1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: Stuffworks dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: Holly Fry, I'm Tracy Wilson, and today's topic is when 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: I'm kind of crazy excited about because I love it. Yes, 5 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 1: and it's also one that people have asked us to 6 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: talk about. Yes, so it's like a double bonus at 7 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: that point. Uh. You may have heard some about this sale. 8 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:32,879 Speaker 1: But we're actually gonna do two parts. One is what 9 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 1: actually happened when all of this was going on, and 10 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: then we're going to do a second part about modern science, uh, 11 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: kind of analyzing this historical event and what we're talking 12 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 1: about today. It's um, there are two famous lions called 13 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: the Ghost in the Darkness. There have been movies made 14 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: about them, uh several actually, and they were a pair 15 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: of lions that killed and eight dozens of people in Tsavo. 16 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: But what you may not know is that the lions 17 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: in that region in Tsavo, uh in Africa, continue to 18 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,320 Speaker 1: attack humans and that there are actually a lot of 19 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,320 Speaker 1: question marks that have come up through the years about 20 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:11,039 Speaker 1: the genetics of these lions, their behaviors, their adaptations to 21 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:14,199 Speaker 1: their environments and as I said, because there is both 22 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: this fascinating story of this particular event that is kind 23 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: of considered a mythic killings free and a lot of 24 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: interesting science about what may have caused this kind of 25 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: behavior and and other subsequent things that have happened since then. Uh, 26 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: this one is a two parter, So today is the 27 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,960 Speaker 1: event and then next time will be science about it. 28 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,400 Speaker 1: There's so much science about it. There's a lot of science. 29 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: I actually had had to edit out a good bit 30 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 1: of the science just to keep it to two episodes, 31 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: because we could have gone on easily for three and 32 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: possibly more because there have been some really good research 33 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: projects around it. So first we're going to start uh 34 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 1: in Tavo. So the very name Tavo is kind of 35 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: ominous in the Kamba language, which is also called Kikamba, 36 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: which is a narrow band language. It actually means place 37 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: of slaughter, and it got this name from an ancient 38 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: battle that happened there between two tribes, the Massai and 39 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: the Acamba. And Tsavo is just a little bit smaller 40 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: for visual reference than the state of Massachusetts. It covers 41 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,640 Speaker 1: about twenty square kilometers and it sits in what is 42 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: today southeastern Kenya and its position is about a hundred 43 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: and eighty kilometers northwest of Mombasa, and it sits at 44 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: the center of what's now known as the Greater Tsavo Ecosystem, 45 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: which covers about forty thousand square kilometers and it consists 46 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: of multiple national parks and reserves as well as ranch lands. 47 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: The railway route that was built through Tsavo followed a 48 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: footpath that had been used by slave caravans for hundreds 49 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,079 Speaker 1: of years to transport things from the African interior out 50 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: to the coast. And the reason that we want to 51 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: talk about the railroad route because that's really where all 52 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:59,239 Speaker 1: of this started being documented and happening. Uh In the 53 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: late eight nine and these the British East Africa Company 54 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: started construction of a railway that would join Mombassada Lake 55 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: Victoria along Africa's eastern seaboard, and it was going to 56 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: be called the Uganda Railway. But because there were just 57 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: constant struggles going on with the construction of it and 58 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: the company encountered one problem after another, some people started 59 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: calling the project the Lunatic Express. It sort of speaks 60 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: for itself. At that point, a lot of the workers 61 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,080 Speaker 1: who were hired for the construction had to be recruited 62 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: from India because locals in the area were reluctant to 63 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: come on board. Yeah, so that was one of the 64 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: big challenges that they had. Another is that living conditions 65 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: were really not very good for the workers. The water 66 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: was unclean, the workers often had dysenterry, they would have fleas, 67 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 1: they would have scurvy, they would have, you know, really 68 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: horrific bouts of diarrhea that they had to survive through 69 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: where they were risking um being completely depleted of their fluids. 70 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: And they also lost so many animals that were part 71 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: of the work process. UH in eighteen ninety seven, and 72 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 1: if you look at the veterinary records for the area 73 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: and for the company, all sixty three of the company's 74 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: camels died, one of their three hundred and fifty mules died, 75 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: five hundred and seventy nine of their six hundred and 76 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 1: thirty nine head of cattle died, and all but thirty 77 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 1: six of their eight hundred donkeys that they started with died. 78 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: So the animals were dropping in an alarming rate, and 79 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 1: the humans were getting sick pretty consistently well. And if 80 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:34,040 Speaker 1: you look back at the time period when this was happening. 