck come to drink in the river; then
a bush-buck ; later, a tiny faa emerged from the
bushes and paused at every step with one graceful
forefoot poised in the air—thoroughly on the alert
and looking round carefully and nervously for any

=

XV UNSUCCESSFUL RHINO HUNTS 169

trace of a possible enemy. At length it reached the
brink of the river in safety, and stooped to drink.
Just then I saw a jackal come up on its trail and
begin carefully to stalk it, not even rustling a fallen
leaf in its stealthy advance on the poor little
antelope. All of a sudden, however, the. jackal
stopped dead for a second, and then made off out of
sight as fast as ever he could go. I looked round
to discover the cause of this hurried exit, and to my
surprise saw a large and very beautiful leopard
crouching down and moving noiselessly in the
direction of our tree. At first I thought it must be
stalking some animal on the ground below us, but I
soon realised that it was Mahina that the brute was
intent on. Whether, if left to himself, the leopard
would actually have. made a spring at my sleeping
gun-bearer, I do not know ; but I had no intention
of letting him have a chance of even attempting this,
so I cautiously raised my rifle and levelled it at him.
Absolutely noiseless as I was in doing this, he
noticed it—possibly a glint of moonlight on the
barrel caught his eye—and immediately disappeared
into the bush before I could get in a shot. I at once
woke Mahina and made him come up to more
secure quarters beside me.

For a long time after this nothing disturbed our
peace, but at last the quarry I had hoped for made

his appearance on the scene. Just below us there

170 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

was an opening in the elephant grass which lined
the river's edge, and through this the broad stream
shone like silver in the moonlight. Without warning
this gap was suddenly filled by a huge black mass—
a rhino making his way, very leisurely, out of the
shallow water. On he came with a slow, ponderous
tread, combining a certain stateliness with his
awkward strides. Almost directly beneath us he
halted and stood for an instant clearly exposed to
our view. This was my opportunity ; I took care-
ful aim at his shoulder and fired. Instantly, and
with extraordinary rapidity, the huge beast whirled
round like a peg-top, whereupon I fired again. This
time I expected him to fall; but instead of that
I had the mortification of seeing him rush off into
the jungle and of hearing him crash through it like
a great steam-roller for several minutes. I consoled
myself by thinking that he could not go far, as he
was hard hit, and that I should easily find him when
daylight arrived. Mahina, who was in a wild state
of excitement over the durra janwar (great animal),
was also of this opinion, and as there was no longer
any reason for silence, he chatted to me about many
strange and curious things until the grey dawn
appeared. When we got down from our perch, we
found the track of the wounded rhino clearly
marked by great splashes of blood, and for a couple

of miles the spoor could thus be easily followed,

ls

XV UNSUCCESSFUL RHINO HUNTS 171

At length, however, it got fainter and fainter, and
finally ceased altogether, so that we had to abandon
the search ; the ground round about was rocky, and
there was no possibility of telling which way our
quarry had gone. I was exceedingly sorry for this,
as I did not like to leave him wounded ; but there
was no help for it, so we struck out for home and
arrived at Tsavo in the afternoon very tired, hungry
and disappointed.

Rhinos are extraordinary animals, and not in
any way to be depended upon. One day they
will sheer off on meeting a human being and make
no attempt to attack; the next day, for no apparent
reason, they may execute a most determined charge.
I was told for a fact by an official who had been
long in the country that on one occasion while a gang
of twenty-one slaves, chained neck to neck as was
the custom, was being smuggled down to the coast
and was proceeding in Indian file along a narrow
path, a rhinoceros suddenly charged out at right
angles to them, impaled the centre man on its
horns and broke the necks of the remainder of the
party by the suddenness of his rush. These huge
beasts have a very keen sense of smell, but equally
indifferent eyesight, and it is said that if a hunter
will only stand perfectly still on meeting a rhino,
it will pass him by without attempting to molest
him. I feel bound to add, however, that I have

172 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP,

so far failed to come across anybody who has
actually tried the experiment. On the other hand,
I have met one or two men who have been tossed
on the horns of these animals, and they described
it as a very painful proceeding. It generally means

being a cripple for life, if one even succeeds in

(Wass : 7 , ]

““SLAVES CHAINED NECK TO NECK AS WAS THE CUSTOM.”

escaping death. Mr. B. Eastwood, the chief
accountant of the Uganda Railway, once gave me
a graphic description of his marvellous escape from
an infuriated rhino. He was on leave at the time
on a hunting expedition in the neighbourhood of
Lake Baringo, about eighty miles north of the

railway from Nakuru, and had shot and apparently

xv UNSUCCESSFUL RHINO HUNTS 173

killed a rhino. On walking up to it, however,
the brute rose to its feet and literally fell on him,
breaking four ribs and his right arm. Not content
with this, it then stuck its horn through his thigh
and tossed him over its back, repeating this operation
once or twice. Finally, it lumbered off, leaving
poor Eastwood helpless and fainting in the long grass
where he had fallen. He was alone at the time,
and it was not for some hours that he was found
by his porters, who were only attracted to the spot
by the numbers of vultures hovering about, waiting
in their ghoulish manner for life to be extinct
before beginning their meal. How he managed
to live for the eight days after this which elapsed
before a doctor could be got to him I cannot
imagine; but in the end he fortunately made a
good recovery, the only sign of his terrible
experience being the absence of his right arm,
which had to be amputated.

CHAPTER: xvi

A WIDOW’'S STORY

Very shortly before I teft Tsavo I went (on
March 11, 1899) on inspection duty to Voi, which,
as I have already mentioned, is about thirty miles
on the Mombasa side of Tsavo. At this time it
was a miserable, swampy spot, where fever, guinea-
worm, and all kinds of horrible diseases were
rampant; but this state of affairs has now been
completely altered by drainage and by clearing
away the jungle. Dr. Rose was in medical charge
of the place at the time of my visit, and as it was
the good old custom to put up with any friend one
came across towards nightfall, | made him my host
when my day’s work was over. We spent a very
pleasant evening together, and naturally discussed
all the local news. Amongst other things we
chatted about the new road which was being con-
structed from Voi to a rather important missionary
station called Taveta, near Mount Kilima N’jaro,

at

Aas:

CH. XVI A WIDOW'’S STORY 175

and Dr. Rose mentioned that Mr. O’Hara (the
engineer in charge of the road-making), with his
wife and children, was encamped in the Wa Taita
country, about twelve miles away from Voi.

Early next morning I went out for a stroll with
my shot-gun, but had not gone far from the doctor’s
tent when I saw in the distance four Swahili carrying
something which looked like a stretcher along the
newly-made road. Fearing that some accident had
happened, I went quickly to meet them and called
out to ask what they were carrying. They shouted
back ‘‘ Bwana” (‘‘ The master”); and when I asked
what dwana, they replied “Bwana O’Hara.” On
enquiring what exactly had happened, they told me
that during the night their master had been killed
by a lion, and that his wife and children were
following behind along the road. At this I directed
the men to the hospital and told them where to find
Dr. Rose, and without waiting to hear any further
particulars hurried on as fast as possible to give
what assistance I could to poor Mrs. O'Hara.
Some considerable way back I met her toiling
along with an infant in her arms, while a little
child held on to her ‘skirt, utterly tired out with the
long walk. I helped her to finish the distance to
the doctor’s tent ; she was so unstrung by her terrible
night’s experience and so exhausted by her trying

march carrying the baby that she was scarcely able

176 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

to speak. Dr. Rose at once did all he could both
for her and for the children, the mother being
given a sleeping draught and made comfortable
in one of the tents. When she appeared again
late in the afternoon she was much refreshed, and

was able to tell us the following dreadful story,

-———

HOSPITAL TENT AT VOI WIIERE MRS. O'HARA RESTED.

which I shall give as nearly as possible in her own
words.

“We were all asleep in the tent, my husband
and I in one bed and my two children in
another. The baby was feverish and restless, so
I got up to give her something to drink; and
as I was doing so, | heard what I thought was

a lion walking round the tent. I at once woke

XVI A WIDOW’S STORY 177

my husband and told him I felt sure there was
a lion about. He jumped up and went out,
taking his gun with him. He looked round the
outside of the tent, and spoke to the Swahili
askart who was on sentry by the camp fre a little
distance off. The askarvi said he had seen nothing
about except a donkey, so my husband came in
again, telling me not to worry as it was only a
donkey that I had heard.

“The night being very hot, my husband threw
back the tent door and lay down again beside
me. After a while I dozed off, but was sud-
denly roused by a feeling as if the pillow were
being pulled away from under my head. On
looking round I found that my husband was
gone. I jumped up and called him loudly, but
got no answer. Just then I heard a noise among
the boxes outside the door, so I rushed out and
saw my poor husband lying between the boxes.
I ran up to him and tried to lift him, but found
I could not do so. I then called to the askarz
to come and help me, but he refused, saying
that there was a lion standing beside me. I
looked up and saw the huge beast glowering at
me, not more than two yards away. At this
moment the askavi fired his rifle, and this fortun-
ately frightened the lion, for it at once jumped off
into the bush.

N

178 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO — cuap.

‘All four askarts then came forward and lifted
my husband back on to the bed. He was quite
dead. We had hardly got back into the tent before
the lion returned and prowled about in front of the
door, showing every intention of springing in to
recover his prey. The askarts fired at him, but did
no damage beyond frightening him away again for
a moment or two. He soon came back and con-
tinued to walk round the tent until daylight, growl-
ing and purring, and it was only by firing
through the tent every now and then that we kept
him out. At daybreak he disappeared and I had
my husband’s body carried here, while I followed
with the children until I met you.”

Such was Mrs. O’Hara’s pitiful story. The
only comfort we could give her was to assure her
that her husband had died instantly and without
pain ; for while she had been resting Dr. Rose had
made a post-mortem examination of the body and
had come to this conclusion. He found that
O’Hara had evidently been lying on his back at
the time, and that the lion, seizing his head in its
mouth, had closed its long tusks through his temples
until they met again in the brain. We buried him
before nightfall in a peaceful spot close by, the
doctor reading the funeral service, while I assisted
in lowering the rude coffin into the grave. It was

the saddest scene imaginable. The weeping widow,

tern

XVI A WIDOW’S STORY 179

the wondering faces of the children, the gathering
gloom of the closing evening, the dusky forms of a
few natives who had gathered round—all combined
to make a most striking and solemn ending to a
very terrible tragedy of real life.

I am glad to say that within a few weeks’ time
the lion that was responsible for this tragedy was
killed by a poisoned arrow, shot from a tree top by
one of the Wa Taita.

IN THE BAZAAR AT KAMPALA.

“THE GREAT ATHI PLAINS.”

ChAP TERR: XVII
AN INFURIATED RHINO

My work at Tsavo was finished in March, 1899,
when I received instructions to proceed to railhead
and take charge of a section of the work there.
For many reasons I was sorry to say good-bye to
Tsavo, where I had spent an eventful year; but all
the same I was very glad to be given this new post,
as I knew that there would be a great deal of inter-
esting work to be done and a constant change of
camp and scene, as the line progressed onward to
the interior. In good spirits, therefore, I set out
for my new headquarters on March 28. By this
time railhead had reached a place called Machakos
Road, some two hundred and seventy-six miles
from Mombasa and within a few miles of the

great Athi Plains, the latter being treeless and

CH. XVII AN INFURIATED RHINO 181

waterless expanses, bare of everything except grass,
which the great herds of game keep closely
cropped. After leaving Tsavo, the character of the
country remains unaltered for some considerable
distance, the line continuing to run through the
thorny zyzka, and it is not until Makindu is reached
—about two hundred miles from the coast—that a
change is apparent. From this place, however, the
journey lies through a fairly open and interesting
tract of country, where game of all kinds abounds
and can be seen grazing peacefully within a few
hundred yards of the railway. On the way I was
lucky enough to get some fine views of Kilima N jaro,
the whole mountain from base to summit standing
out clearly and grandly, with the lofty peak of Kibo
topping the fleecy clouds with its snowy head.

At Machakos Road I found the country and the
climate very different from that to which I had
grown accustomed at Tsavo. Here I could see for
miles across stretches of beautiful, open downs,
timbered here and there like an English park; and
it was a great relief to be able to overlook a wide
tract of country and to feel that I was no longer
hemmed in on all sides by the interminable and
depressing thorny wilderness. As Machakos Road
is some four thousand feet higher above the sea
level than Tsavo, the difference in temperature was

also very marked, and the air felt fresh and cool

182 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

compared with that of the sun-baked valley in which
I had spent the previous year.

My instructions were to hurry on the construc-
tion of the line as fast as possible to Nairobi, the

proposed headquarters of the Railway Administra-

‘* FIRST THE EARTH SURFACE HAS TO BE PREPARED.”

tion, which lay about fifty miles further on across
the Athi Plains; and I soon began to find plate-
laying most interesting work. Everything has to
move as if by clockwork. First the earth surface
has to be prepared and rendered perfectly smooth
and level; cuttings have to be made and hollows
banked up ; tunnels have to be bored through hills

AN INFURIATED RHINO

XVII

«id GUNNVH SMOTIOH AGNV FAVW

ad OL DAVH SONILLIOO,,

184 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

and bridges thrown across rivers. Then a line of
coolies moves along, placing sleepers at regular
intervals; another gang drops the rails in their
places ; yet another brings along the keys, fishplates,
bolts and nuts ; while following these are the men
who actually fix the rails on the sleepers and link up
from one to another. Finally, the packing gang
finishes the work by filling in earth and ballast under
and around the steel sleepers to give them the
necessary grip and rigidity. Some days we were
able to lay only a few yards, while on other days we
might do over a mile; all depended on the nature
of the country we had to cever. On one occasion
we succeeded in breaking the record for a day’s
platelaying, and were gratified at receiving a
telegram of congratulation from the Railway Com-
mittee at the Foreign Office.

I made it my custom to take a walk each morning
for some distance ahead of rails along the centre-
line of the railway, in order to spy out the land and
to form a rough estimate of the material that would
be required in the way of sleepers, girders for
temporary bridges, etc. It was necessary to do this
in order to avoid undue delay taking place owing to
shortage of material of any kind. About ten days
after my arrival at Machakos Road I walked in this
way for five or six miles ahead of the last-laid rail.

It was rather unusual for me to go so far, and, as it

firlice

XVII AN INFURIATED RHINO 185

happened, I was alone on this occasion, Mahina
having been left behind in camp. About two miles
away on my left, I noticed a dark-looking object,
and thinking it was an ostrich | started off towards
it. Very soon, however, I found that it was bigger

game than an ostrich, and on getting still nearer

“© ANOTHER GANG DROPS THE RAILS IN THEIR PLACES.”

made out the form of a great rhinoceros lying down.
I continued to advance very cautiously, wriggling
through the short grass until at length I got within
fifty yards of where the huge beast was resting.
Here I lay and watched him ; but after some little
time he evidently suspected my presence, for rising
to his feet, he looked straight in my direction and

186 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

then proceeded to walk round me in a half-circle.
The moment he got wind of me, he whipped round
in his tracks like a cat and came for me in a_bee-
line. Hoping to turn him, I fired instantly ; but
unfortunately my soft-nosed bullets merely annoyed
him further, and had not the slightest effect on his
thick hide. On seeing this, I flung myself down
quite flat on the grass and threw my helmet some
ten feet away in the hope that he would perceive it
and vent his rage on it instead of me. On he
thundered, while I scarcely dared to breathe. |
could hear him snorting and rooting up the grass
quite close to me, but luckily for me he did not
catch sight of me and charged by a few yards to my
left.

As soon as he had passed me, my courage
began to revive again, and [ could not resist the
temptation of sending a couple of bullets after him.
These, however, simply cracked against his hide
and splintered to pieces on it, sending the dry mud
off in little clouds of dust. Their only real effect,
indeed, was to make him still more angry. He stood
stock-still for a moment, and then gored the ground
most viciously and started off once more on the
semi-circle round me. This proceeding terrified me
more than ever, as I felt sure that he would come
up-wind at me again, and I could scarcely hope to

escape a second time. Unfortunately, my surmise

XVII AN INFURIATED RHINO 187

proved correct, for directly he scented me, up went
his nose in the air and down he charged like a
battering-ram. I fairly pressed myself into the
ground, as flat as ever I could, and luckily the grass
was a few inches high. I felt the thud of his great
feet pounding along, yet dared not move or look up
lest he should see me. My heart was thumping like
a steam hammer, and every moment I fully expected
to find myself tossed into the air. Nearer and
nearer came the heavy thudding, and I had quite
given myself up for lost, when from my _ lying
position I caught sight, out of the corner of my eye,
of the infuriated beast rushing by. He had missed
me again! I never felt so relieved in my life, and
assuredly did not attempt to annoy him further,
He went off for good this time, and it was with
great satisfaction that I watched him gradually dis-
appear in the distance. I could not have believed
it possible that these huge, ungainly-looking brutes
could move so rapidly, and turn and twist in their
tracks just like monkeys, had I not actually seen
this one doso before my eyes. If he had found me he
would certainly have pounded me to atoms, as he was
an old bull and in a most furious and vicious mood.

One day when Dr. Brock and I were out shoot-
ing, shortly after this incident and not far from
where it occurred, we caught sight of two rhinos

in a hollow some little distance from us, and

188 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

commenced to stalk them, taking advantage of every
fold of the ground in doing so and keeping about
fifty yards apart in case of a charge. In that event
one or other of us would be able to get in a broad-
side shot, which would probably roll the beast over.

Proceeding carefully in this manner, we managed to

‘*IT NEVER MOVED AGAIN ”

get within about sixty yards of them, and as it was
my turn for a shot, I took aim at the larger of the
two, just as it was moving its great head from one
side to the other, wondering which of us it ought to
attack. When at last it decided upon Brock, it
gave me the chance I had been waiting for. I fired
instantly at the hollow between neck and shoulder ;

the brute dropped at once, and save for one or two

XVII AN INFURIATED RHINO 189

convulsive kicks of its stumpy legs as it Jay half on
its back, it never moved again. The second rhino
proved to be a well-grown youngster which showed
considerable fight as we attempted to approach its
fallen comrade. We did not want to kill it, and
accordingly spent about two hours in shouting and
throwing stones at it before at last we succeeded in
driving it away. We then proceeded to skin our
prize ; this, as may be imagined, proved rather a
tough job, but we managed it in the end, and the
trophy was well worth the pains I had taken to add

it to my. collection.

*“ THE TROPHY WAS WELL WORTH THE PAINS I HAD TAKEN
TO ADD IT TO MY COLLECTION.”

CHAPTER xVitl
LIONS ON THE ATHI PLAINS

SHORTLY after I took charge at railhead we entere
the Kapiti Plain, which gradually merges into the
Athi Plain, and, indeed, is hardly to be distinguished
from the latter in the appearance or general charac-
ter of the country. Together they form a great
tract of rolling downs covered with grass, and inter-
sected here and there by dry ravines, along the
baked banks of which a few stunted trees—the only
ones to be seen—struggle to keep themselves alive.
In all this expanse there is absolutely no water in
the dry season, except in the Athi River (some forty
miles away) and in a few water-holes known only to
the wild animals. The great feature of the un-
dulating plains, however, and the one which gives
them a never-failing interest, is the great abundance
of game of almost every conceivable kind. Here
I myself have seen lion, rhinoceros, leopard, eland,

giraffe, zebra, wildebeeste, hartebeeste, waterbuck,

cH. xvut LIONS ON THE ATHI PLAINS 191

wart-hog, Granti, Thomsoni, impala, — besides
ostriches, greater and lesser bustard, marabout, and
a host of other animals and birds too numerous to
name; while along the Athi and close to its banks
may be found large numbers of hippo and crocodiles.

