Baboo PURSHOTAM HURJEE PURMAR,
Overseer and Clerk of Works,
on behalf of your Workmen.
Dated at Tsavo, January 30, 1899.
Before I leave the subject of "the man-eaters
of Tsavo," it may be of interest to mention that
these two lions possess the distinction, probably
unique among wild animals, of having been
specifically referred to in the House of Lords by
the Prime Minister of the day. Speaking of the
difficulties which had been encountered in the
construction of the Uganda Railway, the late
Lord Salisbury said: -
"The whole of the works were put a stop to
for three weeks because a party of man-eating
lions appeared in the locality and conceived a
most unfortunate taste for our porters. At last
the labourers entirely declined to go on unless
they were guarded by an iron entrenchment. Of
course it is difficult to work a railway under
these conditions, and until we found an
enthusiastic sportsman to get rid of these lions, our
enterprise was seriously hindered."
Also, The Spectator of March 3, 1900, had
an article entitled "The Lions that Stopped
the Railway," from which the following extracts
are taken: -
"The parallel to the story of the lions which
stopped the rebuilding of Samaria must occur
to everyone, and if the Samaritans had quarter
as good cause for their fears as had the railway
coolies, their wish to propitiate the local deities
is easily understood.
