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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Man-eaters of Tsavo and Other East
+African Adventures, by J. H. Patterson
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Man-eaters of Tsavo and Other East African Adventures
+
+Author: J. H. Patterson
+
+Posting Date: May 28, 2009 [EBook #3810]
+Release Date: March, 2003
+First Posted: September 19, 2001
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Hall.  HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO AND Other East African Adventures
+
+
+BY
+
+Lieut.-Col. J. H. Patterson, D.S.O.
+
+
+
+
+WITH A FOREWORD BY FREDERICK COURTENEY SELOUS
+
+
+WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+It 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 civilisation, 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 otherwise, 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 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.P. August, 1907.
+
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD
+
+
+It was some seven or eight years ago that I first read, in the pages of
+The Field 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 succeeded
+in shooting the lion, just when it was on the point of springing upon
+him. But had this lion approached him from behind, I think it would
+probably 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 I 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 The Field. This I did; and it was only in the
+last letter I received from him that, referring to this story,
+President Roosevelt 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 permanent form." Well, I am now glad
+to think that it will be preserved in permanent form; and I 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 surpassed 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 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. C. SELOUS.
+  WORPLESDON, SURREY.
+    September 18, 1907.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  CHAPTER I      MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO                       1
+  CHAPTER II     THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE MAN-EATERS   20
+  CHAPTER III    THE ATTACK ON THE GOODS-WAGON            29
+  CHAPTER IV     THE BUILDING OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE         41
+  CHAPTER V      TROUBLES WITH THE WORKMEN                50
+  CHAPTER VI     THE REIGN OF TERROR                      61
+  CHAPTER VII    THE DISTRICT OFFICER'S NARROW ESCAPE     75
+  CHAPTER VIII   THE DEATH OF THE FIRST MAN-EATER         84
+  CHAPTER IX     THE DEATH OF THE SECOND MAN-EATER        95
+  CHAPTER X      THE COMPLETION OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE      108
+  CHAPTER XI     THE SWAHILI AND OTHER NATIVE TRIBES     119
+  CHAPTER XII    A NIGHT AFTER HIPPO                     133
+  CHAPTER XIII   A DAY ON THE N'DUNGU ESCARPMENT         145
+  CHAPTER XIV    THE FINDING OF THE MAN-EATERS' DEN      155
+  CHAPTER XV     UNSUCCESSFUL RHINO HUNTS                168
+  CHAPTER XVI    A WIDOW'S STORY                         176
+  CHAPTER XVII   AN INFURIATED RHINO                     182
+  CHAPTER XVIII  LIONS ON THE ATHI PLAINS                193
+  CHAPTER XIX    THE STRICKEN CARAVAN                    210
+  CHAPTER XX     A DAY ON THE ATHI RIVER                 221
+  CHAPTER XXI    THE MASAI AND OTHER TRIBES              231
+  CHAPTER XXII   HOW ROSHAN KHAN SAVED MY LIFE           247
+  CHAPTER XXIII  A SUCCESSFUL LION HUNT                  264
+  CHAPTER XXIV   BHOOTA'S LAST SHIKAR                    273
+  CHAPTER XXV    A MAN-EATER IN A RAILWAY CARRIAGE       286
+  CHAPTER XXVI   WORK AT NAIROBI                         293
+  CHAPTER XXVII  THE FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND            300
+  APPENDIX                                               323
+
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  Heads of Eight Lions shot by the Author
+    in British East Africa                                  Frontispiece
+  Mombasa, from the Harbour                                            1
+  The Native Quarter, Mombasa                                          2
+  "Well-wooded hills and slopes on the mainland"                       3
+  Vasco da Gama Street and Pillar                                      5
+  "The best way to get three ... was by gharri                         6
+  "I pitched my tent under some shady palms"                           7
+  "Kilindini is on the opposite side of the island"                   10
+  "The Place of Deep Waters"                                          11
+  "A lucky shot brought down the huge bird"                           14
+  "I slept that night in a little palm hut"                           15
+  "This interminable nyika"                                           17
+  "The river crossed by means of a temporary bridge"                  18
+  Women of Uganda                                                     19
+  The tent from which jemadar Ungan Singh was carried off             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 surrounded
+    by thorn fences"                                                  31
+  "Railhead Camp, with its two or three thousand workmen"             33
+  "The two wounded coolies were left where they lay, a piece of
+    torn tent having fallen over them"                                35
+  "A luncheon served in the wilds, with occasionally a friend
+    to share it"                                                      43
+  "It very soon became a great pet"                                   46
+  "Heera Singh made a wild spring into the water to get clear
+    of the falling stone"                                             47
+  "The door which was to admit the lion"                              62
+  "When the trap was ready, I pitched a tent over it"                 64
+  "They found him stuck fast in the bushes of the boma"               70
+  "Perched on the top of water-tanks"                                 73
+  "I took up my position in a crib made of sleepers"                  77
+  Whitehead on a Trolley at the exact spot where the Lion
+    jumped upon him                                                   79
+  Abdullah and his two Wives                                          80
+  A party of Wa Jamousi                                               83
+  "His length from tip of nose to tip of tail was nine feet
+    eight inches"                                                     92
+  Head of the first Man-Eater                                         93
+  "The following evening I took up my position in this same tree"    100
+  "He measured nine feet six inches from tip of nose to
+    tip of tail, and stood three feet eleven and
+    a half inches high"                                              103
+  "The bridge over the Tsavo rapidly neared completion"              108
+  "The heavy stones were swung into position"                        109
+  "The girder was run over its exact place"                          110
+  "And finally lowered gently into position"                         111
+  "Very soon I had the satisfaction of seeing the first train
+    cross the finished work"                                         112
+  The completed Tsavo bridge                                         113
+  One of the Trolley Lines after the Flood                           114
