Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-02-14
Thunderstorms in Africa.

From the Southern Workman.
Uganda is a land of great thunder
storms and of lightning, and is sup
posed to be more the victim of these
than any other land on earth. The
average number of thunderstorms in
the year is calculated at over 200, and
so there is a rule that when light
ming strikes a house and sets it on
fire and the warning is given, every
one who hears the warning must i'm
mediately rush to the rescue, and if
anyone at such a time tries to seize
the property of a rescuer or vic
tim, the punishment is extremely Sc
vere
The alarm is given by a peculiar
cry made by calling and at the same
time beating the mouth with the
fingers of the hand. To do this is
called to kuba indulo. l remember
once being on the top of one of the
hills in the capital in a great thun-
derstorm. Every now and again the
whole country flashed out of its dark
ness, and every dwelling and fence
stood out in dazzling light.
Suddenly the kuba indulo rose from
near the Kings Hill, and then imme-
diately the little narrow roads be-
tween the long grass and the broader
roads between the fences were lit up
in the darkness by a tracery of torch
es moving like lines of living fire, as
men hastily lit them and dashed off
to the rescue Soon the alarm was
sounded from another quarter and
fresh paths of fame lit the country as
rescuers went in the new direction.
Oil Development in the Far East.
From a Consular Report.
Timor is an island about 263 miles
long and sixty miles wide at its
greatest breadth, 2,100 miles from
Hongkong and 436 miles from Port
Darwin, the nearest important port.
The eastern half, where the oil fields
are being developed, belongs to Por-
tugal and the western part to the
Netherlands. There are four princi-
pal oil concerns-one of Hongkong,
one of England and two of Sydney,
Australia. The fields of the Hong
kong company are near the seacoast
at an elevation of 200 to 300 feet above
the sea, which permits the transport
tation of oil by pipe line and gravity
Operations here are conducted with
American machinery and along the
lines followed in California and SINH
lar fields. The English company must
transport it's supplies and machinery
over a mountain range and for
considerable distance in the undevel-
oped interior. The work of this com
pany so far has therefore consisted
largely in road building and other
preliminary arrangements, but the
concern is now ready for boring. Both
of the Australian companies are us
ing more or less American machinery.
Experts report prospects of con-
siderable supply of oil from Timor in
the near future. a strong flow being
expected at a depth of 1,200 to 1900
feet. The oil yields a high-grade
kerosene. Tested by the Hongkong
government, oil obtained on the prop
erty of the Hongkong company
showed a flashing point (Abel chose
test of 112 degrees Fahrenheit and
had a specific gravity of 0.4S0S. Brit
ish tests of oil from other concessions
have shown 64.6 per cent of kerosene
and about 30 per cent. of intermediate
oils. Pools of black viscid
oil found on tn: surface of the island
have given oil suitable for fuel, and
on much of the island limestone coat
ed with bitumen and ozocerite is
found on the surface which Yields "A
per cent by weight, of crude, heavy
oil.