8
mBAW
j. , FORTY, MILES OF ,
' NATURAL POWER.
THAT WILL BE
, HARNESSED TO T,
W-1 ELECTRICITY 1$"
I
BY FRANK G. CARPENTER.
S
I TAND with me here on the cliffs at
Jlnga, In the land of Busoga, and
take a look at the source of the
Nile. We are within a few miles of
the equator, at the head of Napoleon
Gulf, on the northern end of Lake Vic
toria. In a straight line we are far
ther from the Mediterranean than Salt
Lake City Is distant from New York,
and that swift current moving below
us will wind its way for about 4000
miles before it washes the cities of
Cairo and Alexandria. It will pass
through this protectorate, will cross
Albert Nyanza, and, then, breaking Its
way through the swamps of the Sudd,
will go on through the half-desert Su
dan and water the dry lands of Egypt.
Notice how fast the current is here
at. the start. It was perceptible as we
came in by boat from Entebbe, and the
aurvtyors claim that It can be traced
clear across Victoria Nyanza to the
mouth of the Kagera River, in German
East Africa.
Indeed, some say that that river is
the source of the Nile, but it is no
more so than are the other rivers which
flow into Victoria Nyanza. This mighty
lake is the only real source. It gath
ers its waters from many rivers and
the Nile forms its only outlet. To
gether with the river, it has a basin
from one-third to one-half the size of
the whole United States, and the
waters from that vast territory will
(ill be gathered between the banks of
the Nile before it' reaches the sea.
Hipoa Falls.
Looking down now from the wooded
rliffs where we stand, we can see the
beginning of the rapids, and can hear
the thunder of Ripon Falls, over which
the flood pours a short distance away.
We can walk . there, and we pick our
way in and out through the woods along
the cliffs, and finally stand at the edge of
the falls. There are little islands in the
channel, and the current pours over in
three separate rivers, reminding one a
little of our own Niagara, where the
waters are parted by Goat. Island.
. As at our. American falls, the current is
comparatively quiet above, but when it
leaves those islands it drops down in a
boiling, bubbling, seething mass. The
spray rises high Into the air and falls
back like rain on this tropical forest. It
goes up in a mist and the dazzling sun of
the equator paints rainbows in it. There
are many flsh in the lake and they often
swim down the falls. We can see them
jump high out of the current turning
somersaults, as It were, as they go over
the rocks. The woods are full of strange
birds. There are cormorants and hawks,
and one' may sometimes see a whale-
headed stork.
Where the Nile flows over the falls the
channel is only about 1200 feet wide, and
I understand that the rocky foundation
is such that the lake can be easily
dammed. The stream is deep and narrow,
and It passes on over a series of cataracts
which continue almost 40 miles. Dur
Ing this distance it Is so swift that boats
cannot live in it. These waters of Vic
toria Nyanza rush onward with a .terrible
force, and this continues until within
about 30 miles' of Lake Choga. Here
the land is almost level and the lake Is
shallow and quiet. It has swamps filled
with crocodiles and hippopotami, and the
Nile flows peacefully through. It then goes
onward traversing this protectorate, tak
ing two other great jumps on its way
to Albert Nyanza. The first of these is
at the Karuma falls and the other at
Murchigon falls, which Is about 200 miles
north of here. After that the current is
comparatively smooth to Lake Albert.
. v A Mighty Electric Force.
This description gives you but a faint
Idea. of the electrical possibilities of the
Nile away up here at Its source. The Brit
ish aro surveying it and are estimating
Its value as to the Industrial development
of the country. An English syndicate has
a concession for the little island Just un
dcr the- falls, and It expects to invest
a tialf, million dollars In establishing
cotton factory here. There are big lum
bermen who are exploiting the forests on
both -sides or the Nile, who want power
and I am told that other parties are after
concessions. The- government is averse
to leasing power stations at the falls
proper, as it may be necessary to build
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dam here to regulate the outflow of 1
the Nile.- They do not object, however,
to works bordering the rapids below the
falls, and a series of power stations might
be made 30 or 40 miles long which could
do all the manufacturing for this part of
Africa. As it Is now, the government
has reserved a strip of land, a mile wide.
on each side of this part of the Upper
iNiie, but concessions might possibly be
had for turbines along the rapids, and
the power could easily be conveyed across
this strip by wire.