+  Swahili Caravan Porters                                            120
+  "Such was my cook, Mabruki"                                        122
+  The women ... wear a long, brightly-coloured cloth"                123
+  "The women attire themselves only in a short kilt"                 125
+  "We arrived at M'Gogo's capital"                                   126
+  "Making pombe in the hollowed-out stump of a tree"                 127
+  Wa Taita Men                                                       129
+  M'Kamba Woman                                                      131
+  "Until it joins the Athi River"                                    136
+  "The banks of the Sabaki are lined with trees"                     138
+  "I caught sight of a fine waterbuck and successfully
+    bowled him over"                                                 146
+  "A young one was lying down in the grass quite close to me"        147
+  A crocodile on the Sabaki                                          153
+  "Beyond all doubt, the man-eaters' den!"                           158
+  "Watch the animals come down to drink"                             161
+  "The antelope swinging by his feet"                                165
+  Hippo Head                                                         167
+  "Slaves chained neck to neck as was the custom"                    174
+  Hospital Tent at Voi where Mrs. O'Hara rested                      178
+  In the Bazaar at Kampala                                           181
+  "The great Athi Plains"                                            182
+  "First the earth surface has to be prepared"                       184
+  "Cuttings have to be made and hollows banked up"                   185
+  "Another gang drops the rails in their places"                     187
+  "It never moved again"                                             190
+  "The trophy was well worth the pains I had taken to add it to
+    my collection"                                                   191
+  Jackson's Hartebeeste, and Zebra                                   194
+  Waterbuck                                                          195
+  "Fortunately the brute fell dead after this final effort"          201
+  "We managed to bring them in triumph to the camp"                  214
+  "I got near enough for a safe shot, which bowled the
+    antelope over stone-dead"                                        218
+  Wart-hog                                                           220
+  "A successful snapshot of an impala just after it had been shot"   228
+  A Masai Chief                                                      232
+  Masai Warriors                                                     233
+  Masai Woman                                                        234
+  Masai Girls                                                        235
+  Masai Women                                                        237
+  N'derobbo Boy                                                      239
+  N'derobbo Boy, with Collabus Monkey                                240
+  N'derobbo Girl                                                     241
+  Wa Kikuyu                                                          244
+  "The women of the Wa Kikuyu carry the heavy loads"                 245
+  "Spooner's plucky servant, Imam Din"                               281
+  A Collection of Trophies                                           285
+  He was kept on view for several days, and then shot                291
+  Impala                                                             292
+  "I took a photograph of him standing reside his fine trophy"       295
+  "Succeeded in finishing him off without further trouble"           297
+  Steamer unloading at Kisumu, on Lake Victoria Nyanza               299
+  The Grand Falls, Tana River                                        300
+  Shimone, "The Place of Falling Water" (Eldama Ravine)              301
+  Oryx                                                               302
+  Roan Antelope                                                      303
+  "An excellent, cheery fellow ... named Landaalu"                   304
+  Crossing a Stream on the Cook's Box                                305
+  Crossing the Angarua River                                         307
+  Reedbuck                                                           309
+  The New Eland--T. oryx pattersonianus                              316
+  Thomson's Gazelle                                                  321
+  War Canoe on Lake Victoria Nyanza, near the Ripon Falls            325
+  Preparing Breakfast in Camp                                        326
+  View in the Kenya Province                                         331
+  "A flying visit in a rickshaw to Kampala"                          332
+  "Clad in long flowing cotton garments"                             333
+  Jinja                                                              334
+  "Rushing over the Ripon Falls"                                     335
+  "The mighty river stretching away to the north amid
+    enchanting scenery"                                              337
+  Wa Kikuyu Warriors                                                 346
+  Map of British East Africa                                         347
+  Facsimile of address presented to the author on his departure
+    from East Africa in 1899                                     348-351
+
+
+
+
+THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO
+
+
+It was towards noon on March 1, 1898, that I first found myself
+entering the narrow and somewhat 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, everything looked
+fresh and green, and an oriental glamour of enchantment seemed to hang
+over the island. The old town was bathed in brilliant sunshine and
+reflected itself lazily on the motionless sea; its flat roofs and
+dazzlingly white walls peeped out 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 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 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 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 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 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 baggage and person, I found
+myself being vigorously rowed to the foot of the landing steps by the
+bahareen (sailors) who had been successful in the 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
+headquarters of the railway were to be found, and 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 gharri, which I found to be a small trolley, having two seats
+placed back to back under a little canopy and running on narrow rails
+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
+creepers hanging in luxuriant festoons from the branches.
+
+On arrival at Kilindini, I made my way to the railway Offices and was
+informed that I should be stationed inland and should receive further
+instructions in the course of a day or two. Meanwhile I 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 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
+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 "Jesus Fort," and an
+inscription recording this is still to be seen over the main entrance.
+The Portuguese occupation of 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 surrounded 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 reinforcements.
