The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-12-20
BIG POSSIBILITIES
By FRANK G. CARPENTER.

propose to construct a track inland from the ivory coast, and they have important railways in operation in Senegal
 To Open Up Nigeria.
 The English have some railroads in their colonies upon the Gulf of Guinea. There is one 14 miles long, which goes from Lagos to Ibadan. This has just been extended to Oshogbo, which is 62 miles farther, and 1t will be built on from there into Northern Nigeria to con meet with one of the most important roads in Africa, which Is now being con- structed. Northern Nigeria Is almost as large as Texas, and 1t has more than ! 100000 people. 4 great part of 1t is high and healthy, and it promises to be ! one of the richest lands of West Africa. Its inhabitants are more like the Egyp- i tians or Algerians than the gulf negroes. i They are Mohammedans and are noted ! for their thrift and intelligence. In the past these people have been supplied al- most entirely by the caravans which | cross the Sahara. Their chief town is l Kano, the terminus of the trade routes l from TFipoll and the Upper Niger, which | in olden times had caravan connection with the ocean, with the Mediterranean, 1 and with the Red sea.
 This road which is now building will i make it possible to take goods to Kano ! by steam. It is to begin at the town of l Bora, the highest navigable point on the 1 Niger and to extend from there 400 miles ! eastward to Kano.
 i When the road is built all the sup ] plies for northern Nigeria will be sent ] to the Gulf of Guinea Up the Niger and 1 inland by rail- and the caravan trade l will be destroyed as far as crossing the
 Sahara is concerned. This will be great , blow to the countries along the Mediter- ranean.
 A loan for this Algerian railway has already been authorized by the British l government, and l understand that the line is to be pushed with all possible
 speed. The track is to be of a 40-inch
 gauge, and is to be completed within four years The cost is estimated at
 about $7,OOOOOO or $S,OO0.OOO, and it will be
 met by bonds raised on southern Nigeria, the interest of which will be guaranteed
 by the government. As to dividends the
 road will hardly pay much for some
 time to come. It will greatly develop the
 country, however, and it is advocated by
 the authorities as military necessity. A Big Trans-African Line.
 These rich lands of Nigeria form an
 important link in another big scheme
 which is to join the Mediterranean coun-
 tries with both East and West Africa
 This is to combine a railroad across the
 Sahara, to be built by the French, with one to be made by the Germans, going | through the Kameruns to the Gulf of 1 Guinea and branch lines extending east | and west from these two The French
 part of the road may be built southward l to Timbuctoo, or, what is more probable, | go to the southeast and strike hano. I
 went over the first 400 miles or so of this
 road. It now extends from Gran along | the border between Morocco and Algeria l to Colomb Bechar, in the heart of the
 desert l also saw the railway which i leads from eastern Algeria down to
 Biskra in the Sahara. It Is more prob | able that the latter road will be extended
 than the former, and I understand the | survey from Biskra to Lake Chad has | been made. The road will go to the oasis l of Wargla and thence up the Ichargar | valley. It will cross the Amadgor range | of mountains at an altitude about that 1 of the Alleghenies, and will thence make | its way to Kuka, oF Lake Chad. The
 cost of construction is estimated at about
 $16,0O0 per kilometer. From Kuka the
 Germans are expected to take the road
 down through the Kameruns to the At
 lantic and there will probably be an ex-
 tension westward to Kano to connect
 with the Algerian line above spoken of,
 and also other branches which might l connect with the roads of the Congo.
 To Tlmbuctoo by Steam.
 Timbuctoo has always seemed one of 1 the most lnacceSS1Dle parts or the world.
 It will surprise many to know that it can now be reached by steam The French l have built a railway from KayeS to the ] Niger, a distance of 343 miles and they have also road connecting St Louis and Dakar. One can go by steamer from l St. Louis to Kayes, and on the vessels of | the Niger from there to within a few miles of Timbuctoo. The time is com paratively short and the expense incon- 1 siderable.
 1 Timbuctoo itself has dwindled. It used
 to be one of the chief trading stations on | the southern side of the Sahara, and | caravans of thousands of camels from Morocco and Algeria came there every
 year. Today the most of the goods go | by this steam route, and the camel trade amounts to but little. Timbuctoo is now not even a mission center, and the old 1 song has lost its meaning. You may re- member it:
 | T would I were cassowary
 1 Tn the wilds of Timbuctool
 l Wouldn't I eat a missionary,
 | Skin and bones and hymn book, too?" Educating the Natives. ! 1 On the other hand, mission work is | increasing in West Africa. The churches | were never so strong nor the converts more numerous. The various govern ments have assumed their part of the white mans burden and are introducing schools at the principal centers. i It is five years since the French adopt ed a uniform system of education for l their West African colonies and they