LIONSTHE MAN-EATINGOF TSAVOBYH. D. S. O.LIEUT.-COL. J. PATTERSON,ZoologyLeaflet 7NATURAL HISTORYFIELD MUSEUM OFCHICAGOLeaflets of Field Museum are de-The Zoologicalnon-technical accounts of thevoted to brief, history,distribution and life habits of animals,classification,with reference to shown in theespecial subjectsMuseum's exhibits.LIST OF ZOOLOGICAL LEAFLETS ISSUED TO DATE.10No. 1. The White-tailed Deer $Birds 10No. 2. WinterChicago10No. 3. The American Alligator10No. 4. The Periodical CicadaGar 10No. 5. The Alligator10No. 6. The Wild Turkey7. The Man-Eaters of Tsavo 50No.D. C. DAVIES, DirectorFIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYCHICAGO, U.S.A.Field Museum of Natural HistoryDEPARTMENT OP ZOOLOGY1926Chicago.Leaflet Number 7The Lions of Tsavo*Man-EatingWhen the visitor to the Field Museum be-pausesfore the life-like forms of the Tsavo it willman-eaters,be hard for him to realize that these two ferociousbrutes killed and under the mostdevoured, appallingone hundred and Indian andcircumstances, thirty-fiveAfrican artisans and laborers in the con-employedstruction of the For over nineUganda Railway.months these insatiable monsters carried on an inter-the andmittent warfare all thoseagainst Railwayin ofconnected with it the Tsavo. Thisneighborhoodculminated in a of terror" whenregular "reign theysucceeded in the works for afinally bringing railwaytime to a standstill.completeA late President of the United thatgreat States,—man with ...
LIONSTHE MAN-EATING
OF TSAVO
BY
H. D. S. O.LIEUT.-COL. J. PATTERSON,
Zoology
Leaflet 7
NATURAL HISTORYFIELD MUSEUM OF
CHICAGOLeaflets of Field Museum are de-The Zoological
non-technical accounts of thevoted to brief, history,
distribution and life habits of animals,classification,
with reference to shown in theespecial subjects
Museum's exhibits.
LIST OF ZOOLOGICAL LEAFLETS ISSUED TO DATE
.10No. 1. The White-tailed Deer $
Birds 10No. 2. WinterChicago
10No. 3. The American Alligator
10No. 4. The Periodical Cicada
Gar 10No. 5. The Alligator
10No. 6. The Wild Turkey
7. The Man-Eaters of Tsavo 50No.
D. C. DAVIES, Director
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
CHICAGO, U.S.A.Field Museum of Natural History
DEPARTMENT OP ZOOLOGY
1926Chicago.
Leaflet Number 7
The Lions of Tsavo*Man-Eating
When the visitor to the Field Museum be-pauses
fore the life-like forms of the Tsavo it willman-eaters,
be hard for him to realize that these two ferocious
brutes killed and under the mostdevoured, appalling
one hundred and Indian andcircumstances, thirty-five
African artisans and laborers in the con-employed
struction of the For over nineUganda Railway.
months these insatiable monsters carried on an inter-
the andmittent warfare all thoseagainst Railway
in ofconnected with it the Tsavo. Thisneighborhood
culminated in a of terror" whenregular "reign they
succeeded in the works for afinally bringing railway
time to a standstill.complete
A late President of the United thatgreat States,
—man with the wonderful Theodore Roose-personality
—velt has it on record that "the of the Man-put story
Eaters of Tsavo is far the most remarkable accountby
of which we have record while that veteran;"any big
This Col. J. H. recountsleaflet, prepared by Patterson,
the main events of his remarkable withexperiences man-eating
lions told at in his well-known bookgreater lengthpreviously
"The Man-Eaters of Tsavo." In Col. Patterson1924, delivered
a lecture in the Field Museum. At that time he remarkedpublic
to President of the that he stillStanley Field, Museum, possessed
skins of the famous killers of men. As athe wereresult, they
Mr. Field and to thepresented Museum. Withpurchased by
to the of theconsiderable weredifficulty, owing age skins, they
mounted and are now in thepermanently preserved spirited
shown in the illustration.group accompanying
[89]2 Field Museum op Natural History
hunter and African who wasgame pioneer, Selous,
himself killed in not far from wrote asAfrica, Tsavo,
—follows :
"No lion that I ever heard or read instory equals
its sustained dramatic interest the of thelong story
of Tsavo. It is an ofman-eaters terribleepic tragedies
over several months andout at lastspread only brought
end the resource andto an determination of oneby
man."