81 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: Those animals were crucial to the construction process. I mean, 82 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: it would have been an inconvenient to lose the primary 83 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,279 Speaker 1: food source, but yeah, they couldn't. They were hauling things. 84 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: They were right. They were part of a construction company, 85 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: yes they were. They were not simply like herd animals 86 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:59,480 Speaker 1: being used to eat, although that also starvation is a problem. 87 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 1: So over of the decade that it took to complete 88 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: this project, the railway ended up costing eight million dollars 89 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:06,839 Speaker 1: to build, and that was four times more than the 90 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 1: initial budget, and for the sake of comparison, that is 91 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: more than five hundred million dollars today, which is a 92 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: huge amount of money. Although part of me goes bigger, Yeah, 93 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 1: jaded I am by huge construction projects. Um. And then 94 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,240 Speaker 1: a gentleman enters the picture. Who's sort of central to 95 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 1: this whole story, and that's British Lieutenant Colonel John Patterson, 96 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:33,280 Speaker 1: and he was a civil engineer. He arrived at the 97 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:38,839 Speaker 1: harbor of Mombassa on March one and his assignment primarily 98 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: was to head up the building of the permanent stonework 99 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: and the embankments that we're going to be part of 100 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 1: this railroad route. So at first he was pretty pleased 101 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:48,839 Speaker 1: with the task at hand and happy in his work. 102 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: But things shifted pretty quickly, and this is what he 103 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: wrote from a passage into his book, The man Eaters 104 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 1: of Tsavo. Unfortunately, this happy state of affairs did not 105 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: continue for long, and our work was soon interrupted in 106 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:06,599 Speaker 1: a rude and startling manner. To most voracious and insatiable 107 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: man eating lions appeared on the scene and for over 108 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:14,159 Speaker 1: nine months waged an intermittent warfare against the railway and 109 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 1: all those connected with it in the vicinity of Tsavo. 110 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 1: This culminated in a perfect reign of terror in December, 111 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,800 Speaker 1: when they actually succeeded in bringing the railway works to 112 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,600 Speaker 1: a complete standstill for about three weeks. At first, they 113 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: were not always successful in their efforts to carry off 114 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: a victim, but as time went on they stopped at 115 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,719 Speaker 1: nothing and indeed braved any danger in order to obtain 116 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 1: their favorite food. Their methods then became so uncanny, and 117 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: their man stalking so well timed and so certain of success, 118 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: that the workmen firmly believed that they were not real 119 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: animals at all, but devils in lions shape. Which is 120 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: how they get the name the ghost in the Darkness 121 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,160 Speaker 1: because people really do believe they might be spirit and 122 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: the physical animals. Yeah, if you if you have heard 123 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,919 Speaker 1: the recent stuff, you should know episode on Where Wolf. 124 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: Pretty Much every culture that has any kind of big 125 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: carnivore also has some kind of mythology about about people 126 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: becoming that thing in a demonic kind of way. So 127 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: it's not totally surprising that that these became to be 128 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: thought of as some kind of supernatural Yeah. Uh. And 129 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: it really happened very quickly because it was just a 130 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: few days after his arrival that Patterson was first informed 131 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: that two lions had been spotted nearby, and not long 132 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 1: after that, two of the Indian workmen vanished, allegedly carried 133 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: out of their tents in the night by lions. So 134 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: at first Patterson dismissed this lion story, and he thought 135 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: that the men had maybe been killed by some of 136 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: their co workers and some kind of murder slash, theft 137 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: and incident. But when a third man vanished into the night, 138 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: there were paw prints at the scene and witnesses convinced 139 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: him that this really is the work of felines. Yeah, 140 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 1: and it was. He kind of mentioned in the book, 141 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:06,560 Speaker 1: the third man was one that he knew and that 142 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 1: was very well respected and very well loved by everyone, 143 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 1: So that also helped give a little bit of gredence 144 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: to the idea that it was not just a murder 145 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: over like a snag and somebody's paid a they There 146 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 1: really was something much bigger going on, and Patterson immediately 147 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,320 Speaker 1: set to tracking the lion responsible. Uh He was also 148 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: joined by a Captain Haslum who was in Tsavo at 149 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: the time, and they followed the bloody trail left by 150 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,439 Speaker 1: this third vanishing and they eventually happened upon a scene 151 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:39,560 Speaker 1: that Patterson describes in his account as the most gruesome 152 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: he has ever seen. Uh So, the victim's head was 153 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,080 Speaker 1: there intact, and it was adjacent to the rest of 154 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:51,319 Speaker 1: his remains, most of which had been consumed, so there 155 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: were some bones