TITE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, DECEMBER , 20, 1903.
. ' . U'; ' i'vf-Tf jiff? I':. ' & J - !. ' AND CQTTOjfcl ' '.....V.-.'
.- .I" " ... hK'-r,iihi lift A "'X. :l PLANTATIONS? Lrrr- -'V"' ' . ., ' .
if -Ylrf; .7 ; f - W ; . i MADE .PROFIT- J? V' J f v " ' f
if HI ; if&- :; ; ": h united hfE' tiS-&- r J
BY FRANK G. CARPENTER.
XCLE SAM should kcrp hi eye
I I "kinnl a. to the developments go-
' hig on In West Afrlra. That part
of the world ia practically unknown to
uk. and stll! Its trade is growing like a
sreen bay tree. All alonR the coast, from
Senegambla to German Southwest Africa,
railroads are buildinar. experimental plan
tations are beinflr set out. and here and
there mines of various kinds have been
discovered. Away down near the Cape,
!n the German possessions, there is a
place ca!ld Otavi. where valuable depos
its of copper are now being mined. The
ere in slcht is said to be 300.000 tons,
and it is- claimed that it can be produced
o as to net J19.oon.000 clear profit. Por
tuguese West Africa has copper, iron,
petroleum and salt, and its oils and
uphalt til Ids are now being worked by
a British syndicate. I have already writ
ten of the (treat Katanga concession,
which King Leopold of Belgium Is work
ing in connection with the English on
the watershed between the Zambesi and
the Congo. This is to be reached by a
railroad 1 20 miles long through Portu
guese West Africa to the Congo Free
-State. It will open up larger copper de
posits than any ever discovered, and will
flood the world with that metal and
with tin. The tin mines run through a
range of hills 150 miles long, and the cop
per mountains are something like 300
miles in length. An extension of the
Cape to Cairo road has just been pro
jected to this great mining region, and
within a short time It will probably be a
beehive of industry
There are valuable minerals in the
northern part of the Congo Free State,
and the French Congo contains gold, cop
per and Iron. Gold has been recently
found In the Kamerun. belonging to the
Germans, which lies just to the north,
and a little beyond that Is .the famous
Gold Const, on the Gulf of Guinea, from
which the English got the name of their
J5 gold pieces. The mines there have
been worked for generations, and they
are still turning out considerable. The
ourput Is now something like J4.0on.000
a year, which is 40 times the product
.r 19ol. In 19H6 :i7.0u) ounces of gold
were taken out. and there has been a
steady increase in the product for more
than five years. At present both .quartx
and placer mining are going on. and large
crushing mills have been installed.
West Africa" r Railroads.
As to the railroad development. It em
braces the whole coast of the continent.
The Germans have several large projects
tinder way in Southwest Africa. They
have alreadv built a line 237 miles long
from Swakopmund. their port, near Wal
fish Bhv, to Great Windhoek, the capi
tal; and they have made arrangements
for a railroad BuO miles Ion? to go from
Swakopmund to Otavl and the copper
mines. This road will probably some
lay be connected with the Cape to Cairo
line running northward from Cape Town
to the Zambesi; and. in that case, it
will shorten the distance between Eng
land and Unlaw a vo by 1S00 miles.
The I-oblto Pay railroad has already
b-en constructed for a hundred miles or
SAY. next time I se signs of another
bank panic comin' on, I'm goin' to
lease the 3?th floor of the Singer
buildin". move the riiyslcal Culture
ftudk down there, and prepare to save
the country at 1)0 per cent advance on
usual rates. Phew I'm gettin' rested
up a little now, but for two or three weks
there, while our friend Plerp. was dealln
out the six)t!iln syrup with one hand and
rhakin' things down witli the other, I
was workln" overtime.
How was that? Why. It's like th1
Tiie Bickernocker Trust Company has a
directors' meetin that lasts until 3 A.
