Originally published in 1907, this book records the harrowing true story of what really happened at Tsavo in 1898. If you are interested in the Tsavo Maneaters, this book is a must read! One of the first works on the subject of man-eating lions by someone with first-hand experience, it details a series of attacks on the Indian workers building the Mombasa to Uganda railway in 1898–1899. It was Patterson's task to rid the project of some man-eaters who had decimated the missing, but the discovery of the bodies soon dispelled that notion. Over the next few months, the lions had their pick of the workers along the railway line, and various traps and vigils all failed to work, until one of the lions was shot by Patterson, who had waited all night at the top of a 12 feet-high structure of sticks for the opportunity. The second male was shot soon after, but between them these two lions had accounted for over 100 workers and natives, "of whom no official record was kept."
After killing the infamous lions, Colonel Patterson had their skins made into rugs and they resided in his home in England after his return from East Africa. In 1907, he wrote "The Man Eaters of Tsavo", which was a hit, and is considered today to be a literary classic. It is still to this day the most extraordinary account of man-eating animals ever recorded!