left, but the head completely intact. And 156 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: this is also when Patterson became aware that there were 157 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:00,640 Speaker 1: actually two lions and not just one, because he did 158 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 1: find two distinct sets of paw prints. So he set 159 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: up a post in a tree above the large tent 160 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:09,000 Speaker 1: that was being shared by multiple co workers in case 161 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:12,079 Speaker 1: the lions came back. That night, and they heard roars 162 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:16,120 Speaker 1: approaching and then halting, and as the night wore on, Uh, 163 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: cries were heard from a camp about half a mile 164 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:22,600 Speaker 1: away where the lions had struck another tent. Yeah, they 165 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:24,600 Speaker 1: did not come back to that same tent, as he 166 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 1: had sort of hoped so that he could kill them. 167 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 1: They instead went somewhere else because they're wiley. According to Patterson, 168 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: the lions were in fact smart enough to hit different 169 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: camps each night, so it made predicting their attacks really difficult. 170 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,679 Speaker 1: So if you can imagine the construction, it's going on 171 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 1: along several miles at a time, and then it slowly 172 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:47,440 Speaker 1: moves forward as any railway at the time. We've talked 173 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:50,199 Speaker 1: about that happening here in the US as the railway 174 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 1: boom was happening. Uh. And so there would be camps 175 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:55,680 Speaker 1: sort of spread out by half a mile or show 176 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 1: between them, and the lions would just be hitting different 177 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:02,960 Speaker 1: ones each night. Uh. And this practice of theirs to 178 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,320 Speaker 1: be smart enough and wildy enough to kind of choose 179 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 1: different locations each evening also fed the rumors among the 180 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: men that the lions were supernatural because they were clearly 181 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:15,280 Speaker 1: too cunning to be normal beasts. There were also a 182 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 1: number of failed attacks during this time, including one incident 183 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: which Patterson describes as rather comical, intention breaking for the men. 184 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 1: A trader from India riding his donkey down the road 185 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: at night was attacked by a lion on the road, 186 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 1: but the lion became entangled in the ropes that were 187 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:35,320 Speaker 1: holding all the all of the traders of wares and 188 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:39,080 Speaker 1: packs in place, and the clattering startled the animal and 189 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: since it running away, and I you and I both 190 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,480 Speaker 1: have cats. It's reminding me of the time that one 191 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 1: of mine got entangled in a shopping bag and and 192 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 1: it was terrifying for her. I have had the same 193 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:54,600 Speaker 1: and it is they just and it's like, you know, 194 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:56,680 Speaker 1: people always say, if you're trying to train a cat 195 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 1: to do not do a thing, do you shake a 196 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:00,880 Speaker 1: tin can full of penny that will scare them away 197 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: for the thing they were doing. And it works on 198 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:08,320 Speaker 1: giant wildcats as well. Uh Patterson also recounts an instance 199 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 1: where the lions jumped onto a group tent and they 200 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: actually dragged off a large bag of rice, presumably, he theorizes, 201 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: thinking that it was a human, and they found the 202 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 1: bag abandoned nearby. The next morning, so that was also 203 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: one of the ones that he kind of frames is 204 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 1: a more comedic event in the midst of all of 205 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:30,160 Speaker 1: this tension that was going on, because they were constantly 206 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:32,600 Speaker 1: in fear that the lions were coming. Yeah, and it 207 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:36,440 Speaker 1: reminds me of a little less humorous thing, which is 208 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 1: like when the shark bites the person on the surfboard 209 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 1: and thin goes, oh wait, that's not a seal. So 210 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 1: the person is injured, but the shark has realized that 211 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:52,640 Speaker 1: it made an error. So to repel these attacks, Patterson 212 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:56,320 Speaker 1: started building all kinds of fences or boma around the tents, 213 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,559 Speaker 1: but he admitted that there was still this constant fear 214 00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: that all line would just leap over them at any moment, 215 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 1: and so he got into the habit of always having 216 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:09,760 Speaker 1: a rifle handy. There was also a string of lion sightings, 217 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:14,080 Speaker 1: and sometimes witnesses described them as very obviously stalking some 218 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 1: of the men. During one overnight watch in which they 219 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 1: were set up in a wagon, Patterson and one of 220 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 1: his colleagues were startled by the one of the lions 221 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,680 Speaker 1: actually springing at them and both fired their weapons, although 222 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 1: they the cat ran away, so they it was clearly 223 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,320 Speaker 1: not a killing shot, but in the morning they could 224 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 1: only find one of the bullets, and Patterson believed that 225 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,440 Speaker 1: his had actually hit the mark. So this seems to 226 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:44,680 Speaker 1: have maybe scared the lions somewhat because their attacks did 227 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: stop for a little bit, although they continued to attack 228 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 1: other locations, just not quite as often. This gap in 229 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:56,440 Speaker 1: lion attacks in the book is filled with Patterson describing 230 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 1: his