 Chapter 26 of The Man-Eaters of Tsarva This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Read by Sally McConnell in Bettie's Bay, South Africa in February 2010 The Man-Eaters of Tsarva by J. H. Patterson Chapter 26 Work at Nairobi Although the line which caused poor Boota'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. McAlloch. The doctor was going home on leave in the course of a few days and was bemerning to me his bad luck in never having shot or even seen a line all the time he'd 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's because you don't look out for them. Rubbish, he retorted. I do nothing else when I'm out hunting. Well, I replied, are you really very anxious to shoot one before you go home? I would rather get a line than anything else in the world was the emphatic reply. Very good then, Sultan, I called to the driver, stopped the engine. Now, Mac, I continued as the train was quickly brought to us down still. 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 lines, only about 200 yards off, busily engaged in devouring a Vildobes, 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, 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 Vildobes 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 deadline 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 plane, 327 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 workshops built, turn tables and station quarters erected, a water supply laid on and 101 other things which go to the making of a railway township. Wonderfully soon however, the nucleus of the prison town began to take shape and a thriving bazaar sprang into existence with a mushroom-like growth. In this case however, a case or two of plague broke up before very long so I gave the natives and Indians who inhabited it an hours' 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 hauled 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 Wakikuyu whose country we are 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 shumbas, 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 onto 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 Wakikuyu 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 Dana Poth 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 onto 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 Wakukuyu 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 and I really wished to continue my children and go wherever I went. I could hardly imagine myself arriving in London with a bodyguard 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, chalked-a, mean and a few other koolies 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. The Finding of the New Eland During the early part of last year, 1906 I revisited the scene of my former labors and adventures on a shooting trip. Unfortunately, the train by which I traveled up from Mombasa reached Savo at midnight. But all the same I got out and prowled about as long as time would permit half wondering every moment if the ghost 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 Savo 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 traveler, 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-Nianza and Uganda we made our way back to the Odama ravine which lies some 20 miles north of Liyandi Station in the province of Navashia. 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 embracing. We all got a fair amount of sport our bag including rhino hippo water buck reed buck heart of beast wildebeest ostrich impala orenx rhone 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 included one lady who rode and shot equally straight left the Odama ravine on January 22 and trekked off in an easterly direction across the Likipia Plateau. As the trail which we were to take was very little known and almost impossible to follow without a guide Mr. Fokker, the district officer at the ravine very kindly procured us a reliable man a young Uashengishu Masai named Yulia Germa. But as he could not speak a word of Swahili we also had to engage an interpreter an excellent cheery fellow of the same tribe named Landaloo and he in his turn possessed a kinsman who insisted on coming too although he was of no earthly use to us. Our route took us through the Soli Swamp over the Matillo and Subucolusian ranges and across many unexpected rivers and streamlets. On our first march I noticed that Yulia Germa our Kiran Gozi, guide was suffering extremely complainingly from an 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 Yulia Germa 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 crippled him 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 heart-rending to see some of the quite hopeless cases I was expected to cure. After we had climbed the Subucolusian and got a footing on the plateau we pitched our camp on the banks of the Angirua river where we found a big Masai Crawl the inhabitants of which seemed much astonished at our sudden appearance in their neighborhood. They were very friendly however and visited our camp in swarms an hour or so after our arrival writing my pony and accompanied by Landelu as interpreter and my gun-bearer Juma I returned their call in the afternoon when the El Marani warriors gave for my entertainment an exhibition of the gymnastic exercises which they practice 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 Crawl so I set out at once with Landelu and Juma to try my luck. It was a perfect afternoon and no sooner had I cleared the belt of scrub which grew around the Crawl 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 the rise so as to lie and 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 80 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 one of my companions about half a mile away in an instant the two Eland had bound it 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 Landailu had dexterously brought up I galloped in the direction of a spot in the trees where the Elan 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 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 Elan not far off in 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 half a 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 300 yards off and stalking placilly along at a slow walk was a herd of fully a hundred Elan 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 bushes behind which I laid 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 Elan who would certainly sent 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 Landailu 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 I had to be negotiated in the open but I found that by laying 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 neighboring 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 an onlandaloo 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 knight came upon us before we had covered a quarter of a distance fortunately the invaluable and elu 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 traveling 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 traveler in the wilds several more were sent up before we got anywhere near camp and I remarked to land elu that we must have gone a very long way after the elund long way he replied why master we have been to beringo this lake as a matter of fact was fully 50 miles away when finally we arrived I fired the order 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 elund 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 traveling we were lucky enough to catch sight of a portion of the herd of elund when we dismounted and