Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-01
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tho Stanley. and the Masonic and the ac-
commodations II them are comfortable.
am stopping at the Norfolk at the upper
end OF the town. It Is a low one-story
building with wide porch In front. sepa-
rated from the dirt street by a picket
fence. and shaded by eucalyptus trees
through which the wind seems to be ever
signing and moaning. The charges ara
3.33 day. including meals. but ! have
TO have my own servant 10 make my bed
and attend to my errands. have q
room at the back with a ane view Of the
stable. and a German sportsman next
door. who has a little cub lion about as
big as a Newfoundland dog. tied in box
outside his window. During a part OF
him by a rope to ono OF the pillars Of the
porch. The animal seems harmless but
his teeth are sharp. and he IL entirely too
playful 20 suit me. Besides he roars at
night
The horses here are fairly good but the
charges for them are high When / ride
out on horseback il costs me $1.65 an
hour. and the carriage rates ars still
more. The best way to get about is in
the jlnrikishas. using negroes as beasts
OF burden. For long ride over the
plains horses are necessary
American Trade
AS to the heavy hauling OF this part
OF East Africa Il is mostly done by thu
sacred cattle Of India. / mean the Clean
backs. They are fine-looking and are ap-i
parently well-bred Some Of these beasts
are hitched to American wagons brought
out here from Wisconsin. saw such ~
team hauling a Kentucky piow through
the streets Of Nairohi yesterday. Indeed. !
find that American goods are slowly .
making their way into these wflds.
American axes. sewing machines, and
American sewers and planters are sold by
- ~ 80
our patent medicines. and every market
has more or less American cottons. The
wood cutters are using Americas axes.
but they complain Of the fiat or oval holes
made for the handles. They say that
round hole would be better. as the natives
who 90 the wood cutting are clumsy
and the handles snap on at the az. II
round holes were used. heavier handles
could be put in and the natives could
make them themselves.
A Railroad and Telegraph Center.
Nairobi promises to become one Of the
railroad centers Of this part Of the world.
1t Is the chief station between the In
dian ocean and Lake Victoria. and a road
is now proposed from here to Mount
Kenia. BY and by that may connect with
the German ROAD from Tauga to Kiiman-
jars.
The country through which the Ugan-
da railway goes is among the poor
est in the colony, and the Mount Kenfa
road will open up n rich agricultural re-
gion which is thickly populated by tribes
more than ordinarily Industrious The
railroad shops are here. and the employees
| have a large collection OF tin cottages for
their homes The headquarters of the
railroad, where all the chief officers stay.
are one-story tin buildings. and the tele-
graphic offices are connected with them.
Both railroads and telegraphs are run by
the government. The Geographic rates
are comparatively low. Away out here
| In the wilds OF Africa one can send mes
sages far more cheaply than In the
United States. / can send eight words
from here to Uganda for 33 cents.
and can telegraph to London about
as cheaply as you can telegraph from
New York to San Francisco. This Is 50
notwithstanding the difficulty which the
| linemen have to keep the wires In shape
l have. already told you how the natives
steal the wire from the poles and make
bracelets. anklets and earrings Of IT, They
can use 1t for trading. and in some dis
| tricts 1t will pass as money. During the
Nandi rebellion. forty-Odd miles OF wire
| were carried away and never recovered.
and in one OF the provinces adjoining
Uganda. above Lake Victoria, the natives
are SO crazy after the copper wire there
used that it is almost impossible to keep
| the lines up.
Another serious danger to the tele-
graph is the big game. The giraffes reach
up and play with the brackets and pull
the wire this way and that. At Naivasha.
the hippopotami have once or twice butted
down the poles. and / understand they
have been doing considerable damage to
the lines along the coast near the Tana
river. In the heart of Uganda the mon
keys have a way Of swinging on the wires
and twisting them together which stops
the transmission Of many messages so
| that, indeed the way of the lineman is
hard. FRANK G. CARPENTER