UUSb LIBRARY ''KU^
 
 Our Holiday in Africa 
 
 BY 
 W. W. WHE[i:LER 
 
 Author of 
 
 "Three Months in Foreign Lands" 
 
 "A Glimpse of The Pacific Isles" 
 
 "Encircling The Globe" 
 
 'Discoveries in South America and West Indies. 
 
 COPVItlOHTED 1'.I12 
 
 By \V. W. WHEELKK
 
 INDEX 
 
 Page 
 
 Outward Round 5 
 
 Port Said n 
 
 Red Sea 1 1 
 
 Port Sudan 13 
 
 Aden 19 
 
 Mombasa 21 
 
 Uganda Railwa}- 27 
 
 Nairobi 37 
 
 Victoria Xyanza 41 
 
 Uganda 45 
 
 Natives S7 
 
 Zanzibar ''^J 
 
 Mozanil)i(|ue 7 1 
 
 Beira 77 
 
 Salisl)ur\- 81 
 
 Victoria Trails <^5 
 
 Bulawayo 95 
 
 03 
 1 1 
 
 ■23 
 
 ^7 
 31 
 
 :^7 
 45 
 47 
 
 Si 
 
 S7 
 ^3 
 
 Kimberly 
 
 Johannes! )urg 
 
 Durban 
 
 East London 
 
 Port FJizal)eth 
 
 Cape Town 
 
 Cecil John Rliodes 
 
 Soutli African I'arhament 
 
 Madeira 
 
 England 
 
 Summary
 
 THE RED LINE SHOWS 
 
 THE COURSE OF OUR TRIP.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Would \i)U. like to travel in strani^e lands? If so, come 
 with us and take a "Holiday in Africa." "The Dark Conti- 
 nent," or "The Unknown Continent," as it is sometimes calleck 
 
 The interior was unknown to civilized man until sixty 
 years ago, and even todav man}- \-ast sections have ne\'er heen 
 visited hy white man, and in most of those parts which have 
 heen opened up hy European colonization there is hut a very 
 sparse settlement of whites. 
 
 Our own people of the United States very seldom visit 
 Africa. In fact, we met hut one American, who was traveling 
 in that countr}- for ])leasure. so that up to the present to us it 
 is really "The Unknown Continent." 
 
 The interior is occupied hy a dense population of the de- 
 scendants of Ham, and many of these trihes ha\'e apparently 
 flescended in the scale of intelligence since Ham took Africa 
 for his homestead. Also, all kinds of African game, hig and 
 little. It is the greatest hunting ground on earth. 
 
 We have, for a long time, had a desire to \-isit this great 
 continent, and having an ()i)i)ortunity to take a holiday, my 
 wife and I decided to spend it in .Vfrica. Airs. Wdieeler has 
 greatly assisted me, and to her }-ou may ascrihe all that you 
 find that is good (if }'ou find anv). in this little hook, and 
 hlame me for the rest. 
 
 The following pages will gi\e }'ou a rvvy brief re])ort of 
 some things we saw "In Darkest Africa." You will find lOO 
 photographic illustrations of scenes t\'pical of the country, 
 which will also hel|) to give you an idea of things as they 
 actually ap])ear to the tra\-eler. 
 
 In reading this hboklet, we hope that you ma}- feel that 
 you are making the trip with us and enjoy the journe}-. 
 
 Sincerel}- yours, 
 
 W. W. WHEELER.
 
 OTR HOLIDAY IX Al-KICA
 
 OUTWARD BOUND 
 
 January 24th, 1912. we sailed from New York on the 
 superbly appointed steamship "Olympic," sister ship to the 
 fated "Titanic." She is the greatest vessel that ever sailed 
 the seas up to the present time. She cost seven and one-half 
 million dollars, and has a crew of eight hundred and sixty 
 men, accommodations for twenty-five hundred passengers, 
 average speed is over fi\'e hundred miles per day. Length 
 over all, eight hundred and eighty-two feet. Think of it, over 
 one-sixth of a mile, nearly as long as three of our city blocks; 
 breadth, ninety-two feet; height to the top deck, one hundred 
 and five feet, having eleven Steele decks. Lighted and heated 
 by electricity, the state rooms are large and elegantly fur- 
 nished. By divine instructions Noah built the Ark. It was 
 large enough to meet requirements at that time, being five 
 hundred and fiftv feet long, ninety feet wide and fifty-four 
 feet high, divided into three decks. The floor space was 
 less than one-sixth of the floor space of the "Olympic." Com- 
 pare the twd and we get an idea of the progress that has 
 been made in shipping during the last four thousand years. 
 We regret that we are not able to show here a photograph of 
 the Ark for com])arison ; we were too late to get it. The di- 
 mensions of the Ark are given in the Bible; look it up and 
 verifv the figures. The comfort and C(^nvenience of ocean going 
 steamers in recent years has almost eliminated time and dis- 
 tance, and one can travel from any place to any place on the 
 surface of our globe in a few months without great discom- 
 fort ; and this is one reason why we are going to South Africa 
 this winter. 
 
 Africa is an immense continent with teeming millions of
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 OUTWARD BOUND 
 
 black inhabitants, many of whom have never seen the face of 
 a white man. There are thousands of miles in the heart of 
 this great countr}- yet unexplored. 
 
 We passed by. at this time. Xorthern Africa, that bor- 
 ders on the Mediterranean Sea, which is more familiar to 
 readers and many travelers. Also Western Africa and the 
 interior of the Congo region, that part associated with the 
 name of the great explorer, Henry M. Stanley. All that we 
 could do in the short space of a four months' journey was to 
 sail entirely around the great continent, about eighteen thou- 
 sand miles, and go into the interior of British East and 
 South Africa as far as the railroad would take us. Also we 
 crossed the largest fresh water lake in the world, \"ictoria 
 Nyanza, to Uganda. We did no caravan or walking trips, 
 as those who go for shooting. 
 
 We planned this trip and took it alone, and did exactly 
 as we had planned, never missed a connection on rail or steam- 
 ship; had remarkable health and enjoyed it to the fullest. 
 
 On leaving the "Olympic" at Cherbourg, F'rance, in the 
 evening about eight o'clock, by tender, we looked back at a 
 most wonderful sight. The big ship, with all her immense 
 windows ablaze with light, and reflecting the light in the 
 dark water, looked like enchanted fairy land ; a sight never to 
 be forgotten. 
 
 A\'e had a most amusing experience going through the 
 little P^rench custom house. It was very dark and the in- 
 spectors only had a few dim lanterns with which to look into 
 our bags and trunks. Only a form, of course, but there were 
 so many people's bags to be marked, that we came very nearly 
 missing our train for Paris. Idiere were no sleeping cars, so 
 we liad to sit u]) all night, arriving in Paris on a cold winter's 
 morning at four o'clock. 
 
 The city of Paris is always interesting, but our time was 
 short. We left that same evening- on the train-de-luxe for 
 Marseilles. This train is especially crowded at this season of 
 the year — people going to the Rixierc in the South of France
 
 OUR HOLIDAN' i.\ A 1- RICA
 
 OUTWARD BOUND 
 
 for the season. Next morning we arrived at the grey old city 
 of Marseilles, with its very narrow streets and high grey build- 
 ings. In the midst of this city is a rocky piomontory, on which 
 is built a church. From there one gets a magnificent view of 
 the city and harbor. In this harbor are ships coming and go- 
 ing to all parts of the world. 
 
 We rather dreaded seeing the little British steamer on 
 which our se\'enteen days to Mombasa must be spent, and it 
 was Cjuite discouraging when on a rain}- day we had our first 
 look. It was so pitifully small after the magnificent Olympic 
 of recent experience, it took us several days to get adjusted 
 to our tiny quarters, but e\ery cloud is said to have a silver 
 lining. In this case it pro\-ed almost gold. \\ e have never en- 
 jcjyed a sea trip more than that spent on the "Dunvegan Castle." 
 We were the only Americans aboard and waited for our En- 
 glish cousins to make the advances, which they did most gra- 
 ciously. They were delightful people — many of them, as we 
 were, taking the trip for pleasure. Others going out to dif- 
 ferent parts of British Africa to visit their sons and daughters. 
 Many young men leaving crowded old England for the wild 
 veldt lands of Africa to make their fortune. Others who had 
 been home for a vacation, rejoicing in going back to the wide 
 free country. There were also a number of men in the mili- 
 tary service v/ith their ])retty. fresh young brides, who were 
 looking forward with great enthusiasm to their future home. 
 
 The days passed rapidly, even though the Mediterranean 
 was rough and cold.
 
 Ol'R HOKID.W l.\" A I- RICA
 
 PORT SAID 
 
 Sailing past the DeLessnp Statue just as the sun was 
 setting- glorionsh' over the golden sands of Egypt, we an- 
 chored at the entrance of tlie Suez Canal. Fehruary 9th. 1912. 
 We went ashore in a small row hoat and walked ahout the 
 streets to see the shops, which were filled with goods from the 
 Orient. This is the meeting place of the Occident and Orient. 
 The streets are weh policed, which relie\"ed us from heing an- 
 noyed hy the insistance of the shop keepers. 
 
 It took our steamer twenty-two hours to get through the 
 Canal, as we were side-tracked iov all the steamers we met. 
 It was a pleasant experience, as we dreamily slipped along. 
 At some places the Canal is \evy narrow, and again widens 
 into two big lakes. .\ unique condition exists here. The ir- 
 rigated land of the Nile comes down to the Canal on the west 
 side, and everything is l)eautiful and green. The other side 
 has no irrigation, and no water, and the whole country is a 
 sandy desert. 
 
 After coaling last night at Port Said, our captain found 
 he could not start the steamer, ^^d^ile she only draws twenty- 
 five feet of water, yet she was stuck fast on a sand bar. After 
 two hours of effort the captain called a tug, and with this 
 assistance we were floated without damage to the vessel. 
 
 RED SEA 
 
 After getting out of the Canal, going South, with a short 
 stop at Suez, we sailed through an arm of the Red Sea, at 
 least one hundred miles long and one to ten miles wide. This 
 is. without douht, that part of the Red Sea where the Lord 
 took the children of Israel across on dry land, and when the 
 Egyptian armv es.sayed to follow, were engulfed in the re- 
 
 II
 
 OL'R H()IJI).\\- IX Al'RlCA
 
 PORT SUDAN 
 
 turning waters. We were in sight of Alt. Sinai for nearly half 
 a day. A German Baroness, a fellow traveler, tells us that 
 she had heen to the top of Mt. Sinai three years ago. She 
 says there are steps cut in the rocks in places, making it less 
 difficult to ascend, although the height is about seven thousand 
 and five hundred feet. These steps were cut by order of the 
 Czar, two centuries ago. 
 
 The Arabian coast is bleak and l)arren for a long distance 
 south of Alt. Sinai. We are not surprised that the children of 
 Israel murmured at Moses and wanted to turn back to Egypt. 
 Arabia is still a barren wilderness and an army of six hun- 
 dred thousand could not be marched through that country now 
 for forty years, without being fed l^y the Lord. 
 
 As soon as we get through the Suez Canal, it may be said 
 that we are in the far East. The people are Arabians, Egyp- 
 tians, East Indians, or almost any other nationality except the 
 Chinese or Japanese. While the ])orts where we land are En- 
 glish possessions, there arc onl\- a few Englishmen, and the 
 spoken language may be Arabic or an}' other foreign tongue, 
 so far as we know, as we do not understand a word of it. 
 
 After two days sail on the calm Red Sea, which is always 
 warm enough and usually much too h()t for comfort, we ar- 
 ri\-ed at Port Sudan. 
 
 PORT SCDAX 
 
 Se\eral of our most ])lcasant and agreeable passengers 
 are lea\-ing us at this place, on their way to Khartum, by rail. 
 1diis is the onl\- ])ort on the western side of the Red Sea of any 
 importance, and maw at some time, be a i)lace of much ship- 
 ])ing. Since the English ha\e made their army headquarters 
 at Khartum the\" ha\'e for their convenience built a railway 
 from I'ort .Sudan to IJerber on the Xile. This will enable 
 
 13
 
 Ol-R HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 OLR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 PORT SUDAN 
 
 them to transport their supplies with a railway haul of about 
 two or three hundred miles from the Sea. Otherwise they 
 would have to transport by rail from Alexandria, Egypt, for 
 about a thousand miles. 
 
 The English have spent a large amount of money at Port 
 Sudan, building a break-water, dredging out the harbor and 
 building substantial stone docks and warehouses. There is 
 a coaling station here with great quantities of coal stored. The 
 finest and best o\'er-head tramwa}- that we have e\'er seen for 
 handling coal from ships to the various parts of the yard. 
 There are railway tracks all along the extensive clocks with 
 heavy power cranes for loading and unloading all kinds of 
 merchandise. Idie town is only six years old and has made a 
 start toward making a city, having large stone buildings used 
 for court houses, churches, hotels and railway offices. The 
 residences are of wood, raised several feet above the ground, 
 with wide porches screened to protect from flies (which are 
 very bad here) and the roofs built with an open air space for 
 circulation, which makes them ideal for a tropical climate. 
 However, Avith all this building there is not much business, the 
 only thing we saw on the dock for export was peanuts. At 
 some time in the future another dam may be built on the Xile 
 below Khartum, making the water available for irrigation on 
 the land along this new railway. In that case Port Sudan will 
 be an important city. This would be a very important coaling" 
 station for England, if in time of war, the Suez Canal should 
 be blockaded. Such a condition is remote, but the English- 
 man is always getting ready for war, and tliat no doul:)t pre- 
 vents it. 
 
 The Red Sea is a great highway for steamers l)et\veen the 
 far East and Europe. We have passed fifteen today. For 
 two h(>urs we were in water that was a bright red brick col(n\ 
 Probal)l}' this is the reason for the name of Red Sea. We 
 passefl quite close to an Italian man-of-war, e\'idently looking 
 for Turkish \-cssels. The Italians have blockaded several 
 ports on the Arabian side. 
 
 17
 
 ULR llUiJDA\' l.\ Al'KKA 
 
 MAIN STREET— ADEN.
 
 ADEN 
 
 On dropping the anchor at Aden at eight o'clock in the 
 evening we were surrounded by a swarm of native boats, each 
 liaving a lantern, making rather a weird scene, as the night 
 was very dark. The nati\e traders came aboard to sell their 
 oriental stuff. It is very amusing to see people bargaining. 
 
 Aden is an English port, so situated as to command the 
 channel and stop any vessel the}' choose. Almost no rain falls, 
 and the drinking \\ater is brought here and peddled through 
 the city by Arabs driving camels hitched to small wagons. 
 There are some large concrete tanks near the city, which if 
 filled, would enal)le the i)lace to stand a long siege. It is such 
 a God-forsaken place tliat the English soldiers are glad to be 
 transferred to some other port as soon as possible. The next 
 morning, after lea\ing Aden, we noticed an Italian l)attleship 
 about two miles off our port side, and with glasses could see 
 that she had boarded a small Arabian vessel. Evidently was 
 suspicious of the cargo and halted her for examination. 
 
 Our steamer did not stop to make incjuiries. as it was 
 none of our business what was being done. If the Italian bat- 
 tle shi])s seirch e\'er_\' suspicious looking craft passing through 
 these waters, with a \iew of preventing Turkev from getting 
 arms and ammunition for their army at Tripoli, we shall not 
 interfere. 
 
 On February 16. 1912, early in the morning, we rounded 
 Cape Guardafui, the m )st eastern point of Africa, and will now 
 sail along the eastern coast about fifteen hundred miles to 
 IMombasa. The Indian Ocean has the calm, unruffled look of 
 the tropical seas, with not enough wind to cause the slightest 
 motion of our vessel. The weather is certainly hot, but mak- 
 ing headway stirs u]) a little breeze that makes it comfortable 
 when on deck. 
 
 19
 
 OLK liULiDAV iX Al-RICA
 
 MOMBASA 
 
 The East African Coast has been known to ancient geog- 
 raphers for centuries before the Christian Era. Marco Polo, 
 the famous Venetian traveler, visited Mombasa, but it was 
 Vasco Da Gama that took Mombasa in 1498 for the Portu- 
 guese. At one time a l\n'kish corsair built a fort at the end 
 of Mombasa Island, which faces the sea. 
 
