Harper's New Monthly Magazine Volume 34 December 1886 to May 1887 . e Mediterranean ina straight line. Thence the track wascompleted as far as Sarras, when some newcaprice diverted the attention of its vola-tile patron, who left the work unfinished. It was recommenced by England in1884, a fevv months after Gordons arrivalat Khartoom, and fifteen miles out of sixty-two were completed on the Ferket section,which avoids the perilous Dal work was vigorously pushed on dur-ing the summer by order of General Wol-seley, who asserted that by constructingtramwaj^s around the cataracts of Fatm


Harper's New Monthly Magazine Volume 34 December 1886 to May 1887 . e Mediterranean ina straight line. Thence the track wascompleted as far as Sarras, when some newcaprice diverted the attention of its vola-tile patron, who left the work unfinished. It was recommenced by England in1884, a fevv months after Gordons arrivalat Khartoom, and fifteen miles out of sixty-two were completed on the Ferket section,which avoids the perilous Dal work was vigorously pushed on dur-ing the summer by order of General Wol-seley, who asserted that by constructingtramwaj^s around the cataracts of Fatmehand Khaibar, and laying about 220 milesof track along various parts of the up])erNile, a line of communication available atall seasons might be established betweenWadi Haifa and Korti, the future head-qTiarters of the British army during theSoudan campaign. But the works atFerket came to an abrupt halt in the earlyfall from lack of material, while the con-struction of the higher sections was stoppedshort on the 28th of October by a whole- AFRICAS AWAKENING. 547. OF AFRICA. sale desertion of the Arab work-men in consequence of the se-cret intrigues of El Mahdi. But this project—a tempo-rary one at best—sinks intoinsig-nificance compared withthe rival enterprise advocatedmore than twenty years ago by no less anauthority than Sir Samuel Baker. At firstsight, indeed, the deliberate announce-ment of a scheme for raising the level ofthe Nile so high as to annihilate all itscataracts by burying fathoms deep theobstructions that cause them, while ferti-lizing with the rich deposit of its waters adesert as large as tlie combined area ofFrance and Germany, might well appearstartling even to a generation which hashewed its way through the isthmus ofSuez and has begun to pierce that of Pan-ama. But its feasibility is obvious to anyone who remembers that although the CAPE COLONy ;j|^/>i5^;|^naritzbutg Cai\e of Good ti<-l^^rt^^ s=a^^ . actual feeders of the Nile are the two great


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