relations with the workmen, keeping the peace, steering argument 231 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:05,840 Speaker 1: outsmarting the lazy people, that kind of thing. Uh. And 232 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:08,520 Speaker 1: during this time he also devised a plan for a 233 00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:10,960 Speaker 1: trap because he felt that they could not presume that 234 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: the lions were not coming back, uh, and he describes 235 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,839 Speaker 1: it this way. I accordingly set to work at once, 236 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 1: and in short time managed to make a sufficiently strong 237 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: trap out of wooden sleepers, tram rails, pieces of telegraph wire, 238 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,360 Speaker 1: and a length of heavy chain. It was divided into 239 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,439 Speaker 1: two compartments, one for the men and one for the lion. 240 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:34,080 Speaker 1: A sliding door at one end admitted the former, and 241 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: once inside this compartment they were perfectly safe, as between 242 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:39,600 Speaker 1: them and the lion if he entered the other ran 243 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: a cross wall of iron rails only three inches apart 244 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:46,199 Speaker 1: and embedded both top and bottom in heavy wooden sleepers. 245 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:49,080 Speaker 1: The door, which was to admit the lion, was of 246 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:52,280 Speaker 1: course at the opposite end of the structure, but otherwise 247 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: the whole thing was very much on the principle of 248 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:57,520 Speaker 1: the ordinary rat trap, except that it was not necessary 249 00:13:57,559 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 1: for the lion to seize the bait in order to 250 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:03,160 Speaker 1: send the door or clattering down. So he had really decided, 251 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:05,840 Speaker 1: and was very public about this, that he was going 252 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:08,559 Speaker 1: to end the scourge of these lions. So this trap 253 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: was his sort of engineering mind, finding one way to 254 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: address it. Not everybody was on board with this idea, 255 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,120 Speaker 1: though if they were not, he went on to say, 256 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:20,600 Speaker 1: the wise acres to whom I showed my invention were 257 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: generally of the opinion that the man eaters would be 258 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: too cunning to walk into my parlor. But as will 259 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: be seen later, their predictions proved false. For the first 260 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:33,120 Speaker 1: few nights, I baited the trap myself, but nothing happened 261 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 1: except that I had a very sleepless and uncomfortable time 262 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 1: and was badly bitten by mosquitoes. So initially it seemed 263 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:44,000 Speaker 1: like his um the wise acres to whom he revers 264 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 1: were correct and that the lions were not going to 265 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: be lured into that trap. Yes, I also want to 266 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 1: caution him about how he's gonna get malaria if he 267 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: does that. When you're possibly going to be eaten by 268 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 1: a lion, I think malaria falls down the list of 269 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: things you're worried about. With that note, do you want 270 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 1: to pause for a moment and take a word from 271 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:05,560 Speaker 1: our sponsor? That so a news flash to no one. 272 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 1: The holidays are almost here, which for me is uh 273 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 1: a stressful time because I don't get any extra time 274 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,720 Speaker 1: as a gift. I wish I could uh. 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So, 305 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 1: while the attacks had dissipated in most areas and even 306 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:42,440 Speaker 1: pretty much ceased near Patterson's own group. Uh, the men 307 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:46,000 Speaker 1: had become more relaxed than their behaviors. You can understand, 308 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:48,800 Speaker 1: the impending dooms seemed left impending, so they all got 309 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 1: a little more chill about things. But the column was 310 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:54,760 Speaker 1: broken one night when the lions broke through a boma 311 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:58,120 Speaker 1: that was protecting the sleeping quarters and carried off one 312 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: of the men. And this time, instead of what they 313 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,720 Speaker 1: had done previously where they dragged their prey far away 314 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:08,000 Speaker 1: to eat, the cats just kind of dropped the body 315 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,080 Speaker 1: about thirty yards from the tent where they had struck 316 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: and just started eating there. Shots were fired at them 317 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:16,560 Speaker 1: as this grizzly scene played out, and you know, men 318 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: were witnessing this and it was very horrifying, but they 319 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: didn't manage to hit the cats, and moreover, they didn't 320 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 1: even scare them. They those lions just sat there and 321 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:31,359 Speaker 1: had their meal. Like there's just so much irritating noise, 322 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: but I'm really hungry, which is really brazen. It is 323 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:40,000 Speaker 1: very brazen, and I cannot imagine how horrifying it must 324 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 1: have been to watch for the men who were attempting 325 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:46,399 Speaker 1: to fire at them. So Patterson asked that they not 326 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:49,159 Speaker 1: bury the victim right away. He was hoping that the 327 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:53,200 Speaker 1: remains would lure the lions back the following night, but 328 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:55,240 Speaker 1: instead they did what they had been doing before, and 329 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:58,760 Speaker 1: they struck a different camp, following the same pattern of 330 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:01,640 Speaker 1: consuming the victim pretty close to the camp site. Yes, 331 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:03,800 Speaker 1: so they had at this time altered their behavior where 332 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:07,480 Speaker 1: they didn't even bother to range away to eat uh. 333 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:11,439 Speaker 1: Patterson's account notes a pretty clear change uh and the 334 