734 THE ECONOMIC CONQUEST OF AFRICA BY THE RAILROADS. 



This event will exercise an incalculable influence on the agricul- 

 tural and commercial development of the vast regions situated in tlie 

 bend of the great river. To accentuate the value of this road, which 

 w^ill be of especial benefit to the culture of cotton, the governor-gen- 

 eral of AVestern Africa is planning a line from Thies to Kayes. This 

 w^ould make an unbroken stretch of rails from the ocean to the Niger. 



Farther east, the railroad starting from Cotonou will eventually 

 reach the same stream at Carimana above the falls of Boussa. Thus 

 the whole group of French colonies of the West Coast will be girdled 

 by a semicircular artery of trade, 1,200 miles of which will consist of 

 navigable river. 



The Dahomey line was begun in 1900;' at the end of two years ()0 

 miles of it was in actual use. A few months ago a locomotive had 

 been run a distance of 150 miles to the temporary terminal at Paouig- 

 nan. From here it is expected to go, without much difficulty, to the 

 Niger at Carimana, about 500 miles from the sea. 



In Guinea the road from Konkary to the Niger has about 90 miles 

 of tracks laid; no doubt tAvo or three years will pass before it attains 

 Timbo. 



Ivory Coast, like the other French colonies, has cherished a railway 

 scheme for a long time, but has been continually put off by the flurry 

 over gold discoveries. A recent decision by the ministry, ordering 

 to be constructed the first 45 miles of the proposed line, has finally 

 brought satisfaction. As in Guinea and Dahomey, the road will be 

 built under the direction of the engineer corps of the army, which in 

 this instance will have complete supervision of both track and 

 roadbed. 



Any account of French railroad operations in the Dark Continent 

 would be incomplete did it not mention the line, which has so aroused 

 the jealousy of the British, thrown out toward the high plateaus of 

 Abyssinia by the Somali coast. The firm and sensible position 

 taken in the matter by the P^rench Government in 1902 has not yet 

 reaped its full reward. The climate at the base of operations on the 

 Red Sea is so unfavorable, and the country to be traversed so moun- 

 tainous, that the road will not reach Harar for nearly six years. 

 Since February, 1903, plans have been made for its further extension 

 to Addis- Abeda. 



The English as yet have litle reason to felicitate themselves on the 

 results of their railroad building in the Guinea Gulf colonies. In 

 Gold Coast, the Government, after spending $47,000 a kilometer on 

 40 miles of track, was glad to turn the work over to a contractor, who 

 agreed to finish the 140-mile section between Tarkoua and Kumassi 

 for $21,000 a kilometer. One hundred miles of the railroad, from 

 Sekondi to the gold beds of Ashanti, is noAv completed. 



