At
Length, However, It Got Fainter And Fainter, And
Finally Ceased Altogether, So That We Had To Abandon
The Search; The Ground Round About Was Rocky,
And There Was No Possibility Of Telling Which
Way Our Quarry Had Gone.
I was exceedingly
sorry for this, as I did not like to leave him
wounded; but there was no help for it, so we
struck out for home and arrived at Tsavo in the
afternoon very tired, hungry and disappointed.
Rhinos are extraordinary animals, and not
in any way to be depended upon. One day
they will sheer off on meeting a human being
and make no attempt to attack; the next day, for
no apparent reason, they may execute a most
determined charge. I was told for a fact by an
official who had been long in the country that on
one occasion while a gang of twenty-one slaves,
chained neck to neck as was the custom, was
being smuggled down to the coast and was
proceeding in Indian file along a narrow path, a
rhinoceros suddenly charged out at right angles
to them, impaled the centre man on its horns
and broke the necks of the remainder of the party
by the suddenness of his rush. These huge beasts
have a very keen sense of smell, but equally
indifferent eyesight, and it is said that if a hunter
will only stand perfectly still on meeting a rhino,
it will pass him by without attempting to molest
him. I feel bound to add, however, that I have
so far failed to come across anybody who has
actually tried the experiment. On the other hand,
I have met one or two men who have been
tossed on the horns of these animals, and they
described it as a very painful proceeding. It
generally means being a cripple for life, if one even
succeeds in escaping death. Mr. B. Eastwood,
the chief accountant of the Uganda Railway,
once gave me a graphic description of his
marvellous escape from an infuriated rhino. He
was on leave at the time on a hunting expedition
in the neighbourhood of Lake Baringo, about
eighty miles north of the railway from Nakuru,
and had shot and apparently killed a rhino.
On walking up to it, however, the brute rose
to its feet and literally fell on him, breaking four
ribs and his right arm. Not content with this,
it then stuck its horn through his thigh and tossed
him over its back, repeating this operation once or
twice. Finally, it lumbered off, leaving poor
Eastwood helpless and fainting in the long grass
where he had fallen. He was alone at the time,
and it was not for some hours that he was found
by his porters, who were only attracted to the
spot by the numbers of vultures hovering about,
waiting in their ghoulish manner for life to be
extinct before beginning their meal. How he
managed to live for the eight days after this
which elapsed before a doctor could be got
to him I cannot imagine; but in the end he
fortunately made a good recovery, the only
sign of his terrible experience being the absence
of his right arm, which had to be amputated.
CHAPTER XVI
A WIDOW'S STORY
Very shortly before I left Tsavo I went
(on March 11, 1899) on inspection duty to Voi,
which, as I have already mentioned, is about
thirty miles on the Mombasa side of Tsavo.
At this time it was a miserable, swampy spot,
where fever, guinea-worm, and all kinds of horrible
diseases were rampant; but this state of affairs
has now been completely altered by drainage
and by clearing away the jungle. Dr. Rose
was in medical charge of the place at the time
of my visit, and as it was the good old custom to
put up with any friend one came across towards
nightfall, I made him my host when my day's work
was over. We spent a very pleasant evening
together, and naturally discussed all the local
news. Amongst other things we chatted about
the new road which was being constructed from
Voi to a rather important missionary station called
Taveta, near Mount Kilima N'jaro, and Dr. Rose
mentioned that Mr. O'Hara (the engineer in
charge of the road-making), with his wife and
children, was encamped in the Wa Taita country,
about twelve miles away from Voi.
Early next morning I went out for a stroll
with my shot-gun, but had not gone far from the
doctor's tent when I saw in the distance four
Swahili carrying something which looked like a
stretcher along the newly-made road. Fearing
that some accident had happened, I went quickly
to meet them and called out to ask what they
were carrying. They shouted back "Bwana"
("The master"); and when I asked what bwana,
they replied "Bwana O'Hara." On enquiring
what exactly had happened, they told me that
during the night their master had been killed by
a lion, and that his wife and children were
following behind, along the road. At this I
directed the men to the hospital and told them
where to find Dr. Rose, and without waiting to
hear any further particulars hurried on as fast
as possible to give what assistance I could to
poor Mrs. O'Hara. Some considerable way back
I met her toiling along with an infant in her
arms, while a little child held on to her skirt,
utterly tired out with the long walk. I helped
her to finish the distance to the doctor's tent;
she was so unstrung by her terrible night's
experience and so exhausted by her trying march
carrying the baby that she was scarcely able
to speak. Dr. Rose at once did all he could
both for her and for the children, the mother
being given a sleeping draught and made
comfortable in one of the tents. When she
appeared again late in the afternoon she was
much refreshed, and was able to tell us the
following dreadful story, which I shall give as
nearly as possible in her own words.
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