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,840 Speaker 1: progression of this brazenness and the lion's behavior as events continued, 335 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:18,639 Speaker 1: and in one excerpt pieces the following I have a 336 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: very vivid recollection in one particular night, when the brute 337 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,639 Speaker 1: sees a man from the railway station and brought him 338 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:27,760 Speaker 1: close to my camp to devour. I could plainly hear 339 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:30,520 Speaker 1: them crunching the bones, and the sound of their dreadful 340 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,320 Speaker 1: purring filled the air and rang in my ears for 341 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 1: days afterwards. So he describes kind of being in his 342 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:38,760 Speaker 1: tent and knowing that even if he goes out and fires, 343 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,399 Speaker 1: he's not going to scare them away, and will only risk, 344 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:44,199 Speaker 1: you know, potentially inviting their ire and just having to 345 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:48,840 Speaker 1: listen to them eat a man, which is will make 346 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:51,119 Speaker 1: your spine wiggle in ways it's not supposed to do 347 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: a little bit. It's very chilling. Yeah. Well, and the 348 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:57,040 Speaker 1: the part of us that naturally wants to anthropomorphize animals 349 00:18:57,080 --> 00:18:59,760 Speaker 1: all the time kind of imagines that they're doing it 350 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 1: on purpose at this point, just just to be jerked. 351 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 1: But we don't know. No, we don't know, and that's 352 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:09,960 Speaker 1: that's a human behavior ascribed to an animal at this point. 353 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 1: So before this point, one of the lions would do 354 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:17,920 Speaker 1: most of the attacking and the other one would wait 355 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:19,840 Speaker 1: out in the bush. But at this point their tactics 356 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:22,199 Speaker 1: had really changed. They would both enter the camp at 357 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 1: the same time. They would each sees a victim, So 358 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,879 Speaker 1: men were being carried off in twos. Yeah. Whereas prior 359 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: they would hit like one camp and then another camp 360 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 1: a lit always away theoretically so that they would each 361 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:37,000 Speaker 1: have a kill. They just started going in at the 362 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:41,399 Speaker 1: same time and kind of streamlining their own process. H 363 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 1: And as the attacks increased and the lions behaved with 364 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 1: greater and greater confidence, it really started to take its 365 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 1: toll on the workman, as you can easily imagine. So 366 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: this had started in March, and on December one of 367 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,560 Speaker 1: that year, the men actually approached Patterson as a group, 368 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: and they told him they were not working anymore. They 369 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 1: had agreed to come to Tsavo to work for the 370 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,840 Speaker 1: government and build a railroad, not to become lion food. 371 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 1: Let's talk about how I'm on the side of labor 372 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:08,920 Speaker 1: in this dispute. Oh, for sure, I mean you can't. 373 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,879 Speaker 1: And he doesn't fault them at all. No. Uh, I 374 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:15,360 Speaker 1: think anybody that's reasonable could step back and go, Yeah, 375 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,119 Speaker 1: I wouldn't work there either. That's a horrifying and terrifying 376 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 1: situation to be in. So just before this strike, Paterson 377 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:26,679 Speaker 1: had contacted Mr Whitehead, who was the district officer, to 378 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 1: come and assist with taking down these two lions, which 379 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,520 Speaker 1: at this point Patterson had vowed to kill. Whitehead's welcoming 380 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:37,680 Speaker 1: party turned out to be feline. He and his man 381 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:41,240 Speaker 1: servant were attacked as they approached the camp and his 382 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:44,040 Speaker 1: back was torn open by a claw and his man 383 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: servant was killed. Yeah. They actually thought he had missed 384 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:48,919 Speaker 1: a train because he didn't show up, but he had 385 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 1: just gotten there very late, and he foolishly tried to 386 00:20:51,119 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 1: approach the camp in the darkness, and the lions obviously 387 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: were stalking him. Uh. And so is a consequence of 388 00:20:57,359 --> 00:20:59,200 Speaker 1: having been attacked and knowing this was in fact a 389 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,960 Speaker 1: very real situation Asian. With Whitehead's arrival, a very concerted 390 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,200 Speaker 1: effort went underway to slay these lions and get the 391 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:09,159 Speaker 1: Mammoth railway project, which if you look at it from 392 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,119 Speaker 1: a business perspective, was already behind schedule and very expensive, 393 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 1: back on track. A superintendent of police and several other 394 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: officials arrived from the coast, and Patterson's lion trap, despite 395 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:22,880 Speaker 1: all of the mocking, was put to use. Uh as 396 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: the cabal of men sort of waited for the next 397 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 1: attack like they felt like they knew it was coming, 398 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,480 Speaker 1: they just didn't know when. So that night a lion 399 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 1: did enter the trap, but the outcome was not what 400 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:37,600 Speaker 1: Patterson had hoped for. Finding themselves at such close proximity 401 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:40,480 Speaker 1: to a man eating lion, the men who were the 402 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:44,040 Speaker 1: bait for the trap reacted by freezing rather than acting. 