THE WONDERLAND OF THE 

 EASTERN CONGO 



CHAPTER I 



FROM THE KATANGA COPPER BELT TO LAKE TANGANYIKA 



" Cape to Cairo I Steamer to steamer I 

 Rail and wire from South to North. . . . 

 Men guffawed at the Master Schemer, 

 Fools waxed loud in their foolish wrath . . . 

 But the project held, and the words went forth. 

 Sister-nations hurried to aid. 

 Stung by the dream of a dumb, dead Dreamer, 

 Men toiled on till the rails were laid." 



Rhodes's Dream. Verse IV. 



IT may be truly said that a second Rand is developing 

 itself in the Katanga. This highly mineralised area, 



where are to be found green mountains of copper, 

 fields of tin, gold and diamonds, will, I venture to predict, 

 one day become second to none in the whole of Africa. Like 

 the Ituri gold district, of the north-east Congo, its poten- 

 tialities are unlimited. 



The Katanga Copper Mines, which are at present exploited 

 by a company styled L' Union Miniere du Haut Katanga, 

 are very rich and numerous, too numerous it is said for 

 this one company to work ; it being now considered necessary 

 to grant concessions to a new financial group to exploit 

 those mines to the west of the Lualaba Valley. 



New ways of communication have now been devised to 

 reach this rich district, principal amongst which is the Lobito 