 Today the old fort is covered with xines and \'ery pict- 
 urescjue. At the summit of the fort one sees the double en- 
 trance to the ^himliasa harbor. 
 
 \ ery beautifull}' situated is this ancient African city. It 
 is on a small island, at present connected with the main land by 
 a steel railroad bridge se\'enteen hundred feet long. 
 
 Mombasa, in her early career, was the scene of many 
 bloody battles and long sieges. It was captured by the Portu- 
 guese four hundred years ago, and their old fortress built of 
 stone, is still solid and strong and is now used as a jail for 
 native prisoners by the English. The town lies on the east 
 side of the island and along its front is the old ^Mombasa har- 
 bor, filled with native Dhows, or small .sailing vessels, with 
 high stern and prow, reminding us of the st}]e of ships used 
 by Columbus wlien he disco\-ered America. These small sail- 
 ing craft still do most of the business along this coast. Some 
 of them ex'en sailing as far as India, carrying produce. This 
 old harbor is also u.sed bv small steamers, as the custom house 
 is located here, but the larger vessels, which draw more than 
 twentv feet of water, anchor in the new harbor called Klinin- 
 dini. On the west side of the island, at this latter harbor, 
 most of the material for the army and the L'ganda Railway is 
 unloaded. There are good docks ;ind hea\'}- steam cranes for 
 conx'enience in loading and unloading vessels. 
 
 When the English took charge of this country they forced 
 the Sultan to abolish sla\ery. We are told by the residents 
 
 21
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA 
 
 < 
 
 pq 
 O 
 
 W 
 
 Pi 
 <c 
 
 D 
 C 
 
 > 
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 OUR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA 
 
 X^-7 

 
 MOMBASA 
 
 that in slavery times agriculture was carried un much mure ex- 
 tensively than at present. In those days when the nati\es were 
 compelled to work, mealies, or corn, was actually exported 
 from Mombasa to Xew York, but now the natives will not 
 w^ork and the fields are overgrown by weeds. At present the 
 exports from this point are ivory and hides. However, if 
 cotton and coffee growing is greatly increased, as the En- 
 glish anticipate, Mombasa may at some future time, become an 
 important exporting place. 
 
 The modern town of Mombasa is a \'ery prettv place. 
 The old Arab and nati\'e quarter extends inland. The center 
 portion of the town are shops and government offices, and on 
 the high ground facing the Indian Ocean are built the bunga- 
 lows of the government officials and Europeans. These resi- 
 dences are surrounded by gardens wdth beautiful blooming 
 oleanders and other shrubs. Being only four degrees south 
 of the equator, it has the re])utation of being one of the hottest 
 places on earth, and we think that it has justly earned that 
 reputation. There is an ice manufacturing plant here, and 
 they sell it at the rate of two hundred and fifty dollars a ton. 
 How some of our American artesian ice companies would like 
 to get at this ice market for al)out one season. The main trr)u- 
 ble is, that there are so few whites in Mombasa, that the de- 
 mand is small, and a ten-pound chunk would be a large quan- 
 tity for a hotel to buy. Once the proprietor of the Metropole 
 Hotel of Mombasa ga^'e me a piece of ice about the size of a 
 silver dollar, in a glass of water. 
 
 The cit}' has a uni(|ue trolle}' car s}'stem, \-er\' light rails 
 with two feet gauge; the cars ha\-e a small platform with a 
 seat for four i)e(4:)le and a canopy o\'erhead, and pushed by 
 two nati\es. This will serve to illustrate how cheap laljor is 
 in this ])art of the world. It is more profita1)le to run small 
 cars by man power than any other way. Nearly e\'er}- house- 
 holder here owns their little trolley car and have a i:>rivate 
 switch track running into their own grounds. This makes a 
 
 25
 
 Ol'R HOLIDAY 1 X AFRICA
 
 UGANDA RAILWAY 
 
 very convenient way of getting about, as the tracks are laid 
 in nearly all these streets. 
 
 The Calibash, or Baobab tree is also one of the things 
 peculiar to Ahimbasa. It has an immense trunk, frequently 
 ten or twelve feet in <liameter. This huge Ijulk of trunk grows 
 not more than twent}--five feet high with man}- thick, heavy 
 branches, and scarcely any leaves, and has a scarlet blossom. 
 
 One afternoon about five o'clock, when the intense heat 
 had subsided, we took a trolley car to the custom's wharf. 
 After some dickering, the native boatsman agreed on the 
 price, two rupees, to take us two miles across the bay to Frere- 
 town, where the Reverand Doctor Binns. has. for nearly forty 
 years, conducted a church mission and school. 
 
 They have a church building of stone, and other buildings 
 for different scho()l grades, also where carpentry and differ- 
 ent trades are taught, all together making quite a town in a 
 pleasant, shady, cocoanut grove. 
 
 Dr. Binns' life has been spent here. He is an old man 
 but still hale and hearty, and good for years of service in this 
 great cause. 
 
 UGANDA RAILWAY 
 
 The Uganda Railway starts from Mombasa and runs five 
 hundred and eighty-four miles to Victoria Nyanza. This line 
 was built by the English (iovernment at the cost of twenty-two 
 million dollars, and com])leted ten years ago. The gauge is 
 four feet with good heavy rails and iron ties, the track well 
 graded and ballasted. The rolling" stock is small light cars, 
 but those used for freight are built of iron throughout. 
 
 The passenger coaches are small compartment cars, the 
 compartments seating four persons each, and having a shelf 
 that lets down to form a sleeping berth. The passengers must 
 
 27
 
 OUR HOLTD.\^' TX A1<RTCA
 
 UGANDA RAILWAY 
 
 furnish their own bed clothing and towels, and there are no 
 porters to make up the beds or roll up the bed clothing in the 
 morning. Many passengers take a native servant along to do 
 this work. 
 
 The engines used on this road were built by the Baldwin 
 Locomotive Works of New Jersey, and the iron bridges, which 
 are very few, were built by an American company. The ob- 
 stacles in Ijuilding this line were great, not the least of which 
 were the "white ants," wdiich eat almost everything, including 
 railway ties. At the time the railroad was building the lions, 
 leopards and buffalos were very troublesome. At Tsavo Sta- 
 tion, there were twenty-eight natives carried away and eaten by 
 the lions, all of which demoralized the working force to such 
 an extent that they deserted the work at this pciint. At last 
 the manager. Colonel Patterson, Imilt a cage for himself and 
 watched for the lions at night until he killed the two ferocious 
 animals, and then the natives resumed their work. .Mso the 
 annoyance was great from the natives who insisted on stealing" 
 the telegraph wire. They wished to use it as bracelets for 
 their arms and legs. The railroad officers warned the Chief 
 of the tribes that thev must let the wires alone, but the tempta- 
 tion was so great that the stealing continued until war was de- 
 clared an<l some lives lost. 
 
 There is no coal in this part of Africa and the locomotive 
 burns wood. The engineers on these trains are East Indians, 
 who have proved themselves to be very good men in the rail- 
 way service. The officers of the road, of course, are mostly 
 Englishmen. The station masters, or clerks, are usually East 
 Indians and are quite accommodating. To illustrate, an En- 
 glish passenger on our train had a small dog which he was 
 taking along, and just as the train started from one of the 
 country stations the dog saw a flock of goats a quarter of a 
 mile distant, and instead of jumping on the train with his ma.s- 
 ter, he took a run for the goats. The Englishman shouted to 
 the engineer to "wait a minute," and off he went with his na- 
 
 29
 
 OLR HOLIDAY L\ AFRICA
 
 UGANDA RAILWAY 
 
 tive servant after the "blooming little clog." who chased the 
 goats and was brought back and put on the train, and then the 
 train started. 
 
 In connection \\ith the Uganda Railway the government 
 runs a line of steamers on Victoria Xyanza. There are five 
 of these steamers at present on this lake, and each of them were 
 built and set up complete in England, then were taken to pieces 
 and each piece numbered and shipped by water to Mombasa, 
 then by rail over the Uganda Railway to the lake, wdiere they 
 were put together again, all of which was quite an undertaking. 
 The first steamer, however, was br(jught out before the rail- 
 way was built, and all of the pieces were carried on the heads 
 of natives from ?\lombasa to the lake. Many of the pieces 
 were thrown away by the natives and had to be replaced. It 
 took eight years getting this first steamer in running order. 
 This railwa}' and tliese steamboats were put in service l)y the 
 English grnernment. not as a paying investment, but because 
 it was necessary to hold this country for England. They have 
 so developed the country that the traffic now pays the running 
 expenses, and a fair profit on the investment. 
 
 The transportation to Victoria Nyanza from the coast was 
 almost impossible before the railway was built. Everything 
 was carried six hundred miles by the natives and the actual 
 cost was one thousand dollars per ton. 
 
 On leaving Mombasa for the interior by rail, the first few 
 miles of the country have been improved by the planters and 
 looked very well, but after that the soil is poor and rough with 
 only the thorny acacia shrul) and sharp spiked aloes. Then 
 we come to the plains with the long grass where white jjcople 
 can live and farm. 1'his section, on both sides of the track, 
 is set apart by the goxernment as a game reser\-ation. and here 
 is to l)e seen more game than in an_\- other part of the world. 
 These animals \ery soon learn that tlie\' are not molested and 
 l)ecome quite tanx'. Many of them grazing near the track do 
 not run away when the train a])proaches. while others run a 
 few wards and sto]) with he;ids u]). In a half a d;i\" we saw
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX Al-RICA 
 
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 Si 
 
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 2 - 
 
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 CS
 
 UGANDA RAILWAY 
 
 at least a thousand head of game, most of which were of the 
 antelope family. There were beautiful little Thomson ga- 
 zells, and still more beautiful Grant's gazells, with a broad 
 black strip along each side. The big wielde beast, called "gnu" 
 in the old geographies, looks much like the wild buffalo, and 
 some of them weigh seven hundred pounds or more. We also 
 saw many zebra, eland and great numbers of ostriches, im- 
 mense birds, almost as large as horses, all grazing peacefully 
 together. We were disappointed that we did not see giraffe; 
 they had not come down from the high pastures. We did not 
 see any lions or leopards, as they usually skulk along in ra- 
 vines and high grass. There are many lions through this 
 game reservation, and recently a passenger saw nine in one 
 bunch from a car window\ We w^ere detained four hours by a 
 wash-out near Athi River Station, and only last week a hunter 
 found three lions not more than three himdred yards from 
 this station. He followed them and killed two. 
 
 ^^'hen the road was first built the lions were much more 
 troublesome than they are now. At that time a lion went 
 prowling around one of the stations in daylight and drove all 
 the employees into the telegraph office, where they barricaded 
 the doors. The operator then wired the next station, "Don't 
 let number four stop here, a lion is sitting on the platform." 
 Recently two hunters were about to camp beside the road 
 for the night, when a man with an ox team passing told them 
 he had seen two lions near the road about a half mile back. 
 One of the hunters said, "I am going to see if I can get a shot 
 at them." The other said, "It is getting too late." Neverthe- 
 less, the first man went to look for them alone. He soon saw 
 them about one hundred yards distant; taking aim, fired, 
 wounding the female ; another shot, and he missed her. By this 
 time the Lioness was upon him. The horse was paralyzed with 
 fear and would not move. The lioness pulled the hunter off 
 his horse; the man rammed his left arm into her throat, and 
 the unequal fight began. Fortunately, another ox team hap- 
 pened along. The driver had no gun, but he ran to the hunter's 
 
 33
 
 OUR HOLID.W 1\ Al'KICA
 
 UGANDA RAILWAY 
 
 assistance, with his long whip dealt the lioness a few heavy 
 blows, which caused her to give up the fight and run off. The 
 hunter was so badly lacerated that he died a few da}-s after- 
 ward. 
 
 Alajor Gordon, a retired army officer, who came back on 
 the ship with us from Cape Town, owns a large cattle ranch 
 two hundred and fifty miles north of Victoria Falls in Rho- 
 desia, not far from the Congo line. Usually he rounds his cat- 
 tle up in a paddock at night, to avoid trouble with lions and 
 leopards. Recently six lions raided his cattle paddock. 
 Something had to be done to drive the ugly beasts away. Ac- 
 cordingly he started out on horseback the next day to hunt 
 them. A few hours later he came in sight of five lions in one 
 l)unch. One was a tremendous big fellow with a black, shaggy 
 mane. The Alajor immediately decided to get this big one, 
 the leader of the gang, if possible. WHiile the lion was leis- 
 urely making his way toward a bunch of brush, the ]\Iajor 
 made a circuit and intercepted him. As soon as the linn saw 
 him, he charged for horse and rider. The critical time had 
 come. The Major held his gun as steadv as possible, as his 
 horse was ^■ery restless, and when the lion was about five 
 yards distant, fired from the horse's back. Extraordinary as 
 it seems, the shot went true and entered the head about an 
 inch below the eye, and killed the lion. The ]\Iajor had the 
 skin with him and exhibited it to us. It was the largest lion 
 skin we have ever seen, ten feet from tip of nose to tip of tail — 
 a great trophy. 
 
 35
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA 

 
 NAIROBI 
 
 Nairobi is the capital of British East Africa and is a rap- 
 idly growing town made by the railway. It is situated on a 
 level plain, five thousand feet above sea level, almost under 
 the equator. It has a population of one thousand whites and 
 fifteen thousand blacks. The business buildings are located 
 on what is called "Government Road," which is about a mile 
 and one-half long, well paved and has a row of Eucalyptus 
 trees on each side. It is most picturesque with its swarming 
 humanity. One sees natives representing all the different tribes 
 of East Africa in their state of dress and undress, loaded down 
 with beads, copper wire bracelets, anklets, shields and spears. 
 On this street are the outfitters for the hunters, and it is here 
 that the natives are hired as porters, to carry the camping out- 
 fit. There are very few horses and mules here and the usual 
 mode of conveyance is by Rickshaw. These are not so light 
 and easy running as those in Japan, but have heavy wheels and 
 carry two persons, with two natives to push and one to pull. 
 The nights are rather cold, but the midday sun is very hot. To 
 us, after one day out of the sweltering heat of Mombasa, it 
 seemed delightful. If we were to select this part of the world 
 as a permanent place of residence, which we do not anticipate, 
 we should certainly live in Nairobi. The courts and other gov- 
 ernment business is now transacted in one-story sheet iron 
 houses, but this will all be changed in a few years. Some beau- 
 tiful bungalows have been built in the suburbs, with handsome 
 gardens. 
 
 The growing of fruits has not yet progressed far enough 
 to decide what is best suited to this climate, but most tropical 
 fruits will do well. Corn and wheat are raised in this section 
 in a small way. 
 
 Nairobi is a great center for big game hunting, and most 
 of the hunting parties, or Safari, as they are called in this coun- 
 try, are made up here. If you were to come out to Africa to 
 
 37
 
 OLR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 NAIROBI 
 
 hunt or to "shoot," as they say, you would come to this place 
 and hire one hundred porters to carry your camping outfit. 
 Also gun bearers and cooks. To each porter you would have 
 to give a blanket. Then go marching to those places where it 
 is reported plenty of game is to be found. First you must get 
 a hunter's license, which will cost two hundred and fifty dollars 
 and allows you to hunt outside of the game reservations, for 
 one year, and limits you to two elephants, twenty zebras, two 
 buffalos and no giraffe, and many other variety of animals, 
 limited to two ; and you may kill as many lions and leopards 
 as you can. After you have made all preparations you are 
 still not sure of success. A hunter with a friend had been out 
 for some time with a large number of porters, and all things 
 needed, and had really gotten almost nothing. They saw three 
 herds of elephants and were near enough to photograph them, 
 but did not kill any. It is not encouraging when it is raining 
 every day and one is tramping through the wet grass and sleep- 
 ing in a wet camp, to get no game. On the other hand, we 
 were informed that recently Mr. Paul J. Rainey. an Americnn 
 hunter, brought with him a pack of hounds, and with their as- 
 sistance, killed sixty lions in a few weeks. Lion skins of good 
 quality sell here for fifty dollars each. 
 
