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.