At the time I was there, these great plains also

JACKSON’S ITARTEBEESTE, AND ZEBRA.

formed the principal grazing ground for the immense
herds of cattle owned by the Masai. I am very
glad to say that the whole of this country on the
south side of the railway as far as the boundary of
German East Africa, from the Tsavo River on the
east to the Kedong Valley on the west, is now a
strictly protected Game Reserve; and so long as

this huge expanse is thus maintained asa sanctuary,

192 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

there can be no danger of any of these species
becoming extinct.

While crossing this dry expanse, the greatest
difficulty I had to contend with was the provision

of sufficient water for the three thousand workmen

WATERBUCK.

employed about railhead, for not a drop could be
obtained on the way, nor could we hope for any
until we had got to the other side of the plain and
had reached the Athi River, which could not be
accomplished under a couple of months. As we
progressed onwards into the waterless belt, this

became a very serious matter indeed, as any break-

XVIII LIONS. ON LHE-ATHE PLAINS 193

down in the supply would have had the most
disastrous consequences among so large a body of
men working all day under the blazing sun of a
tropical climate. Every day two trainloads of water
in great tanks were brought up from the last stream
we had passed, which, of course, daily fell further
to the rear. This was a source of considerable
delay, for the line was blocked all the time the
water was being pumped into the tanks, and conse-
quently no material for construction could come
through ; and a good deal of time was also wasted,
when the trains returned to railhead, in distributing
the water to the workmen, who often quarrelled and
fought in their eagerness to get at it. At first I had
most of the tank-filling done by night, but on one
occasion a lion came unpleasantly close to the men
working the pump, and so night work had to
be abandoned. The coolies themselves were so
anxious, indeed, to get a plentiful supply of water,
that once or twice some of the more daring spirits
among them ventured to go out on to the plains in
search of waterholes, which, by reason of the large
herds of game, we knew must exist somewhere.
The only result of these expeditions, however, was
that three of these men never returned ; what befell
them is not known to this day.

When we had proceeded some distance across
this dry land, and when I was experiencing to the

C

194 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

full the disadvantage and delay caused by my tank
trains, a native from some remote corner of the
plains—with nothing by way of dress but a small
plece of cowhide thrown over his left shoulder—
came to my tent door one day and squatted down
on his heels in the native fashion. On being asked
his business, “I have heard,” he replied, ‘‘that the
Great Master wants water; I can-show it to him.”
This was good news, if it could be relied upon; so
I questioned him closely, and ascertained that some

time previously—exactly how long ago I could not

gather—he had been in the locality on a raiding
expedition and had succeeded in finding water. |
asked if the place was far away, and got the reply
in Swahili: ‘“ A7éah kidogo” (‘A little distance”).
Now, I had had experience of I7’bal kidogo before ;
it is like the Irishman’s ‘mile and a bit.” So I
decided to start very early next morning on a search
for this pond—for such my informant described it
to be. In the meantime the poor fellow, who
appeared starving—there was a sore famine among
the natives of the district at the time—was given
food and drink, and made a ravenous meal. In the
evening I had a long talk with him in broken
Swahili round the camp fire, and obtained some
insight into many of the strange and barbarous
customs of the Masai, to which interesting tribe he

belonged.

XVII LIONS ON THE ATHI PLAINS 195

In the morning I started off betimes, taking my
‘303 rifle and being accompanied by Mahina with
the 12-bore shot-gun, and by another Indian carry-
ing the necessary food and water. Our Masai
guide, whose name we found to be Lungow, seemed
to be quite certain of his way, and led us across the
rolling plains more or less in the direction in which
the railway was to run, but some miles to the right
of its centre-line. The march was full of interest,
for on the way we passed within easy range of herds
of wildebeeste, hartebeeste, gazelle, and zebra. |
was out strictly on business, however, and did not
attempt a shot, reserving that pleasure for the
homeward trip. Late in the forenoon we arrived at
Lungow’s pond—a circular dip about eighty yards
in diameter, which without doubt had contained
water very recently, but which, as I expected to
find, was now quite dry. A considerable number of
bones lay scattered round it, whether of ‘‘kills” or
of animals which had died of thirst I could not say.
Our guide appeared very much upset when he found
the pond empty, and gave vent to many exclama-
tions in his peculiar language, in which the letter
“r” rolled like a kettledrum.

Our search for water having thus proved a failure,
I determined to try my luck with the game. The
Masai and the Indian were sent back to camp,

while Mahina and I made a big detour from the
0: 2

196 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

dried-up water-hole. Game abounded in all direc-
tions, but the animals were much more shy than
they had been in the morning, and it was in vain
that I stalked—if it can be called “stalking,” when
as a matter of fact one has to move in the open—
splendid specimens of Thomson’s and Grant's
gazelle. I might have attempted a shot once or
twice, but the probability was that owing to the
long range it would have resulted only in a wound,
and I think there is nothing so painful as to see an
animal limping about in acrippled condition. In this
fruitless manner we covered several miles, and I was
beginning to think that we should have to return to
camp without so much as firing a shot. Just then,
however, I saw aherd of wildebeeste, and with much
care managed to get within three hundred yards of
them. I singled out the biggest head and waiting
for a favourable moment, fired at him, dropping
him at once. I ran up to the fallen beast, which
appeared to be dying, and told Mahina to drive the
hunting knife right through his heart so as to put
him quickly out of all pain. As Mahina was not
doing this as skilfully or as quickly as I thought it
might be done, and seemed unable to pierce the
tough hide, I handed him my rifle and took the
knife in order to do it myself. Just as I raised the
knife to strike, | was startled by the wildebeeste

suddenly jumping to his feet. For a moment he

XVIII LIONS ON THE ATHI PLAINS 197

stood looking at me in a dazed and tottery kind of
way, and then to my amazement he turned and
made off. At first he moved with such a shaky
and uncertain gait that I felt confident that he could
only goa few yards before dropping; so, as I did
not wish to disturb the other game around us by
firing a second shot, I thought it best just to wait.
To my utter astonishment, however, after he had
staggered for about sixty yards he seemed to revive
suddenly, broke into his ordinary gallop and quickly
rejoined the herd. From that time I lost all trace
of him, though I followed up for four or five
miles.

The wildebeeste, in fact, is like Kipling’s Fuzzy-
Wuzzy—‘‘’e’s generally shammin’ when 'e’s dead i
and my friend Rawson about this time had an
experience very similar to mine, but attended with
more serious results. He had knocked his wilde-
beeste over in much the same way, and thought it
was dead; and as he was very keen on obtaining
photographs of game, he took his stand-camera
from the Indian who carried it and proceeded to
focus it on the animal's head. When he was just
about to take the picture, he was thunderstruck to
see the wildebeeste jump up and come charging down
upon him. He sprang quickly aside, and in an
instant up went the camera into the air, followed
the next moment by the unfortunate Indian, the

198 THE MAN-FATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

wildebeeste having stuck its horn right through the
man’s thigh and tossed him over its back. Fortu-
nately the brute fell dead after this final effort,
leaving Rawson grateful for his escape.

After abandoning the chase of my wildebeeste, we

had not gone far on our way towards the home

he
et

Ota:

ar ee

*“* FORTUNATELY THE BRUTE FELL DEAD AFTER THIS FINAL EFFORT.”

camp when I thought I observed something of a
reddish colour moving in a patch of long grass, a
good distance to our left front. I asked Mahina if
he could make out what it was, but he was unable
to do so, and before I could get my field-glasses to
bear, the animal, whatever it was, had disappeared
into the grass. I kept my eye on the spot, how-

Se

XVII LIONS ON THE ATHI PLAINS 199

ever, and we gradually approached it. When we
were about a hundred yards off, the reddish object
again appeared ; and | saw that it was nothing less
than the shaggy head of a lion peeping over the
long grass. This time Mahina also saw what it was,
and called out, “ Dekko, Sahzb, sher/” (* Look,
Master, a lion!”). I whispered to him to be quiet
and to take no notice of him, while I tried my best
to follow my own advice. So we kept on, edging up
towards the beast, but apparently oblivious of his
presence, as he lay there grimly watching us. As
we drew nearer, I asked Mahina in a whisper if he
felt equal to facing a charge from the sher if I
should wound him. He answered simply that
where I went, there would he go also; and right
well he kept his word.

I watched the lion carefully out of the corner of
my eye as we closed in. Every now and then he
would disappear from view for a moment; and it
was a fascinating sight to see how he slowly raised
his massive head above the top of the grass again
and gazed calmly and steadily at us as we neared
him. Unfortunately I could not distinguish the
outline of his body, hidden as it was in the grassy
thicket. I therefore circled cautiously round in
order to see if the covert was sufficiently thin at
the back to make a shoulder shot possible ; but as
we moved, the lion also twisted round and so always

200 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

kept his head full on us. When I had described
a half-circle, I found that the grass was no thinner
and that my chances of a shot had not improved.
We were now within seventy yards of the lion,
who appeared to take the greater interest in
us the closer we approached. He had lost the
sleepy look with which he had at first regarded
us, and was now fully on the alert; but still he
did not give me the impression that he meant
to charge, and no doubt if we had not provoked
him, he would have allowed us to depart in peace.
I, however, was bent on war, in spite of the risk
which one must always run by attacking a lion
at such close quarters on an open plain as flat as
the palm of the hand; so in a standing position
l took careful. aim’ “at his head; and => ficeds. = fie
distance was, as I have said, a bare seventy yards ;
yet I must confess to a disgraceful miss. More
astonishing still, the beast made not the slightest
movement—did not even blink an eye, so far as
I could see—but continued his steadfast, questioning
gaze. Again I took aim, this time for a spot below
the tip of his nose, and again I fired—with more
success, the lion turning a complete somersault over
his tail. I thought he was done for, but he
instantly sprang to his feet again, and to my horror
and astonishment was joined by a lioness whose

presence we had never even thought of or suspected.

XVIII LIONS ON THE ATHI PLAINS 201

Worse was still to follow, for to our dismay both
made a most determined charge on us, bounding along
at a great pace and roaring angrily as they came.
Poor Mahina cried out, “ Sahkzb, do sher ata hai /”
(“ Master, wo lions are coming!”), but I told him
to stand stock-still and for his life not to make the
slightest movement. In the twinkling of an eye the
two beasts had covered about forty yards of the dis-
tance towards us. As they did not show the least sign
of stopping, I thought we had given the experiment
of remaining absolutely motionless a fair trial, and
was just about to raise the rifle to my shoulder as a
last resort, when suddenly the wounded lion
stopped, staggered, and fell to the ground. The
lioness took a couple of bounds nearer to us,
and then to my unmeasured relief turned to look
round for her mate, who had by this time managed
to get to his feet again. There they both stood,
growling viciously and lashing their tails, for what
appeared to me to be a succession of ages. The
lioness then made up her mind to go back to the
lion, and they both stood broadside on, with their
heads close together and turned towards us, snarling
in a most aggressive manner. Had either of us
moved hand or foot just then, it would, I am
convinced, have at once brought on another and
probably a fatal charge.

As the two great brutes stood in this position

202 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

looking at us, I had, of course, a grand opportunity
of dropping both, but I confess I did not feel equal
to it at the moment. I could only devoutly hope
that they would not renew their attack, and was
only too thankful to let them depart in peace if they
would, without any further hostility on my _ part.
Just at this juncture the lion seemed to grow
suddenly very weak. He staggered some ten yards
back towards his lair, and then fell to the ground ;
the lioness followed, and lay down beside him—both
still watching us, and growling savagely. After a
few seconds the lion struggled to his feet again and
retreated a little further, the lioness accompanying
him until he fell once more. A third time the same
thing took place, and at last I began to breathe more
freely, as they had now reached the thicket from
which they had originally emerged. Accordingly
I took a shot at the lioness as she lay beside her
mate, partly concealed in the long grass. I do not
think I hit her, but anyhow she at once made off
and bounded away at a great rate on emerging into
the open.

I sent a few bullets after her to speed her on her
way, and then cautiously approached the wounded
lion. He was stretched out at full length on his
side, with his back towards me, but I could see by
the heaving of his flanks that he was not yet dead,

so I put a bullet through his spine. He never

a 2? ne

XVII LIONS: ON THE ATHI PLAINS 203

moved after this; but for safety’s sake, I made no
attempt to go up to him for a few minutes, and then
only after Mahina had planted a few stones on his
body just to make sure that he was really dead.

We both felt very pleased with ourselves as we
stood over him and looked at his fine head, great
paws, and long, clean, sharp tusks. He was a
young, but full-grown lion in fine condition, and
measured nine feet eight and a half inches from
tip of nose to tip of tail. My last shot had entered
the spine close to the shoulder, and had lodged
in the body; the first shot was a miss, as I have
already said; but the second had caught him on
the forehead, right between the eyes. The bullet,
however, instead of traversing the brain, had been
turned downwards by the frontal bone, through
which it crashed, finally lodging in the root of the
tongue, the lead showing on both sides. I cut
out the tongue and hung it up to dry, intending
to keep it as a trophy; but unfortunately a vulture
swooped down when my back was turned, and
carried it off.

From the time I knocked the lion over until he
first staggered and fell not more than a minute
could have elapsed—quite long enough, however,
to have enabled him to cover the distance and to
have seized one or other of us. Unquestionably we
owed our lives to the fact that we both remained

204 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

absolutely motionless; and I cannot speak too
highly of Mahina for the splendid way in which he
stood the charge. Had he acted as did another
gun-boy I know of, the affair might not have had so
happy an ending. This gun-boy went out with
Captain G—-— in this very neighbourhood, and not
long after our adventure. G—— came across a
lion just as we did, and wounded it. It charged
down on them, but instead of remaining absolutely
still, the terrified gun-boy fled, with the result that
the lion came furiously on, and poor G—— met
with a terrible death.

While Mahina was scouring the neighbourhood
in search of some natives to carry the skin back
to camp, | took a good look round the place and
found the half-eaten body of a zebra, which I
noticed had been killed out in the open and then
dragged into the long grass. The tracks told me,
also, that all the work had been done by the lion,
and this set me thinking of the lioness. I accord-
ingly swept the plain with my glasses in the direc-
tion in which she had bounded off, and after some
searching I discovered her about a mile away,
apparently lying down in the midst of a herd of
hartebeeste, who grazed away without taking any
notice of her. I felt much inclined to follow her up,
but I was afraid that if I did so the vultures that
were already hovering around would settle on my

XVII LIONS ON THE ATHI PLAINS 205

lion and spoil the skin, for the destruction of which
these ravenous birds are capable, even in the space
of only a few minutes, is almost beyond belief. I
accordingly returned to the dead beast and sat down
astride of him. I had read that a frontal shot at a
lion was a very risky one, and on carefully examin-
ing the head it was easy to see the reason ; for owing
to the sharp backward slope of the forehead it is
almost impossible for a bullet fired in this manner to
reach the brain. As there were lots of lions about
in this district and as | wanted to bag some more, |
set myself to think out a plan whereby the risk of a
frontal shot might be got rid of. About a fortnight
afterwards I had an opportunity of putting my
scheme into practice, happily with most excellent
results ; this, however, is another story, which will
be told later on.

I next commenced to skin my trophy and found it
a very tough job to perform by myself. He proved
to be a very fat beast, so I knew that Mahina would
make a few honest and well-earned rupees out of
him, for Indians will give almost anything for lion
fat, believing that it is an infallible cure for rheuma-
tism and various other diseases. When at length
the skinning process was completed, I waited
impatiently for the return of Mahina, who had by
this time been gone much longer than I expected.

It israthera nerve-shattering thing—I am speaking

206 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO cu. xvi

for myself—to remain absolutely alone for hours on
a vast open plain beside the carcase of a dead
lion, with vultures incessantly wheeling about
above one, and with nothing to be seen or heard for
miles around except wild animals. It was a great
relief, therefore, when after a long wait I saw
Mahina approaching with half-a-dozen practically
naked natives in his train. It turned out that he
had lost his way back to me, so that it was lucky he
found me at all. We lost no time in getting back
to camp, arriving there just at sundown, when my
first business was to rub wood ashes into the skin
and then stretch it on a portable frame which I had
made a few days previously. The camp fire was a
big one that night, and the graphic and highly
coloured description which Mahina gave to the eager
circle of listeners of the way in which we slew the
lion would have made even “ Bahram, that great
Hunter,” anxious for his fame.

CELA PARE Re Lx.
THE STRICKEN CARAVAN

Nor long after this adventure the permanent way
reached the boundary of the Kapiti Plains, where a
station had to be built and where accordingly we
took up our headquarters for a week or two. A
few days after we had settled down in our new
camp, a great caravan of some four thousand men
arrived from the interior with luggage and loads of
food for a Sikh regiment which was on its way
down to the coast, after having been engaged in
suppressing the mutiny of the Sudanese in Uganda.
The majority of these porters were Basoga, but
there were also fair numbers of Baganda (z.e. people
of Uganda) and of the natives of Unyoro, and
various other tribes. Of course none of these wild
men of Central Africa had either seen or heard of a
railway in all their lives, and they consequently
displayed the liveliest curiosity in regard to it,
crowding round one of the engines which happened

208 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

to be standing at the station, and hazarding the
wildest guesses as to its origin and use in a babel
of curious native languages. I thought I would
provide a little entertainment for them, so I stepped
on to the footplate and blew off the steam, at the same
time sounding the whistle. The effect was simply
magical. The whole crowd first threw themselves
flat on the ground howling with fear, and then—
with heads well down and arms well spread out—
they fled wildly in all directions; nor did the
stampede cease until I shut off steam and stopped
the whistle. Then, their curiosity gradually over-
powering them, very cautiously they began to
return, approaching the locomotive stealthily as
though it were some living monster of the jungle.
Eventually, two of their chiefs summoned up
courage enough to climb on to the engine, and
afterwards thoroughly enjoyed a short run which
I had to make down the line in order to bring
up some construction material.

Just after this caravan had moved on we were
subjected to some torrential rain-storms, which
transformed the whole plain into a quaking bog
and stopped all railway work for the time being.
Indeed, the effect of a heavy downpour of rain in
this sun-baked district is extraordinary. The ground,
which is of a black sub-soil, becomes a mass of thick

mud in no time, and on attempting to do any walk-

Wee

~ sree,

*”

XIX THE STRICKEN CARAVAN 209

ing one slides and slips about in the slush in a most
uncomfortable manner. Innocent-looking dongas,
where half an hour previously not one drop of
water was to be seen, become roaring torrents from
bank to bank in an incredibly short time; while for
many hours or even a few days the rivers become
absolutely impassable in this land of no bridges.
On this account it is the custom of the wise traveller
in these parts always to cross a river before camping,
for otherwise a flood may come down and detain
him and his caravan on the wrong side of the
stream for perhaps a week. Of course when the
rain ceases, the floods as quickly subside, the
rivers and dongas dry up, and the country once
more resumes its normal sun-cracked appearance.

On leaving my tent one morning when work was
at a standstill owing to the rain, I noticed a great
herd of zebra about a couple of miles away on the
north side of the railway. Now, it had long been
my ambition to capture one of these animals alive ;
so | said to myself, ‘Here is my chance!”- The
men could do nothing owing to the rain, and the
ground was very boggy, so I thought that if we
could surround the herd judiciously and chase the
zebra up and down from point to point through the
heavy ground, some of them would soon get ex-
hausted and we should then be able tocatch them. |

selected for the hunt a dozen fleet-footed Indians who
P

210 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

were employed on the earth works, and who at once
entered with great zest into the spirit of the scheme.
After having partially surrounded the herd, the half-
circle of coolies began to advance with wild shouts,
whereupon the zebras galloped madly about from
side to side, and then did just what we wished them
to do—made straight for an exceptionally boggy
part of the ground, where they soon became more
or less helpless. We singled out a few young ones
and succeeded in running them toan absolute stand-
still, when we threw them down and sat on their
heads until the other men came up with ropes. In
this way we captured no less than six: they were
very wild and fractious, giving us a great deal of
trouble in getting them along, but eventually we
managed to bring them in triumph to the camp,
where they were firmly secured. The whole expe-
dition lasted little more than a couple of hours.
Three of the captured zebras | kept for myself,
while the other three were given to the Surfacing
Engineer, whose men had assisted in the hunt.
Two of my three unfortunately died very shortly
after ; but the third, a sturdy two-year-old, flourished
splendidly. At first he was exceedingly vicious,
biting and kicking everyone who approached him ;
indeed, he once planted both his hind feet on my
chest, but did me no serious damage beyond throw-

ing me heavily to the ground. In time, however,

XIX RHC SERICKEN CARAVAN 211

he became very tame and domesticated, allowing
himself to be led about by a rope and head collar,
and would drink from a bucket and eat from my
hand. He used to be left to graze picketed by a
long rope to a stake in the ground ; but one after-

noon on returning to camp I found, much to my

‘“WE MANAGED TO BRING THEM IN TRIUMPH TO THE CAMP.”

annoyance, that he had disappeared. On making
enquiry, I learned from my servants that a herd of
wild zebra had galloped close by, and that this had
so excited him that he managed to tear the picket-
ing peg out of the ground and so rejoin his brethren
in freedom.

