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

In 1898, the British were laying a railway line through what was then Uganda and into Kenya. At the Tsavo River in Kenya (where a railway bridge had to be built), the project was suddenly hit by an unforeseen menace: two man-eating lions that began stalking the camps of workers (nearly all of them from India). Over a period of about nine months, the two lions killed dozens of people, at times bringing work to a complete standstill. Because of the constant fear, the workers came close to mutiny, and one contingent even fled the camp. It was only in December 1898, after many attempts (both on his own and in the company of others) that Colonel JH Patterson, the Engineer in charge of the project, managed to finally kill the man-eaters.

Patterson's account of the terror of these 'demons' (as the lions were dubbed by the Indian workers) and his attempts'both failed and finally successful'form about half of The Man-Eaters of Tsavo and Other East African Adventures. This is a gripping, tense and interesting read, as one follows Patterson in his endeavours to get rid of the lions. The people'the Pathans and Punjabis who made up most of the work crew'were brought to life vividly, as was their fear, and the measures taken to somehow keep off the lions, or trap them. The superstitions, the occasionally humorous anecdote, the courage.

What I didn't like about this section of the book was the description of Patterson's work on the railway: it was just too technical: I could've done with a little more explanation.

But The Man-Eaters of Tsavo isn't just that; it's also And Other East African Adventures. And this part, while it has its merits'some interesting accounts of the 'natives' and their way of living, for instance'was just too colonial for my taste. Yes, I know that's to be expected, since this book was written in 1907, but still. While Patterson's tone is not too reminiscent of that 'the white man's burden' thing, there's a definite whiff of condescension in his descriptions of the 'savages' (his words, not mine).

Worst, there's the mindless hunting which seems to have taken up most of Patterson's time when he wasn't working. The second half of the book consists almost entirely of descriptions of various hunts he went on, shooting everything from rhinos and hippos to lions, elands, ostrich, and more. One of the appendices of the book is actually a 'how to' guide for the Englishman (or Englishwoman, I suppose) planning a hunting trip to East Africa. How much Patterson helped in doing away with Africa's wildlife, one can only guess… sad.

(Incidentally, the second appendix in the book'an English translation of a poem written by an Indian worker, Roshan Khan, as thanks for Patterson for killing the lions'is a delight).

I'd read this book for the first half, which is good. The second, I'd leave.