Omaha daily bee., 1908-08-30

ANHf W NNANk ~ GaNnouNeEsl
~-RoKEN HILL. Northwest Rho
LID de~sia-(special Correspondence
OF The Bee)-I am at the
- Broken Hill mines, $50 miles
EW,fH north OF the zambesi river ana
ct the northern end OF the rail-
road system OF South Africa. This Is the
ran head OF the Cape to ART trunk line,
Which now reaches from here 20 Cane
TOWN. a distance Of more than 2OoO miles.
! am quite as far from the Cape Of Good
rope as from Boston to Denver. and far
tner north OF the southernmost point Of
Africa than Hudson Bay IL north OF the
oulf OF Mexico. The road is only temno-
rarily stopped at this point. and by the time
this letter is published the work Of laying
the tracks northward may be again under
way. The late Alfred Belt the friend Of
Cecil Rhodes. who like him. made a great
fortune in South Africa, left $1,000. 600 to be
used for the extension Of the Cape to Cairo
system, and this Is to be employed toward
pushing the road TO Lake Tanganyika."
As II Is now, It Is only about 200 miles
from the borders Of the Kongo Free State.
and within $50 miles OF Tanganyika. Some
OF the building between here and Victoria
Falls was done at the rate Of a mile a day.
and q year or so, II the work Is pushed,
will easily suffice to complete the steam
route from here to the Mediterrean sea.
A flying survey has been made to the great
copper deposits Of the Kongo Free state
and after the road reaches there. the Bel
CLANS will aid In that branch Of its con-
structioA.
BY steam Through Africa.
refer TO the Cape to Cairo line as a
steam route including in that term trans
- - - -
never he one continuous iro~ '.~.', 7--
and south ccross this continent. The
traffic will not warrant Il, and besides
thsre are deep waterways which can be
used to save almost one-taird of the con-
struction. The longest stretch OF rail will
be from Cape Town north to Lake Tan
ganylka. This is just about as far as from
New York to the Great Salt Lake, and Il
comprises almost one-half Of the route
from tho Cape Of Good Hope to the Medi-
terranean sea.
Lake Tanganylka is a narrow trough
In the mountains running almost north
and south for a distance of $50 miles. II
is right along the survey OF the trunk
line, and the cars can be run onto steam
boats and ferried across II.
From the upper end Of ~Tanganyika to
Khartum only 40 miles Of railway are
needed. The distance between the two
points is 1870 miles, but 1,2eO miles of Il
can be made by water. From Khartum the
steamboats, on the Nile are already run
ming for more than 100 miles and with
100 miles more. railroad passengers can
reach Lake Albert. 1t is but a short
stretch from there to Lake Albert Edward
and Lake Kivu, so you see the Cape to
Cairo system is approaching completion.
The roads yet to be built are not as long
as from Philadelphia to Chicago and more
than one-half Of the work will be finished
when this line has reached Tanganylka.
RhOdesian Railways.
For the last month or more 1 have been
travelling over the railroads of Rhodesia.
Those already constructed measure some
thing like $500 miles, and they have all
been built within the last fifteen years.
They were laid out by Cecil Rhodes, but he
died before they had reached the zambesi,
and the greater part OF his travelling
through the country was done in OK
wagons. The roads are we'll built and
travelling over them is comfortable. The
gauge Is one meter, or three feet six
inches. The rails are comparatively light,
most of them being from forty pounds to
sixty pounds per yard. Som of the cars
are magnificent. The trains de luxe carry
cooking and dining arrangements, and my
car to Victoria Falls had a shower bath
with a coil OF pipe which ran round and
round. furnishing a needle spray.
One can now get on a train of that kind
at Cape Town and ride to Victoria Falls
without change. The distance is 1,6OO or
LOO miles, and the first class fare is Just
about $50. The meals are good and the
prices cheaper than at home. Breakfast
costs 50 cents. luncheon 621k cents and din
ner Is cents. On the Rhodeslan roads the
dining car rates ara a trifle higher, but