CAPE-TO-CAIRO RAILWAY 



1170 



CAPE-TO-CAIRO RAILWAY 



cantilever bridge with a clear span of 500 feet 

 across the gorge immediately below the Vic- 

 toria Falls. This bridge, the highest in the 

 world, 420 feet above the water, was completed 



HIGHEST BRIDGE IN THE WORLD 

 On the Cape-to-Cairo Railway, over the Zam- 

 bezi River. 



in eighteen months. It was built out from 

 both banks and joined in the middle, a strong 

 net being suspended beneath it to catch any 

 workman who might accidentally fall. 



Farther north difficulties increased, and the 

 fever-stricken districts through which the line 

 passed rendered the task of construction one 

 of great difficulty and danger. White men 

 were necessary to superintend the labor, which 

 was chiefly that of unskilled natives. Large 

 rewards were offered to competent men who 

 would brave the climate, but the response was 

 discouraging. Hundreds of healthy men, after 

 a few months in the jungles, returned tq civili- 

 zation with health permanently impaired. Still 

 the work was pushed on and plans were ma- 

 tured for its completion. 



During the early stages of construction the 

 natives resented the appearance of the rail- 

 road, and clashes between various tribes and 

 the laborers were frequent. Gradually, how- 

 ever, the natives were persuaded that the rail- 

 road was not intended to work them injury. 

 Toleration took the place of opposition, and 

 finally great numbers volunteered to work. 

 f* The Northern Portion. The Egyptian gov- 

 ernment undertook the construction of the line 

 from Cairo southward. In 1896 work was pro- 

 jected southward from Wadi Haifa, the point 

 to which the line had been brought by the 

 khedive of Egypt. About 1,400 miles of track 

 have been laid. At Atbara the line crosses the 

 River Nile by means of a steel bridge 1,000 

 feet in length. The material for this .bridge 

 was made in the United States in less than a 

 year, no English firm being willing to guaran- 

 tee delivery in less than two j'ears. 



Object of the Railway. When the line is 

 completed it will form the main artery of 



continental communication, with branches ex- 

 tending east and west. Thus it is probable 

 that the products of the interior will find ready 

 outlet to the coast, colonization will be accel- 

 erated and regions now uninhabitable will be 

 turned into productive, healthful provinces. 

 Cecil Rhodes dreamed of a British South 



CAPE-TO-CAIRO RAILROAD 



Africa which should form an integral part of 

 the Empire; he also hoped that some day a 

 line from the Cape to Cairo would run through 

 none but British territory. That part of Africa 

 which is already settled forms a very small 

 portion of the whole continent, and the rail- 

 road will undoubtedly open up territory 