Some few days after our successful sortie against

Pp 2

ag THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

the zebra, the great caravan of Basoga porters re-
turned from the coast on their way back to their
own country ; but alas, with what a terrible difference
in their appearance! All their gaiety and_ light-
heartedness was gone, and the poor fellows were in
a pitiable state. A frightful epidemic of dysentery
had broken out amongst them, doubtless caused by
their having eaten food to which they were entirely
unaccustomed, their simple diet in their own homes
consisting almost entirely of bananas, from which
they also make a most refreshing and stimulating
drink. The ranks of the caravan were terribly deci-
mated, and dozens of men were left dead or dying
along the roadside after each march. It was a case
of the survival of the fittest, as of course it was quite
impossible for the whole caravan to halt in the
wilderness where neither food nor water was to be
had. There was only one European with the party,
and although he worked like a slave he could do
very little among such a number, while the Basoga
themselves seemed quite indifferent to the sufferings
of their comrades. Thirteen poor wretches fell out
to die close to my tent ; they were in the most hope-
less condition and far too weak to be able to do any-
thing at all for themselves. As soon as I discovered
them, I boiled a bucketful of water, added some
tins of condensed milk and the greater part of a

bottle of brandy to it, and fed them with the mix-

XIX THE STRICKEN CARAVAN 22

ture. Their feeble cries for some of this nourish-
ment were heartrending ; some could only whisper,
“ Bwana, Bwana” (Master, Master”), and then
open thei1 mouths. One or two of them, indeed,
could hardly do even this, and were so weak as to
be unable to swallow the spoonful of milk which |
put between their lips. In the end six proved to be
beyond all help, and died that night ; but the re-
maining seven I managed to nurse into complete
recovery in about a fortnight’s time. As our camp
was moved on, they were brought along from place
to place on the top of trucks, until finally they were
well enough to resume their journey to Usoga, very
grateful indeed for the care which we had taken of
them.

The day after I first found these stricken natives
I had arranged to ride on my pony for some miles
in advance of the railway, in order to make arrange-
ments for the building of a temporary bridge over
the Stony Athi River—a tributary of the Athi, and
so-called on account of the enormous numbers of
stones in its bed and along its banks. I ordered
my tent to follow me later in the day, and left
directions for the care of the sick Basoga, as I knew
I should be away all night. My road lay along the
route taken by the home-returning caravan, and
every hundred yards or so I passed the swollen
corpse of some unfortunate porter who had fallen

214 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

~ out and died by the wayside. Before very long I
came up with the rearguard of this straggling army,
and here I was witness of as unfeeling an act of
barbarism as can well be imagined. A poor wretch,
utterly unable to go a step further, rolled himself up
in his scarlet blanket and lay down by the roadside
to die; whereupon one of his companions, coveting
the highly-coloured and highly-prized article, turned
back, seized one end of the blanket, and callously
rolled the dying man out of it as one would unroll
a bale of goods. This was too much for me, so I
put spurs to my pony and galloped up to the
scoundrel, making as if to thrash him with my
kiboko, or whip made of rhinoceros hide. In a
moment he put his hand on his knife and half
drew it from its sheath, but on seeing me dis-
mount and point my rifle at him, he desisted and
tried to run away. I made it clear to him by signs,
however, that I would fire if he did not at once go
back and replace the blanket round his dying
comrade. This he eventually did, though sullenly
enough, and [| then marched him in front of me to
the main camp of the caravan, some little distance
further on. Here I handed him over to the officer
in charge, who, I am glad to say, had him soundly
thrashed for his brutality and theft.

After performing this little act of retributive
justice, I pushed on towards the Stony Athi. On

ha

XIX THE STRICKEN CARAVAN 215

the way—while still not far from the caravan camp
—I spied a Grant’s gazelle in the distance, and by
the aid of my glasses discovered that it was a fine-
looking buck with a capital pair of horns. A few
Basoga from the caravan had followed me, doubtless

in the hope of obtaining meat, of which they are

‘*1 GOT NEAR ENOUGH FOR A SAFE SHOT, WHICH BOWLED THE ANTELOPE
OVER STONE-DEAD.”

inordinately fond; so, handing them my pony, |
wriggled from tuft to tuft and crawled along in the
folds of the ground until eventually I got near
enough for a safe shot, which bowled the antelope
over stone-dead. Scarcely had he dropped when
the Basoga swooped down on him, ripped him open,
and devoured huge chunks of the raw and still

216 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

quivering flesh, lapping up the warm blood in the
palms of their hands. In return for the meat which
I gave them, two of them willingly agreed to go on
with me and carry the head and haunch of the
gazelle. When we had got very nearly to the place
where I intended to camp for the night, a great
wart-hog suddenly jumped up almost at my horse’s
feet, and as he had very fine and exceptionally long
tusks, I dismounted at once and bagged him too.
The Basoga were delighted at this, and promptly
cut off the head ; but my own people, who arrived
with my tent just at this juncture, and who were all
good Mohammedans, were thoroughly disgusted at
the sight of this very hideous-looking pig.

I camped for the night on the banks of the Stony
Athi, close to where the railway was to cross, and
made my notes of what was necessary for the
temporary bridge. At the time the river was abso-
lutely dry, but I knew that it might at any moment
become a roaring torrent if rain should set in; it
would therefore be necessary to span it with a
forty-foot girder in order to prevent constant
“washouts”” during the rainy season. The next
morning I started early on my return to railhead.
On my way I had to pass the camp which the
Basoga caravan had just left, but the spectacle of
about a dozen newly-made graves which the hyenas

had already torn open caused me to put spurs to

XIX THE STRICKEN CARAVAN 217

my horse and to gallop as fast as possible through
the pestilential spot. When I had almost got back
to railhead I happened to notice a huge serpent
stretched out on the grass, warming himself, his
skin of old gold and bright green sparkling bril-
liantly in the sunshine. He appeared to take little
notice of me as I cautiously approached, and was
probably drowsy and sated with a heavy meal. I
shot him through the head as he lay, and the
muscular contortions after death throughout his
long body gave me a very vivid idea of the
tremendous squeezing power possessed by these
reptiles. Skinning him was an easy process, but
unfortunately his beautiful colouring soon disap-
peared, the old gold turning to white and the
bright green to lustreless black.

WART-HOG

CHA PF Pit Ree
A DAY ON THE ATHI RIVER

In spite of all our difficulties, rapid progress con-
tinued to be made with the line. Each day railhead
crept a mile or so further across the Plains, and on
April 24 we reached the Stony Athi River, where our
great camp was pitched for a few days while the
temporary bridge was being thrown across the dry
bed of the stream. Still another temporary bridge
had to be arranged for the Athi itself, which was
some eight miles further on, so I had to make
one or two expeditions to this river in order to
select a suitable place for the crossing and to make
various other arrangements. On one of these
occasions I was busy attending to the pitching of my
tent after arriving at the Athi late in the evening,
when on looking round I was very much surprised
to see two European ladies sitting under the shade
of some trees on the river bank. As IJ knew

that this was anything but a safe place in which

CH. 2% ASOAY ON CAE ATH RIVER 219

to rest, owing to the number of lions about, I went
up to them to see if I could be of any assistance,
and found that they were American missionaries
journeying to their stations further inland. They
were waiting for their camp equipment to arrive,
but their porters had been considerably delayed
by some very heavy rain, which of course made the
roads bad and the tents about double their usual
weight. The men of the party were expected
every moment with the porters, but there was as
yet no sign of the little caravan, and as a matter
of fact it did not arrive until long after nightfall.
In these circumstances it was perhaps a great
blessing that I happened to be there; and as
the ladies were both very tired and hungry, il
was glad to be able to place my tent at their dis-
posal and to offer them as good a dinner as it
was possible to provide in the wilds. It is indeed
wonderful what dangers and hardships these deli-
cately nurtured ladies will face cheerfully in order to
carry out their self-appointed mission.

When they had left next morning to resume their
journey, I started out and made a search up and
down the river for the proper position for my
temporary bridge. After a thorough examination
of all the possible situations, I chose the most
suitable and pitched my tent close to it for a night
or two while I made the necessary calculations for

220 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

carrying out the work. The crossing on which I
had decided had to be approached by a somewhat
sharp curve in the line, and in laying this out with
the theodolite I experienced considerable difficulty,
as for some reason or other I could not make the
last peg on the curve come anywhere near the
tangent-point where the curve should link up
with the straight. I repeated the whole operation
time after time, but always with the same result.
Eventually I came to the conclusion that there must
be some mistake in the table of angles from which |
had been working, so I started to work them out for
myself and soon discovered a_ serious misprint.
This being rectified in my calculations, I proceeded
to lay out the curve again, when at last everything
came out accurately and to my satisfaction.

After I had pegged out this temporary diversion
of the line, I thought I richly deserved a few hours’
play, and accordingly determined to try my luck after
lions up-stream towards the source of the Athi.
The river—which runs almost due _ north here,
before taking a turn eastward to the Indian Ocean—
forms part of the western boundary of the Athi
Plains, and is fringed all along its course by a belt
of thorny hardwood trees. In some places this
fringe is quite narrow, while in others it is about a
quarter of a mile wide, with grassy glades here and

there among the trees. | Every now and again, too,

ax A DAY ON THE ATHI RIVER, 221

the stream itself widens out into a broad stretch of
water, nearly always covered over with tall reeds
and elephant grass, while along the banks are
frequent patches of stunted bushes, which struck me
as very likely places for the king of beasts to sleep in
after having drunk at the river. I had noticed that
after having eaten and drunk well, a lion would
throw himself down quite without caution in the
first shady spot he came to; of course nothing
except man ever disturbs him, and even of man the
lions in this part of the country had as yet no fear,
for they had rarely if ever been hunted previous to
my time.

As I felt rather tired after my morning’s work, I
decided to use my pony on this expedition, although
as arule I went on foot. Mahina and half-a-dozen
natives to beat the belt of trees were to accompany
me, and after a hasty lunch off we started up the left
bank of the river. I walked for some distance at
first, partly because the ground was very stony and
partly because I thought a lion might suddenly
bound out of some likely patches in front of the
beaters ; but after having gone about six miles in
this way without adventure of any kind, I decided
to mount again. At this time the beaters were in
line about a hundred yards behind me, shouting and
halloing with all their might as they advanced

through the scrub and undergrowth, while I rode

222 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

well to the flank so as to be ready for any emergency.
Just as the men got up toa rather thicker piece of
jungle than usual, I fancied I saw a movement
among the bushes and pulled up suddenly to watch
the spot, but did not dismount. The next moment
out bounded a lioness, who raced straight across the
open strip into the next patch of jungle, quickly
followed by another. Throwing myself off my pony,
I seized my rifle to get a shot at the second lioness as
she galloped past, and was just about to pull the
trigger, when to my utter amazement out sprang a
huge black-maned lion, making all haste after his
mates. Before he could reach the further thicket,
however, I fired, and had the satisfaction of hearing
the deep growl that tells of a serious hit.

The beaters and I now advanced with great care,
taking advantage of every bit of cover and keeping
a sharp look-out for the wounded animal as we crept
from tree to tree. Fully a quarter of an hour must
have elapsed in this slow yet exciting search, before
one of the men, some fifty or sixty yards to my left,
and a little ahead of the line, called out that he could
see the lion awaiting our approach, with his head just
visible in alarge bed of rushes only a short distance
in front of where I then was. Almost at the same
moment I found blood marks left by the wounded
animal, leading apparently to a kind of gap in the
bank of the river, which had evidently been worn

Pn oe
at

ax A DAY ON THE ATHI RIVER 223

down bya rhino going to and fro todrink. I accord-
ingly made for this with the greatest caution, order-
ing all the men, except Mahina, to remain behind ;
and as noiselessly as possible I slipped from cover to
cover in my endeavour to obtain a peep over the
bank. I saw that it was no use to attempt to climb
a tree, as the overspreading foliage would have
prevented me from obtaining any view ahead; so |
continued my slow advance with a fast-beating
heart, not knowing where the huge brute was and
expecting every moment that he would charge out
at me over the bank from his reedy refuge.
Emboldened to a certain extent, however, by the
fact that up till then I had heard no movement on
the part of my enemy, I crept steadily forward and
at last, from the shelter of a friendly tree behind
the bole of which I hid myself, I was able to look
over the bank. And there, not twenty yards from
me, crouched the lion—luckily watching, not me,
but the native who had first seen him and who had
directed me to where he was. | raised my rifle very
cautiously, without making the slightest sound, and
steadying the barrel against the trunk of the tree
and standing on tip-toe in order to get a better view,
I fired plump at the side of his head. It was as
if he had suddenly been hit with a sledge-hammer,
for he fell over instantly and lay like a log.

On my calling out that the lion was done for, the

224 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP,

beaters came running up shouting with joy ; and
although I warned them to be careful, as the two
lionesses were probably still close at hand, they did
not seem to care in the slightest and in a twinkling
had the dead lion lifted from the reeds on to the dry
bank. Before I allowed anything further to be done,
however, I had the patch of rushes thoroughly
beaten out: but as no traces of the lionesses could
be found, we commenced to skin my fine trophy.
When this was about half done, I decided to let
Mahina finish the operation, while I went on ahead
to try my luck either with more lions or with any
other game that might come my way. I followed
up the river almost to its source, but no more lions
crossed my path. Once indeed I felt convinced
that I saw one, and gave chase to it with all my
might as it rushed through the long grass: but a
nearer view showed me nothing more than a huge
wart-hog. As I wanted the tusks, which I noticed
were very fine ones, I fired but only badly hipped
him: so I ran up as fast as I could and at ten
yards fired again. This time I missed him entirely,
and was puzzled to account for my failure until I
looked at my back sight and found that by some
accident it had got raised and that I had the 200-
yards sight up. On rectifying this, another shot
quickly put the wounded animal out of pain.

Still my day’s sport was not yet over. While

ee

Xx A DAY ON THE ATHI RIVER 225

rambling back through the trees, I caught sight of
a graceful-looking antelope in the distance, and on
cautiously approaching closer saw that it was an
impala. My stalk was crowned with success, the

beautiful animal being bagged without much trouble ;

}
s

“SA SUCCESSFUL SNAPSHOT OF AN IMPALA JUST AFTER IT HAD BEEN
SHOT.”

j
}
2
ie

and on reaching my prize I was delighted to find
that its horns were much above the average. On
another occasion I was fortunate enough to get a
successful snapshot of an impala just after it had
been shot by a friend, and the photograph gives a

very good idea of what mine was like.
Q

226 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

As it was now growing late, I made all haste back
to where I had left Mahina skinning the lion, but to
my astonishment he was nowhere to be seen. I[
fired several shots and shouted myself hoarse, all
without response ; and the only conclusion I could
come to was that he had returned to the camp at the
temporary bridge. I accordingly pushed on, reach-
ing home long after dark ; and there I found Mahina
safe and sound, with the lion’s skin already pegged
out to dry, so that I could not find it in my heart to give
him the severe scolding he deserved for having
returned without me. Next morning I packed up
my trophies and returned to my work at railhead.
On my way back I happened to meet one of the
other engineers, who cailed out, “ Halle!’ 1 hear
you have got a fine line.”

My thoughts being ful! of my adventures of the
day before, I answered: ‘“ Yes, I did ; but how on
earth did you hear of it ?”

“Oh!” he said, ‘“ Reynolds told me.”

‘Good heavens,” I replied, ‘‘ why, he left before
I -shotyit-< |
- * Shot?” he exclaimed, “ whatever do “yeu
gical)

‘Didn't you say,” I asked, “that you heard I
had got a fine lion ?”

“No, no,” was his reply ; “a fine Zzve for the tem-
porary bridge over the river.”

XX “DAY ON THE ATHI RIVER 227

We both laughed heartily at the misunderst: nding,
and when he saw my trophy, which was being carried
by my man just behind me, he agreed that it was
quite fine enough to monopolise my thoughts and

prevent me from thinking of anything else,

aad €
ciel a inal oa “Mat
-_~ = ™

CHAPTER XXI.
THE MASAI AND OTHER TRIBES

A Few Masai may still be seen on the Athi Plains,
but as arule they keep away from the railway, the
majority of the tribe being now settled on the
Laikipia Plateau. Formerly they were by far the
most powerful native race in East Africa, and when
on the war-path were the terror of the whole country
from the furthest limits of Uganda to Mombasa
itself. Their numbers have latterly become greatly
reduced through famine and small-pox, but the
remnant of the tribe, more especially the men, are
still a fine, lithe, clean-limbed people. While I was
stationed in the Plains I managed to have an inter-
view with the chief, Lenana, at one of his “royal
residences,” a kraal near Nairobi. He was affability
itself, presenting me with a spear and shield asa
memento of the occasion ; but he had the reputation
of being a most wily old potentate, and I found this

quite correct, as whenever he was asked an awkward

cH. xxI THE MASAI AND OTHER TRIBES 229

question, he would nudge his Prime Minister and
command him to answer for him. I managed to
induce him and his wives and children to sit for their
photograph, and they made a very fine group
indeed ; but unfortunately the negative turned out

.

A MASAI CHIEF.

very badly. I also got Lenana’s nephew and a
warrior to engage in combat with the spear and
shield, and both made fine play with their long keen
blades, which more than once penetrated the oppon-
ents shield.

The Masai have a wonderfully well-organised

military system. The warriors (e/moranz) of the

230 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

tribe must attend strictly to their duties, and are
not allowed to marry or to smoke or to drink
until after their term of active service is completed.
Besides the spear and shield they generally carry
a sword or knobkerrie, suspended from a raw-hide
waist-belt ; and they certainly look very ferocious in
their weird-looking head-dress when on the war-
path. Once or twice I met detachments out on
these expeditions, but they were always quite
friendly to me, even though I was practically
alone. Before the advent of British rule, however,
sudden raids were constantly being made by them
on the weaker tribes in the country; and when a
kraal was captured all the male defenders were
instantly killed with the spear, while the women
were put to death during the night with clubs. The
Masai, indeed, never made slaves or took prisoners,
and it was their proud boast that where a party of
elmorani had passed, nothing of any kind was left
alive. The object of these raids was, of course, to
capture live stock, for the Masai are not an agri-
cultural people and their wealth consists entirely in
their herds of cattle, sheep and goats. Curiously
enough they do not hunt game, although the country
abounds with it, but live principally on beef and
milk ; and it is also a common custom for them to
drink daily a pint or so of blood taken from a live

bullock. As they thus live entirely on cattle, and

XI THE MASAI AND OTHER TRIBES 231
as cattle cannot thrive without good pasture, it is
not unnatural to find that they have a great

reverence for grass. They also worship a Supreme

MASAI WARRIORS.

Being whom they call N’gai, but this term is
also applied to anything which is beyond their
understanding.

