An African Adventure
nently a land of ranches and farms. Here you get still another parallel with the U
rigid censorship upon settlers. Until the high cost of living disorganized all economic standards, no one could establish himself in Rhodesia without a minimum capital of £1,000. So far as farming is concerned, this is now increased to
a personal experience. I made a speech at the Bulawayo Club. The notice was short but I was surprised to find more than a hundred men assembled after
s of settlers referring to the England that they had never seen, as "home." That night I realized as never before,-not even amid the agony and sacrifice of the Somme or the Ancre in France,-one reason why the British Emp
that I have met. He uses tractors and does things in a big way. There is a trail of gasoline all over the country. Motorcycles have become an ordinary means of transport for district officials and engineers, who fl
the inevitable losses have brought the people to agree with the opinion of one of the pioneers, that "the true wealth
ago the bulk of it was consumed at home. Recently, however, on account of the farm expansion, there i
ave come to the time, however, when we absorb practically our whole crop. Formerly we exported about 10,000,000 bags. There is no decrease in corn consumption despite prohibition. Hence Rhodesia is bound to loom large in the situ
iably called monkey nuts in that part of the universe), wheat and
South Africa Company has imported a number of Texas ranchmen to act as cattle experts and advise the ranchers generally. This is due to a desire to begin a competition with the Argentine and the United States in chilled and frozen meats. One of the greatest British manufactures of beef extracts owns half a dozen ranches in Rho
s which is embodied in a native at work. It is in sharp contrast with South Africa and the Congo, where, with millions of coloured people it is almost impossible to get h
n agriculturist. I heard a typical story about Lewaniki, Chief of the Barotses, who once ruled a large p
use? They c
nds beyond his stomach. I was soon to f
his face turned toward the North. Just as soon as it was unveiled the Matabeles expressed considerable astonishment over it. They could not understand why the figure never moved. Shortly afterwar
lent in the Congo. A former Resident Commissioner, noted for the keenness of his wit, once asked a travelling missionary to dine with him. After the meal the gue
e illustrate. Go to England or France today and you touch the really tragic aftermath of the war. You see thousands of demobilized officers and men vain
ilor settlers from overseas. Not only are they being given the land but they are provided with expert advice and supervision. The former service men who are unable to borrow capital w
, citrus estates, nurseries, ranches, tobacco warehouses, abattoirs, cold storage plants and dams, which insures adequate water supply in various sections
operated by the Company. There are nearly 2,600 miles of track. One section of the system begins down at Vryburg in Bechuanaland, where it connects with the South African Railways, and e
em in the world can duplicate it. The Union of South Africa comes nearest with 143 white inhabitants per mile or just eleven times as many. Can
is found over the greater part of the country. Here you not only touch an American interest but you enter upon the region that R
med that the South Arabians of the Kingdom of Saba often referred to in the Bible were the pioneers in the Rhodesian gold fields and sold the output to the Phoenicians. Others contended that the Phoenicians themselves delved here. Until recently it was also maintained by some scientists and Biblical scholars that
ndoubtedly ancient, that the greatest skill in mining had been displayed and that scores of millions of pounds worth of the precious metal had been extracted. It also proved that practically all this treasure had been exported from th
. One reason, so men like Hammond tell me, is that they are over-capitalized and are small and scattered. Despite this handicap t
med received a monopoly on the diamond output and with it the assurance of a rigid enforcement of the so-called Illicit Diamond Buying Act. This law, more commonly known as "I. D. B." and which has f
amond deal a prospector came to him and said: "If I b
ready retort. He was neve
abwe ruins, located about seventeen miles from Victoria in Southern Rhodesia. They are the remains of an ancient city and must at various ti
ure. The big hill at Zimbabwe provided the residence of "She," the lovely and disappearing lady who had to be obeyed. The ruins in the valley are supposed to be those of "the Dead City" in the same romance. The interesting feature of all this is that "She" and "King Solomon's Mines" were wri
Falls. Everybody has heard of this stupendous spectacle in Rhodesia but few people see it because it is so far awa
ves of the region had trembled at its fury. They called it Mois-oa-tunga, which means "Smoke That Sounds." When you see the falls you can read
he utilitarian with his love of the romantic. In planning the Rhodesian railroad, therefore, he insisted that the bridge across the gorge of the Zambesi into which the mighty waters flow after their fall, must be sufficiently near
bolic arch is a 500 foot span while the total length is 650 feet. Although its construction was fraught with contrast hazard it only cost two lives, despite the fact that sev
the wet season and the flow was at maximum strength. The mist was so great that at first I could scarcely see the Falls. Slowly but de
ty feet high. The tremendous flow has only one small outlet about 100 yards wide. The roar and turmoil of this world of water as it crashes into the chasm sets up what is w
n,-all "that unrest which men miscall delight"-fade into insignificance. Life itself seems a small and p
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