St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1890-11-20
SOUTH A ERICA.

The southern part of the Dark
Continent" is as full of enterprise, if
not more so, than the northern,
eastern and western. While the
M OmbaSa-Nyanza railway was be
ing inaugurated at Zanzibar, the
Natal Colony was pushing its road
to Cold Stream, on its northern
border, only one hundred and thirty
miles from johannesburg, that Afri-
can Ell Dorado, to which there has
been a rush for the past two years.
1t IS expected that before the end of
another year the iron horse, starting
from Durham, Natal's seaport town,
will reach the interior of the Trans
vaal Republic The Orange Free
State IS also to be connected with
the Indian ocean by rail. An i'm
mense amount of hard work is to be
done, long tunnels to be dug through
the Ouathlamba range of mountains,
from FIVE to eight thousand feet high
but the Natalians are wide-a wake,
and do not intend to be outstripped
in efforts to connect the richest parts
of South Africa with their beautiful
colony. The Dutch Beers, who at
first were opposed to having their
farms cut up by railroads, now see
that they must exchange their big
wagons, each drawn by a ''span" of
fourteen or sixteen oxen, for a loco
motive that will drag at one time
fifty times the weight their wagon
could take to the market.
The presidents of both the Trans
vaal and Free Sta tie are in favor of
railways throughout their republics.
Ere long, the greatest mushroom
city in Africa" will be more like Chi
cago than any other place with its
railroad lines, one from the Cape of
Good Hope, via Kimberly, another
from Port Natal, a third from Della
goa bay, via Barberton, and i'll due
time, forth from Shoshong, or the
spot which will be selected by Eng
lands chartered company as the
capital of South Central Africa.
Contractors for the Natal and
Orange Free State road say that by
the end of S91 the rails will be laid
to Harrismith, the first Dutch town
reached after scaling the ''Apennines
of South Africa And now, Mirabile
dictul the latest news is that an
American syndicate proposes to tap
South Africa" by constructing a rail
way from Walfsch bay on the west
ern coast, passing outside of Dema-
rara Land to the Ngami region, and
on to Mashonaland or the Matabele
country, wherever Englishmen, now
busy prospecting, choose to select a
centre for trade From the ubiquit-
GUS Americans funds were provided
to start the DelagOa bay track, and
now, although they do not get a
share of the continent, a 1t Is divided
among the nations, they will not
lose the chance of making some
money there That the proposition
is a sensible one appears from the
facts that Walisch bay, the starting
point, has one of the finest harbOrS
on the African coast, one that will
shelter the entire English fleet; also
that there are no engineering difficult
ties, the country being level most of
the way, and no hostile tribes to
encounter Should this scheme be
carried out, it is said the richest part
of England's new territory in the
south central part of the continent
can be reached from London within
two weeks The port at Walfsch
bay will be the Liverpool of Africa, -
and the various ports on the south
eastern coast become secondary III
Importance That Europeans are
not afraid to invest money III the de
velopment of this part of the CONT
nent Is evident from the report that
a Dutch South African Railway
company has lately been formed at
Brussels. which proposes to extend
its enterprise and increase it to thir-
teen million florins by three issues OF
new shares of three million forins
each before 1894"
The late Anglo-POrtuguese conven-
ton terminated more peacefully than
was feared. Both nations ought to
be satisfied. Portugal obtains a
country equal to four Portugals, and
England secures for herself the free
navIga ton of theZambezi river She
Will now have no hindrance in in
creasing the number of her settle
ments on the highlands about Lake
Nyassa, and by right of discovery,
can claim the whole country from
Victoria Falls to Jumbo, and on to
the region of the Barotsi. How ran
idly the Anglo-Saxon race is taking
possession of the richest part of the
continent 1t has been remarked
that South African colonies now
have clear run from the Cane in
about Latitude $50 to the south end
of Lake TanganyIka in latitude %