Perhaps the most curious of the customs of the

222 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

Masai is the extraction of the two front teeth from
the lower jaw. It is said that this habit originated
at a time when lockjaw was very prevalent among
the tribe, and it was found that if these teeth
were pulled out food could still be taken. This
explanation
seems scarcely
satisfactory
or sufficient,
and I give it
only for what
itis worth: but
whatever the
reason for the
custom, the ab-
sence of these
two teeth con-
stitutes a most
distinctive

identifying

mark. - ] mee

Ree AOA member once

being out with

a Masai one day when we came across the bleached
skull of a long defunct member of his tribe, of course
easily recognisable as such by the absence of the
proper teeth. The Masai at once plucked a hand-

ful of grass, spat upon it, and then placed it very

xx1 THE MASAI AND OTHER TRIBES ~— 233

carefully within the skull; this was done, he said,
to avert evil from himself. The same man asked
me among many other questions if my country was

nearer to God than his. I am afraid I was unable

MASAI GIRLS.

conscientiously to answer him in the affirmative.
Formerly the Masai used to spit in the face as a
mark of great friendship, but nowadays—like most
other native races—they have adopted our English
fashion of shaking hands.

Another very common custom amongst them is

234 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

that of distorting the lobe of the ear by stretching
it until it hangs down quite five or six inches. It is
then pierced and decorated in various ways—by
sticking through it a piece of wood two or three
inches in diameter, or a little round tin canister, and

by hanging to it pieces of chain, rings, beads, or

MASAI WOMEN.

bunches of brass-headed nails, according to fancy.
Nearly all the men wear little bells on their ankles
to give notice of their approach, while the women
are very fond of covering themselves with large
quantities of iron or copper wire. ‘Their limbs,
indeed, are often almost completely encased with

these rings, which I should think must be very

XXI THE MASAI AND OTHER TRIBES 235

heavy and uncomfortable: but no Masai woman
considers herself a lady of fashion without them,
and the more she possesses the higher does she

stand in the social scale.

2 -

N’DEROBBO BOY.

As a rule, the Masai do not bury their dead, as
they consider this custom to be prejudicial to the
soil; the bodies are simply carried some little

236 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

distance from the village and left to be devoured
by birds and wild beasts. The honour of burial

is reserved only for a great chief, over whose

N’DEROBBO BOY, WITH COLLABUS MONKEY.

remains a large mound is also raised. I came
across one of these mounds one day near Tsavo
and opened it very carefully, but found nothing:

possibly I did not pursue my search deep enough

Xx] THE MASAI AND OTHER TRIBES 329

into the earth. In general, the Masai are an up-
right and honourable savage race, and it is a great

pity that they are gradually dying out.

N’DEROBBO GIRL.

More or less serfs of the Masai are the Wa
N’derobbo, who, unlike their over-lords, are a race of
hunters. They are seldom to be met with, however,
as they hide away in caves and thickets, and keep

238 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

constantly moving from place to place following the
game. Not long ago I sawa few of them in the
neighbourhood of the Eldama Ravine: but these
were more or less civilised, and the girls, who were
quite graceful, had abandoned the native undress
costume for flowing white robes.

In the district from Nairobi to the Kedong
River, and in the Kenya Province, dwell the Wa
Kikuyu, who are similar to the Masai in build, but
not nearly so good-looking. Like the latter, they
use the spear and shield, though of a different
shape ; their principal weapon, however, is the bow
and poisoned arrow. They also frequently carry
a rudely made two-edged short sword in a sheath,
which is slung round the waist by a belt of raw
hide. Their front teeth are filed to a sharp point
in the same manner as those of nearly all the
other native tribes of East Africa, with the excep-
tion of the Masai. They live in little villages
composed of beehive huts and always situated in
the very thickest patches of forest that they can
find, and their cattle kraals are especially strongly
built and carefully hidden. On one occasion I
managed after a great deal of difficulty and crawling
on all-fours to make my way into one of these
kraals, and was much amazed to notice what labour
and ingenuity had been expended on its construc-
tion. Unlike the Masai, the Wa Kikuyu have a

XXI THE MASAI AND OTHER TRIBES 239

fairly good idea of agriculture, and grow crops

of m’tama (a kind of native grain from which

WA KIKUYU.

flour is made), sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, and
tobacco.

240 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

The Wa Kikuyu have the reputation of being a
very cowardly and treacherous people, and they
have undoubtedly committed some very cruel deeds.
A friend of mine, Captain Haslem, with whom [|

lived*for a few months at Tsavo, was barbarously

WA KIKUYU.

murdered by some members of this tribe. He left
me to go up to the Kikuyu country in charge of
the transport, and as he was keenly interested in
finding out all about the tropical diseases from
which the animals suffered, he made it his custom
to dissect the bodies of those that died. The

superstitious Wa Kikuyu were fully convinced that

XXI THE MASAI AND OTHER TRIBES 241

by this he bewitched their cattle, which at the time
were dying in scores from rinderpest. So—in-
stigated no doubt by. the all-powerful witch-doctor
—they treacherously killed him. For my part,

however, I found them not nearly so black as they

““THE WOMEN OF THE WA KIKUYU CARRY THE HEAVY LOADS.”

had been painted to me. I had about four hundred
of them working at one thing or another at Nairobi
and never had any trouble with them. On the
contrary I found them well-behaved and intelligent
and most anxious to learn.

As is the case with all other African races, the
women of the Wa Kikuyu do the manual labour of

R

242 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO © cu. xx!

the village and carry the heavy loads for their lords
and masters, the bundles being held in position on
their back by a strap passing round the forehead.

Notwithstanding this some of them are quite
pleasant looking, and once they have overcome their
fear of the European, do not object to being photo-
graphed.

Of the other tribes to be met with in this part
of the world, the Kavirondo are the most interesting.
They are an industrious, simple people, devoted
to agriculture and hospitable in the extreme—a
little addicted to thieving, perhaps, but then that
is scarcely considered a sin in the heart of Africa.
They are clothed (to use Mark Twain’s expression)
in little but a smile, a bead or two here and there
being considered ample raiment ; nevertheless they
are modest in their ways and are on the whole
about the best of the East African tribes.

CHAPTER XXII
HOW ROSHAN KHAN SAVED MY LIFE

On May 12 railhead reached the Athi River,
where, as there was a great deal of miscellaneous
work to be done, our headquarters remained
established for some little time. One day not long
after we had settled down in our new camp, I was
joined quite unexpectedly by my friend Dr. Brock,
who had shared the exciting adventure with me at
Tsavo the night we were attacked in the goods-
wagon by one of the man-eaters. Now Brock had
so far not been fortunate enough to bag a lion, and
was consequently most anxious to do so. Shortly
after his arrival, accordingly, he suggested that we
should go for a shooting expedition on the morrow,
and that I should trot out for his benefit one of the
local lions. Of course I said I should be delighted
—I was always ready for a hunt when it was
possible for me to get away, and as just at the time
we were “held up” by the Athi River, I could

Lt Fz

244 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

manage a day off quite easily. So we made the
usual preparations for a day’s absence from camp—
filled our water-bottles with tea, put a loaf of bread
and a tin of sardines in our haversacks, looked care-
fully to our rifles and ammunition, and warned the
“boys” who were to accompany us as beaters to be
ready before dawn. I decided to make a very
early start, as I knew that the most likely place for
lions lay some distance away, and I wanted to get
there if possible by daybreak. We should thus
have a better chance of catching one of the lords
of the plain as he returned from his_ nightly
depredations to the kindly shelter of the tall grass
and rushes which fringed the banks of the river.
We therefore retired to rest early, and just as I was
dozing off to sleep, one of my Indian servants,
Roshan Khan, put his head through the slit at my
tent door and asked leave to accompany the “‘ Sahibs”
in the morning so that he might see what shzkar
(hunting) was like. This request I sleepily granted,
thinking that it could make little difference whether
he came with us or stayed behind in camp. As
things turned out, however, it made all the differ-
ence in the world, for if he had not accompanied
us, my shzekar would in all probability have ended
disastrously next day. He was a very dusky-
coloured young Pathan about twenty years of age,
lithe and active, and honest and pleasant-looking,

“eid hers”

xx HOW ROSHAN KHAN SAVED MY LIFE 245

as Pathans go. He had been my ‘‘boy” for some
time and was much attached to me, besides having
a touching faith in my prowess in shzkar : probably,
indeed, this was the reason why he stuck so close to
me throughout the hunt.

We breakfasted by candle light and managed to
get several miles on our way towards the source
of the Athi before dawn. As soon as it was
thoroughly daylight, we extended in line, Dr.
Brock, as the guest, being placed in the most likely
position for a shot, while Roshan Khan followed
close behind me with the day’s provisions. In this
order we trudged steadily forward for a couple of
miles without coming across anything, though we
advanced through many patches of rushes and long
grass likely to conceal our expected quarry. It was
most interesting and exciting work all the same,
as we never knew but that a lion might the next
moment jump up at our very feet. We had just
beaten through a most hopeful-looking covert with-
out success and had come out on toa beautiful open
grassy glade which stretched away for some distance
ahead of us, when I noticed a big herd of wilde-
beeste browsing quietly some distance to our right.
I knew that Brock also wanted a wildebeeste, so I
whistled softly to him, and pointed out the weird-
looking, bison-like antelopes. He came across at
once and started off towards the herd, while I sat

246 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

down to watch the proceedings. He made a
beautiful stalk, which was rendered really very
difficult by the open nature of the country, but
still the wildebeeste quickly noticed his approach
and kept steadily moving on, until at last they
disappeared over one of the gentle rises which are
such a feature of the Athi Plains.

I still sat and waited, expecting every moment to
hear the sound of Brock’s rifle. Some time elapsed
without a shot, however, and I was just about to
follow him up and find out how things were going,
when Roshan Khan suddenly exclaimed excitedly :—
“ Dekko, Sahib, shenzi ata hain!” (‘ Look, Sahib,
the savages are coming!”’). I was not in the least
alarmed at this somewhat startling announcement,
as the Indians called all the natives of the interior
of Africa shenzz, or savages; and on_ looking
round I saw five tall, slim Masai approaching in
Indian file, each carrying a_ six-foot spear in
his right hand. On coming nearer, the leader of
the party eagerly asked in Swahili, ‘‘ What does
the Bwana Makubwa (“ Great Master”’) desire ?”

“Siobe (Lions ~ \ said I.

‘“Come,” he replied, ‘I will show you many.”

This filled me with interest at once. ‘‘ How far
away are they?” I asked.

“MM balt kidogo” (‘ A little distance”), came the
stereotyped reply.

a a
PLE,

xxi HOW ROSHAN KHAN SAVED MY LIFE 247

I immediately had a good look round for Brock,
but could see no sign of him, so, in case the ‘‘ many ”
lions should get away in the meantime, I told the
Masai to lead the way, and off we started.

As usual, the bali kidogo proved a good distance
—over two miles in this case. Indeed, I began to
get impatient at the long tramp, and called out to
the Masai to know where his lions were; but he
vouchsafed me no answer and continued to walk
steadily on, casting keen glances ahead. After a
little I again asked, ‘‘ Where are the lions?” This
time he extended his spear in a most dramatic
manner, and pointing to a clump of trees just ahead,
exclaimed: ‘‘ Look, Master; there are the lions.”
I looked, and at once caught sight of a lioness
trotting off behind the bushes. I also saw some
suspicious-looking thing at the foot of one of the big
trees, but came to the conclusion that it was only
a growth of some kind projecting from the trunk.
I was soon to be undeceived, however, for as I
started to run towards the trees in order to cut off
the fast disappearing lioness from a stretch of rushes
for which she was making, a low and sinister growl
made me look closer at the object which had first
aroused my suspicions. To my surprise and delight
I saw that it was the head of a huge black-maned
lion peering out from behind the trunk of the tree,
which completely hid his body. I pulled up short

248 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

and stared at him. Although he was not seventy
yards away from me, yet owing to the nature of the
background it was very difficult to make him out,
especially as he kept his head perfectly still, gazing
steadily at me. It was only when the great mouth
opened in an angry snarl that I could see plainly
what he really was. For a few seconds we stood
thus and looked at each other; then he growled
again and made off after the lioness. As I could
not get a fair shot at him from where I stood, I ran
with all my might for a point of vantage from which
I might have a better chance of bagging him as he
passed.

Now by this time I had almost got beyond the
surprise stage where lions were concerned; yet I
must admit that I was thoroughly startled and
brought to a full stop in the middle of my race
by seeing no less than four more lionesses jump up
from the covert which the lion had just left. Inthe
twinkling of an eye three of them had disappeared
after their lord in long, low bounds, but the fourth
stood broadside on, looking, not at me, but at my
followers, who by this time were grouped together
and talking and gesticulating excitedly. This gave
me a splendid chance for a shoulder shot at about
fifty yards’ distance, so I knelt down at once and
fired after taking careful aim. The lioness dis-

appeared from sight instantly, and on looking over

xx HOW ROSHAN KHAN SAVED MY LIFE 249

the top of the grass I saw that my shot had told, as
she was on her back, clawing the air and growling
viciously. As she looked to me to be done for, I
shouted to some of the men to remain behind and
watch her, while I set off once more at a run to try
to catch up the lion. I feared that the check with
the lioness might have lost him to me altogether,
but to my relief I soon caught sight of him again.
He had not made off very quickly, and had probably
stopped several times to see what I was up to;
indeed the men, who could see him all the time,
afterwards told me that when he heard the growl of
rage from the lioness after she was shot, he made
quite along halt, apparently deliberating whether he
should return to her rescue. Evidently, however,
he had decided that discretion was the better part of
valour. Fortunately he was travelling leisurely,
and I was delighted to find that I was gaining on
him fast; but I had still to run about two hundred
yards at my best pace, which, at an altitude of more
than 5,000 feet above sea-level, leaves one very
breathless at the end of it.

When the lion perceived me running towards
him, he took up his station under a tree, where he
was half hidden by some low bushes, above which
only his head showed. Here he stood, watching
my every movement and giving vent to his anger

at my presence in low, threatening growls. I did

250 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

not at all like the look of him, and if there had
been another tree close by, I should certainly have
scrambled up it into safety before attempting to fire.
As a matter of fact, however, there was no shelter
of any kind at hand; so, as ] meant to have a try
for him at all costs, I sat down where I was, about
sixty yards from him, and covered his great head
with my rifle. I was so breathless after my run,
and my arms were so shaky, that it was all I could
do to keep the sight on the fierce-looking target ;
and I thought to myself, as the rifle barrel wobbled
about, “If I don’t knock him over with the first
shot, he will be out of these bushes and down on
me like greased lightning—and then I know what
to expect.” It was a most exciting moment, but in
spite of the risk I would not have missed it for the
world; so, taking as steady an aim as was possible in
the circumstances, I pulled the trigger. Instantly
the shaggy head disappeared from view, and such a
succession of angry roars and growls came up out
of the bushes that I was fairly startled, and felt
keenly anxious to finish him off before he could
charge out and cover the short distance which
separated us. I therefore fired half a dozen shots
into the bushes at the spot where I imagined he lay,
and soon the growling and commotion ceased, and
all was still. I was confident the brute was dead,

so I called up one of the men to stay and watch the

xx HOW ROSHAN KHAN SAVED MY LIFE 251

place, while I again rushed off at full speed—jump-
ing over such rocks and bushes as came in my way
—to have a shot at a lioness that was still in sight.

By this time my followers numbered about thirty
men, as when one is hunting in these plains natives
seem to spring from nowhere in the most mysterious
manner, and attach themselves to one in the hope of
obtaining some portion of the kill. By signal I
ordered them to advance in line on the thicket in
which the lioness had just taken refuge, while I took
up my position on one side, so as to obtain a good
shot when she broke covert. The line of natives
shouting their native cries and striking their spears
together soon disturbed her, and out she sprang
into the open, making for a clump of rushes close
to the river. Unfortunately she broke out at the
most unfavourable spot from my point of view, as
some of the natives masked my fire, and I had
consequently to wait until she got almost to the
edge of the rushes. Whether or not I hit her then
I cannot say; at any rate, she made good her
escape into the reeds, where I decided to leave her
until Brock should arrive.

I now retraced my steps towards the spot where
I had shot the lion, expecting, of course, to find the
man I had told to watch him still on guard. To
my intense vexation, however, I found that my

sentry had deserted his post and had joined the

252 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

other men of the party, having become frightened
when left by himself. The result of his dis-
obedience was that now I could not tell where lay
the dead lion—or, rather, the lion which I believed to
be dead ; but I had no intention of losing so fine a
trophy, so I began a systematic search, dividing the
jungle into strips, and thus going over the whole
place thoroughly. The task of finding him, however,
was not so easy as might be thought ; the chase after
the lioness had taken us some distance from where
I had shot him, and as there were numbers of trees
about similar to that under which he fell, it was
really a very difficult matter to hit upon the right
place. Atlast one of the men sang out joyfully that
he had found the lion—at the same time running
away from the spot as hard as ever he could. A
number of those nearest to him, both Indians and
natives, had more courage or curiosity, and went up
to have a look at the beast. I shouted to them as
I hurried along to be careful and not to go too near,
in case by any chance he might not be dead ; but
they paid little heed to the warning, and by the
time 1 got up, some half-dozen of them were
gathered in a group at the lion’s tail, gesticulating
wildly and chattering each in his own language, and
all very pleased and excited. On getting near I
asked if the lion was dead, and was told that he

was nearly so, but that he still breathed. He was

xxl HOW ROSHAN KHAN SAVED MY LIFE 253

lying at full length on his side, and when I saw him
at close quarters | was more delighted than I can
tell, for he was indeed a very fine specimen. Fora
moment or two I stood with the group of natives,
admiring him. He still breathed regularly, as his
flanks heaved with each respiration ; but as he lay
absolutely still with all the men jabbering within a
yard of him, I assumed that he was on the point of
death and unable to rise. Possessed with this
belief, I very foolishly allowed my curiosity to run
away with my caution, and stepped round to have a
look at his head. The moment I came into his
view, however, he suddenly became possessed of a
diabolical ferocity. With a great roar he sprang to
his feet, as if he were quite unhurt ; his eyes blazed
with fury, and his lips were drawn well back,
exposing his tusks and teeth in a way | hope never
to witness again. When this perilous situation so
unexpectedly developed itself, I was not more than
three paces away from him.

The instant the lion rose, all the men fled as if
the Evil One himself were after them, and made for
the nearest trees—with one exception, for as I took
a step backwards, keeping my eye on the infuriated
animal, I almost trod on Roshan Khan, who had
still remained close behind me. Fortunately for
me, I had approached the lion’s head with my rifle
ready, and as I stepped back I fired. The impact

254 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

of the *303 bullet threw him back on his haunches
just as he was in the act of springing, but in an
instant he was up again and coming for me so
quickly that I had not even time to raise my rifle to
my shoulder, but fired point blank at him from my
hip, delaying him for a second or so as before. He
was up again like lightning, and again at the
muzzle of my rifle; and this time I thought that
nothing on earth could save me, as I was almost
within his clutches. Help came from an unexpected
and unconscious quarter, for just at this critical
moment Roshan Khan seemed all at once to realise
the danger of the situation, and suddenly fled for
his life, screaming and shrieking with all his might.
Beyond all question this movement saved me, for the
sight of something darting away from him diverted
the lion’s attention from me, and following his
natural instinct, he gave chase instead to the yelling
fugitive.

