152 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO cH. xm 
of the stock of meat which he had left on the 
bank. 
I have since learned that accidents of this kind 
are of fairly frequent occurrence along the banks of 
these rivers. On one occasion while I was in the 
country a British officer had a very lucky escape. 
He was filling his water bottle at the river, when 
one of these brutes caught him by the hand and 
attempted to draw him in. Fortunately one of his 
servants rushed to his assistance and managed to 
pull him out of the crocodile’s clutches with the loss 
only of two of his fingers. 
As we made our way up the Sabaki, we 
discovered a beautiful waterfall about a hundred 
and fifty feet high—not a sheer drop, but a series 
of cascades. At this time the river was in. low 
water, and the falls consequently did not look their 
best; but in flood time they form a fine sight, and 
the thunder of the falling water can then be plainly 
heard at Tsavo, over seven miles away, when the 
wind is in the right direction. We crossed the 
river on the rocks at the head of these falls, and 
after some hours’ hard marching reached camp 
without further incident. 