Indeed, the electrical possibilities of the
Nile in connection with Uganda are enor
mous, and the manufacturing possibilities
are equally great. The country has plenty
or iron ore, and it may some time be the
Pennsylvania of Africa. The British offi
cials say that it can raise as good cot
ton as that grown in our Southern states,
and they predict that there will eventually
be cotton plantations all the way from
Lake Victoria to Lake Albert, with gin
ning plants and cotton mills at Murchison
falls and along the Upper Nile.
The whole of Lake .Victoria, which is
larger than Lake Superior, is tributary to
this region, and the vast population which
surrounds it could be supplied with cot
ton woven at these factories. At present
one of the great troubles In getting the
natives to raise cotton is that of trans
portation. It is now carried, into Kam
pala on the heads of porters and the long
march eats up the profits. By establish
ing ginning plants along the Nile much of
the cotton will go to them in boats, and
more will be carried across country on
the excellent roads which the British are
inducing the natives to build. There are
already hundreds of miles of road in
Uganda, which could be used by an auto
mobile, and one can travel thousands of
miles on a bicycle.
Lake Victoria as a Nile Reservoir.
One of the interesting problems of this
part of the world is as to whether the
flow of the Nile cannot be regulated from
Lake Victoria. I have told you about the
Assouan dam, which has added millions
to tne wealth of Egpyt. Some of the
Dest or tne world s civil engineers look
upon Lake Victoria as the great possible
reservoir of the river Nile. Sir William
Garstin, the chief engineer of the Egyp
tian public works, says that a regulator
coum oe pui in at Kipon ifaiis and the
water let out through sluices into the
isue. xnat river is, as I have said, the
only outlet for Lake Victoria, and a
slight dam at its source would produce
enough water to irrigate a large part of
the Sudan and to add millions of acres to
Egypt. As it is now the lake is estimated
to have 138,000.000,000 tons of new water
every year. The most of this is lost by
evaporation and only 18,000,000.000 tons go
into the Nile. The present daily discharge
of the Nile is less than 60.000,000 tons, so
that Lake Victoria could double its dis
charge and not feel it. Indeed, if all the
water which is carried down by the Nile
during one year were poured Into Lake
Victoria. It would only raise the level of
that lake one foot, and it would take all
the Nile flow for more than three years
to raise it a yard. There are, however,
many engineering problems connected
with such regulation, and there are also
political ones. The dammine of the lake.
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, MAY 3. 1908,
for instance, might cause it to flood the
shores of German East Africa and for
this reason Kaiser Wilhelm would likely
object.
' A Big Lumber Country. "
All along this part of the Nile are dense
forests. The trees come right up to the
river. Some of them are about 15 feet
high, rising 40 or 50 feet without a branch.
There is a great deal of mahogany and
other hard woods, and lumber mills will
probably be established along the .Nile
to supply the demands of British - East
Africa, Uganda and the other countries
about the lake as they develop. Some of
the timber is so valuable that it could
be sawed up and shipped across the lake
to Port Florence and theace over the
Uganda a railroad to Mombasa to be car
ried by steamship to Europe and South
Africa.
I have written about the big rubber
syndicate which lias a concession of 1G0
square miles of forests in this region. It
has been platting out its estate and is en
deavoring to establish good labor condi
tions. The chief trouble here In prosecut
ing any largo enterprise is the lack of
available workmen. The natives will
labor for a few days or weeks and- then
lay oft until they have eaten what they
have earned. At present the current
wages are $1 a month but the lumber
syndicate now needs 3000 men and it has
offered the enormous sum of four rupees
-or $1.33 a month for new hands. This in
crease is Just about a cent and a half a
day or a rise from three and one-third to
four and one-half cents. As a result
laborers are coming in from other parts of
the protectorate and there is a loud out
cry that this rise will ruin the country.
At present much of the lumber is sawed
by hand, but modern machinery will soon
be brought in.
Among the Basogas.
The natives of this district, which in
cludes the source of the Nile, are known
as the Basogas. They are not so civilized
as the Baganda, but In many respects look
and dress not unlike them. They wear
bark cloth blankets, the materials for
which they raise in their gardens. The
men tie the blankets over their shoul
ders and the women wrap them around
the body under the arms leaving their
necks and shoulders bare. They some
times have a sash of bark about the
waist, and when working a girl often al
lows her blanket to fall down to this sash
leaving the upper part of her body nude.
