Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-01-07
ERITREA,s NEW CAPITAL.
Italians Establish a Fine City in Their
COLONY on the Red Sea.

( NOiOuy on the keQ Sea.
The Italian colony of "ritrca in Africe.
tronaa- ON the Red Sea. has new en-
p3'lL The distinction has been taken
from N&ssawah. which is centrally sit
i"Itd en- the coast. but i one uf tile
/ hottest towns IN the world and has a
very Unhcalthful climate
! Al TIE government Offices !arated here
since Italy entered tho country. are now
/ - ne moved. The governor OF Eritrra,
| tCydinaud Martini. has induced the
! ttajau government 10 transfer The capital
! 10 the sa3nhrlouS heights uf the Interior
/ -N>maft' a mile and a half above the seq.
/ IS TIE eity selected for the houor
A@mara Is only sixty miles from Mas
1 saWa3, bnt greater contrast than that
! between i"" two plates could scarcely be
/ imagined
/ Ma>>aWah has been a pe~tholp for the
| t0lopea@~ settled there, The death ratr
among the thousand Europeans has been
very great.
/ II les scarcely above the surface Of the
He'd Sea. While Asmarl is $50 feet above
! sea tNci. Win a climate that is scarcely
surpassed anywhere, The ,emaerature Of
A>m&I1 hardly ever rises abuae ~ de-
Srcc> tagIcnhrit aud thH minimum tenn
/ pera,1rt is about II degrees Fahrenheit.
FhjN Is freezing weather and the natives
down an the coastal plain ts,ald not en-
dulf A. But the hardy tribes of the
| great plateau We'll wrapped in native.
cloths AMI imported cnttultS. thrive In this
hnr att. None OF the diseases which af-
/ tilct the tropics can gain a roothald here.
W acn tdr Italians occupied Asmara in
lNt' there were only a few score hutS
ANA an AhySSinan fort. ASmara nov
/ has g population of 5000. of whom 1000
ar" Europeans The whites include
few GreckS and Norwegian missionaries,
3,l the others being Italians
The town is in the midst of splrn
did pastures. and ITS name signifies good
plACe 10 feed the tlockS" MANY varieties
Of trees ana not few European crops
are thriving aroInd it.
Italy Speut two years in building the
wagon road that winds up the face of
the mighty wall Of this plateau. II is
one OF the most remarkable wagon roads
In the world
1t winds from terrace to terrace
through deep cuts in the rock. through
many tunnels, and along the precinitouS
face Of the wall where it has been hewn
out al the rocs. Al many points the
view for thousands OF square miles over
the coastal plain and sen is surprising
ly beautiful The road is wide enough
for wagons TO pass one another and Il
barrier Of hcwn thinkers has been built
along the outer edge wherever safety re-
Quired.
The railroad from MaSsawah extends
30 Macatat, not mauy miles from the
base of the wall. aud the wagon road
from Mucatat to Asmaru is forty-tw0
miles long, Stages run daily over the
rood. the passenger fare 10 Asmara being
81. 1t takes seventeen hours for the
mules 60 draw the coaches To tho top of
the plateau FROM whose edge ASmara is
only "A mile and II half distant
Italy intends To build u railroad up to
Asmara, but the enterprise may not be
c9rricd on for years. The cost viii he
enormous
The new capital is already European
town, with fine villas for the wel-tu-do
whites. cafes. a theatcr, a casino. Il hotel.
poStollicr aud tine public aud private gar
dcu~. Some of the hcst farming lands Of
Africa spread away for a great distance
and this LOFTY part of the Italian colony
\ ork sun.