The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-03-20
UTOPIEN SCHEME
OF Professor Her.ssa Kaoesed in
tho Head by Won HohneL
The EAST AFRICAN EXPLORER.

SHOVE tho Absurdity or tho Plan Of
tho Frceland coIoby-rho Fertile
Slopes Already Denssly Populated
and tho Portions orths couatryNo
Populated Arc worthlsss-rho Ex.
pcricnoo of chanier's Party.
vienna, March 10.-Retorring TO the
Frieland colonization acheme Of Prof..
Theodore IIcr,zka, who atlll persists in
his endcavor to found an ideal colony
on the northeast coas. Of Africa, Lieu.
tenant Won Hohnol tho explorer. being
questioned concerning the appropriated
plateau OF Mount Konia, upon which 1t
Is proposed tho Frceland colony shall
settle, said to an Associated Press repre-.
sentative:
There exists no such plateau aud I
have already told DR.. Hertzka so. There
arc dcnsoly populated and fertile slopes
OMIT. kenia. Then tho long, Wide bar
ren and water,eas plain underneath, OK.
tending toward the also densely popu.
lated slopes OF tho Djembeni range on
tho northwest l will tell yoti all l
know oil tho Kenia country willingly as
a warning to tho young men going out
as free land colonists.r' I would consider
u criminal on my part to keep fromthem
The Information IL Is now In nv power
to give, They intend settling a~t'iirst
at q place on the Tana river DR.. Hertz.
ka called Harraze. Tho correct name
Ia Borati, and 1t isia deserted epot.
Some time ago the British East Africa
Company o.ected a large and excellent
~ put together stockndo round Borati
alfording shelter inside for about 800
men. Chanler and myself had a hard
struggle to cut n pathway for onr cara
van through tho jungle on the Tana
banks from Lamu on the coast OF b.
rati. We tloated up, as we wont, ten
canoes laden with stores. The 1ana is a
broad stream, very shallow and
full of sand banks mud trees
lying athwart the current. II doubt
very much II the Freelanders will BIO
able TO cover tho distance between
Lamu and Borati in q screw s.eamc:
drawing q feet. That is too deep a
draught The land to the northwards
outside the palisade is useless for cult
yation. 1t is sandy, undulating, stony
covered with acacias waterloss and un-
Inhabited. That is the description from
my diary. Tho woods on tho banks are
very dense. Tho natives OF tho Gala
and Wapokomo tribes arc friendly and
they can barely support Themselves by
filling. They live two hour and five
hour marches on either side from.
Borati. The Fani river opposite the
palisade is about 200 PAGES wide. The
climate at Borati is good.
"0ur expedition arrived there in No
vember, 1892, 1856 men all told. The.
beasts OF burden began to die like flies
after our arrival. We had, therefore,
to stay there in Lager and We sub
aisted chiefly as v%ecetarians. We liked
up gardens on the river banks and
lived of the produce. The Freeland
.c~olonists are quite welcome to these and
they will find that their husbaudry
must BIO confined to that email tract. 1t
is ridiculous to consider the sandy land
outside the palisade suitable, I ain
cerely trust these young ~colouists will
be luckier than Mr.. Chanler aud myself
were. We failed utterly in our means
OF transport, completely broke down.
Again Borali is no base OF operations for
Mt Kenia. The Tana riyeris no longer
navigable and its banks are dense
~ wooded along the entire course.
Then comes the waterless, uninhabited
plain, n onc.day's march across lying
between tho Tana and the slopes Of
kenia. Even if the imaginary plateau
OF kenia did existing the route is a bad
u for commerce. Then again every
square yard OF this part Of Northeast
Africa is densely populated wherever
the land is productive and watercd.
The Djembeni range is thirty miles
long and possesses 10000 inhabitants.
The slopes OF Mt. kenia have a large
population. including the very warliEe
tribes Of ka,zeri and Kikuyu., Ii the
Freeland colonists wish to settle on the
base OF Mt. kenia they must fight for
the district they seize and live after
wards under %stockades and on thellook-
out.
And what will be tho business fca-
ture OF the colony2" The correspond
ent inquired.
Count Taleki said with emphasis: I'll
the British East Africa Company, alter
sinking more than n couple OF million
pounds, could do nothing with this dis
trict, is 1t likely that q Amall colony
could be settled there with any chance
OF success?' "