+After this the Portuguese made several attempts to reconquer Mombasa,
+but were unsuccessful until 1728, when the town was stormed and
+captured by General Sampayo. The Arabs, however, 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
+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 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 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, however, and was finally forced to flee
+southwards into German territory. Altogether, Mombasa has in the past
+well deserved its native name of Kisiwa M'vitaa, 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 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 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. I 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 undertaken. For twenty miles after reaching the mainland,
+our train wound steadily upwards through beautifully wooded, park-like
+country, and on 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 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.
+
+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 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-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 little palm hut which had been built by some previous 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 I could see the stars twinkling through the roof.
+I little knew then what adventures awaited me in this neighbourhood;
+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 impenetrable 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 nyika, 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 stretched the unbroken line of
+the N'dungu Escarpment, 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 neighbourhood 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 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 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 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
+requisition for labour, tools and material to the head-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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE MAN-EATERS
+
+
+Unfortunately this happy state of affairs did not continue for long,
+and our work was soon interrupted in a rude and startling manner. Two
+most voracious and insatiable man-eating lions appeared upon the scene,
+and for over nine months waged an intermittent 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 workmen
+firmly believed that they were not real animals at all, but devils in
+lions' shape. Many a time the 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 neighbourhood. 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 examination of the place, and was
+soon convinced that the 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 jemadar shared his tent with half a
+dozen other workmen, and one of his bedfellows had actually witnessed
+the occurrence. He graphically 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 companions 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 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 subsequently rescued: the skin was gone in
+places, and the flesh looked dry, as if it had been sucked.) On
+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 jemadar'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 open with a startled, horrified look in them. The
+place was considerably cut up, and on closer examination 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 jemadar'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 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 I found that one of the brutes had broken into a 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, I took up my position in a suitable tree near
+this tent. I did not at all 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 I well remember
+the feeling of impotent disappointment I experienced when about
+midnight I heard screams and cries and a heart-rending shriek, which
+told me that the man-eaters had again eluded me and had claimed another
+victim elsewhere.
+
+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 exceedingly 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 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 enterprising bunniah (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
+bunniah, 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 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 in a 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 round a brightly burning fire. Shots,
+shouting and firebrands they alike held in derision.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+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, however, 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, 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; and we had it surrounded by a circular boma,
+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 rather trying to our nerves to attempt to read
+or write there, as we never knew when a lion might spring over the
+boma, 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. 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 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. I was then left with only some few hundred men to
+complete the permanent works; and as all the remaining workmen were
+naturally camped together, 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 bomas 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 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 appearance 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 boma and broke through. On this
+occasion the Hospital Assistant had a marvellous escape. Hearing 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 successful, as
+he jumped on to and broke through a tent in which eight patients were
+lying. Two of 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 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 vacated boma 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 bhisti (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 bhisti, it appears, had been lying on the floor, with his
+head towards the centre of the tent and his feet neatly 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 unfortunate
+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 bhisti'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 boma 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 bhisti--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 boma.
+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, who 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. Fortunately, 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 boma, 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 boma. The cattle, too, became very uneasy, and we
+could hear them moving about restlessly. Then again came dead silence.
+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 boma 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
+boma for so long, he was outside all the time, silently reconnoitring
+our position.
+
+Presently I fancied I saw something coming very 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 I 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 hundredfold 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE BUILDING OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE
+
+
+During all this troublesome period the construction 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 consequently 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 guard'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 a
+gully between this cutting and Tsavo Station. This would have taken too
+long to erect when railhead 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. Setting 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 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 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 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 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 unexpected discovery, though
+at first I had grave misgivings about the distance to be traversed and
+the difficulty of transporting the stone across the 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 engaged, a little paa--a
+kind of very small antelope--sprang out and found itself 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 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 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 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 foundations of one of the
+log supports; and as the weight of the trolley with the stone came on
+the undermined pier, the rails tilted up and over went the whole thing
+into the river, just as I snapped the picture. Heera Singh made a wild
+spring into the 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 unpleasant 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 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+TROUBLES WITH THE WORKMEN
+
+
+It 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 immediately instituted a system of piecework,
+and drew up a scale of pay which would enable the genuine mason to earn
+his forty-five rupees a month--and 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 I 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 boma on charpoys (native
+beds); and Brock being away, I had to play 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 accordingly 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 I 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. I at once
+pulled on my boots, got some brandy and ran down to the camp, where 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 boma, and in a
+few moments he arrived in his charpoy, 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 budmashi
+(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 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 "Beiman
+shaitan!" ("Unbelieving devil!"), and fled like a deer to the entrance
+of my boma, 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 "Shabash, 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, I 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 proceedings 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 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 I
+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 narrative, 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. Unfortunately 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 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 information, 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) I 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 day, as they were afraid of trouble at the
+quarry. At this I began to think that there was something 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--I 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 I had first passed, and who numbered about a hundred. Both
+groups of men, carrying crowbars and flourishing 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 themselves I had started haranguing them in Hindustani. The
+habit of obedience still held them, and fortunately 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 hanged for it, as the
+Sirkar (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, I
+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 on the work done. They
+were still in a very uncertain and sullen mood, however, and not at all
+to be relied upon, so it was with feelings of great relief that an hour
+later I 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 afterwards
+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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE REIGN OF TERROR
+
+
+The lions seemed to have got a 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 safari (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
+compartments--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 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 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.
