The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-05-18
INTERIOR or AFRICA.
Ser lo.J >n..

"i livcs aud q 't>t sum # money.
Eight lcas- s, la,l March, The first
-od wa tara /. f,s the building nf lll~
railroad ana or Alnrch lG this year,
the lccnmrtI,c stood at last on the
>hos, .! Stanley Pool, at pnlo. the in.
and tornaini, ni the road From thi
point he ~ Steamboat. that are pIy
IL on tie upper CONGO may load with
erci"ht brought by the ear, and Curry
i many hundreds Of miles nn the
nam rivci on lis northern ani south
IN tributaries to the heart of inner
Airlca The great fact j hat 10000
miles of navirablc waterways in the
interior Of Africa have been placed in
steam communication with America
and Europe by the completion Of this
railroad
The starting point Of the railroad l.,
Matadi, 80 miles from the Atlantic
Ocean. Steamships from Europe Of
5000 tons burden easily ascend the
lowcs Congo to Matad, where they tie
VI at the wharf and transfer their
cnrgocs to the freight cars near at
hand. Next comes the railroad. 240
miles long, built around the long Sc
ylcs of impossible rapids and cataracts
in the lower Congo.
1t is wonderful system Of water
ways, and fleet Of fiat bottomcd,
Stcrnwhccl steamers are now plying
on this great network Of rivers Stan
ley Pool7:has... been aptly called the
window through which the world may
look out upon the whole Of inner
tropical Africa. Starting from Stan
ley Pool the steamer may travel for
days ,and weeks on these highways,
threading all the streams as far as
they arc indicated on the map and
penetrating deep into the sayannas and
forests Of inner Africa. one Of the
greatest rubber regions in the world
and abounding with ivory and other
rich resources.
All the news that has been yet re
ceived Of the fortunate completion of
the railroad is contained in this brief
despatch which was tclcgrarhcd from
Stanley Pool Oil March lG to The coast
by Civil i;nginccl i;olrin. he director
i'm Afrirn of The ,ynrl
The locomotive arrived to. day ut
Dolo.
This despatch was forwarded by the
mail steamer to Major Thys, the direc-
tor general of the Congo State at
BRUSSELS and he at once tclcgraphcd
the glad tidings to.King Leopold, Mr.
Stanley and otherrmcn in Europe who
have been the promoters Of the enter
prise. Their replies arc printed in
the last number of the official organ
of the Congo State. The king simply
says: Il am rcjoiccd at the great news
and send you my warmest congratula-
tions. : Mr.. Stanley replied: "Your
glorious news rejoiccd me beyond all
expression. Belgium may well be
proud Of having completed the first
railroad in equatorial Africa send
my warmcst Fluctuations to the king,
TO the directors Of the railroad and to
the rcrscvcring Rclgian people May
God shower bcncdictions upon your
noble work
1t was Stanley who wrote L.; years
ago that the upper Congo would hard
ly be worth sixpcncc to the world Of
commerce till this railroad was built,
for he did not believe that anything
but ivory would stand the excessive
cost of transportation OH the heads of
men around the 2;35 miles Of catara,tS
which the railroad would circumvcnt
nc was not quite correct in this prog
nostication; for vast quantity Of rub
bcr has been carried around the cata-
racts and sold in Europe ut Il good
profit.
But now that the railroad is built,
the world will be able to utilize for the
first time Il large variety Of other pro
ducts, such rs cotton and palm oil, the
forests Of gum producing trees. the
ebony and lyewoods. and best Of all,
the incXhaustiblc rubber resources
that make the Congo basin one of the
richest OF tropical regions. The rail
road brings the commercial world into
easy communication with 20 ,Uun. .UUO
Of moderately industriou, people.
many thousands of whom have been
doing good service for some years in
the collection Of rubber for export.
and whose field Of usefulness. both for
themselves and for the trading ma
tions, will now be vastly widcncd.
1t took Il great deal Of courage.