Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

THE CAPE TO CAIRO RAILWAY. 157 path. This was done, with the result that the lion—a magnificent specimen—was cut to pieces by the engine wheels. Less trouble has been experienced with the natives along the route of the line than was so freely predicted when the project was first mooted by Mr. Rhodes. One reason for this is undoubtedly Native that the natives of those por- tions of Matabeleland and Mashonaland through which the line passes had to some extent be- come accustomed to the white man and his ways before the railway came amongst them. Even north of the Zambesi, where, till a few years previously, a white man had scarcely STANDARD 8-WHEELED COUPLED LOCOMOTIVE USED ON THE RHODESIA RAILWAYS. {Photo, British South Africa Company.) efforts of the driver and the stoker to drive him off the line by pelting him with billets of wood were no better rewarded. The train was on the point of coming to a standstill when the lion lost his temper. He took a sudden spring at the engine, seeking in vain for something on its smooth surface into which it could drive its claws, and thus secure a foothold. Again and again the beast sprung, falling clear of the engine every time. The driver then realized that the best thing to do was to go full steam ahead and trust to the weight of the trucks behind him to keep the train on the line and clear the lion from its A PETROL-DRIVEN RAILWAY INSPECTION CAR. {Photo, British South Africa Company.) FIRST TRAIN FROM SALISBURY TO UMTALI ON THE BEIRA-SALISBURY LINE. ever been seen, the natives have not shown any desire to interfere with the line or with the men engaged upon it. As a matter of precaution, the white men in charge of the gangs of native workmen have with them a supply of rifles and revolvers ; but these have so far been used entirely for repelling wild animals. This is in marked contrast to the experience of those engaged in the construc- tion of the Uganda Railway. The attitude of the natives north of the Zambesi has been chiefly one of pure curi- osity. The whistle of the locomotives proved at first rather a severe trial to their nerves.