+
+When the trap was ready I pitched a tent over it in order further to
+deceive the lions, and built an exceedingly strong boma 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 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 a very sleepless and uncomfortable
+time, and was badly bitten by mosquitoes.
+
+As a 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
+Engomani, 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 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 occupations, 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-stricken 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 was discovered forcing its way through the boma. 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 jemadar 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 convenient
+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 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 bomas 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 continually 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 anything 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, bhaieon,
+shaitan ata" ("Beware, brothers, the devil is coming"), but the warning
+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, tracking 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 military--came to
+Tsavo from the coast and sat up 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 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 hearing the lions at their meal
+that they shouted and implored me to allow them to come inside my boma.
+This I willingly did, but soon afterwards I remembered 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 boma, 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 bomas together and each
+seizing a victim. In 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 companions at last summoned up sufficient courage to go to
+his assistance, they found him stuck fast in the bushes of the boma,
+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 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
+boma, 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 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 along 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 boma
+in a body and stated that they would not remain at Tsavo any longer for
+anything or anybody; 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 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, roofs and girders--anywhere for safety--while some 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 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 particular
+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.
+Fortunately for them, a victim had already been secured, and the brutes
+were too busy devouring him to pay attention to anything else.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 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 campaign against the lions, and to bring with him any of his askaris
+(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, so I sent my "boy" up to the
+station to meet him and to help in carrying his baggage to the camp. In
+a 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
+state of fright that if they caught sight of a hyena 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
+stationmaster and signalman had been obliged to take refuge from one of
+the man-eaters by locking themselves 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 heard a couple of shots, but paid no
+attention to them, as rifles were constantly being fired off in the
+neighbourhood 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 crib. 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
+unsuspecting 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 circumstances 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, 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.
+
+"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. "That's not much of
+a dream, is it?" he 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 askaris, who walked close behind him carrying a lighted lamp. All
+went well until they were about half-way through the gloomy 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 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: "Eh, Bwana, simba" ("Oh, Master, a lion"). As the
+lion was dragging him over the bank, Whitehead fired again, but without
+effect, 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 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 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 precautions 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 nightfall, 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 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 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE DEATH OF THE FIRST MAN-EATER
+
+
+A day or two after the departure of my allies, as I was leaving my boma
+soon after dawn on December 9, I saw a Swahili running excitedly
+towards me, shouting out "Simba! Simba!" ("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, I started most carefully to stalk the lions, who, I 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 guide snapped a
+rotten branch. The wily beast heard the noise, growled his defiance,
+and disappeared in a moment into a patch of even thicker jungle close
+by. In desperation at the thought of his escaping me once again, I
+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 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, I 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
+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 disappointment and vexation I abused owner,
+maker, and rifle with fine impartiality. On extracting the unexploded
+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 compliments.
+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, I proceeded to view the dead
+donkey, which I found to have been only slightly devoured it 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 had a staging erected some ten feet away from the body. This machan
+was about twelve feet high and was 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 one of the
+brutes." Profound silence again succeeded; I sat on my eyrie like a
+statue, every nerve tense with excitement. Very soon, however, 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 myself 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 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 mistaken 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
+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 "Mabarak! 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 persuade myself that even yet the "devil" might not have
+eluded me in some uncanny and mysterious way. Happily my fears proved
+groundless, and I 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 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
+thanksgiving 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 boma 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE DEATH OF THE SECOND MAN-EATER
+
+
+It 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 Inspector'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 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
+uneventfully 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 cautiously, and on getting up to the place
+discovered that he had indeed escaped us, leaving two off 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 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 Government 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 I 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, 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
+suddenly aroused by terrified shouts from my trolley men, who slept in
+a tree close outside my boma, 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 about an hour I slept peacefully with my back to the tree, and then
+woke suddenly with an uncanny feeling that something was wrong. Mahina,
+however, was on the alert, and had seen nothing; and although I looked
+carefully round us on all sides, I too could discover nothing unusual.
+Only half satisfied, I was about to lie back again, when I fancied I
+saw 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
+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
+knockdown 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 glimmer 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 immediately
+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. I fired again and knocked him over; but in a second 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 sudden 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 towards 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 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 and coolies, I had the lion carried to my boma, which
+was close at hand. On examination we found no less than six bullet
+holes in the body, and embedded only a little 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 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 have a 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, Mistaris and Workmen, present you
+with this bowl as a token of our gratitude to you for your bravery in
+killing 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 HURJEE PURMAR,
+  Overseer 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."
