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
"We were all asleep in the tent, my husband and I in one bed and my two
children in another. The baby was feverish and restless, so I got up to
give her something to drink; and as I was doing so, I heard what I
thought was a lion walking round the tent. I at once woke my husband
and told him I felt sure there was a lion about. He jumped up and went
out, taking his gun with him. He looked round the outside of the tent,
and spoke to the Swahili askari who was on sentry by the camp fire a
little distance off. The askari said he had seen nothing about except a
donkey, so my husband came in again, telling me not to worry as it was
only a donkey that I had heard.
"The night being very hot, my husband threw back the tent door and lay
down again beside me. After a while I dozed off, but was suddenly
roused by a feeling as if the pillow were being pulled away from under
my head. On looking round I found that my husband was gone. I jumped up
and called him loudly, but got no answer. Just then I heard a noise
among the boxes outside the door, so I rushed out and saw my poor
husband lying between the boxes. I ran up to him and tried to lift him,
but found I could not do so. I then called to the askari to come and
help me, but he refused, saying that there was a lion standing beside
me. I looked up and saw the huge beast glowering at me, not more than
two yards away. At this moment the askari fired his rifle, and this
fortunately frightened the lion, for it at once jumped off into the
bush.
"All four askaris then came forward and lifted my husband back on to
the bed. He was quite dead. We had hardly got back into the tent before
the lion returned and prowled about in front of the door, showing every
intention of springing in to recover his prey. The askaris fired at
him, but did no damage beyond frightening him away again for a moment
or two. He soon came back and continued to walk round the tent until
daylight, growling and purring, and it was only by firing through the
tent every now and then that we kept him out. At daybreak he
disappeared and I had my husband's body carried here, while I followed
with the children until I met you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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