New Orleans daily crescent., 1857-12-26

The Falls of Mosioatunye.
The following interesting extract is from Livin

| stones Traveis in Africa y
After twenty minutes sal from Kalai We came IN
si6ht foF the first time Of the columns Of vapor ap-
proprately called " smoke,n rising at distance OF
ave or III niles exactly when large tracts of grass
are burned In Africa. Fivs columns now arose. and
bending n ne direction o. me VINO i,h sney seemea
tops or tie columns at this distance appeared to min
gie with the clouds They were white below, and
higher mp became dark, 80 as TO simulate smoke very
The bsnks and islands dotted over the river ad
orned with sylvan vegetation Of great varietyof color
and form. At the period Of our visit several trees
were spangled over with blossoms. Trees have each
their own physiognomy. There, towering over all,
stands the great burly baobad, each OF whose enor
nous arms would form the trunk Of . large tree,
besides groups Of graceful palms, which, with their
feathery shaped leaves depicted on the sky, lend
their beauty to the scene. As q hieroglyphic they
always mean far from home for one can never get
over their foreign air in picture or landscape.
The silvery mohonono, which in the tropics is in
form like the cedar of Lebanon, stands in pleasing
contrast with the dark color of the motsour, whose
cypress form is dotted over at present with its pleas
ant scarlet fruit. Some trees resemble the great
spreading oaks, others assume the character of our
own elms and chestnuts that no one can imagine
the beauty OF the view from anything witnessed in
England It had never been seen before by European
eyes ; but scenes SO lovely must have been gazed
upon BY angels in their flight The only want that is
felt is that Of mountains in the back ground.
The falls bounded three sides by ridges three
hundred or four hundred feet in height, which are
covered With forests, with the red soil appearing
among the trees. When about half a mile from the
falls, left the canoe by which we had come down
thus far, and embarked in q lighter one, with men
well acquainted with rapids, who, passing down the
center or the stream, in the eddies and still places
caused by. many jutting rocks, brought me to an
island situated n the middle 2. s river and on the
In coming hither there was danger OF being swept
down BY the streams which rushed along each side
Of the island, but the river was now low, and we
sailed where it is totally impossible to 60 when the
water is high. But, though we had reached the
island, and Wero within few yards Of the spot
view from which would solve the whole problem,
believe that no one could perceive where the vast
EARTH the opposite slip Of the fssure into which it
disappeared being only eighty feet distant At least
did not comprehend it until, creeping with awe to
the verge Ipeered down into large rent which had
and saw that stream Of thousand yards broad
leaped down hundred feet and then became suddenly
compressed into space OF fifteen or twenty yards
as 5 D Tf & o as s S sS eEsss a. m mAs ssnR As5 ss
zambes and then prolonged from the left bank away
through thirty or forty miles Of bills.
II one imagines the Thames filled with low, tree
M @ = Ss baes
rock instead Of London mud, and fssnre made
therein from end Of the tunnel TO the other down
through the keystones Of the arch, and prolonged
from the left end Of the tunnel through thirty miles
Of hills, the pathway being 100 feet down from the
bed 81 the river instead Of What it is with the lips Of
the ssure from so TO 100 feet apart then fancy the
Thames leaping bodily into the gulf, and forced there
to change its direction, and flow from the right to
the left bank, and then rush roaring and boiling
through the hills, he may have some idea Of what
takes place at this, the most wonderful sight had
witnessed in Africa In looking down the fssure on
the right Of the island, one sees nothing but dense
white cloud which, at the time we visited the spot,
had two bright rainbows on it.
From this cloud rushed up great jet Of vapor ex-
acty like steam and 1t mounted two hundred or three
hundred feet high there condensing, it changed its
| hue to that of dark smoke and came back in con-
stant shower, which soon wetted to the skin. The
shower falls chiefly the opposite side of the ssure,
/ and q few yards back from the lip there stands a
straight hedge Of evergreen trees whose leaves are
always wet From their roots number of little rills
run back into the gulf, but, as they flow down the
steep wall there the column OF vapor in its ascent
cks them up clean off the rock, and away they mount
again They are constantly running down, but never
reach the bottom.
Onthe left Of the island we see the water at the
bottom, white rolling mass moving away to the pro-
i ongaton of the fssure which branches off near the
/ left bank of the river. piece Of the rock has fallen
of spot the left of the island and just out from
the water below, and from 1t judged the distance
which the water falls to be about one hundred feet.
The walls Of the gigantic crack are perpendicular,
and composed Of one homogeneous mass of rock.
Ihave mentioned that we saw five columns of vapor
ascending from this strange abyss. They are evil
IDENTIFY formed by the compression suffered by the
force OF the waters own fall into an unyieding wedge
shaped space. This was the period of low water on
the Leeambye but, far as could guess there was
flow of five or six hundred yards OF water, which,
at the edge Of the fall seemed at least three feet
deep write in the hope that others, more capable
Of judging distances than myself will visit the scene
and state simply the impressions made on my mind
at the time thought, and do still think, the river
above the falls 10 be thousand yards broad but
am poor judge of distances water, for showed
q naval friend what supposed to be four hundred
yards in the Bay Of Loanda and to my surprise, he
| pronounced it to be nine hundred.
| ! tried to measure the Leeambye with strong
thread, the only line had in my possession, but when
the men bad gone two or three hundred yards, they
got into conversation and did not hear US shouting
that the line had become entanged. But still going
on they broke it, and being carried away down the
stream it was lost on snag. In vain tried to bring
to my recollection the way had been taught to
measure river by taking an angle with the sextant
That once knew 1t, and that it was easy, were all
the lost ideas could recall and they only increased
my yexation. However, measured the river farther
down by another plan, and then discovered that the
Portuguese had measured at Tete, and found it a
little thousand yards. At the falls it is al
broad as at Tete, if not more so.
At three spots near these falls one Of them, the
island in the middle, on whichw were, three Batoki
chiefs offered up prayers and sacrifices to the Barmo
They chose their places of prayer within the sound o
the roar Of the cataract, and in sight of the brgh
bows in the cloud. They must have looked upon tht
scence with awe. Fear may have induced the selec
ton. The river itself is to them mysterious. The
4 words OF the canoe song are a75
i a The Leeambyei Nobody knows
4 Whence 1t comes and whittier II goes.'
The play of colors of the double iris on the cloud
seen BY them elsewhere only as the rainbow, may
have led them to the idea that this the abode
the Deity. Some Of the Makoloo who went with MT
near to Gonye, looked upon the same sign with awe
When seen in the heavens, it is named :, motse ot
barimo the peste of the gods Here they coult
approach the emblem and 1t stand steadily abovt
the clustering uproar below-a type Of Him who sits
I supreme alone Interchangeable, though ruling al
changing things.
4 ] saw the falls at lew water. and the columns O
I vapor when five or six miles distant. When the rive
is full in flood, the columns, it is said be seer
ten miles Off and the sound is quite distinct some
what below Kalai, or about an equal distance. NJ
one can then go to the island in the middle. The
next visitor must bear these points in mind in
pairing his description with mine.
l
II DocT0R, He HAS DONE Ir-A physician tells th,
following story not without some regret on his par
a for the advice given: A hard-working woman hat
a drunken husband, who, when partly SOBER woult
get the blues and endeavor to destroy himself b,
taking laudanum. Twice did the wife ascertain tha
he had swallowed the destructive drug and twic
did the doctor restore him. Upon the second restora
4 tion. the doctor addressed him as follows: I" Yo