TSAVO RIVER BRIDGE

 

Logo of the then Uganda railways

                          In 1898 the British with the Indian and native railway constructors reached Tsavo River.They had to build a  permanent bridge to replace a temporary wooden trestle.Col J H Patterson was tasked to build the bridge..

                                                       Bridge construction

                                                         Tsavo River bridge inspection by Patterson

.....from then on unfolded a lion story like no other....An epic of terrible tragedies spread over a number of months.The construction was halted for several months after a scare, the scores laborers –Indian and African were mauled by two lions. The two felines were later shot by Patterson and their remains are currently preserved at the Chicago field Museum. The bridge the one below is still in place and functional. Patterson later wrote The Man-Eaters of Tsavo a non fiction published in 1919. The Germans would later during WW1 attempt to reach and destroy this bridge to halt the penetration of the British in East Africa..see more on HISTORY OF THE IRON LINE

                                              Col Patterson with the remains of the first man-eater to be shot

                                      Below is the Tsavo River bridge still functional 110 years later