403 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: Only after an officer called out to them did they 404 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:50,920 Speaker 1: kind of snap out of their collective days and start 405 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:56,439 Speaker 1: to fire. And here is how Patterson described that. Then 406 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:58,679 Speaker 1: when at last they did begin to fire, they fired 407 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: with a vengeance. Anywhere Anyhow, Whitehead and I were right 408 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:04,879 Speaker 1: angles to the direction in which they should have shot, 409 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,400 Speaker 1: and yet their bullets came whizzing all around us. Together 410 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,639 Speaker 1: they fired over a score of shots, and in the 411 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,479 Speaker 1: end succeeded only in blowing away one of the bars 412 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:16,440 Speaker 1: of the door, thus allowing our prize to make good 413 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:19,920 Speaker 1: his escape. How they failed to kill him several times 414 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,919 Speaker 1: over is and always will be a complete mystery to me, 415 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,440 Speaker 1: as they could have put the muzzles of their rifles 416 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:29,640 Speaker 1: absolutely touching his body. There was indeed some blood scattered 417 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:32,359 Speaker 1: about the trap, but it was small consolation to know 418 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:35,439 Speaker 1: that the brute whose capture and death seemed so certain, 419 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 1: had only been slightly wounded. And the men did track 420 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,959 Speaker 1: the lions, and while they heard them making noise periodically, 421 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,320 Speaker 1: they never actually made contact with them. So even in 422 00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:51,480 Speaker 1: their injured state, they were able to elude these trackers, 423 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:57,399 Speaker 1: which only gave their mythos as being supernatural greater um fuel. 424 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:00,959 Speaker 1: A few days later, on the summer ninth, the lions 425 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:04,320 Speaker 1: were spotted nearby eating a donkey they had snatched in 426 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 1: a failed attempt to take the person who owned that animal. 427 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:11,000 Speaker 1: Patterson felt that this would be his chance to catch 428 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:14,600 Speaker 1: the cats unawares and finally end all of this carnage. 429 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 1: He thought he was going to sneak up on them 430 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,840 Speaker 1: while they were busy eating uh. And the hunt had 431 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:22,159 Speaker 1: some challenges, because that's just how things go with this 432 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:26,480 Speaker 1: particular project and lion situation. When they were first approaching 433 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:30,000 Speaker 1: the pair of lions in the bush, Patterson's guide made 434 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 1: a misstep and snapped a twig. It's a classic film scenario, uh, 435 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:38,840 Speaker 1: and that alerted the animals, and Patterson then quickly organized. 436 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,800 Speaker 1: He retreated and organized what men were available to grab 437 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:44,320 Speaker 1: every noise making item they could find in the camp 438 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,320 Speaker 1: and form a semicircle behind the area where the lions 439 00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:50,440 Speaker 1: were so that they could flush them towards Patterson, who 440 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: was waiting with a heavy rifle. And this seemed to work. 441 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:57,159 Speaker 1: One of the lions was driven right into Patterson's sites 442 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:01,320 Speaker 1: until uh, the full which had been lent to him 443 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,919 Speaker 1: by the Superintendent of police, failed to fire properly. It 444 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: was like every time they got so close and it 445 00:24:07,359 --> 00:24:09,600 Speaker 1: seemed so obvious that they should be the victors in 446 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,760 Speaker 1: this situation, some weird or cookie thing would happen and 447 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 1: the lions and once again, well it's it's not surprising 448 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:20,000 Speaker 1: that this whole thing has been made into a lot 449 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:24,119 Speaker 1: of movies because it's a whole horrifying, suspenseful event. But 450 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 1: it's like the They didn't even have to add in 451 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: the bad screenwriting to add more at tension to it, 452 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:34,280 Speaker 1: because it was all actually happening naturally in the real story. Yeah, 453 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 1: there was a second shot that he was able to 454 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:38,159 Speaker 1: get off, and he did hit the lion, but the 455 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 1: cat was able to get away. Later that night, Patterson 456 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:43,639 Speaker 1: sat in a tree on a watch and he realized 457 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 1: that one of the lions was stalking him. So he 458 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,640 Speaker 1: waited patiently for the cat to get closer and closer 459 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:51,439 Speaker 1: until he felt like he had a good shot, and 460 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:54,520 Speaker 1: he took it. He heard a roar and thrashing, and 461 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:57,359 Speaker 1: he fired. He fired several more times into the bush 462 00:24:57,359 --> 00:25:01,440 Speaker 1: where the lion was. Eventually there was a stillness and 463 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:05,760 Speaker 1: the first lion was finally dead. And when they finally 464 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,680 Speaker 1: retrieved the carcass, it was, according to Patterson's account, nine 465 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,119 Speaker 1: ft eight inches in length and three ft nine inches high, 466 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:15,840 Speaker 1: and it took eight men to carry it back to camp. 467 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:20,119 Speaker 1: Not long after that, Patterson was able to successfully shoot 468 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,199 Speaker 1: and wound the other lion, but in spite of it 469 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:25,880 Speaker 1: having been obviously wounded, he couldn't find it the next 470 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:27,840 Speaker 1: morning that he really thought he was going to find 471 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:31,120 Speaker 1: it deceased somewhere in the bush, and he didn't, which 472 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: was shocking, And in fact, they did not see it 473 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:38,159 Speaker 1: for ten more days uh then on December, so at 474 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:41,840 Speaker 1: this point it's been almost four weeks since the men quit. Uh. 475 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:46,000 Speaker 1: The lion attempted another attack. When Patterson was alerted to this, 476 00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:48,760 Speaker 1: he fired shots in the air at first hopening hoping 477 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: to frighten it off because it had caught them by surprise, 478 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:53,480 Speaker 1: and he mostly just wanted to not lose any more people. 