The Iron Snake

It is 1897, during the last few years of Victoria's reign at the height of the Empire, a period marred by unrest in Africa, and the Kenya Colony is an exciting world of hate, passion, loyalty and violence. Stories abound about the wild nature of the railroad line-shaky wooden trestle bridges over enormous chasms, man-eating lions pulling railway workers out of carriages at night-and back home the British Parliament is upset that construction of what the Africans call the Iron Snake will never return the enormous investment. The tabloid term, 'Lunatic Express,' seemed to fit.

John Gaudet, a Fulbright Scholar to both India and Malaya, spent many years in East Africa in a plant ecology program funded by the National Geographic Society. He is the author of many scientific papers, co-editor of a book on African aquatic plant ecology and a former associate editor of the journal, Aquatic Botany. His work has appeared in The Washington Post and local magazines, including Pleasant Living a bi-monthly magazine dealing with life and culture in the Chesapeake Bay area.