M.. and they've got through aecusin'
ach other, and laid the whole blame on
tiie janitor, and voted that he ought to
h sent up for life, tliere's a lot of nice,
portly, fur lined old gents tiiat looks as
If they'd been doin" duty on the poison
viuad. Besides dancin' the slack wire
all night, they've been stokin' on black
coffee and Carolina perfectos, and it
naturally leaves "em In bad shape. Some
goes to their specialists, others tries a
Russian steam, and the rest of 'cm pikes
for Shorty ilcCabc's.
And. say. they're apt to be a peevish
lot about then. Why. once I had a dozen
here at a time, and no one of 'em would
p-ak to nioro'n three of the others.
Seems there'd been a wholesale round
up of directors the night before, two or
three presidents had resigned by request.
nd there'd been a lot of talk about John
Doe proceedin's.
"You. sir." says one. glarin' at another,
"would hypothecate your immortal soul
If you had a chance!"
"Perhaps, sir." says the other: "but It
would be my own soul, and I can name
persons who "
"Ah. ring off!" says I. "This ain't th
grand Jury room. Cut all that out and get
busy peelin' off for a game of stock ball!"
Ever watch that kind of sport? It's
a little warmln' up stunt we used to prac
tice in trainin" quarters. I gives 'em each
a number and throws a basket ball into
the middle of the gym. floor. Then whefi
t calls out "No. 7," the gent who an
swers to that has to grab the ball and
try to soak some one with H. If he
misses, lie scrabbles after it and has
another try. The feller he hits Is it.
Lively! Say. inside of three minutes I
has that whole grouchy bunch hoppln'
nd dodgln' around, laughin' and pumn",
fttln" behind each other, rollin' on the ,
FINANCIAL
so Inland from the Atlantic and there
are now several thousand laborers work
ing uoon it. This road will be over 1000
miles long, and It will be made after the
usual South African fashions. Its gauge
Is three feet six inches, and the rails
weigh 60 pounds to the yard. The ties
are to be of steel, on account -of the
white ants which eat everything wooden;
they will weigh 70 pounds each. All tiie
bridges are standardized, and the roll
ing stock is the same as that used In
Rhodesia. Some of the engines are being
built in Kngland, but the heaviest ones
are to be supplies by the Swiss and the
Germans.
By the time this road reaches the con
per mlnes the Cape to Cairo extensions
will be there, and the route to South
Africa will probably change, as far as
fast travel Is concerned. Passengers will
be taken to Loblto Bay. and will thence
go by rail to the Transvaal, and espe
cially to- all parts of Rhodesia. There
will probably be an extension to Lake
Tanganyika, and we shall have a line
across the southern part of the conti
nent. There is no doubt of the comple
tion of the Iobito Bay road. The com
pany which is interested in it is the one
which owns the copper mines: and- there
are tens of millions of dollars I might
say billions of dollars of minerals await
ing Its traffic possibilities.
The Railroads of the :ongo.
The Lobito Bay railroad will be largely
controlled by the Kongo Free State. The
King of Belgium and Ills associates own
a majority of the stock In the great cop
per concession, and they will see that it
la operated in the Interests of Belgium's
colony. It will probably be connected
with other roads which will open to trade
the navigable tributaries of the Upper
Congo, and will form a part of the ex
tensive railway system which has been
projected for that country.
Few people realize what Is going on as
to railroad building in ' the Congo Free
State. The Congo River Is as long as the
distance from New York to San Fran
cisco, and two of its tributaries are each
almost as long as from the mouth of the
Hudson to the Great Salt Lake. The
navigable waterways of the system it
etretched out In one line would reach
from New York to Singapore, or half way
around the globe.' and they are so many
that there is not a Boot-In' the whole
Congo basin, which is 80 miles distance
from navigable waterways.