At such times it is possible to see the skin
decorations which the women here affect
as a mark of beauty. They scar them
selves below the bosom making four
longscratches which stand-up like ridges.
Some of the women have strings of beads
and shells about their waists, and not a
few have bracelets and anklets.
The chief business here is agriculture,
although some of the people have cattle,
sheep and goats. I see peanuts, Indian
corn, beans, bananas and sweet potatoes
in the market, and am told that the chief
crop grown is bananas, and that this fruit
constitutes the principal- article of food
It Is an odd thing that the women here
are not allowed to eat chickens after they
are married, wny this is I do not know.
It Is" somewhat like the custom which
prevails among the British East African
tribes, where the married women dare not
drink milk. I suppose the men want to
monopolize both.
The Town of Jinga.
The day may come when there will be
a great city here and when railroads and
steamboats will make this point one of
the chief centers of trade of these high
lands of Africa. At present the popula
tion consists of a few hundred black na
tivesdressed in bark cloth and cotton.
They live in thatched huts scattered along
the wide streets laid out by the English.
There are some Hindoo traders - and a
considerable market. The government of
fices and stores are inclosed in a large
rectangular stockade. There are no hotels
nor other places to stop at, and I shall
be on the steamer during my short stay.
I came here from Entebbe. The boats
make a regular call on their way to Port
Florence and the Falls of the Nile are
thus easily accessible. The country about,
however, is considered unhealthful. and I
fear to 6pend much time close to the lake
on account of the tsetse fly, whose sting
gives one the sleeping sickness, which
has killed a vast number of people in the
immediate vicinity.
The Sleeping Sickness.
I doubt whether many people in our
country have heard of this terrible dis
ease. The person Infected by it goes to
sleep Involuntarily and he sleeps most of
the time. The disease comes on slowly
and it may last seven years. At first
the sleep is only occasional, but It in
creases until the man sleeps all the time
and Anally dies. The natives here are
more afraid of it than the smallpox. It
seems to be a sickness of the brain and
the doctors eay that It is largely caused
by a little worm or bacillus which Is in
jected Into the blood by the .tsetse fly,
This bacillus multiplies rapidly and soon
goes through every part of the system.
When it reaches the brain the sleeping
symptoms begin.
Until recently the sleeping sickness was
confined to the valley of the Congo, but
within the past few years It has attacked
the Islands and coast of Lake Victoria,
and is also found in some parts of Brit
ish East Africa. The disease is supposed
to have been brought here by the porters
who carry Ivory tusks and rubber on their
heads from the Congo to Lake Victoria.
They bring their freight to Entebbe and
to other ports about the lake in order that
it may be sent across the lake on the
steamers to Port Florence and by railroad
down to Mombasa. It is supposed that
some of these native porters were infect
ed when they came here and that the
tsetse flies, which are found in great num
bers in the swampy regions about the
lake', were Inoculated by biting them.
You know how the yellow fever is carried
by the stegomiya mosquito.
If that mosquito bites a yellow fever
patient Its blood becomes filled with yel
low fever germs, and it plants them in
any human being it may bite thereafter.
It Is the same with the tsetse fly. If It
has bitten a man having sleeping sick
ness it will carry that sickness to every
. victim whom it bites in the future. I have
T T7t7T7
IX If I I I I
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seen this fly. It looks something like one
of the blue-bottle variety which we have
in America, and is three times the size
of our ordinary house fly. It has been
known about Lake v ictoria for ages, but
it was not at all dangerous until the
steeping sickness natives came here and
inoculated It. This is supposed to have
been just four years ago. Shortly after
that time the sickness spread all around
the lake. The flies on the northern Islands
became infected and the natives died by
the thousands. Lake Victoria is full of
islands which a few years ago were thick
ly populated and which are now almost
deserted. The English tried to stop the
disease, but they could do. nothing, and
they had to look on and see the people
miserably perish.
