The sun., 1903-04-26
. CARE TO CAIRO RAILROAD.


. carr TO CAIRO RAILROAD.
Freedmen Hear II VIII Ne nuin Along
the D,ue Nilc Into Abyssinia.
The French newspapers have been print
ing sone rather wild reports 10 the efIsot
that a modest American expedition which
recently landed on the East African Goes.
has for its purpose the surveying OF a rail-
road route down the Blue Nile to Khar-
toum. These newspapers appear TO have
drawn unwarranted inferences from the
public plans OF an American explorer taken
togsther with clause in the recent treaty
b,twcen Great Britain and Abyssinia.
The name Of the American explorer In
". N. Mcmillan. lie lives In St. Louis.
and has mapped out for himself very
praiseworthy plan Of exploration. II Is
his intention to 90 to the very head sources
OF the Blue Nile among the mountains Of
Abyssiria and 10 follow that greatest tribu-
tary OF tho White Nile TO the confluence
OF the two rivers at Khar;oum,
This 10 q desirable scheme Of exploration.
Little Ii known about the sources OF the
Blue Nile except that the river issues from
Taapa. tho great mountain lake Of Abys-
ainia.
Tho Blue and the White Nile each has its
distinctive function in turning Egypt into
4 great garden. The larger part OF the
water which Egypt receives comes from
the White Nile; but the black mud that
settles over tho thous ands Of fields when
they are flooded, making them the richest
OF agricultural lands. is derived from the
mountain rock waste that Ia brought down
BY the Blue Nile. The latter river. there
fore. h very important TO Egypt. and II s
we'll worth while to learn all that oan be
known about the unexplored part Of Il.
In February last Mr.. Mcmillan landed
at Jibuti, a French port on the east coast.
accompanied by his secretary and q SER
want He had received permission from
King Menclek to carry out his explorations
among the Abyssinian head~aters Of the
river.
AZ Ads Abai,a. the capital OF Abyssinia.
he was to be joined by Col. Harrington,
the British resident there. and they were
to travel together to the headwa.ers Of the
Blue Nile and then start on their ono miles
journey down the river to Khartoum. One
OF the interesting results OF this journey,
II Il expected. will be the settlement Of
the question whether the Blue Nile is nsv.
Beotc iot q totik uistotlSe olu CNu Oc utu-
lied a . practicable trade route.
The French seem unnecessary to have
linked Mr.. McAfillan's undertak ing with
the concession that was given to Great
Britain by King Menelek on May IS last
when the treaty defining the boundary
line between Abyssinia and the Anglo
Egyptian Soudan was signsd. A clanse
In the treaty gives the British permission
to build Q part OF the Cape to Cairo rail-
road through southwestern Abyssi,,ia.
The reasons why the British desire to make
q long detour to the East In building this
railroad arc interesting.
II was fully decided over q year ago that
Il would he practically impossible to ex-
tend the railroad from Uganda down tho
White Nile to khart um. to which point
the railroad from Cairo 10 now completed.
Tho upper White Nile embraces a region
Of about u 900 square miles that Is known
a. the great swamp and 'sudd' diytrict
OF the upper Nlle. "..
Engin-~re have decided that it win be
impossible to build a railroad through this
district except at an expense that would
practically be prohibitory. Even II II were
possible 10 find q safe foundation for the
road, II would not be a desirable country
for railroad bull ding, because no whitc
men can 1.-Two In that dcsd!y climate and
even the native population is very sparse
For these reasons the idea was given up Of
stretching ths Hac along the White Nile
almost due north to khartoum.
The alternative sohems Is 70 build the
railroad from Khartoum up tho fertile valley
Of the Blue Nile, carrying 1t over the border
into Abyssinia and then southward through
. corner OF that country and along the
west side OF Lake Rudolf and thence south
east to Uganda. toward which the southern
part Of the transoontinenth Inc is now
pushing.
Tho concession which Ring Mene,ek
gave TO the, British Government was all
that was needed to make the now plan
feasible and there Is now no doubt that the
great railroad line, which Ia certain In a
few wears TO extend from the southern 70
tho northern coasts CT Africa, will no built
for short part Of the way through western
Abyssinia. There Is no reason 70 believe
that M. MoM;uan's enterprise ha, any
thing to do with tn. railroad scheme.
though. of course. all the now inform alton
he may obtain about the valley Of tho Blue
Nile will be helpful to the project.