The biggest European steamers now go
tip the Congo 100 miles from its mouth to
Matadt. At that point there i a railroad
250 miles long, which climbs past the rap-
Ids to Stanleypool. This road has been in
operation for a number of years, vvithln
a short time a second gap on the river
has been remedied by building a line just
above Stanleypool 90 miles long, and a
third line is projected of 200 miles far
above that. The line is near the Hell's
Gate cataract and between Send we and
Bull. Another railway Is projected which
will cross the Lower Congo to the copper
mines, and others are to connect the Con
go with the Mediterranean through the
French lines proposed for the Sahara des
ert, and with the Sudan system by a
railway from the Uelle River to the Nile.
Speaking of the Uelle region, this is in
the northern part of the country ap-
are now Keveral thousand laborers work- Jt X.T i - - I' ' ' U i ''I II" ' . rf t"
Aid
TRANSACTION IN WHICH PftOFESSOK SHORTY
floor, and enjoyin themselves likg 10-year-olds.
"I'gh!" grunts old Fatwad. as the
ball takes him In the middle of his meat
safe. Bang! goes Mr. Tenpercent. makin'
a sharp turn and losin' his balance.
"Sliake It up there!" says I. "Keep the
ball movin'! Slum him, now! Slam him,
old Side whiskers!"
Say, I don't stop to ask who they are
down on Broad street, or how much call
money they can put on the market, or
whetlier they ve bu sted a bank or a
bank's busted them. When I sizes 'em up
here in the studio it's only by the baggy
eyes and the extra weight around the belt
line. To me they're Just so many speci
mens of high livin' and hard worryin".
and I puts each one through the course of
sprouts that I think will do lum the most
good.
But the toughest proposition I had to
tackle was my old reg'lar Pyramid Gor
don. Maybe you've been keepin' posted
on some of tne stunts he's been doln
lately. That's more'n I have. I've been
too busy with other things to follow a
skyrocket like liim. All I know is that
he's been At his old games swappin' this
stock for that, hockin' one thing to buy
another, and pumpin' his bank accounts
so full of hot air it's a wonder some of
them green goods exchanges didn't lose
their roofs.
That's why he ain't showed up here for
so long. And when he does come it ain't
to Join any class. Not him! He'd be
mobbed. He waits until I can give him a
clear shop, and then he slips around here
in his car.
"Well. Shorty," say he. as Swifty helps
him out of the leopard skin ulster, "I'm
a little out of condition again, you see."
I'd been blind if I couldn't. His eyes
look as if he'd been burnin' brush Tor a
week; his cheeks might have been dusted
with flour, for all the color there was In
'em; and when he opens his mouth to
talk that Belgian block Jaw of his has
a quiver to It that tells of nerves worn
down to a wire edge. But I don't let on.
"Ob, you ain't quite ready for the
scrap heap yet, Mr. Gordon," says I.
"Come In for a little emergency repairs.
eh?"
That's it. Shorty." says he. "And lor
heaven's sake do what you can for me
between now and 10 o'clock tonight!'
"Likely to have a hard day tomorrow,
are you?" says I.
"Tomorrow!" says he. shuttln' his teeth ,
1YMH t: I . . - Ml 1 .... .. . 4 v& a
proachlng the Nile watershed, and until
recently all transportation there has been
by porters. Within the past year or so
the government has been making roads
and putting on motor cars and traction
engines. There Is to be one road from
the Congo to the Nile, which will be 600
miles long, and motor cars built espe
cially for It are now being constructed at
Liege. In addition to them very service
able traction engines carrying cars each
holding several tons of goods have been
made, and these will be used for heavy
freight The Belgians are also training
the African elephant as a beast of bur
den. They first tried the Asiatic ele
phants, thinking the African beasts In
tractable. The Asiatic elephants died,
and about three years ago the work of
training the African elephant ,was begnn.
Twenty-eight elephants have already
been domesticated, and they are now car
rying bricks and timber for railway con
struction. ' The Gnlnea Coast Roads.
