Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

THE UGANDA RAILWAY. 57 tites whetted by the blood they had tasted, the lions would stalk the working-parties with all the skill that an experienced hunter, shows in tracking game. The men had often to run for their lives as the brutes bounded after them, growling and snarling at their heels. Once a passing train had to stop to rescue a gang of labourers which had been forced hurriedly to climb trees and telegraph, poles to avoid a lioness that lay across the track patiently waiting for her prey to descend. As the line was pushed forward, the lions were left behind for a time, and but few were seen until a point near Nairobi was reached, when Mr. Ryall, a police super- Carelessness infenjent) was actually at- and its / Results lacked and killed as he lay asleep in a saloon carriage in a siding close to Nairobi Station. There was contributory carelessness about this tragedy, however. Mr. Ryall and two other Euro- peans had travelled to the spot with the ex- press purpose of endeavouring to kill the lion, which, had been responsible for the death of some fifteen coolies in the course of a few days. The three hunters loaded their rifles and opened the windows of the carriage, pre- pared to take aim at the brute the moment it appeared. The whole party then dropped of? to sleep, the night being a very oppressive one. The result was that the lion, after scent- ing them out, approached the carriage cau- tiously, suddenly sprang in through one of the open windows, and mauled Mr. Ryall so ter- ribly before those with him could render any assistance that he died soon afterwards. Some of these adventures had a distinctly humorous side. Once when one of the con- struction camps had got “ lions ” on the brain, one of the telegraphic super- A Humorous infendents rode jnt0 the place Incident. . , , , , . , late one night from his post some fifty miles away. He was a personal friend of the engineer in charge, and, not wish- ing to disturb any one, he crept quietly into A TRACTION ENGINE ON MAU. the engineer’s hut, and tried to find a cor- ner where he could rest after his long ride. Unfortunately, while groping about in the dark he stumbled against the end of the bed where the engineer lay asleep, and to prevent him- self from falling he clutched at the sleeper’s feet. There was an immediate yell of terror from the bed as the engineer sprang up and reached for the loaded gun which he kept handy. The noise in the hut quickly aroused the camp, and every one felt certain that the engineer was being killed and carried off by a lion. In a few moments the hut was sur- rounded by hundreds of coolies, headed by the white men in camp. Each was armed with a weapon ranging from a repeating rifle to a pick-axe or a shovel. The innocent cause of this disturbance was by this time scarcely less terrified than the engineer for fear a fusi- lade should be opened on the hut and one or both of them shot. He was shouting at the top of his voice, “ For Heaven’s sake, don’t shoot! It is only me ! ” Notices something like the following were quite common during the early days of the Uganda Railway :— “ Urgent. “To Traffic Manager, “August 17, 1.45 a.m. “ Lion is on platform. Please instruct guard and driver to proceed car. fully and without signal. Guard to advise