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The Tsavo Man-Eaters, The Ghost and the Darkness

Started by M Sidhe, November 16, 2006, 01:02:01 PM

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M Sidhe

In March 1898 the British started building a railway bridge over the Tsavo (SAH-vo) River in East Africa. Over the next nine months, two large mainless male lions killed and ate nearly 140 railway workers. Crews tried to scare off the lions and built campfires and thorn fences for protection, but to no avail. Hundreds of workers fled Tsavo, halting construction on the bridge.

Before work could resume, chief engineer Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson (1865-1947) had to eliminate the lions and their threat. After many near misses, he finally shot the first lion on December 9, 1898, and three weeks later brought down the second. The first lion killed measured nine feet, eight inches (3 m) from nose to tip of tail. It took eight men to carry the carcass back to camp. The construction crew returned and completed the bridge in February 1899.

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The superstious natives and workers gave the two lions the name "The Ghost" and "The Darkness", they had made traps and thorned walls to keep them out, but the lions always managed to come and get through. Natives believe that mainless lions are demons. And there certainly seems to be some kind of evil behind them. Almost 140 people killed by two lions! Patterson himself had said that they were somehow able to not be effected by the bullets he had shot at them with his rifle. They were also much larger than the typical lion. Patterson had used there skins as a rug, but there skins are now covering a stuffed lion in the Field Museum of Natural History.

I recall seeing something on a documentory saying that a native shaman had put a curse on the people 'building the iron snake'. I believe he died and then the attacks began, supernatural or not these were some badass lions.

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Ghostlyguy90

I've seen those lions before in the field museum, they are pretty big and do look kind of weird for male lions.
Life is like the original fairytales of Europe, depressing and gory.

M Sidhe

My geography teacher printed something out about them for me, I do want to see these guys once in my life.

Mr. Maggot

I've heard that they were two elderly lions  that had been cast out from their prides. Old animals are often prone to becoming man-eaters.
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