 ^\'e left Nairolji for Uganda on February 24, 1912, and 
 found the railway trip most interesting. Anticipating a cold 
 night, we took a large roll of blankets and wraps, all of which 
 we used and were still uncomfortably cold, although just under 
 the equator. There are a good many white settlers on farms 
 along this part of the road. In fact, more farming is done 
 on this northwestern end of the road than we have seen else- 
 where. We crossed the great Rift Valley in daylight. This is 
 a crack in the earth's surface, two thousand feet deep, and 
 from one to twenty miles wide. It is said to be two thousand 
 miles long, running nortli and south through the central part 
 of the continent. It is a very extraordinary freak of nature, 
 supposed to be caused by the earth's cooling. Idiere are sev- 
 
 39
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 NAIROBI 
 
 eral lakes along different places in this valley, some of them 
 sweet and others salt. The land lies in fine shape for farming 
 in this Rift Valley and is nearly all fenced up. It is used as 
 grazing land for cattle and sheep, as the rains are too uncertain 
 for agriculture. Often no rain falls in this valley for four 
 months. 
 
 VICTORIA NYANZA 
 
 We reached Port Florence on Victoria Nyanza early in 
 the morning and at once went aboard the steamer "Sir Clement 
 Hill" — carrying capacity, two hundred and fifty tons; length, 
 two hundred and twenty feet, for a six days sail, on this, the 
 greatest body of fresh water in the world — area, 32,165 square 
 miles; Lake Superior being next with an area of 31,750 square 
 miles. This lake is the source of the Nile, for thousands of 
 years hidden from the sight of white man, and only discovered 
 about fifty years ago by the explorer Speke. It is three thou- 
 sand six hundred feet above sea level. Over the Ripon Falls, 
 it pours out its tremendous volume of water to feed the desert 
 lands along this great river for three thousand miles to the 
 Mediterranean. This is where the fatal sleeping sickness has 
 carried off two hundred thousand natives in ten years. After 
 investigation, it has been decided by the scientific men that this 
 sleeping sickness is caused by the bite of the Tsetse Fly, which 
 infest the many islands and shores of this great lake. Ac- 
 cordingly, the English government has, by force, removed t'ne 
 natives two miles back from the lake shore, and taken them en- 
 tirely off the islands. It is supposed that this wholesale remov- 
 al has saved the lives of the remainder of the Baganda Tribe, 
 
 41
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 VICTORIA NYANZA 
 
 who inhabit this region. They could not understand the reason 
 for tlieir removal and continued to run back to the islands until 
 finally the government officials were compelled to burn their 
 boats. These shores and islands are covered with beautiful 
 trees, luxuriant vegetation, and looked very inviting as w'e 
 passed along. There are hundreds of these islands in the lake, 
 some of them quite large, and nearly all have been inhaljited. 
 The adjacent shores, where the towns are situated and where 
 our landings were made, have been cleared of jungle. All trees 
 near the water have been cut down, and the Tsetse Fly is not 
 doing as great havoc as formerly. The Tsetse Fly will not 
 live except in deep shade and near the water. The moscjuitoes 
 are also very troublesome on this lake, and particularly on the 
 shallow shores at the landing places. 
 
 When we anchored for the night we were extraordinarilv 
 careful to use good mosquito net at night and ha\e it well 
 tucked in. The equator crosses this lake near the ncjrth shore 
 and the line dividing the British and (lerman territory, passes 
 nearly through the middle of the lake. The southern part of 
 the lake belongs to Germany. There are several small tov/ns 
 along their shores. 
 
 43
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 UGANDA 
 
 Our first stop was at Entebbe, the residence capital of 
 Uganda. It is beautifully situated on the hills rising from the 
 lake and it is there that the Governor and officials live. The 
 government house is on the highest point, surrounded by lovely 
 gardens. The many bungalows are very attractive, with the 
 settings of their gardens of tropical flowers and overlooking 
 the lake. The English take the greatest interest in their gar- 
 dens, both flower and vegetable. On the steamer we met a 
 government official and his family, who lived at Entebbe. 
 They asked us to dinner at their home. We accepted and had 
 a delightful time and an excellent dinner. They were charm- 
 ing and agreeable, and their bungalow was most attractive. 
 The bungalow is built of brick and plastered over. The floor, 
 cement, painted a brown color and polished like hard wood, 
 which keeps out all insects. The furniture is covered with 
 chintz in bright colors, and the rugs are leopard and lion, 
 or any other skin shot by the host. They don't buy the skins, 
 but shoot the game themselves. One lady hunter said, 'T 
 should not think you would want skins you did not shoot for 
 yourself." Our reply was that we would certainly never have 
 any if we had to kill the beast. She seemed surprised at the 
 statement. She and her husband and son have been out for 
 three months on "Safari," but the son was taken with appen- 
 dicitis in the bush. Fortunately, they got into a little town 
 where there were two doctors who pulled him through with- 
 out an operation. 
 
 From Enteblje, r)ur next stop was Kampala. It is the 
 headf|uarters of the police, or as we would call it, state militia. 
 The business is done by East Indians. 
 
 Kampala is built on seven hills. The soil is very fertile; 
 coffee, cotton, antl some rubber is raised, and bananas every- 
 where. On one of the hills the native King of Uganda lives. 
 
 45
 
 OUR H()LI1).\^ l.\ AI'kICA
 
 UGANDA 
 
 His residence is enclosed by many reed fences. On another 
 hill is the mission of the White Fathers, or French Catholics. 
 On another is the church of England Mission, with its large 
 three-steepled cathedral and fine hospital. On the summit of 
 another hill is Saint Joseph, or Nsambya Mission, English 
 Catholics. This is the one we visited, as we wanted to see a 
 fine coffee plantation. On another hill is the government of- 
 ficial's residence, and the old fort has a hill to itself. 
 
 Kampala is situated seven miles from the lake on a good 
 macadamized road, and we made the distance by Rickshaw in 
 one hour. The four natives we had to pull and push our Rich- 
 shaw were good strong fellows and sang nearly all the way. 
 We were told they were singing our praises, calling me the 
 greatest and strongest "Bwana" (a great man) that ever lived, 
 and Mrs. Wheeler, "the beautiful lady." Apparently they 
 sang this same verse over several hundred times. 
 
 Uganda country, on this side of the lake, is undulating and 
 beautiful. Most of the land is planted with bananas, and a 
 small part with sweet potatoes. The banana is the main food 
 of the pe.'iple here. It ripens at all seasons of the year, so 
 that the natives have it ready for use continually. The banana 
 grows about three times as large as those we get in America, 
 and the quality is excellent. There are many varieties, but 
 they must be cooked before they are fit to eat. 
 
 W^e were advised to go out and see the Catholic Father's 
 coffee plantation and mission, which we did, and they treated 
 us most cordially. Father Proctor is in charge and took us 
 over the plantation of about six hundred acres. They are ex- 
 tensively engaged in raising bananas and coffee, and trying to 
 raise cocoa, but have not made much headway with the latter, 
 as yet. The coffee trees are beautiful and promise an abundant 
 harvest. 
 
 47
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 UGANDA 
 
 The Sisters have a school with over three hundred black 
 children and a hospital where the natives are treated. The 
 children come from great distances, bringing their food, living 
 in the little rest houses built of thatch, from Monday until 
 Friday, and then return to their native village. These devoted 
 Christian workers have been here from ten to fourteen years, 
 and do not find it necessary to return to England to recuper- 
 ate their health. This leads us to think that if other mission- 
 aries, as well as individuals, in the service of the government, 
 were as careful as these good people, it would not be necessary 
 for them to have a furlough for the benefit of their health. 
 
 The Mission buildings are built of cement, all roofed with 
 thatch, like that used for the native buildings here. It makes 
 a waterproof roof and much cooler than any other kind. 
 
 The prevalence of wild game in this country may be il- 
 lustrated by the fact that the good Sisters of this mission have 
 quite recently been annoyed by the nightly visits of a leopard, 
 which comes into the compound and makes much noise barking 
 and growling. One of the natives has been trying to shoot it 
 with a bow and arrow. They are not allowed to have guns 
 of any kind, and the leopard still makes his nightly visits. 
 There are many elephants and buffaloes in Uganda. They 
 are so numerous that they damage the crops. No doubt the 
 government will soon give permission to kill as many as they 
 wish, otherwise the farmers will be driven out of business. 
 
 There is a large cotton gin in Kampala, which is doing a 
 good business at present. We saw seventeen wagon loads of 
 cotton from the landing to the gin. These wagons are all 
 pulled and pushed by from six to ten native men. The mer- 
 chants here are East Indians. They are said to be dishonest 
 and tricky and a detriment to the country, l)ut the natives have 
 not, as yet, developed so as to become merchants. These East 
 Indians carry in their little shops a small assortment of such 
 
 49
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 UGANDA 
 
 things as a native needs. We noticed American made brown 
 cotton and prints in their stock. These American made goods 
 are preferred to any other. Their stores are one story cor- 
 rugated iron shacks, called tin houses. There are only a few 
 brick buildings. 
 
 Uganda seems to be well adapted to raising coffee and 
 cotton. At present cotton has much the largest acreage, and 
 every steamer that crosses the lake to the railway is loaded 
 with it. The prospects are, that in a few years, this will be- 
 come one of the most important cotton growing countries in 
 the world, outside of the United States. The freights are 
 about three cents a pound to England, but the labor is very 
 cheap, only two or three rupees (a dollar) a month. 
 
 We made our last stop at Jinja, before returning to Port 
 Florence. The point of interest to us at that place was Ripon 
 Falls, the source of the Nile, which has been seen by only a 
 few white people. The actual fall is not more than thirty feet 
 at the dam and the volume of water does not compare with 
 our Niagara Falls. The lake narrows here to a few hundred 
 yards. The magnificent view of this river, stretching away 
 to the north amid enchanting scenery, is most impressive. One 
 can well imagine how elated the explorer Speke must have 
 felt when, after enduring countless hardships, he at last looked 
 upon and solved one of the great mysteries of the ancients, 
 "the source of the Nile." The channel where this fall makes 
 its way out of the lake has abrupt banks about one hundred 
 feet high, and nature has built a rock dam across this channel, 
 about twelve hundred feet long, forty feet high and thirty 
 feet thick. The strata of rock is set upon the edge, and at 
 first sight looks as though it was built by man. It is so reg- 
 ular and straight. The water has broken through this natural 
 dam in three places. At present there is not much need of 
 electric power, but if this country develops, as is expected, in 
 a few years a great electric power plant will no doubt be 
 
 5^
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 UGANDA 
 
 erected, and abundant power furnished for all purposes, in all 
 directions for many miles. 
 
 There is a newly built railroad from this place, Jinja, 
 sixty-one miles down the Nile, to the place where the river 
 becomes navigable, and on this part of the Nile the English 
 government has a small steamer, making a run of about one 
 hundred and fifty miles. The engineer of this steamer came 
 out \Nith us on the Dunvegan Castle, after being" home on a 
 furlough. He has been in this country several years and tells 
 us that his boat has more cotton, coffee and peanuts than it 
 can carry, and that the government will soon put on another 
 steamer. Some people already go down the Nile by this route 
 via Khartum to the Mediterranean. 
 
 In order to do this one would take the railway from Jinja 
 for sixty-one miles, then the small steamer above mentioned 
 for about one hundred and fifty miles to a point where the 
 Nile is too rocky and swift for navigation. Along this part 
 of the river for three hundred miles the traveler would have 
 to walk, or to be carried in a hammock. The walking is not 
 very good in this section, and it takes about thirty days to do 
 this. The water is scarce and the heat very great. The flies, 
 moscjuitoes, elephants, buffaloes, rhinoceros, hippottami, lions, 
 leopards, antelopes and many insects abound here. After 
 doing the w^alking, the river steamers and railways would take 
 one through Khartum and all the way dow'u the Nile to the 
 Mediterranean. Every year there are parties who do this trip, 
 and some of them women. We had, before leaving home, 
 thought of doing this trip, and wrote to Thomas Cook & Son, 
 of London, inquiring about it, but they replied that on account 
 of the three hundred miles of walking, it was not practical. 
 
 On landing at Jinja there is a large sign reading in En- 
 glish, "To Ripon Ealls." We took a Rickshaw, propelled by 
 three lusty natives, pointed to the sign board and told them to 
 
 53
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 UGANDA 
 
 take us to the falls. They started in the right direction, and 
 we supposed it was understood where we wanted to go. We 
 had been told it was only about fifteen minutes' walk. Our 
 Rickshaw men took us through the pretty little tin town of 
 Jinja and out in the country on a well graded and mecadam- 
 ized road, through fields of bananas, which were in a fine 
 state of cultivation, and every few hundred yards would be 
 found a small native village nestling among the banana trees. 
 One peculiar thing about all these natives of Central Africa is, 
 that they build their huts and villages as far as possible out of 
 sight, so that one might travel for days through a thickly set- 
 tled partion of Africa and see almost no habitation. Quite 
 likely, this idea of building their huts and villages in secreted 
 places was brought about by the continual warfare among the 
 tribes. In several places we passed one hundred or more na- 
 tive men resting in the shade of large trees. They had car- 
 ried cotton from the country, fifty or sixty miles, and were 
 now returning to their homes. All this was very pretty and 
 interesting, but we wanted to get to the falls. After trotting 
 along about an hour we asked the leader where he was taking 
 us. He pointed ahead, mumbling his language. However, 
 after traveling several miles more we decided we were lost in 
 Uganda. At last, we made our Rickshaw team turn back to 
 the town and found the falls beyond the hills, in another direc- 
 tion. It was after five o'clock in the afternoon when we 
 reached the falls, and taking photographs so late in the day is 
 not usually successful. We returned to the steamer and are 
 sailing across the Victoria Nyanza to Port Florence on our 
 w^ay to the coast, after having penetrated into the "Heart of 
 Africa" for nearly one thousand miles from the sea. 
 
 Our little steamer has been quite comfortable; the food 
 better than we anticipated, and we have greatly enjoyed the 
 trip, as every day has brought something new and strange, and 
 showed us the manner of living of these people of interior 
 Africa. 
 
 55
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX A 1- RICA
 
 NATIVES 
 
 Toda}-, we noticed on the horizon, several clouds, which 
 at a distance resembled clouds of smoke arising" from forest 
 fires. The captain told us they were small flies or lake gnats. 
 Sometimes the steamer is enveloped by these clouds and they 
 make life miserable for the time being, as they get into every- 
 thing. We are told that the natives eat them, but they eat al- 
 most anything. 
 
 The scenery on the Uganda railway from Victoria Nyanza 
 to Nairobi is fine. The first fifty miles after leaving the lake 
 the railway climbs to the summit of the mountain, eight thou- 
 sand three hundred and twenty feet. We enjo3'ed this mag- 
 nificent scenery without discomfort, as the recent rains had 
 laid the dust. On the top of the mountain is a wide plateau 
 of fine undulating farm lands, all taken up by white settlers, 
 and many beautiful homes are to be seen. This is almost un- 
 der the equator, but with the high altitude the air is bracing 
 and invigorating. Almost everything that grows in the tem- 
 perate zone does well on this plateau. 
 
 NATIVES 
 
 We will tell you of the different nati^•e tribes in our 
 "Heart of Africa" trip. The Swahali of the coast, the Massai, 
 who are the herders of cattle, and the warlike tribe, the Ki- 
 kuyus. who work in the fields, and the Somalis, who are the 
 house boys and giui bearers, and the Kovorondo, that wear no 
 clothing. The tribes have nothing to do wdth each other, and 
 each have their own distinct characteristics. The Baganda, 
 in Uganda, are more ci\ilized and better workers than any of 
 the other tribes. The older Avomen in all of these tribes do 
 most of the work, and it is usually well done, in Uganda, as 
 
 57
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA 
 
 KIKUYU BELLE 
 Notice the lobe of her ear — over two inches in diameter.
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA 
 
 NATIVE KIKUYU DANDY— Notice the ear lobe is stretched out large 
 enough to take in a three-inch block of wood.
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA 
 
 KIKUYU WOMAN LOADED BEYOND HER STRENGTH 
 An object of pity.
 
 NATIVES 
 
 the fields of bananas and sweet potatoes are free from weeds. 
 These Uganda natives were wearing some clothing when the 
 wdiite man discovered them. One of the characteristics of the 
 Kikuyu tribe is the disfiguring of their ears. They stretch 
 the lobe of the ears so that the hole will take in a small fruit 
 can or a block of wood three inches in diameter, and they 
 slit the rim of their ears and put in three sticks, like a lead 
 pencil, through the upper part of each ear. 
 
