842 REPORT—1896. 
of a huge plateau, and the rivers flowmg off this plateau are obstructed by 
‘cataracts in exactly the places where we most want to use them—that is, when 
approaching the coasts. The second stage in the commercial evolution will 
therefore be the construction of railways with the view of supplementing this 
river traffic. Finally, no doubt, a further stage will be reached, when railways 
will cut out the rivers altogether; for few of the navigable rivers are really well 
suited to serve as lines of communication. This last stage is, however, so far off 
that we may neglect it for the present; though it must be noted that there are 
some parts of Africa where there are no navigable rivers, and where, if anything 
is to be done, it must be entirely by means of railways. 
Thus, as far as the immediate future is concerned, the points to which our 
attention should be mainly directed are (1) the courses of the navigable parts of 
the rivers, and (2) the routes most suitable for the construction of railways in 
order to connect the navigable rivers and lakes with the coast. As to the 
navigable rivers, little more remains to be discovered with regard to them, and 
we can indicate the state of our geographical knowledge on this point with 
sufficient accuracy for our purposes by means of a map. Of course the commercial 
value of a waterway depends greatly on the kind of boats which can be used, and 
that point cannot well be indicated cartographically. 
As to the railways, we must study the physical features of the country 
through which the proposed lines,of communication would pass. All the 
obstacles on rival routes should be most carefully surveyed when considering 
the construction of railways in an economical manner. Great mountain chains 
are seldom met with in Africa, and from that point of view the continent is as a 
whole remarkably free. from difficulties. But drifting sand is often a serious 
trouble, and that is met with commonly enough in many parts. Wide tracks of 
rocky country also form serious impediments, both because of the cost of con- 
struction, and also because the supply of water for the engines becomes a problem 
not to be neglected. Such arid and sandy districts are of course thinly in- 
habited, and we may therefore generally conclude that where the population is 
scanty, there railway engineers will have special difficulties to face. On the 
other hand, dense forests are also very unsuitable. We have not much ex- 
perience to guide us, but it would appear probable that the initial expense of 
clearing the forest, and the cost of maintenance, in perpetually battling against 
the tropical vegetable growth, will be very heavy; for it will not do to allow the 
line to be in constant danger of being blocked. The dampness of the forest, 
which will cause all woodwork and wooden sleepers to rot, will be no small 
source of trouble, and the virulent malarial fevers, always met with where the 
vegetation is very rank, will add immensely to the difficulty both of construction 
and of maintenance. The health of the European employés will be a most serious 
question in considering the construction of railways in all parts of tropical Africa, 
for the turning up of the soil is the most certain of all methods of causing an 
outbreak of malarial fever; and the evil results would be most severely felt in 
constructing ordinary railways in dense forests. In making the short Senegal 
railway, where the climate is healthier than in many of the districts further 
south, the mortality was very great. Perhaps we shall have to modify our usual 
methods of construction so as to mitigate this danger, and, in connection with 
this subject, I may perhaps mention that the Lartigue system seems to be specially 
worthy of consideration—a system by which the train is carried on a single ele- 
vated rail. This is perhaps travelling rather wide of the mark of ordinary geo- 
graphical studies, but it illustrates the necessity of a thorough examination of 
the environment: before we try to transplant our own methods to other climes. 
We may, however, safely conclude that we must as far as possible ayoid 
both dense forests and sandy and rocky wastes in the. construction of our first 
railways. 
Thon, as to the lines of communication, considered as a whole, rail and river 
combined, we must obviously, if any capital is to be expended, make them in the 
directions most likely to secure a profitable traffic. In considering this part of the 
question, it will be seen that there are several different problems to be discussed : 