Roshan Khan having thus unwittingly rescued
me from my perilous position, it now became my turn
to do all I could to save him, if this were possible.
In far less time than it takes to tell the story, I had
swung round after the pursuing lion, levelled my
rifle and fired ; but whether because of the speed at
which he was going, or because of my over-anxiety
to save my “boy”, I missed him completely, and

saw the bullet raise the dust at the heels of a

xxm HOW ROSHAN KHAN SAVED MY LIFE — 255

flying Masai. Like lightning I loaded again from
the magazine, but now the lion was within a spring
of his prey, and it seemed hopeless to expect to
save poor Roshan Khan from his clutches. Just at
this moment, however, the terrified youth caught
sight of the brute over his left shoulder, and
providentially made a quick swerve to the right.
As the lion turned to follow him, he came broadside
on to me, and just as he had Roshan Khan within
striking distance and was about to seize him, he
dropped in the middle of what would otherwise
assuredly have been the fatal spring—bowled over
with a broken shoulder. This gave me time to run
up and give him a final shot, and with a deep roar
he fell back full length on the grass, stone-dead. -

I then looked round to see if Roshan Khan was
all right, as I was not sure whether the lion had
succeeded in mauling him or not. The sight that
met my eyes turned tragedy into comedy in an
instant, and made me roar with laughter ; indeed, it
was so utterly absurd that I threw myself down on
the grass and rolled over and over, convulsed with
uncontrollable mirth. For there was Roshan Khan,
half-way up a thorn tree, earnestly bent on getting
to the very topmost branch as quickly as ever he
could climb; not a moment, indeed, was he able
to spare to cast a glance at what was happening
beneath. His puggaree had been torn off by one

256 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

thorn, and waved gracefully in the breeze; a fancy
waistcoat adorned another spiky branch, and _ his
long white cotton gown was torn to ribbons in his
mad endeavour to put as great a distance as possible
between himself and the dead lion. As soon as I
could stop laughing, I called out to him to come
down, but quite in vain. There was no stopping
him, indeed, until he had reached the very top of
the tree; and even then he could scarcely be in-
duced to come down again. Poor fellow, he had
been thoroughly terrified, and little wonder.

My followers now began to emerge from the
shelter of the various trees and bushes where
they had concealed themselves after their wild
flight from the resuscitated lion, and crowded round
his dead body in the highest spirits. The Masai,
especially, seemed delighted at the way in which he
had been defeated, and to my surprise and amuse-
ment proved themselves excellent mimics, some
three or four of them beginning at once to act the
whole adventure. One played the part of the lion
and jumped growling at a comrade, who immediately
ran backwards just as I had done, shouting “ Ta,
Ta, Ta” and cracking his fingers to represent the
rifle-shots. Finally the whole audience roared with
delight when another bolted as fast as he could to
Roshan Khan's tree with the pseudo lion roaring
after him. At the end of these proceedings up came

xxi HOW ROSHAN KHAN SAVED MY LIFE 257

Brock, who had been attracted to the place by the
sound of the firing. He was much astonished to
see my fine dead lion lying stretched out, and _ his
first remark was, “‘ You ave a lucky beggar!” After-
wards, when he heard the full story of the adventure,
he rightly considered me even more lucky than he
had first thought.

Our next business was to go back to the lioness
which | had first shot and left for dead. Like her
mate, however, she was still very much alive when
we reached her, so I stalked carefully up to a
neighbouring tree, from whose shelter | gave her
the finishing shot. We then left Mahina and the
other men to skin the two beasts, and went on to
the rushes where the second lioness had taken cover.
Here all our efforts to turn her out failed, so we
reluctantly abandoned the chase and were fated to
see no more lions that day.

Our only other adventure was with a stolid old
rhino, who gave me rather a fright and induced Brock
to indulge in some lively exercise. Separated by
about a hundred yards or so, we were walking over
the undulating grounda short distance from the river,
when, on gaining the top of a gentle rise, I suddenly
came upon the ungainly animal as it lay wallowing
ina hollow. Itjumped to its feet instantly and came
for where [ stood, andas I had no wish to shoot it,
I made a dash for cover round the knoll. On reaching

S

258 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP,

the top of the rise, the rhino winded my companion
and at once changed its direction and made for him.
Brock lost no time in putting on his best pace in
an endeavour to reach the shelter of a tree which
stood some distance off, while I sat down and
watched the exciting race. I thought it would be
a pretty close thing, but felt confident that Brock,
who was very active, would manage to pull it off.
When he got about half-way to the tree, however,
he turned to see how far his pursuer was behind, and
in doing so put his foot in a hole in the ground, and to
my horror fell head over heels, his rifle flying from
his grasp. I expected the great brute to be on him
in a moment, but to my intense relief the old rhino
stopped dead when he saw the catastrophe which
had taken place, and then, failing (I suppose) to under-
stand it, suddenly made off in the opposite direction
as hard as he could go. Inthe meantime Brock had
got to his feet again, and raced for dear life to the
tree without ever looking round. It was a most
comical sight, and I sat on the rise and for the
second time that day laughed till my sides ached.
After this we returned to the scene of my morn-
ing’s adventure, where we found that the invaluable
Mahina had finished skinning the two lions. We
accordingly made our way back to camp with our
trophies, all of us, with perhaps the exception of
Roshan Khan, well satisfied with the day’s outing.

xxi HOW ROSHAN KHAN SAVED MY LIFE 259

Whenever afterwards I wanted to chaff this ‘ boy”,
I had only to ask whether he would like to come
and see some more shzkar. He would then look
very solemn, shake his head emphatically and assure

me “ Kabhi nahin, Sahib” ( Never again, Sir”).

GCHAR Ti Rex

A SUCCESSFUL LION HUNT

Wuen the Athi river had been bridged, the
section of the line to Nairobi was pushed forward as
rapidly as possible, and from dawn to dark we all
exerted ourselves to the very utmost. One day
(May 28) the weather was exceptionally hot, and I
had been out in the broiling sun ever since daylight
superintending the construction of banks and
cuttings and the erection of temporary bridges. On
returning to my hut, therefore, at about three o’clock
in the afternoon, I threw myself into a long deck
chair, too tired for anything beyond a long cool
drink. Here I rested for an hour or so, amused by
the bustle at the small wayside station we had just
built, and idly watching our tiny construction engine
forging its way, with a great deal of clanking and
puffing, up a steep gradient just across the river.
It was touch-and-go whether it would manage to

get its heavy load of rails and sleepers to the top of

CH. XXIII A SUCCESSFUL LION HUNT 261

the incline or not, and I became so interested in the
contest between steam and friction and gravity,
that I did not notice that a visitor had approached
and was standing quietly beside me.

On hearing the usual salutation, however, I turned
round and saw a lean and withered half-bred Masai,
clothed in a very inadequate piece of wildebeeste hide
which was merely slipped under the left arm and
looped up in a knot over the right shoulder. He
stood for a moment with the right hand held out on
a level with his shoulder, the fingers extended and
the palm turned towards me—all indicating that he
came on a friendly visit. I returned his salutation,
and asked him what he wanted. Before answering,
he dropped down on his heels, his old bones cracking
as he did so. ‘I want to lead the Great Master to
two lions,” he said; “they have just killed a zebra
and are now devouring it.” On hearing this I
straightway forgot that I had already done a hard
day’s work in the full blaze of an equatorial sun; I
forgot that I was tired and hungry ; in fact, I forgot
everything that was not directly connected with the
excitement of lion-hunting. Even the old savage
at my feet grinned when he saw how keen I was
about it. I plied him with questions—were they
both lions or lionesses ? had they manes? how far
away were they? and so on. Naturally, to the last
question he was bound to answer “ Jali kidogo.”

262 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

Of course they were not far away; nothing ever is
to a native of East Africa. However, the upshot
was that in a very few minutes I had a mule saddled,
and with the old Masai as guide, started off accom-
panied by my faithful Mahina and another coolie
to help to bring home the skin if I should prove
successful. I also left word for my friend Spooner,
the District Engineer, who happened to be absent
from camp just at the moment, that I had gone
after two lions, but hoped to be back by nightfall.
We travelled at a good pace, and within an hour
had covered fully six miles; still there was no sign
of lions. On the way we were joined by some
Wa Kamba, even more scantily attired than our
guide, and soon a dispute arose between these
hangers-on and the old Masai, who refused to allow
them to accompany us, as he was afraid that they
would seize all the zebra-meat that the lions had not
already eaten. However, I told him not to bother,
but to hurry up and show me the lions, and that I
would look after him all right. Eventually, on
getting to the low crest of one of the long swells in
the ground, our guide extended a long skinny finger
and said proudly, ‘‘ Zazama, Bwana” (See,
Master’’). I looked in the direction in which he
pointed, and sure enough, about six hundred yards
off were a lion and a lioness busily engaged on the

carcase of a zebra, On using my field-glasses, |

XXII A SUCCESSFUL LION HUNT 263

was amused to observe a jackal in attendance on
the pair. Every now and then he would come too
close to the zebra, when the lion would make a
short rush at him and scare him away. The little
jackal looked most ridiculous, scampering off before
the huge beast with his tail well down; but no
sooner did the lion stop and return to his meal
than he crept nearer again. The natives say, by
the way, that a lion will eat every kind Ol anainia|——
including even other lions—except a jackal or a
hyena. I was also interested to notice the way in
which the lion got at the flesh of the zebra; he took
a short run at the body, and putting his claws well
into the skin, in this manner tore off great strips of
the hide. :
While I was thus studying the picture, my
followers became impatient at my inactivity, and
coming up to the top of the rise, showed them-
selves on the sky-line. The lions saw them at once,
turning round and standing erect to stare at them.
There was not an atom of cover to be seen, nor
any chance of taking advantage of the rolling
ground, for it did not slope in the required direction ;
so I started to walk in the open in a sidelong
direction towards the formidable-looking pair. They
allowed me to come a hundred yards or so nearer
them, and then the lioness bolted, the lion following

her at a more leisurely trot. As soon as they left

264 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

the body of the zebra, my African following made a
rush for it, and began a fierce fight over the remains,
so that I had to restore order and leave a coolie
to see that our guide got the largest share, as he
deserved. In the meantime the lion, hearing the
noise of the squabble, halted on the crest of the
hill to take a deliberate look at me, and then dis-
appeared over the brow. I jumped on to my mule
and galloped as hard as I could after him, and
luckily found the pair still in sight when I reached
the top of the rise. As soon as they saw me
following them up, the lioness took covert in some
long grass that almost concealed her when she lay
down, but the lion continued to move steadily away.
Accordingly I made for a point which would bring
me about two hundred yards to the right of the
lioness, and which would leave a deep natural hollow
between us, so as to give me a better chance, in the
event of a charge, of bowling her over as she came
up the rise towards me. I could plainly make out
her light-coloured form in the grass, and took careful
aim and fired. In an instant she was kicking on her
back and tossing about, evidently hard hit; in a few
seconds more she lay perfectly still, and I saw that
she was dead.

I now turned my attention to the lion, who mean-
while had disappeared over another rise. By this
time Mahina and the other Indian, with three or

XXIII A SUCCESSFUL LION HUNT 265

four of the disappointed Wa Kamba, had come
up, so we started off in a body in pursuit of him. |
felt sure that he was lurking somewhere in the
grass not far off, and I knew that I could depend
upon the native eye to find him if he showed so
much as the tip of his ear. Nor was I disappointed,
for we had scarcely topped the next rise when one
of the Wa Kamba spotted the dark brown head of
the brute as he raised it for an instant above the
grass in order to watchus. We pretended not to
have seen him, however, and advanced to within two
hundred yards or so, when, as he seemed to be
getting uneasy, I thought it best to risk a shot even
at this range. I put up the 200-yards sight and the
bullet fell short ; but the lion never moved. Raising
the sight another fifty yards, I rested the rifle on
Mahina’s back for the next shot, and again missed ;
fortunately, however, the lion still remained quiet. |
then decided to put into practice the scheme I| had
thought out the day I sat astride the lion I had
killed on the Kapiti Plain: so I told all my followers
to move off to the right, taking the mule with them,
and to make a half-circle round the animal, while
I lay motionless in the grass and waited. The ruse
succeeded admirably, for as the men moved round
so did the lion, offering me at last a splendid shoulder
shot. I took very careful, steady aim and fired,
with the result that he rolled over and over, and

266 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

then made one or two attempts to get up but failed.
I then ran up to within a few yards of him, and—
helpless as he was with a bullet through both
shoulders—he was still game, and twisted round so
as to face me, giving vent all the time to savage
growls. A final shot laid him out, however, and
we at once proceeded to skin him. While we were
busy doing this, one of the Wa Kamba suddenly
drew my attention to the fact that we were actually
being stalked at that very moment by two other
lions, who eventually approached to within five hun-
dred yards’ distance and then lay down to watch us
skinning their dead brother, their big shaggy heads
rising every now and again above the grass to give
us a prolonged stare. At the time I little knew
what a stirring adventure was in store for me next
day while in pursuit of these same brutes.

It was almost dark when the skinning process
was finished, so without delay we started on our way
back to camp, which was about seven miles off. The
lioness I thought I should leave to be skinned the
next day ; but the men I sent out to do the job on
the morrow were unable to find any trace of her—
they probably missed the place where she lay, for I
am sure that I killed her. It was a good two hours
after night had fallen before we got anywhere near
the railway, and the last few miles I was obliged to
do by the guidance of the stars. Tramping over

XXII A SUCCESSFUL LION HUNT 267

the plain on a pitch-dark night, with lions and rhino
all about, was by no means pleasant work, and I
heartily wished myself and my men safely back in
camp. Indeed, I was beginning to think that I
must have lost my bearings and was getting anxious
about it, when to my relief I heard a rifle shot about
half a mile ahead of us. I guessed at once that it was
fired by my good friend Spooner in order to guide
me, so I gave a reply signal; and on getting to
the top of the next rise, I saw the plain in front of
me all twinkling with lights. When he found that
J had not returned by nightfall, Spooner had
become nervous about me, and fearing that I had
met with some mishap, had come out with a number
of the workmen in camp to search for me in the
direction I had taken in the afternoon. He was
delighted to find me safe and sound and with a
lion’s skin as a trophy, while I was equally glad
to have his escort and company back to camp,
which was still over a mile away.

When we had settled down comfortably to dinner
that night, I fired Spooner’s sporting ardour by
telling him of the fine pair of lions who had
watched us skinning their companion, and we agreed
at once to go out next day and try to bag them
both. Spooner and I had often had many friendly
arguments in regard to the comparative courage of
the lion and the tiger, he holding the view that

268 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO cu. xxm

)

“Stripes” was the more formidable foe, while I,
though admitting to the full the courage of the tiger,
maintained from lively personal experience that the
lion when once roused was unequalled for pluck and
daring, and was in fact the most dangerous enemy
one could meet with. He may at times slink off
and not show fight; but get him in the mood, or
wound him, and only his death or yours will end
the fray—that, at least, was my experience of East
African lions. I think that Spooner has now come
round to my opinion, his conversion taking place the

next day in a very melancholy manner.

CEAP TER XX1TV

BHOOTA’S LAST SH/KAR

Lone after I had retired to rest that night I lay
awake listening to roar answering roar in every
direction round our camp, and realised that we were
indeed in the midst of a favourite haunt of the king
of beasts. It is one thing to hear a lion in captivity,
when one knows he is safe behind iron bars; but
quite another to listen to him when he is ramping
around in the vicinity of one’s fragile tent, which
with a single blow he could tear to pieces. Still,
all this roaring was of good omen for the next
day’s sport.

According to our over-night arrangement, we
were up betimes in the morning, but as there was a
great deal of work to be done before we could get
away, it was quite midday before we made ready to
start. I ought to mention before going further that
as a rule Spooner declined my company on shooting
trips, as he was convinced that I should get

270 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

‘“scuppered” sooner or later if I persisted in going
after lions with a “‘ popgun,” as he contemptuously
termed my °303. Indeed, this was rather a bone of
contention between us, he being a firm believer (and
rightly) ina heavy weapon for big and dangerous
game, while I always did my best to defend the
-303 which I was in the habit of using. On this
occasion we effected a compromise for the day, I
accepting the loan of his spare 12-bore rifle as a
second gun in case I should get to close quarters.
But my experience has been that it is always a very
dangerous thing to rely on a borrowed gun or rifle,
unless it has precisely the same action as one’s
own ; and certainly in this instance it almost proved
disastrous.

Having thus seen to our rifles and ammunition
and taken care also that some brandy was put in the
luncheon-basket in case of an accident, we set off
early in the afternoon in Spooner’s ¢oxga, which is a
two-wheeled cart with a hood over it. The party
consisted of Spooner and myself, Spooner’s Indian
shtkart Bhoota, my own gun-boy Mahina, and two
other Indians, one of whom, Imam Din, rode in the
tonga, while the other led a spare horse called
‘“Blazeaway.” Now it may seem a strange plan to
go lion-hunting in a ¢oxga, but there is no better
way of getting about country like the Athi Plains,

where—so long as it is dry—there is little or

XXIV BHOOTA’S LAST SHIKAR 271

nothing to obstruct wheeled traffic. Once started,
we rattled over the smooth expanse at a good rate,
and on the way bagged a hartebeeste and a couple
of gazelle, as fresh meat was badly needed in camp ;
besides, they offered most tempting shots, for they
stood stock-still gazing at us, struck no doubt by
the novel appearance of our conveyance. Next we
came upon a herd of wildebeeste, and here we
allowed Bhoota, who was a wary shzkarz and an old
servant of Spooner’s, to stalk a solitary bull. He
was highly pleased at this favour, and did the job
admirably.

At last we reached the spot where I had seen the
two lions on the previous day—a slight hollow,
covered with long grass; but there was now no
trace of them to be discovered, so we moved further
on and had another good beat round. After some
little time the excitement began by our spying the
black-tipped ears of a lioness projecting above the
grass, and the next moment a very fine lion arose
from beside her and gave us a full view of his grand
head and mane. After staring fixedly at us in an
inquiring sort of way as we slowly advanced upon
them, they both turned and slowly trotted off, the
lion stopping every now and again to gaze round in
our direction. Very imposing and majestic he looked,
too, as he thus turned his great shaggy head
defiantly towards us, and Spooner had to admit

272 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

that it was the finest sight he had ever seen. For
a while we followed them on foot; but finding at
length that they were getting away from us and
would soon be lost to sight over a bit of rising
ground, we jumped quickly into the ‘¢oxga and
galloped round the base of the knoll so as to cut
off their retreat, the excitement of the rough and
bumpy ride being intensified a hundredfold by the
probability of our driving slap into the pair on
rounding the rise. On getting to the other side,
however, they were nowhere to be seen, so we
drove on as hard as we could to the top, whence
we caught sight of them about four hundred yards
away. As there seemed to be no prospect of getting
nearer we decided to open fire at this range, and
at the third shot the lioness tumbled over to my
°303. At first I thought I had done for her, as for
a few minutes she lay on the ground kicking and
struggling ; but in the end, although evidently
badly hit, she rose to her feet and followed the
lion, who had escaped uninjured, into some long
grass from which we could not hope to dislodge
them.

As it was now late in the afternoon, and as there
seemed no possibility of inducing the lions to
leave the thicket in which they had concealed
themselves, we turned back towards camp, intend-

ing to come out again the next day to track the

XXIV BHOOTA’S LAST SHIKAR 273

wounded lioness. I was now riding “ Blazeaway ”
and was trotting along in advance of the /onga,
when suddenly he shied badly at a hyzena, which
sprang up out of the grass almost from beneath his
feet and quickly scampered off. I pulled up for a
moment and. sat watching the hyzna’s ungainly
bounds, wondering whether he were worth a shot.
Suddenly I felt ‘“ Blazeaway” trembling violently
beneath me, and on looking over my left shoulder
to discover the reason, I was startled to see two fine
lions not more than a hundred yards away, evidently
the pair which I had seen the day before and which
we had really come in search of. They looked
as if they meant to dispute our passage, for they
came slowly towards me for about ten yards or SO
and then lay down, watching me steadily all the
time. I called out to Spooner, “ Here are the lions
I told you about,” and he whipped up the ponies
and in a moment or two was beside me with the
touga.

