The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, and Other East African Adventures

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

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.

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