Patterson was
watching on that night of terrors.
From the time of Herodotus until to-day,
lion stories innumerable have been told and
written. I have put some on record myself.
But no lion story I have ever heard or read
equals in its long-sustained and dramatic interest
the story of the Tsavo man-eaters as told by
Col. Patterson. A lion story is usually a tale
of adventures, often very terrible and pathetic,
which occupied but a few hours of one night;
but the tale of the Tsavo man-eaters is an epic
of terrible tragedies spread out over several
months, and only at last brought to an end by
the resource and determination of one man.
It was some years after I read the first
account published of the Tsavo man-eaters that I
made the acquaintance of President Roosevelt.
I told him all I remembered about it, and he
was so deeply interested in the story - as he is
in all true stories of the nature and
characteristics of wild animals - that he begged me to
send him the short printed account as published
in The Field. This I did; and it was only in
the last letter I received from him that, referring
to this story, President Roosevelt wrote: "I
think that the incident of the Uganda
man-eating lions, described in those two articles you
sent me, is the most remarkable account of which
we have any record. It is a great pity that it
should not be preserved in permanent form."
Well, I am now glad to think that it will be
preserved in permanent form; and I venture to
assure Col. Patterson that President Roosevelt
will be amongst the most interested readers of
his book.
It is probable that the chapters recounting
the story of the Tsavo man-eating lions will be
found more absorbing than the other portions
of Col. Patterson's book; but I think that most
of his readers will agree with me that the whole
volume is full of interest and information. The
account given by Col. Patterson of how he
overcame all the difficulties which confronted him in
building a strong and permanent railway bridge
across the Tsavo river makes excellent reading;
whilst the courage he displayed in attacking,
single-handed, lions, rhinoceroses and other
dangerous animals was surpassed by the pluck,
tact and determination he showed in quelling
the formidable mutiny which once broke out
amongst his native Indian workers.
Finally, let me say that I have spent the best
part of two nights reading the proof-sheets of
Col. Patterson's book, and I can assure him
that the time passed like magic.