479 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:56,119 Speaker 1: Uh And it was too dark for him to see clearly, 480 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:57,879 Speaker 1: so he didn't really think his odds were great to 481 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:01,639 Speaker 1: kill it them, but the lion did indeed treat The 482 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:05,280 Speaker 1: next night, Patterson and an assistant took up watching a tree, 483 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 1: and they found themselves being stalked. So similar to the 484 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,040 Speaker 1: way the first lion lost its life trying to stalk 485 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:15,040 Speaker 1: Patterson up a tree, the second line was fired upon 486 00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:18,640 Speaker 1: when he got within twenty yards, and they fired multiple shots, 487 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:21,120 Speaker 1: but they had to wait for daylight before they could 488 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:24,919 Speaker 1: follow the wounded animal, and they finally encountered him in 489 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,080 Speaker 1: the thicket and he was growling. But when Patterson reached 490 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,880 Speaker 1: out for his man servant to hand him his gun, 491 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:33,399 Speaker 1: he discovered that the man had actually run away in fear. 492 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:36,200 Speaker 1: So even though the lion was wounded, it was clearly 493 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:40,280 Speaker 1: still very frightening and seemed to present a threat. Uh 494 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:42,719 Speaker 1: So Patterson followed the man that had run because at 495 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: that point he was unarmed in front of an angry 496 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:47,879 Speaker 1: and hurt lion and didn't know what it would do. 497 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:50,440 Speaker 1: And the lion did indeed chase him, but it had 498 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,200 Speaker 1: a broken leg from one of the shots that had 499 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:55,800 Speaker 1: hit it, and the men were able to take refuge 500 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:58,119 Speaker 1: once again up the tree. Trees are very vital to 501 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,760 Speaker 1: their safety in the story. As the lion turned to 502 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:05,760 Speaker 1: limp away, Patterson fired the killing shot, finally putting an 503 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:08,359 Speaker 1: end to what he had referred to as the reign 504 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 1: of terror, and things were able to get back under 505 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:15,000 Speaker 1: way again. The railway was completed in nineteen o one. 506 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:17,919 Speaker 1: In in nineteen o seven, Paterson published his account of 507 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:22,040 Speaker 1: the incidents. He kept the skulls and he used their 508 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:26,080 Speaker 1: skins as rugs, and in n s he sold all 509 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:28,359 Speaker 1: of this to the Field Museum in Chicago for five 510 00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:31,400 Speaker 1: thousand dollars. You can still see them on display there, 511 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:33,640 Speaker 1: although at this point there are a lot of replacement 512 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:38,359 Speaker 1: parts in the in the taxidermy. Yeah there. Uh. Their 513 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:41,520 Speaker 1: skins were you know, used as rugs, so they were 514 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:43,679 Speaker 1: badly damaged and there was a lot of restauration that 515 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: had to happen, and they really only had the skins 516 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:48,600 Speaker 1: in the skulls, so the rest is uh sculpted And 517 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,639 Speaker 1: they have an incredible taxidermy team at the Fields, and 518 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 1: it's really quite an impressive piece of work. They're so skilled. 519 00:27:56,119 --> 00:27:57,879 Speaker 1: And I wanted to mention that one of the things 520 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:02,000 Speaker 1: that really shines through in Patters since writing is how much, 521 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:06,080 Speaker 1: despite all of these lion difficulties, and possibly even partially 522 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:09,720 Speaker 1: because of them, uh, he seemed to really love his 523 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,120 Speaker 1: job and his time and Tsavo. Uh. He speaks so 524 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,920 Speaker 1: wistfully of eating lunches in the wild even when these 525 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:19,160 Speaker 1: lions were out there, and the joy of finding solutions 526 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,480 Speaker 1: to engineering challenges while the building of the Tsavo Bridge 527 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:25,720 Speaker 1: was underway as part of the railway. It's a really 528 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:29,359 Speaker 1: good read. I highly recommend it. Um It's it's just 529 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:33,119 Speaker 1: he has a great way with language and telling his story, 530 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:34,960 Speaker 1: and it has led some people to be like, he's 531 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:38,880 Speaker 1: a really good storyteller. So we don't know how much 532 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:42,160 Speaker 1: has been embellished, although there are enough different accounts that 533 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:44,920 Speaker 1: we know most of this is, in fact the way 534 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:49,160 Speaker 1: it went down pretty substantiated. Um. But that is the 535 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 1: story of the the pair of lions that murdered dozens 536 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,640 Speaker 1: of men. And we'll get into just how many in 537 00:28:55,680 --> 00:29:00,000 Speaker 1: the next one, because that has been a bone of contention. Uh. 538 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:05,160 Speaker 1: It's such a scary and fascinating story, and you kind 539 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:07,880 Speaker 1: of can't help but have respect for these animals because 540 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:11,600 Speaker 1: they really were quite cunning and ah, as much as 541 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: what they were doing was horrifying, it's a little bit 542 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:17,120 Speaker 1: of an eye opener. I think people use the term 543 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:20,360 Speaker 1: dumb animal and they don't really realize, Yeah, no, they're 544 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: problem solvers. They can figure things out, and they outwitted 545 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:30,400 Speaker 1: a lot of men who were bright, gentlemen who wanted 546 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:32,120 Speaker 1: nothing more to kill them, and they couldn't for quite 547 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,800 Speaker 1: some time. Nine months it took to kill these two 548 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,520 Speaker 1: lions that were hitting this same stretch of land over 549 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,400 Speaker 1: and over. Yeah. Well, and today we mostly talked about 550 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:45,200 Speaker 1: the like