Golny northward along1 the Gulf of
Guinea, a number of other Important rail
ways have been projected, and some are
already under construction In the Kame
run the Victoria Llssoko road has been
extended as far as Soppo. a distance of 22
miles, and another railway Is building.
In Togoland, also belonging to the Ger
mans, there is one railway 26 miles long,
extending from Lome to Little Popo, and
In French Guinea, a railway which Is to
run from- Konakry on the Niger has been
opened as far as Kindia. This is about
S3 miles Inland. The road will meet the
Niger at Kouroussa, and will have a big
traffic. The French have also built two
important railways in Dahomey, one of
which is 140 miles long. Another goes
along the Lagos frontier. They are ex
tending both lines. They also propose to
construct a track inland from the Ivory
coast, and they have Important railways
In operation In Senegal.
To Open Tp Xigerla,
The English have some railroads in
their colonies Upon the Gulf of Guinea!
There is one I'M miles long, which goes
from Iagos to Ibadw.n. This has Just
been extended to Oshoirbo, which Is 63
hard. "Let's forget tomorrow. Put me
in shape for tonight."
Well, I looks him over, pokes him some
with my finger in the soft places, and
then gets my ear down over his left
hand vest pocket. "First off I want to
hear how the blood pump's workin'," says
L
"Oh, hang the heart!" says he. "I
don't want don't want to know anything
about that don't dare."
"I do, though, says I. countin the
thumps. "It's doln' ragtime, all right,
but I guess It sin't goin' to run down
right away. Come on."
One good thing about Pyramid Gordon
Is that whatever he does, he goes in
neck or nothin. If I toss him a tennis
ball and tell him he's got to bounce it
50 times without missin', he'll give that
job Just as much attention as If he was
tryin' to bunko some one out of a rail
road. You can handle a man like that,
and do him some good.
Well, Swifty and I had been workin'
him along easy, until he was breathln'
deep and his mind was havin' a rest,
when I'm called out into the front office
to answer the door. What I finds waitln'
for me is one of these big well-fed.
chuckle-jawed young chaps, same's you
see pictured in the magazines and cloth
ing ads. reg'lar open stock pattern. He's
wearfn' a frock coat of the latest mode,
chamois skin gloves, and emokin' a gold
tipped cigarette while he gazes at him
self approvln' in the mirror.
"For correct afternoon wear, ee Plate
No. 17," thinks I, half out loud.
"Eh? Beg pardon," he says.
"Oh, it's alive, is ltf says I. "Well,
what back draft blew you In here, and
what's It all about? Hurry up,' son; this
is my busy hour!"
But there's no rushin that kind. He
gives me one of them "How dare you,
air?" looks, screws the Joss stick into his
mouth, fishes a card out of a pigskin
case, and settles back to see what'U hap
pen. "Mr. Frlsbie Otis Beala, representing the
Gold Brick National Bank," is something
like what I reads on the card. Thanks,
Frlsbie," says I. "I'll keep this to stick
up over the wasnstand. Drummln up
trade, are you?"
"I was told I could find Mr. Gordon
here," says he, real chilly.
. "Well, go out and forget about it for
about an hour," says I. "By that time I
miles farther, and It will be built on from
there into Northern Nigeria to connect
with one of the most important roads in
Africa, which is now being constructed.
Northern Nigeria Is almost as large as
Texas, and it has more than 7,000.000 peo
ple. A great part of It is high and
healthy, and It promises to be one of the
richest lands of West Africa. Its Inhab
itants are more like the Egyptians or Al
gerians than the gulf negroes. They are
Mohammedans, and are noted for their
thrift and Intelligence. In the past these
people have been supplied almost entirely
by the caravans which cross the Sahara.
Their chief town la Kano, the terminus
of the' trad routes from Tripoli and the
Upper Niger, which in olden times had
caravan connection with the ocean, with
the Mediterranean, and with the Red Sea.
