It was towards noon on March 1, 1898, that I first found myself entering the narrow and somewhat dangerous harbour of Mombasa, on the east coast of Africa. The town lies on an island of the same name, separated from the mainland only by a very narrow channel, which forms the harbour; and as our vessel steamed slowly in, close under the quaint old Portuguese fortress built over three hundred years ago, I was much struck with the strange beauty of the view which gradually opened out before me. Contrary to my anticipation, everything looked fresh and green, and an oriental glamour of enchantment seemed to hang over the island. The old town was bathed in brilliant sunshine and reflected itself lazily on the motionless sea; its flat roofs and dazzlingly white walls peeped out dreamily between waving palms and lofty cocoanuts, huge baobabs and spreading mango trees; and the darker background of well-wooded hills and slopes on the mainland formed a very effective setting to a beautiful and, to me, unexpected picture.

The Man Eaters of Tsavo

The Man-eaters of Tsavo is a book written by John Henry Patterson in 1907 that recounts his experiences while overseeing the construction of a railroad bridge in what would become Kenya. It is titled after a pair of lions which killed his workers, and which he eventually killed.

Following the death of the lions, the book tells of the bridge's completion in spite of additional challenges (such as a fierce flood) as well as many stories concerning local wildlife (including other lions), local tribes, the discovery of the maneaters' cave, and various hunting expeditions.

An appendix contains advice to sportsmen visiting British East Africa. The book also includes photographs taken by Patterson at the time which include the railway construction; the workers; local tribes; scenery and wildlife; and the man-eaters.

Several publications about and studies of the man-eating lions of Tsavo have been inspired by Patterson's account. The book has been adapted to film three times: a monochrome, British film of the 1950s, a 1952 3-D film titled Bwana Devil, and a 1996 color version called The Ghost and the Darkness, where Val Kilmer played the daring engineer who hunts down the lions of Tsavo.

The Man-Eaters of Tsavo - The true story of the man-eating lions "The Ghost and the Darkness"

"Die Menschenfresser von Tsavo" - ein zeitloser Klassiker der Jagd- und Abenteuerliteratur.

Dieses 1907 von Colonel John Henry Patterson verfasste Buch ist ein fesselnder Augenzeugenbericht der Extraklasse: Es handelt von den tödlichen Angriffen zweier Löwen, die im Jahre 1898 den Bau einer Eisenbahnbrücke über den ostafrikanischen Fluß Tsavo zum Erliegen brachten, indem sie Dutzende Arbeiter verschleppten und auffraßen. Colonel Patterson, der ursprünglich nur den Bau der Eisenbahnbrücke beaufsichtigen sollte, beschreibt darin seinen erbitterten Kampf gegen die beiden Bestien, die über Monate hinweg allen Zäunen, Fallen und sogar Kugeln widerstanden.

1996 wurde die Geschichte der menschenfressenden Löwen von Tsavo unter dem Titel "Der Geist und die Dunkelheit" mit Val Kilmer und Michael Douglas in den Hauptrollen verfilmt.

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