+
+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. (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.) 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 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 appreciate 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. Patterson 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE COMPLETION OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE
+
+
+When 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 in a 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 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 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 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
+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 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 some little distance above the bridge. This I knew was the
+debris 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 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 great 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 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, hyenas, 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 rejoicing 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 happened at the time to have a flock of about thirty sheep
+and goats which I kept for food and for milk, and which were secured at
+sundown in a grass hut at one corner of my boma. 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 cause of the disturbance. I 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 boma on the
+alert and listening anxiously to hear the noise the leopard would make
+the moment he was caught in the trap. Nor were 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 chaukidar 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 boma 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. Naturally not one of
+these touched the beast, but they caused considerable consternation
+amongst the onlookers, who scattered rapidly to right and left. 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 obtaining one.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+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. I had little scope for this at
+Tsavo, however, as the district around us was practically 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 and at
+Zanzibar. They are a mixed race, being the descendants of Arab fathers
+and negro mothers. Their name is derived from the Arabic word suahil,
+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." However 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 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 have a goodly number of rupees to draw on
+their return to Mombasa. These generally disappear 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 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 ever so heavy, the moment it is off his
+back and he has disposed of his posho (food), he straightway forgets
+all his troubles, and begins to laugh and sing 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 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 kanzu; 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 consequently 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 nyika (wilderness) which
+borders on the Taru Desert. They 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. 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 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 M'gogo, the Head Chief of the Wa Taita, who had just come
+in for a shauri (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. I 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 couple of hours' steady
+scramble up a steep and slippery goatpath, we arrived at M'gogo's
+capital, where I was at once introduced to his wives, who were busily
+engaged in making pombe (a native fermented drink) in the hollowed-out
+stump of a 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 eat it. 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
+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 effective 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 simba-dawa, or "lion medicine ", to the four points of
+the compass before lying down to sleep in the open. This 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 seeking whom they may devour; and after
+the blowing ceremony he will lie down to sleep in perfect confidence,
+even in the midst of a man-eater's district. In the nature of things,
+moreover, 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.
+
+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 seemie (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.
+
+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
+patriarchal 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. 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 possession of the food
+which they knew would be stored 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. I am 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+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 expedition whenever I had the opportunity. I was especially
+anxious to bag a hippopotamus, so I 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
+smoothbore. 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 friendly
+stump--pulled off. To my great satisfaction 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 exploded 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 bhisti
+(water-carrier), and a couple of natives to carry our odds 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 paa, 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 tupu (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 nyika
+of the Tsavo valley almost intolerable. The river has its source at the
+foot of snow-crowned Kilima N'jaro, whence it 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 one, owing to the overhanging branches and creepers, from which we
+had constantly to be disengaged. 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 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
+impossible 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 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
+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 smuggling slaves and ivory to the coast, where
+dhows are in readiness to convey them to Persia or Arabia.
+
+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 hippo "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 during 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 proceeded 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 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 disappointed
+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
+forebodings of an unlucky night. By the light of a splendid full moon
+we settled ourselves on a great 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
+unfortunately 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. I
+bitterly lamented my ill-luck and want of patience, 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. I 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 little 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 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 ourselves 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. His
+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 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 XIII
+
+A DAY ON THE N'DUNGU 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 frowning
+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 waterbuck 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, I heard a 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
+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
+full-grown pair with great interest: they had evidently just come up
+from the river, and were slowly making their way back to their home on
+the escarpment. They seemed on the most affectionate terms,
+occasionally entwining their great long necks and 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 escarpment, for I was very
+impatient to get to the top and explore a place where I 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
+densely 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 surveyed 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 nyika as that round 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 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 paa, 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 bhisti'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,
+interspersed 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 accomplish
+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 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 volunteered 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 sun, and gave the order to start 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 reassuring
+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. I 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 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 paa 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. I 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 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 of the others I 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 washenzi (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 companion's
+bow and quiver of poisoned arrows, and 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+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 (i.e. "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 nullah, I happened to notice that
+the sandy bottom sparkled here and there where the sunbeams penetrated
+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 conclusion 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. Unfortunately he caught sight of us as well, and before I
+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 considerable
+distance under the rocky bank. Round the entrance and inside the cavern
+I was thunderstruck 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 inclination 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 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 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 I 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 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 I 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 preparing 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 paa 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 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 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 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 I sat on a rock out in the middle of the stream, near a
+favourite drinking place, waiting for a shot at whatever fortune might
+send my way. How exasperating it was, when the wind changed at the
+critical moment, and gave me away to the rhino or other animal I 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 snap, 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 Tsavo was to strike
+through the jungle in a north-westerly direction, and here there was
+luckily a particularly 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 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 I 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 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 I had missed him, and that he
+had made off through the bush. I therefore re-loaded, and advanced
+carefully 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.
+
+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 chaukidar, to fetch it. He was going off in the dark
+to do so, when I called him back and told him to take a 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,
+"Are, Sahib, burra sanp hai!" ("Oh, Master, there is a big snake here!)
+
+"Where?" I shouted.
+
+"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 baboo (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, 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.
+
+
+
+
+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 I turned. After 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 immediately, gave a mighty
+snort and then dived madly away through the jungle. For some
+considerable 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 uncomfortable 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 paa 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 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 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 careful 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 burra 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. 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 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 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 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 left 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, I 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 constructed from Voi to a rather important missionary station
+called Taveta, near Mount Kilima N'jaro, 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 bwana,
+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 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, 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, I heard what I
+thought was a lion walking round the tent. I at once woke 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 askari who was on sentry by the camp fire a
+little distance off. The askari 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 suddenly
+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 askari 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 askari fired his rifle, and this
+fortunately frightened the lion, for it at once jumped off into the
+bush.
+
+"All four askaris 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 askaris fired at
+him, but did no damage beyond frightening him away again for a moment
+or two. He soon came back and continued to walk round the tent until
+daylight, growling 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, 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 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
+interesting 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 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 nyika, 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 compared with that of the
+sun-baked valley in which I had spent the previous year.
