The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-05-19
MAY CROSS SAHARA
IN RAILROAD CARS
What the French Are Doing to
Open Up the Greatest Desert
y on Earth.
n r71
THREE ROUTES SURVEYED
Five Hundred Miles OF Track.
\ Passenger and Freight Traffic.
Ii The Soudan.
THREE ROUTES SURVEYED
ny FRANK G. CARPENTER
AT Biskra. In The Desert OF Sahara.

AT blShTA, III lbeScIl u
"-HE railroad is bound to revolu
tioniZe the African continent.
Already the iron horse, whose
Il breath Is smoke and whose
eye IS fire. is beginning to
light UP the darker spots of these
BLACKLIST regions on the globe. The
work Is rapidly going on in Eastern
Africa, where they are building a line
from the Cape of Good Hope to Cairo
This has been extended from the Medi-
terrnnean southwark for distance
as great as from the Atlantic to far
beyond the Mississippi and the extern
sion from Cape Town to the north is
greater still. The Rhodesia Railway
system reached the Zambesi River in
1906. During the past year it was eX-
tended beyond that point at th- rate
OF almost one mile per day, and Is now
at the Broken Hill mines within less
than 500 miles of Lake Tanganyika. 1
expect to go along the greater part of
this route before I leave Africa. and
will be able to describe the various
stages.
From the coasts OF both east and
west Africa. railroads are being built
into the interior, which will give acces 8
to the central and southern parts OF
tho continent. Hero In the north the
French colonies have an extensive rail-
way system; Egypt is gridironed Will,
tracks. and trunk lines arc being sur
veyed In the Soudan and in the Congo
Valley.
Africa Versus the World.
In fact, railroad building is now
going on In Africa about as fast as
in any other part of the world The
continent is increasing It's mileage
at the rate of over 80 per cent. per
year. and while it has yet the fewesi
lines Of any of the grand divisions
Of the globe, It's means of communlca-
ton are rapidly growing.
At present tho chief railroad con-
tlnent is North America. 1t has be.
tween 100000 and 100000 miles of iror
tracks. Next comes Europa with les:
than 100000 miles, and after that Asil
with something like $4,000. Australia
has 10000 miles OF railroad lines. anc
countries of the world tho United
States leads in It's iron highways W.
have more tracks than all Europe, ant
three times as many as all tho con
Y tnents outside ours.
Here in Africa the principal rail
roads may be grouped into three sys
TENS. The first embraces the Tunisian
Algerian roads Of the Atlas Mountains
the second the Egyptian lines, and tn
third the South African roads, whicl
have n greater mileage than those O
the o:her two systems combined.
The Railroads Of the Atlas.
In this letter shall deal only wit
the railways of Northwestern Africf
and of several which tho French ar
projecting across the Sahara, Durin
the past few months I have traverse
nearly every mile of track in the re
xion of the Atlas, and have gone owe
tho roads which are being pushed dow
into the desert. l am writing thes
notes at BiSkra, In the Sahara at FIJI
end of railroad which takes on
almost 200 miles south of the Mcdltel
ranean Sea. and have already in
spected the military line which goe
down into the desert far below th
point along the borders of Morocco.
1t is generally claimed that til
french are not good colonizers, an