 To add to the general effect, they take red earth, mixed 
 with oil, and scrub it into their wool and smear their entire 
 faces and bodies with it, until they look about the color of a 
 chestnut sorrel colt. Many of them wear strings of beads, 
 and a piece of cotton cloth draped over one shoulder to their 
 knees. The Kovorondo, located on the east side of Victoria 
 Nyanza, usually wear no clothing of any kind, having only 
 coils of iron and brass wire around their legs and arms. Both 
 the Samolis and Masai have fine physical appearance. The 
 Samoli are Mohammedans, and horsemen ; the Masai are cat- 
 tle herders, who do their work, as they did their fighting, on 
 foot, and are a very martial type. These tribes are much like 
 little children, who hardly know right from wrong, and will 
 follow their triljal chief and do as he commands. As a gen- 
 eral rule, thev have very little conception of morality or hon- 
 esty, until taught by the white man. They have very little 
 gratitude, small regard for their children, and none for their 
 jiarents or relatives when sick. Sometimes they throw their 
 sick relatives out of their huts to die, and leave their bodies to 
 be devoured by wild animals. Still more horrible to relate, 
 after death from sickness or other cause, some of them cook 
 and eat their own relatives. They have no conception of God, 
 unless their regard for witchcraft should be so considered. 
 They do not worship idols, or have any other form of worship. 
 
 There are manv self-sacrificing missionaries in this coun- 
 try, trying to teach and elevate these people. We believe that 
 they are doing noble work, but the improvement is so slow^ 
 that it must be very discouraging. Many times these natives 
 
 6i
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 EAST COAST 
 
 claim to believe in God, when they really have no conception 
 of a Divine Being-. There are many white residents of Africa 
 who claim that the missionaries are doing no good, and that 
 their converts are simply converts to get what they can from 
 the missionary. It will, no doubt, be admitted by most of the 
 thinking Christian people, that it is a problem as to what is 
 best to do for these, the lowest order of humanity. The ma- 
 jority of opinion by Christian people living in Africa is that 
 it would be better to have the missionaries teach the natives to 
 work, rather than reading and writing, and doing at all times 
 all things possible to open their minds to the Gospel, by 
 preaching and teaching that there is one God Almighty, and 
 that Tesus Christ died to save all that truly believe in Him. 
 
 DOWN THE EAST COAST 
 
 After waiting at Mombasa for several days we took a 
 small steamer, belonging to the British India line, bound down 
 the east coast of Africa with a cargo of rice from Bombay. 
 We sailed out of Mombasa harbor at sunset and our last view 
 of the island, with its mellow tinted houses nestled in greenery, 
 with the blue sea for a setting, was a beautiful sight. 
 
 63
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA 
 
 i^PCra
 
 OL'R 1I()L1I).\\" IX AI-RIC"A
 
 ZANZIBAR 
 
 In the earl}' dawn of the (Ui}', after leaving Mombasa, on 
 looking" (lUt of the cabin wincbnv, we saw, close. at hand, the 
 island of Zanzibar, rising out of the blue sea, outlined in beau- 
 tiful greens of the \vaving palms. We were rowed ashore in 
 a nati\e boat in the cool of the morning. The ancient Arab 
 city, with its narrow lanes, or streets, winding in and out be- 
 tween the high white walls of the houses, looking very oriental. 
 W^ith a guide, we \isite(l the market place, the bazaar where 
 the cross-legged Hindu sits in his little shop (which is a hole 
 in the wall) with expressionless face. We went to the Africa 
 Hotel for breakfast (which was not very good), and were 
 taken to the top floor. In climbing the two flights of stairs, 
 which were of stone, we noticed the steps were worn half 
 down. It must ha\e taken a century to wear these stone steps 
 in that way. as the feet that travel them are usually bare. 
 From the Orient we descended to the Modern world and hired 
 a motor car for the drive to the clove "shambas," or planta- 
 tions of Bububu, seven miles from the city, over an excellent 
 paved road, between rows of Mango and Palm trees, and the 
 picturesque, thatched huts of the natives. The old palaces of 
 former sultans lined the way, as in olden times when the Sul- 
 tan died, a new palace was built for his successor, and the 
 others allowed to go to ruin. These picturesque ruins are now 
 covered with a thick mass of vines or jungle vegetation. Zan- 
 zibar exports three quarters of all the cloves used in the w^orld. 
 This is a good year for the l)usiness and a bumper harvest is 
 now nearlv completed. The trees are planted in rows, like our 
 orchards, and the leaxes are similar to our cherry trees. 
 
 This is one of the greatest ivory markets of Africa. Most 
 of the business is done by a New York firm, Arnold Cheney & 
 Co., who have been here many years. 
 
 The present Sultan. Ali-bin-Hammond. who is about 
 twentv-five years of age, was educated at Eaton, in England, 
 and, of course, speaks English fluently. He has built, for him- 
 self, a palace in the center of the business district, with his 
 
 67
 
 Ol'K IIOI.IDW l.\ Al-kKA
 
 ZAXZUJAR 
 
 harem adjoining, lliis palace is bnilt with colonnades all 
 around it up to the fourth floor, looking more like a business 
 house than a palace. 
 
 Zanzibar is under an English protectorate ; the Sultan 
 claims a strip ten miles wide along the coast, and has leased it 
 to the English at a regular annual rental. A court of English 
 lawmakers sit with him to make all laws, and he has little ac- 
 tual power. 
 
 The Germans l)ought out all the rights of the Sultan along 
 their coast, so he has no claim to their East African territory. 
 A former Sultan was not so good a trader, and undertook co 
 bluff the British authority and dared them to fire on his ships. 
 The result was that his little fleet was sunken in forty-five 
 minutes. The mast of one ship still shows abo\e the water in 
 the harbor, and a danger light is hung above it everv night. 
 The harbor is protected l)y islands, and is a rather good place 
 for vessels to anchor. There has been no landing place made 
 for passengers, and the nati\'e row boats, \\hich bring pas- 
 sengers from the s]ii])s. are run upon the beach as far as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 As we wandered about the tangled streets we came upon 
 the original church mission, estaljlished by Livingstone, the 
 greatest missionary explorer Africa ever had. This church 
 is in a large garden with tropical trees, making it an in\itingl\' 
 cool and peaceful place. The church door was open and we 
 stepped inside a few minutes. We called upon the American 
 Consul, who is a Virginian, and a most agreea1)le gentleman. 
 We were gladly welcomed, and he invited us to luncheon or 
 dinner, but we did not impose upon his politeness. He tel^s 
 us that there is an .\merican Colony here, consisting of another 
 man and himself. He has very comfortable but oriental look- 
 ing rooms. Alanv ciu'ios about, and a carved wood oriental 
 window with hanging baskets and birds. A li\eried servant 
 brought us a refreshing drink of water. 
 
 The English have a fine golf and tennis club here and the 
 Consul in^•ited us to play a game of golf with him. at five 
 
 69
 
 OUR IIULIDA^" IX Al'RICA
 
 MOZAMBIQUE 
 
 o'clock, but the very thoug'ht of such exertiou. caused us to 
 perspire profusely, and we declined with tlianks. The English 
 abolished slavery fourteen years ago, and since that time the 
 labor to work the large clove plantations has been rather un- 
 certain. 
 
 MOZAMBIQUE 
 
 Our next call was at Mozambique, fifteen degrees south 
 of the equator. It is an island and was one of the first colo- 
 nies of the Portuguese in East Africa, settled in 1508. The 
 harbor is protected by two other small islands, and on one of 
 these is the best lighthouse on all the east coast. This is the 
 only possession of Portugal in East Africa, which was not 
 taken from them by conquest. Mozambique was held against 
 all odds for centuries. The aljility to hold this possession may 
 have been due to the fact that the harbor has a narrow en- 
 trance and is guarded by the largest and best fort in Africa. 
 This fort has walls many feet thick, and in some places seventy 
 feet high, and is supplied with a large number of cannon, 
 which in their day must have been of great service in defending 
 this ancient stronghold. It is a matter of history that the 
 stones used to build this great fort were brought eight thou- 
 sand miles, in the tiny Dhows, or vessels of that time. It 
 almost seems incrediljle. Those early Portuguese were colon- 
 izers and fighters, and certainly had perseverance to build 
 such a fort and to bring the material from such a great dist- 
 ance. We were permitted to visit this fort, and go through 
 it in all parts, and take as many photographs as we liked. 
 There were about a dozen soldiers on dutv, two of whom went 
 with us. While we could not understand a word they spoke, 
 still they courteousl)- showed us all there was to be seen. 
 There are about one hundred old cannon on the walls, l)ut 
 they are so badly rusted and weather-worn that not a shot 
 
 71
 
 Ol'R HOLIDAY l.\ AlklCA 
 
 H 
 ^
 
 MOZA^IBIQUF, 
 
 could be fired tmrn anv of them. Of course, the Ptjrtugnese 
 recognize the fact that the fort and ecjuipment are of no use 
 in these days of modern warfare. 
 
 We passed the Governor's palace near the f(jrt and 
 walked through what was once the Governor's garden. At 
 present the palace is used as a telegraph station, and the gar- 
 den is for the public. 
 
 ]\L)zaml)i(jue nvw have had a hundred thousand or more 
 population in the days of their prosperity (three hundred 
 vears ago), but today it looks deserted. The streets are nar- 
 row but clean, and the houses are built of stone. Idie heavily 
 bolted doors and barred windows of the sixteenth century still 
 remain, and in some of the windows the original panes of 
 mica, used in place of glass, may still be seen. 
 
 The climate is said to be unhealthy for Europeans, and 
 we onlv saw about one-half dozen white people in the city. 
 Thev offered for sale to visitors, beautiful specimens of coral 
 and shells, and some picttu'e postal cards. We tried to pur- 
 chase some of the latter — price, a shilling per dozen, and of- 
 fered a half crown in payment. Ixit the whole of their force 
 could not raise enough money to give us our change. 
 
 \'iewed from the harbor the town looks very picturestjue. 
 There is a good landing pier, which is more than can be said 
 of some other ports in this part of the world. This part of 
 the coast is subject to torrential, tropical rains and severe cy- 
 clones. A few hours after we sailed we had a demonstration 
 of one of these storms. Just a few miles ahead of us the storm 
 gathered and the clouds were blacker than anv we had ever 
 seen, at least so thought llic one lady passenger. Airs. Wheeler. 
 The captain noted that the barometer was rapidly falling and 
 (juickly proceeded to secure all hatchways and fasten the steer- 
 ing gear with ropes, as it was rather loose and shaky. How- 
 ever, the storm did no damage. The rain was \er}- heavy 
 and the wind kicked u]) a \ery rough sea. and being a head 
 wind put us behind time scxeral hours. Init that is ot no con- 
 se(|uence in this part of the w^rld. 
 
 73
 
 Ol'k IK )I.II) \\' l.\ .\|-RIC^A
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 OUR H()LI1).\\" L\ AI-RICA
 
 BEIRA 
 
 We landed at Beira, March 14, 1912, and found it greatly 
 in contrast with the coast cities we had just xdsited. Wdiile 
 it is rather a new place, and has only seven hundred and ninety- 
 nine white people and ahout fi\'e thousand native hlacks, it 
 still has a prosperous appearance, and many improvements 
 are being made, ddiis is the seaport of the Biera and Alash- 
 onaland and Rhodesia Railway, and the only seaport that has 
 a railway connection to the interior for several hundred miles. 
 This railway has only been completed about fi\e years and is 
 the most direct and natural outlet to the sea for Rhodesia and 
 all adjoining territory, and is already doing a large freight 
 business with the interior. 
 
 Beira is built in the sand. One must walk through about 
 a foot of sand in the streets. It is Portuguese territory, l)ut 
 most of the whites are English. There is a small trollc}' rail- 
 way system here similar to that in Mombasa. We took a 
 ride on the trolley over the whole system and noticed many 
 new buildings going up, one sash and door factory which 
 employs over one hundred hands, several large printing estal)- 
 lishments, and an excellent hospital for natives, which is well 
 patronized by them. Most of the houses are Imilt of corru- 
 gated iron with roofs of the .same material. This gives the 
 place a very temporary appearance and makes the houses ex- 
 tremel}' hot in midday. 
 
 ^Ve had a little experience when we first landed, having 
 been told that the "Queens" was the l)est hotel. This was a 
 mistake, which I soon found out. T left Airs. AAdieeler with 
 the luggage and went to find the hotel, to get them to send 
 for our trunks. Wdien T found the "Queens" it did not look 
 inviting, having the ap])earance of a cheap hotel in a newly 
 made mining camp. The hotel office was in the l)ar room, 
 which at one side o])cned to the street, and when T called, was
 
 OUR HOLIDAY J.\ Al-kICA
 
 BEIRA 
 
 filled with Purtui^iiese and almost all other nationalities. The 
 business "at the bar'" was rushing". The manager sat on a 
 nail keg outside of the door, and "Dick Deadeye," with a six 
 shooter strapped around his waist on the other side. I asked 
 the manag'er if this was the "Queens." He admitted it was. 
 I asked if he had a room for Airs. Wheeler and myself, and he 
 replied in the affirmati\ e. I asked if that was his only office 
 and he said it was, but that Airs. Wheeler could get to the 
 room by going up an outside stairway. I was much troubled 
 by such a reception and was thinking what my better half 
 would .say if we were forced to accept such hospitality. How- 
 ever, on my way back I met an Englishman who directed us 
 to the "Savoy Hotel," which was built on a modern plan, with 
 clean and comfortable rooms. 
 
 A high sea wall has been built for a mile or more along 
 the sea front, and ver}' con\-enient landing piers. The place is 
 reall}- a sand bar. 
 
 Beira has an excellent prospect for the future. While it 
 is a hot place, yet it is healthy for white people. 
 
 7'J
 
 OTR IIOLIDAN." IX Al'RlCA
 
 SALISBURY 
 
 At seven o'clock the next morning we took our departure 
 on the mail train for the interior. This railway is three and 
 one-half feet gauge, with iron cross ties and sixty pound rails, 
 well built, and for so new a countr}- the accommodations are 
 good. We had a compartment in a new car. The train car- 
 ries a dining car, which ena1:)led us to get along very well. 
 For the first hundred miles out the country is low, flat and 
 hot, but Cjuite fertile. It is very unhealthy for the whites, 
 and in this part of the country the Tsetse Fly abounds. After 
 passing this flat count r}- the road rises rapidly and we passed 
 through a hea\-ily wooded section. By the time we reached 
 Salisbury, three hundred miles from the coast, we were about 
 five thousand feet above sea level. 
 
 This young city of about three thousand population is 
 the capital of Rhodesia, and it has the appearance of pros- 
 perity which one sees in a new country. There are some cred- 
 itable brick and stone blocks. At ele^'en o'clock in the morning 
 the business streets were very lively. There are several good 
 stocks of goods here, as the town draws trade for hundreds of 
 miles. There is a cathedral, several churches, hospital, public 
 library and state buildings. The streets are filled with almost 
 every kind of vehicle, from a rickshaw to a twelve-mule 
 freight wagon. 
 
 In talking with a merchant in Salisbur}- he said he had 
 l)een here for sixteen months and was doing well, and would 
 not think of going back to England, but that there had been a 
 large number of business failures during the last season, caused 
 by poor crops, resulting from \-ery light rainfall. This is the 
 greatest country for bicycles that we ha^•e ever seen, and nearly 
 all the white ladies ride their wheel. The soil in this part of 
 Rhodesia is not rich, except in spots. \\'e noticed in some 
 places fine fields of corn called "Mealies." We saw a pros- 
 perous looking farmer \\h(» said he had a good farm twelve 
 
 8i
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX Al'KICA
 
 SALISBURY 
 
 miles back from the railway, and that he had raised an excel- 
 lent crop of "]\Iealies." but that the crop over the whole coun- 
 try was so light that he expected to get one dollar and forty 
 cents per bushel for his, which is about twice the usual price. 
 The price of land in Rhodesia, so far as we could ascertain, 
 for the unimproved veldt, runs from one dollar to two dollars 
 per acre, that is when buying from the government. This 
 veldt is usually covered with small, gnarled trees and costs 
 about five dollars per acre to clear it ready for crops. The 
 plowing is done by oxen or bullocks, as they are called here, 
 from four to eight cattle being hitched to a plow. One black 
 boy goes ahead and leads the bullocks, another wields a whip 
 long enough to reach them all, while another holds the plow, 
 or sometimes it is a gang of two or three plows. The cattle 
 raising in this country is said to be prosperous. 
 