+
+My instructions were to hurry on the construction of the line as fast
+as possible to Nairobi, the proposed headquarters of the Railway
+Administration, which lay about fifty miles further on across the Athi
+Plains; and I soon began to find platelaying 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 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 cover. 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 Committee 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 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 I started off
+towards it. Very soon, however, I found that it was bigger game than an
+ostrich, and on getting still nearer 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 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. I 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 I
+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 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 disappear 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 do so 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 shooting, 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 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 broadside shot, which would
+probably roll the beast over. Proceeding carefully in this manner, we
+managed to 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
+convulsive kicks of its stumpy legs as it lay 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+LIONS ON THE ATHI PLAINS
+
+
+Shortly after I took charge at railhead we entered 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 character
+of the country. Together they form a great tract of rolling downs
+covered with grass, and intersected 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 undulating 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, 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 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 as a
+sanctuary, 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 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
+breakdown 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 consequently 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 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 piece 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. I
+asked if the place was far away, and got the reply in Swahili "M'bali
+kidogo" ("A little distance"). Now, I had had experience of M'bali
+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.
+
+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
+carrying 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. I 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 exclamations 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 dried-up water-hole. Game
+abounded in all directions, 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 a
+crippled 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 a herd 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, I was startled by the wildebeeste
+suddenly jumping to his feet. For a moment he 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 go a 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"; and my friend Rawson about this
+time had an experience very similar to mine, but attended with more
+serious results. He had knocked his wildebeeste 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 wildebeeste having stuck its
+horn right through the man's thigh and tossed him over its back.
+Fortunately 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 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, however, and we gradually approached it. When we were
+about a hundred yards off, the reddish object again appeared; and I 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, Sahib, 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 cover was sufficiently thin at
+the back to make a shoulder shot possible; but as we moved, the lion
+also twisted round and so always 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 I took careful aim at his
+head, and fired. The 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.
+
+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, "Sahib, do sher ata hai!"
+("Master, two 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 distance
+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 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 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 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, I 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 accordingly swept the plain with my glasses
+in the direction 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 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 examining 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 I wanted to
+bag some more, I 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 rheumatism 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 is rather a nerve shattering thing--I am speaking 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE STRICKEN CARAVAN
+
+
+Not 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 (i.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 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 overpowering 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 walking 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 I 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 exhausted and we should then be
+able to catch them. I selected for the hunt a dozen fleet-footed
+Indians who 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 to an absolute standstill, 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 expedition lasted little more than a couple of hours.
+
+Three of the captured zebras I 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 throwing me heavily to the ground. In time,
+however, 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 afternoon on returning to camp I
+found, much to my 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 picketing peg out of the ground and so rejoin his brethren in
+freedom.
+
+Some few days after our successful sortie against the zebra, the great
+caravan of Basoga porters returned 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 lightheartedness 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 decimated, 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 hopeless condition and far too weak to be
+able to do anything 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
+mixture. Their feeble cries for some of this nourishment were
+heartrending; some could only whisper, "Bwana, Bwana" ("Master,
+Master"), and then open their 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 I put between their lips. In the end six proved
+to be beyond all help, and died that night; but the remaining 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 arrangements 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 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 dismount 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 I 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 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 inordinately fond; so,
+handing them my pony, I 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 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 absolutely 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 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 brilliantly 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 disappeared, the old gold turning to white and
+the bright green to lustreless black.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+A DAY ON THE ATHI RIVER
+
+
+In spite of all our difficulties, rapid progress continued 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 I knew that this was anything but a safe place in which 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, I was glad to be able to place my tent
+at their disposal 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 delicately 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 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 I 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, 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 a rule 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 well to the
+flank so as to be ready for any emergency. Just as the men got up to a
+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 a large 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 down by a rhino going to and
+fro to drink. I accordingly made for this with the greatest caution,
+ordering 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 I 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. I 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 sledgehammer, for he fell over instantly and lay like a log.
+
+On my calling out that the lion was done for, the 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 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; 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.
+
+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,
+reaching 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 called out, "Hallo! I hear you have got a
+fine line."
+
+My thoughts being full 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 shot it."
+
+"Shot?" he exclaimed, "whatever do you mean?"
+
+"Didn't you say," I asked, "that you heard I had got a fine lion?"
+
+"No, no," was his reply; "a fine line for the temporary bridge over the
+river."
+
+We both laughed heartily at the misunderstanding, 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE MASAI AND OTHER TRIBES
+
+
+A few Masai may still be seen on the Athi Plains, but as a rule 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 interview 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 as a 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 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 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 opponent's shield.
+
+The Masai have a wonderfully well-organised military system. The
+warriors (elmorani) of the 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 headdress when on the warpath. 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 agricultural 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 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 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 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 it is worth: but whatever the reason for
+the custom, the absence of these two teeth constitutes a most
+distinctive identifying mark. I remember 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 handful of grass, spat
+upon it, and then placed it very 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 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 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 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 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.
+
+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 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 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 into
+the earth. In general, the Masai are an upright and honourable savage
+race, and it is a great pity that they are gradually dying out.
+
+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 constantly
+moving from place to place following the game. Not long ago I saw a 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 exception 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 construction. Unlike
+the Masai, the Wa Kikuyu have a fairly good idea of agriculture, and
+grow crops of m'tama (a kind of native grain from which flour is made),
+sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, and tobacco.