stalked them carefully through the long grass all of a sudden one popped up its head unexpectedly about 50 yards away one of my companions immediately leveled 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 elund 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 3 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 to the jungle and accordingly struck home for camp on his way back he actually stumbled over the dead body of the elund which I had shot the previous day in which the search party I had sent out the morning had failed to find they were still looking for it close at hand however so sabaki hailed them and they at once began to scan and cut up the animal and then carried it to the camp meanwhile of course we knew nothing of this and continued our hunt for game shortly after noon we had a light lunch and while we were eating it our guides, uliya germa and landelu discovered a bee's nest in a fallen tree and proceeded to try to extract the honey of which the messiah very fond this interference was naturally strongly resented by the bees and soon the semi-naked use ran flying past us with the angry swarm in full pursuit I laughed heartily at landelu and chafed him unmercifully for allowing himself, a messiah to be put to flight by a few bees this the jolly fellow took very good humoredly saying that if only he had a jacket like mine he would soon go 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 that work among the bees we all proceeded homewards reaching camp about dusk with nothing to show for our long days 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 elan 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 land elu curled up at the campfire that the mystery was explained he greeted me by saying that after all we had not gone to burangu 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 elan 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 those smaller than those found in the giant eland the sides of the forehead were of a reddish color and on the lower part of the face there was a much larger brown patch than is to be seen in 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 Roland's Ward to be set up and while there it was seen by Mr. R. Leidecker, FRS 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. Leidecker 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 East Africa and set up by Mr. Roland Ward on account of certain peculiarities in colorings and markings which indicated transition from the ordinary South African animal in the direction of a giant eland Terrotragus Durbinius of the Bajar El Ghazal District in West Africa in the strut variety 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 Terrotragus Durbinius as represented by a bull figure by Mr. Rothschild in the Novotate Zoologicae for 1905 the upper part of the face 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. Oren's Pattersonius there is an incomplete white chevron similar to although 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 rufus on the lower part of the face there is a larger dark brown area than in the ordinary eland although there is a rufus fawn color 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 border 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 turned out to be of the same type there will be a strong presumption that the true and giant eland like the various local forms of giraffe and bantequaga are only races of one in 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 is hitherto been supposed 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 naturalist might have an opportunity of seeing it at the Natural History Museum at South Kensington where it now is End of Chapter 27 Section 28 Appendix of the Man-Eaters of Savo This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Man-Eaters of Savo by J. H. Patterson Section 28 Appendix One, 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 shooting rifle and a 12-bore shotgun and I should consider 250 rounds of 450 50 hard and 200 soft 300 rounds of 303 100 hard and 200 soft and 512 bore shot cartridges of say the 6 and 8 sizes sufficient for 3 months trip Leather bandoliers to carry 50 each of these different cartridges should also prove very useful A couple of hundred rockets of various colors should certainly be taken as they are invaluable for singling to and from camp after dark These can be obtained so as to fire from a 12-bore shotgun or from a short pistol and some should always be left with a 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 10 line 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% duty on the value of all articles imported so that the invoices should be preserved and produced for inspection The hunters kit should include a good pith sun hat a couple of suits of khaki, leather gators or a couple of pairs of patees 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 the light macintosh 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 the 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 hence from someone 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 400 spoiled in this way taken when I was in the country in 1898 to 99 As regards camp equipment all that need be taken out from England are a small double-fly tent 3 Jaeger blankets a collapsible bath a Woolsey valise and a good filter and even these can be obtained just as good locally Chopboxes, food are being 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 in 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 animals 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 on many considerations One headman 50 rupees per month One cook 35 rupees per month One gun bearer 20 rupees per month One boy personal servant 20 rupees per month Two escaries, armed porters 12 rupees per month each 30 porters 10 rupees per month each Note 1 The rupee in British East Africa is on the basis of 15 to the pound sterling and note 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 kababas a kababa is about one and a half pounds per day The cook, gun bearer, boy and escaries one and a half kababas and the ordinary porters one kababa each per day It is the duty of the headman to keep discipline on the savari 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 pacho 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 to lease 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 a headman will be lucky His name was Minyaka Ben Dawani and he can easily be found at Mombasa A 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 and fishy cook can turn out in the way of a meal in a few minutes after camp is pitched As gun bearer, most hunters are 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 4 times as much wages as an equally good Swahili In camp the duties of the Oscars are to keep up the fire and watch at night and to pitch and strike the Bawanas 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 Snyder 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 pound loads day in and day out without complaint so long as they are well fed but stentom of their rice and they at once become sulky mutineers In addition to carrying the loads they pitch and strike camp procure firewood in 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 neighborhood of the railway In this case we are one of the special carriages from the traffic manager of the Uganda Railway These carriages which have good sleeping, cooking and bath accommodations can be attached to almost any train and move from station to station or left standing and assigning at