THE ECONOMfC CONQUEST OF AFRIOA liY THE KAII.HOAUS. 731 



from tlio Cape, Cyprus, and India was fri<^litl'ul. Ainon^- the lahorci's 

 the avorago rate of death by fever was over 8 per cent. Native work- 

 men were entirely hiekin^', and it was necessary to brin*; more than 

 2().()()() Indian coolies, whose trans})ortation and kee[) cMtailed a heavy 

 exi)ense. Since the resources of the country were practically noth- 

 in*;. such an army of laborers could not be maintained without having 

 all the provisions shipped from Bombay and Colombo. It was 

 especially difficult to secure fresh water during the building of the 

 first 250 miles. Thus handicapped the work of construction ad- 

 vanced very slowly. 



On reaching the mountains the situation changed completely. The 

 insanitary conditions disappeared; an abundant supply of fresh 

 water w'as found. But as the troubles about workmen were dimin- 

 ished, in their j)lace arose great technical problems. The complete 

 ignorance of the engineers as to the behavior of the water in that 

 region during the rainy season made it very difficult to plan bridges 

 and viaducts. Moreover the scarcity of construction materials com- 

 plicated continually the work of the builders. For example, it was 

 impossible to tind any suital)le brick clay. 



The work was begun in 1896 and finished six years later. The line, 

 which extends 587 miles over a variet}'^ of levels, begins at Kilendini, 

 on the Island of jNlonbasa, and terminates at Port Florence, on Victo- 

 ria Nyanza. The tracks consist of 55-pound rails laid on metal ties, 

 except in spots where the sun is so scorching that it was necessary to 

 use wood ties treated with creosote." 



The stations are built partly of masonry and partly of sheet iron, 

 corrugated and galvanized. In 1902 the company owned 92 loco- 

 motives, of which 22 were switch engines; there are 154 i^assenger 

 and 1,128 freight cars. A daily train is run, besides an express and 

 four freights each w^eek. Ordinarily the rate of speed is about 15 

 miles an hour, the whole run taking nearly two days. During the 

 year 1901-2 the shipments did not exceed 11,000 tons in and 1,250 

 tons out; the gross receipts were only $850,000. Since the expense of 

 construction was over $26,000,000, the question naturally arises as to 

 how^ far the results thus far obtained have justified this expenditure. 



Without dwelling on the fact that the line has not yet completed its 

 second year, it is necessary to call attention to the great change that 

 the establishment of the railroad has wrought in English East Africa. 

 Indian merchants have established stock farms along the line and 

 opened markets at the principal stations. Their stores are all well 

 stocked, particularly that at Nairoli, where manufactured articles of 

 every description and even luxuries may be obtained at a very slight 

 advance over regular prices. 



o These wood ties are uot attacked by the white ants. 