the the downsides of development in terms of 551 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 1: like eating up animal habitat and causing extinctions and things 552 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:52,200 Speaker 1: and a lack of biodiversity and stuff like that, but 553 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,320 Speaker 1: not as much attention today is paid to the fact 554 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:59,680 Speaker 1: of when humans start moving into an area that animals 555 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,680 Speaker 1: have mostly been running the show in the the animals 556 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:07,400 Speaker 1: themselves can also be a threat with the people. Like 557 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:09,680 Speaker 1: it's not just a matter of you know, we're going 558 00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:12,480 Speaker 1: to have fewer species in the world because we're eating 559 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:15,000 Speaker 1: up all the habitats. There's also they And then the 560 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:17,520 Speaker 1: reason that we have things like shark attacks and bear 561 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:20,120 Speaker 1: attacks and line attacks is that there are people in 562 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:24,000 Speaker 1: places where these animals used to be the ones running 563 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:27,239 Speaker 1: the show. So next time we're going to talk more 564 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:30,320 Speaker 1: about the science and analysis of why they were doing this, 565 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:35,120 Speaker 1: how they were doing it, and you know what was 566 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:39,560 Speaker 1: actually going on from a scientific angle, which is super cool. 567 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:41,720 Speaker 1: I love the behavioral stuff. Do you have some listener 568 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 1: mail for us before we go? I do. This one 569 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:47,520 Speaker 1: is from Kirk and he says, Hi, Hollie and Tracy. Coincidentally, 570 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 1: I was listening to your Heshian podcast yesterday while landing 571 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:53,200 Speaker 1: at Frankfurt Airport. I could see hess from my seat. 572 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 1: That's so cool. I'm a descendant of a Hessian soldier, 573 00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:01,000 Speaker 1: Johann Bernard shah Has, who surrendered to George Washington after 574 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:04,160 Speaker 1: the Battle of Yorktown. I've spent my life explaining the 575 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:08,240 Speaker 1: difference between mercenaries and adjunct armies f y I. After 576 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:11,040 Speaker 1: the war, Hessians were actually encouraged to defect and settle 577 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:14,160 Speaker 1: here rather than going back to hess. My ancestor married 578 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:17,280 Speaker 1: a nice Pennsylvania Dutch girl and moved to Virginia. Uh. 579 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:20,600 Speaker 1: And then he references some research uh that was done 580 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:22,920 Speaker 1: by a fellow Heshian descendant. But Kirk, if you're listening, 581 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:24,800 Speaker 1: you didn't include the link, Please do it because I 582 00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:27,040 Speaker 1: would love to read it. But it's an interesting thing 583 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,040 Speaker 1: one to have a direct link. We always love those. 584 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:30,760 Speaker 1: If we talked about it all the time, and to 585 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:33,400 Speaker 1: uh the idea that they were kind of encouraged, like 586 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:35,160 Speaker 1: just stay here, it's going to be easier than chipping 587 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:38,280 Speaker 1: you back. Yeah. We got several, like several notes and 588 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:41,840 Speaker 1: Facebook comments and things from people who whose immediate response 589 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:45,520 Speaker 1: was my ancestor was one of these soldiers. Uh. And 590 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:48,840 Speaker 1: we've we've had some who were encouraged to stay after 591 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:51,120 Speaker 1: the fighting was over, and some who pretty much got 592 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:57,120 Speaker 1: here and went, hey, okay, let's desert now instead of 593 00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:00,680 Speaker 1: fighting and go start a nice farm somewhere. I can 594 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:03,840 Speaker 1: give the appeal. Oh me too? Oh yeah? Uh? Kirk 595 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 1: roach us on Facebook. If you would like to do 596 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:07,440 Speaker 1: the same, you can do so at Facebook dot com 597 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:10,680 Speaker 1: slash history class Stuff. You can connect with us on 598 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:14,160 Speaker 1: Twitter at Misston History, on Tumbler at Misston History dot 599 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:16,800 Speaker 1: tumbler dot com, and you can email us at History 600 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:20,360 Speaker 1: Podcasts at Discovery dot com. We are also on pintriest 601 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:23,600 Speaker 1: anning away many things. There are some images of actions, 602 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:26,760 Speaker 1: and there john the uniforms that we talked about in 603 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:29,200 Speaker 1: the podcast up there now. If you would like to 604 00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:31,760 Speaker 1: learn more about what we talked about today, you can 605 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:33,640 Speaker 1: go to our website and type in the words man 606 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:36,720 Speaker 1: eating lion and the article that will pop up first 607 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:39,320 Speaker 1: is is there such a thing as a man eating lion? 608 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:42,000 Speaker 1: The short version is yes, but there's also some really 609 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:45,320 Speaker 1: cool interesting research in that article that talks about why 610 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:48,480 Speaker 1: there is. And if you would learn about almost anything 611 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:49,880 Speaker 1: else you can think of, you can do that at 612 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 1: our website, which is how Stuffworks dot Com for laur 613 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:58,640 Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics because it has 614 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:11,160 Speaker 1: to have works dot com. Audible dot com is the 615 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:15,400 Speaker 1: leading provider of downloadable digital audio books and spoken word entertainment. 616 00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:18,640 Speaker 1: Audible has more than one thousand titles to choose from 617 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,400 Speaker 1: to be downloaded to your iPod or MP three player. 618 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:25,040 Speaker 1: Go to audible podcast dot com slash history to get 619 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:27,600 Speaker 1: a free audio book download of your choice when you 620 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:28,440 Speaker 1: sign up today.