," as it is called, of all the Congo
companies. His most enduring monument, however, is the Chemin de Fer du
Congo Matadi-Stanley Pool. He felt with Stanley that there could be no
development of the Congo without a railway between Matadi and Stanley
Pool.

The necessity was apparent. At Matadi, which is about a hundred miles
from the sea, navigation on the Congo River ceases because here begins a
succession of cataracts that extend almost as far as Leopoldville. In
the old days all merchandise had to be carried in sixty-pound loads to
Stanley Pool on the heads of natives. The way is hard for it is up and
down hill and traverses swamps and morasses. Every year ten thousand men
literally died in their tracks. The human loss was only one detail of
the larger loss of time.

Under the stimulating leadership of General Thys, the railway was
started in 1890 and was opened for traffic eight and a half years later.
Perhaps no railway in the world took such heavy toll. It is two hundred
and fifty miles in length and every kilometer cost a white life and
every meter a black one. Only the graves of the whites are marked. You
can see the unending procession of headstones along the right of way.
During its construction the project was bitterly assailed. The wiseacres
contended that it was visionary, impracticable, and impossible. In this
respect it suffered the same experience as all the other pioneering
African railways and especially those of Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast,
Uganda, and the Soudan.

The scenery between Thysville and Matadi is noble and inspiring. The
track winds through grim highlands and along lovely valleys. The hills
are rich with colour, and occasionally you can see a frightened antelope
scurrying into cover in the woods. As you approach Matadi the landscape
takes on a new and more rugged beauty. Almost before you realize it,
you emerge from a curve in the mountains and the little town so
intimately linked with Stanley's early trials as civilizer, lies before
you.

Matadi is built on a solid piece of granite. The name is a version of
the word _matari_ which means rock. In certain parts of Africa the
letter "r" is often substituted for "d." Stanley's native name was in
reality "Bula Matari," but on account of the license that I have
indicated he is more frequently known as "Bula Matadi," the title now
bestowed on all officials in the Congo. It was at Matadi that Stanley
received the designation because he blas