 In traveling through the countr}" \\-e did not see over two 
 hundred head of stock cattle in traveling nearly one thousand 
 miles by rail, almost the whole country is bare of crops and 
 cattle. The price of native cows here is twenty-five to thirty- 
 five dollars per head, and they are quite small and inferior 
 stock, of the East Indian breed, with a large hump on their 
 shoulders. 
 
 We are told that all the good land near the railway has 
 been bought and is held for speculation. Immigration is com- 
 ing in very slowly and the land s])eculator will not reap a har- 
 vest. 
 
 We trax'eled on the railway from Reira to Ihilawayo, 
 then on to A^ictoria I^alls and back to P)ulawa_\d, and (here is 
 not a town worth calling a town, outside the above named 
 places, except the coal mining town of W'ankie. Usually the 
 town is simpl}' a station house. 
 
 83
 
 OL'R HOLIDAY IX AFRICA 

 
 VICTORIA FALLS OX THE ZAMBEZI RIVER 
 
 \^ictoria Falls is one of the world's wonders, where we 
 spent five never-to-be-forgotten days. It is one of nature's 
 sublimest spectacles. As we approached, the everlasting roar 
 filled our ears and the spray arose to the height of a mile to 
 meet the clouds. The river where it takes the great leap is 
 nearl}' a mile wide and the fall is four hundred and fifty feet. 
 The peculiarity of these wonderful falls is that the general 
 level of the country is the same, both above and below the 
 cataract. The water drops into a great fissure or chasm, which 
 is about five hundred feet wide and lies at right angles with 
 the river. Over one bank of this great chasm the water pours 
 in a broken mass for nearly a mile, and one may stand on the 
 opposite bank from where the water plunges down on a level 
 with the top of the fall, the like of which is not seen elsewhere. 
 These falls are supposed to be formed by the earth cooling, 
 making these great clefts in the rock formation. Within a 
 mile below the falls the stream is forced to run in four differ- 
 ent or contrary directions. This great chasm is forty-three 
 miles long. 
 
 On our first morning we made a trip to the eastern side, 
 called the "Rainbow Falls," as when the sun shines through the 
 spray it makes a beautiful rainbow. From this end we see 
 probably not more than one-third of the grand sight, as the 
 tremendous spray obscures the view. The next day we made a 
 trip to what is called the "Rain Forest." This takes us along 
 the brink oi the great chasm or the main fall. The spray was 
 so hea\y that we had to wait until the w ind would sweep it 
 about to get the extraordinar}- view. In the meantime the 
 spray nearly washed us away. We had put on oil hats, rain- 
 proof coats and ruljber boots, but nothing can withstand such 
 a do\\n])onr of water as the spray we here encountered. We 
 found that oiu' rain-proof coats were of no use at all, as cNcry 
 stitch of our clothing was as wet as water ccndd make it. It 
 was warm water and not harmful. Another da_\-. when the 
 
 8:;
 
 OUR HOLIDAY TX AFRICA 
 
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 ^1
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 OTR llOUnW IX A I- RICA
 
 VICTORIA FALLS 
 
 wind was favorable and took the immense volume of spray in 
 another direction, we went into the "Rain Forest" for nearly 
 half a mile, and got some fine photographs w'ithout getting 
 wet. On this trip we saw many hundreds of monkeys playing 
 about in the tree tops. On another day we followed the chasm 
 and on looking down saw many baboons from six feet tall 
 to the babies, all very funny, and full of curiosity. In taking 
 a long walk in the jungle and high grass of this tropical coun- 
 try we ne\'er were bitten by an insect, never saw a snake or 
 a wild animal, but we saw the spoor of the deer. The dif- 
 ferent parts of this great cataract have names as follow^s : The 
 Devil's Cataract, or Leaping' Water, ninety feet wide with two 
 hundred and sixty feet fall ; the main fall is divided by a 
 small island into two portions, five hundred and seventy-three 
 and three hundred and twenty-five yards \vide, respectively; 
 the Eastern, or Rainbow Fall, is six hundred yards wide, with 
 a drop of four hundred and fifty feet. It is impossible to de- 
 scribe the grp.ndeur and sublimity of nature as here shown 
 in these wonderful falls, which a lover of nature leaves with 
 regret. 
 
 The camera gives only a faint idea of the beauty of Vic- 
 toria Falls, and instinctively we feel how small is man and 
 how great the Creator. 
 
 The railway bridge crosses the Zambezi River just below 
 the falls. It is so close that the spray falls on the trains as 
 they pass. This bridge is four hundred and fift}' feet above 
 the water, is said to be the highest in the world, and was built 
 by American engineers. It was necessary to build a cantile\er 
 bridge, the kind that is commenced on each end and meets in 
 the middle. 
 
 One day we had a delightful tri]) about ten miles up the 
 Zambezi Ri\'er by motor boat. The river is about a mile and 
 one-half wide and dotted with sc\era1 small islands. The 
 foliage on these islands is \er}' hca\\' and green. We landed 
 on one of these islands and ate our lunch under the tropical 
 prdm trees. The scenerv along the rixer is charming. Part 
 
 89
 
 OTK ITOLID.W TX AI-RTCA
 
 VICTORIA FALLS 
 
 of the way our course lay through very swift rapids. We were 
 only about one-half a mile above the falls when we started, 
 and one of our party was thinking what would become of our 
 launch and the people in it if the spark plug should blow out, 
 as we have frequently known it to do on automobiles, and 
 leave us without power, remembering the drop over the falls 
 was four hundred and fifty feet. There are some Hippo- 
 potami along the river in this section. We did not see any on 
 our trip, but later in the day some people were out in a small 
 boat and a "Hippo" coming very close, nearly turned the boat 
 over. 
 
 One day the thermometer stood at ninety-five in the shade 
 while we were there, but we did not suffer from the heat. 
 Sometimes the temperature gets up to one hundred and six- 
 teen degrees. In their cold season, which is August, thev have 
 a little frost. 
 
 The Victoria Hotel and the meals were excellent, and the 
 manager a pleasant and accommodating gentleman. The 
 Mashonaland Railway is now built eight hundred miles 
 farther north from the falls. The present terminus being 
 about two hundred miles o\-er in the Congo countrv, which is 
 Belgian territory. 
 
 After building to Victoria Falls the raihvav company 
 were led to build to "Broken Hill." about three hundred and 
 fifty miles distant, as there was a great mine there with lead 
 and zinc ore. After much money was s])ent it was found 
 that the ores were so refractory they could not be smelted, 
 and today these great ore deposits are deserted. AAdien the 
 "Star of the Congo," a wonderfullv rich copper mine, was 
 discovered, the railroad built the line to that point. This rail- 
 road was built 1)}' a corporation, but the English government 
 owns about one-half the stock, and have guaranteed the bonds. 
 Being built into a wilderness populated by savages, it takes 
 some time to build up a paving business, and while this coun- 
 trv does nol fill up with in"!migrants like our own fertile 
 
 91
 
 OUR HOLIDA^' IX AFRICA 
 
 
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 VICTORIA FALLS 
 
 prairies did, still a moderate immigration is coming in and it 
 will be a paying road some time. 
 
 Aluch trouble is now being experienced in smelting the 
 copper ores of the "Star of the Congo" mine. A Belgian en- 
 gineer, who has been on the works for a year, was coming 
 down on the same train with us and told us of the refractory 
 copper ores, but they hope soon to overcome this and will then 
 send a big stream of copper to the European markets. While 
 their ores are very rich it is not a profitable place to invest 
 until all doubt about their smelting has been removed. 
 
 Many hunters now go up this road to the Belgian terri- 
 tory to hunt, as far as Lake Tanganyiki. The hunting in that 
 section is said to be unequaled in any part of the world, game 
 of all kinds being abundant. This place is so remote from 
 civilization that ivory is about the only item that is valuable 
 in dollars. Some tusks are being sent out from there by the 
 way of Victoria Nyanza to the sea at Mombasa. 
 
 When the Ciermans get their railway finished to Lake 
 Tanganyiki it will l)e the shortest route to those wonderful 
 game districts, and will take the outgoing shipments from 
 that section. That country is reported to be fertile and will 
 no doubt soon be settled l)y Europeans, as it lies high, and 
 should be healthy. 
 
 \\ ankie is a coal mining station, al)()Ut eight\' miles south 
 of Victoria Falls. It is the only coal mine now being worked 
 in Rhodesia. The quality is semi-anthracite and makes good 
 steam coal and is used for all the railways in this part of 
 Rhodesia. The xem runs from five to twenty-nine feet in 
 thickness and where the coal is so scarce as it is in Rhodesia 
 this mine is worth more than some gold mines. This little coal 
 mining" town has some two thousand population, nearly all 
 native negroes, and is the only town on this line of railway be- 
 tween Victoria brails and Ihilawa^o, a distance of two hundred 
 and ninety miles. Tliis w ill serve to illustrate how few white 
 population there is now in Xorth western Rhodesia, llie popu- 
 lation is about se\en hundred and fifty whites and the black 
 
 93
 
 OUR iiULiiJAV iX Ai-"R1LA 

 
 J3ULAWAYO 
 
 population is estimated at about three hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand. These blacks do but little farming', raising only small 
 patches of "Mealies" for their own use, and have a few cattle, 
 the water is verv scarce for live stock. 
 
 BLJLAWAYO 
 
 After the dust}-, disagreeable tra\'eling on the railway 
 cibout one thousand miles, it was a great comfort to get the 
 good accommodations provided by the Cirand Hotel. \\'e 
 noticed with surprise that the table waiters were wearing 
 shoes. This is the first time that we have seen shoes worn 
 by servants in hotels since coming to Africa. Undoubtedly it 
 is one of the indications that we are approaching the more 
 civilized portions of this great continent. Idiis is a Ijright, 
 young cit}' with six thousand population, good hotels, electric 
 light, ])ul)lic lil)rary, V. M. C. A. association, hospitals and ex- 
 cellent church l)uil(lings. It has a first-class [)ul)lic sch()ol sys- 
 tem and a daily newspaper. Idie "Indaba Tree." under which 
 judgment was dispensed hv "King ]\I(^silikatse" and "King 
 Lobengula," is still standing near the city limits. Bulawayo 
 is a Zulu word, meaning "The place of the killing." 
 
 One of Cecil Rhodes' homes is located one and one-half 
 miles from the town. It has an axcnue one hundred and thirty 
 feet wide, i)lanted with evergreen trees the whole length. The 
 house is of not much importance, but the grounds are large 
 and he beautifully. It was undoul)te(llv the intention of the 
 f)wner to build a mansion on this place. Rhodes gave it to 
 the state and it is now called Government House and is occu- 
 pied by state officials. 
 
 The streets of this town are one hundred and thirty feet 
 wide, regularly I'lid out at right angles, but the buildings on 
 
 95
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA 
 
 CECIL RHODES STATUE— BULAWAYO.
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 BULAWAYO 
 
 each side are only one and two stories, which gives the houses 
 a squatty and low appearance. At the intersection of two prin- 
 cipal streets is a statue of Mr. Rhodes on a pedestal about 
 twenty-five feet high. It is made of bronze and represents 
 Mr. Rhodes in the attitude of making a speech. He is dressed 
 in a business suit, with both hands behind him. The day we 
 were there was the tenth anniversary of his death and a beau- 
 tiful tribute to his memory, in the shape of a large wreath of 
 flowers, was placed on the pedestal. At another prominent 
 corner is a pedestal about twenty feet high surmounted by a 
 gatling gun. On the side of this pedestal are the names of a 
 company of soldiers who were entirely annihilated in the last 
 war with the natives. Bulawayo is destined to be a city of 
 importance when this frontier country is settled up. It now 
 has railroads from three directions, that is from Cape Town, 
 Beira and Victoria Falls. 
 
 Mining is in the air here, and many enterprising men 
 have located in Bulawayo, with flaming signs in their office 
 windows, telling the passerby of the great opportunity for in- 
 vestment. There is a gold mine near the city, which is being 
 worked with moderate success. A miner just in from his 
 mine handed us for inspection a cone made of gold, which 
 would weight at least twenty pounds. He had brought it to 
 town for sale to the bank. There were two prosperous min- 
 ers on the train with us who had just worked out a small 
 gold find which netted them ten thousand dollars. They were 
 going down to Cape Town to "blow it in." It has been demon- 
 strated that there are gold mines in many directions from 
 Bulawayo. In 1908 the amount taken out from all Rhodesia 
 was twelve million five hundred thousand dollars. It is very 
 difficult to get the natives to work in the mines. 
 
 The country or veldt, as it is called here, is red clay, 
 sand and gravel and lies undulated and dotted wdth small, 
 stunted trees. 
 
 The right Honorable Cecil Rhodes was the father of this 
 great country of Rhodesia, which was named for him. He 
 
 99
 
 OL'R HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 BULAWAYO 
 
 lies buried in iMatopa Hills, twenty-seven miles out from 
 Bulawayo. He selected this burial place, and probably there 
 is not a grander or more impressive sepulcher of modern times. 
 We drove out to see the place one beautiful morning in March. 
 The roadway is niacadamed and graded the whole distance. 
 
 Matopa Hills are a wonderful sight. They are granite 
 hills rising out of the plains. As far as the driveway extends 
 there is soil sufficient in the narrow valleys to grow trees, 
 shrubs and flowers, which gives the drive a park like appear- 
 ance. Arriving at the end of this drive there is a walk of a 
 mile or two of very stiff climbing up to the grave, and on the 
 top of the highest of these granite boulders, called "World's 
 View," is the sepulcher hewn out of solid rock. It is covered 
 with a slab of granite on which is inscribed "Here lies the re- 
 mains of John Cecil Rhodes," nothing more, for he who 
 knows Rhodesia, knows of Mr. Rhodes' life and work and 
 a eulogy cut in marble is not necessary. The whole hill is a 
 monument to this, the greatest empire builder of our time. By 
 his judgment and ability, while at the head of affairs in Africa, 
 being i)rompt to decide and quick to act, a country equal 
 in size to one-half of Europe was taken for the British nation 
 without a shot being fired or a life lost. 
 
 In going by train from Bulawayo to Kimberly, we passed 
 through Mafeking. This was the place that General Baden 
 Powell, during the Boer war, held for a number of months, 
 Vv^th only eight hundred men. It now has a population of six 
 thousand, and is the chief business center of the western Trans- 
 \'aal. We also saw the place where the first gmi of the Boer 
 War was fired. We have met many men that were in the war, 
 and it was interesting to hear them talk al)out it. 
 
 lOI
 
 OL'R HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 KIMBERLY 
 
 We arrived at this most important diamond mining place 
 in the world, on March 28, 19 12, after a long, tiresome jour- 
 ney by rail from Bulawayo a distance of seven hundred miles, 
 time two days and one night; average speed at little less than 
 twenty miles per hour, through a most unattractive, dusty 
 country. This little city, with its thirty-four thousand popu- 
 lation, is known everywhere. It was brought into existence 
 in 1870, when diamonds were first discovered here. The first 
 year "The Star of the South African Diamond Mines" was 
 discovered, and this, with other valuable diamond finds, start- 
 ed a great rush to this point, which created a big mining camp 
 and developed into the city of Kimberly. It is a pretty little 
 city with streets very irregular and shaded by lovely pepper 
 trees. There is, within a radius of three and one-half miles, 
 the DeBeers, the Kimberly, the AX'esselton, the Bultfontein 
 and the Dutoitspan, all celebrated diamond mines, and now are 
 owned by the DeBeers company. The value of diamonds stead- 
 ily advanced until 1907, when the financial troubles arose in the 
 United States, which caused much falling off in demand for 
 diamonds. As the DeBeers company now owns all five of 
 these mines, they work only as many as the market justifies, 
 aiming to keep up the price by keeping down the production, 
 as they produce three-fourths of the world's output of dia- 
 monds. However, the Premier Diamond Mine, near Pretoria, 
 may have some important bearing on the diamond supply in 
 the future, and the DeBeers company do not own the Premier. 
 
