The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, and Other East African AdventuresPatterson, J. H. (John Henry)
History
The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, and Other East African Adventures
Patterson, J. H. (John Henry)
Africa, East -- Description and travel; Hunting -- Africa, East; Uganda Railway
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 had flowed from
the wounded 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 a brave Sahib who loaded his gun calmly, and fired again
and again, killing the beast.
All the Punjaubis assembled together and agreed that the Sahib was a
man who appreciated and cared for others, so much so that he roamed
about in the forests 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 pice of it.
So then again the Punjaubis assembled, and consulted as to how the
service that the Sahib had done them could most suitably he 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
mistari[1], head of the workmen.
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 would 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 Chajanlat, in the thana of Domli, which is in the
district of Jhelum, 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.
[1] Foreman-mason.
Composed by Roshan mistari, son of Kadur mistari Bakhsh, native of the
village of Chajanlat, Dakhli, Post Office Domli, district of Jhelum.
Dated 29th January, 1899.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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