THE DEVELOPMENT OF RHODESIA. 285 



Afrikaiuler Bond determined that Kimberle^y should remain the ter- 

 ininus of this railway, and that any further extension should be from 

 the Cape to Bloemfontein and Johannesburg. That this would give 

 control of the trade of the interior into the hands of the two Boer 

 States, and so be a menace to British interests, was onl}^ too evident. 

 The true route to the north was, according to Mr. Rhodes, through 

 Bechuanaland. AMien the British South Africa Company took over 

 the administration of the country Kimberley was the nearest center 

 of communication. After the charter was signed permission was 

 obtained to extend the Cape Government Railway from Kimberley to 

 Vryburg. This extension of 126 miles was begun in November, 1889^ 

 and finished in December, 1800, the M^ork having been completed in 

 little over a 3^ear. Want of funds, however, put a stop to further 

 extension for some time; but in May, 1893, the Bechuanaland Rail- 

 Avay Company was incorporated to continue the line nortliAvard from 

 Vryburg to Bulawayo via Ma f eking, Palapye (Palachwe), and Fran- 

 cistown. This, a distance of 587 miles, was completed in October, 1897. 

 During the construction of this line the great rinderpest scourge swept 

 over the country, practically killing the whole of the trek oxen. It is 

 estimated that before the outbreak in 1896 there were over 100,000 

 cattle in ]\Iatabeleland, and by the end of the year there were only 

 about 500 left. The difficulty of transport thus brought about and 

 the outbreak of the Matabele war impelled the company to push 

 on this work by what may be termed forced marches, so that, in 

 most striking contrast with the earlier construction, the last 228 

 jniles from Palapye to Bulawayo were completed in the very short 

 space of four and a half months. The line was formally opened 

 on November 4, 1897. With the establishment of this direct com- 

 munication of Bulawayo with Cape Town, a distance of 1,360 miles, 

 was inaugurated a new era in the history of ^Matabeleland and 

 Rhodesia. 



But Mashonalancl was the first Rhodesian territory, and communi- 

 cation with the east coast was desiderated. AMiile the Bechuana- 

 land Railway Company, now known as the Rhodesian Railways 

 (Limited), was constructing this line to Bulawayo, a line was being 

 projected from Salisbury to Umtali, and thence to the Portuguese 

 port of Beira. The distance between Salisbury and Beira is about 

 375 miles, but although the distance was not great, there were consid- 

 erable difficulties to be overcome. The Anglo-Portuguese treaty of 

 J891 had a clause which provided for the construction of a line of 

 railway from the Pungwe River to Salisbury via Manicaland, but 

 political causes were responsible for much delay. Another serious 

 obstacle in constructing the line was the hilly nature of the country. 

 From sea level at Beira the country gradually rises. An altitude of 

 5.000 feet is attained at Marandellas, 45 miles from Salisburv, which 