Within the past year they have had
Dr. Koch, the celebrated German diph
theria specialist, here studying the dis
ease. He had 'a large hospital on the
Sesse Island and has had hundreds of
patients, but, as I understand it, so far
no radical cure has been found. At one
time Dr. Koch thought he had discov
ered a remedy. It was to fill the patient
wiUi arsenic. This counteracted the dis
ease, but the trouble was that the arsenic
usually killed the patient. It is said that
certain antidotes for the arsenic have
now been found, and it may be that by
means of them the patients can be kept
alive until they can get rid of the arsenic
taken into their systems to kill the bacilli.
A very serious matter with regard to
this sickness is the report that the fly
In these days of accentuated interest
In everything that pertains to gambling,
when the Governor of the State of New
York devotes a world of attention to an
effort to repeal the betting laws, and an
ex-Governor of the same commonwealth
throws the weight of his eloquence and
research to the opposite effort, the cam
paign conducted by Jean Barbeyrac be
comes of timely consideration.
Ex-Governor Frank S. Black is not
the first eminent jurist who has con
tended in favor of such freedom for the
public as the non-interference with
wagering represents. More than 200
years ago the distinguished Barbeyrac
argued for the same cause, and with
Infinitely greater particularity. And his
pleading had all the more influence
because of his high standing among his
people and because no one could urge
that he was actuated by personal mo
tives. Two hundred and thirty-four years
ago on March 15, 1674 Jean Barbey
rac was born at Bezlers, France. He
devoted his life to the study of law
and became famed as a professor of
great learning and a doctor of Juris
prudence to whom all looked up in re
spect and admiration. Barbeyrac's home
life was set to the accompaniment of
card-playing, for his mother-in-law,
who resided with him, was as devoted
to her baccarat and kindred games as
the ladies of today are fond of bridge
and penny poker.
Daily sessions were held, and grad
ually, from the mildest of interest at
the outset, Barbeyrac came to enter
Into the spirit of the games, to study
the players and their peculiarities, and
to come finally to the conclusion that
there was nothing wrong In gambling.
Of the countless men and women who
have preached this theory before and
since the day of Barbeyrac, few have
possessed the incisive utterance and
the logical expression which gave to
Barbeyrac's findings so much effect.
As instancing the solidity of Barbey
rac's character, it is to be recalled that
he published many works on Jurispru
dence, besides a translation of Tlllot
son's sermons. But the work that has
endured and made his name known
even in the forgetf ulness of 1908 was a
lengthy treatise- on gambling which he
called the "Tralte de Jeu," and which
SOME HISTORIC GAMBLING CRUSADES
5 $W
TJZST HAKE? AT
is -now inoculating the hippopotami and
crocodiles which are found everywhere
about this lake. They bite the hippos
under the lobe of the ear where the skin
is thin and the microbes are thus Intro
duced into the blood, so that every fly
which feeds upon that hippo thereafter
becomes inorulated. I understand that
the hippo has many thin veins of blood
running through its thick skin and that
this source of infection Is serious. As to
the crocodile they are bitten under the
neck or betwwen the scales. I do not
vouch for these facts, but give them for
what they are worth.
In the meantime the British have es
tablished sleeping sickness hospitals at
diflerent places about the lake, and they
have also segregation camps. When a vil
lage gets the sickness they put those who
have been bitten off by themselves in
mosquito-proof houses and keep the
others apart until they are sure whether
they have been Inoculated or not. The
chief trouble ia right down on the shores
of the lake, as it is said the fly will not
go but a few hundred steps away from it.
The 'people, however, who have their vil
lages on the shores are stubborn. They
say their fathers lived there, and there
they will live and die.
A Society of Ghouls.
Among the islands which have been
seriously affected by the sleeping sickness
are those belonging to the Sesse archi
pelago. These lie some distance south of
Uganda, and are reached by canoes or
he dedicated to Princess Ann of Orange,
eldest daughter of George II. In this
he proved to his own satisfaction, at
least, that gambling Is not Inconsistent
with natural law, morality or religion.
These arguments were contained In the
first of four books covering the sub
ject. The second book takes up the argu
ments of the first and applies them
specifically to the different kinds of
games that have been played at differ
ent periods in the history of the world.
The third book states the limitations
under which the previous arguments
are to be considered, and the fourth
enumerates the various passions of
gambling. The summing up of M.
