They Almost Appeared,
Too, To Have An Extraordinary And Uncanny Faculty
Of Finding Out Our Plans Beforehand, So That No
Matter in how likely or how tempting a spot we lay
in wait for them, they invariably avoided that
particular
Place and seized their victim for the
night from some other camp. Hunting them by
day, moreover, in such a dense wilderness as
surrounded us, was an exceedingly tiring and
really foolhardy undertaking. In a thick jungle
of the kind round Tsavo the hunted animal has
every chance against the hunter, as however
careful the latter may be, a dead twig or something
of the sort is sure to crackle just at the critical
moment and so give the alarm. Still I never gave
up hope of some day finding their lair, and
accordingly continued to devote all my spare time
to crawling about through the undergrowth.
Many a time when attempting to force my way
through this bewildering tangle I had to be
released by my gun-bearer from the fast clutches
of the "wait-a-bit"; and often with immense
pains I succeeded in tracing the lions to the river
after they had seized a victim, only to lose the
trail from there onwards, owing to the rocky
nature of the ground which they seemed to be
careful to choose in retreating to their den.
At this early stage of the struggle, I am glad
to say, the lions were not always successful in
their efforts to capture a human being for their
nightly meal, and one or two amusing incidents
occurred to relieve the tension from which our
nerves were beginning to suffer. On one occasion
an enterprising bunniah (Indian trader) was riding
along on his donkey late one night, when suddenly
a lion sprang out on him knocking over both
man and beast. The donkey was badly wounded,
and the lion was just about to seize the trader,
when in some way or other his claws became
entangled in a rope by which two empty oil tins
were strung across the donkey's neck. The rattle
and clatter made by these as he dragged them
after him gave him such a fright that he turned tail
and bolted off into the jungle, to the intense relief
of the terrified bunniah, who quickly made his
way up the nearest tree and remained there,
shivering with fear, for the rest of the night.
Shortly after this episode, a Greek contractor
named Themistocles Pappadimitrini had an equally
marvellous escape. He was sleeping peacefully
in his tent one night, when a lion broke in, and
seized and made off with the mattress on which
he was lying. Though, rudely awakened, the
Greek was quite unhurt and suffered from nothing
worse than a bad fright. This same man, however,
met with a melancholy fate not long afterwards.
He had been to the Kilima N'jaro district to buy
cattle, and on the return journey attempted to
take a short cut across country to the railway,
but perished miserably of thirst on the way.
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