#truestory #horrorstories #lion
It’s March 1898. Lt. Col John Henry Patterson has just arrived in Kenya on a train from the port of Mombasa. He’s been dispatched to this location by the foreign office of the Uganda Railway to oversee the construction of a bridge across the Tsavo River. This is something that Patterson has looked forward to his entire life. He’s always dreamed of visiting Africa. He revels in the beauty of the African landscape. An extensive wilderness covered by low stunted trees and a jungle of thick undergrowth and thorns. The snowcapped peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro the stunning backdrop for a breathtaking scene.
Not far from the main railway camp, comprised of some 3000 workmen, Patterson makes camp and settles into his temporary home. Within days of his arrival he receives all of the necessary labor and supplies to complete his task, and he begins work on the bridge straight away. As the sun sets over the savannah one night in his third week in country, the Col. settles into his quarters for the evening. He has no idea that this night is different from any other. This night would change everything, and mark the beginning of one of the most incredible historic accounts of man vs. beast that the world has ever known.
As darkness falls upon the Tsavo, the workmen hunker down for the evening. A full moon dimly lights the usually pitch dark landscape. Many of the laborers allow their campfires to burn out as the moon’s soft glow provides sufficient light. In a tent on the edge of the main work camp, Ungan Singh, an Indian Jemedar, lay asleep among his bunkmates. It’s a pleasantly mild evening and the men decide to sleep with their tent doors open to enjoy the cool night air. The notion that this could be potentially dangerous never enters their minds. But just after midnight, an intruder stalks the tall grass outside the tent under the cover of darkness.
Without a campfire burning, the assailant easily makes its way unnoticed across the campsite to the open tent flap. With the laborers fast asleep, it pokes its head in through the opening and wraps its massive jaws around the neck of Ungan Singh. He manages one shrill scream of terror alerting his bunkmates to what is happening before the beast rips him from the safety of his quarters and makes off with his body through the tall grass. The other men lay in terror as they listen to the sound of their friend being devoured just yards away.
The next morning the men bring word to Lt. Col. Patterson regarding the night’s events. He wastes no time in arming himself and making off into the bush to track his lost workman. Upon investigating the campsite it quickly becomes evident that the man must have been carried off by a lion. The sand outside of the tent is littered with pug marks. The lion’s trail is blatantly obvious and easy to track as it must have stopped several times, leaving large pools of blood along the route and painting a long crimson line through the tall grass. Then off in the distance, Patterson sees a tell tail sign. A flock of vultures take flight from a lonely tree alerting to the presence of the lost laborer’s remains.
Scattered beneath the tree Patterson finds bits of flesh and bone. Separate from what little remains are left behind, the head of Ungan Singh lay still intact, eyes wide, a gnarled expression of horror on his face. Patterson describes the grizzly scene as the most gruesome sight he’d ever seen. Upon close examination it’s determined that not one, but 2 lions are responsible for the brutal attack. On taking a roll call, it’s discovered that several other workers have evidently disappeared, unreported in the previous days. But Ungan Singh would become the first officially recognized victim of the 2 lions that would become known as The Tsavo Man-Eaters. The Ghost and The Darkness.
The night following the loss of Ungan Singh, Col. Patterson, armed with a .303 and 12 gauge shotgun, climbs a tree and posts up on a high branch near the late jemedar’s tent. Here he waits with the hope of ambushing the predators in the event they return to claim another victim. To Patterson’s amazement, indeed, the lions strike again, but not where he expects. The night’s silence is abruptly pierced by the panicked cries of terrified railroad workers in a camp about a half mile away. He clearly hears their pleas for help all the way at his perch and knows by the sounds of the desperate screams that another man must have fallen victim to the predators. The next morning his fears are confirmed. One of the lions had invaded another tent, snatching and making off with a sleeping coolie.
