CAPER 



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CAPE-TO-CAIRO RAILWAY 



declared the Dutch, or Boers, as they were 

 called, subjects of the British government. In 

 time this led to great disaffection, and the 

 Boers, rather than submit to the British, 

 migrated, or "trekked," in large numbers and 

 formed the colonies of the Orange Free State 

 and the Transvaal. 



During the South African War (1899-1902) 

 the Cape of Good Hope was invaded by Boers 

 from the northern provinces, and many of the 

 burghers rose in sympathy with them. When 

 peace was declared the burghers of the Cape 

 of Good Hope who had taken up arms against 

 the British were punished by disfranchisement 

 and fines. Dr. Jameson, leader of the Jameson 

 Raid, was made premier of the province in 

 1904, and was instrumental in bringing about 

 the union of the South African provinces, 

 which were finally proclaimed as the Union of 

 South Africa in 1910. E.D.F. 



, Related Subjects. In connection with the 



above, the reader is referred to the following 

 articles : 



Boer Jameson, Leander Starr 



Bushmen Ostrich 



Diamond South African War 



Gama, Vasco da Union of South Africa 



CAPER, ka'per, the unopened flower bud of 

 the caper bush, which, pickled in vinegar and 

 salt, is widely used in making a sauce for 

 meats, especially boiled mutton. The sharp, 

 biting taste of the caper is not usually pleasing 

 when first tried, but, 

 like that of the olive, 

 becomes palatable 

 on further acquaint- 

 ance. Physicians ad- 

 vise against the use 

 of such strong condi- 

 ments, for they are 

 apt to destroy the 

 taste for wholesome 

 food. 



The caper bush is 

 alow, trailing shrub, 

 native to the coun- 

 tries bordering on 

 the Mediterranean 

 Sea, where it climbs 

 over walls and in 

 and out of crevices. 

 It is grown from cut- CAPER 



tings in greenhouses Flower ' bud and leaves " 

 in Great Britain, the Northern United States 

 and Canada, and from seed in the Southern 

 United States. The plant begins to bloom 

 74 



early in the summer, and the flowers appear 

 until winter. The buds are gathered each 

 morning, placed at once in salt and vinegar 

 and later put on the market, the finer speci- 

 mens in bottles, the coarser in small barrels. 

 The flower buds of the marsh marigold and 

 nasturtium are often pickled and eaten as a 

 substitute for capers, but the practice is not 

 to be commended. 



CAPETIAN, kape'shan, DYNASTY, a fa- 

 mous line of French kings, which took its name 

 from the first of the house, Hugh Capet. 

 These kings ruled from 987 to 1328, and in 

 nearly every case throughout this period son 

 followed father in regular succession. Under 

 the Capetians the French monarchy grew 

 steadily in power and influence, and the 

 greater part of the English domain in France 

 was recovered from England and added to the 

 French possessions. This was also the period 

 of the Crusades, three Capetian kings being 

 themselves at the head of crusading armies. 

 The most important political event of the 

 period was the admission of representatives 

 of the common people, known as the Third 

 Estate, to the National Assembly, which oc- 

 curred in 1302 during the reign of Philip the 

 Fair. The last Capetian king, Charles IV, was 

 succeeded in 1328 by Philip VI, of the House 

 of Valois. 



CAPE-TO-CAIRO, ki'ro, RAILWAY, a 

 trunk line of railway under construction 

 through the entire continent of Africa, from 

 Cairo and Alexandria to Cape Town. The 

 project was first considered by Cecil Rhodes 

 with a view to opening up the vast resources 

 of the continent and was first undertaken as 

 a private enterprise. It was intended to push 

 the line from both ends, running south from 

 Cairo and north from Cape Town, the two 

 ends to meet somewhere in the vicinity of the 

 great Central African lakes. The total length 

 when finished will be about 5,700 miles, making 

 it the longest continuous line in the world. 



In 1889 the first rails were laid at Kimberley, 

 that town already having rail connection with 

 Cape Town. Through Rhodesia the roadbed 

 was quickly constructed, little ballasting being 

 necessary. At one time the construction was 

 so rapid that 492 miles of track were laid in 

 500 working days. 



Difficulties Experienced. It was not until 

 the banks of the Zambezi River were ap- 

 proached that serious engineering problems 

 presented themselves. The crossing of the 

 Zambezi River was made by means of a 