 After a poor bed and a poorer l:)reakfast at the Queens 
 Hotel, we went to the office of the DeBeers company for a 
 permit to visit their Kimberly Diamond ]\Iine. It was cheer- 
 fully granted when we explained to the obliging secretary 
 that we were simply untitled Americans doing Africa, and did 
 not wish to return without seeing the greatest diamond mine 
 in the world. Armed with our permit we hastened to the Kim- 
 
 103
 
 OUR ilULlDAV iX AFRICA
 
 KIMBERLY 
 
 berly mine and were soon under the direction of a most polite 
 and educated guide. First we went to the old or surface mine. 
 It is called a "pipe," that is to say, a circle four hundred and 
 fifty feet in diameter, wdiich stands in a perpendicular position 
 and goes straight down into the earth to an untold depth. 
 This "pipe" is filled with soft blue rock, called by the miners 
 "the blue," and this is the rock that contains the diamonds. 
 All the great machinery of this mine is simply to get the dia- 
 monds separated from the blue rock. First they worked open 
 from the surface, but the sides are so soft that they continually 
 caved in on the works, until it was impractical to work longer 
 from the surface. Then the miners went back a cjuarter of a 
 mile and sunk a shaft about one thousand feet and drove a 
 lateral tunnel into the "blue" and at present they are mining 
 about six hundred feet below the surface. 
 
 As we stood beside the elevator which brings the blue to 
 the surface we noticed that there were two large iron buckets, 
 each holding about a ton. ^^'hen one is filled it shoots to the 
 top very rapidly, and at the same time the other iron bucket 
 drops to the bottom. Automatically, when these buckets reach 
 the top they dump their load into a large funnel made of iron 
 and under this funnel runs a small railway track and small 
 iron dump cars which hold about one-half a ton. From this 
 funnel the ''blue" is dropped into these dump cars and hauled 
 away to their dumping floor, which is a wide stretch of hard 
 level earth about three miles long and more than a mile wide. 
 The blue is left for a year to decompose and slack in the sun, 
 the wind and rain. After the elements have for a year slacked 
 and pulverized the "blue," it is put in these little dump cars 
 again and run away to the washer. The guide took us through 
 the washing department where the water is turned in a great 
 many churn like tanks and the ''blue" is washed and churned 
 JDy machines until all the gra\-el. as well as the diamonds, is 
 washed out. The diamond bearing gravel is then taken to the 
 Pulsator, which is a separate Iwilding and where this gravel 
 
 105
 
 OL'R HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 KIMBERLY 
 
 is separated into six different sizes, and each size is slowly 
 pulsated over an inclined iron plane, which is covered with 
 vaseline. When the gravel drops on this plane the diamonds 
 stick to the vaseline and the other gravel is gradually rolled 
 off. The attendant then scrapes off the vaseline and the dia- 
 monds. This is placed in a small iron drum with very small 
 holes perforated on all sides. This drum is then securely 
 locked and dropped in a large tank of boiling water. When it 
 has boiled until most of the vaseline has floated off, it is put 
 into another tank of boiling- soda water and here all the re- 
 maining grease is soon removed. Then the drum is taken into 
 the sorter's office where it is unlocked and the contents poured 
 on the sorter's table. To an inexperienced eye the contents 
 looks like a pile of ordinary gravel. The sorter scatters it out 
 with a little trowel and selects the diamonds, throwing the 
 worthless gravel aside. 
 
 We watched the sorting process for half an hour, and dur- 
 ing that time a handful of diamonds were found. One was a 
 brilliant straw colored diamond the size of the end of your 
 thumb, a very large and valuable stone. Others were clear 
 white and larger than a kernel of corn, and many small dia- 
 monds. This is the result of washing of probably a thousand 
 truck loads of "blue." It is said that they get less than one- 
 half a caret of diamonds to a truck of earth. They are now 
 working in this mine from two to three thousand native blacks, 
 who make from seventy-five cents and rations per day upward, 
 according to their ability and zeal in the work. There are 
 seven hundred white men who make from seventy dollars to 
 one hundred and twenty dollars per month. The white men 
 are employed as bosses and do the work where great care and 
 attention is acquired. The native negroes are employed for 
 a stated term, from three to six months, and are kept within 
 the compound. They have good quarters and plenty of food 
 and in case of sickness or accident there is a well ecjuipped hos- 
 
 107
 
 OUR IIOIJDAN l.\ .\l"kICA
 
 KIAIBERLY 
 
 pital where they receive the best of attention and medical sci- 
 vice, without charge. 
 
 Mr. Rhodes was one of the early owners of these mines 
 and made his immense fortune here. By his skill and diplo- 
 macy the other large mines were bought out and consolidated 
 in one company, the DeBeers. It is by far the most important 
 and wealthiest of any company in the world in this business. 
 They have enough material in sight to keep them at work for 
 a generation, and as far as we can judge, there is no danger 
 of a scarcity of diamonds. It would be better for humanity 
 if there were none, and let this vast amount of labor be spent 
 in producing the necessities of life, rather than the luxury of 
 diamonds. 
 
 109
 
 OIR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 JOHANNESBURG 
 
 Johannesburg has a population of t^vo hundred and forty 
 thousand, of whom one-half are white. It is a real live city, 
 not excelled anywhere. All this has been brought about by 
 the largest gold mining camp in the world. In 1909, the 
 world's output of gold was estimated at four hundred and 
 fifty million dollars, of which the Rand Reef contributed one 
 hundred and fifty million, or a little over one-third of the 
 world's output. In 1910 the Rand's output was one hundred 
 and sixty million, and in 191 1 one hundred and seventy-five 
 million, showing an increase every year. This reef has been 
 located definitely for over fifty miles, and runs due east and 
 v^est through Johannesburg. Inside the city there are at least 
 fifteen mining plants, with their tall smoke stacks belching 
 smoke, each plant having acres of washed earth dumped 
 around them, making a little row of hills at least one hundred 
 feet high. The laborers employed here are the native negroes, 
 but it requires an army of white men to direct them. The 
 wages of nearly all are spent in this city, and the cash paid 
 out in wages each month is over seven million dollars, which 
 makes a very large, paying retail trade, yet the competition 
 is sharp and many of the stores do a credit business with the 
 miners, and they must have many losses. Many of the black 
 Zulu boys die of pneumonia, as the mines are warm, and in 
 the winter the weather is cold. 
 
 We made a visit to the "Robinson Deep" gold mine, in- 
 side the city limits. There are acres of iron vats and ma- 
 chinery where the gold is extracted by the "Cyanide" process. 
 They are working this mine now at the depth of eighteen hun- 
 dred to thirty-three hundred feet and crushing the rock with 
 heavy stamps. A tremendous power ])lant is required to handle 
 these acres of machinery and to drive the great number of 
 electric motors in all parts of the mine, besides the power 
 required to hoist the material and to run the dump cars to 
 
 III
 
 OL'R HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA 
 
 '"■' ifr^ 
 
 >•' 
 
 
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 1 iyj:^.%^ .Bi?\ 

 
 OL'R HOLIDAY IX AhklCA 
 
 -i-40- " ^ 

 
 JOHANNESBURG 
 
 carry away the refuse. Also to drive the great number of 
 pressure drihs which are used in drilHng blast holes. The 
 capital invested here is almost fabulous. The smallest mines 
 having an investment of one million dollars and over, and 
 many of the larger plants five million dollars. In the "Trans- 
 vaal Leader" of April 3, 1912, are printed reports of fifty-six 
 of these mining plants, and their profits as reported, run all 
 the way from nothing to three hundred per cent per annum, 
 but most of them report dividends of about twenty per cent. 
 
 Johannesburg is six thousand feet abo\'e sea level, al- 
 though only twenty-eight degrees south of the equator, is cold 
 during the winter months; in June, July and August fre- 
 quently they have snow and ice. It is situated on rocky hills 
 with beautiful homes and gardens. All of our fall flowers, 
 at this time, were blooming in great profusion. Cosmos grow 
 wild and were everywhere in the fields. Dahlias and chrys- 
 anthemums were glorious, beside scarlet sage and many others. 
 
 We went to one of the show nurseries. It was certainly 
 a lovely place with all kinds of fruits and flowers. \Yq also 
 were taken to the Country Club. It w^as most beautifully 
 landscaped. There was an eighteen-hole golf links, eighteen 
 tennis courts, swimming pools and many other sports. The 
 Country Club has fifteen hundred members. The city is 
 only twenty-eight years old and has immense business blocks, 
 really looks much like Kansas City, Missouri, being situated 
 so high, it gets more rain than the surrounding country. This 
 keeps the vegetation very thick and green. While we were 
 there the rain fell nearly every afternoon. Still it was very 
 dusty in the morning, as the wind blows the sand from the 
 mines, making it very disagreeable. A sign frequently seen 
 in the sho]) \\indows reads as follows: "Closed on account of 
 the dust ; come in." 
 
 115
 
 OL'K I1()IJI).\\- IX Al'kICA
 
 JOHANNESBURG 
 
 The Premier Diamond Mine is situated thirty miles east 
 of IVetoria. It is one of the largest in the world. We could 
 not leave this part of Africa without seeing it and made a 
 special trip there one day, going through the whole place. The 
 diamond "Pipe" is four hundred and fifty feet across one 
 way, and nine hundred feet the other way, being oval in shape, 
 and goes straight down into the earth beyond the knowledge 
 of the local engineers. This mine has always been worked 
 from the surface and it is an interesting sight to stand on the 
 bank and see the army of mules and iron dump cars at work 
 in the pit, five hundred feet below. All the "blue" rock here 
 is taken directly to the stamp mills and is ground and washed. 
 The process is similar to that described in the Kimberly Mines, 
 except that they do not spread the "blue" on the floors to be- 
 come weather slacked. All the blast holes are loaded with 
 dynamite and fuse and are fired at noon, while the miners are 
 at lunch. We perched ourselves on an elevation and waited 
 for the blast. It all went off within three minutes, and sound- 
 ed like artillery firing in battle. There are several million dol- 
 lars capital invested in the Premier Diamond Mines. They 
 work seven thousand natives and several hundred white men. 
 They "pip^" the water for the mines, thirty miles. They are 
 compelled to pay to the Natal Government sixty per cent of 
 their profit. The mine must be very profitable to do that and 
 still have a fair profit left for the stockholders. 
 
 The largest white diamond known was found here in Jan- 
 uary, 1905. The weight was three thousand and twenty-four 
 carets, or one and three-quarters pounds. Dimensions, four 
 by two and one-half and one and one-half inches in thickness, 
 too heavy to be worn as a chest sparkler with comfort. It was 
 presented to King Edward the seventh. 
 
 There is much prospecting going on in this vicinity, and 
 quite recentlv a new diamond mine has been located within 
 
 117
 
 Ol-R HOLIDAY IX Al'RTCA
 
 JOHANNESBURG 
 
 three miles of the Premier, but it has not been worked long 
 enough to determine whether it would be a paying investment. 
 
 Pretoria, the capital of the Union of the South African 
 States. It is a bright young city, forty-six miles north of 
 Johannesburg. It lies in a narrow valley, surrounded by pict- 
 urescjue hills, forty-five hundred feet above sea level. It is 
 a winter health resort and has all the modern city improve- 
 ments. At present they are erecting the capitol buildings, 
 which are expected to cost about twenty-five million dollars. 
 The site overlooks the town and is very beautiful. Offices 
 will be provided in these buildings for the Governor General, 
 ministers and officials, but the Union of the South African 
 Parliament will remain at Cape Town, as heretofore. 
 
 After a ten days' delightful sojourn in Johannesburg we 
 continued our journey by rail to Durban on the coast; distance, 
 four hundred and eighty-two miles. We made the trip by the 
 express train, unlimited, in twenty-five hours. This is the fast- 
 est train on this important railroad, and if we had taken any 
 other, no one knows when we would have reached our desti- 
 nation. 
 
 119
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 JOHANNESBURG 
 
 Lady Smith is one of the small cities we passed throiigli 
 on our way to the coast. It is quite a pretty place in a rough, 
 scenic country. It was here that many hard fought battles of 
 the recent Boer War took place, and on the surrounding hills 
 are many monuments erected to mark the burial places of dif- 
 ferent heroes. One of these monuments marks the spot 
 where the son of Lord Roberts fell. 
 
 Pietermarifcburg is another of the young cities we passed 
 through in going down to the sea. It has a population of 
 thirty thousand and is the seat of the government of Natal. 
 It is the most beautifully situated of any place we have visited 
 in South Africa, lying in a basin two thousand feet below the 
 surrounding country. We were more than an hour winding 
 our w^ay around the steep incline, past many beautiful moun- 
 tain side residences with the city far below and in view most 
 of the time. They have many fine public buildings for so 
 small a place, the most important being the town hall, which 
 cost one-half million dollars. There is nothing small about 
 these people when they are spending the public money. 
 
 121
 
 Ol'R HOLIDAY 1\ AI'UICA
 
 DURBAN 
 
 The chief seaport of Natal and its commercial capital. 
 It has a population of sixty thousand, nearly half of which 
 are whites ; the remainder being Negroes and East Indians. 
 It is the cleanest and prettiest seaport we have visited in this 
 part of the world. The public buildings are handsome and 
 the streets are wide and clean ; all together it is most attractive. 
 The weather was ideally beautiful when we were there. On 
 the surrounding hills there are many beautiful residences sur- 
 rounded by lovely gardens, indicating much wealth. The 
 Marine Hotel, where we domiciled, would be a credit to any 
 city, and is beautifully situated, overlooking the bay. The 
 harbor has a narrow entrance, not more than half a mile wide, 
 with a lighthouse set upon a promontory, about two hundred 
 feet above the sea, and throws a strong light twenty miles 
 out. The town has been called the "Garden of South Africa," 
 "The Pearl of the Indian Ocean," "The Queen of South 
 Africa." The most noteworthy structure is the new town hall, 
 said to be the handsomest building on the continent. It was 
 finished two years ago at an expense of one million and five 
 hundred thousand dollars. It contains the free public library, 
 museum, art gallery and offices for the city officials. We 
 visited the museum, which was most interesting to us, as it 
 contained all the wild animals, stuffed and in glass cases, that 
 we have recently seen in their live state, as well as a great 
 collection of other curios. The art gallery is well supplied 
 with pictures, manv of considerable note. The free public li- 
 brary has a large number of books and is a great benefit to 
 the city. The Governor's Mansion is located on the highest 
 point on the bluff, and has a charming view of the whole city, 
 harbor and ocean. This beautiful place was built several 
 years ago, when Durban had a Governor. The acres .sur- 
 rounding it were ])lantcd in rare trees, shrubbery and flowers, 
 interspersed with walks and drives. Since the formation of 
 the Union of the South African States one governor is ap- 
 
 123
 
 ULR HOLIDAY IX A 1" RICA
 
 DURBAN 
 
 pointed for all the Union, and he resides at the capital, Pre- 
 toria. Nevertheless, Durban in its desire to make the city 
 attractive, keeps this mansion and grounds in fine condition, 
 simply as a show place. There is a race course in the central 
 part of the city, given to the public at an early day with 
 the proviso that it can be used only for public sports, and 
 inside the track is an eighteen-hole golf course. The city has 
 grown up around this race course, but it must be retained for 
 sports only. 
 
 The largest vessels, drawing thirty-three feet of water, 
 come up alongside the loading docks, and a large dry dock is 
 maintained here. The coal mines, which are about two hun- 
 dred miles inland, have probably done as much as any other 
 one thing to make this a great shipping point. It is a good 
 quality of coal and delivered to the ships at four dollars per 
 ton. This causes all the big steamers from England to come 
 here for coal, and makes this really the starting point of the 
 Union Castle Mail Steamers on their return trip to England. 
 
 The climate is a very delightful one for a winter resort, 
 while the location is thirty degrees south, yet the Indian Ocean 
 so tempers the seasons that they never have frost at Durban, 
 and many of the tropical trees and flowers grow in profusion, 
 still the oranges which they raise are not good, as they are 
 green and sour. The rainfall is thirty-nine inches per annum, 
 enough to make this a fine agricultural country. The prin- 
 cipal exports from Durban in 1909 were coal, four million five 
 hundred thousand dollars; wool, four million five hundred 
 thousand dollars, and corn, two million dollars, not enough in 
 any line to greatly affect the world's markets. It is only 
 eighty-nine years since this city was settled, and there were 
 very few settlers in the interior for some years later. It is one 
 of the strictest Sabbath keeping places we have visited, al- 
 though they have several daily papers, none of them print a 
 Sundav morninq: edition. 
 
