The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-07-16
MANY VICTIMS OF LIONS.
TWEEN TT-ETGHT RAILROA MEN
KILLED BY THEN IN EAST AFRICA.
Lord salisbury Tells of These Tragedies in
Spoech-Tbe Terror of the Native Ham
let and the Railroad Cnmp-Diferences
Ret,.e en- Mar. Entinc Ii nd O L In n nv Iinns.

let and the Railroad Cnmp-Diherences
Between Man Eating and Ordinary Lions.
A man -eating lion is one that has tasted hui
man flesh likes IL better than the meat OF any
Of the animals upon which its kind is wont to
prey, and thereafter will eat nothing else II 1t
IL able to kill man. woman or child. In the
past two years IT has been more than usually in
evidence in the large region OF East Africa be-
tween Nom hasa and Victoria NyanZa Its ex-
pots have brought heartronding tragedy to
not few native villages and it has re-
peatedly thrown into panic large bodies
Of workingmen who are grading the road
bed and LAYING the track for the Uganda
Railroad. On May IL last this terrifying
brute was brought into unusual prominence in
a speech delivered by the Marquis Of Salisbury
at the annual dinner OF the hallway Bcnevo-
lent Institution In London. Sir Guiford Moles-
worth's report on the Uganda Railroad pub
lished by the British Government. last month,
said that twenty-eight Indian coolies had been
killed by man-cating lions while they were at
work on the railroad. 1t Is not often that
beast OF prey receives attention in the speeches
Of Prime Ministers and in official reports Of n
technical character. but this African animal
has fairly won its present distinction. Here
are the remarks that Lord Salisbury devoted
to 1t in the course OF his address on the pecu-
linr difficulties Of building railroads in far
away and barbarous lands
We suddenly learned" said his Lordship.
" that We had altogether wrong notion OF the
contlguratiOn of the country through which
WE were building the railway. and by altering
the route we were able to save u hundred
miles of our journey. But there were other
surprises that awaited the construction OF the
railway in that country The whole of the
work came to u standstiIl for three weeks be-
- rod In
the locality and conceived a most unfortunate
taste for all our laborere. At last the laborers
entirely declined to work unless they were
guarded by iron intronchments. OF course 1t
was very difficult to carry on railway building
under these circumstances. and until we found
enthusiastic sportSmen who undertook the
task Of getting rid Of these man eating lions
and successfully carried it out our enterprise
was seriously hindered."
The man eater is very different from the or
binary lion that has not acquired the taste for
human flesh. Lions, as n rule, are not such
ferocious and fear-inspiring animals as many
imagine them to be- They very seldom attack
any one unless they are persistently pursued
or have been wounded II they SEQ u person
approaching them they usually prefer to Sink
off into the jungle and hide in Its depths. They
invite no attack and are willing man should
60 his way if he will let them alone. But 1t ID
very different with the man-oating non. IL
marks the human being FOR its prey. and Kill
ing mankind Is its profession. This is the
reason it is very difficult to catch the man
eater i'll the traps that are set Tor 1t.
A hut is reared with wide entrance
and inside a kid or goat is temptinGIy
displayed in such way that II tho
lion tries TO carry him of. the rope that ties
the intended victim will release the door
49,. l,,I Lao. hnan t,ta
behind the animal and it is trapped. and may
be despatched at leisure. But nine times III
ten the stratagem fails to work. The king OF
beasts has not entered the village in the still
ness of the night for goats or Kids. IT much
prefers to dash through the low doorway OF a
habitation and seize a sleeping man or woman
and then bound through the jungle with the
victim in its powerful Jaws. and If in the morn
ing the natives ara brave enough to beat the
tall grass around the settlement they may Ind.
perhaps mile away, the bones OF their unior-
tunate friend.
The ways Of the man eater are enough 10
terrorize the stoutest heart. and 1t is little
wonder that hundreds OF these Indian toil"rs.
who when trained for military service have
proven that they will march undauntrd To- the
canuon's mouth. are thrown into the dIrest
panic 10y the sudden advent Of on" of these
creatures Its appearance is "a unexpected az
thuude rbo.t from a clear SKY. II is per-
fsctly willing &c attack by day. crouching
in the grass beside the path or at the
village edge till the time is ripe for
tho fatal spring. About half OF thcs" twenty
eight victims were killed as they with
hundreds OF their fellows were scattered
thickly along the line dwelling the roadbed.
The animal is not dismayed 10y numbers il
only it may he uuohserved till the very moment
Of action. In an instant it has sprung into tho
crowd. tore with its claws long gashes in the
flesh OF the man it has marked, buried its teeth
in the victims thigh. crushing the bone. and is
off in the jungle with tn" prey. usually battling
pursuit by it's iicctnesS The imported Indians
could not stand this sort Of thing. and finally
struck work till they were assured Of the eAter-
mnation OF the man eaters in their ueiEhhor-
hood. Fortunately tho lioEs that prey on
human beings are still small minority.
Most lions avoid men and are after tn" big
game that hunters go to Africa to shoot. Lions
haunt the high grassed plains where zehras.
anteopes and gaZelles abound.
Though the man cater is not afraid to single
out victim In crowd and run Oft with him.
it also loves campfire. No blaze around the
tents or huts or din or GunAring scares it off.
The animal will spring into a group of twenty
men sitting around fire and carry on ono he
fore the others have time to realize what has
happcued. 1t has also been known. on the
railroad line to Uganda. to spring upon n fiat
ear loaded with men and dOnkeys while the
locomotive was putliug and tho train was
slowly moving. seize man and jump with him
into the Jungle and off out Of hearing before
the train could he brought to a standstll.
The nights were full OF terror for the Indian
coolies after one OF them. resting from his days
toll, had made a dinner for a lion. The rest OF
tho men took to roosting very high. None OF
them would sleep less than twenty feet from
the ground in the trees Or on the top OF water
tanks that were mounted high on pedestal Of
railroad ties. Nj Patterson. an assistant en-
gincer on the railroad. killed several OF tho
man eaters by sitting up all night for Il fort
night and shooting them as they came prowl-
ing about the camp. An ingenious trap was
arranged with mon, apparently. for bar. though
they were well sateGuardcd ono animal was
fooled into entering. and it wasn't its fault
that 1t didn't lose its life. \ cage was built OF
iron railroad track with door nyitlngly open.
At the rear Of the cage sat three men par
titioned Off from the rest Of the inclosurr by