By this time I had seized my ‘303 and dis-
mounted, so we at once commenced a cautious
advance on the crouching lions, the arrangement
being that Spooner was to take the right-hand one
and I the other. We had got to within sixty
yards’ range without incident and were just about to
sit down comfortably to “pot” them, when they
suddenly surprised us by turning and bolting off. I

T

DTA THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

managed, however, to put a bullet into the one |
had marked just as he crested a bank, and he
looked very grand as he reared up against the
sky and clawed the air on feeling the lead. For a
second or two he gave me the impression that he
was about to charge; but luckily he changed his
mind and followed his companion, who had so far
escaped scot free. I immediately mounted “ Blaze-
away” and galloped off in hot pursuit, and after
about half a mile of very stiff going got up with
them once more. Finding now that they could not
get away, they halted, came to bay and then
charged down upon me, the wounded lion leading.
I had left my rifle behind, so all I could do was to
turn and fly as fast as “ Blazeaway” could go,
praying inwardly the while that he would not put
his foot into a hole. When the lions saw that they
were unable to overtake me, they gave up the chase
and lay down again, the wounded one being about
two hundred yards in front of the other. At once
I pulled up too, and then went back a little way,
keeping a careful eye upon them; and I continued
‘these tactics of riding up and down at a respectful
distance until Spooner came up with the rifles, when
we renewed the attack.

As a first measure I thought it advisable to dis-
able the unhurt lion if possible, and, still using the

‘303, I got him with the second shot at a range of

Dae

XXIV BHOOTA’S LAST SHIKAR 2716

about three hundred yards. He seemed badly hit,
for he sprang into the air and apparently fell heavily.
I then exchanged my ‘303 for Spooner’s spare 12-
bore rifle, and we turned our attention to the nearer
lion, who all this time had been lying perfectly still,
watching our movements closely, and evidently just
waiting to be down upon us the moment we came
within charging distance. He was never given this
opportunity, however, for we did not approach
nearer than ninety yards, when Spooner sat down
comfortably and knocked him over quite dead with
one shot from his °577, the bullet entering the left
shoulder obliquely and passing through the heart.

It was now dusk, and there was no time to be
lost if we meant to bag the second lion as well.
We therefore resumed our cautious advance, moving
to the right as we went, so as to get behind us what
light there was remaining. The lion of course
twisted round in the grass in such a way as always
to keep facing us, and looked very ferocious, so that
I was convinced that unless he were entirely dis-
abled by the first shot he would be down on us like
a whirlwind. All the same, I felt confident that,
even in this event, one of us would succeed in
stopping him before he could do any damage ;
but in this I was unfortunately to be proved
mistaken.

Eventually we managed to get within eighty yards
i-2

276 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

of the enraged animal, I being about five yards
to the left front of Spooner, who was followed
by Bhoota at about the same distance to his right
rear. By this time the lion was beside himself
with fury, growling savagely and raising quite a
cloud of dust by lashing his tail against the ground.
It was clearly high time that we did something,
so asking Spooner to fire, I dropped on one knee
and waited. Nor was I kept long in suspense, for the
moment Spooner’s shot rang out, up jumped the lion
and charged down in a bee-line for me, coming in
long, low bounds at great speed. I fired the right
barrel at about fifty yards, but apparently missed ; the
left at about half that range, still without stopping
effect. I knew then that there was no time to reload,
so remained kneeling, expecting him to be on me the
next moment. Suddenly, just as he was within a
bound of me, he made a quick turn to my right.
“Good heavens,” I thought, “he is going for
Spooner.” I was wrong in this, however, for like a
flash he passed Spooner also, and with a last tre-
mendous bound seized Bhoota by the leg and rolled
over and over with him for some yards in the
impetus of the rush. Finally he stood over him
and tried to seize him by the throat, which the
brave fellow prevented by courageously stuffing
his left arm right into the great jaws. Poor

Bhoota! By moving at the critical moment, he

eS dott

XXIV BHOOTA’S LAST SHIKAR 277

had diverted the lion’s attention from me and
had drawn the whole fury of the charge on to
himself.

All this, of course, happened in only a second or
two. In the short instant that intervened, I felt a
cartridge thrust into my hand by Spooner’s plucky
servant, Imam _ Din,
who had carried the
12-bore all day and
who had stuck to me
gallantly throughout
the charge; and
shoving it in, I rushed

as quickly as I could
to Bhoota’s_ rescue.
Meanwhile, Spooner
had got there before “svooner’s cu ore a ah IMAM
me and when I came

up actually had his left hand on the lion’s flank, in a
vain attempt to push him off Bhoota’s prostrate
body and so get at the heavy rifle which the poor
fellow still stoutly clutched. The lion, however, was
so busily engaged mauling Bhoota’s arm that he paid
not the slightest attention to Spooner’s efforts. Un-
fortunately, as he was facing straight in my direc-
tion, | had to move up in full view of him, and the
moment I reached his head, he stopped chewing
the arm, though still holding it in his mouth,
and threw himself back on his haunches, prepar-

278 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

ing for a spring, at the same time curling back
his lips and exposing his long tusks in a savage
snarl. I knew then that I had not a moment
to spare, so I threw the rifle up to my shoulder
and pulled the trigger. Imagine my utter de-
spair and horror when it did not go off! “ Misfire
again,’ I thought, and my heart almost stopped
beating. As I took a step backwards, | felt it was
all over now, for he would never give me time to
extract the cartridge and load again. Still I took
another step backwards, keeping my eyes fixed on
the lion’s, which were blazing with rage; and in the
middle of my third step, just as the brute was
gathering himself for his spring, it suddenly struck
me that in my haste and excitement, I had forgotten
that I was using a borrowed rifle and had not pulled
back the hammer (my own was hammerless). To
do this and put a bullet through the lion’s brain
was then the work of a moment; and he fell dead
instantly right on the top of Bhoota.

We did not lose a moment in rolling his great.
carcase off Bhoota’s body and quickly forced open
the jaws so as to disengage the mangled arm,
which still remained in his mouth. By this time
the poor skzkavz was in a fainting condition, and we
flew to the /onga for the brandy flask which we had
so providentially brought with us. On making a
rough examination of the wounded man, we found

that his left arm and right leg were both frightfully

XXIV BHOOTA’S LAST SHIKAR 279

mauled, the latter being broken as well. He was
lifted tenderly into the #oxga—how thankful we now
were to have it with us !—and Spooner at once set
off with him to camp and the doctor.

Before following them home I made a hasty
examination of the dead lion and found him to be a
very good specimen in every way. I was particularly
satisfied to see that one of the two shots I had fired
as he charged down upon me had taken effect.
The bullet had entered below the right eye, and
only just missed the brain. Unfortunately it was a
steel one which Spooner had unluckily brought in
his ammunition bag by mistake; still one would
have thought that a shot of this kind, even with <
hard bullet, would at least have checked the lion for
the moment. Asa matter of fact, however, it went
clean through him without having the slightest
stopping effect. My last bullet, which was of soft
lead, had entered close to the right eye and
embedded itself in the brain. By this time it had
grown almost dark, so I left the two dead lions where
they lay and rode for camp, which I was lucky
enough to reach without further adventure or
mishap. I may mention here that early next
morning two other lions were found devouring the
one we had first shot ; but they had not had time to
do much damage, and the head, which I have had
mounted, makes a very fine trophy indeed. The
lion that mauled Bhoota was untouched.

280 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

On my arrival in camp I found that everything
that was possible was being done for poor Bhoota by
Dr. McCulloch, the same who had travelled up with
me to Tsavo and shot the ostrich from the train
on my first arrival in the country, and who was
luckily on the spot. His wounds had been skilfully
dressed, the broken leg put in splints, and under the
influence of a soothing draught the poor fellow was
soon sleeping peacefully. At first we had great
hope of saving both life and limb, and certainly for
some days he seemed to be getting on as well
as could be expected. The wounds, however, were
very bad ones, especially those on the leg where the.
long tusks had met through and through the flesh,
leaving over a dozen deep tooth marks ; the arm,
though dreadfully mauled, soon healed. It was
wonderful to notice how cheerfully the old shzkarz
bore it all, and a pleasure to listen to his tale of
how he would have his revenge on the whole tribe
of lions as soon as he was able to get about again.
But alas, his skzkar was over. The leg got rapidly
worse, and mortification setting in, it had to be
amputated half way up the thigh. Dr. Winston
Waters performed the operation most skilfully, and
curiously enough the operating table was canopied
with the skin of the lion which had been respon-
sible for the injury. Bhoota madea good recovery
from the operation, but seemed to lose heart when
he found that he had only one leg left, as according

XXIV BHOOTA’S LAST SH/IKAR 281

to his ideas he had now but a poor chance of being
allowed to enter Heaven. We did all that was
possible for him, and Spooner especially could not
have looked after a brother more tenderly; but
to our great sorrow he sank gradually, and died on
July ro.

The hunt which had such a disastrous sequel
proved to be the last occasion on which I met a lion
in the open, as we got out of the hunting country
shortly afterwards and for the rest of my stay
in East Africa I had too much work to do to be
able to go any distance in search of big game.

atts - = = | 7 .
[ Spooner. Bhoota. The Author. Imam Din.]

A COLLECTION OF TROPHIES.

CHAPTER, XXV
A MAN-EATER IN A RAILWAY CARRIAGE

Towarps the end of my stay in British East
Africa, I dined one evening with Mr. Ryall, the
Superintendent of the Police, in his inspection
carriage on the railway. Poor Ryall! I little
thought then what a terrible fate was to overtake
him only a few months later in that very carriage in
which we dined.

A man-eating lion had taken up his quarters at a
little roadside station called Kimaa, and had devel-
oped an extraordinary taste for the members of the
railway staff. He was a most daring brute, quite
indifferent as to whether he carried off the station-
master, the signalman, or the pointsman ; and one
night, in his efforts to obtain a meal, he actually
climbed up on to the roof of the station buildings
and tried to tear off the corrugated-iron sheets. At
this the terrified dad00 in charge of the telegraph

instrument below sent the following laconic message

cu.xxv MAN-EATER IN RAILWAY CARRIAGE 283

to the Traffic Manager: “Lion fighting with
station. Send urgent succour.” Fortunately he
was not victorious in his “fight with the station” ;
but he tried so hard to get in that he cut his feet
badly on the iron sheeting, leaving large blood-
stains on the roof. Another night, however, he
succeeded in carrying off the native driver of the
pumping-engine, and soon afterwards added several
other victims to his list. On one occasion an
engine-driver arranged to sit up all night in a large
iron water-tank in the hope of getting a shot at him,
and had a loop-hole cut in the side of the tank from
which to fire. But as so often happens, the hunter
became the hunted; the lion turned up in the
middle of the night, overthrew the tank and
actually tried to drag the driver out through the
narrow circular hole in the top through which he
had squeezed in. Fortunately the tank was just
too deep for the brute to be able to reach the man
at the bottom; but the latter was naturally half
paralysed with fear and had to crouch so low down
as to be unable to take anything like proper aim.
He fired, however, and succeeded in frightening
the lion away for the time being.

It was in a vain attempt to destroy this pest that
poor Ryall met his tragic and untimely end. On
June 6, 1900, he was travelling up in his inspection
carriage from Makindu to Nairobi, accompanied by

284 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP,

two friends, Mr. Huebner and Mr. Parenti. When
they reached Kimaa, which is about two hundred
and fifty miles from Mombasa, they were told that
the man-eater had been seen close to the station
only a short time before their train -arrived, so
they at once made up their minds to remain
there for the night and endeavour to shoot him.
Ryall’s carriage was accordingly detached from
the train and shunted into a siding close to the
station, where, owing to the unfinished state of
the line, it did not stand perfectly level, but had
a pronounced list to one side. In the afternoon
the three friends went out to look for the lion, .
but finding no traces of him whatever, they re-
turned to the carriage for dinner. Afterwards
they all sat up on guard for some time; but
the only noticeable thing they saw was what
they took to be two very bright and steady glow-
worms. After events proved that these could have
been nothing else than the eyes of the man-eater
steadily watching them all the time and studying
their every movement. The hour now growing late,
and there being apparently no sign of the lion,
Ryall persuaded his two friends to lie down, while
he kept the first watch. Huebner occupied the high
berth over the table on the one side of the carriage,
the only other berth being on the opposite side of
the compartment and lower down. This Ryall

xxv MAN-EATER IN RAILWAY CARRIAGE 285

offered to Parenti, who declined it, saying that he
would be quite comfortable on the floor; and he
accordingly lay down to sleep, with his feet towards
the sliding door which gave admission to the
carriage.

It is supposed that Ryall, after watching for
some considerable time, must have come to the
conclusion that the lion was not going to make its
appearance that night, for he lay down on the lower
berth and dozed off. No sooner had he done
so, doubtless, than the cunning man-eater began
cautiously to stalk the three sleepers. In order to
reach the little platform at the end of the carriage,
he had to mount two very high steps from the
railway line, but these he managed to negotiate
successfully and in silence. The door from this
platform into the carriage was a sliding one on
wheels, which ran very easily on a brass runner ;
and as it was probably not quite shut, or at any
rate not secured in any way, it was an easy matter
for the lion to thrust in a paw and shove it open.
But owing to the tilt of the carriage and to his
great extra weight on the one side, the door slid to
and snapped into the lock the moment he got his
body right in, thus leaving him shut up with the
three sleeping men in the compartment.

He sprang at once at Ryall, but in order to reach °
him had actually to plant his feet on Parenti, who, it

286 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

will be remembered, was sleeping on the floor. At
this moment Huebner was suddenly awakened by a
loud cry, and on looking down from his berth was
horrified to see an enormous lion standing with his
hind feet on Parenti’s body, while his forepaws
rested on poor Ryall. Small wonder that he was
panic-stricken at the sight. There was only one
possible way of escape, and that. was through the
second sliding door communicating with the ser-
vants’ quarters, which was opposite to that by
which the lion had entered. But in order to reach
this door Huebner had literally to jump on to the
man-eater’s back, for its great bulk filled up all.
the space beneath his berth. It sounds scarcely
credible, but it appears that in the excitement and
horror of the moment he actually did this, and
fortunately the lion was too busily engaged with
his victim to pay any attention to him. So he
managed to reach the door in safety ; but there, to
his dismay, he found that it was held fast on the
other side by the terrified coolies, who had been
aroused by the disturbance caused by the lion’s
entrance. In utter desperation he made frantic
efforts to open it, and exerting all his strength at
last managed to pull it back sufficiently far to allow
him to squeeze through, when the trembling coolies
instantly tied it up again with their turbans. A

moment afterwards a great crash was heard, and the

xxv MAN-EATER IN RAILWAY CARRIAGE 287

/

whole carriage lurched violently to one side; the
lion had broken through one of the windows, carry-
ing off poor Ryall with him. Being now released,
Parenti lost no time in jumping through the win
dow on the opposite side of the carriage, and fled

for refuge to one of the station buildings; his

SERRE RE| IERRREE

*“HE WAS KEPT ON VIEW FOR SEVERAL DAYS, AND THEN SHOT.”

escape was little short of miraculous, as the lion
had been actually standing on him as he lay on the
floor. The carriage itself was badly shattered, and
the wood-work of the window had been broken to
pieces by the passage of the lion as he sprang
through with his victim in his mouth.

All that can be hoped is that poor Ryall’s death

288 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO © cu. xxv

was instantaneous. His remains were found next
morning about a quarter of a mile away in the
bush, and were taken to Nairobi for burial. I am
glad to be able to add that very shortly afterwards
the terrible brute who was responsible for this
awful tragedy was caught in an ingenious trap
constructed by one of the railway staff. He was

kept on view for several days, and then shot.

IMPALA.

CHAPTER XXVI
WORK AT NAIROBI

AutTHouGH the lion which caused poor Bhoota’s
death was the last I managed to shoot in East
Africa, I saw several others afterwards while travel-
ling up and down the line at different times on
construction work. In particular, I remember one
very curious incident which happened early on the
morning of June 2, when I was travelling towards
Nairobi, accompanied by Dr. McCulloch. The
Doctor was going home on leave in the course of a
few days, and was bemoaning to me his bad luck in
never having shot or even seen a lion all the time he
had been in the country. We were standing on the
engine at the time, facing each other, he with his
back to the north.

“My dear Mac,” I said, ‘it is because you don’t
look out for them.”

‘‘ Rubbish,” he retorted ; ‘‘ I do nothing else when

I am out hunting.”

290 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

“Well,” I replied, “are you really very anxious to
shoot one before you go home ?”

“I would rather get a lion than anything else in
the world,” was the emphatic reply.

“Very good, then. Sultan,” I called to the
driver, ‘‘stop the engine.”

“Now, Mac,” I continued, as the train was
quickly brought to a standstill,‘ here’s a chance
for you. Just jump off and bag those two over
theres.

He turned round in blank astonishment and
could hardly believe his eyes when he saw two
fine lions only about two hundred yards off, busily
engaged in devouring a wildebeeste which they had
evidently just killed. I had spotted them almost
as soon as Mac had begun to talk of his bad luck,
and had only waited to tell him until we got nearer,
so as to give him a greater surprise. He was oft
the engine in a second and made directly for the
two beasts. Just as he was about to fire one of
them bolted, so I called out to him to shoot the
other quickly before he too made good his escape.
This one was looking at us over his shoulder with
one paw on the dead wildebeeste, and while he
stood in this attitude Mac dropped him with a
bullet through the heart. Needless to say he was
tremendously delighted with his success, and after
the dead lion had been carried to the train and

XXVI WORK AT NAIROBI 291

propped up against a carriage, I took a photograph
of him standing beside his fine trophy.

Three days after this incident railhead reached
Nairobi, and I was given charge of the new
division of the line. Nairobi was to be the head-

quarters of the Railway Administration, so there

**] TOOK A PHOTOGRAPH OF HIM STANDING BESIDE HIS FINE TROPHY.”

was an immense amount of work to be done in

converting an absolutely bare plain, three hundred

and twenty-seven miles from the nearest place

where even a nail could be purchased, into a

busy railway centre. Roads and bridges had to

be constructed, houses and work-shops built, turn-
U2

292 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

tables and station quarters erected, a water supply
laid on, and a hundred and one other things
done which go to the making of a_ railway
township. Wonderfully soon, however, the nucleus
of the present town began to take shape, and
a thriving ‘‘bazaar” sprang into existence with
a mushroom-like growth. In this, however, a
case or two of plague broke out before very
long, so I gave the natives and Indians who
inhabited it an hour’s notice to clear out, and on
my own responsibility promptly burned the whole
place to the ground. For this somewhat arbitrary
proceeding I was mildly called over the coals, as
I expected ; but all the same it effectually stamped
out the plague, which did not reappear during the
time I was in the country.

With a little persuasion I managed to induce
several hundred of the Wa Kikuyu, in whose
country we now were, to come and work at
Nairobi, and very useful and capable they proved
themselves after a little training. They frequently
brought me in word that the shamdas (plantations,
gardens) at the back of the hill on which my camp
was pitched were being destroyed by elephants, but
unfortunately I could never spare time to go out in
quest of them. On one occasion, however, I passed

the news on to my friend, Dr. Winston Waters,

~

XXVI WORK AT NAIROBI 2.93

with the result that he had a most exciting adven-
ture with a big bull elephant. He set out in quest
of the depredator, and, guided by a few of the Wa
Kikuyu, soon came upon him hidden among some
shady trees. Waters was a great believer in a
close shot, so he stalked up to within a few yards
of the animal and then fired his *577, aiming for
the heart. The elephant responded by a prompt
and determined charge, and although Waters
quickly let him have the left barrel as well, it
proved of no effect; and on he came, screaming
and trumpeting with rage. There was nothing for
it, therefore, but to fly for dear life; so down a
path raced Waters for all he was worth, the ele-
phant giving vigorous chase and gaining rapidly.
In a few seconds matters began to look very
serious for the sportsman, for the huge monster
was almost on him; but at the critical moment
he stepped on to the false cover of a carefully-
concealed game pit and disappeared from view as
if by magic. This sudden descent of his enemy
apparently into the bowels of the earth so startled
the elephant that he stopped short in his career
and made off into the jungle. As for Waters,
he was luckily none the worse for his fall, as the
pit was neither staked at the bottom nor very

deep ; he soon scrambled out, and, following up

294 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

the wounded elephant, succeeded in finishing him
off without further trouble.