These remarkable lions had the distinction, prob-
wild ofably unique among animals, being specifically
referred to in the British Parliament the Primeby
Minister of the the of inwhoday, Marquis Salisbury,
for the in the construction of theapologizing delay
—said:Uganda Railway
"The whole of the works were to a be-put stop
of lions incause a thepair man-eating appeared locality
a forand conceived most unfortunate taste our work-
the labourersmen. At last declined toentirely carry
were ironon unless entrenchments.they guarded by
is difficult to work a underOf course it theserailway
conditions and until we found an enthusiastic sports-
ourman to rid of these lions was seri-get enterprise
hindered."ously
Work Begins at Tsavo.
When I landed at I toMombasa, fully expected
encounter trials and while inmany hardships engaged
the an and sav-railway through inhospitablebuilding
I difficulties,age territory. anticipated engineering
from sunstroke and afevers, possible scarcityperils
—of food and but never for a moment did Iwater,
realize that the African wilderness held in its mys-
recesses two demons who lookedterious prowling upon
and workmen as a sort of manna sent downmyself my
from Heaven for their delectation. All otherspecial
difficulties were as to the terrible tollnothing compared
[90]3Man-Eating Lions
theseof human sacrifice exacted nightly by savage
andmonsters who made Tsavo their headquarters gave
to that district an evil which lasts to this day.repute
Rail-the of the UgandaMombasa, starting point
andis an old Arab withfringed palmsway, city
washed the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Upby
to the time of arrival in I hadAfrica,my tropical
to a desolate shore, sandy, rock-strewn,pictured myself
with a sun beneatheverythingscorching burning up
but first view of Mombasa me a pleasantit, my gave
Green verdure abounded far as the couldeyesurprise.
while flat-roofed houseswhite, peepedreach, dazzlingly
out between tall cocoanut and trees,spreading mango
and a most de-waving palms huge baobabs, forming
and beautiful framed a darklightful picture, against
of well-wooded verdant hills. The oldbackground
was bathed in brilliant sunshine and was reflectedtown
in the motionless sea.dreamily
At the time of railhead hadmy arrival, just
about one hundred and milesreached Tsavo, thirty
found that a fedfrom the coast. Here it was river,
of Mountfrom the snowseverlasting Kilimanjaro,
across the track. The river ran in the centersurged
of a wide and worn in the coursedeep depression, away
of and this rift had to be means ofages, spanned by
a I was to build this and tobridge. deputied bridge
out all the works in the district.engineeringcarry
After a few at I set outdays Mombasa,spending
for For miles or so aftertwentymy headquarters.
the the woundleaving coast, railway steadily upwards
onthrough beautifully wooded, park-like country, and,
back out of the I couldlooking carriage window, every
now and then obtain views of whilelovely Mombasa,
the Indian Ocean in the sun-beyond sparkled glorious
as far as the could reach.shine eye Soon, however,
whole character of thethe country changed. Green,
well-wooded to a wilder-smiling, uplands gave place
[91]4 Field Museum of Natural History
ness covered with scrub and stunted andbushy trees,
with a of fine red dust whichlayercarpeted penetrated
into nook and Towards dusk wecranny.every
Tsavo and I felt somewhat thereached depressed by
desolation and loneliness of new Imy surroundings.
that in a little hut which had beenslept night palm
somebuilt and was for-by previous traveller,
for the time It was rathertunately unoccupied being.
andbroken-down not even adilapidated, possessing
Iand as on narrow bed I could seedoor, lay my camp
the stars the broken roof. I littletwinkling through
knew then what adventures awaited me in this neigh-
if I had realized that at thatborhood; and, timevery
two brutes weresavage prowling round, seeking
whom I think Idevour, should havethey might hardly
soslept peacefully.
The next I was to makemorning up betimes, eager
with new im-firstacquaintance my surroundings. My
on out of the hut was Ithat waspression coming
hemmed in on all sides with a dense ofgrowth impene-
trable on to the of a little hilljungle; scrambling top
close at I found that the whole as far ashand, country
I could see was covered with stunted thicklow, trees,
and "wait-a-bit" thorns. The clear-undergrowth only
to be where the narrow tracking, indeed, appeared
for the had been cut. This interminablerailway nyika,
or wilderness of whitish and leafless dwarf trees, pre-
sented a and sun-stricken here andghastly appearance ;
there a of heat-blistered rockridge dark-red, jutted
out above the and added its barren-jungle, rugged
ness to the dreariness of the to thepicture. Away
north-east stretched the unbroken line of the N'dungu
while far off to the south I couldEscarpment, just
catch a of the ofglimpse snow-capped top towering
The one offeature theKilimanjaro. redeeming neigh-
borhood was the river from which Tsavo takes its
name this is a cool and; swiftly-flowing stream, always
[92]