Going Solo

As the SS Mantola journeys through the Red Sea, the heat is extreme. During the journey, the Mantola passes close to an Italian ship filled with women, a sight that surprises Dahl. An officer explains that Mussolini was sending these women to Abyssinia to keep the soldiers’ morale high during their military campaign. Upon reaching Mombasa, Dahl continues his journey to Dar es Salaam in Tanganyika, which is now known as Tanzania. When he reaches the city of Dar es Salaam, Dahl is awestruck by its beauty. In Dar es Salaam, Dahl joins a small team of three young Englishmen running the Shell Company. They live luxuriously in a large house, attended by a domestic staff that includes a cook, a gardener, and personal “boys” who act as servants. Dahl’s “boy,” Mdisho, is a Mwanumwezi tribesman and is known for his loyalty and competence. As it was considered improper for the local staff to speak English, Dahl quickly learns Swahili.

One morning, Dahl notices a black mamba snake approaching Salimu, the shamba-boy, or gardener. Dahl shouts a warning, but the snake is already dangerously close. Salimu, aware that running was futile due to the snake’s speed, faces the mamba with remarkable composure. He waits until the last possible moment before striking the snake’s back with the metal prongs of the rake, pinning it to the ground. As the snake writhes in pain, Dahl rushes downstairs. Salimu assures him it is under control, then delivers a final blow to the snake’s head, killing it. This act of bravery forges a bond between Dahl and Salimu, with Dahl feeling immense gratitude for the opportunity to help save Salimu’s life.

About a month after the black mamba incident, Dahl sets out on a safari upcountry with Mdisho. After several days of travel, they arrive in Tabora, a modest town inland from Dar es Salaam, where they stay with the British District Officer, Robert Sanford. The District Officer, along with his wife Mary and their three young children, welcome Dahl.

The tranquil evening is abruptly interrupted by Mdisho, who shouts that a lion is attacking the cook’s wife. They see a lion trotting away with the cook’s wife in its jaws, followed closely by the cook himself, who tries to rescue her. Sanford, aiming carefully, fires a warning shot that startles the lion, causing it to drop the woman and flee. Miraculously, the cook’s wife is unharmed, attributing her safety to pretending to be dead. The incident leaves everyone astonished, as it defies the typical behavior of lions, which generally only attack when provoked or threatened. Sanford decides not to pursue and kill the lion, believing it had not intended to harm the woman.

This extraordinary event captures the attention of the East African Standard, leading to Dahl’s first published work. The incident sparks widespread discussion among experts and hunters, but no satisfactory explanation for the lion’s behavior was ever found.

One evening, while visiting the house of an Englishman named Fuller, Dahl spots a large green mamba entering the house. Startled, he quickly informs Fuller, who fetches a renowned local snake expert, Donald Macfarlane. Macfarlane, a small, elderly, yet agile Scotsman, arrives with thick leather gloves and boots, carrying a long wooden pole with rubber prongs and a sack. He approaches the house quietly to avoid alarming the snake while Dahl and Fuller observe from the veranda.

Inside, the snake-man finds the family’s dog dead on the living-room floor. After several tense minutes of searching, he spots the green mamba along the skirting board. Using calming words, Macfarlane inches closer and, with a sudden move, pins the snake’s body to the floor with his pole. What follows is a careful and dangerous operation where Macfarlane gradually maneuvers the snake’s thrashing body towards its head using the pole, finally grasping it firmly behind the head with his gloved hand. He swiftly bags the snake, tying the sack tightly as it writhes inside.

In late August 1939, Dahl explains to Mdisho that war with the Germans would break out soon. He explains the situation in Europe and the threat posed by Germany under Hitler. Mdisho is eager to preemptively attack local Germans, but Dahl emphasizes the European rules of war, much to Mdisho’s frustration.

As war becomes inevitable, Dahl is drafted as a temporary army officer tasked with rounding up German nationals. Given command of a platoon of Kenyan troops, Dahl is ordered to block the escape route to Portuguese East Africa and detain any Germans trying to flee. Setting up a blockade on the coast road, Dahl and his platoon wait. After an anxious night in the jungle, they receive word that war had been declared. Soon, a convoy of German vehicles appears, led by a belligerent man brandishing a Luger. Tensions escalate as the Germans, armed and defiant, confront Dahl. When the German leader threatens Dahl’s life, a single shot from the concealed troops kills the German instantly, dispersing the Germans and averting further violence. Dahl, maintaining composure, orders the Germans to turn back and follow his trucks to the internment camp.