Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-02-09

swept within a short time. killing on the
animals on which the "tsetse'' fly exists,
and obliging him to emigrate to pastures
new.
Heather Operators, Too.
All the native porters have to be paid In
advance, and they have to be watched with
an eagle eye. too, or they and whatever
they are carrying will be among the miss
ing. Keeping track OF them is no lazy
mans job. either. for q line of 200 OF them
stretches over a mile and half. The
white men garb their dusky carrier in
py1ama-like suits of cotton, a distinction
that makes him not only terrific swell
among his kinsmen and women, but con-
fers upon him special dignity as the
and learn quickly, how to raise the poles
and string the wires. and some OF them
have even become operators.
At each one of the long string of stations
that have been opened-Goodzema, Gee
long, Umchabez. Figtree. Gwelo Que Que
and others as piquantly named-a white
operator and two three natives have
been left, and other natives under English
bosses" are constantly patrolling the line.
on the lookout for breaks or impediments,
for even spiders web will spoil the con-
nection on a dewy morning.
Sixteen Englishmen compose the, con-
structton staff, the chief constructor and
his assistants, who number two; sur
veyor and an assistant surveyor: a trans
port officer with two assistants, an engi-
neer and seven workman. There are be-
tween 200 and 600 native porters. accord
Ing to the state of the market. OF course,
the nearer the completion the line becomes.
the farther must the supplies and poles be
carried from the south. At first wooden
poles were used. but now iron ones have
superseded them altogether. They are
made in sections, each of which can be car
ried separately, then fitted together and
planted In iron shoes.
Except when the difficulties of the coun-
try prevent, the telegraph line is following
the course of the Cape of Cairo railway,
one OF the good points of this arrangement
being that one series of repair stations will
do for both.
In speaking Of the prospects of the tele-
graph high official connected with the
British South African Company said to the
writer few days ago:
VIII Transform Africa.
II believe this is the biggest enterprise
of the kind ever carried out, for 1 think
that neither in Australia nor America did
line so far precede civilization. The ad-
vantages Of the Cape to Cairo telegraph.
1t seems to me- lie in the facility with
which it Will enable principal and agent
to communicate with each other, and the
saving 1t will bring about in cable rates.
Commerce in South Africa will benefit
greatly by the line. Heretofore compare
lively few exploration parties have been
sent out, because 1t was impossible to keep
in communication with them. and report
from such party once in six months Is
hardly sufficient. Companies doing bust
ness In South and Central Africa will be
able to carry on trade with a smaller force
than heretofore.
more prospecting for gold will be done.
We shall follow the mountains north. for
We know that the precious metal generally
follows the ranges-and we shall IND 1t
there as we found 1t further south. All
this will be furthered by the fact that the
new line will be tapped by several others
on each side. Only few days ago the
German legislature passed bill arranging
for an extension of their line in German
be other lines from Uganda and the Congo
Free State, not to mention other projected
ones. All of this will bring our scattered
and remote dependencies into immediate
touch with headquarters
One-Man Affair.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about
this wonderful line of light thrown on the
dark continent Is that it is a one-man
affair Cecil Rhodes dreamed 1t. planned 1t.
raised the money for 1t and got the most
important right Of way for 1t outside or
British territory by personal interview
with that other big man, Emperor William
of Germany. Incidentally that reminds me
of what was once said to me by famous
Englishman who had met personally all OF
the men mentioned: . .
According to present Indications he
observed, there are only four really great
men in the world-the Gear of Russia, En-
peror William of Germany, Cecil Rhodes
and J. Pierpont Morgan" The speaker
happened to be particular admirer OF the
car, but he did not at all approve OF the
Rhodes Colossus.
Mr.. Rhodes raised all the money for the
line among a few of his personal friends.
and at the same time laid the foundations
for his Cape to Cairo railway, now ouiit
"a far north as Bulawayo and soon 10
stretch as far Victoria falls. When botn
enterprises are completed the man whose
brain gave birth to them will come nearer
than ever to being Africa.s uncrowneo
king. SOniiS oio