The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-07-20
TOWING The TRAIN.

An African Railroad Where Travellers
Eave to WORK Their Passage.
The first railroad built in the in
terror rof tropical Africa was the little
| line ninety miles long which connects
| the towns of Hayes and Bafoulabe on
| the Senegal river in Senegambia.
! Steamers run up the Senegal from the
ocean ITO Hayes where the river be-
comes. yunnavigable; and the railroad
line tosisafoulabe is the first section of
the extension of steam facilities to the
Niger river, which in time will give
uninterrupted steam communication
between the. sea and the upper Niger.
Awhile ago, according to the New
YorksSun, a gentleman who travelled
over this railroad said that it was in a
very shabby condition. At one part of
the line a, force of one hundred ma
tives, supplied with long ropes, was
employed ito give a helpful tow to
trains.
Lieut.. Jai1ne, of the French navy,
VINO 1naae~a name by his trip to Tim
buktu in a. .gunboat, confirms the re-
port that the natives are used for
draslght purposes to exc out the insult
ficient power of the locomotives.
A picture in the book just published
by Lieut.. Jaime shows the train
that took his party over the road.
He says that several times dur
ing the journey the locomotive or one
of theS cars was derailed, and hours
were lost in boosting them upon the
track again. Once in awhile every
body on. the cars would jump off, in
order to nake pull at the tow line or
apply their shoulders to the train.
The 70 added has not been kept in
good con uition. The locomotives are
more or less out of repair, and for a
distance o1ssixmiles most of the motive
force was supplied by the natives with
their long ope. The picture shows a
place whereA only the members of
Lieut. James party were eking out
the motive power. Some of them are
seen in front of the engine, hauling on
the rope, and Others are at the sides of
the cars, APPLYING all their strength
toward forward movement.
Though thel condition of this little
railroad is something to excite hilar-
ity there is no doubt that it is the be-
ginning of an important railroad en-
terprise. The tine has been surveyed
all the way tos the Niger river, and,
without stopping to repair the section
of the road now IN operation, engineers
and workmen have begun to grade the
line beyond Basoalabe, and in the
course of year. or SO it will be ad-
vanced thirty or forty miles further
beyond the Niger river. 1t will be an
important event when this railroad is
completed, for then Timbuktu can be
reached from every center of civiliza-
ton by steam; and by the time the rail-
road reaches the Niger there is little
doubt thattwhite men will be admitted
freely into the famous and fanatical
city which so long has excluded for
eign intercourse. The last white man
to enter Timbuktu was DR.. LEM twelve
years ago.
The news comes that Col Archinard
has completely established the SOW
ereignty of France in the great country
OF Macina, south of Timbuktu, and
has placed on the throne one of the
royal heirs who can be wholly con-
troiled by French influences. The
most important result of this great
success is that Archinard has thus
opened way by the Niger to Tim
buktu, for this city is dependent. COM
mercially speaking, upon Macina.
The French expect to induce the chief
OF Ilmbuktu to accept a protectorate,
and as they now control tho rac-ioD
that gives 10 TiInbul1tu all the com
merce and wealth it possesses, there is
no doubt that Timbuktu will be forced
TO come to terms and open its gates TO
the world