Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-02-09
New Telegraph Line That is Now
Nearing Completion.
THROUGH FORESTS AND JUNGLES
Work Has Been Hindered by All
Sorts of Obstacles.
CECIL Rhodes SCHEME
pecIal Correspondence of The Evening Star

Special Correspondence OF The Evening star
LONDON. January %, 1901.
Lions, hyenas. savages. tropic fevers and
extraordinary difficulties have combined
forces to prevent one OF the most significant
enterprises of the nineteenth century from
being completed at the beginning Of the
twentieth. The singular conflict began
seven years ago and attracted the worlds
attention at the time, but was soon forgot
ten by almost every one except those per-
sonally interested.
1t seems, however, that the struggle has
gone steadily and that the forces Of
darkness have been fighting losing battle.
The work is we'll along toward completion,
and In two. or at most In three. years the
residents Of any American city, to say moth
ing of Europe, can send a message flying in
a minute down the whole length of Africa,
past the homes of the Pharaohs, through
jungles which explorers in our own day
were the first to penetrate, and on to the
bloody battlefields Of the south
Progress on this wonderful telegraph line
spanning 5000 miles from Cairo to the Cape
has been unnoticed of late not only because
the war in South Africa made so much
noise, but also because the line has now
reached point about far away from civ
1llzatfon as 1t is possible to get In these
days.
An unbroken line of poles and wire now
stretches 5000 miles up from the Cape to a
point fifty miles north of the town Of Ka-
sanga, on the shore Of Lake Tanganyika in
German East Africa.
More Than Three-FOurths Done,
This means that the backbone of the long
Job is broken, for only 1000 miles intervene
between Kasanga and the southern ex-
tremity of the Egyptian telegraph line.
with which the system will connect, and
the physical difficulties for this last stretch
are trivial compared with those In some
of the districts through which the line has
already been carried. All but 800 miles of
the remaining 1000, too, can be served with
poles. apparatus and supplies by water in
stead OF their being dragged overland on
the backs of, native porte,s
the worst part of the long march Is that
which has just been put behind in the
mountainous, heavily wooded and malari-
Gus tract lying between Lake Tanganyika
and Salisbury, in eastern Rhodesia. Ka-
sanga and its neighberhood, however, oc-
cupy a high plateau, sloping abruptly to
the lake shore on the west, and on the east
falling more gently to become a fertile,
undulat1ng country stretching to the sea
coast and through this region the course
Of the line will run until it mounts upward
again to meet the Egyptian telegraph.
Terrible Rayages of Disease.
The Drawing of abysmal mountain chasms,
telling of gigantic trees. in carrying the
penetrable forests: bridging of endless
swamps. which in the rainy season become
roaring torrents, and the necessity of work.
ing in defiance of wild beasts and savages
have not been the worst difficulties that the
men who have built this line have had to
face. Their task was delayed nearly a
year by the combination Of two forces the
terrible and far-spreading animal disease,
rfnderpest, which exterminates horses
and cattle. and the war with the Matabeles
Oddly enough. the one mainly brought
about the others, for the natives chief
reason for rising was their misunderstand-
ing Of the white mans object in killing
cattle infested with rinderpest, but not no.
tceably 80. The natives believed the white
man was trying to starve them, and in re-
turn they tore down his telegraph poles,
cut his wire up and made bullets of it, and
fired them back at him. In that struggle
500, 900 worth Of the African Transconti-
mental Company's supplies were destroyed.
What an enemy to the project malaria
has proved outsiders are permitted only to
guess. The officials of the telegraph COM
pany were silent when pressed the point,
remarking merely that many men are
careless about taking precautions against
the disease. leaving the assumption that
the mortality rate has been high, an as
sumption that Is confirmed by the report of
Grogan. the explorer, who states that at
different points Of the construction he saw
some OF the men In charge supervising the
work in filters. racked with fever. while the
prevailing temperature was 1O4.
Chewed Up by a Lion.
There has been less difficulty with the
animals along the way than was expected
Occasionally one of the telegraph poles has
yielded to the efforts OF an elephant who
saw In it desirable scratching post but
only once has wild beast caused death in
the camp. This was lion, an old lion, and
evidently a skilled hand. They knew he
he old HOn for ho
and enfeebled Leo cares to attack man.
This seems rather paradoxical, but the rea-
son is that the leonine valetudinarian tray
els too slowly to overtake and devour other
animals, as he once did, and has to sneak
around after human meat
This particular lion did business at night,
and one after the other he dragged six
natives from their huts and devoured them
His success encouraged him, and he de-
c!ded to gather in a little white meat, and
on the seventh night helped himself to an
Englishman. This was mistake, for the
white man put up pretty fight, calling
Justify for help ali the time, and Leo fell,
shot with many bullets. He was only one
Of many, however. for while the animals
have generally refrained from attacking the
engineers the men have not exercised the
same restraint but have enjoyed many a
days shooting.
The natives started in to make trouble,
but experience with white men has taught
the African something and he rarely cares
to attack an armed force. At first he un-
tremendously pulled down the poles which
the workmen had raised, but the surprising
effect Of certain dynamite experiments
which the builders promptly instituted in
his immediate vicinity inspired him with an
increased respect for the undertaking. This
feeling was accentuated after the eiec-.
trician had given him several shocks Of
the current, whereupon he declared that 1t
was a god. or Fetish" and after addressing
certain prayers to the wire let it severely
alone.
Working I'm the Savages.
Allstripes OF the African natives have these
engines come in contact with-tribes war
like and peaceful. in stature from six feet
six to pigmy frames Of four feet. Most
Of them live lazily. cultivating corn to some
extent, but making wild fruit their special
article Of diet, most of their work being
done by the women. Usually the chief
comes to meet the constructors, being borne
on the shoulders Of his retainers, for a
really dignified chief never walks When
he dies they smoke him for a year and bury
him In bark cloth. when his spirit Is sup
posed to take refuge in the body of lion.
That Is why the natives don't kill lions If
they can help 1t.
To the camp come the women of the VIII
lagos with corn and fruit to SELL They
are generally nude with the modest excep-
ton of string of beads about the waist