Towards the end of 1899 I left for England. A
few days before I started all my Wa Kikuyu
“children”, as they called themselves, came Fe
a body and begged to be taken with me. [|

pictured to them the cold, wet climate of England

** SUCCEEDED IN FINISHING HIM OFF WITHOUT FURTIIER
TROUBLE.”

and its great distance from their native land; but
they assured me that these were nothing to them,
as they only wished to continue my “ children” and
to go wherever I went. I could hardly imagine
myself arriving in London with a body-guard of
four hundred more or less naked savages, but it was
only with difficulty that I persuaded them that they
had better remain in their own country. The ever-
faithful Mahina, my ‘“‘boy” Roshan Khan, my

XXVI WORK AT NAIROBI 295

honest chaukidar Meeanh, and a few other coolies
who had been a long time with me, accompanied me
to the coast, where they bade me a _ sorrowful
farewell and left for India the day before I sailed

on my homeward journey.

STEAMER UNLOADING AT KISUMU, ON LAKE VICTORIA NYANZA,

THE GRAND FALLS, TANA RIVER.

CHAPTER. XXVIII

THE FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND

Durinc the early part of last year (1906) I
revisited the scene of my former labours and adven-
tures on a shooting trip. Unfortunately the train by
which I travelled up from Mombasa reached Tsavo
at midnight, but all the same I got out and prowled
about as long as time would permit, half wondering
every moment if the ghosts of the two man-eaters
would spring at me out of the bushes. I wanted
very much to spend a day or two in the old place,
but my companions were anxious to push on as
quickly as possible to better hunting-grounds. I
took the trouble, however, to wake them out of
their peaceful slumbers in order to point out to
them, by the pale moonlight, the strength and
beauty of the Tsavo bridge; but I fear this delicate
little attention was scarcely appreciated as_ it

deserved. Naturally I could not expect them, or

cu. xvi THE FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND 297

anyone else, to view the bridge quite from my point
of view ; I looked on it as a child of mine, brought

up through stress and danger and troubles of all

SHIMONE, ‘‘ THE PLACE OF FALLING WATER ” (ELDAMA RAVINE).

kinds, but the ordinary traveller of course knows
nothing of this and doubtless thinks it only a very
commonplace and insignificant structure indeed.

We spent a few days at Nairobi, now a flourish-

298 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

ing town of some 6,000 inhabitants, supplied with
every modern comfort and luxury, including a well
laid-out race course ; and after a short trip to Lake

Victoria Nyanza and Uganda, we made our way

ORYX,.

back to the Eldama Ravine, which lies some twenty
miles north of Landiani Station in the province of
Naivasha. Here we started in earnest on our big
game expedition, which I am glad to say proved
to be a most delightful and interesting one in every

way. The country was lovely, and the climate
cool and bracing. We all got a fair amount of

xxv THE FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND 299

sport, our bag including rhino, hippo, waterbuck,
reedbuck, hartebeeste, wildebeeste, ostrich, im-
pala, oryx, roan antelope, etc. ; but for the present

I must confine myself to a short account of how I

ROAN ANTELOPE.

was lucky enough to shoot a specimen of an
entirely new race of eland.

Our party of five, including one lady who rode
and shot equally straight, left the Eldama Ravine
on January 22, and trekked off in an easterly
direction across the Laikipia Plateau. As the trail
which we were to take was very little known and

300 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

almost impossible to follow without a guide, Mr.
Foaker, the District Officer at the Ravine, very
kindly procured us a reliable man—a _ young

‘*\N EXCELLEN'!, CHEERY FELLOW... NAMED LANDAALU.”

Uashin Gishu Masai named Uliagurma. But as he
could not speak a word of Swahili, we had also to
engage an interpreter, an excellent, cheery fellow of

the same tribe named Landaalu ; and he in his turn

xxv THE FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND 3201

possessed a kinsman who insisted on coming too,
although he was no earthly use to us. Our route
took us through the Solai Swamp, over the Multilo
and Subu Ko Lultian ranges, and across many

unexpected rivers and streamlets. On our first

CROSSING A STREAM ON THE COOK’S BOX.

march I noticed that Uliagurma, our &z7vongozz
(guide), was suffering extremely, though uncom-
plainingly, from earache, so I told him to come to
me when we got to camp and I would see what I
could do for him. Strange to say, my doctoring
proved most successful, and Uliagurma was _ so

grateful that he spread my fame as a “ medicine-

302 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

man” far and wide among the natives wherever we
trekked. The consequence was that men, women
and children in every state of disease and cripple-
dom came and besieged our camps, begging for
some of the magical dawa (medicine). I used to do
what I could, and only hope I did not injure many
of them ; but it was heartrending to see some of the
quite hopeless cases I was expected to cure.

After we had climbed the Subu Ko Lultian and
got a footing on the plateau, we pitched our camp
on the banks of the Angarua river, where we
found a big Masai kraal, the inhabitants of which
seemed much astonished at our sudden appear-
ance in their neighbourhood. They were very
friendly, however, and visited our camp in swarms
an hour or so after our arrival. Riding my pony
and accompanied by Landaalu as interpreter, and
my gun-bearer Juma, I returned their call in the
afternoon, when the e/orani (warriors) gave for
my entertainment an exhibition of the gymnastic
exercises which they practise regularly in order
more particularly to strengthen their legs and
render them supple. After the performance I
asked if there was any game about and was told
that some might be found a few miles to the north
of the kraal; so I set out at once with Landaalu
and Juma to try my luck. It-was a perfect
afternoon, and no sooner had I cleared the belt

xxv THE FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND 303

of scrub which grew round the kraal, when by the
aid of my glasses I saw a herd of zebra and other
game away in the distance, feeding peacefully
on the rolling prairie. I made my way steadily

towards them, and noticed as I went that a couple

CROSSING THE ANGARUA RIVER.

of eland were gradually drawing away from the rest
of the herd. I marked these for my own, and care-
fully noting the direction they were taking, I dis-
mounted and made a detour round a rise so as to
lie in wait for them and cut them off. My plan
succeeded admirably, for the two fine animals

continued to come straight towards me_ without

304 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

suspicion, feeding quietly by the way. When they
got to within eighty yards or so, I picked out the
bigger head and was only waiting for him to make
a slight turn before pulling the trigger, when dang
went the heavy rifle of one of my companions about
half a mile away. In an instant the two eland had
bounded off, and I decided not to risk a shot, in the
hope that they would soon settle down again and
give me another chance.

Mentally blessing my friend for firing at this
untimely moment, I watched them make for a
belt of wood about a mile further on, hoping
against hope that they would remain on the near
side of it. “No such luck, however, for they
plunged into it and were quickly swallowed up
out of my sight. Running to my pony, which
Landaalu had dexterously brought up, I galloped
in the direction of the spot in the trees where
the eland had disappeared ; but imagine my vexa-
tion when I found that I had to pull up sharp
on the edge of a nasty-looking swamp, which at
first sight appeared too boggy and treacherous to
attempt to cross. I rode up and down it without
being able to find anything like a really safe crossing
place, so in desperation I at last determined to take
the risk of crossing it along an old rhino path where
the reeds were flattened down. My pony floundered
bravely through, and eventually succeeded in get-

xxvii THE FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND — 305

ting safely to the other side. I then made my way
cautiously through the belt of trees, and was relieved

to find that it was only half a mile or so broad. |

REEDBUCK,

dismounted: as I neared the further side, and, tying

my pony to a tree, crept quietly forward, expecting

to see the eland not far off; but to my disappoint-

ment there was no trace of game of any kind on the
xX

306 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

whole wide stretch of country that met my view. |
therefore tried another direction, and, taking a half
turn to my left, made my way carefully through
some open glades to the top of a little rise not
far off.

The sight that now met my eyes fairly took my
breath away ; for there, not three hundred yards off
and stalking placidly along at a slow walk, was a
herd of fully a hundred eland of all ages and sizes.
The rear of the column was brought up by a magni-
ficent old bull, and my heart jumped for joy as I
watched him from the shelter of the bushes behind
which I lay concealed. The next thing to be done
was to decide on a plan of attack, and this had to be
thought of without loss of time, for the wind was
blowing from me almost in the direction of the
eland, who would certainly scent me very soon if
I did not get away. Quickly noting the direc-
tion in which they were moving, I saw that if
all went well they ought to pass close to a little
hillock about a mile or so off; and if I were very
sharp about it, I thought I could make a circuit
through the wood and be on this rise, in a good
position for both wind and cover, before the
herd could reach it. Accordingly I crept away
with the object of finding my mount, but to my
delight—just behind me and well hidden—stood
the undefeated Landaalu, who in some mysterious

Bon.

xxvii THE FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND 307

way had followed me up, found the pony where I
had left it tied to a tree, and brought it on to me.
With a bright grin on his face he thrust the reins
into my hand, and I was up and galloping off in an
instant.

I soon discovered that I had further to go than
I expected, for I was forced to make a big detour
in order to keep out of sight of the herd; but on
halting once or twice and peeping through the trees
I saw that all was going well and that they were
still calmly moving on in the right direction. The
last quarter of a mile had to be negotiated in
the open, but I found that by lying flat down on
my pony’s back I was completely hidden from the
advancing herd by an intervening swell in the
ground. In this manner I managed to get un-
observed to the lee of my hillock, where I dis-
mounted, threw the reins over a stump, and crawled
stealthily but as quickly as I could to the top. I
was in great doubt as to whether I should be in
time or not, but on peering, hatless, over the crest,
I was overjoyed to find the whole herd just below
me. One of the eland, not twenty yards off, saw
me at once, and stood still to gaze at me in astonish-
ment. It was a female, however, so I took no notice
of her, but looked round to see if my great bull
were anywhere near. Yes, there he was; he had
passed the spot where I lay, but was not more than

b Spee

308 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

forty yards off, moving in the same leisurely fashion
as when I first saw him. An instant later, he
noticed the general alarm caused by my appearance,
and stopped and turned half round to see what was
the matter. This gave me my opportunity, so I
fired, aiming behind the shoulder. The way in
which he jumped and kicked on feeling the lead told
me | had hit him hard, and I got two more bullets
into him from the magazine of my ‘303 before he
managed to gain the shelter of a neighbouring
thicket and was lost to sight. In the meantime the
whole herd had thundered off at full gallop, disap-
pearing ina few minutes in a cloud of dust.

I was confident that there would be little difficulty
in finding the wounded eland, and on Landaalu
coming up—which, by the way, he did almost im-
mediately, for he was a wonderful goer—we started
to make a rough search through the thicket. Owing
to the growing darkness, however, we met with no
success, so I decided to return to camp, which was
many miles away, and to resume the quest at
daybreak the following morning. It turned out that
we were even further from home than I| thought
and black night came upon us before we had covered
a quarter of the distance. Fortunately the invalu-
able Landaalu had discovered a good crossing over
the swamp, so we were able to press on at a

good pace without losing any time in overcoming

xxvii THE FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND 309

the obstacle. After an hour or so of hard travelling,
we were delighted to see a rocket go up, fired
by my friends to guide us on our way. Such a
sight is wonderfully cheering when one is far away
from camp, trudging along in the inky darkness and
none too certain of one’s direction; anda rocket
equipment should invariably be carried by the
traveller in the wilds. Several more were sent up
before we got anywhere near camp, and I remarked
to Landaalu that we must have gone a very long
Way iter =the eland. “Long way,’ he ‘replied ;
‘why, Master, we have been to Baringo!” This
lake as a matter of fact was fully fifty miles away.
When finally we arrived I fired the ardour of my
companions by relating the adventures of the after-
noon and telling them of the wonderful herd I had
seen ; and it was at once agreed that we should stay
where we were for a day or two in the hope of
good sport being obtained. °

As soon as it was daylight the next morning |
sent out a party of our porters with full instructions
where to find my eland, which I was sure must
be lying somewhere in the thicket close to the hill
from where | had shot him ; and very shortly after-
wards we ourselves made a start. After a couple of
hours’ travelling we were lucky enough to catch
sight of a portion of the herd of eland, when
we dismounted and stalked them carefully through

310 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP,

the long grass. All of a sudden one popped up its
head unexpectedly about fifty yardsaway. One of
my companions immediately levelled his rifle at it,
but from where I was I could see better than
he that the head was a poor one, and so called
out to him not to fire. The warning came too
late, however, for at that moment he pulled the
trigger. It was rather a difficult shot, too, as the
body of the animal could not be seen very well owing
to the height of the grass; still, as the head
instantly disappeared we hoped for the best and ran
up to the place, but no trace of the eland could be
found. Accordingly we pushed on again and aftera
little rested for a short time under the shade of some
trees. We had gone about three miles after
resuming our search for game, when one of the
porters remembered that he had left the water-bottle
he was carrying at the trees where we had halted, so
he was sent back for it with strict injunctions to
make haste and to rejoin us as quickly as possible.
Curiously enough, this trifling incident proved quite
providential; for the porter (whose name was
Sabaki), after recovering the water-bottle, found
himself unable to trace us through the jungle and
accordingly struck home for camp. On his way
back he actually stumbled over the dead body of the
eland which I had shot the previous day and which
the search party I had sent out in the morning had

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ON

Th tated »

ate

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xxv THE FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND 311

failed to find. They were still looking for it close
at hand, however, so Sabaki hailed them and they
at once set to work to skin and cut up the animal,
and then carried it to the camp.

Meanwhile, of course, we knew nothing of all
this, and continued our hunt for game. | Shortly
after noon we had a light lunch, and while
we were eating it our guides, Uliagurma and
Landaalu, discovered a bees’ nest in a fallen tree
and proceeded to try to extract the honey, of which
the Masai are very fond. This interference was
naturally strongly resented by the bees, and soon
the semi-naked youths ran flying past us with the
angry swarm in full pursuit. I laughed heartily at
Landaalu, and chaffed him unmercifully for allowing
himself, a Masai, to be put to flight by a few bees.
This the jolly fellow took very good-humouredly,
saying that if he only had a jacket like mine he would
soon go and get the honey. I gave him my jacket
at once, and a most comical figure he cut in it, as it
was very short and he had practically nothing else
on. When the nest was properly examined, however,
it was found that the bees had eaten all the
honey; so after taking some photographs of our
guides at work among the bees we all pro-
ceeded homewards, reaching camp about dusk,
with nothing to show for our long day’s hunt.

We were met by Sabaki, who was in a great

312 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO cu. xxvii

state of excitement, and who started to explain
in very bad Swahili how he had come across the
dead eland. Misunderstanding what he said, I
told my friend that Sabaki had found the eland
which he had shot in the morning, and rejoiced
heartily with him at this piece of good luck. On
viewing the head, however, we could not under-
stand it, as it was very much bigger than the
one he had fired at; and it was not till later
in the evening when I visited Landaalu, curled
up at the camp fire, that the mystery was ex-
plained. He greeted me by saying that after all
we had not gone to Baringo for nothing the -
previous day, and on my asking him what he
meant he told me about the finding of the eland,
taking it for granted that I knew it was mine.
I quickly called up Sabaki and after some trouble
got from him the whole story of how he had found
the body close to my little hillock and near where
my men were searching for it. So I broke the
truth gently to my friend, who at once acknow-
ledged my claim and congratulated me on my
good fortune.

How great this good fortune was [| did not
know till long after; but even then, when I came
to examine the head and skin carefully, I found
that they both differed materially from those of ~
any other eland that I had ever seen. For one

THE NEW ELAND—7. oryx pattersonianus.
[From a photograph by Rowland Ward. ]

314 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP.

thing, there was no long tuft of hair on the
forehead, while from the lower corner of each
eye ran an incomplete white stripe similar to,
though smaller than, those found in the giant
eland. The sides of the forehead were of a
reddish colour, and on the lower part of the face
there was a much larger brown patch than is to
be seen on the ordinary eland. The striping on
the body was very slight, the chief markings being
three lines across the withers. On my return to
England in’ April, I sent the head to Rowland
Ward’s to be set up, and while there it was
seen by Mr. R. Lydekker, F.R.S., of the British
Museum, the well-known naturalist and specialist
in big game, who wrote to tell me that GE
possessed great zoological interest, as showing the
existence of a hitherto unknown race of eland.
Mr. Lydekker also contributed the following notice
describing the animal to Zhe /veld of September 29,
1906:

‘Considerable interest attaches to the head of an
eland, killed by Colonel J. H. Patterson in Portu-
guese’ East Africa, and set up by Mr. Rowland
Ward, on account of certain peculiarities in colouring
and markings, which indicate a transition from the
ordinary South African animal in the direction of
the giant eland (Zaurotragus derbianus) of the

1 Tn error for ‘ British.”

eevtia ) Hay FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND — 315

Bahr-el-Ghazal district and West Africa. In the
striped variety (Zaurotragus oryx lhvingstonianus)
of the ordinary South African eland, the whole
middle line of the face of the adult bull is uniformly
dark, or even blackish-brown, with a tuft of long
bushy hair on the forehead, and no white stripe
from the lower angle of the eye. On the other
hand, in the Sudani form of the giant eland (7: der
bianus gigas), as represented by a bull figured by
Mr. Rothschild in Movztates Zoologicae for 1905,
the upper part of the face has the hair rufous and
shorter than in the ordinary eland, while from the
lower angle of each eye a white stripe runs inwards
and downwards, recalling the white chevron of the
kudu, although the two stripes do not meet in the
middle line.

‘In Colonel Patterson’s eland (which may well
be designated 7. oryx pattersonianus) there is an
incomplete white chevron similar to, although rather
smaller than, the one found in the giant eland, while
only a narrow stripe in the middle line of the face,
above and between the eyes, is dark-brown, the
sides of the forehead being rufous. On the lower
part of the face there is a larger dark-brown area
than in the ordinary eland, although there is a
rufous fawn-coloured patch on each side above
the nostril. In both the latter respects Colonel
Patterson's specimen recalls the giant eland,
although it apparently lacks the dark white-
bordered band on the side of the neck, characteristic
of the latter. If all the elands from that part of
Portuguese East Africa where Colonel Patterson’s

316 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO cu. xxvur

specimen was obtained turn out to be of the same
type, there will be a strong presumption that the
true and the giant eland, like the various local forms
of giraffe and bonte-quagga, are only races of one
and the same species. While, even if the present
specimen be only a ‘sport’ (which I consider un-
likely), it will serve to show that the southern and
northern elands are more nearly related than has
hitherto been supposed.”

As my eland thus proved to be of some con-
siderable scientific value, and as the authorities of
the British Museum expressed a desire to possess
its head, I gladly presented it to the Trustees, so
that all sportsmen and naturalists might have an
opportunity of seeing it at the Natural History
Museum at South Kensington, where it now is.

THOMSON’S GAZELLE.

Oe se wie

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bo.

APPENDIX

WAR CANOE ON LAKE VICTORIA NYANZA, NEAR THE RIPON FALLS.

APPENDIX

I:

SPORTSMEN who think of visiting British East Africa on
a shooting trip may be glad of a few general hints on
points of interest and importance.

The battery, to be sufficient for all needs, should consist
of a ‘450 express, a °303 sporting rifle, and a 12-bore shot
gun; and I should consider 250 rounds of ‘450 (50 hard
and 200 soft), 300 rounds of *303 (100 hard and 200 soft),
and 500 12-bore shot cartridges of, say, the 6 and 8 sizes,
sufficient for a three months’ trip. Leather bandoliers to
carry 50 each of these different cartridges would also prove
very useful.

A couple of hundred rockets of various colours should
certainly be taken, as they are invaluable for signalling to
and from camp after dark. These can be obtained so as to
fire from a 12-bore shot gun or from a short pistol, and

320 APPENDIX

some should always be left with the camp xeopara
(Headman) for use as occasion requires.

The rifles, cartridges, and rockets should be consigned to
an agent in Mombasa, and sent off from London in tin-
lined cases at least a month before the sportsman himself
intends to start. It must be remembered that the Customs

me
- |
|

PREPARING BREAKFAST IN CAMP.

