CHAPTER V 



TROUBLES WITH THE WORKMEN 



IT seemed fated that the building of the Tsavo 

 Bridge should never be allowed to proceed in peace 

 for any length of time. I have already described 

 our troubles with the lions ; and no sooner did the 

 beasts of prey appear to have deserted us, for the 

 time being at any rate, than other troubles, no less 

 serious, arose with the workmen themselves. After 

 I had discovered the stone for the bridge, I sent 

 down to the coast for gangs of masons to work and 

 dress it. The men who were sent me for this 

 purpose were mostly Pathans and were supposed to 

 be expert workmen ; but I soon found that many 

 of them had not the faintest notion of stone-cutting, 

 and were simply ordinary coolies who had posed as 

 masons in order to draw forty-five instead of twelve 

 rupees a month. On discovering this fact, I imme- 

 diately instituted a system of piece-work, and drew 

 up a scale of pay which would enable the genuine 