 12:
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA 
 
 o 
 
 Q 
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 cc
 
 EAST LONDON, CAPE COLONY, SOUTH AFRICA 
 
 After a very delightful stay at Durban we took the Union 
 Castle Mail Steamship, "Walmer Castle," for Cape Town. 
 We had four days of perfect weather on our journey to Cape 
 Town, and on the way our first call was at East London, 
 which is beautifully situated on the sea coast at the mouth of 
 the Buffalo River. There is really no natural harbor, but 
 walls have been built on each side of the stream for a mile 
 inland, and piers have been built out into the sea for tw'O thou- 
 sand feet, and the channel is kept dredged out to the depth of 
 twenty-five feet. Fine docks have been built along the river 
 wall and loading cranes erected. The immense sum of ten 
 million dollars has been spent here to make this a good ship- 
 ping point. It is now the third port in volume of exports in 
 Cape Colony. The railroad comes along the docks, making 
 the handling of freight for small steamers very convenient. 
 On the day of our visit there were five steamers in port load- 
 ing or discharging cargo. As our steamer draws twenty-five 
 feet of water, we anchored one-half mile out. L'sually the 
 sea is very rough and the passengers going ashore are swung 
 over the side of the ship in a basket, and we had our first ex- 
 perience of this kind. It is a large circular willow basket that 
 will hold ten people. It is five feet in diameter and seven feet 
 high, with heavy loops on top and a small door on one side. 
 \\'hen full the door is bolted on the outside. The signal to 
 hoist away is given, the basket and load is swung by the 
 ship's crane, high in the air over the side, and rather suddenly 
 lowered to the deck of the small steam tender. It is rather a 
 dizzy experience. Tin's performance is repeated until the 
 tender is loaded. 
 
 East London has a population of twenty-five thousand, 
 one-half of them white and the other half negroes. It is quite 
 a pretty place and very fine surf bathing. We drove along 
 this beautiful wide beach, where the breakers continually roll 
 in, and enjoyed seeing the people in bathing. There is a fine 
 
 127
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 OL'R 11()LI1).\\- l.\ Al'RICA 
 
 ^1^1 
 
 Ml' I I
 
 PORT ELIZABETH 
 
 beach hotel here and in the season thousands of people from 
 the surrounding country come here for a holiday, many of 
 them bringing tents and camping outfits. The tram cars run 
 along the whole length of the beach and there are many amuse- 
 ment places erected. 
 
 The railway runs back into the interior and is connected 
 with the whole South African system, and the country is very 
 fertile a few miles back from the coast. This part of the 
 country has been settled by the English for a hundred years. 
 Corn, oats and beans are generally raised, and wine producing 
 is of much importance ; but wool is the greatest export, and 
 our steamer was busy all day loading from lighters into the 
 hold. One of the sights of the town are the wagons with 
 twelve to twenty oxen with a negro leading the front pair 
 and another wielding a whip about fifteen feet long. The 
 town hall is the most showy building in the city, with a hand- 
 some clock tower and a bronze, equestrian statue, a memorial 
 of the soldiers killed in the Boer War. East London is well 
 supplied with hotels, schools, colleges, hospitals and churches, 
 and has a delightful climate. 
 
 I'ORT ELIZABETH, CAPE COLONY, SOUTH AERICA 
 
 This is the second city in Cape Colony, and four hundred 
 and twenty-five miles east of Cape Town by sea, with a pop- 
 ulation of thirty-three thousand, one-half of whom are Euro- 
 peans and one-half Negroes. It has been occupied by the En- 
 glish about a hundred years and is a fitie business city, with 
 handsome public and ])ri\'ate buildings, and is a large shipping 
 port. It is sometimes called the "Liverpool" of South Africa. 
 It is situated on an open bay and shi])s do not have much 
 protection from storms which fref|uent these seas. The town 
 
 131
 
 OUR HOLID.W l.\ .\l"Klc;.\ 
 
 ^' ^'^I'lt 
 
 ^ I c 

 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 OUR HOLIDAN' 1 X Al'KlCA 

 
 PORT ELIZABETH 
 
 lies on the hills of about two hundred feet elevation, and 
 many of the streets are so steep that they are built with steps 
 for pedestrians, and not used for vehicles. In the center 
 part is a park where Sir Rufan Donkin, the first governor, 
 built a pyramid of stone to the memory of his deceased wife, 
 Elizabeth, for wdiom the town was named. It has the follow^- 
 ing inscription : "One of the most perfect human beings who 
 has given her name to the town below." As this is the high- 
 est point in the town, a lighthouse has been erected here, which 
 guides the mariner many miles at sea. There is an immense 
 amount of export business done here. All day from sunrise 
 to midnight we were busily engaged in packing away in the 
 hold of our steamer, every kind of produce that is sent out 
 from South Africa. First of importance is the wool export, 
 and next is the ostrich feathers, being consigned to New York 
 and London, and also some sugar. 
 
 There is a handsome town hall on the public square, a 
 public library containing forty-five thousand volumes, a fine 
 building and a credit to the place. A very life-like statue of 
 Queen Victoria, in white marble, stands in front of the library. 
 These people in South Africa are very extravagant in public 
 buildings. 
 
 Southern Africa is the greatest country for ostrich farm- 
 ing, and the American ladies wear more of the feathers than 
 any other people. 
 
 Mosscl Bay is situated on the southern shore of a bay by 
 the same name. This bay was one of the first known to Euro- 
 pean navigators. It is deep water and is a safe port for ships 
 in storms, which are not infrequent. We took from this place 
 a cargo of ostrich feathers and wool and left a cargo of Ran- 
 goon rice. Near the town is a headland, rising sheer from 
 the sea, and on this a lighthouse is erected. 
 
 135
 
 OLR I1()L11).\\' l.\ Al'KICA
 
 CAPE TOWN, CAPE COLONY, SOUTH AFRICA 
 
 We sailed into Table Bay on April 22, 1912, and were 
 delighted to reach Cape Town, often having heard of it for 
 its beautiful situation. It has a population of about two hun- 
 dred thousand, and it is surrounded on one side by the sea, 
 and on three sides by wonderfully picturesque mountains. The 
 business part of the city is solidly built with many stone and 
 brick structvu'es. The Parliament buildings are very fine, as 
 is the postoffice. Standard Bank of Africa, custom house and 
 public library. The largest mercantile blocks and hotels would 
 do credit to our best American cities. Idie streets are wide and 
 kept remarkably clean and neat. 
 
 'liable Bay is what originall}- made Cape Town. It i.-. 
 such a fine natural harbor that the trading ships for India 
 in early days made this a half-way stopping place before the 
 Suez Canal was built. Even yet it is the half-way to India 
 for many ships to call and renew their supplies. 
 
 The Holland Dutch settled Cape Town and held it for 
 one hundred and fifty years. About one hundred years ago 
 the English took the place by force. Since the Boer War, 
 in which the English had such a hard time to concjuer them, 
 they have given back to them so much of the government that 
 the Parliament is made up of Boers and English, and both lan- 
 guages are spoken, and all public documents are printed in 
 both Dutch and English. As the railways are owned and oper- 
 ated by the government, all the cars and stations have both 
 the Dutch and English names and both languages are taught 
 in the public schools. These sturdy Boers do not like the En- 
 glish, and many of them will not learn to speak the English 
 language. On their most prominent street a bronze statue of 
 the first Dutch governor. Van Reebeck, stands. 
 
 The mountains give the town the finest setting, entitling 
 it to rank in beauty with Naples, Rio Janeiro and San Fran- 
 cisco, the most beautiful seaports of the world. 
 
 Table Mountain rises back of the town three thousand five 
 
 /
 
 Ol'R 11()J.I1)A^■ IX AFRICA
 
 CAPE TO\A'X 
 
 nundred and eighty-two feet, cutting the sky Hne with its hor- 
 izontal front for two miles. To the left is Devil's Peak, thirty- 
 three hundred feet high, and to the right is Lion's Head, 
 twenty-one hundred feet high. The two lower mountains 
 stand in advance of Table Mountain and together they form 
 the Horse Shoe Valley, in which Cape Town is located. 
 
 The old Dutch Reformed Church, commenced in 1699, 
 was the first erected in South Africa, which makes it the most 
 ancient of all structures in Cape Town. The clock tower con- 
 tains the clock which was sent from Holland in 1727. This 
 is the only part of the original church now standing, the re- 
 mainder having been rebuilt, and seats three thousand persons. 
 The great hundred-foot span of the roof is most notable. No 
 supporting posts in this church. Beneath the floor lies the 
 remains of eight of the first Dutch governors, which has 
 caused it to be called the "Westminster" of South Africa. 
 
 On Sundays they hold three services in this great church ; 
 preaching at ele\'en in the morning, and three in the afternoon 
 is in Dutch. Init at the evening services, it is in English. Wt: 
 attended the e\ening service, heard a good sermon with fine 
 music from a choir of fifty voices. The pulpit is raised about 
 twenty feet high on the side of this great audience room, which 
 is a hundred feet wide, two hundred feet long and about sixty 
 feet high, fhe pews are very high, with straight backs, and 
 it is extremely plainly furnished. We took an automobile drive 
 cut to Houts Bay, going over the justly celebrated Victoria 
 road, cut into the side of the mountain and o\erlooking the 
 Atlantic Ocean on one side. Sometimes it is liigh abo\'e the 
 water, and again near the sea. A most magnificent \'iew of 
 the sea. win'ch reminds us \ery much of the famous Sorrento- 
 Amalfa Drive in Southern Italy along the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 Arriving at Houts Bay we walked along the sandy beach 
 where the .surf was rolling in. This is a beautiful little bay. 
 almost shut in by the mountains. On one side where the water 
 is deep the fishing is fine. We saw several wagon loads of 
 fish being taken to the city market. Great big fellows that 
 
 139
 
 OUR HOLIl).\^■ l.\ AI'klCA
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA 
 
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 OUR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA 
 
 V i 9
 
 CAPE TOWN 
 
 would weigh ten or twenty pounds, and two feet long, all 
 caught with hook and line. The water is cold and the fish are 
 fine eating. After having tea at a little hotel at the bay we 
 returned b}' another road, going back of the mountains, and 
 here the scenery was more delightful even than by the seashore. 
 The road rises half way to the mountain tops and passes 
 through a gap between the high peaks. In the little valley the 
 market gardeners have their cosey little homes with thatched 
 roofs l)uilt in Dutch style. \\'e passed through a suburb called 
 Wynburg, where many of the fields were covered with grape 
 vines, and it is in this section that great quantities of wine 
 are made, to be exported from Cape l^)wn. We passed 
 through several dense forests where the trees were so thick 
 that they shut out the sun and sky from the roadway. \Vhen 
 we would come out in the open space between the forests we 
 could see for miles over the country dotted with homes built 
 in Dutch st}le, surrounded with well trimmed evergreen hedges 
 and fields of grape vines. It was certainly the most beautiful 
 and picturescjue dri\-e that we have ever taken. 
 
 At another time we went to Camps Bay on the tram cars. 
 This is another most uni(|ue trip. On leaving Cape Town 
 the road climbs the mountain side to Kloofs Neck about a 
 thousand feet above the town. It is a pass between Table 
 Mountain and Lion's Head. From this point the view is mag- 
 nificent over city and bay. A\ e proceeded along the mountain 
 side on the back of Lion's Head, graduall}' dropping down 
 until we came to Camps Ba\' on the sea side. There are here 
 twelve small mountain i^eaks above the sea shore called the 
 twelve apostles. 
 
 143
 
 Ol'k IIOI.IDAN" l\ AI'RICA
 
 CECIL JOHN RHODES 
 
 W'e went out to see the home of the right Hon. Cecil 
 Rhodes, called Groote Shiiiir. It is an estate of several hun- 
 dred acres, lying on the side of the mountain, much of which 
 is covered by a forest of pine trees. The avenue leading to it 
 is through a stately collonade of pines, nearly a hundred feet 
 wide. The estate is laid out in gardens, has a high fenced past- 
 ure for herds (jf animals, such as the South African buck, zel^ra, 
 monkeys and other beasts, and houses built especially for them. 
 The house is stately looking, built of white plaster and brick 
 with a fine \eranda across the front. At his death it was willed 
 to the Cape C(dony government, to be occupied by the Premier 
 of the Union of South African States. At present it is occu- 
 pied by General Botha, of Boer War fame. At a high point 
 on the Rhodes" estate is a "Classical Monimient" of "Ph}'sical 
 Energy," erected by the nation to the memory of 'Sir. Rhodes. 
 From there on.e has a \'iew of Ta1)le Mountain and Dex-il's Peak 
 on one side, and over the bay and Cape Flats on the other. In 
 the botanical gardens in the central part of Cape Town is a 
 fine statue of Mr. Rhodes, representing him delivering a 
 speech, dressed in his customary business suit with his right 
 hand raised. An inscription on the pedestal, evidently taken 
 from his speech, reads "Yonder is }-(HU- Hinter Land." He 
 was easily the greatest man that Modern Africa has produced, 
 and died at the early age of forty-nine. His policies are still 
 being carried out, l)ut if he had h\ed another twent}' years he 
 would tmdoubtedl}- ha\e rendered greater service to Africa, 
 the land of his adoption. As it is, he has left an imprint, not 
 on]\- on Africa, but on the other English, speaking people of the 
 world. His will, w liich pro\ided scholarships at Oxford 
 (where he was educated) for young men, giving them three 
 \-ears in tlii> renowricd unixersit}-. was the crowning act of his 
 life. Mr. Rhodes directed, in great detail, that these scholar- 
 ships are intended to more closeh' cement all English speaking 
 people. The scholarships arc distributed as follows: South 
 
 T45
 
 OIR HOLIDAY 1\ Al-RUA
 
 CECIL JOHN RHODES 
 
 Africa, eight ; Australia, six ; Xew Zealand, one ; Canada, two ; 
 New Fonndland, one ; Bermuda, one : Jamaica, one ; United 
 States, two; for each state and territory, ninety-six; Germany, 
 fifteen. The total numl^er of scholarships, one hundred and 
 thirty-one, annual expense ahout fifteen hundred dollars each, 
 making about two hundred thousand dollars per year, to con- 
 tinue for all time. He had about one million dollars per annum 
 income at his death, which has since been increased. There 
 is no reasonable doubt about his trustees being amply able, 
 financially, to carry out his request. His largest wealth was 
 in Kimberly Diamond Alines. In addition to the foregoing he 
 provided annuities for his relatives, besides many legacies for 
 friends and servants. Notice that our o\\n E^nited States gets 
 about three-fourths of this endowment. These scholarships 
 are to be earned by competition and examination, giving the 
 brightest minds among English speaking young men an oppor- 
 tunity to get a university education. These young men will 
 be monuments to his memory, which will be ()f longer duration 
 than monuments made of marble and bronze. We have two 
 voung men of our own city now being educated at Oxford at 
 the expense of the Rhodes endowment. 
 
 SOUTH AFRICAN PARLIAMENT 
 
 We \'isited the Parliament at Cape Town, 1)oth the Senate 
 and Representati\e Chambers, while in session. There were 
 in the Senate alxnit forty members, and a speech was being 
 made in English on the stibject of irrigation, ^vhich is very 
 much r.eeded in this country, where rainfall is usually deficient. 
 In the house of the Ivepresentati\'es f|uite a spirited debate \vas 
 
 T47
 
 Ol'R HOLIDAY IX AI-RICA
 
 PARLIAAIENT 
 
 going on over the revision of the pohce laws. Some of the 
 members spoke in Enghsh, others in Dutch, and some in both 
 languages. The Speaker of the House read the motions be- 
 fore putting them to \-ote. first in English and then in Dutch, 
 all of which took much time, and one would think it rather con- 
 fusing. The English are \ery mild and diplomatic in their 
 colonies here, as well as elsewhere, but we think they have made 
 a mistake here, in authorizing two legal languages. The House 
 of Representatives is elected l\v the people. It is only in the 
 Cape Colony State that the negroes are permitted to vote, 
 if they can read and write, and have two hundred and fifty 
 dollars" worth of property. 
 