This road, which is now building, will
make It possible to take goods to Kano
by steam. It Is to begin at the town of
Baro, the highest navigable point' on the
Niger, and to extend from there 400 miles
eastward to Kano.
When this road is built all the supplies
for Northern Nigeria will be sent to the
Gulf of Guinea up the Niger and Inland
by rail, and this caravan trade will be
destroyed as far as crossing the Sahara
Is concerned. This will be a great blow
to the countries along the Mediterranean.
A loan for this Nigerian railway ias
already been authorized by the British
government, and I understand that the
line is to be pushed with all possible
speed. The track Is to be of a 40-inch
guage, and Is to be completed within four
years. The cost Is estimated at about $7,
000.000 or tS.000,000, andt it will be met by
bonds raised on Southern Nlgerta, the in
terest of which will be guaranteed by the
government. As to dividends, the road
will hardly pay much for some time to
come. It will greatly develop the country,
however, and It Is advocated by the au
thorities as a military necessity.
A Big Trans-African Une.
These rich lands of Nigeria form an Im
portant link In another big scheme which
Is to join the Mediterranean countries
with both East and West Africa. This
Is to combine a railroad across the Sa
hara, to be built by the French, with one
ihuslness'll be over for the day, and you
can come again tomorrow."
"My dear fellow " he begins.
"Quit It. Frisble! You ain't at the
club," says I. "And run along! Mr. Gor
don can't see you now."
"Oh, yes he can." says he. He's got
to, or " and Frisbie shrugs his shoulders
like a stage detective.
"Meanin' that this is a case of trouble?"
says I.
"Precisely, says he.
"All rigt." says I. "Taice another good
long look at yourself in the glass while
I put it up to Pyramid."
Mr. Gordon, he's costumed in a striped
swlmmin jersey, cotton runnin' breeches,
and a pair of tennis shoes; and him and
Swifty Joe is bangin" the handball at the
rate of SO strokes a minute.
"Time out!" says I. "There's a vice
president of a bank out front there, Mr.
Gordon. Snail I run him down" the
stairs? '
"What bank?" says he. grabbin a towel.
I hands him the card. He takes one peek
at it, and then he laughs. But It wa'nt a
real hearty laugh. It's one of the kind
that don't get past the front teeth you
know like a bulldog laughs when you try
to get a bone away from him.
"I'll have to see what he wants," says
Gordon, so I chucks a bath robe on him
and he steps to the door.
"That you, Frisble?" says he. 'Ts it
about those securities?"
Frlsbie says It Is.
"What's the ultimatum?" says Pyra
mid. "Before closing time today, sir," says
Frisbie.
"Today!" snarls Gordon. "Why. the
.blasted hyenas, they said Never mind.
Wait a minute, Frlsbie."
He shuts the gym. door and' puts his
back against it, holdin' his chin In one
hand and workin" up a washboard brow
In no time at all.
"If this Is a case where I can throw
you a life-belt, Mr. Gordon," says I,
"why, just"
"It isn't," says he, "unless yon happen
to have (100,000 worth of negotiable paper
handy."
"Oh, Lulu!" says I. "I pass. Can't you
scare it up from some of your friends by
telephone?"
"Telephone!" he snorts. "You've got to
have both knees oft " your man's chest
and choke it out of him these days."
With that he starts padn' up and down
to be made by the Germans, goina;
through the Kameruns to the Gulf. of
Guinea, and branch lines extending east
and west from these two. The French
part of the road may be built southward
to Timbuctoo, or, what Is more probable,
go to the southeast and strike Kano. I
went over the first 400 miles or so of this
road. It now extends from Oran along:
the border between Morocco and Algeria
to Colomb Bechar, In the heart of the
desert. I also saw the railway which
leads from Eastern Algeria down to Bisk
ra. In the Sahara. It is more probable
that the latter road will be extended
than the former, and I understand the
survey from Bislcra to Lake Chad has
been made. The road will go to the oasis
of Waxgla and thence up the Ichargar
valley. It will cross the Amadsror range
of mountains at an altitude about that
of the AUeghenies, and will thence make
Its way to Kuka, on Lake Chadi The
cost of construction Is estimated at about
$16,000 per kilometer. From Kuka the
Germans are expected to take the road
down through the Kameruns to the At
lantic, and there will probably be an ex
tension westward to Kano to connect
with the Nigerian line above spoken of,
and also other branches which might con
nect with the roads of the Congo.
