The Man-Eaters of Tsavo | Page 3

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