IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MERCIFUL, THE
COMPASSIONATE:
First must I speak to the praise and glory of God,
who is infinite and incomprehensible,
Who is without fault or error, who is the Life, though
without body or breath.
He has no relatives, nor father nor son, being himself
incomparable and passionless.
His is the knowledge of the known and of the
unknown, and although without a tongue, yet does
he speak in mighty tones.
I, Roshan, came to this country of Africa, and did
find it indeed a strange land;
Many rocks, mountains, and dense forests abounding
in lions and leopards;
Also buffaloes, wolves, deer, rhinoceroses, elephants,
camels, and all enemies of man;
Gorillas, ferocious monkeys that attack men, black
baboons of giant size, spirits, and thousands of varieties
of birds;
Wild horses, wild dogs, black snakes, and all animals
that a hunter or sportsman could desire.
The forests are so dark and dreadful that even
the boldest warriors shrink from their awful depths.
Now from the town of Mombasa, a railway line
extends unto Uganda;
In the forests bordering on this line, there are
found those lions called "man-eaters," and moreover
these forests are full of thorns and prickly shrubs.
Portions of this railway from Mombasa to Uganda
are still being made, and here these lions fell on the
workmen and destroyed them.
Such was their habit, day and night, and hundreds
of men fell victims to these savage creatures, whose very
jaws were steeped in blood.