Timbuctoo has always seemed one of
the most Inaccessible parts of the world.
It will surprise many to know that it can
now be reached by steam. The French
have built a railway from Kayes to the
Niger, a distance of 343 miles, and they
have also . a road connecting St. Louis
and Dakar. One can go by steamer from
St. Louis to Kayes, and on the vessels
of the Niger from there to within a few
miles of Timbuctoo. The time is com
TO
JO,
Ms CABE
the room. hl3 fists bunched In the bath
robe pockets, and his eyes etarln' straight
ahead at nothin'. Ever see that side
of a money squeeze? Well, It ain't cheer
ful to watch. There was Pyramid Gor
don, wlvo'd been jumpin' around frisky
for an hour w-ithout leaklrr" much of any;
and now the round drops was pushin' out
on his noble brow like he was tryin' to
lift a ton dead weight.
For four or five minutes he wanders
around aimless. He picks up a wooden
dumb bell and puts it down. He pulls
out a chest weight and lets it go. Last
he fetches up in front of a little wall cab
inet where Swifty keeps his hair oil
and such Ocnickknacks. and begins openin
and shuttln' the door, absent minded
like. All of a sudden he grabs something
oft" the top siielf.
"Here! What are these?" he sings out.
"Why," says I, "them's cigarette cou
pons that Swifty's been savin' up. He's
plannln' on gettin' either a safety razor
or a mandolin; butr "
"Swifty," he breaks in. "will you lend
me these for a day or so?"
"Sure thing." says Swifty, "only"
"Oh, you shall have them back," says
Pyramid. "Bring me my coat, will you?"
Course, Swifty and I stands around
with our moutlus open, to see what comes
next: but all he does is stow them giddy
lookin premium promises into a stock
envelope, seal her up. scribble a few notes
on the outside, and then go out to Frisble.
In a minute he's back and the handball
game is goin' on just as if nothin' had
happened. AH he says to me is to listen
for the phone and let him know If he's
wanted.
There's no call, though. We works on
Pyramid until 6 o'clock and by the time
he's through with the needle spray and
the alcohol rub he's lookin' ten years
younger and says that for the first time
in a month he feels like he could tackle
a real square meal.
'There's a nice, quiet chophouse around
on Sixth avenue," says I, "where you
can get your money's worth."
"Won't do," says he, short and sharp.
"If you know where they have the most
mirrors, the loudest music, the flashiest
crowd. Shorty, just lead the way. We've
got to hit it up hard tonight, and you're
in on this."
"That beln' the case," says I, "we'll
give the new lobster palace a try. But
first I've got to ring up Sadie."
I was Just tellln' Sadie how I wouldn't ,
paratively short and the expense incon-
siderable.
. Timbuctoo 'itself has dwindled. It used
to be one of the chief trading stations
on the southern side' of the Sahara, and
caravans of thousands of camels from
Morocco and Algeria came there every
year. Today the most of the goods go
by this steam route, andi the camel trade
amounts to but little. Timbuctoo is now
not even a mission center, and' the old
song has lost its meaning. Tou may re
member it: .
I would 1 were a rassowarr
In the wilds of Timbuctoo!
Wouldn't I eat a missionary.
Skin and bones and h3mn book, too?
Educating the Natives.
On the other hand, mission work is in
creasing In West Africa. The churches
were never so strong nor the converts
more numerous. The various govern
ments have assumed their part of the
white man's burden and are Introducing
schools at the principal centers'.