the direction 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 cuckoo you porter in such circumstances is only two honours 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 be easily 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 Africa lines sail from Southampton, calling it Marseille while the third, the Messingerays Maritimes starts from the latter port As a rule travelers to East Africa journey by the overland route to Marseille and then zone by steamer to Mombasa The whole journey from London averaging about 18 days The present fares for the best accommodation from London to Mombasa by the Union Castle line including railway ticket to Marseille are as follows, first class single about 48 pounds return, available for one year about 93 pounds The fares by the German East Africa line including railway ticket to Marseille are, first class single about 48 pounds Return fare, available for one year is double the single fare less 10% of ocean part of journey By the Messingeray Maritime line the through first class single fare from London to Mombasa including railway ticket to Marseille 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 centers 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 to the country may be obtained at Stanford's Longacre WC While the game laws and regulations can be procured from the colonial office in Downing Street Passenger trains leave Mombasa at 11 am on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and are time to arrive at Nairobi at 11.15 next morning and at Kasumu the railway terminus on Lake Victoria at 9 o'clock on the morning following The first class return fares from Mombasa to Nairobi, Kasumu and Entebbe are 5 pounds, 17 shillings 9 pence 10 pounds, 10 shillings, 3 pence and 13 pounds, 13 shillings 3 pence 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 a lack of sports and trophies for the keen Shikari The heads and skin should be very carefully sun dried and packed in 10 line cases with plenty of moth killer for shipment home For mounting his trophies the sportsman cannot do better I think than go to Roland Ward of Piccadilly I have had mines 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 3 month 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 much more Should time be available a trip to the Victoria Neonza should certainly be made The voyage round the lake in one of the comfortable railway steamers takes about 8 days, but the crossing to Entebbe, the official capital of Uganda, can be done in 17 hours Though it usually takes 27, as at night the boats anchor for shelter under the leave of an island The steamer remains long enough in Entebbe harbor to enable the energetic traveler to pay a flying visit in a rickshaw to Kampala, the native capital, some 21 miles off I spent a most interesting day last year in this way and had a chat with the boy king of Uganda, Dotty Chawa at Mango. He was then about 9 years old and very bright and intelligent He made no objection to my taking his photograph, but unfortunately it turned out a failure It is curious to find the beganda, i.e. people of Uganda highly civilized, 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 around 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 the pest is only found in certain well-defined regions, so that if he avoids these, he is quite as safe as regards sleeping sickness as if he had remained in England On the return journey from Mentebe Jinja, a port on the north side of the Victorian Neonza, is usually called at This place is of great interest, as it is here that the lake narrows to a breadth of only a few hundred yards, and rushing over the Repan Falls forms the long salt-force source of the Nile The magnificent view of the mighty river stretching away to the north of the enchanting scenery is most inspiring, and one can well imagine how elated speak must have felt when after enduring countless hardships he at last looked upon it, and thus solved one of the great problems of the ancients Appendix, Part 2 The following is a literal translation of the Hindustani poem referred to on page 104 In the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate First I must speak to the reason-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 and had 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 into Uganda In the forest 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 destroyed, 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 laborers 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 and 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 he rose 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 advisor and now while I relate the story of the engineer in charge of the lion he kept some ten or twenty goats for the sake of their milk but one night a wild beast came and destroyed them all and left and then the morning it was reported by the watchman who also stated that the main eater was daily destroying the laborers and the 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, Zall Zorab and Bersor so brave as he that the greatest warrior stood aghast at his action tall and stature, young most brave and of great strength as he from the other side of the lion 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 are proud or boastful have but sacrifice their lives uselessly but today 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 have 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 paralyzed 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 valor lions do not fear lions yet one glance from Patterson Sahib caled 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 changed 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 today make holiday enjoy and be merry so the people had holiday and made merry with friends from whom they had long been 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 profit to sinners and criminals the judgement 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 advisor 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 neighborhood like a general reconnoitering in 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 iqadar a muslim festival and at night when all had retired to rest the lion came in a rage and Paterson Saib 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 the resting place in his heart and everyone began to shriek and groan in their uneasy sleep and 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 it flowed from the 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 the brave Sahib who loaded his gun calmly and fired again and again killing the beast all the Punjabis assembled together and agreed the Sahib was a man who appreciated and cared for others so much so that he roamed about in the forest 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 piece of it so again the Punjabis assembled and consulted as to how the service that the Sahib had done them could most suitably be 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 Mustari head of the workman 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 should 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 Chandjalat in the Thana of Domli which is in the district of Jellem 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 composed by Roshan Mustari son of Kadir Mustari Bakish native of the village of Chandjalat Duckley post office Domli district of Jellem dated 29th January 1899 end of section 28 appendix end of The Man Eaters of Sabo by J. H. Patterson recording by James Christopher JX Christopher at yahoo.com July 2010