+
+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 I lived for a few
+months at Tsavo, was barbarously 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 by this he bewitched their cattle,
+which at the time were dying in scores from rinderpest. So--instigated
+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 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 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
+photographed.
+
+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 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 carefully 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 shikar (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 difference in the world, for if he had not accompanied us,
+my shikar 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, 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 shikar: 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 without success and had come out on to a
+beautiful open grassy glade which stretched away for some distance
+ahead of us, when I noticed a big herd of wildebeeste 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 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 shenzi, 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?"
+
+"Simba" ("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.
+
+"M'bali kidogo" ("A little distance"), came the stereotyped reply.
+
+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 m'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 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. In the 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
+disappeared from sight instantly, and on looking over 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 a long 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 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 I 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 place, while I again rushed off at full
+speed--jumping 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 same 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 other men of the party, having
+become frightened when left by himself. The result of his disobedience
+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. At last 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 I 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 lying at full length on
+his side, and when I saw him at close quarters I was more delighted
+than I can tell, for he was indeed a very fine specimen. For a 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 I 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 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 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 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 induced 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 amusement 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
+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 are a lucky beggar!" Afterwards, 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 I 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 I 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 ground a 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 in a hollow. It jumped to its feet instantly and came for
+where I stood, and as I had no wish to shoot it, I made a dash for
+cover round the knoll. On reaching 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 understand it, suddenly made off in the opposite direction
+as hard as he could go. In the 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 morning'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. Whenever afterwards I wanted to chaff this "boy", I had
+only to ask whether he would like to come and see some more shikar. He
+would then look very solemn, shake his head emphatically and assure me
+"Kabhi nahin, Sahib" ("Never again, Sir").
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+A SUCCESSFUL LION HUNT
+
+
+When 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 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 "M'bali kidogo." 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 accompanied 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, "Tazama, 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, I 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 of
+animal--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 themselves
+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
+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 large 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 disappeared 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 meanwhile had disappeared
+over another rise. By this time Mahina and the other Indian, with three
+or four of the disappointed Wa Kamba, had come up, so we started off in
+a body in pursuit of him. I 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 watch us. 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. I 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 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 twist
+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
+hundred 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 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 I 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 "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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+BHOOTA'S LAST SHIKAR
+
+
+Long 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
+"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)
+in a 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 tonga, which is a
+two-wheeled cart with a hood over it. The party consisted of Spooner
+and myself, Spooner's Indian shikari 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 tonga, 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 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 shikari 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 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 tonga 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 hundred-fold
+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, intending to come out again
+the next day to track the wounded lioness. I was now riding "Blazeaway"
+and was trotting along in advance of the tonga, when suddenly he shied
+badly at a hyena, 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 hyena'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 tonga.
+
+By this time I had seized my .303 and dismounted, 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 managed, however, to put a
+bullet into the one I 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
+"Blazeaway" 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 disable the unhurt lion if
+possible, and, still using the .303, I got him with the second shot at
+a range of 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 disabled 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 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,
+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 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 tremendous 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 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 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. Unfortunately, as he was facing straight in my
+direction, I 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, preparing 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 despair and horror when it did not go off! "Misfire again," I
+thought, and my heart almost stopped beating. As took a step backwards,
+I felt it was all over no 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 opening the jaws so as to disengage the mangled arm
+which still remained in his mouth. By this time the poor shikari was in
+a fainting condition, and we flew to the tonga 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 mauled, the latter being broken as well. He
+was lifted tenderly into the tonga--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 a hard bullet, would at least have checked the lion for the
+moment. As a 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.
+
+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
+shikari, 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 shikar 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 responsible for the injury. Bhoota made a good
+recovery from the operation, but seemed to lose heart when he found
+that he had only one leg left, as according 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 19.
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+A MAN-EATER IN A RAILWAY CARRIAGE
+
+
+Towards 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 developed 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
+baboo in charge of the telegraph instrument below sent the following
+laconic message 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 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 returned 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 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 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 me 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 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 servants' 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 whole carriage lurched violently to one side; the lion had
+broken through one of the windows, carrying off poor Ryall with him.
+Being now released, Parenti lost no time in jumping through the window
+on the opposite side of the carriage, and fled for refuge to one of the
+station buildings; his 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 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+WORK AT NAIROBI
+
+
+Although the lion which caused poor Bhoota's death was the last I
+managed to shoot in East Africa, I saw several others afterwards while
+travelling 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."
+
+"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 there."
+
+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 off 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 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
+headquarters of the Railway Administration, so there 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, turntables 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 shambas (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, with the result that he had a
+most exciting adventure 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 elephant 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 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 in a body
+and begged to be taken with me. I pictured to them the cold, wet
+climate of England 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 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.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+THE FINDING OF THE NEW ELAND
+
+
+During the early part of last year (1906) I revisited the scene of my
+former labours and adventures 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
+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 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 flourishing 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 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 sport, our bag including rhino, hippo,
+waterbuck, reedbuck, hartebeeste, wildebeeste, ostrich, impala, oryx,
+roan antelope, etc.; but for the present I must confine myself to a
+short account of how I 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 almost impossible to follow
+without a guide, Mr. Foaker, the District Officer at the Ravine, very
+kindly procured us a reliable man--a young 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 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 march I
+noticed that Uliagurma, our kirongozi (guide), was suffering extremely,
+though uncomplainingly, 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-man" far and wide among the natives
+wherever we trekked. The consequence was that men, women and children
+in every state of disease and crippledom 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 appearance 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 elmorani (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 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 of eland were gradually drawing away from the rest
+of the herd. I marked these for my own, and carefully noting the
+direction they were taking, I dismounted 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 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
+bang 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 vexation 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 getting 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. I 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 disappointment there was no trace
+of game of any kind on the whole wide stretch of country that met my
+view. I 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 magnificent 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 direction 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 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 unobserved to the lee of my
+hillock, where I dismounted, 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 astonishment. 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 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 I 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, disappearing in a 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 immediately, 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 invaluable 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 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; and a 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 after 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 afternoon 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 I 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 I
+had shot him; and very shortly afterwards 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 the long grass. All of a sudden one popped up its
+head unexpectedly about fifty yards away. 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 after a 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 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
+proceeded 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 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 understand 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 explained.