It is five years since the French adopt
ed a uniform system of education for
their West African colonies, and they
now have 10,000 native children who are
receiving elementary Instruction, and of
these 3000 are girls. Their expenditure
on negro education there last year was
a quarter of a million dollars. They
have schools at all the towns of Sene
gal; at Dakar there Is a technical school,
and at St. Louis a normal training "col
lege, where Interpreters and minor of
ficials are taught. There are also schools
In Dahomey and, French Guinea.
The German), are beginning to educate
the natives at 'Togoland, and they have
established a .government school or so In
the Kameruns. There are 16,000 children
in the mission schools of the latter coun
try, and 3000 In the mission schools of
German Southwest Africa.
As to the Congo Free State, it has now
K mission stations, with a little under
600 missionaries, of whom 244 are Catho
lics and the remainder Protestants. The
missionaries co-operate with the gov
ernment, as far as education Is con
cerned, and the latter has formed three
agricultural colonies, where negro chil
dren are taught.
In the Portuguese possessions, not
withstanding the outrages which have
been perpetrated on the natives in the :
way of slavery and forced labor, there 1
TrTT'
BY
rKUKD AS IIITEHMEDIATOIi
be up to the Perzazzer until late, when
she breaks in and says she's Just on the
point to handin' me the same news.
"It's Ethel, you know," says she. "That
young man of her's has asked her to go
to dinner with him, and as they're all
alone I'll have to be their chaperon."
"Good!" says I. ""Give 'em a chance,
though, Sadie. Don't forget that you
was young once yourself.
I expect I should have known who Ethel
was, and all about her young man; but
Sadie promotes so many of them enter
prises that I loses track of some. On
the way over to dinner I touches up Mr.
Gordon about Frisble. He'd got me some
curious, that chap had.
"Kind of young to be runnin' a bank,
ain't he?" says 1.
"Yes," said Pyramid, "but fully old
enough to be running for one. That's
what he's doing messenger."
"Him!" says I. "Why, I Judged from
the get up and the side he carries, that"
"He does that on 12 a week," says Pyra
mid. "I know because I put him into that
bank father an old friend of mine. Nice
boy Frisble. Cost $10,000 to have him
flunk in his first freshman year. He was
half way through the second term when
old man Beals petered out a,nd left him
without a wnite bean to his name. Now
he has as a working capital an old aunt
who boards him for nothing, a set of
tastes that go with a $1,000,000 income, and
the sense of a jack rabbit that's Frlsbie."'
"Well, he had me goin', all right," says
I. "I thought he was lined with it. But
here we are,. How does this strike your
fancy aa a food parlor? Don't it look
like a place where they make the lob
sters unbelt?"
There was no mistakin that, either
all marble, frescos and stained glass, and
mirrors, and electric light effects. It's
one of the newest and giddiest joints
along Whisky Sign row, one of the kind
where you don't want to carry a healthy
appetite unless you've got a Pittsburg
pocketbook. There's a glass staircase
with real water runnin' down inside, ice
statuary cut fresh every day and a hard
workin' orchestra sportin- more goia
braid than a convention of drum majors.
You And it all In the bill, too.
But it seems to suit Gordon's state of
mind. He flips a tenspot towards the
floor manager, calls for a corner table
under the palms, and orders things as
reckless as if this was to be the last meal
he'd ever have. '
are 52 government schools and also mu
nicipal and private schools with about
2T)00 pupils.
Some Big Possibilities.
All of these West African colonics hav-i
big possibilities, and the European na
tions to whom they belong are investi
gating them. In nearly every one cot
ton Is being planted, and in some the
experiments are successful. Nigeria, fur
Instance, expects to be shipping 100.K
bales to Europe by 1910, and. so far, the '
growth of the cotton crop hTls b:cn as
rapid there as it was at the start in
the United States. I understand thut
it took our cotton belt ten years after
the first crop was planted to reach a
product of 100,000 bales, and that l.iVVi.
