The Man-Eaters of Tsavo | Page 2

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