 The Senate is appointed by the Governor, also the Prime 
 Minister, and the (iovernor is appointed by the King of En- 
 gland. The L'nion of South African States at present con- 
 sists of Cape Colcjuy, Orange Free State, Natal and the Trans- 
 vaal, with a Protectorate over Rhodesia, which may, at some- 
 time, become a part of the l'nion. The Boers have a ma- 
 jority of the members of the House, but as no laws can be 
 passed without the concurrence of the Senate, the Legislation 
 must be satisfactory to the English. The present Governor is 
 Lord Gladstone, son of the late Premier of England. There 
 are many serious jjroblems for the Parliament of South x\frica 
 to sol\-e, one of the most im]jortant of these is the care, regu- 
 lation, education and direction of the negro race. The pro- 
 portion of negroes being about fifteen to one of the whites. 
 The increase of the negroes is very rapid, compared to the 
 whites, and the relatixe number will continually be getting 
 greater. Formerly this increase was kept somewhat in check 
 by the continual warfare of the different tribes, l)ut since the 
 English govern the country these wars are not permitted, and 
 their numbers are rapidly increasing. 
 
 149
 
 OL'R HOLll)A^■ IN" .\l"kl(.\
 
 SOUTH AFRICA NATIVES 
 
 In some parts of Africa where the natives have been ci\ - 
 ihzed and enhghtened, it is claimed that there is much discus- 
 sion on the subject of "Africa for the Africans." It has been 
 stated that the negroes emigrating from the United States 
 to Africa are preaching this doctrine. There are only about 
 one and one-half millions of whites in all South Africa, not in- 
 cluding British East Africa and West Africa. They could 
 not hold this country if the millions of natives were armed, 
 educated and had a leader who could hold the various factions 
 together, a condition which is not likely to occur in a thousand 
 years. 
 
 In the study of geograph}- in our bo}hood school davs 
 we were taught something about the nations being uncivil- 
 ized, half civilized, civilized and enlightened, and we confess 
 that we never realized what these terms really meant, until 
 coming on this trip, and here we have seen all the above men- 
 tioned grades of humanity. 
 
 There is much complaint in South Africa about the scar- 
 city of labor. The natives, as a rule, will not work unless 
 compelled to do so, and it has been suggested that the white 
 man has similar ideas. The native has as many wives as he 
 can buy. and they do all the work, building their huts, plant- 
 ing and raising the few crops that are really needed, and the 
 man is simply "The Lord of all Creation." He has no desire 
 to create a fortune for the use of his famih- after he is gone. 
 "Why should he work"? The only incentive which makes a 
 portion of them work is to get mone>' to buy cattle, 
 which they can trade for wives. The price of a wife is three 
 cows, and that has kept the prices of cattle high. We are 
 told that cows are worth from twenty-five to thirty-five dol- 
 lars ])er head in Central Africa. About two hundred thousand 
 native men are employed in the mines here, and these are 
 drawn from all parts of East and South Africa. That of 
 course, has something to do with the scarcit\- of labor. Form-
 
 ULR ilUi.lDAV IX Al-RICA
 
 MADEIRA 
 
 eiiy the gold mines on the Rand were worked by Chinese labor, 
 brought here on contract, to Ije returned to China when their 
 contracts expired. The home g"o\ernment in England raised 
 an objection to this and the Chinese laborers were sent home. 
 The native now dees this work to the detriment of the farmer, 
 who r.eeds more help. 
 
 After nine days very delightfully spent in Cape Town 
 we sailed for London. 
 
 MADEIRA 
 
 Aladeira was our only stop on our \oyage from Cape 
 Town to London, of seventeen days, and we only stopped 
 there a few hours to get the mail and take on coal and water. 
 It was a pleasant break in the long journey, as ^Madeira is one 
 of the beautiful and cjuaint places. \\t saw but few changes 
 since we were here a few years ago. The island belongs to 
 the Portuguese and they are not progressive, and do not keep 
 the city in sanitary condition. From the steamer the view is 
 fine, as the mountains are ab(^ut four thousand feet high 
 and form a beautiful background to the city, which is scat- 
 tered along the water's edge and half wa}' up the mountain 
 side. 
 
 On landing we t(»ok the ordinar) ox sled, \\hich is most 
 commonly used here, and were conveyed through the town to 
 the cog railway station, where we boarded the little train, 
 which consists of a small cog locomotive behind one coach, 
 which carries fifty people. Tn a (|uarter of an hour we were 
 pushed lialf way up the mountain to a hotel, where we enjoyed 
 our breakfast. The air is inxigorating at this elexation, two 
 
 153
 
 oik IK )i.ll).W l.\ AI'klCA
 
 MADEIRA 
 
 thousand feet, and the view over the ]ydy and citv is heautiful. 
 Being situated in latitude thirty-three degrees north, the vege- 
 tation and flowers looked lovely to us, after having l)een on 
 the sea for thirteen days. After enjoying this scene for a 
 short time we engaged a sled and two nati\'e guides and coast- 
 ed down the mountain side for two miles, d'ime, ten minutes, 
 which was "going some" over the narrow r()adwa\', paved 
 with smooth, round pehbles. That is a great amusement that 
 we ha\'e ne\'er heard of in any other place but Madeira, to 
 coast down the mountain on sleds without snow. While our 
 steamer was anchored in the harbor we were continually sur- 
 rounded by native Portuguese, in their small boats, begging 
 us to throw silver coins in the Avater to see them dive, and 
 they would invariably get the money. Manv of them climbed 
 to the topmost deck of our steamer, sixty or seventv feet 
 above the water and dived into the sea from that great height. 
 Madeira is noted for its exports of wine, hand made emljroid- 
 ery and willow chairs. It is also a great winter resort for 
 the English people. 
 
 On the voyage from Madeira to Southampton, which 
 takes four days, we had high seas and a great roll to our 
 ship, especially while passing through the Bay of Biscay. 
 This is generally considered a rough part of the sea. In one 
 place the sea was strewn for miles wdth floating fence posts. 
 Evidently a ship had met rough weather and her cargo of 
 fence posts had slid off her deck. 
 
 ^55
 
 OL'R II()L1I).\^ l.\ AI'kICA
 
 EXGLAXD 
 
 After a \-o}'age of seventeen days from Cape Town we 
 were delighted to arrive in England, and soon boarded the 
 train for London. This is the most beautiful season in En- 
 gland. All the country is like one great park, clothed with 
 greenest vegetation. The well trimmed hedges, the lovely 
 country homes and prosperous towns, all looked so charming" 
 after our long voyage, that we wear a "smile that won't come 
 off." To us, London is the most interesting city in the world. 
 There is so much of interest to be seen, both old and new\ 
 We motored out to Windsor Palace through the most beau- 
 tiful country along the Thames River, and back through Rich- 
 mond Park and Hampton Court. Although this is so near 
 London, there are large estates where we saw herds of deer 
 and antelope. It was a holiday and the river was full of pleas- 
 ure craft. \\'e dro\-e through avenues of great chestnut trees 
 in full l)loom, Some white and others with the most beautiful 
 pink blossoms, and acres of rhododendrons. Another day we 
 took a drive to the old part of the city, to London Bridge, 
 the London Tower, through the many streets made memorable 
 by Dickens, among which are. Hounds Ditch, Petticoat Lane, 
 Thread Needle Street, past the Bank of England, the old Bai- 
 ley Prison, the London Library, the British Museum. Trafal- 
 gar Square and I'iccadilly Circus, etc. AA'e tried the Tupenny 
 Tube, and it does not compare with out subway in Xew ^ ork. 
 We entered bv an elevator which dropped us down about 
 ninetv feet. This tube is only wide enough for one train, and 
 that is a very close fit. which, with the great depth below the 
 surface, makes one feel very shut in and stuffy. There are 
 very few surface car lines in London, and no elevated ones. 
 ATost of the street transportation is done by motor busses, 
 built large enough to carry twenty passengers inside, and 
 twentv on to]), and they run everywhere: but the most con- 
 venient and agreeable transportation in London is the motor 
 taxi cab. There arc thousands of them and they are all pol- 
 
 LS7
 
 oik IK )1J1).\^ i.\ Ai'kiCA 
 
 NATIVE AND BABOON.
 
 ENGLAND 
 
 ished and clean, and charge onl)' eight-pence or sixteen cents 
 a mile. 
 
 Just opposite our hotel was a new building, the "Royal 
 Society of Medicine." It was opened by the King and Queen 
 w^hile we were there. As our room on the second story front- 
 ed this building we had a fine \'iew of Royalty, as they drove 
 up in their carriage. The King and Queen looked exactly 
 like their pictures, with whom all are familiar. 
 
 We attended the Internaticjnal Horticultural Exhibition, 
 the finest show of the kind since 1864. There were acres of 
 flow^ers, each variet}- being placed together, and e\ery \ariety 
 of the most superb grown. The roses were as large as cab- 
 bag'es, many of them so large that they looked artificial, and 
 the orchids were the finest and greatest variety that was ever 
 shown. The vegetables and fruits were also extraordinarily 
 fine. It was with regret that we left this great city, as w-e 
 sailed for home on the Cunard Line 'Si'dy 23, 1912. In going 
 to Liverpool, the railway runs through much the most beau- 
 tiful pirt of England, and at this time of the year the country 
 looks its best, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. 
 
 England is a tht)usand }ears older than the Lnited States, 
 and is a finished country, while ours is still in the making. 
 Proljablv bv the time we are as old as England the C(^untry 
 will be much more beautiful. In crossing the Atlantic, when 
 out about a thousand miles, we received the following wireless 
 message: "Mav 2~, 1912, Captain of the Campania, greeting: 
 You are now communicating with the oldest ship afloat, the 
 Australian (^ Mulct Ship, 'Success,' formerly known as the 
 'Ocean Hell.' We are bound for New York, under our own 
 sail, sixteen days out, all well." She will be a great curiosity 
 when she arri\es in New ^'ork. 
 
 Our ship took a new course, two hundred miles south 
 of the usual crossing', to ax'oid icebergs. We did not see any 
 ice, but saw many steamers. .\n oil barge that had fix'e large 
 s(|uare sails being towed by a steamer. It was the queerest 
 shi]) we have ex'er seen in mid-ocean, and not the kind of craft 
 
 159
 
 OIK I1()1J1)A^■ l.\ AI-klCA 
 
 COLOBUS :\IOXKEY— fEXTRAL AFRICA.
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IN AFRICA 
 
 AFRICAN LEOPARD.
 
 OUR IIOLIDAN' IX AI"klCA 
 
 m 

 
 SUMMARY 
 
 that we would like to sail on when the sea is rough. We saw 
 several whale, and about half the deck of a large steamer that 
 passed us quite close. We could not tell to what ship this 
 deck had once belonged, but being about two hundred miles 
 south of where the Titanic sunk, and six weeks since that 
 horrible disaster, it might have been part of that unfortunate 
 ship. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 After the short visit we have made to this \ast continent. 
 from our observation we would say that we think the soil is 
 generally thin and poor. There are but few thick jungles, 
 such as are found in the tropics in A\'est Indies or South Am- 
 erica, even under the equator there are no such great jungles 
 of forest as are found in Brazil. While the soil near the 
 equator is the best we saw in Africa, and raises good crops, 
 it does not equal the fertile prairies of our United States. In 
 Rhodesia, as well as most of South Africa, in the central 
 port of the continent, much of the country is sparsely covered 
 with small trees about as large as apple trees, and thin grass; 
 this is called "the Veldt," and covers much of Central Africa. 
 Along the coast, and for one or two hundred miles inland. 
 the soil is better, and here are produced the best crops in 
 South Africa, but not equal to those raised in South America. 
 West Indies or United States. The rainfall in British East 
 Africa is ample, and more than needed for crops, but in nearly 
 all of South Africa is deficient and will prevent its ever being 
 a great agricultural country. The weather, of course, is gen- 
 eral1\- from warm to hot, yet is suitable for white peo])le in 
 nearly all the inland sections where the ele^■ati(^n is usually 
 from 4000 to 6000 feet abo\c sea level. The fl\- pest abides 
 
 163
 
 OLK HOLIDAY IX AFRICA 
 
 s,- 
 
 ^^k»* 
 
 "A 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 y^. 
 

 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 OIU IIOLIDAN IX Al-UICA
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA
 
 OL'R IIOLTD.W I\ Al'kICA
 
 SUMMARY 
 
 along some of the low lands near the sea. and some of the in- 
 land lakes; in such places cattle and horses cannot he raised, 
 but the donkey and goat will survive. 
 
 These fly infected districts, the white man will du well 
 to avoid, and in some sections the negro cannot li\-e until the 
 "Tsetse Fly" has been driven out. Another pest is the ants. 
 In nearly all parts of Africa where we have been, except the 
 extreme southern part, there are ant hills from one to ten feet 
 high, in some places more numerous than hay cocks in a 
 meadow, and special care must be taken to keep them out of 
 the h(juse and out of the fcwjd. ]\Iost of the upland interior 
 is adapted to grazing cattle, horses, sheep and ostriches, and 
 large ranches are being established in some sections. We met 
 a large cattle raiser who has his ranches two hundred and fiftv 
 miles north of Victoria Falls, near the Belgian Congo line, 
 where he reports that cattle do well after they become ac- 
 climated; he has brought out from England many head of high 
 grade breeding stock : about three quarters of these die be- 
 fore they become acclimated, but he is gaining on the quality 
 of his cattle, and is now going back to England after more 
 thoroughbred cattle. Although the soil and climate seems to 
 be well adapted to fruit culture in all parts of the continent, but 
 little progress has been made in fruit so far. Oranges are 
 small, green and sour, in fact we did not find any good fruit, 
 excepting the bananas in British East Africa, until we arrived 
 at Cape Town, and there they have fine fruit of all kinds in 
 season. The grapes in Cape Colony are extra fine, and that 
 section is already a large wine producing country. 
 
 Wild game of all kinds is plenty in nearly all portions 
 of Africa, except those places along the coast where the white 
 settlers have killed or driven them aw^ay : elephants, rhinoceros, 
 buffalo, giraffe, zebra, antelope, ostrich, monkeys, baboons, 
 lions, leopards. h}-enas. etc.. and along the water hippopotamus, 
 crocodiles and alligators. About three-fourths of all the 
 game is of the antelope species, such as the eland, which are 
 the largest and weigh a thousand pounds when full grown : 
 
 169
 
 OUR IIOIJDAV JX Al'RICA
 
 OUR HOLIDAY IX AFRICA 
 
 X
 
 OL'R HOLII).\\- l.\ A1-KIC"A
 
 SUMMARY 
 
 then the wildebeest which weigh five to seven hundred pounds, 
 and the hartebeest. which weigh three hundred pounds, Grants 
 gazehes, Thompson gazelles, even down to the little dik-dik, 
 which weigh fifteen pounds or less. All these antelope species 
 are good meat for the white man, and the zebra, which come 
 next in number, are considered fine meat by the natives. 
 
 Probably the best hunting ground in Africa today is be- 
 tween the Belgian Congo and Lake Tanganyiki, about one 
 thousand miles north of Victoria Falls ; all kinds of African 
 game are reported so plenty there that hunting is more like 
 shooting sheep than wild animals. 
 
 Africa will undoubtedly get a large immigration from 
 Europe for many years to come. It is a very interesting coun- 
 try for the traveler who is seeking the strange and unusual, 
 and we enjoyed our trip very greatly. However, there is noth- 
 ing to induce our people to emigrate to that part of the world, 
 nor do we think that there is a country on the globe that has 
 as many advantages and opportunities for the poor man as 
 our own United States. We are delighted to get home after 
 an absence of four months, having traveled about eighteen 
 thousand miles by sea and five, thousand by land, around the 
 continent and through much of the interior. We never missed 
 a connection by steamer or rail, had no accidents or mishaps 
 of any kind, did not miss a meal while away, return invigor- 
 ated in body and mind, and ready for work : here ends "Our 
 Holidav In Africa." 
 
 ^73
 
 PRESS OF COMBE PRINTING CO. 
 ST. JOSEPH. MO.. U.S.A.
 
 -]
 
 UCSB LIbKAKi
 
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