Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-06-04
A READY-MADE CITY.
Il Is Built of Sheet Iron In British
East Africa.

| u Is 6ulIt OF Sneet IRON iH oiih'S'
East Africa.
One of the oldest of towns has just
risen to political distinction. Nairobi,
a European settlement on the high
plateau of east tropical Africa, has
been made the capital Of the British
East Africa Protectorate, says the
New York Sun.
| Mombasa, on the Indian Ocean, is
still the most important town CONNER
cially in the Protectorate, for its de-
velopment on European lines Is ad-
,vanced and it is the leading seaport
along the coast north Of Zanzibar
The great advantage Of Nairobi as the
seat of government is that 1t has
central position in the Protectorate,
being 32S miles from Mombasa, and
256 from Port Florence on Victoria
Nyanza, and it is on the edge Of the
lofty region where British farmers are
now settling and developing new
homes.
The nicknames Of Tin City" and
Zinc City," are applied to Nairobi by
the white men who have visited 1t.
There is not a wooden building in
the place.
Every building was constructed OF
galvanized iron, which was brought
from Europe in sheets ready to be fas-
tened together to form the walls, roofs
and partitions Of houses. The town
came into existence by the fiat OF Sir
George Whitehouse, the chief engineer
of the Uganda railroad.
Grumbling Britons who think he
might have chosen a more picturesque
site for the town agree that Sir George
is a good engineer, but say he has no
artistic sense His white tents were
scattered over the plain where the
town now stands when one morning
Sir George announced at his break
fast:
"On this spot we are going to have
large settlement. Here will be the
entrepot Of the Uganda railroad. Here
will be the machine shops and here
will live hundreds of our countrymen
and thousands of Indian and native
workmen."
Everybody was surprised. People
asked the chief why he had selected
this place on the vast Masia plateau,
where there was not an inhabitant or
tree. Why did he not choose for the
site of his town one Of the wooded
ridges within sight of the plateau? He
would have plenty of elbow room on
the fiat plain, but it offered no other
advantages.
WELL" said Sir George, Il have
been thinking of this matter for a
long time and the town will be built
on the plain.
There is not room for it on the
surrounding ridges. It's situation Is
irst-rate for our purposes. 1t Is high
and beautiful, and the railroad officials
with their families can live in this re-
gion in good health, while they would
probably die at Mombasa or Port
Florence.
"This spot Is right on the edge of
the territories occupied by the Nasal
and the Kikuyu, and here better than
In any other place we can manage
these two turbulent tribes. The land
rises rapidly to the north, and there
is the fertile region to which we are
going to invite British farmers.
"Nairobi Creek runs across the site
tn,-C
name of the settlement will be Nairobi
The homes Of the officials will be built
on these surrounding ridges, but all
other employees Of the railroad, with
all the shops and other interests OF
the place, will be in the town."
So the place has developed at great
rate. In December last it's population
consisted of 1852 persons, Of whom 162
were Europeans.