European Settlement in the Barotse Countries
THE Barotse countries on the upper waters of the Zambesi will doubtless soon be settled by many Europeans. Reports come of a steamer having been launched above the Victoria Falls, and Europeans are coming in search of mineral wealth. The railroad is in process of construction from Bulawayo to a point near the Victoria Falls, and it has been said that the British South African Company has invited the British Association to meet at Victoria Falls in 1905. It is not quite clear whether this invitation is given seriously, but it certainly will not be an impossibility for a meeting of European savants in this section of Africa, two years hence. Some letters given in the Mission World for January tell of the return of Lewanika, the Barotse king, from England, whither he went to attend the coronation of King Edward. It is pleasant to learn that this monarch, for whom M. Colliard and the other French missionaries have had so much anxiety, has returned to his people unspoiled by his trip. It is said that neither he nor any of his party touched any intoxicating drink while absent from their home, and that their conduct was in all respects exemplary. Lewanika himself seems to have been much softened in temper by the experiences through which he has passed, and the French missionaries will take new heart in this change which seems to have come over the one who has, either consciously or unconsciously, been a great hindrance to their work.