Barbeyrac is that gambling in Itself is
neither immoral nor illegal, and he de
fies anyone to point out where in the
Scripture gambling is forbidden. The
Barbeyrac theory is that man Is essen
tially a worker, his whole existence be
ing one of labor. "L- maintain." he
avers, "as an irrefragable principle that,
for the sake of relaxation, man may In
dulge in such amusements as are free
from vice. This being admitted. If a
person takes pleasure in playing at
cards or dice, there Is no reason why he
may not amuse himself in that manner
quite as Innocently as In painting, danc
ing, music, hunting or any similar
diversion.
"The question then arises whether
the game be played for nothing or for
a stake of value. In the first place, it
Is a mere relaxation, bearing not tha
slightest semblance to criminality. In
regard to the second, there can be no
evil in it. looking at the matter gen
erally, without taking into considera
tion peculiar circumstances. For" if 1
am at liberty to promise to give my
property absolutely to whomsoever I
please why may I not promise to give
a certain Bum in the event of a person
proving more fortunate or more skil
ful than I with respect to the. result
of certain contingencies, movements or
combinations on , which we had pre
viously agreed?
"And why may not this person hon
estly avail himself of the result either
of his skill or of a favorable concur
rence of fortuitous circumstances on
the issue of which I had voluntarily
contracted an obligation? Although
but one of the parties gains an advan-
ZrEFTJ
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other small boats from the mainland!.
They are beautiful islands, covered wlta
grass and woods, and until recently a
great part of them was well cultivated.
It is there that Dr. Koch's sleeping sick
ness hospital was.
The people of the Sesse Islands are no
torious for their secret society of ghouls,
known as the Bachichi. The members of
this society eat the dead, and their prac
tice is so well known that the Christian
natives keep watch for eight days after
burial over the graves of their fellows
who have passed away. There are
branches of the society In Uganda, and
the custom Is common in other places.
It is said that the ghouls of the Sesse
Islands sometimes carry sick people oft
into the bushes and knock them on tha
head in order that they may be the sooner
fitted for the table.
Dr. Cunningham, who lived long In
Uganda, states that the Sesse people
when they put away their dead wrap
them in shrouds of bark cloth and then
lay them on a wooden frame above -ground
far off in the forests and do not
visit them again. The presumption la
that they will be taken care of by tha
society. My Tanganyka friend says that
the bodies are usually eaten by the fam
ily and relatives of the deceased, and
Sir Harry Johnston, in his book on Ugan
da, speaks of a Sesse Islander who killed
his wife on the wedding night because
she refused to cook the thigh of a man
burled the night "before, which he had dug
up to celebrate their marriage supper.
strict equity in the transaction, tha
terms' having previously boen agreed
on by both.
"Every person being at liberty to
determine the conditions on which ha
wili concede a right to another may
make It dependent upon the most
chance circumstances. A person may
fairly and honestly avail himself of
these winnings when he has risked on
the event as much as he was likely to
gain. In fact, gambling Is a contract,
and In every contract the mutual con
sent of the parties is the supreme law.
This is an incontestable maxim of
natural equity."
The influence of the opinion of tha
great Barbeyrac has not been slight,
at least in the land of his birth, where
gambling Is today considered among
the polite diversions of modern so
ciety. The p'eople cling to it as a
right, ' just as for long the English
people made clamorous demand for the
continuance of their licensed gaming
establishments.
Speaking of the latter nation, It wa
no longer ago than 1854 that, on the
proposal of a bill to suppress public
gambling houses, there was Issued a
pamphlet directed against the measure
and in "defense of British freedom,"
which, it was pointed out, was threat
ened by the measure. "Whilst the con
stitution of the human mind and pas
sions produces a desire for gain and a
speculating tendency, whilst some
temperaments cannot exist without
stimulation and excitement, gambling,
in some shape or form, will and must
continue. Shut the door in one direc
tion and It will open in another. Tha
passion must have vent,
"It is a constitutional maxim of this
country that every man's house is his
castle In other words, that every man
is safe from having his house or
residence forcibly broken open upon
the mere suspicion that an offense
against the law is being committed
therein. It Is not all at once that our
freedom and independence are invaded.
It is by slow and imperceptible degrees
the groundwork of liberty is under
mined. It is the duty of the public
to resist this encroachment of arbi
trary power."
So all the gambling agitation isn't
of 1908. New York PreBS.