House at Mombasa charges a 10 per cent. duty on the
value of all articles imported, so that the invoices should
be preserved and produced for inspection.

The hunter’s kit should include a good pith sun-hat,
a couple of suits of khaki, leather gaiters or a couple of
pairs of puttees, wash-leather gloves to protect the hands
from the sun, and two pairs of boots with hemp soles ;
long Norwegian boots will also be found very useful. The

APPENDIX 321

usual underclothing worn in England is all that is
required if the shooting is to be done in the highlands. A
good warm overcoat will be much appreciated up-country
in the cool of the evenings, and a light mackintosh for wet
weather ought also to be included. For use in rocky or
thorny country, a pair of knee and elbow pads will be
found invaluable, and those who feel the sun should also
provide themselves with a spine-protector. The latter is a
most useful article of kit, for although the air may be pretty
cool, the sun strikes down very fiercely towards midday.
A well-filled medicine chest should of course not be
forgotten.

A good field glass, a hunting and skinning knife or two,
and a Kodak with about 200 films should also be carried.
With regard to the last item, I should strongly advise all
who intend to take photographs on their trip to pay a visit
to Mr. W. D. Young on arriving at Nairobi. He is an
enthusiastic photographer, and will gladly give advice to
all as to light and time of exposure ; and as these are the
two points which require most attention, hints from some
one of experience in the country are most useful. I
myself am much indebted to Mr. Young’s kindly advice,
and I am sure I should not have achieved much success in
my pictures without it. I made it a practice on my last
visit to the country to send him the exposed films for
development whenever I reached a postal station, and I
should recommend others to do the same, as films
deteriorate rapidly on the voyage home; indeed I had
nearly four hundred spoiled in this way, taken when I was
in the country in 1898-99.

As regards camp equipment, all that need be taken out
from England are a small double-fly tent, three Jaeger
blankets, a collapsible bath, a Wolseley valise, and a good
filter ; and even these can be obtained just as good locally.
Chop boxes (food) and other necessary camp gear should be

¥

322 APPENDIX

obtained at Mombasa or Nairobi, where the agents will
put up just what is necessary. About a month before
sailing from England a letter should be sent to the
agents, stating the date of arrival and what porters, etc.,
will be required. The sportsman will then find every-
thing ready for him, so that an immediate start may be
made.

Unless money is no object, I should not advise anyone
to engage porters at Mombasa, as equally good men can
be obtained at Nairobi, thus saving 20 rupees per head in
return railway fares. It must be remembered that for
transport work men are infinitely preferable to donkeys,
as the latter are exasperatingly slow and troublesome,
especially on rough ground or on crossing streams, where
every load has to be unpacked, carried over, and then
reloaded on the animal’s back. The caravan for one
sportsman—if he intends going far from the railway—is
usually made up as follows, though the exact numbers
depend upon many considerations :

Tollesdmans sp eee tee 50 rupees! per month.

T.ACGOK... 27 ea tee 35 ‘ =

T Gun- bearer (25.22. 447-28 20 ° *

1 “ Boy” (personal servant)... 20 x .

2 Askarts (armed porters)... 12 5 5s each.
RO POlters es cess eee 10 # iB each.

The porters are all registered, the Government taking a
small fee for the registration; and according to custom
half the wages due for the whole trip are advanced to the
men before a start is made. The sportsman is obliged to
provide each porter with a jersey, blanket and water-bottle,

1 The rupee in British East Africa is on the basis of 15 to the
£1 Sterling.

APPENDIX 323
while the gun-bearer and “boy” get a pair of boots in
addition. A cotton shelter-tent and a cooking pot must
also be furnished for every five men.

The food for the caravan is mostly rice, of which the
Headman gets two &zbabas (a kibaba is about 13 |b.) per
day ; the cook, gun-bearer, “boy” and askaris one and a
half £zbabas, and the ordinary porters, one £zbaba, each
per day.

It is the duty of the Headman to keep discipline on the
safari (caravan journey), both in camp and on the march,
and to see to the distribution and safety of the loads, the
pitching and striking of camp, the issue of poshko (food) to
the porters, etc. He always brings up the rear of the
caravan, and on him depends greatly the general comfort
of the sportsman. For our trip at the beginning of 1906,
we managed to secure a splendid xeopara, and never had
the least trouble with the porters all the time. His only
drawback was that he could not speak English, but he told
me when he left us that he was going to learn. Anybody
securing him as Headman will be lucky; his name
is Munyaki bin Dewani, and he can easily be found at
Mombasa.

The cook is also an important member of the caravan,
and a good one should be procured if possible. It is
wonderful what an experienced native mptshz (cook) can
turn out in the way of a meal in a few minutes after camp
is pitched.

As gun-bearer, most hunters prefer a Somali. I have
never tried one, but am told that they are inclined to be
troublesome ; they certainly rate themselves very highly,
and demand about four times as much wages as an equally
good Swahili.

In camp, the duties of the askarzs are to keep up the fire
and watch at night, and to pitch and strike the Azwana’s

Viee2

324 APPENDIX

(Master’s) tent. On the march one leads the caravan, the
other brings up the rear; they give assistance in the event
of any trouble with the loads, see that no desertions take
place allow no straggling, and generally do what they can
to protect the caravan. They are each armed with an old
snider rifle and 10 rounds of ball cartridge, and are gene-

a ee

VIEW IN THE KENYA PROVINCE.

rally very dangerous men to their friends when they take
it into their heads to fire their weapons.

The ordinary porters will carry their 60-lb. loads day in
and day out without complaint, so long as they are well
fed ; but stint them of their rice, and they at once become
sulky mutineers. In addition to carrying the loads, they
pitch and strike camp, procure firewood and water, and
build grass huts if a stay of more than a day is intended to
be made at one place. On the whole, the Swahili porter is

ony Bee

APPENDIX 325

one of the jolliest and most willing fellows in the world,
and I have nothing but praise for him.

It may be that our sportsman intends to confine his
shooting trip to the neighbourhood of the railway ; in this

‘©, FLYING VISIT IN A RICKSHAW TO KAMPALA.”

case, the best plan is to hire one of the special carriages
from the Traffic Manager of the Uganda Railway. These
carriages, which have good sleeping, cooking, and bath
accommodation, can be attached to almost any train, and
moved from station to station or left standing in a siding
at the directions of the hunter. This is the cheapest and

326 APPENDIX

most comfortable way of spending a short time in the
country, as no tent, camp equipment, or regular porters are
required ; and some quite good sport can be obtained into
the bargain.

Again, if the hunter intends shooting, say, in the Kenya

Province, as many porters as he requires may be obtained
from the official in charge at Fort Hall. The pay of the
Kikuyu porter in such circumstances is only two annas
a day, while he provides his own food; neither is the
sportsman asked to furnish him with a blanket, jersey, and

APPENDIX 327

water-bottle so long as he is not taken out of his own
Province. Each Province is, in fact, governed as regards
porters by its own special conditions, which can easily be
ascertained on arrival in the country.

There are various lines of steamers sailing to Mombasa.
The steamers of the German East Africa Line (Deutsche
Ost-Afrika Linie) sail from Marseilles or Naples. The
voyage takes about eighteen days from Marseilles. The

JINJA.

single fare (First-Class) is 442 10s. The return is double
the ordinary fare, less 10 per cent. The Messageries
Maritimes, sailing from Marseilles, take about seventeen
days. The First-Class fare from London is £45 ; return,
available for two years, is 467 tos. The British East
Africa Line sails from London about once a month. The
voyage takes longer by this route, but the fare is much
cheaper, being only £2c First-Class ; while those who are

328 APPENDIX

not pressed for time would probably enjoy calling in at
the various ports ez route.

Fairly good hotel accommodation can be had at both
Mombasa and Nairobi.

Before any shooting can be done it is necessary to take

‘6 RUSHING OVER THE RIPON FALLS.”

out a Game License (costing the sum of 450), which may
be obtained without difficulty at either of these two
centres. This license imposes an obligation on the
sportsman to make a return before he leaves the
country of every animal shot by him. By obtaining fa
special Game License, one bull giraffe may be killed in

|

APPENDIX 329

addition to the animals covered by the ordinary license.
A fee of 45 is charged for this special privilege ; it
must be paid in advance, and is forfeited whether the
giraffe is afterwards killed or not. This fee of 45 is,
of course, additional to the 450 for the ordinary license.

: ‘“~HE MIGHTY RIVER STRETCHING AWAY TO THE NORTH
: AMID ENCHANTING SCENERY.”

Fairly good maps of the country may be obtained at

Stanford’s, Long Acre, W.C., while the Game Laws and

Regulations can be procured from the Colonial Office in
Downing Street.

Passenger trains leave Mombasa at 11 a.m. on Mondays,

Wednesdays, and Fridays, and are timed to arrive at

330 APPENDIX

Nairobi at 11.15 next morning and at Kisumu (the railway
terminus on Lake Victoria Nyanza) at 9 o’clock on the
morning following. The First-Class return fares from
Mombasa to Nairobi, Kisumu and Entebbe are 92, 164},
and 2134 rupees respectively.

It is unnecessary to specify district by district where
particular species of game are to be found, for the sports-
man can easily learn this for himself and get the latest
news of game movements on his arrival at Mombasa. As
a matter of fact, the whole country abounds in game, and
there cannot be lack of sport and trophies for the keen
shikart. The heads and skins should be very carefully
sun-dried and packed in tin-lined cases with plenty of
moth-killer for shipment home. For mounting his trophies
the sportsman cannot do better, I think, than go to Rowland
Ward of Piccadilly. I have had mine set up by this

firm for years past, and have always found their work

excellent.

I consider that £400 should cover the entire cost of a
three months’ shooting trip to East Africa, including
passage both ways. The frugal sportsman will doubtless
do it on less, while the extravagant man will probably
spend very much more.

Should time be available, a trip to the Victoria Nyanza
should certainly be made. The voyage round the Lake in
one of the comfortable railway steamers takes about eight
days, but the crossing to Entebbe, the official capital of
Uganda, can be done in seventeen hours, though it usually
takes twenty-seven, as at night the boats anchor for
shelter under the lee of an island. The steamer remains
long enough in Entebbe harbour to enable the energetic
traveller to pay a flying visit in a rickshaw to Kampala, the
native capital, some twenty-one miles off. I spent a most
interesting day last year in this way, and had a chat with
the boy King of Uganda, Daudi Chwa, at Mengo. He was

wee me AiR eon RO IMIS 2 ae! A NINN

ote.

eyo ae

APPENDIX 331

then about nine years old, and very bright and intelligent.
He made no objection to my taking his photograph, but it
unfortunately turned out a failure.

It is curious to find the Baganda (z.e., people of Uganda)
highly civilised—the majority are Christians—surrounded
as they are on all sides by nations of practically naked
savages ; and it is a very interesting sight to watch them
in the “bazaar” at Kampala, clad in long flowing cotton
garments, and busily engaged in bartering the products of
the country under the shade of tattered umbrellas. Un-
fortunately the great scourge of the district round the
shores of the Lake is the sleeping sickness, which in the
past few years has carried off thousands of the natives, and
has quite depopulated the islands, which were once densely
inhabited. The disease is communicated by the bite of an
infected fly, but happily this pest is only found in certain
well-defined regions, so that if the traveller avoids these
he is quite as safe, as regards sleeping sickness, as if he
had remained in England.

On the return journey from Entebbe, Jinja, a port on the
north side of the Victoria Nyanza, is usually called at.
This place is of great interest, as itis here that the Lake
narrows into a breadth of only a few hundred yards, and,
rushing over the Ripon Falls, forms the long-sought-for
source of the Nile. The magnificent view of the mighty
river stretching away to the north amid enchanting scenery
is most inspiring, and one can well imagine how elated
Speke must have felt when, after enduring countless hard-
ships, he at last looked upon it and thus solved one of the
great problems of the ancients.

II

The following is a literal translation of the Hindustani
poem referred to on p. 103:—

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MERCIFUL, THE
COMPASSIONATE:

First must I speak to the praise and glory of God, who
is infinite and incomprehensible,

Who is without fault or error, who is the Life, though
without body or breath.

He has no relatives, nor father nor son, being himself
incomparable and passionless.

His is the knowledge of the known and of the unknown,
and although without a tongue, yet does he speak in
mighty tones.

I, Roshan, came to this country of Africa, and did find
it indeed a strange land ;

Many rocks, mountains, and dense forests abounding in
lions and leopards ;

Also buffaloes, wolves, deer, rhinoceroses, elephants,
‘camels, and all enemies of man;

Gorillas, ferocious monkeys that attack men, black
baboons of giant size, spirits, and thousands of varieties of
birds ;

Wild horses, wild dogs, black snakes, and all animals
that a hunter or sportsman could desire.

APPENDIX 233

The forests are so dark and dreadful that even the
boldest warriors shrink from their awful depths.

Now from the town of Mombasa, a railway line extends
unto Uganda ;

In the forests bordering on this line, there are found
those lions called “ man-eaters,’ and moreover these forests
are full of thorns and prickly shrubs.

Portions of this railway from Mombasa to Uganda are
still being made, and here these lions fell on the workmen
and destroyed them.

Such was their habit, day and night, and hundreds ot
men fell victims to these savage creatures, whose very jaws
were steeped in blood.

Bones, flesh, skin and blood, they devoured all, and left
not a trace behind them.

Because of the fear of these demons some seven or eight
hundred of the labourers deserted, and remained idle ;

Some two or three hundred still remained, but they were
haunted by this terrible dread,

And because of fear for their lives, would sit in their
huts, their hearts full of foreboding and terror.

Every one of them kept a fire burning at night,and none
dared to close his eyes in sleep ; yet would some of them
be carried away to destruction.

The lion’s roar was such that the very earth would trem-
ble at the sound, and where was the man who did not feel
afraid ?

On all sides arose weeping and wailing, and the people
would sit and cry like cranes, complaining of the deeds of
the lions.

I, Roshan, chief of my people, also complained and
prayed to God, the Prophet, and to our spiritual adviser.

And now will I relate the story of the Engineer in
charge of the line.

He kept some ten or twenty goats, for the sake of their
milk ;

334 APPENDIX

But one night a wild beast came, and destroyed them
all, not one being left.

And in the morning it was reported by the watch-
man, who also stated that the man-eater was daily
destroying the labourers and workmen, and doing great
injury ;

And they took the Engineer with them and showed him
the footprints of the animal.

And after seeing what the animal had done, the English-
man spoke, and said,

“ For this damage the lion shall pay his life.”

And when night came he took his gun and in very
truth destroyed the beast.

Patterson Sahib is indeed a brave and valiant man, like
unto those Persian heroes of old—Rustem, Zal, Sohrab
and Berzoor ;

So brave is he, that the greatest warriors stood aghast
at his action ;

Tall in stature, young, most brave and of great strength
is he.

From the other side of the line came the noise and cries
of those who complained that these savage beasts were
eating and destroying men,

For such has been the habit of lions from time
immemorial, and groups of people have fallen victims to
their fury.

Those who were proud or boastful, have but sacrificed
their lives uselessly ;

But to-day Patterson Sahib will watch for the lion
himself!

For the people have complained loudly, and the valiant
one has gone forth with his gun into the forest.

Soon after the people had retired at night to their tents,
the fearless lion made his appearance ;

Patterson Sahib loaded both barrels of his gun and went
forth against him.

APPENDIX 335

He fired many times in succession and totally paralysed
the animal.

The lion roared like thunder as the bullets found their
way to his heart.

This Englishman, Patterson, is most brave, and is indeed
the very essence of valour ;

Lions do not fears lions, yet one glance from Patterson
Sahib cowed the bravest of them.

He fled, making for the forest, while the bullets followed
hard after him ;

So was this man-eater rendered helpless ; he lay down
in despair,

And after he had covered a chain’s distance, the savage
beast fell down, a corpse.

Now the people, bearing lights in their hands, all ran to
look at their dead enemy.

But the Sahib said “ Return, my children ; the night is
dark, do not rush into danger.”

And in the morning all the people saw the lion lying
dead.

And then the Sahib said, “ Do not think of work to-day
—make holiday, enjoy and be merry.”

So the people had holiday and made merry with friends
from whom they had been long parted, on account of the
lion :

And the absence of those who had run away was
forgiven, and their money allowed them—

A generous action, comparable to the forgiveness of God
and the Prophet to sinners and criminals on the day of
judgment.

Oh! poet, leave this kind of simile, it is too deep for
thee ;

We mortals have the Devil, like unto a fierce lion, ever
after us ;

Oh! Roshan, may God, the Prophet, and your spiritual
adviser, safeguard you day and night !

336 APPENDIX

One lion, however, remained, and for fear of him all went
in dread ;

Sixteen days passed, all being well, and everyone enjoyed
a peaceful mind ;

But again, on the seventeenth day, the lion appeared
and remained from sunset to sunrise.

He kept on roaming about in the neighbourhood like a
general reconnoitring the enemy’s position.

On the following day the Sahib sent for the people
and warned them all to be careful of their lives ;

“Do not go out from the afternoon even until the
following morning,” he said.

Now this was the night of Shab-7-Kadr, a Muslim
festival :

And at night when all had retired to rest, the lion came
in a rage,

And Patterson Sahib went forth into the field to
meet him.

And when he saw the beast, he fired quickly, bullet after
bullet.

The lion made a great uproar, and fled for his life, but
the bullets nevertheless found a resting-place in his heart.

And everyone began to shriek and groan in their uneasy
sleep, jumping up in fear, when unexpectedly the roaring
of the lion was heard.

All thought of sleep was banished, and fear came in its
place :

And the Sahib gave emphatic orders that no one should
go out, or roam about.

And in the morning we followed the marks of blood
that had flowed from the wounded animal,

And some five or seven chains away, we found the lion,
lying wounded and in great pain.

And when the Sahib saw the animal he fired bullets
incessantly ;

APPENDIX 337

But when the lion saw the Sahib, the savage animal,
burning with rage and pain,

Came by leaps and bounds close to the Sahib;

But here he was to meet his match in a brave Sahib who
loaded his gun calmly, and fired again and again, killing
the beast.

All the Punjaubis assembled together and agreed that
the Sahib was a man who appreciated and cared for others,
so much so that he roamed about in the forests for our
sake, in order to protect us.

Previously, many Englishmen had come here to shoot
but had been disappointed,

Because the lion was very courageous and ferocious,
and the Sahibs were afraid ;

But for the sake of our lives, Patterson Sahib took
all this trouble, risking his own life in the forest.

So they collected many hundreds of rupees, and offered
it as a present to the Sahib, because he had undergone
such peril, in order to save our lives.

Oh! Roshan, all the people appeared before the Sahib

b

saying, “ You are our benefactor ” ;

But the Sahib declined to accept the present, not taking
a pice of it.

So then again the Punjaubis assembled, and consulted as
to how the service that the Sahib had done them could
most suitably be rewarded.

And it was agreed to send all the money to England, in
order that it might be converted into some suitable present,

Which should bear an engraving of the two lions, and
the name of the mzzstarz,! head of the workmen.

The present should be such, and so suitably decorated,
as to be acceptable to Patterson Sahib ;

In colour it should resemble moon and sun; and that
would indeed be a fit present, so that the Sahib would be
pleased to accept it.

1 Foreman-mason.

338 APPENDIX

Oh! Roshan, I hope that he will accept this present for
shooting the lions, as some small reward for his
action.

My native home is at Chajanlat, in the shane of Domli,
which is in the district of Jhelum, and I have related this
story as it actually occurred.

Patterson Sahib has left me, and I shall miss him as long
as I live, and now

Roshan must roam about in Africa, sad and regretful.

Composed by Roshan westarz, son of Kadur mistarz
Bakhsh, native of the village of Chajanlat, Dakhli, Post
Office Domli, district of Jhelum. Dated 29th January,

1899.

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