The peculiar formation of Africa, its long inland navigation,
interrupted by the falls near the mouths of its large rivers, from
connection with the ocean, render it necessary to connect the ocean
with the navigable parts of the rivers by railroads.
The Belgians will soon construct a railroad on the southerly side of
the Kongo, to the inland navigable waters of the Kongo at Leopoldville,
following the preliminary surveys lately completed; the French may also
construct a road from the coast to Stanley Pool; and by one or the
other of these routes the interior of Africa will be opened.
South of the Kongo, the Portuguese are constructing a railroad from
Benguela into the interior. In Cape Colony railroads connect the
greater part of the British possessions with the Cape of Good Hope. A
railroad is also being constructed from Delagoa Bay to the mines in
Transvaal.
Sudan and the upper waters of the Nile can only be opened to a large
commerce by a railroad from Suakin to Berber, about 280 miles. Surveys
were made for this road, and some work was done upon it, just before
Gen. Gordon's death. The navigation of the Nile above Berber is
uninterrupted for many hundred miles. Below Berber the falls interrupt
the navigation. The route from Gondokoro down the Nile is by boat to
Berber, camel to Assuan, boat to Siut, and railroad to Cairo and
Alexandria, making a route so circuitous that it prevents the opening
of the Sudan to any extensive commerce.
In Algiers there are 1,200 miles of railroad, and more are being
constructed. The French are constructing a railroad from the upper part
of the Senegal River to the head waters of the Niger. The English have
organized a company to construct a road from the Gold Coast to the
mines in the interior.
It will thus be seen that the railroad has already opened a way into
Africa that is sure to be carried on more extensively.