000 bales was only attained at the end
of 35 years. Cotton was first planted lit
Nigeria in 1901 and the crop has- doubled
each year since then. It is only recently
that any attempt lias been ma-ie to
raise it in Northern Nigeria, but experi
mental stations have now been started
there and steam ginneries are to be in
troduced. This movement is backed by
the British Cotton-Growing Association,
which has a capital of a million and a
quarter dollars, and which Is pushlnar
-aeotton planting on both sides of tho
black continent. The German." have es
tablished cotton plantations in their east
ern and western African possessions. I
understand they are doing well in Tncn
land and the Kameruns, and I know th:it
they are raising some cotton on the
highlands about Victoria, for I saw tho
bales loaded on the ships when I navi
gated that lake. .
Rubber and Mahogany.
An equally great interest is exhibit ed
in the timber products of the several col
onics. The rubber Industry is beinij
pushed everywhere and nearly every na
tion Is setting cut rubber plantations.
The French have planted 10.000.0u0 rub
ber vines in Lower Guinea and Da
homey, and they plan to set out a hair
million more trees every year. Tho Ger
mans are planting rubber and so arc tho
English.
I have been much interested in the ma
hogany resources. A great deal of th:if.
wood is now being exported from Ni
geria. Something like !HX ' logs were
shipped from Lagos last year, and alto
gether about 7000 logs, containing over
4,000.000 feet, were then sent away by tlm
English. Considerable Is shipped from
the Ivory coast and from other locali
ties. Washington, D. C, December 12.
JEWELL WW.
"Gee!" says I, lookin' over the hunch
of leadm' ladles that was fioiitiu' in,
"this is a congregation of hot ones, eh?
I didn't know there was so many Anna
Helds and Lillian Russells at large. Get
next to that one with the Maiden Lane
exhibit around her neck. Ain't that a
string of Koh-i-nors for you! Say. if I
was her I'd take out some plate glass in
surance. Yes? No?"
Say. It's worth lettin' some one else
pay the price just to get, a view of Mich
things once in a while. I guess Pyra
mid was gettin' as much fun out. of it
I was at that, only he says less. An. I
then, his mind is some occupied guessin'
how the chicken wishbone come to st
Into the terrapin stew.
We'd got tho best of four lillijrreo. dishes
that had cost enough to keep a. long
shoreman's family in corned beef for a
year, when I catches a glimpse of some
familiar millinery on exhibition over b. -hind
a marble post.
"Wat oh!" says I, stretchin'out my
neck. "Ulanied if that don't look like
Sadie. Why, sure it is! And that must
be yes, that's dear little Ethel with her;
and there's Why. say. Mr. Gordon, isn't
that our young friend Frisbie that we
seen this afternoon?"
Pyramid he takes a peek. "That is
Frisbie," says he.
"Tchick!" says I. "P.cckonin' from that
12 per you was speakin about. I should
guess that Frisbie w-as bein' let in for at
least a month's wages tonight."
"Hm-m-m!" says Mr. Gordon, clcarin'
his throat. "I wonder where that young
Say, I'd like a word witli him."
They was some suprised to see us, all
around, specially Frisbie. He'd just been
handed the bill and had his roll out. Say.
it was a nice, corpulent lookin' wad, to":
not green money, either, but yellow all
the way through and big boys a bundlo
of centuries. Mr. Gordon eyes it a min
ute, and then he eyes Frisbie. And ris
bie Is took with such a sudden chill his
teeth almost keeps time with the tump-tiddy-um-tum
music that the hand was
playln'. Sadie see right away that some
thing's up. She breaks off her chinnin' to
me and wants to know what's wrong.
'Little business deal that Mr. Gordon
and Frisbie's mixed up in, that s all.
says I. "Maybe you could spare him a
minute."
"Don't keep him long, says Sadie.
We didn't. Mr. Gordon don't say a word
Concluded on Page 6