+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 acknowledged my claim and
+congratulated me on my good fortune.
+
+How great this good fortune was I 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 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 it 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 The
+Field of September 29, 1906:
+
+
+"Considerable interest attaches to the head of an eland, killed by
+Colonel J.H. Patterson in Portuguese[1] 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 (Taurotragus derbianus) of
+the Bahr-el-Ghazal district and West Africa. In the striped variety
+(Taurotragus oryx livingstonianus) 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 (T. derbianus gigas), as
+represented by a bull figured by Mr. Rothschild in Novitates 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 T. 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 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 unlikely), it will serve
+to show that the southern and northern elands are more nearly related
+than has hitherto been supposed."
+
+1 In error for "British."
+
+
+As my eland thus proved to be of some considerable 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.
+
+
+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 some should always be left with the camp
+neopara (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 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 sunhat, 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
+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 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
+everything 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:
+
+
+  1 Headman ................ 50 rupees[1] per month.
+  1 Cook ................... 35    "         "
+  1 Gun-bearer ............. 20    "         "
+  1 "Boy" (personal servant) 20    "         "
+  2 Askaris (armed porters). 12    "         "      each.
+ 30 Porters ................ 10    "         "      each.
+
+
+[1] The rupee in British East Africa is on the basis of 15 to the pound
+sterling.
+
+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, 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
+kibabas (a kibaba is about 1-1/2 lb.) per day; the cook, gun-bearer,
+"boy" and askaris one and a half kibabas, and the ordinary porters, one
+kibaba, 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 posho (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 neapara, 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 mpishi (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 askaris are to keep up the fire and watch at
+night, and to pitch and strike the Bwana's (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 generally 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 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 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 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 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 three lines of steamers which have direct sailings to Mombasa
+about once a month. Two of these (the Union-Castle and the German East
+African Lines) sail from Southampton, calling at Marseilles, while the
+third (the Messageries-Maritimes) starts from the latter port. As a
+rule travellers to East Africa journey by the overland route to
+Marseilles and thence on by steamer to Mombasa--the whole journey from
+London averaging about eighteen days.
+
+The present fares for the best accommodation from London to Mombasa by
+the Union-Castle Line (including railway ticket to Marseilles) are as
+follows First-Class Single, about 48 pounds; Return (available for one
+year) about 93 pounds.
+
+The fares by the German East African Line (including railway ticket to
+Marseilles) are:--First-Class; Single, about 48 pounds. The Return fare
+(available for one; year) is double the Single fare, less 10 per cent,
+of ocean part of journey.
+
+By the Messageries-Maritimes Line the through First-Class Single fare
+from London to Mombasa (including railway ticket to Marseilles) is
+about 48 pounds. The Return fare (available for two years) is about 72
+pounds.
+
+Fairly good hotel accommodation can be had at both Mombasa and Nairobi.
+
+Before any shooting can be done it is necessary to take out a Game
+License, which may be obtained without difficulty at either of these
+two centres. This license (which costs 50 pounds) imposes an obligation
+on the sportsman to make a return before he leaves the country of every
+animal shot by him. By obtaining a special license two elephants, a
+giraffe, greater kudu, buffalo and eland may be shot; but there are
+various stipulations and fees attaching to this license which alter
+from time to time.
+
+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,
+Fridays, and Saturdays, and are timed to arrive at 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 5 pounds 17s.
+9d., 10 pounds 10s. 3d., and 13 pounds 13s. 3d. respectively.
+
+It is unnecessary to specify district by district when particular
+species of game are to be found, for the sportsman 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
+shikari. 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 pounds 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 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 (i.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.
+Unfortunately 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 it is 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 hardships, he at last looked upon it and thus
+solved one of the great problems the ancients.
+
+II.
+
+The following, is a literal translation of the Hindustani poem referred
+to on p. 104:--
+
+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.
+
+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 of 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 tremble 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;
+
+But one night a wild beast came, and destroyed them all, not one being
+left.
+
+And in the morning it was reported by the watchman, 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 Englishman 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.
+
+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 fear 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!
+
+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-i-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;
+
+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 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 he 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
+mistari[1], 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.
+
+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 thana 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.
+
+[1] Foreman-mason.
+
+Composed by Roshan mistari, son of Kadur mistari Bakhsh, native of the
+village of Chajanlat, Dakhli, Post Office Domli, district of Jhelum.
+Dated 29th January, 1899.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Man-eaters of Tsavo and Other East
+African Adventures, by J. H. Patterson
+
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